Frog boy No More

Good news today, as Logan went in for his "near to" 6 month x-ray on his hips to check how they had formed, as that is the only way to tell properly.

We were pretty sure everything was OK with him but good to get it confirmed :)

And afterall he has been a crazy flipping jiggy baby showing no signs of problems....

Counting my press-ups......99, 100!

When the Mum came to town

After wanting to come over to see Logan (and maybe us a bit too) for the last few months, Mum booked a last minute flight over here for a quick 10 day visit.

Great to see her and introduce Logan to more of the family.

As she came over for a "working visit" we mostly did some things in and around the house.

Playing on the change table


And even though the weather was cooler and wetter than when Mum and David have usually been here we did get out for some good walks along the coast, including a visit to our favourite cafe Yelo.

Sporting my new Olympic 2012 cap in Yelo

And being the "wetter" part of the year we took a trip up into the hills to John Forest National Park (any of this sound familiar Louise!?) and there was actually some water in the waterfall and a lovely 23 degrees day, which made the walk through the old train tunnel a pleasant cooling experience.

 

 

 

And of course more photos on Picasa!



The 7 kg beastie

Logan went for a check-up on his reflux the other day and got weighed and measured. So has chunked and stretched well to weigh 7kg (approx 15lbs) and 64cm, so growing well!

Video update

Figured out that I can link my YouTube video channel to the blog, which hopefully gives you all an easier way to find and view them.

So take a look at the side bar showing some vids you might have seen and some not...

Including this new one with Logan in his "bumbo" chair, practising sitting up.

Logan Looking Cool

Now we're getting some more warm and definitely sunnier days we have to start looking after "the boy" from a sun protection point of view and if he's like his Dad, then he won't like being blinded by the sun. So "momma" got him some practical and cool looking sunnies!

with neoprene strap to keep them on

Who is the coolest?

Training my vine has paid off

I've spent all year training this vine to grow along the wooden post that goes across the back gate. Partially to hide the old scabby looking post and because I can, as it has really taken off and grown very well this year.

Then as we officially hit spring last weekend, it must have known and decided to flower, looking very impressive. So I gave a special photo assignment to my in-house daytime photographer to catch it in the daylight, as the sun is still setting by the time I'm getting home at the moment and I think you'll agree she did a good job!

Overall view

Plenty of flowers

The obligatory close-up shot

I hate rats

Especially when they die and decompose in our loft!

Especially when they usually end up right above our bedroom and stink - real bad!

Especially when getting into the loft space above our bedroom, consists of crawling through a 20ft long space about 12 inches high - to bag the little buggers!

Especially when most of the fibre glass up there is already stinking and covered in rat #%$#$^&*

Thankfully this time it wasn't the height of summer which is about 50 degrees up there.

And we haven't actually heard any rats for months, so hopefully this will be the last time ?!?!

Did I mention I hate rats....

Perth City to Surf 2012

Last weekend was the city to surf race which I decided to take part in this year, as work was sponsoring it and there would be a few people taking part and all for charity of course.

I thought I would go for the 12km run to give myself a bit of a challenge and force me to get back into running again as had been a few years since I had run more than 4 or 5km.

Then work also said they would sponsor partners get involved so Janice said she would do the 4km walk with Logan in the pram, which is a popular option too! And not really a challenge as she probably does that several times a week as her exercise.

My training was a few days a week increasing the distance slowly which helped as from work to home is approx 6km, so could start there and add on a detour around the park or one of the local lakes to increase it without making an extra effort to go out again once I got home.

I was looking at under 65 mins for the distance by the time the race day came, although had heard that there were a few tough hills so wasn't sure how I would go on the day. So very pleased with my final result of 59.04..... especially as I secretly wanted to beat an hour!

My race result

So a BIG THANKS for all of you who sponsored me and I have raised $265, all going to Princess Margeret Hospital which is the main kids hospital here in Perth. And if anyone hasn't sponsored me a still wants to I think you can do so for up to a month or so after the race: http://fundraisingcitytosurf.com.au/phil_duffy

Janice said the toughest part of her walk was dodging the parents and small kids, but it was a fun experience and not something you get to be involved with very often :)

And she tells me that as it was "so easy for you and your chicken legs", then next year I can do the half marathon.... we shall see?!

Fastest visa application ever

My Australian residency renewal is due in approx a month, as it has to be renewed every 5 years and I got it again while we were still in Canada last time. Can't go for citizenship yet as current rules state 4 years in the country with less than a year in between!

I found out you could do it online and wasn't sure if it would take a week or so to process, so started it around 11am Sunday. Then at about 4pm I get a confirmation that all is complete and here is the new visa number!!  And as its all electronic nowadays I don't need to wait for the paper thingy to stick in my passport, too easy :)

Shows what an automated system and a few hundred dollars can do when done properly....

Thanks Australia for putting up with me for a bit longer :)

Stroll around South Perth

A very mixed cloudy, rainy, sunny day today so we decided to take a stroll along the river in south Perth to get out and about, but not get too soaked if a big shower came along.

Easy to get to, just down the freeway and over the bridge so not a big drive which we didn't fancy as had a slow morning getting going. But had good fortune with the weather most of the walk.

Nice cloud formation growing out of your head

Then as it was turning a bit more unpleasant managed to duck into a cafe for some late lunch (for us and Logan), so everyone happy.

And of course, being his first outing since the brace has come off yesterday Janice was excited to dress him up like a little man again, now he will fit in clothes other than sleepers :)

Look at me in my "real" clothes