I'm very proud to say that "We are finally in Adelaide!" Loving the people and the old buildings here. We are surrounded by beautiful autumn leaves everywhere and of course the cold weather. The family is so happy and we are all so glad to be able to see hubby/daddy everyday. Jonathan is most excited about daddy being around again and Esther could not wait to run up to daddy everyday when he comes back from work. And me? I'm just enjoying doing everyday things with Dane such as having meals together, bathing the kids together, and read/pray/putting the kids to bed every night. Also having Dane with me every night after the kids has gone to bed. 

All thanks and praises are due to God cause He is faithful and kind to us. He brought us to some wonderful Christian friends in a real amazing way. He also provided us everything that we need in this new place - we just have to trust and obey!

April was an exciting month. We had Easter, My citizenship ceremony and lots of fun time with Dane/daddy at the Queensland Rail Museum.

Esther getting into her Easter eggs!

Jonathan with some of his Easter gifts

Dane and Esther at my citizenship ceremony

Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!

At Queensland Rail Museum. It was so much fun and very kids oriented. Jonathan and Esther both had a blast that day! Interestingly Dane's grandfather actually used to work in the rail workshop here.

One of the displayed steam train

There was lots of activities for children to explore at the rail museum. We made a few teddy bear puppets together.

Jonathan and Esther playing with trains at the 'Toy Box' in the Rail Museum

Esther was trying to cook alongside me while I was busy cooking dinner. Start them young :D

Esther has started feeding herself for about 2 months now. She is doing very well. We started with yoghurt because it was hard to miss it. :P

Jonathan playing with his Tonka truck at our backyard. He loves outdoor would stay outside all day if he could.

This is so funny and yet so true. Have seen this long time ago but felt I needed it this morning. Every day is hectic around the house here and sometimes we just need to be reminded we're not alone in this. And to be a MUM is really not an easy task. I can so hear myself with the constant nagging even though my children are only 3.5 and 1 year old. LOL. However I think other than 'nagging' at our children constant praying for them is also needed for all Christian mum. God has them safely in His hands. Anyway, all the mums out there please remember you are not alone! God knows every things/sacrifices we do for our children/family. :D

Having have two kids I know how frustrating it is to have a crying baby. It is especially hard when you do not know the reason of the cry. Well for very small baby (1-6months old) the reason would be either hunger, dirty nappy, cold/hot, tired, or sickness. When the baby is older like 6-12 months old they could be crying for attention so usually a cuddle or a chat would fix the issue. For me, I tend to be proactive and I would make sure I have done everything and follow a routine. I would feed the baby and change nappy every 3 hours. I follow a Feed/Play/Sleep routine. In doing so, I know when my baby started crying what would I give her first. If she just had a feed, then she can't be hungry, so I might check her nappy. My daughter Esther cannot stand dirty nappy and 99% of the time when she started crying was due to that exact reason. If she was fed, have clean nappy, but still cry then I would make sure she is not sick. Checking her temperature, making sure she is not too hot/cold, is not in pain and other possible factors. When a baby is in pain, he/she cries differently than their normal cry. They usually are in distress and high pitch. Well it is true with mine anyway. :P

One of my favourite baby book was given to me by a friend called ' On Becoming Baby Wise' by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo. It discusses about routine, feeding, sleeping, discipline and other baby related topic. One thing I learnt is never feed my baby to sleep. I breastfed both of my kids until they're 12/13 months. Yet they both started sleeping through the night at 10/12 weeks old (they usually sleep from 7pm-6am/7am). All I do is to put them down in the cot when they're tired and left the room. Feeding baby milk is not the answer for having a sleeping baby. Not feeding my babies to sleep also allowed me to wean them easily because they are not dependent on that to fall asleep. Esther who is 14 months now does not require a feed before she goes down to sleep at night. I would feed her dinner and then bath her and put her to bed between 6:30pm - 7:00pm (yes, babies here go to bed really early). The idea is that they need to learn to fall asleep without any aid. If they wake up during the night I would let them cry for about 15 minutes before I would attend to them. Usually they would just go back to sleep by themselves without me doing anything. Of course there are some exceptions. They usually waking/crying at night when they are teething and sick. With teething and sickness we can just have to comfort them and make sure they are not in pain (I usually give them baby panadol/nurofen for the pain). I have to admit there were times when I just breastfed them so they would calm down and be comforted.

As I mentioned before I follow a Feed/Play/Sleep routine. It is one of the ways to help the baby differentiate day and night so they would sleep through at night. I would follow the feed/play/sleep at day time but skip the play part at night After the last meal at 7pm and follow by a nice warm bath I put the baby straight to the cot.  Both of my children started sleeping through at about 10-12 weeks. Babies that have good sleep are usually happy babies. Also they all sleep in their own room and they never sleep with us at night. They need to learn to be independent and for the parents, they need to have their own time. It's so important for the couple to have alone time and focus on each other rather than the baby for once. Co-sleeping is also not safe for baby due to the risk of suffocation. Babies who sleep with their parents also have difficulty on sleeping by themselves when they are older. So for long-term benefit it is best to let them sleep in their own cot from the beginning.

 Esther at bed time. She was so happy to be put down to sleep after a tiring day.

Well, I could really go on and on about how to teach baby to sleep and ways to eliminate factors that could cause a baby cries. The principle is we as parents are the adult here and we should be smart and study our babies so we can become expert in looking after our own babies. I used 'own babies' its because every baby is different and only their parents know them the best. I'm not a fan of child-centre parenting. I am more leaning towards parents-led parenting with a bit of flexibility. It is also the Bible's principle that children obey their parents. Honestly having going through the babies stages twice and now having  a nearly 4 year old and a 1 year old I could say babies are quite easy to deal with. They can't talk back, can't climb out of their cot, can't open the room door, and whinge about what clothes you put on them....the list goes on. :P All the best to every mother out there and enjoy your baby while they're still young because just like what everyone said 'they grow up too quickly'. :D

Jonathan had his last swimming lesson on Sat. I told him he is going to a new swim school in Adelaide. And of course a new childcare, a new house, new bedroom, etc...He was sad and kept asking why we had to move. He had been writing up birthday invitations to his friends to come to his birthday party. I had to explain to him his friends will not be in Adelaide for his birthday in August because it's too far away. Instead, he will have a farewell party at childcare on his last day there. He was sad and asked why. :(

We only have 3 weeks to go before we leave beautiful Brisbane. I can't wait to start our new life in Adelaide mainly because hubby will be with us and no more separation (at least for awhile). Jonathan asked me where is Adelaide. Well, I just said it's in South Australia. :D I am feeling sad too to leave our dearest family and friends behind. We have been very spoilt having family around and good friends to spend time with. I'm going to miss them dearly I'm sure. The children will be missing out being spoilt by their grandparents and uncles and aunties which they currently enjoy. :(

However, these things happen and I know God is with us wherever we go. We will get to meet new brothers and sisters in God's big family. It's time to get out of my comfort zone and make new friends and discover new things. Most of all, to see our faith continue to grow in a brand new place!

Visit to Queensland Museum during daddy's 1.5 weeks Home Trip

We had a great time catching up with hubby/daddy!

Me and my two beautiful children at Queensland Museum

The kids with the 'Koala' at Queensland Museum

 

Brisbane Wheel- it was so much fun looking over Beautiful Brisbane.

 

Brisbane Wheel - daddy with the tired boy

Mount Glorious Bush Walk --- We did not walk too far due to slippery road condition

 Mount Glorious Bush Walk

Yeah, we finally got our posting! It's Adelaide. feeling really excited now that we have a destination. It will be some times in May which means we still have about 7/8 weeks to go. However it's something I look forward to. God is Good all the time!

Esther woke up at about 5am this morning. However dear mother-in-law decided to get her out of her cot. I never let her out of her cot until 7 am cause that's my wake up time. Well, she had been waking up at around 7:00am anyway so there's no need to hurry. Normally, when she wakes up earlier than 7am, I would let her play in her cot or I'll feed her and she will go back to her cot and play. But since dear MIL thought she's too cute so she took her out of her cot. Anyway, getting up at 5am is not fun....

Even though I had been feeling very tired since getting up at 5am this morning, but I still decided to go to the library as it's our usual Thursday visit. When we came home I was exhausted and was  doing my best getting the kids lunch then put Esther down for her nap. Let's say it was so hectic and I was not coping due to the lack of sleep. Just as I thought I would get a break when Esther goes for her nap, Jono said he soiled his pants!!! I couldn't believe what I heard, cause Jono had been toilet trained for at least 1 year now and this only happened once when he was sicked from the tummy bug. I totally lost it. :( Could not stand the thought of cleaning him up and washing up the dirty pants and underwear. I screamed at him asking why he did that, I even smacked him when he refused to answer me...:( Then guilt came in,  I thought he could be sick cause that's the only explanation I could think of...)

So I thought, we need TIME OUT..... I left him upstairs watching Spot DVD while I took Esther to her room for a nap. 30 minutes later Esther was asleep and I had calmed down. Went upstairs and  Jono quickly said sorry and we hugged and I said sorry too. Let's pray for a better afternoon. :D

 

Making cupcakes

 

  

The finished product

 

Jono and his Lego house

 

My Valentine's Roses from hubby

 

Jono and Esther in the 'bin'

 

Our 1 year old Esther

 

The family

 

Our baby girl Esther is finally ONE!

I made this simple birthday cake

The Birthday Girl!

1st taste of Chocolate :P

We held a very simple but fun party for Esther. We invited close friends and family for a BBQ lunch. The party went well and everyone had a wonderful time. The highlight was hubby was able to come home for this special occasion. We thank God everyday for giving us this beautiful girl one year ago.