Obviously Not Your First

Normally Vaughn fills my car with petrol as it's easier than me trying to do it with Amy. However, yesterday I needed to as I knew I wouldn't make it to my friend's and back without stopping at the servo. I filled up while leaving Amy in the car, but when it came time to pay, I took her out... it increased my time there (i.e. not a quick in and out to pay) but here are my reasons for not leaving her in the car:

- on a hot day, it doesn't take long for babies to suffocate and pass away
- someone could steal the car, and Amy would then be kidnapped, intended or not (I've heard a number of cases like this in the news in the last few months)
- an emergency could arise in the short time that I'm in paying (in a volatile place with petrol, it could happen, well has the potential to happen)
- if I lock the car, with all the electronics that are involved in car manufacturing these days, I may not be able to get the car unlocked and have to call the auto club for assistance... therefore see point one

However, that's not why I decided to blog today. The reason I'm blogging is to tell you about the conversation I had with the lovely service station attendant. While my credit card was been processed:

Attendant: So, obviously not your first?
Me: Sorry?
Attendant: She's [Amy's] not your first child?
Me: Why would you say that?
Attendant: Because you look like you know what you are doing.
Me: No, she's my first, so thank you!

Wow! After pleasantries of goodbyes, I walked back to my car, so chuffed and proud! I know it was something very little, but that guy made my day. Seriously, who wouldn't love being called a good mum and by a stranger who really didn't have to say anything!

Thank you service station attendant!

My Not So Little, Amy!

My little girl is growing up very quickly! At 3 months of age (!!) and 6kg, she is about to start the next size up in nappies, called "Crawler"! She's now 61.5cm long (she was 49.5cm when she was born!). Some highlights of our little angel:

- She now smiles all the time and gives us the biggest, most heart-melting smiles when she sees us!
- She learned quite early to roll from her tummy to her back and she has now mastered the reverse already.
- She has already out-grown her bassinet and now sleeps in the cot.
- Just this morning I heard a hint of her laugh. I hadn't realised until then that she hadn't been laughing! She's always cooed and ahhed when she was happy, but it wasn't actually a laugh. I can't wait to hear it actually develop!
- We have many wonderful conversations with Amy now. Of course, we can't understand each other, but she mimics me and I her and she responds when you talk to her. When she turns 4 months old, I will start using some basic sign language with her, so it will be wonderful when she can start to communicate in that way.

I think that's all her main accomplishments for the moment, so I'll stop gloating and give you the link to some more photos:

Amy Ellen - More Random

Travels with my Aunt

While my Aunty was here in Australia, we kept very busy (perhaps too busy), but it was so very wonderful to spend time with her, and for her to be able to spend time with us, especially Amy, during the precious first few weeks of her life.

One of the places we went to was the Cleland Wildlife park. My godmother, Judy, also joined us on the gorgeous day (the weather was perfect and Amy was a little angel the whole day... I had my first 'public' feeding sitting on the grass in the park!). I think the highlight of the day, was the photo with Clover, the koala. Click on the photo to take you to the web album for more photos.

Cleland Park

We also met Vaughn for lunch at Hahndorf another day. Hahndorf is a German settlement (aparently the most visited town in South Australia), which is located in the Adelaide Hills, near where Vaughn is doing his Vicarage. Another nice day, where we also met Vaughn's parents and strolled around the town.

The next day we drove out to Maggie Beer, which is a quaint little restaurant type establishment. Maggie, until very recently, had her own cooking show called "The Cook and the Chef", and the studio is out where we visited. We were able to sit down and sample some of her delicious food. Well worth the effort to drive out to Nurioopta, in the Barossa Valley.

Maggie Beer's

On Friday, we visited Ikea for lunch, and of course, as per any Ikea visit, didn't walk away empty handed!

Unfortunately the next day, we had to say goodbye to Aunty Ellen as she headed back to the States. She hopes to return next year for Vaughn's ordination, so that's something to look forward to!

Reborn

Sorry that once again I have been silent on my blog page. I always had good intentions of keeping it updated, but that falls by the way-side each day!

We were very excited to celebrate the rebirth of Amy through the waters of Baptism on 27th September at St Mark's Lutheran Church, Mt Barker (where Vaughn is doing his Vicarage). It was a beautiful day and it was wonderful to see Amy become a part of God's family.

Some very good friends of ours, Bec and Michael, accepted our invitation to be Amy's godparents, so they flew over from Melbourne. It was great to see them, even for a short, busy time while they were here. We also had my Aunty (Ellen, Amy's namesake) fly over from the USA, just to witness the special occasion. She stayed for a week, so we got to spend some quality time with her.

It was definitely a busy time for us over the weekend of the baptism, as Vaughn's parents drove over from Melbourne with their caravan, my parents drove from Hamilton and my brothers flew from Melbourne. People everywhere, but I loved it!

Click on the album below to take you to some photos of the day:

Amy's Baptism