Zoes Seiten

Life in a bubble

2011-12-28T17:22:00.001+11:00

It's summer holidays and that means keeping the little ones busy during the day. That job will go to Oma when she arrives to help us out in what has become a bit of a January tradition. But for now it's playing in the yard with Joah or Baci from next door - or looking for some fun activities like trying to walk on water in a plastic bubble.

Teething issues

2011-12-06T20:42:00.001+11:00

After more than half a dozen false alarms it's now happening: Zoe has a wobbly tooth. And not only that, a new, big tooth is rearing its head, as close observers of the photo will notice. Finally! Zoe was feeling a bit left out among all the wobbly tooth owners in her class. Wonder what the tooth fairy will say.

Sculpture walk in the fog

2011-11-27T20:57:00.001+11:00

This year's sculpture walk was every bit as whacky, tacky and crowded as in previous years - but some unusually persistent fog added a special flavour. The big tap was not only zoe's favourite - a day later the Danish royals picked the spot for a rendezvous with paparazzi.

First day of Nippers

2011-10-16T09:59:00.001+11:00

Nippers, for the uninitiated, is Australia's way of introducing kids to the fun and perils of beach life. Generations of young Aussies, and their parents, have gone through the arduous Sunday-morning ritual of putting on funny swim caps, lying in the sand and sprinting to some little sticks in the ground. In between they learn a bunch of safety rules like the importance of swimming between the flags. But surely the highlight is the racing. Dunno where Zoe picked up this running style, but it was surprisingly effective.

Meet the official

2011-08-30T20:31:00.002+10:00

You may or may not believe it when you see me on this picture, but I have just been elected onto the students' council at school. I am now the official representative of my class and as such get to put in formal requests such as free ice-cream for lunch. Just kidding. But we do have very important meetings where I say what the youngest here at school think. Hope you like my glasses.

Jammin'

2011-08-15T19:56:00.001+10:00

Zoe's started playing violin and she's really getting into it. She's got lessons at school, which means she needs to practice regularly at home. Her newly discovered interest has brought Viv back to the guitar, so sometimes now, when we're really lucky, the two join forces for an afternoon jamming session.

Ice on the beach

2011-07-17T22:08:00.000+10:00

Only in Bondi: The other day we walked to the beach and to our amazement discovered an ice skating rink. Turned out it was part of the winter festival. Zoe saw the skaters and of course wanted a go. So a couple of days later we turned up in the afternoon, squeezed our feet into the tight boots and stormed onto the ice. Zoe quickly found out that skating is not quite as easy as it seems, and that the ice can give you a wet bum. She was glad there was a barrier or my hand to hang onto, but towards the end of the session she was feeling much more confident. And when we went a second time, at night, she even did a couple of skates on her own. We'll be back next year.

Happy Easter

2011-04-12T21:30:00.003+10:00

After successful first weeks of school, it's now Zoe's first-ever school holidays. On the last day of school, kindy and years 1 and 2 organised a hat parade. All the kids turned up in the morning with self-made Easter hats, which they then proudly paraded around. Marking the special occasion 'civilian' garb was permitted. It was a very colourful spectacle. During the Easter break Zoe will be staying mainly at home - Aussie Oma and Opa are coming over - but there's also the possibility of going to holiday care for some special activities and Zoe is booked in for China day...

Lazy Sunday sail

2011-03-10T17:54:00.000+11:00

Zoe’s first time out on the sailboat. She’s been pestering us all along and was pretty excited well ahaed of the Sunday tour. It definitely helped that her friend Ari came along in what turned into a fine family sailing afternoon. They spent a large part of the sail chatting at the bow, holding tightly to the railing. Zoe was a tad disappointed she didn’t get to jump off the boat for a swim, but as the pic shows it did get a bit cool in the afternoon. It’s autumn after all. But otherwise it was very exciting - and she never took off those binoculars

I want to ride my bicycle

2011-02-28T18:31:00.001+11:00

Zoe has a new bike, a ‘real’ one without trainer wheels, and she’s loving it. We started off doing rounds in the backyard and she got the hang of it very quickly. After half a dozen practices we decided it was time to head down to the playground - and that went well too. Taking the corners is still a bit tricky, as is breaking, but we’ll get there fast, no doubt.

First day of school

2011-02-01T16:38:00.002+11:00

Wow, today was Zoe first day at school. Officially kindy, mind you, but still at school, on regular 9am to 3pm hours and in a bona fide uniform. She was excited, proud and a bit anxious - kind of like the parents. In the morning she woke up early, jumped into our bed and hassled us to get up. Only to get the jitters shortly ahead of the big moment. In the end it went smoothly and she stepped into her classroom with a big grin on her face. It was a very hot day, and quite long hours for her (no more naps) so she was pretty pooped went we picked her up in the afternoon. But not too exhausted to conjure up another round of excitement when she heard that at home a real German ‘Schultuete’ filled to the brim with presents was waiting for her.

Go fish

2010-11-25T18:23:00.000+11:00

Zoe has turned 5! Already... This year's theme was fishing, inspired by our good friend Stephen's adventures around Sydney Harbour. Luckily the kids were more successful when they cast their rods... Boats were built and decorated, faces were painted and the race was on. It was chaotic and noisy and lots of fun. Like every year the day started off rainy, like every year we considered cancelling and like every year it turned out just fine, not least because of two big tarps, courtesy of Marci, and with the sun making a late appearance.

Too strong

2010-11-04T12:19:00.001+11:00

Elevated push-ups - where on earth did she get that from..?

A night at the circus

2010-10-26T16:56:00.000+11:00

The circus was in town, and we went, along with Soren and Manou. There were acrobats, magicians, horses and clowns. It was loud and colourful and very spectacular, lasting two and a half hours but no chance of the girls getting bored. Zoe's favourites were the contortionist and some of the acrobats, not least because of their colourful costumes. Ever since she's been practicing her gymnastics.

Ouch!

2010-10-15T22:22:00.001+11:00

A balancing act on the small wall in front of our house went terribly wrong: Zoe stepped on the wrong side of the mailbox, it opened, she lost her footing and fell on the jagged, rusty open end. Two big gashes were the result, of which one was so deep that Zoe got her first ride in an ambulance. Luckily the bleeding stopped fairly quickly but the deep wound did need to be cleaned out and stitched up. Zoe was really brave throughout the whole incident. Tears dried very quickly, in the hospital she waited patiently until it was her turn and was surprisingly calm when she was treated - with a little help from some laughing gas. Smiles were back the next day and she was soon proudly showing off her wound and telling the story of her rise in the ambulance.

Singapore slims

2010-09-04T23:54:00.000+10:00

On the way back to Australia, we stopped over in Singapore to visit our former neighbours Annie, Tommaso and Lucia, who now has a little brother, Giovanni. Zoe and Lucia hit it off straight away, even though they hadn’t seen each other for nearly a year. Still great friends. Actually they immediately disappeared in Lucia’s room and started the dress-up routine which was to continue over the next two days. This is after one of their bigger efforts. And the pool in the background was Zoe’s other big passion in Singapore. She spent many an hour in the water, and on the last day was even able to swim on her own from one end of the pool to the other.

Tour d'Europe

2010-09-02T23:58:00.000+10:00

Six weeks of holidays - hurray. The long flight to Europe was ok; Zoe slept half the time, the rest of us survived bleary-eyed and with cramped legs. And then we were in stinking hot Germany - 37 degrees and no respite in sight. The first week we spent either at the local swimming pool in Esslingen (where I had hung out on the odd summer day, years - ahm, decades - ago) or at the local hospital visiting poor Oma, who has turned into an unfortunate regular this year.

First an operation and then a broken leg, the latter a week before we arrived. She took it in her stride, so to speak, and Zoe did her best to provide some consolation. Next up was a tour of half Europe by car, visiting friends and family in Munich, Innsbruck, Bodensee, Geneva, Karlsruhe, Frankfurt, Brussels (me), Jena (Vivien and Zoe), Bad Neustadt and some other places in between. It sounds like a lot and it was. But it was great seeing everyone, watching Zoe interact with plenty of German kids, start forming whole sentences German and generally having a great time. And we did have nearly three weeks for that. Obviously, Zoe then needed a break from Mama and Papa who she sent to Paris for a long weekend, while she got to stay with Opa and Oma, who was finally back home, albeit on crutches. Good fun, especially Karsperle-Theater and Julius next door. A stopover in Erlangen, several days in Berlin with Tante Irina and a big apartment all to ourselves on the Main in Frankfurt - thanks to Andreas and Karla - and then it was already time to say goodbye to Europe. We’ll be back soon!

First horseride

2010-06-27T21:53:00.002+10:00

Girls and horses... At our long weekend in Wollombi Zoe had her first horseride and she loved it. The markets were on and some enterprising young girls had brought their ponies and were offering rides. Zoe took one look and immediately wanted a ride. Admittedly it wasn't a wild bronco but Zoe wasn't the least bit intimidated by sitting the high up and frowned on my offer of joining her in the saddle. I reckon many a horse ride will follow.

Bunk bed

2010-06-13T20:09:00.002+10:00

Ever since Zoe saw a bunk bed at her friend Emma's house she's been dreaming of getting her one of her own. Especially after she got to sleep in one a couple of months ago in a holiday house. So we finally gave in and I spent the better part of a Saturday putting together our newest bit of furniture and cursing Ikea. But Zoe was the happiest girl in the street when it was finally done. She loves it, for playing and sleeping, and is as proud as punch. Every visitor now has to come check out her new bunk bed. Have I mentioned I hate Ikea?

Rainy days

2010-05-26T22:39:00.005+10:00

It's been raining for days, which is good for Australia but bad for kids used to playing in the backyard or on the playground down the street. Luckily Zoe is pretty good at coming up with lots of new indoor games. But as a true surfer chick even she will get grumpy if there aren't any waves ...

Mein erster deutscher Satz

2010-05-14T20:32:00.000+10:00

Zoe tastet sich ganz langsam an die deutsche Sprache heran. Auch wenn sie fast alles versteht, weigert sie sich zumeist beharrlich auf deutsch zu antworten. Doch neulich ueberraschte sie mich mit einem fliessend vorgetragenen "was hast du gesagt?", nachdem ich irgendwas vor mich hin genuschelt hatte. Natuerlich war sie stolz wie Oskar.

Leave me alone, I'm busy

2010-04-25T11:39:00.000+10:00

These days it's a race to the phone, Zoe is so eager to answer. Actually, it's not even much of a race as she always gets there first. But she's not much of a talker on the phone, especially if she doesn't know who it is, or if it's Germany calling. She'll usually shout out a ''hello'', add a "good" and will then eagerly hand over the phone to mama or papa. However, she does like pretending she's having a long chat on the phone. And she loves playing with the iphone...

Welcome back

2010-04-12T22:27:00.000+10:00

Aww, shucks, how good is it to get a welcome like this after being overseas for two weeks. Plenty of excitement all around, and Zoe didn't budge from my side for two days.

Flyin high

2010-04-02T10:19:00.000+11:00

When she grows up, Zoe wants to be:
a) a make-up artist
b) a doctor
c) a cake baker

Constructing chaos

2010-03-25T23:40:00.003+11:00

There's a room at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney called ''Zoe's house" and kids can hone their building skills there, wearing a bright builder's vest and a yellow helmet. It's pretty cool.

First photo shoot

2010-03-25T23:35:00.003+11:00

Ok, let's turn things around. I'm sick of being constantly harrassed by a parent with a camera in their hands. Look this way, Zoe, stand over there, Zoe, smile, cheese, laugh. What a pain. Even though I do have to say I am quite photogenic... Anyway, Mama gave me her camera and now it was my turn to pester her. She was a decent enough model, doing mostly what I told her. But after a while I thought I'd do some other stuff and went on a rampage in my room. My favourites were - some of the pictures, postcards and photos taped to the wall. Stay tuned, I'm gonna do more of this.

Don't mess with me

2010-03-10T23:27:00.000+11:00

Love songs

2010-02-15T21:42:00.003+11:00

Zoe loves her music and she loves singing, usually very loudly. It can be Abba, it can be Bruder Jakob - or it can be a self-composed song. This is one of the current favourites:

Skalink-a-dink-a-dink, I love you,

I love you in the morning, and I love you at night

skalink-a-dink-a-dink, I love you.

Maybe she was thinking of little Sebastian (not baby Sebastian anymore...) when she came up with that. He's on the photo just behind her, and when she grows up Zoe wants to marry him. Or Phoenix. Or Garth.

Hunter heat

2010-02-02T18:52:00.000+11:00

Oma came for her annual trip to Sydney and we took her on a weekend trip to the Hunter Valley, where we stayed at cozy little B&B called Elfin Hill. Unfortunately we picked the hottest day of the year, with temperatures nudging 40 degrees. It was stifling, but luckily air-condition in the rooms was working and we had a pool with cool water.

Dreaming of mango ice cream

2010-01-10T21:07:00.000+11:00

This was on our camping trip to Meroo National Park, south of Ulladulla. Beautiful spot in the forest, next to the beach, pretty quiet. With dolphins playing in the waves right next to us. But it was hot, very hot. Even in the shade.

Happy 2010

2010-01-05T16:13:00.003+11:00

Happy new year to everyone out there! Come visit us this decade.
And guess who is likely to get glasses this year...

Rock the boat

2009-12-19T22:04:00.001+11:00

How many kids can you fit into an average sized laundry bucket? It looked very squishy, and it must have been very squishy but Zoe and Garth didn't seem to mind. The next time, however, both insisted on separate buckets.

Prima ballerina

2009-12-07T17:43:00.003+11:00

Big day - the ballet performance. It was to be the culmination of several weeks of practice, every Saturday morning from 8.45 to 9.30. And Zoe was all gung-ho. Even though I'm not sure if she was more excited about dancing or getting to wear a fancy dress and even a bit of make-up. Yep, we eventually gave in to some lipstick, after all the girls around her got glittered up. On stage Zoe was a great performer, remembering all her steps and moving in time with the music. She wasn't in awe of the crowd - which included Sian, Xavier, Lisi and Gav - and even found time to remind some of the smaller girls of their steps. She was just a bit stingy with her smiles...

Birthday surprise

2009-11-13T21:03:00.002+11:00

This year Zoe got a special surprise on her birthday: Opa. He came all the way from Germany to celebrate Zoe's birthday - and his own, which just happens to be on the same day. Merriness all around. Presents in the morning were followed by an excursion to Luna Park in the afternoon and then dinner and cake with Marci. Getting older fast... The big party was a day later and because it was such a roaring success last year Zoe wanted another jumping castle.

Culture shock

2009-11-08T22:35:00.000+11:00

This is Zoe's favourite writing and drawing book and as she likes her spelling it's just about full by now. No idea why she chose this specific word, apparently it was a complete coincidence. It's definitely still a coincidence which hand she chooses to guide the pen with, just as she switches between right and left to throw a ball.

Tassie tales

2009-10-24T22:58:00.000+11:00

We spent a week in beautiful Tasmania, where you get all kinds of weather from sun to snow, even on one day. You couldn't tell from the first picture, on Bruny Island, but Zoe had already been walking for nearly two hours, with another hour ahead, easily making it her longest hike ever. And there was even some altitude covered, from sea level to 400 metres and back down to 0. There were a couple of complaints, and we did need the occasional distraction ploy but considering she usually whinges if she is supposed to walk the two minutes to the corner store or to the beach, this was a major accomplishment. And boy was she proud afterwards. The next day we built the second snowman of the year, but who would have thought it would be in Australia. There was still a bit of snow on Mt Wellington and Zoe loved every gram she could get her hands on. Until she realised how cold the stuff is.

I can fly

2009-10-19T22:19:00.000+11:00

Tearing up the house with Olivia, down in Melbourne.

Flower power girl

2009-10-14T22:00:00.002+11:00

If you think brides are excited ahead of a wedding, imagine how a three-year old flower girl feels. Zoe was stoked when Lisi asked her, especially as she knew the role comes with a pretty dress and new shoes. So a large part of the pre-wedding excitement centred on what she would wear at the actual event, culminating in Lisi's promise to go shoe-hunting with her - "I love you Mama, but you're not allowed to come along". On the wedding day Zoe was remarkably calm, only showing a hint of tension just before she was supposed to lead the bride's procession through the garden to where Gav was waiting. But she quickly got over that, leading the parade all solemnly and proud. Afterwards of course came the inevitable question: Mama and Papa, when are you getting married? Ahhh...

Upside down

2009-09-30T23:00:00.001+10:00

Our friends Andy and Tina from Karlsruhe just visited us, together with their two kids Neil, 4, and Helen, 1. Neil and Zoe hit it off instantly, turning the house upside down several times a day. That they got on so well was kind of surprising, considering Zoe usually prefers to hang out with girls, apart from next door neighbour Garth, who is a bit of a younger brother to her as they’ve grown up together and she can usually boss around. And it was even more a surprise as Neil, without being rough, is a physical young boy, something that Zoe to date has not really appreciated about boys. Despite some language barriers, the two were frequently hanging out in some corner of the house, giggling or singing. And Zoe picked up playing board games from Neil, but luckily she isn’t quite as bad a loser.

Zoe is lovely

2009-09-20T22:57:00.000+10:00

Yeah, sometimes. Ok, mostly...

Cruise control

2009-08-26T22:03:00.001+10:00

These days Zoe cycles all the way to day care on her own, sometimes she hitches a ride in the kiddy seat on the back of my bike and very occasionally she has to walk. Needless to say, walking is not her favourite. Running to the playground is fine, jumping for ages on the trampoline too, but ask her to walk for more than 20 steps and she will whinge and whine so long you it ends up being much faster carrying her. Wonder why kids dislike walking so much. Sitting behind the steering wheel of a car on the other hand is big.

Gender bender

2009-08-26T21:58:00.000+10:00

You've all heard plenty about Zoe's pink princess infatuations and even though I can rant on about it, I have accepted it, hoping this is just a phase she's going through and that she will never wear pink beyond the age of 5. Or maybe 11. Anyway, colour is mostly a matter of taste and really only a small part of the bigger issue. What worries me more is how little girls are already being encouraged to live the stereotype. And I don't even want to start on about consumerism or pre-teen sexualisation of girls - I'll leave that for another time. No, it's really much simpler: Zoe, like most small girls and as opposed to most small boys, gets so much feedback for her looks, for being pretty, that it is starting to be important to her. She now regularly asks us if we think she is beautiful. As a three-year old...

Best day of the week

2009-08-08T11:20:00.000+10:00

Saturday has got to be the best day of the week, not only because Mama and Papa don't have to work and are at home, but espcially as it is ballet lesson day. That is something to get excited about as early as Wednesday, and before her first lesson several weeks ago Zoe was counting down the sleeps as if it were Christmas. There is one thing wrong with this picture, though, and it's not that it is slightly out of focus or even the funny head gear. No, Zoe is wearing a blue ballet dress, not pink. Once, and never since...

Sounds and silence

2009-07-29T16:14:00.000+10:00

It's not all ballet at home, Zoe can be a real little head-banger at times. She's loving her cardboard tin drum and will get the house crew in for a concert every now and again. Background music is more Lily Allen than Led Zeppelin or Wiggles these days, and definitely no Phil Collins. Can't wait til she moves on to the real drums... And then there are those rare moments of silence. No music, no running, no squeals, just peaceful cohabitation. Doesn't happen too often but as you can see we are working on it.

Video clip of the month

2009-07-06T14:12:00.004+10:00

A big current favourite is ''Papa Pinguin", a clip we by chance found somewhere between Biene Maja and Pipi Langstrumpf on YouTube - Papa Pingu Pingu Pinguin, Papa Pinguin hat Sehnsucht nach der Ferne, Papa Pingu Pingu Pinguin, Papa Pinguin greift immer nach den Sternen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKG08z85DtY Rocks the house... Ah well, it's a change from Eensy, weensy spider.

Zoom-zoom Zoe

2009-06-15T21:02:00.000+10:00

Who said Zoe's too scared to ride her bike? All it took was a bit of competition - Lucia wanting to ride Zoe's bike - and all of a sudden she was gung-ho about cycling. Now she zooms off to the playground and gives me a hard time catching up. This morning she told me she wants to ride her bike to day care, which is about half a km away. Before we know it she won't need those trainer wheels anymore.

Pretty funny

2009-06-12T20:49:00.003+10:00

Good to see Zoe is already developing a sense of humour. This morning she wanted to ask me if she was allowed to wear her new ballet shoes while eating breakfast, but what she said was "can I eat my new ballet shoes''. She immediately realised what she had said, we both had a good laugh, and then she added: "It's because they are pink.''

Uromis and some real snee

2009-04-27T15:15:00.003+10:00

Zoe went on a whirlwind trip to Europe, her second time over. It was a last-minute decision and lasted just two weeks, so here's a belated sorry to all who missed out on meeting up this time around, and the promise that we'll try to be back soon. The reason for the trip was that Zoe's Uromi (great-grandmother) from Memmingen is ill and Vivien and Zoe decided to jet over to cheer her up. But Vivien couldn't take off from work longer, and I had already booked all flights for my European trip (five days later, and one week longer), so there wasn't much of an alternative. Anyway, as short and stressful as it was, the trip was well worth the effort. First stop was Bad Neustadt, to visit Uromi and the Waschkes. Zoe and Viv stayed for five days and by the sounds of it, Zoe had a great time, bonding with all the relis. The minor detail that everyone around her spoke German but not all understood English didn't make her any less chatty, and she hit it off quickly with the two little boys from next door. So she was a bit sad when after five days she had to say goodbye and hop on the train. But the next stop wasn't all bad either, as she got to hang out with Oma and Opa in Bernau (Bavaria), where she finally saw what she had been yearning for for weeks: some real live snow (or snee, as she germanized it). Lot's of fun there, especially as Mama took off for a couple of days to meet Papa in Italy, and Oma and Opa got to spoil Zoe, taking her on plenty of adventures in the hood. Upon our return from Italy, I took Viv and Zoe to Innsbruck where she spent another couple of days with her other Uromi (and got spoilt some more). Afterwards it was back to Bernau for a last romp in the snow and some real Bavarian Schweinshaxn before we headed to Munich and the end of the trip. "I like Germany," Zoe said. (More pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/Myjens/LetSGoEurope#)

Z-spotting

2009-03-29T13:59:00.001+11:00

Zoe is getting into her letters big time. Whenever she sees a 'z' she will entusiastically shout, "Look, like in Zoe!" She can spell her name on the computer and knows a number of other letters too. Part of that is thanks to the little letter toy on our fridge which she uses every day and which livelies up the kitchen with an encouraging if somewhat monotonous teacher's voice saying "b, say buh" or the like. And no, she still doesn't need glasses.

Rats, it's nits

2009-03-25T16:52:00.000+11:00

It started with a little itch. First on one side of the head, then on the other, and by the time Zoe was frantically scratching all over we figured she had picked up nits, which were doing the rounds at day care. And sure enough, a quick examination revealed the little black buggers were not only feasting on her scalp but busily laying eggs too. Luckily there are plenty of fairly effective and supposedly mild lotions on the market, so a good scrub and half an hour conditioner hothouse under that wonderful green shower cup scared the nits away - but not before some of them managed to jump onto Vivien's head...

Two wheels good, four wheels better

2009-02-18T21:51:00.000+11:00

...or so we thought. Zoe was ultra-keen on getting a little bike after she saw her friend Angel whizzing around on one. And when we took her to a bike shop and she found this little pink number with a basket at the front, there was no way we were going to get her out of the place without the bike. So it turned into a belated Christmas present, suckers that we are. Initially it was all good, Zoe enjoyed taking the bike for a spin around the backyard. It was only when we decided to hit the big sidewalk that she baulked. Too fast, too wobbly, too many dogs too close - whatever it was she did not enjoy the ride. So it's back to the backyard for now. But Zoe does think Papa's new scooter is pretty cool...

I want glasses

2009-02-14T22:03:00.000+11:00

Zoe has been obsessed with glasses for a while and thinks it's hugely unfair that both Viv and I get to wear them every day while she gets told she'll have to wait another couple of years. When Vivien got herself a new pair the other day, Zoe thought it was time to join in the fun. So Viv gave her an old pair without lenses that she now proudly wears around the house. She reckons they make her look like Germany Oma...

Who would have thought

2009-01-28T23:01:00.001+11:00

As a parent, you constantly catch yourself saying: whoever would have thought I'd be doing such and such. The latest to make the list was our holiday in a campervan. Yep, that's right, we rented a sleek, 25-year old Toyota campervan in Cairns and took it on a one-week trip to and through the Atherton Tablelands, the hinterland of Cairns. Needless to say, Zoe loved it. Not only did she get to sleep in the upper bunk but when we were driving she was allowed to sit up front between Mama and Papa. Like a big girl, or even a grown-up. The first night we spent at Palm Cove, a beautiful beach just north of Cairns. Unfortunately, like just about everywhere at this time of the year in the region, we weren't allowed to go into the water because of the stingers. And it was hot and humid, in fact so humid that sleeping in that van was nearly impossible (except for Zoe). The next nights up in the tablelands were much more bearable, as it's a lot cooler up there at night. We headed to Aussie Oma and Opa's place near Ravenshoe, a 45-acre property in the middle of the rainforest at about 1000 metres altitude, and were very impressed by how beautiful and lush it is. Myriads of different plants, and of course plenty of kangaroos, even though this particular one was in a national park on the way. More pics from the trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/Myjens/AthertonTablelands

Laufender Meter

2009-01-20T00:13:00.000+11:00

Sometime early January Zoe passed the threshold of one metre, or actually: shot over it - mid-December she stood 98 centimetres tall next to her measuring giraffe, four weeks later she had added 4 cm. Not accidentally she has also been eating up a storm since Christmas, and you can tell when you try carrying her.

Germany Oma

2009-01-15T17:03:00.000+11:00

Oma Birgit came for a visit and the two of them got to hang out heaps. It was good fun but we did have one semantic problem - what do we call the grannies? Oma is definitely the flavour de jour, which is fine with everyone involved, the only thing is Zoe has two wonderful Omas, who she both got to see just days apart. So how to tell them apart? Hmm. Vivien suggested the classic Australian Nan and Pop for her parents, but somehow that didn't go down too well with anyone. Zoe just ended up just calling both Oma, without considering it any kind of issue. And these days if she needs to differentiate she just says Aussie Oma or Germany Oma. So easy.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-29T15:29:00.004+11:00

(Background music courtesy of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid - Zoe has been crazy about Mamma Mia ever since our trip to San Francisco...)

Backyard Santa

2008-12-22T15:51:00.001+11:00

Santa was in town and dropped by in Frederick Street. There were many shrieks and gasps when he walked down the laneway to our backyard just when we were having a big Christmas garden party with neighbours and friends. Zoe, like most of her friends, was actually a bit scared of the big man with the long white beard and it was only when she noticed a striking resemblence to her Papa in his bearing and his voice that she relaxed a bit. And it definitely helped that Santa had brought lots of presents with him - even though most kids were still a bit apprehensive when they went up to collect their present. But they all promised to be double as good next year so they could get twice as many presents... Merry Christmas!

The lion

2008-12-15T15:38:00.000+11:00

There's a lion lurking in our house and the only way to get rid of the beast is to scare it away. Luckily this lion is particularly scared of brushed teeth, so Zoe for the first time actually wants to brush them as often as possible. She will race to the bathroom, shut the door, vigorously brush her teeth and then storm out to kick the cowed lion in its rear out of the front door I will have opened just in time. It usually takes about five good kicks to shoo the lion out.

Oh dear

2008-12-09T22:20:00.000+11:00

Often when something doesn't quite go Zoe's way, when she fears she's lost a toy, hears she has to go to bed even though there's still so much to do, finds out her favourite pink dress is in the wash, she will look at you out of big, disappointed eyes and mutter a deeply heartfelt "oh dear". How not to give in to that..?

Baby blues

2008-12-01T23:40:00.000+11:00

Have I mentioned Zoe's baby craze before? She absolutely adores babies, can oggle the little ones for ages, carresses their soft heads, fusses over them. And so of course treating her dolls like babies is a favourite game. "Do you want to have a baby, Zoe?" "Nooo, I'm only 3, I'm too little." Silly, question, Papa. "When do you want to have a baby?" "When I'm 5!"

Three and a crowd

2008-11-20T23:22:00.000+11:00

Zoe is three, and boy did she love celebrating that. The excitement started weeks before, as did the Happy Birthday singing, but the festivities really kicked off on her actual birthday, with presents in the morning, a party at Sandy school and more presents and cake in the evening. Next day there was another party at Iluka day care, but the real big thing had to wait till the following Saturday, when Zoe and Lucia celebrated together in our back yard. About 25 kids and at least as many adults came, and it was great fun. We had a jumping castle, there were sweets galore, sausages sizzled, kids tore the place apart and by 2 in the afternoon even the two birthday girls were ready to call it a day - as were we.
http://picasaweb.google.de/Myjens/ZoeZumDritten

Yo! I can dance

2008-11-16T22:54:00.002+11:00

This is in front of the local youth club in Bondi where Mowgli and his posse of local hip-hoppers hang out, and while Zoe is actually more of a little ballerina she doesn't mind blending styles occasionally.

Art is fun

2008-11-06T23:10:00.000+11:00

Every year in October the ocean walk between Bondi and Tamarama Beach turns into a massive open-air sculpture park. It is a usually a hodgepodge of art, from truly inspired to cooky to bland, but is always worth a visit, if only for the spectacular backdrop. This year was Zoe's second Sculpture by the Sea stroll and she thoroughly enjoyed herself as she - and numerous other kids - had a rather tactile approach to the artworks and turned the area into a giant playground. Remember for next year: go on a weekday, it's less of a zoo.

Halloween

2008-10-31T22:47:00.000+11:00

Zoe the little princess witch saw this hat in a store and loved it for one day. Just long enough to scare some unsuspecting pedestrians.

Too strong

2008-09-30T20:01:00.000+10:00

I'm rough and I'm tough and my muscles are so big they're popping my pants. I'm so strong I can lift a whole box of nappies I no longer need. You mess with me or steal my chocolates and you're in big trouble. Just keep those itsy-bitsy spiders away from me.

Lil' Aussie

2008-09-15T12:49:00.001+10:00

Sure, wanting to go out for a swim is pretty Australian (we're working on the ring not being necessary anymore), as are kangaroos of course. But Zoe really got me the other day when I was trying to get her to clean up some mess while she was busy doing something else, and her reply to my nagging was: "Chill, Papa."

Historic moments

2008-08-26T08:25:00.002+10:00

Warning: the following entry contains scatological details that some or our more sensitive readers may find confronting. Zoe is out of nappies (that's diapers for our friends in North America)! We took Auntie Sarah's advice and put her on cold turkey the weekend we came home from our trip. She wasn't given a choice but stripped off her old nappy the moment she woke and had to wear undies instead. Every half hour or so we asked her if she needed to use the toilet - and it worked. Her first real emergency, as in pooing her pants, happened two days later at day care, where they probably forgot to remind her in time. But since then not even a wee-wee gone astray. About time, I hear the grandmas sighing. Apparently back in our days we were out of nappies by 18 months, whereas these days kids stay away from toilets for years. I suspect that wasn't only because of our super-mums but also because disposable nappies weren't quite as ubiquitous as nowadays, giving parents more of an incentive to toilet train.

We are family, all my cousins and me

2008-08-22T15:04:00.003+10:00

We're back from the big family extravaganza in Canada. In terms of clan gatherings 12 is probably small fry, but for us Sydneysiders it was by far the biggest ever family holiday and I'm sure it has set a benchmark for quite some time - not only in terms of numbers. Zoe hit it off instantly with her cousins Eric, Megan and Abby and she is still somewhat wistfully asking why they aren't around anymore. I'm hoping the grandparents on the other hand have recovered from all the noise and exuberance... We met in Vancouver, where Vivien and I were playing yet another ultimate tournament (the last World's, we are pretty sure...), and then headed off together to the Okanagan Valley, supposedly Canada's hottest and driest place (it was dry and got hot) four hours east of Vancouver, where we spent nearly a week in Kelowna, mainly just relaxing, hanging out and doing a lot of swimming and eating. Good times (check out the pics: http://picasaweb.google.de/Myjens/FamilyFiesta). "We are family", by the way, has been Zoe's favourite song for a couple of weeks now and she loves - sap alert! - rounding Vivien and me up, hugging us and then singing it, loudly adding "Papa, Mama and me...". So in Okanagan we had many variations on that tune from her.

From Madame Njet to Lady Why

2008-07-20T11:14:00.001+10:00

Not too long ago Zoe's favourite word must have been a resounding "no" - most questions were answered in the negative, even if she actually kind of meant yes. "Would you like some lunch?" "No." As soon as lunch was ready she'd of course eat. My secret theory is that all the nays were a rebellion against being offered a confusing array of choices by her mother ("Would you prefer peas or carrots?"), but Vivien would probably dispute that. Anyway, these days she's moved on and her favourite word when told something, question or request, is "why?" Which can drive you quite batty. "Put a jacket on, Zoe." "Why?" "Because it's cold outside." "Why?" "Because it's winter." "Why?" ... "Either you put a jacket on or we don't go to the playground." "Ok."

Pretty often in pink

2008-07-10T11:57:00.000+10:00

Observant followers of this blog will have noticed an inordinate amount of pink creeping in, especially on the body of this lovely young lady. We deny all responsibility! From the outset we banned all items pink - clothes, linen, toys or others. It was not an easy task as the mainstream world of baby and toddler paraphernalia is roughly divided into two colours: pink and light blue. We did what we could to keep what we considered artificial and consumer-oriented gender predetermination and, worse, an onslaught onto our sense of aesthetics out of the house. Even at her day-care there wasn't really a lot of pink around. We still lost the battle. Whenever given the opportunity to choose the colour of some new item, Zoe will pick pink. She loves her pink tutu, pink shoes, pink t-shirts and even pink toothbrush. Amid the slight bewilderment we are still feeling after having been hit completely unprepared by this pink avalanche, some doubt has crept in: Maybe it's in the genes after all...

Lula

2008-07-02T11:30:00.000+10:00

Lula is one of Zoe's closest friends. She has been around for a couple of months, but she's a bit of an enigma as neither Vivien nor I really know what she looks like or where she's from. Actually we don't even know how old she is because depending on the day, she can be either 65, 3 or still in Zoe's tummy waiting for birth. But she's definitely around a lot, sometimes sitting quietly next to Zoe, sometimes playing with her and frequently chatting on the phone from work. She's probably also been invited to the tea party Zoe threw for a couple of her dolls and bears, but only Zoe could tell.

Neighbours

2008-06-29T18:28:00.000+10:00

Meet the three noisiest residents of our house, Zoe, Lucia and Garth. There are four flats in the building, three of them inhabited by screaming, stomping, squealing two-and-a-half year olds. In the remaining flat, incidentally the one beneath ours, lives David - not a deaf grandpa but an eligible young bachelor. Poor guy. Still, he's been there since Zoe was born and even though he has grumbled a bit as noise levels rose, he's not making any real efforts to move. Oh, and how good is having an ice cream with your friends in the middle of winter?

Friends in frocks

2008-06-18T21:59:00.000+10:00

There's very little that beats face-painting these days... This was at a recent street festival in Newcastle, where Zoe got to hang out with her friend Gemma.

When shall we three meet again

2008-05-20T22:09:00.002+10:00

Actually sooner than you think. Today we got the good news that Zoe can join her friends Emma and Lucia at Iluka day care in Bondi as of next week. Maybe even for a fancy dress party. It's been really tough finding a day care place, with waiting lists years long - also for Iluka where we really wanted to send Zoe to as the two other girls love it there. Not that we aren't happy with Sandy, the mum who takes care of Zoe and a couple of other kids three days a week. But because it's only six hours (from 9-3), closes during the frequent school holidays and Vivien and I both work full time now, it has been getting increasingly tough to juggle times. Speaking of work, check out the view Vivien gave up in favour of a new job in Ryde (somewhere over the horizon)...

Big one

2008-05-10T21:53:00.000+10:00

No, this is not a new safety requirement by the Australian government for indoor acrobatics, just Zoe refusing to take off her new bicycle helmet. Actually the jump on the ball was the bribe for her to let me take the helmet before going to bed, otherwise she would have gladly slept with it on.

Hide and seek

2008-04-23T10:22:00.000+10:00

It's getting tougher these day to find Zoe when we play hide and seek. Luckily she starts giggling whenever you get close, otherwise she might still be in that cupboard.

I like my tunes

2008-04-03T10:27:00.000+11:00

I take my boombox wherever I go ... current favourite song must be Dancing Face from Justine's I Like to Sing.

Giddee-up Matty!

2008-03-13T21:19:00.002+11:00

That was Zoe's favourite phrase around Christmas and she still uses it occasionally. We thought she meant her little friend Matt from day care and that she was perhaps bossing him around a bit too much, but it turns out she's not saying Matty but Natti, a rocking horse at day care. So we thought we'd let her have a go on the (nearly) real thing - Zoe's first time on a merry-go-round.

Princess

2008-03-03T21:06:00.000+11:00

or queen of the night? Whatever, I feel royal in Mama and Papa's bed.

Little butterfly

2008-02-22T10:31:00.000+11:00

It was Garth's birthday the other day and Beth did some face painting on the kids. Zoe had been excited all week about getting her face painted. She wore her favourite birthday party outfit - the fairy costume - and was turned into a little butterfly. Good fun.

Australia Day

2008-02-06T10:09:00.000+11:00

This Australia Day we went camping - this is Little Beach on the Central Coast, about 90 minutes out of Sydney. The beauty of the campsite is supposed to be that it's fairly deserted because there is no parking next to it. Campers have to carry their gear for about 1 km, which is usually a deterrent for most Aussies, who like taking half their household along for a camp (see last January). Well, the picture shows you it is fairly empty, but it doesn't show you the 40+ group of Aussie blokes and sheilas celebrating wet and noisily under the Australia flag. Just after we arrived they were singing the national anthem... Ok, most of them left when it got dark, others were by that time too drunk to make much more noise than snores and even others
had to take care of their little kids. There were a couple of relationship issues but it didn't get too messy.

New bed

2008-01-27T09:47:00.000+11:00

Bye-bye cot, Zoe has a real bed now. She probably would have fit into her cot for another couple of months if not years but the decision to switch was made quite easy: the cot was getting too dangerous. Believe it or not, Zoe managed to tumble over the head-end rail, which is nearly her height. She somehow shimmied up, lost balance and toppled over, landing head first on the floor. Ouch. Luckily she only bruised her forehead, nothing serious. So the next day we bought a new bed, and she loves it - unfortunately she loves it more during the day to play in than at night to sleep. And because there are no rails to keep her inside, she will inevitably leave her bed sometime during the night when she wakes up. Guess where she goes...

Be prepared

2008-01-18T09:54:00.000+11:00

It's been an unusually wet summer this year, on several occasions raining so much in just two or three days as it would normally in a whole month. So it's good to be prepared, and Zoe loves her fireman's raincoat. Luckily it's never been particularly cold so we can still play outside, splashing through puddles and the like. But we've also had some hot sunny weather, when we'll take out the little blue shell and fill it with water for Zoe and Garth.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T09:41:00.000+11:00

A happy and healthy new year everyone, or, as the Germans would say, Hals- und Beinbruch...

New look

2007-12-17T09:37:00.000+11:00

No, the crutch is not part of Zoe's new look - it's the hair. Courtesy of Beth, our neighbour, Zoe has a funky new do, and she's looking every inch the little girl she is. Don't know where she got the sudden passion for pink from, though, we certainly didn't encourage that. Is it in the genes after all? Oh yeah, the crutch is mine, courtesy of a collision on the frisbee field. I fractured my fibula and even though it's nothing complicated I will have to run around in a moon boot for nearly six weeks. And with these crutches that look like they're a hand-down from some World War I veteran. Zoe was a bit scared of them at first but now she'll happily carry them around for me.

Tub time

2007-12-06T09:46:00.000+11:00

Tub time is a big favourite of the day, and it's especially fun if a friend comes along. Regular readers of this blog may recognise Garth, our neighbours' son, on the top picture. Zoe is a couple of months older so she feels she gets to be bossy boots with him - as opposed to Otis, the son of Vivien's school friend Kimberley and her partner Justin. He's nearly half a year older, he's bigger, and he will not be bossed around by a pip-squeak from Bondi. Her respect shows - and this was even before he threw a little tantrum in the tub, which really had her in awe.

Zoe sleeping Mama bed

2007-12-03T16:03:00.000+11:00

Zoe is a good sleeper - she goes to bed between 8 and 8.30 and wakes up around 7.30 the next morning. Unfortunately she wakes up in a different bed than the one she goes to sleep in. While we have no trouble putting her down in her cot, at some time during the night she will insist on migrating into our bed. It all started in June or July, when one winter night she had a cold, couldn't sleep and started crying. So we brought her over to our bed and comforted her till she fell asleep again. The next night there was a frightening thunderstorm and we repeated the procedure. It only took one or two more opportunities for her to pick up the habit. Now, it seems as if she's subconsciously waiting for us to go to bed so she can wake up and demand to be taken over where she will happily continue her dreams. If we don't oblige, however, she will scream down the house. It can be nice having her in our bed, a very family feeling. But frequently she tends to take advantage of the space, tossing around, even kicking in her sleep, and ultimately driving me away. So now we're kind of waiting for her to accept her own cot and not wake up around midnight. But it doesn't look as if that will happen soon. As she said the other day after a transfer: "Zoe happy. Zoe sleeping Mama bed."

Speaking in tongues

2007-12-01T16:16:00.000+11:00

The Stettner tongue comes in all shapes and sizes.

Zoe turns two

2007-11-12T20:12:00.000+11:00

We just had Zoe's birthday week and it was a big one. Celebrations kicked off with Mama and Papa and favourite Aunties Sian and Lisi and runner-up Xavier on Tuesday. Don't anyone say a two-year-old doesn't understand the concept of partying - Zoe loved being the centre of attention, even when there were only grown-ups around. She especially loved getting presents and was equally excited about every new gift she was allowed to unwrap. The big birthday bash followed on Saturday in Centennial Park. For several days it had looked pretty bad; rain, rain and more rain forecast for the weekend, but, against all odds, we woke up on Saturday and the sun was shining. Our designated party spot was under a big, leafy tree, next to a playground and a little fenced-in petting zoo; so plenty of activities in the near vicinity. But the hit of the day turned out to be building big red cars. For those not savvy, Big Red Car is a song by the kiddy earworm factory The Wiggles, and Zoe has just turned into a huge Wiggles fan (like just about every other Aussie child her age and an increasing number of kids in other countries). So Vivien had the brilliant idea to let the bigger children build their own big red car out of cardboard boxes and other paraphernalia. When the cars were ready and everyone on board, the kids lined up for the Marshmallow Rally, and of course that went on till the parents started getting worried about the amount of marshmallows their offspring could gorge. Needless to say, the kids loved it. In fact, it turned out to be so popular that the mamas couldn't resist going for a marshmallow rally of their own... Thanks everyone for all the wonderful presents!

Two, four, five

2007-11-03T10:52:00.000+11:00

Zoe is starting to count. But she has her favourite numbers. Every time she wants something that's more than one, it's "two, four, five". Like - how many nuts would you like, Zoe? "Two, four, five!"

Visitors

2007-10-29T11:34:00.000+11:00

We've had a number of visitors recently, and Zoe loved it. When Holger and Christine from Berlin came with their two daughters, Mira and Emma, she just couldn't get enough of the action. While she was a bit hesitant at first, especially when they started playing with HER toys, she quickly got over her shyness, and the three of them had a ball, tearing up the house in no time. Five-year-old Mira was great with Zoe, patiently explaining new things to her, drawing, dancing, playing and singing together; and Zoe ended up following her around all over the place. (more pics: http://picasaweb.google.de/Myjens/MiraEmmaZoe) Shortly after the Berliners had left, our friend Annika from Mainz stopped over in Sydney on her travels. Zoe hung out a lot with Annika, who was awarded favourite Auntie status for several days.

Dance, Papa!

2007-10-16T11:27:00.001+10:00

Little bossy boots is becoming quite assertive about what she wants. For a while I had to dance with her to her favourite song (at the time the picture was taken: Jack Johnson's Upside Down) as soon as I got home from work. She would come to where I was sitting or standing, pull my hand and say "dance, Papa". And off we'd go. More recently it's all about sitting down on the ground next to wherever she's playing ("Papa, sit") and then drinking copious amounts of tea she'll serve up from the tea set Auntie Sian gave her. Or read a book. Or just watch her change her Dolly's nappy. But don't dare move away. Another favourite is "Papa, shave" - otherwise no kisses for you.

Digging in

2007-09-19T20:44:00.000+10:00

This is the new cat-poo-proof sandpit in our backyard - thanks to Simon, our neighbour. He built it at his work and it has become an instant success with both Zoe and Garth, Simon and Beth's son. Both Zoe and Garth love sitting in it and can shovel sand into their respective buckets for ages. When playtime is over, the lid comes down and cats stay out. Zoe is a bit more concerned about the birds in the trees above, though, regularly pointing out "wallys" and telling them to stay away. She is incidentally wearing her favourite t-shirt by miles - the bus shirt. Actually, not so incidentally as she wears it about every other day and closely follows the washing/drying process on the days she doesn't get to wear it.

Late night out

2007-09-01T13:39:00.000+10:00

Tuesday night we had a very late first, as I did something I managed to avoid throughout all those sleepless first couple of months: I took Zoe out for a walk in the pram - at 3 in the morning. The reason was not the spectacular blood moon of the picture, a result of a total lunar eclipse earlier that night, nor was it the subsequent full moon, even though there was a bit of howling happening. Zoe had a cold. Actually she's had a cold for at least two of the past three months, sometimes more, sometimes less severe (thanks to wet weather and child care). But that night her coughing got so bad she couldn't sleep, and of course neither could we. So after about two hours of rocking her, calming her, holding her, I decided to put her in the pram and go for a walk, hoping the gentle motion would ease her into sleep. I walked and walked, around the block, and she coughed and coughed. About an hour later she was so fatigued that she was lying in the pram with her eyes closed, but still coughed. I gave up, went back home and another 30 minutes later she finally fell asleep. Post-nasal drip, as the doctor told me the next morning; it's worse at night, as I rediscovered soon. In the meantime, we have rented a vaporiser and the moist air seems to make things a bit better. Last night she coughed for only 45 minutes.

Put socks on

2007-08-13T21:24:00.000+10:00

"Put socks on," was not only a wise recommendation as it was pretty chilly outside where Vivien was heading, it was also Zoe's first discernible sentence, at least in our presence. She's been babbling away at high speed for quite a while now but apart from the odd word in English and sometimes in German it's still very much Zoespeak. Her vocabulary is expanding, though, you just sometimes need a while to figure out what exactly she means. For example, the other day in the park she excitedly kept repeating "wawwee" - turns out that's daycare code for a bird (the kids were scared of a noisy white cockatoo, so Sandy decided to name it - Wally - and that helped). And today she squeezed out a "saw-wee" for the first time, apologizing for being a bit too rough. I of course haven't given up my German ambitions and am happy to say that she has moved beyond "tschüüüsss" (bye). She will on occasion demand a "nusss" (nut) and if she spills something her t-shirt may get "nasss" (wet). And she accepts that when she mentions her beloved bus to Papa then she just has to pronounce it slightly different than when Mama is around. Generally she understands heaps of both English and German, probably a lot more than we think.

Croup crept up

2007-08-06T18:22:00.000+10:00

Without a warning, croup (a viral infection that causes swelling of the windpipe - Pseudokrupp) hit poor Zoe in the middle of the night. She woke up and started barking like a seal. It was pretty scary, to say the least, because she had problems breathing and obviously didn't like it at all. But the more she cried, or tried to cry, the more difficult the breathing got. We called the hospital and they recommended bringing her in immediately. So for the first time since her birth, Zoe was back at Randwick hospital, albeit in the childrens' emergency ward. They whisked her past the line of waiting worried parents and straight to the doctor, a young English registrar. The doctor considered giving her adrenaline, but luckily by this time, she wasn't quite as panicky. They put her on steroids instead, which reduces the swelling of the windpipe and makes breathing easier. It worked for Zoe and withing half an hour she was happily running around the emergency ward (at 1 in the morning), chatting up the nurses and looking at babies. An hour later we took her back home and apart from a much less dramatic cough in the following two nights Zoe was fine.

Sailing

2007-07-23T14:10:00.000+10:00

Australia has plenty of beautiful sailing spots but one of the most scenic must be the Whitsunday Islands, about 2000 km north of Sydney. That's where we headed last week with Zoe's Oma and Opa, who are in Australia for four weeks. They had initially wanted to head over to New Zealand for a week or two but we managed to talk them out of that idea, considering it's winter and already cold enough here in Australia. Actually, it was even pretty cold up at the Whitsundays - one guy we met said he hadn't experienced temperatures that low in 10 years. Just our luck. Still, with an average of 20 degrees during the day it was a lot warmer than in Sydney. And wearing a couple of jumpers, it was easily bearable on deck and even at night. It did get a bit windier than anticipated, especially on the second day, the day of our crossing of the channel between the mainland and the islands. The windspeed topped 20 knots and the boat was rolling heavily in the waves. Not a good time to be in the cabin under deck, as Vivien found out. But, somewhat surprisingly, Zoe didn't mind the motion at all, and was excitedly exclaiming "more!" after being tossed around on the bed she was supposed to be napping in. Still, I guess everyone was happy when we did finally anchor for the night in a peaceful little bay and set up our tent on terra firma. (More pics: http://picasaweb.google.de/Myjens/Whitsundays)

Autumn

2007-07-08T11:13:00.000+10:00

In the Sydney area you don't get much of an Indian summer because most of the trees are evergreen eucalypts. But in some of the towns around the Blue Mountains people planted lots of deciduous trees. In June we spent a night in Windsor, a historic township about 50kms away from Bondi, and it was sunny and very colourful - something we appreciated all the more after two weeks of non-stop rain and storms.

brusha, brusha, bruuusha

2007-06-07T20:56:00.000+10:00

2007-06-07T20:53:00.000+10:00

i can't see you, dolly can't see you, you can't see me...