Australian Christmas Day

And so came Christmas Day! We went over to Shawn's parents for lunch. We started to open gifts and again Noah did well in tearing up the wrapping paper.
After opening all gifts, we sat down for a divine seafood lunch with prawns and crayfish, yummy!
After lunch everyone was pretty full so people kicked back and relaxed and Noah got to play with his new toys.

For dinner we were invited to our neighbours, a Swedish/ New Zealand couple. There we had a lovely Christmas dinner together with some South African and English friends over theirs.
Looking back at this day I'm thinking of how multicultural Australia actually is...I reckon that's fabulous!

Below are some pictures from Christmas day lunch:

Swedish Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve turned out to a very relaxed event at home, just the three of us.
We spent the morning quietly at home and the afternoon watching "Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul" on DVD. Here I'm assuming a big ? from all non-Swedish friends and family so here comes a little explanation;
In English, the show is called From All of Us to All of You. It is an animated television Christmas special, produced by Walt Disney Productions. It is broadcast on Swedish Television at 3 PM every Christmas Eve, in connection to the all-day traditional holiday programme during the day. The show has been broadcast every year since 1959 and has become a holiday classic. Ratings show that around 50% of all Swedes watch it on Christmas Eve!
So at 3 PM we sat down and watched our DVD version of the show and Shawn and I enjoyed a cup of glögg (heated red wine with spices such as cinnamon, cardamon and cloves- a very popular drink in Sweden during the Christmas season).
Later we had dinner and enjoyed some traditional food and drinks. Noah tried most of it and ate gladly with big appetite.
After dinner Noah got to open his gifts and even though he didn't understand the purpose of it all, he quickly picked up that ripping paper is f u n!
Below are some pics from the Christmas Eve:

December Happenings... & Pirates

1: Noah attended Melville Cricket Club's Christmas party on Saturday night, sleeping nicely in his pram. Suddenly he woke up at 10.30 PM with the greatest smile so he got to come out and play in his PJ, and ended up charming the ladies at the club with his clapping games.2: We have picked our first homegrown cherry tomato- beautiful flavour!3: Last night the tree got its place in the house. Whilst Noah was sleeping we put on some Christmas carols and drank glögg while decorating, a really cosy evening.4: Today I came home from the park with a little pirate instead of our Noah.... This is how you look like if you eat black sand:

'On and Off'

Noah is more curious than ever. It is so much fun watching him develop into an independent little boy. Even though I knew this before, I'm still blown away that he can learn things by only watching us do something once. It gives me this warm fuzzy feeling inside, being his mum, of course, I feel very proud. I'm amazed that he actually copies what we do, you can really see the thinking process that goes on before he gives it a try, makes me laugh out loud sometimes.

When we sing "Klappa Händerna" ("If you're happy & you know it") to Noah, he is very quick to put his hands together and clap along to the song. Clapping is a regular thing during the day, for example in the morning when I come into his room to pick him up. He then points at me, smiles and claps his hands. Also, if I serve a meal that he finds especially tasty, he laughs and claps his hands like he wants to say "well done mummy!".
Another newly learnt skill is to wave hello to you. And when we praise him after, he gets really proud and... claps his hands!

Since a few weeks back Noah knows how to turn on and off the TV. Sometimes the urge to press the button is too much to handle, even when the favorite DVD is playing. I tried to upload a video of it but for some reason it's not working, so instead I'm uploading a variety of pictures from the last few weeks.

The First Steps...

Every Tuesday the three of us go swimming at Melville Aquatic Centre, which is south of the river and very close to where Shawn works. We play in the kids pool and later go for lunch together. It's a really nice afternoon and it has become my, and I'm sure also Noah's favorite day of the week. We get to spend some quality time as a family and Noah just loves the pool so it's always lots of fun on Tuesdays.

Yesterday when we were in the pool, unexpectedly Noah started to walk by himself! The water was up to his waistline and suddenly he decided he didn't need to hold on to me and started to walk towards Shawn!
At home, he has been walking along the furniture for a long time as well as walking just holding on to our hands so we have been expecting the first steps any time, however not in the pool :-). And he did really well, took about four steps in one go, and was of course really proud, and laughed out loud. For the rest of the time in the pool, he wanted to walk everywhere as well as do one of the latest tricks; jump into the pool from the edge! Lets see if we can catch it on camera one day...

Happy Namnsdag Noah!

This is a European tradition—very popular in the Nordic countries. It works like this: You have a name. Your name has a day. On your name’s day, you celebrate!
In Sweden, many day planners or calendars include “namnsdagar,” along with the usual holidays. I remember that when I lived in Sweden, our family always raised the flag on name days and you would usually get a little trivial gift.
So today it is Noah's namnsdag, and also his first one! Shawn and I celebrated the little man by taking him to an Aquatic Centre. He loves going into the pool so what a great treat!

You can look up your name—or at least a Swedish approximation of it—online. This will require working through a little svenska, but I'm sure you’re up to it. Try www.dagensnamnsdag.nu.

It begins early...

At Sharin's 30th birthday party on Sunday, Noah made sure he charmed women of all ages.

Below; Noah receives a kiss from Ava, almost 2, as well as a hug from Jo-Ann, almost not 30 ;-). With my arms free I managed to get a cuddle with the young and very cute Master Linus Wilhelmsson.

The sun is out, lets play!

Sadly, tomorrow Noah's mormor & morfar are leaving to go back home to Sweden. They have been here with us for 8 weeks & it's been great to have them around. The last few days we have had lovely weather and we've been relaxing in some of Perth's most beautiful parks.

Green fingers

The last few days mum & dad have helped us to freshen up our garden. I'm not even sure if our backyard was worthy the name garden before, since it was nothing more than tiles and a strip of poor soil next to the fence. It's quite difficult to do something nice out of this area since we live in a rental property and are not allowed to do anything to it. But with a few pots and seedlings we have now transformed the dull entertaining area to a mini herb garden accompanied by some flowers. Hopefully with some love and a few drops of water, we'll soon be able to reap the benefits and pick our own organic lettuce, tomatoes and herbs!
Noah has also shown interest in the garden, mostly because of his swing where he today took a little nana nap :-).

A relaxing day

Every Friday we go to baby swim so this morning we went for a lesson in the pool. After we met up with Shawn and had lunch together. The arvo's been spent at home with toys and watching a bit of 'Bamse' on TV. Whilst playing together I tried to get a shot of the two pearly white, as requested by a couple of you, and after several attempts I succeeded:-).

Lots of fun

The last two weeks have been filled with lots of fun! Having overseas visitors in Perth entails going to Caversham Wildlife Park and Aqua Aquarium. Noah was very intrigued by all these animals and his favorites must have been the sheep at the wildlife park and stingrays at the aquarium.

This is not a cat...

What sound does this animal make...?

Last week Noah received what has become a much appreciated gift from mormor & morfar; a swing that now hangs in the garden and is used everyyyy day.

The first time in the new swing......what can be better than your own?

In November Perth hosts the Red Bull Air Race, where the exhilarating racing takes place over the magnificent Swan River. Spectators view the race from around the banks of river, so this is where we headed last Saturday. The Wilhelmsson family joined us and together we had a sunny day with great entertainment and jaw dropping stunts from the pilots.

Moa, David, Ava & Linus

Spectacular

Future hairdresser?

A True Dégustation

For my 30th birthday I received an amazing gift from some beloved friends; an afternoons relaxation at Blush Spa, having professional hair styling and makeup done. Niiiice.

But not only that- in the early evening the pampering continued with taxi to Amusé, a one year old restaurant, awarded "Best new restaurant" after being open for only six months! The menu, that changes every month is a nine course dégustation with matching wines.

The chef Hadleigh Troy has served at some of Australia's best restaurants and a few Michelin starred spots in London, as well as cooked with legendary chefs like Philippe Mouchel and Bjorn Van der Horst.

THIS is what our dear friends had arranged for Shawn and I to enjoy to celebrate my birthday! What a treat for new parents, a night out with fine dining, only the two of us. We had a fantastic experience and are soooo grateful for this wonderful night :-).

At home sharing a bottle Moët et Chandon before heading to Amusé

When there is no time for blogging, the pics will have to speak for themselves

Shawn & I with my parents at Cream restaurant

Mum & Dad at Cream celebrating my 30th birthday

Keeping happy in the swing at Lake Monger

At Singapore Chinatown restaurant

Taking a bath in the laundry

This is as much fun it is in a ballpit!

Janice and Sharin's Wedding