ten months old...

Taylor is 10 months old today. She wants to crawl so badly, but is not quite there yet. She gets into position with her arms streteched out but hasn't quite worked out what the next move is. I don't think it will be much longer and she'll be moving. She loves to play on the floor with her toys and she puts everything in her mouth. She has decided that day time sleeps should be half an hour long, which is a bit frustrating, but I haven't been successful so far in convincing her otherwise. She is still a happy, smiley baby most of the time and is just so delightful.

sexy legs...

How cute are these leg-warmers? I got them from here

she wants to...

But hasn't quite got it yet. Probably won't be too long and she'll be crawling all over the place.

the party pics...

hamilton island...

We have been and gone on our long awaited trip to Hamilton Island. We have been looking forward to this since Mark and Lana got engaged last year. The kids have been so excited and all of us have spent a fortune buying new summer clothes and glam outfits for the wedding. Six adults and six children all headed off to the airport last Wednesday for our exciting adventure. The 2.5hr flight felt like it was a lot longer as all of the kids were so excited to get there. There were lots of "are we there yet" type questions, but we got there eventually. The weather was beautiful and after checking in to our apartments we set about exploring the Marina Village area. Everything was within a 10 minute walk so it was very convenient, especially considering that we had to wheel Taylor's pram everywhere we went. Over the next few days the kids swam in the pool, we ate out in fantastic restaurants and on Friday we attended the much anticipated wedding. It was a gorgeous ceremony and the reception was fabulous. Things got a little wild and crzy as the night wore on, mostly due to the copious amounts of red wine that was consumed. Needless to say, I spent the next day - which was my 39th birthday - with a rather large hangover. Let's just say I had a quiet day, staying in bed for most of it, then hanging out by the pool while the girls had a swim, then a very quiet dinner (with no food). The kids sang Happy Birthday to me over a chocolate mini-muffin that they had brought home from the breakfast buffet...lol. I had recovered by the next day so we all hired a golf buggy, the island's preferred mode of transport, and we took off on a driving tour of the island. We had a lovely lunch by the Marina followed by more swimming in the pool then my "official" birthday dinner at a lovely restaurant. The next day it was time to leave, so we checked out of the apartments, the kids again swam in the pool then it was off to the airport for the flight home. Poor Taylor had come down with a cold midway through the trip and was pretty sick by the time we left. She was sick all over Victor (and another passenger) on the flight home, so that was pretty nasty. Then we had an hour long drive home from the airport in wet, spewy clothes and when got home it was a freezing 9 degrees (C) after being in beautiful summer weather, so that was a rude shock. Oh well, at least we all made it home safe and sound. Here are some snapshots of our trip...

in loving memory...

My grandmother, affectionately known as "Nana Robbo" passed away on Sunday. In January this year we celebrated her 90th birthday with a lovely family gathering at our local club. In April her health started to deteriorate and she was taken to hospital then several months later, transferred to a nursing home. The last time I saw her, which was in Wollongong Hospital, she was in good spirits and remembered who everyone was. I would like to remember her this way.
Sadly, Dad, Mum, Darren and Scott are all in America and weren't able to make it back for the funeral, so I attended today on behalf of all my family. It was a very nice service. I was really glad that we got back in time from our trip so that I could make it today. Rest in peace Nan.

my poor baby...

Poor Taylor has had a run of bad luck when it comes to illness. She has had one thing after another for the past three months. She has just gotten over her second bout of bronchiloitis and we saw the chest specialist on Thursday, who has diagnosed her as asthmatic. He asked me if she had excema and I told him not that I know of. That night she did not sleep a wink, which is totally out of character for her. She cried and cried the whole night and nothing Vic or I did would pacify her. I finally got her to sleep at around 5.30am for about an hour. That is the first time that I have ever experienced being awake the entire night with any of my babies. I know that some people have this happen frequently, but we have been so lucky to have had three excellent sleeping babies. Spoilt, I guess. Anyway, so on Friday morning Jordan came in to my bed to tell me that she was five (oh my gosh!) and looked at Taylor and asked me what was wrong with her face. I took one look at Taylor and freaked out. She had a terrible rash all around her mouth and when I took her clothes off, all over different parts of her body. We rushed her off to the doctors to find out that she has a bad case of excema. None of my kids have ever had this, so it was quite a shock. I couldn't believe that the specialist had asked me about this the day before! She is on antibiotics as her face area is infected and on a corticosteroid cream. The poor baby must have been in agony and that's why she had been crying all night. Two nights later she still isn't sleeping well, but at least she (and we) are getting some sleep, a few hours at a time. It has started to get better later today, so hopefully it will improve some more before we go away on Wednesday.

the birthday party extravaganza...

We celebrated Jordan's 5th birthday with a party at Nanny and Poppy's house. The special guest was Lavender Lily, a purple fairy, who came to entertain the girls. She was fabulous. They all had a fantastic time playing games and having their faces painted. Jordan had a ball, she had a giant smile on her face the whole time. It was a very special birthday party.

five today...

Today my baby turned five. How did that happen? It doesn't seem like that long ago I gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl. Now she is a gorgeous five year old with a mind of her own, a fabulous wardrobe full of funky clothes and shoes and an attitude to match.
Tomorrow is her "Lavender Lily" Party so I will post more pictures sometime over the weekend.
Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl.