Smokin' Pyramid

The middle of last week, when I was driving home from in town (not that I can remember why I was in there), baby Possum had fallen asleep and the Pyramid was smokin' so I took a little detour.

I'm not sure how far it got in newsworthyness but the burning off of Walsh's Pyramid certainly made the news here.

There were even some people from other areas convinced it was a 'for real' volcanic eruption.

Haha, the jokes.

Anyway, I didn't see it that day but noticed it the next day.

Walsh's Pyramid definitely wasn't looking volcanic anymore but the smoke was still pretty impressive.

This is the time of year for controlled burning off around here, before it gets too hot and before the hot weather and pre wet season arrives when storms might do the job, resulting in big fires and lots of damage.

That is what this smoke display was from, a controlled burn of the national park. A clean up you could say. Actually, I haven't seen them burn off the Pyramid since I moved here so it has been a few years (unless I missed it).

It was nice to have the excuse of an only just fallen asleep baby to so a bit of driving around. He had missed his sleep after all and no one likes a sleep deprived baby.

At the moment we are in the middle of the cane season so there are trains and harvesting everywhere. Not that I have seen much because I haven't been gallivanting around the countryside this year.

The sugar cane is a varying ages, some newly harvested, some not long planted, some regrowing and some still waiting its turn.

It won't be long until the heat of summer is here so it is nice to get the chance to enjoy the cooler weather while we can. Mind you as said in a discussion this morning with Mr Sparky about enjoying seasons "there aren't really seasons here just summer and hot summer" 😁. Not quite true but close enough, we have been having some cooler nights and mornings after all.

3 months on

How many times can you say that you can't believe that much time has passed before it sinks in?



Our cheeky little possum has been a part of our family for 3 months now, clicking over to 3 months old on the 6th of July.


It seems like such a milestone but we started the day as normal, and the rest of the day went per "normal" to be honest. First was the pre sunrise feeding and hanging with Dad before he went to work. We then headed off on our morning walk.

It was a gorgeous and relaxing start to the day, we love getting outdoors.

Liam is always set up with his toys which he plays with more and more. He usually checks out the sky and anything else he can see before dozing off.

I, of cause, am always set up with my camera, which Liam likes to use as a foot rest.

 

It is good to get out and about, checking out the area we now live.

I can't really believe he is that old already, that he has been in our lives that long already.
I feel like our baby is growing at a rate of knots and that if I blink he won't be a baby any more.
We have so much love for this tiny human in our lives and so much amazement watching him grown and learn.

 I feel like things are certainly easier and the newborn days are definitely gone. I miss those first weeks already but I certainly enjoy getting sleep now. I know we will have many more challenging times of teething, sickness, tantrums and who knows what else ahead but this certainly seems like we've made it through the hard slog, for now anyway. I guess it is getting sleep that gives me that opinion but he really is a mostly chilled little man or maybe I am just very good at forgetting the screaming and unsettled times. I'm just going to enjoy this rhythm we seem to have fallen in to. Mind you the other day I had one of those 'I wish I was at work' moments. I'm really not sure what to do with myself.

Our little cockatoo has certainly found his voice, being just as noisy as the birds that his hairstyle mimics. He is just on the edge of giggling, I know one day it will just start. He startles easily these days, any strange or loud sound sees his bottom lip drop and body tense up. Raspberries and making noises and bubbles in all that dribble is the way to communicate these days. We certainly know who is boss in our house at the moment. In saying that though, he still goes with the flow.

These days Liam gets a little excited when Daddy gets home and is usually happy to see him, with smiles to share. He also gets excited when we say bath and when he gets completely undressed. Bath time is always fun and there is a lot more splashing these days and just enjoying the feel and noise of the water. He also loves our morning walks, well I assume he does. He is very relaxed during them and has a little nap. 

These days the hanging toys are a lot of fun and are whacked, grabbed and pulled into his mouth. His hands and fists are another endless source of entertainment and comfort. He is often seen sucking on various fingers and his thumb or trying to shove the whole fist in his mouth. He is certainly gaining more control over his hands, grabbing things that are near him and most recently trying to bring them to his mouth. Tummy time is also more interesting, his little head sitting up high, looking around and doing occasional rolls over when he feels like it. He still loves that knitted clown he was given and these days loves the little, brightly coloured koala that is usually hanging in his pram. Feet are also apparently a fascinating thing and when he realised they were covered up in his suit the other night he spent ages staring at them, I swear trying to work out where they had gone.

I can see him changing, growing and learning all the time. He is such a copy cat and such a personality.

Not only has Liam been on his first flight he has now been on his first camping trip. I feel this kid will certainly have seen a lot when he has finished his first year. I can't wait to experience more with him and share his amazement at this whole shiny, new world  ... and to blow more raspberries on all that chubbiness.

It's a Waiting Game

Waiting ...

Yep, that is what I've been doing ... waiting.

Waiting for a baby to arrive.

Waiting for a cyclone that headed south.

Still waiting for a baby.

Waiting for a house to settle.

And STILL waiting for a baby.

Waiting for my Grandfather's funeral date.

 

and STILL WAITING for a baby.

Waiting for the seemingly never ending things to finish being found and moved.

and STILL waiting on that baby.

Waiting for doctors and monitoring.

and we are STILL WAITING BABY!

Okay, so I should give this baby some leeway, it was only due today after all. It seems that our little April Fool might not end up being born on April Fools day after all, but then there is still time yet.

In follow up from our other exciting house buying news, it settled on Tuesday and we pretty much entirely moved on Wednesday. We even somehow ended up with beds set up and made to sleep in at the new place. It is soooo nice and soooo much more space. Not to mention that at least now the boxes of stuff are spread out and slowly reducing rather than feeling like they were a fortress being built around us. Now to finish up and to clean our little rental for whoever makes it home next, it was a good home too. I am still holding out hope that by some miracle that they cleaning fairies will come and finish the job for us. Now you would think if anything could bring on a baby it would be moving house and plenty of cleaning but not this baby.

 

We watched and waited as Tropical Cyclone Debbie headed for the coast. Firstly they thought she would come somewhere up here and then they thought she would head to Townsville, where my sister lives, but TC Debbie had other ideas and ended up playing dot to dot with locations around the Whitsundays and further inland. I am so glad that in the end, despite the damage done, everyone fared okay. It is also good to hear of places getting rain that needed it. Now the wet weather created by her has been playing havoc as the rain heads south. Stay safe people. stay safe.

In sad news, we've been waiting for my Grandfather to die. It doesn't sound very nice put that way but he had gotten very ill a few weeks ago and we knew it was coming, it was just when. Nobody wanted him to go but reality bites sometimes. Unfortunately the world lost another wonderful, kind, thoughtful gentleman this week. It was sad to loose him but we are glad he isn't suffering and that he seemed to go on his own terms. What a life he has lived and what a lot he has seen in his 92 years.

I had a doctors appointment, obstetrician, at the hospital on Thursday this week. We had been hoping that I wouldn't have to attend. Anyway it was thrill waiting on the horrid chairs and a totally uninformative appointment other than that they are happy for me to wait for bub to arrive when it is ready (hang on, I don't want to wait). The best part was that bub thought it would up the ante and put on a show. When the doctor was listening in for its heart beat, the rhythm was a lot too fast for their liking so I got some quality heart beat listening time while they monitored bub. Turns out it was just being active, sneaky little thing. It was a good thing I had company this week, Mum is up waiting with me. I have another appointment on this coming Tuesday, lets cross our fingers I don't need it.

So now I am going back to waiting ... and unpacking.

What are you up to?

Photos thanks to a beach walk at Yorkeys Knob with Mum, on the 28th, the same day that Cyclone Debbie crossed the coast.