Phew! Made it! (Barely)

So we did it! We took the kids to Australia, and back! Here we are with our Australian friends, Christy and Guy (with the phones). From the left, we have Noah, Mattie, and Anna. As you can see, the kiddos have grown and grown. Anna and Mattie can say anything they please, with Anna choosing to say slightly more things than Mattie. Mattie prefers to think about what you want a bit more, but is much more eager to do something. For example, if you say, "Bring me a hippo!" Anna will say "Bobo" and Mattie will bring you a stuffed hippo. And no, I haven't tried "Bring me a beer." But I probably will soon (see below). Noah is much more of a singer than a talker. He has the tunes to the "Alphabet Song," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and "Blue Danube" down cold. He has also recently said, "Walk!" "Cup!" and "Uh-oh!" so he's doing very well. All can walk and nearly run.

Our trip to Australia was amazing. The kids did very well on the trip over. My parents came so that the grown-up-to-child ratio was favorable. We managed to score seats with bassinets in front of them on the way over so the girls slept for many hours. Noah was too big for the bassinets, and there were only two anyway, so he slept less well. He's also a bit sensitive (like his father), and his seat belt made him "Mad, mad, mad!" Or so he said. And then he screamed. But after a small dose of Benadryl (not sure why his allergies bothered him so badly on the plane, so strange), he slept too.

If you ever take your children on an international flight, these are the three most important things to note: they take your stroller at the gate, they don't give you food for your kids (even if you bought them a ticket!), and they don't give the stroller back until you've gone through customs. Imagine four adults carrying three toddlers plus enough toys and food to last 18 hours plus the regular stuff that adults need to survive 18 hours with three toddlers in cramped quarters. No, I don't mean Scotch--just Tylenol and cell phones and passports and a purse, etc. Crazy. But we did it. And we did it well enough that the guy behind us commented that "It wasn't that bad, considering." Which I thought was really an excellent compliment. And they provided one of those little motorized golf cars when we got off the plane, and Jon is still an Australian citizen so we got the short line when we go there. And Philippa and Gerald (yes, Gerald--it's a small world, really) helped us get our rented mini-van, and off we went.

We got to Jon's parents' house, hung out that day, and then Jon's mum, Val, fell. She is fragile, and she hurt herself. So the next day, she and Jon's Dad went to get her x-rayed to make sure that she hadn't broken anything. The scans did not show a break, but she had actually broken her hip. They didn't diagnose it until the day before we left, and the poor woman was in awful pain for our whole visit. Of course, Harry, my father-in-law, was worried sick and anxious, and I don't think either of them got to enjoy the kids they way they wanted.

We did have a very nice trip, visiting the zoo and the city, and Jon and I took a day off while my parents took care of the kids. We had a nice little party where many of Jon's friends and family came to visit, which was really fun. My parents also went to a beach resort, which they said was like visiting a time-warp back to the 1950s. The kiddos seemed to really like all the attention, going to the park almost daily, playing in the big backyard, and getting so many people to read them books and tell them stuff. It was really nice, but I was so sad that Harry and Val couldn't enjoy it more.

And then it was time to come home. The day before we left, Jon's mum found out that her hip was broken, and we decided that it was best that Jon stay with her for her surgery. My parents and I did a quite good job at getting the kids back to LA, but Jon was sorely missed. (No one commented that they were "quite good, considering," for example.) And you should have seen us--just as many toys, just as much food, just as many babies, and one less grown-up.

Anna stepped up to the plate though. She did not wish to be carried. Instead, she walked the entire runway by herself, chin out. And every time she reached a spot where the ramp had a join, she got down on her hands and knees, and went "on her tummy, climb down backwards," just like her Daddy had taught her. Never mind that the entire rest of the plane was waiting behind her. I can't imagine where she gets her independence and "sheer bloody mindedness."

Jon is staying an additional ten days and gets home Friday. I gotta say that being a single mom is exhausting, and I can't wait for Jonathan to get home. I miss him, and he does a lot around here.


Sorry for the long delays between posts. Our life is nuts! (But we love it.) Come visit!

Love,
Courtney