This weekend we went to the local park to get a photo of Lucas for his 'First Year' album.

We wanted to get some photos of him on the swing.



But we also managed to snap a couple with Aiden...

Aiden has started playing soccer (not real soccer, but they do get to kick a ball).

He is very proud that he has real soccer shirts and shorts.



We started taking him to assist him with his development. We are starting to see some progress but he is still a bit behind his age group.

Aiden and I often sit and build Lego together (Sometimes Lucas also joins us, but he is better at taking it apart).

One day we build this Lego turtle worthy of a photo...Aiden had great fun pushing it along the ground.

Kim likes baking too and these days she will ask Aiden to help her.

Her cakes usually looks much better than any of my efforts.

A couple of weeks ago I tried to bake Ciabata bread.

It is a long process that takes about 24 hours (first you have to make this yeast and flour sponge which you then later use for the end result).

I substituted normal flour for wholemeal. This was the end result.



The taste was ok, but it was too dry for my liking...so will have to try again one day.

Light bulbs are really rare now as you can't buy them in the shops any longer.

We still have one in the cupboard so I decided to have a bit of fun with it one evening...

Vivid Sydney was on again this year and in my opinion better than the previous years.

Because of the kids it was hard to find the time to explore, but I did manage to head in there one evening to get some photos from the classic angles.

Lucas is now 9 month old and the other day we went to the park to do some Autumn photos with him.

The photo of the day was definitely this one of Kim and Lucas having a moment together.



It was hard because he wanted to crawl around and play and because it was the middle of the day the light was pretty harsh.



We also tried to take some at one of the small bridges in the park but they were shooting a commercial shoot there and Lucas was more interested in trying to get into the water than posing.



And when we tried a family photo he didn't want to sit still.

For Lucas 8 month photo we decided to do a profile photo of the four of us just like we had with Aiden.



A bit more difficult this time because there we two kids and getting them to look in the right direction and keep the right face expression.

Last week it was Aidens 3rd Birthday.

We celebrated it by singing happy birthday and having cake.



For his birthday he got a new car as well as some new shoes.

Aiden is now in Year 1 at school. This photo is from his first day back at school.

Aiden lost his front teeth.

I just completed this photo of the boys about to be eaten by a leopard in the dark jungle.



At the airport in Victoria Falls they had these awesome stuffed animals that I though could be fun for some composite work.

Trying to get the boys to act scared rather than just being silly was a different matter.

Here are some more photos of the animals.

Traveling with the two boys can sometimes be a bit of a challenge, but this time it actually went very will. They behaved well on the flights watching movies, playing, drawing and looking out the windows.











They were even lucky enough to be invited into the cockpit while at the terminal and were allowed to press the big red button on the flight stick (transfers the flight control).



During the trip the boys were sleeping in the same bed (and sometimes in the same room as us), and they were usually so tired after a days of activities that they would sleep rather than muck around.





The accommodation was a combination hotels, lodges, cottages and apartment. (useful to have two toilets sometimes).



They also loved seeing large beetles and grasshoppers - but refused to touch them.





Some of their highlights were the unusual playgrounds they got to play in and the large lollipops at the airport.





And some of my highlights were the local toys such as the cars/tractors made from wires and the homemade slingshots.

The West Coast National Park north of Cape Town is something special. During the spring all the South Africans go there to see the spring flowers, but it is equally beautiful other times of the year with its remote beaches and azure blue water inside the lagoon.





It was a beautiful spot to have Kim do a bit of modelling.





The boys absolutely loved playing in the water.









Even though it is a long drive (on easy roads) there were some interesting creatures along the way.



Such as Eland



And lots of Ostrich.



And lots of scenit spots in the small villages along the Atlantic coast.

Cape town is a nice place and fairly small by Sydney standards. Although very modern it still has an African feel to it.







It is possible to walk through the city and get a pretty good overview of most things in a single day.



In the centre of the city is the Company Gardens which is where the Dutch East India Company used to grow supplies for their ships. This is now a big park full surrounded by old buildings, souvenir stalls and full of squirrels.












On the squares there are people entertaining with dance, music and entertainers everywhere.









At the waterfront it is full a bustling environment of museums and restaurants.

Hout Bay is just south of Cape Town - Besides from being a nice little fishing village it is also famous for its boat tours out to Seal Island. This is an island with a large colony of predominantly male seals.



From the harbour it is a short 45 minute round trip out to see the seals.



Back at the harbour there was one of the locals who had managed to train one of the wild seals to come and get food from him. It would jump out of the water and grab the food from his hand or from his mouth.





It was also tame enough for the boys to touch.

We spent a day driving out through the wine lands around Cape Town, namely Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.



As everywhere else it is a beautiful area surrounded by mountain ranges.



Kim had been recommended a nice restaurant in Franschhoek, but when we got there it was fully booked (or invitation only - not sure), so we ended up at an equally nice french restaurant down the road.





The vineyards there are massive compared to Australia - they are proper estates on massive lands.





One of the estates had this nice McLaran parked outside.



We didn't do much tasting though - the way they do it (you order a sit down wine tasting or a wine package for a fee) didn't really fit with me driving and traveling with kids.

The Boys were as usual more interested in playing.

One morning we went to the Cheetah Outreach centre outside Cape Town.

Here they train dogs to keep wild cats away from cattle and sheep so that these don't get eaten. The idea is that if the farmers keep dogs to keep their animals safe then they don't have to set traps to kill the wild cats. Interesting idea, but I would think that it would take a lot of dogs, and the farmers would probably still shoot or trap the wild cats anyhow.

The centre also keeps some cheetahs that visitors are allowed to pat (for a fee).

The Cape Peninsula is a beautiful area with nice views and little isolated beaches where ever you look. We spent a whole day exploring along the coast...breathtaking.

This Sunday we went to Ethans 10yo Birthday at Maroubra. It also happens that Aiden was 10 Months a couple of days ago and it was a nice and overcast day, so good to take some monthly photos of him.




He is pretty happy to show off his new chompers (teeth)...he's got four now. He's been a bit sick for the last week with a cold. Probably something he picked up in daycare, but he is a lot happier now.



He now knows how to sit up straight, but he is still not able to crawl or get to/from sitting position, so the way he gets around is by rolling. He has learned to repeat one word from up and that is 'Dada'...but he still doesn't know the context or meaning of the word.

He is also a lot more reserved when it comes to other people...the general rule is that he likes me and grandad, but everyone else depends on the day...even mummy is sometimes given the cold shoulder (which Kim gets slightly upset about when it happens).

Last month we received our new bi-folding doors to the garden. The old doors were old aluminium sliding doors that didn't allow us to open up the dining room towards the garden properly, they only allowed us a metre of opening to walk through.



We really wanted to open up the outside and inside areas. The old door really wasn't ideal.


Before christmas we ordered new bi-folding doors that would allow us to open up the whole area (about three metres and would allow us easier and better access to the garden).

It took the two tradespeople the better part of a full day to remove the old door and install the new one.



The new door looks really good, it was delivered in raw cedar wood and yesterday I spent most of the following weekend sanding and varnishing it.



The new door comes with a sliding moscito net that allows us to open the whole area and still keep the little critters out. It is almost invisible to when we have the family over we will need to keep it open to prevent the kids from running through the net.

The trades people couldn't take the old door with them so I had to find a way to dispose of it. Eventually I put it on Gumtree (a free site similar to eBay) and said that whoever wanted the door could come and pick it up for free. Within a couple of hours I had a dozen interested people and a couple of days later hey came to pick it up.

Saturday Kim and I went with a couple of friends to the Lyrics Theatre to see the Doctor Zhivago the Musical. It is a large production that they hope eventually will make it to broadway.

If you would like to know the story then rent the movie of the same title...worth watching.


For those of you not familiar with the story behind the story: It is about the cultural revolution and civil war in russia during the years 1917-1921 (mainly). The book was written by a russian Boris Pasternak during and after the cultural revolution. It was smuggled out of Russia in the 1950's and the author was awarded the Nobels literature price much to the dismay of the russian government (the book is very critical of the revolution).




We did have tickets booked a couple of months ago, but when we turned up then they said that the lead actor (playing Zhivago) had an injury in the afternoon. They said that they would still show us the first 20-40 minutes of the performance as this was all that the understudy (replacement) was familiar with and then let us either rebook or get a refund. Very dissapointing, but not much we could do about it.


It was actually worth seeing the whole performance (and not just the beginning). The acting and singing was great (Kim was so-so about the actual songs, but I thought they were ok).The stage setup was very clever and added a lot of depth to the stage, it allowed them to show what was happening in several locations at the same time using the same stage.




We had left Aiden with his grandad for the evening and this time we decided to let him sleep there all night rather than wake him up really late to take him home.

Friday night Kim and I went to the Opera to watch "The barber of Seville". We had left Aiden with his grandad for the night hoping that either of them would be able to get some sleep (Aiden is a little chatterbox once he gets started).



The play is not one of the usual tragic Operas but more of a playful one with a more happy ending. During the play there is a lot of different things happening on different parts of the stage. Most of the play is taking place in a house and there are different things happening in different rooms of the house.

It was a good play but I think Kim and I agree that we prefer the more tragic operas although I think I have now seen all the major Operas.

Aiden is now nine months young. He is finally able to start sitting by himself without falling over (...too often). Another milestone reached and another opportunity to take some more photos of him.








He is still a happy and hungry little boy. He is such as daddy's boy and loves being carried around on my shoulder. Sometimes he cries when he sees me after I return from work in the afternoon because he is happy to see me.

We are hoping that he will be able to crawl around soon now that he is sitting...but could take a while.

There are several legends about how the animals were chosen for the Chinese zodiac. This is one of them. The Jade Emperor is the name of the Emperor of Heaven.

Long ago, in China, the Jade Emperor decided there should be a way of measuring time. On his birthday he told the animals that there was to be a swimming race. The first twelve animals across the fast flowing river would be the winners and they would each have a year of the zodiac named after them.

All the animals lined up along the river bank. The rat and the cat, who were good friends, were worried because they were poor swimmers. Being clever they asked the strong ox if he would carry them across the river.

'Of course' said the kind ox. 'Just climb on my back and I will take you across.'

The rat and the cat quickly jumped up and were very excited when the ox soon took the lead in the race. They had almost reached the other bank when the rat pushed the cat into the river leaving him to struggle in the water. Then just before the ox was about to win the race the rat leapt on his head and on to the bank to finish first.

'Well done,' said the Jade Emperor to the proud rat. 'The first year of the zodiac will be named after you.'

The poor ox had been tricked into second place and the second year of the zodiac was named after him. Shortly after the exhausted tiger clawed his way to the river bank to claim third place. Swimming across the river had been an enormous struggle for him against the strong currents. The Emperor was so delighted with his efforts that he named the third year after him.

Next to arrive was the rabbit, who hadn't swum across at all. He hopped across on some stepping stones and then found a floating log which carried him to the shore.

'I shall be very happy to call the fourth year after you,' the surprised Jade Emperor explained.

Just then a kind dragon swooped down to take fifth place.

'Why didn’t you win the race, as you can fly as well as swim?' the Jade Emperor asked.

'I was held up because some people and animals needed water to drink. I needed to make some rain,' the dragon explained. 'Then when I was nearly here I saw a poor little rabbit on a log in the water and I blew a puff of wind so that the log would float to the river bank.'

'Well that was very kind of you and now you are here you will have the fifth year of the zodiac named after you.' The next thing the Jade Emperor heard was the sound of the horse’s hooves. Just as he was thinking the horse would be the next animal to arrive, a sneaky snake wriggled out from around one of the horse’s hooves. The horse was so surprised that he jumped backwards giving the snake a chance to take the sixth place in the race. The poor horse had to be satisfied with seventh place.

Not long afterwards a raft arrived carrying the goat, the monkey and the rooster. They explained to the Emperor how they had shared the raft that the rooster had found. The goat and monkey had cleared weeds and pushed the raft to the shore. The Emperor was very pleased that the animals had worked together. He said the goat would be the eighth zodiac animal, the monkey the ninth and the rooster the tenth.

The next animal to finish was the dog.

'Why are you so late when you are one of the best swimmers?' asked the Jade Emperor.

'The water in the river was so clean that I had to have a bath on the way,' explained the dog.

His reward was to have the eleventh year named after him. Now there was one place left in the zodiac and the Emperor wondered when the last winner would come. He had nearly given up when he heard a grunt from the boar.

'You took a long time to cross the river,' said the Emperor to the boar.

'I was hungry and stopped to eat,' explained the boar. 'After the meal I felt so tired that I fell asleep.'

'You have still done well,' said the Jade Emperor. 'The last year of the zodiac will be named after you.'

As for the cat who had been pushed into the water by the rat, he finally crawled out of the water but was too late to have a year named after him. He felt very cross with the rat and since then cats have never been friends with rats.

From that day to this the Chinese Zodiac has followed this cycle of years named after these twelve animals.

The other day Kim and I went for a walk down to the local park with Aiden.

It was a good opportunity for us to give him a ride on one of the swings as they have some bucket seats that makes it impossible for him to fall out (he is still not able to quite sit by himself yet).

He absolutely loved the experience and wasn't scared at all (we will make a real boy out of him in no time).






He is now seven and a half months and is learning how to control his parents and he is starting to know what he wants and don't want...ie doesn't want to sleep if he is in a playful mood.

Over the weekend I had a play with creating a more interesting profile photo for my Facebook profile. The idea was to use photoshop to create something a bit out of the ordinary (and a bit spooky).

Anyway here it is...and you can either love it or hate it!




For those interested in the details...it is 3 composite photos (Face, left eye and mouth). I could have done it with two composites, but I wasn't happy with the mouth. It was originally shot on a red background but I desaturated the background and darkened it a bit because I though this looks better. It has also been ultra sharpened to add some effect.

This Tuesday Kim and I went to the Opera to see Madame butterfly with one on Kims friends. I have already seen Madame butterfly some years ago so this was a bit of a repeat for me.

It was the same stage setup as last time, most of the cast were the same as well, but despite that it was an really good experience. It is a good story despite the tragic ending...and yes the american sailor is both a dog and a coward.



Kim was sitting next to me crying for much of the performance...so sad!!!

When we arrived to New Caledonia we started to find a good place/party to celebrate New Years eve.

As far as we could tell it sounded like the hotel we were staying at was the place to be, but when we tried to book we were told that it was fully booked and that we were number twenty-six on the waiting list. Fortunately we received confirmation a couple of days later that we now had a confirmed booking at the party.

On new years eve we were greeted by musicians playing local music and girls putting a Lei around our necks. Kim and I was going to bring Aiden along to the party (fortunately there was other kids there as well).








Aiden wasn't sure what to think of the Lei...I think he would prefer not to have one as it tickled.



There was about 3-400 guests at the party and the food was absolutely fantastic. It was a buffet of 25-30 dishes of mainly seafood ranging from fresh oysters (still moving in their shell), lobster salads, sushi to fresh Sashimi cut straight from a massive tuna.

This was followed by entertainment from dancers and musicians.








After the entertainment the dance floor was open and pretty much everyone (including Kim and I) was dancing. Aiden got his first dance with mummy (all the other guest were laughing).


At midnight everyone celebrated the new year with a toast.

After midnight we headed up to our hotel room to see if there was any fireworks (there was a little so Aiden got to experience his first fireworks).