Off to the Opera

Saturday night we went see Candide at 'Opera in the Park' with Steve & Selina

Selina & I with our 'I Love Opera' stickers

After lovely nibbles & drinks in the VIP tent (thanks Steve!!), we made our way to our seats

The show was fabulous!! Paul McDermott, the host of the show 'Good News Week' was the narrator and also played a few parts - he was quite good - I was impressed!

Candide is SUCH a bizarre story, but I liked how they staged it and the voices were amazing!!!
We also saw Hugh Sheridan (Ben) and Zoe Ventoura (Melissa) from Packed to the Rafters - oh and also Fuzzy - the host of video hits. Minor Australian celebs - but fun to see them nevertheless:) A LOVELY night with Steve & Selina - always fun to spend time with them:)

Week 18

*How far along?: 18 weeks

*Total weight gain: 3.6 kilos - which is about 8 pounds

*How big is baby?: Sparky is now the size of a sweet potato!
What my weekly baby email says: Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements.

*Maternity clothes?: I got some lovely maternity shirts in the mail from Joni this week - thanks Joni!! :)

*Sleep?: Still having weird dreams, but otherwise sleep is still going well.

*Best moment this week?: Feeling movement!! Friday night I could feel definite movement - pushing up into my hand while I held it on the bump. I don't know if it was a kick or a poke or what - but it was definitely something. I felt it 5 or 6 times, Murray felt it too!!! VERY exciting:) I have felt at least one good kick every day since - can't wait to feel Sparky going crazy more regularly!

*Movement?: as above:) Also, receiving the package from Joni was exciting - looking forward to working my way through that 100,000 names book. Also I did the pre-natal Yoga dvd my Mom sent for the first time and it was lovely - very relaxing!

*Food cravings?: Nothing new really - other than I wish I could eat at Wagamamas every day. Murray and I went and had a noodle dish last night and yummmmmm I love that place!

*Labor signs?: too soon for that!

*Belly button in or out?: Innie, but gosh the indent seems to be getting wider - freaky!

*What I miss: I wish I could eat some brie - that's all:)

*What I'm looking forward to: The 19 week scan on Thursday - looking forward to seeing Sparky again - 12 weeks feels like YEARS ago!!

*Milestone: Feeling proper movement was a huge milestone and really exciting!

Top 5 Highlights of 2009

The lovely Vegemite Wife tagged me 19 days ago to do a 'Top 5 Highlights of 2009' post - so here you go - I'm finally getting around to it (in no particular order:)

My Top 5 Highlights of 2009

1. Moving to Sydney - It was a great first year in Sydney. We moved into our first flat of our OWN (we always shared in London), we both got great jobs, and we live in an area we love! It has just been a hard adjustment living so close to the beach :)

2. Getting a Car - I haven't driven more than once or twice a year (when I was in Minnesota visiting) since I moved to London in late 2001. So it was VERY exciting for me to get a car here AND learn how to drive on the other side of the car on the other side of the road! I do LOVE the freedom of having a car - although we have a lot within walking distance - I love my little Betty:)

3. Cruising with Family - Holidaying with my parents, grandmas and close family and friends was fantastic. It was SO wonderful to spend 2 weeks with them, so so many cherished memories:)

4. Spending time with fam & friends in Oz - It has also been a great year for reconnecting with family and friends in Australia. I'm lucky to have made a few great new friends in '09 as well:)

5. Getting Pregnant - I won't go on & on about this, but it was a blessing, and we are really looking forward to July 2010!

New Years Eve 2009 / 2010

Better late than never right? Finally - some New Years Eve photos!

Me at our picnic spot

Murray enjoying his eskie seat

Murray & Helen

Sunset is coming - that must mean fireworks are soon!

Me & Anna

Murray & Ali

Come on already - we are ready for the fireworks!!!

Just stunning! I haven't seen the Sydney Harbour fireworks since 2001, so it was GREAT to be there & see it again:) The 9pm 'family' fireworks were good, but WOW the midnight ones were amazing. There was SO much to look at it was hard to keep track! There was a huge display just near us, the bridge display, another in Darling Harbour we could see, and even fireworks off of the buildlings downtown. Fantastic!

Happy Australia Day!!

Today is Australia Day - we made our way to Steve & Selina's place for a yummy Aussie BBQ!

I was requested to bring tater tot casserole - and yummm it was good (if I must say so myself:)

Wouldn't be Australia Day without sausages & lamb as well - yumm

As well as Pavlova - holy cow it was good - I had 2 big slices!

and Lamingtons - yumm yumm yumm

I wore my new Aussie shirt :) This is me post BBQ & kinda sweaty - but I had to get a pic of the shirt!

And the bump:)

We had a great day at their place, then when we got back to Manly we very quickly changed into our swimsuits and headed straight to the beach. That was my first swim of the year in the ocean - SO lovely & refreshing!!!

WEEK 17

I am going to steal an update layout from Melaina because I really enjoyed reading her updates!

So here is the first of my weekly bump updates

*How far along?: 17 weeks

*Total weight gain: I'm up about 3 kilos - which is about 6 1/2 pounds

*How big is baby?: Baby's now the size of an onion!
Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. His umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind

*Maternity clothes?: Yup! I have some comfy stretchy maternity work trousers now and a maternity stretchy skirt for weekends - just about nothing from my previous wardrobe fits me around the waist anymore!

*Sleep?: Good so far, but I am having some Really weird dreams!

*Best moment this week?: Telling work last week and the first of my work friends noticing without me saying anything! The bump speaks for itself:)

*Movement?: I really do think I have started to feel flutters in the last few days. It feels a bit like when your stomach rumbles when you're hungry - just light movements.... Last night I felt like there was a goldfish swimming around in there - hard to tell - but looking forward to feeling more soon!

*Food cravings?: Lots of fruit, and I'm back to loving tofu again - so that's nice for lunch. I crave Mexican and bagels pretty much all the time! Or anything with noodles - Wagamamas with Sue on Friday was fabulous! Oh and pickles!!

*Labor signs?: too soon for that!

*Belly button in or out?: Innie.

*What I miss: Not much really. I do miss the refreshingness of a glass of wine on a hot day, but really I'm fine with leaving that for 9 months. Sushi would be nice, but I can't say I hugely miss it. I am enjoying eating more fresh fruit though for snacks!

*What I'm looking forward to: Feeling movement regularly and especially from the outside

*Milestone: I finished reading a few books recently

Attack of the fifty-foot hormones, by Emma Tom - Very funny book, and full of interesting information (especially the Australia specific info). I especially like her 'real' lists of things to buy - what you really do or don't need - I photocopied those pages!! (I borrowed that book from the library:)

Feeding the Bump, Nutrition & Recipes for Pregnancy, by Lisa Neal - All pregnancy books cover eating, but this one has a TON of recipes. We have already enjoyed the healthy pesto, and 'rustic beans on toast.' I need to do some serious photo copying before I return this book to the library!

You Having a Baby, by Dr. Oz & Dr. Roizen- Very informative book. Much more medically based than other books I have read, but I did learn quite a bit working my way through this book. Thanks Mom for sending it!

And of course the bible - What to Expect when You're Expecting - I'm working my way through that book:)

Above is Week 12

And now - Week 17

Happy 78th Birthday Peter !

We had a great weekend visit from Murray's parents during his Dad's birthday. Lots of BBQ and more importantly, lots of CAKE!!! (fancy cake courtesy of sister-in-law Helen)