Christmas with just us 3...

There is a Christmas parade in Adelaide that supposedly kicks off the spirit of the season. It just happens to be before Thanksgiving, so Cam went with Nev. He had an OK time, that got better as he got to see more & more people.

In this shot Nev is wearing a sweatshirt & it was a cooler day, sort of like Christmas in the northern hemisphere.

 A first Christmas would not be complete without a visit to Santa. Nevlin really had a good time, checked out the beard & thought, this guy is pretty cool. Here he is demonstrating his new ability to wave.

We all squeezed on the couch for a shot. It was a family moment!

Our First Christmas card with the little guy was a composite of 13 different images and many, many hours of photoshop to make it all work. Overall, we've had positive response from family & friends. This has been a bit of a tradition for Cam & I and I'm sure that Nevlin will grow up thinking that most parents do this crazy sort of thing. That is until he figures out just how weird his parents really are...

Cornstarch & Park Play

Forgot to post these shots of playing with cornstarch with Nev's little pall. She ate heaps, he mostly just flung it about.

The look on her face here is absolutely priceless.

Nev ate some, but not enough to really do anything or matter much.

Nev and I had a little play at a park near the beach. It was really fun, well, only the abacus. Not only do the balls spin around, but you can move them back and forth at will. Who would ever have thought! 

Here's a shot from a playground. It was a super sunny day, hats on, outside.

Random 2013 shots

 Nevlin started getting getting in the Christmas spirit a bit earlier than I was willing to go. We had to work on our Christmas card, so things were out including this Santa. He was into him.

He really started to push the boundaries!

And Cam took him to his first cricket game. Although Nev enjoyed the crowd more than the game, I'm sure he will come around.

We were outside the back of Cam's work and Jo caught this moment. It really sums up everyone's feelings for 2013. Now onto some festive Christmas shots.

November in Sydney

The other primary reason we went to Sydney (besides to celebrate Thanksgiving a bit early) was to go for Nev's passport & apply for his American citizenship. The paperwork was a nightmare because we started filling things out & then they changed the forms & we didn't know which ones we still needed. Regardless, everything went fantastic. Here we are catching the ferry in the AM to go to the US Embassy.

We were not allowed to take any photos in the Embassy (they even held on to our phones during the appointment). It was a real experience, I felt like I was doing something wrong. Bullet proof glass, guards escorting us from one desk to another. We finally got to the woman who filed things on our behalf. At the end of it, she asked C & I to raise our right hands and swear that what we were submitting was the truth. Nevlin looked at the two of us & then he too raised his right hand and took the oath, letting out a squeal! The woman cracked up and we were all laughing at the "new" American. We were all looking our best, including Nev in his sheriff bib.

After the Embassy, we met up with MaryEd and one of her friends at the art gallery to see, what else, but an exhibition on American art. It really rounded out our "American" theme for the day.

I went back to Adelaide & Cam hung with Nev for one more night in Sydney. It was really great for them to spend time with his parents. They snapped this picture just as I was heading to work. We had a great time in Sydney & headed back there for Christmas & New Years. More on that to come.

Turkey Day part 2

 We celebrated the actual Thanksgiving Day with our immediate neighbors: Julie & Paul on the left and Barry & Maurine on the right. It was difficult to fit everyone into a shot, so picture you were there. A tasty feast set before Nev for his first official Turkey Day.

As you can see in the image above, his tray was a bit empty, so we decided to put the entire bird on it! Nevlin just helped himself to another drum stick. This little man likes his dark meat, just like his dad.

Not as crazy for this leg, since it was his second one of the month, but still a great shot and he was not shy about hamming it up for mom's camera.

THANKSGIVING!!! Part 1

We had 2 Thanksgivings this year, one early in Sydney with family & one with our neighbors back in Adelaide. I'll cover the Sydney trip here & Adelaide in the next one.

Flying with Nevlin was an adventure, but he really did pretty awesome. He was a bit worried, or as worried as the little guy can get. Here's a shot of him during the flight. Check out the guy across the aisle from us who was sound asleep!

I snapped these on my phone and it was a pretty good flight. He chewed at his rusk (small little finger-sized cracker) and drank milk but since the flight was delayed, he was pretty hungry & my timing for the bottle was not perfect. I pulled it out of his mouth & he gave a loud cry stating his dissatisfaction. All was well once bottle returned. 

Nevlin got to use MaryEd's dad's highchair, which was over a century old. He really treated it with all the respect that it deserved.

 For Thanksgiving on the Saturday before the actual day, lots of folks gathered in Sydney. In the back are Prue & Nick (Nev's Godfather), us and Michelle (Nev's Godmother). Marg, GPa & Meme & Geoff, and all the cousins in the front: Harry, Amelia & Hannah.

Nev LOVED his turkey. He ate a lot of mashed potatoes & sweet potatoes, some rice, and of course turkey. Once he had at this bone, he really didn't want to let it go. Tasty!