Catching up with Aunties and Uncles

Aunty Byna & Uncle Bernard Thompson were visiting from Dubbo over the weekend. It was a good excuse for the Jaques side of the family to catch up over lunch. Sean, Kate and Elise met Aunty Thelly-Belle, Aunty Gwen, Cousin Adrian, June, Aunty Byna and Uncle Bernard in Ashfield.

Kate and Elise with Aunty Thelly-Belle.

Elise having a cuddle with Uncle Bernard and Aunty Byna.

Elise was quite taken with June & enjoyed cuddling Adie

More cuddles with Aunty Gwen & Aunty Byna.

Nana and Grandad Edmiston have taken off today for a month long holiday overseas - the lucky ducks!! Off to Italy, France and Spain - (ohhhh big sigh from Kate) How lovely it would be to be there this time of year!!

We are excited because Aunty Meggy is coming to Sydney soon for a week or so. Meg is finally free from Subway and has launched a new career in banking. She is more than ready to embrace the 9-5 lifestyle! We are very happy for her - can't wait also to see the new house!

Sean's 1st Fathers Day

We recently met little Tahlia Ellis born early August - daughter of David and Aruna. Congratulations to them on the arrival of their beautiful little daughter.

Sean was very excited about his first fathers day. Luckily the weather was gorgeous so we could take our fish and chips to Clarkes Point at Woolwich to watch the start of the sailing season (dad's request!)

Nova and Elise had a great time watching a game of touch footy in the park. I think they were both keen to join in!

We are excited because a new cafe has opened a short block away from our house called Rare Treats. We have missed the cafe life of Drummoyne since moving to Melrose Park, so now we are only a short stroll away from regular Chai Lattes and the best thing is there is a dog friendly area outside. Puppycinos, and babycinos (not just yet but soon..) all around! If you come to visit us we can pop in to the cafe!

9 months old

Elise is now 9 months old (out for as long as she was inside) and mastering new skills very quickly now. She can drink from a cup, pull herself up, wave goodbye, has a total of 5 teeth and shake her head from side to side. Everyday is full of amazing discoveries - like how much fun it can be to empty books out of bookcases and rip up toilet paper. Elise and Nova are already partners in crime!

Priya with baby boy Rahee were recently visiting from Brisbane. It was lovely to meet gorgeous little Rahee. Elise's favourite new toy is the kissing dolly which was a present from Priya, Jeetu & Rahee. Elise says "ahhhh!" everytime she sees the dolly then sucks on its nose.

Elise had lots of cuddles recently from her relatives over from W.A. Here is a picture of Elise with great grandma Edmiston.

Sean is very excited about fathers day coming up!!!!

Grandad's 60th birthday

Better Homes and Gardens were doing a backyard makeover for a house in our street last week. Kate, Elise and Nova got to see all the TV stars in the street on our daily walk. The house is blue and is cement rendered if you happen to see the backyard makeover in coming weeks. 5 days and hundreds of people (not to mention the catering trucks) to show us how easy it can be to do at home.......

Elise is a very confident sitter and crawler now. She is determined to chase after Nova and is trying to get into everything....The two top teeth have arrived as well.

We celebrated grandad David's 60th on the weekend. A very yummy lunch on a gorgeous sunny Sunday at Bicentennial Park. Happy Birthday David/ Dad/ Grandad.

P.S Our friend Chris is now well recovered - thank goodness!!

8 months old

Picture 1: Firstly we want to send well wishes to our friend Chris Murphy, who has suddenly become seriously ill and is on life support in intensive care. We hope he recovers well soon. The picture is of Chris with Sean and Elise at Chris's 40th B'day held recently on the 7 July.

Picture 2 & 3: Elise is 8 months old now (26 July) and is very busy scooting along the floor. She is even trying to crawl in her cot in her sleeping bag. Every waking moment she gets excited and wants to be on the move!

Picture 4: Aunty Nicole was recently home for a visit from Perth.

Picture 5: Mothers Group came to our place again in the last few weeks. Here are a few of Elise's friends. L-R: the twins Isabella & Rebecca, Lucy, Briella, Elise and Liam. Most of the boys were away that day - Brock, Justin & Angus as well as another girl baby Rachael.

Trip to Dubbo

The last weekend in June we took a trip to Dubbo for a long weekend. We managed to cram the portacot, bedding, pram, baby's food, baby's clothing, Elise and Nova (oh and a change of underwear for Kate & Sean) into the car. It was so cold (5 degrees and falling) at Orange, we were scared to get out of the car. It was great to see the area looking a bit greener after the rain.

On Saturday night we stayed with Michelle and Tim and it was lovely to catch up with them. Nova dog and Sam dog have a "special" relationship and clearly enjoy each other's company. Of course the rest of us are fond of Michelle and Tim too!

On Sunday we stayed with Mick, Ang & Toby. Toby has grown so tall (94cms)- you would not believe he is only 2 years old! He will tower over us all before too long. Mick & Ang will be working hard to feed & clothe him over the coming years. Congratulations to them on the sale of their house and we wish them luck in the search for a new abode.

We also went to visit the Thompsons and Sparrows. It was wonderful to meet little baby Hugh at last and to see how much Maeve and Declan have grown up. Thanks for the yummy afternoon tea.

We came home exhausted but very glad we made the trip!

Out and About

At the end of May, mum Kate and baby Elise (at 6 months old) went to visit Nicole and Elizabeth Atkins as there had been some new additions to their extended family. We wanted to meet Caleb-son of Luke & Kirsten Atkins and Chloe -daughter of Michelle (McGill) and Dom.
Nicole sent us some very cute shots of Elise, Caleb & Chloe (L-R) on the couch, then one taken with Elizabeth as well on the far left. They look so cute we had to post them on the blog!