Mid June - Workin' N Playin'

In the world of Nev, there sure is a lot happening and whew does it wear him out. Dad has been working at Adelaide High School where they are constructing a new building on top of the original Adelaide Observatory. A really important site that helped establish time and location beginning in the 1840s. Here's a shot after a rough day. Nev's shirt says: Instant Archaeologist...Just add coffee! It was from an archaeologist friend of ours, Jo.

Many of the photos I take have an empty look on Nev's face because he is engaging in something other than the camera or me. This one, however, caught his attention. He's quite alert, and will turn 3 months on Wed. 

Compare that image above with him at one week old: Crazy to think that those eyes remain the same size. How huge they and his nose & mouth look in this photo?

Of course, he's doing so well because he sleeps so well. Nevlin comes from a long line of sleepers. Here are two shots that I took coming in from the car. 

Drooling is a newer pass time, hence the frequency of more bibs in photos. The light was just so soft on his little fuzzy head.

When Nev wakes up from a nap, he often looks like a deer in headlights. Then he smiles so big because he forgot you existed, let alone that you would come back. What a wonderful surprise every time!

Also upon waking from a nap Nev is hungry...he frequently tries to get milk out of his hands and rub his feet together vigorously in anticipation of the flow of white stuff. Even if you make the noise of shaking a bottle, his eyes light up. This kid is not wanting for food.

Finally I have a shot with a few presents from the states: the platypus on Nev's shirt was put there by his OH cuz, Jess (I LOVE IT!) and it matches his Cleveland Browns pants while he "hits" at his red football from another cuz from TX, Liam. We had the football in the bath, but it sinks and passes out of Nev's view much too quickly.

Nevlin's 45 min morning nap has lasted well over 3 hrs now, so I think he's going to have an active afternoon. We will see! Its always a bit different each day, but the consistency of eating well & sleeping pretty good keeps everyone happy.

Sleeping & Photo Shoot



The little Nev has sort of adopted a somewhat regular sleeping pattern, but not exactly every day. He has been quite good at sleeping 8 hours in one go. The challenge is to get him to fall asleep later in the evening. He also takes one to three naps throughout the day ranging from 20 minutes to 45 to 3-4 hours. It all depends on things I can't quite narrow down. Here's a shot of him during one of the naps the other day.

 

He sleeps under his new hand-made mobile. THANKS to everyone who has mailed us back their stars. You can see the stellar one in the middle from Cam's Gpa & Gma. It is beautiful. Others have words, some have stickers or paint. It really does keep him happy & he stares at it for hours as it gently moves with the air.



The other day I took Nev out back for a photo shoot. He was wearing an automotive shirt & looked quite dashing. Nevlin went through many different emotions. Here's the shot with the closest he got to a smile.

Many of the shots were not so happy including this pouty one.

There was also surprise!

And confusion!?!? Or is it nausea? It was towards the end of the session, so Mom didn't have time to figure it out. Hope everyone enjoyed these as much as we had taking them.

Frock Around the Clock - Unley Museum

The Unley Museum hosted "Frock Around the Clock" a 1950s fashion parade. The articles of clothing were from Violet's collection and included this fantastic dress that had such a small waist, she couldn't find someone to fit into it today!

There were singers that encouraged us to sing along while the models changed into their next outfits. Here they are at the opening singing "rock around the clock."

There were over 100 items that were displayed, all from the 1950s. This one seemed like a woman just floating across the catwalk in white.

They ended the first half with everyone in underwear. It was quite a show stopper! There were two male models and four female ones. Quite the show.

This was one of my favorite outfits, loved the color & the cut. Paired quite nicely with gloves and matching shoes & hat.

The finale were wedding outfits including mother and father of the brides. Overall, an amazing show and a nice way of spending the evening out of the house.

Nev at home and Botanical Gardens

The little guy is doing really well, thriving and starting to be aware of his surroundings. Here's a shot of Dad & Nev on a slightly chilly morning this weekend. We put him in the sweater vest to stay warm. I hung up a few more decorations in his room. See the colorful quilt hanging on the wall from Cioci Gerrie?

Nev really likes spending time outside in his "pram." I miss using the word "stroller" and catch myself saying "pusher" too to mix things up. Stroller implies going out for a stroll, which is really nice. Nevlin is sleeping right now. He had a big morning with me and another lactation consultant. We are continuing to breastfeed, but he isn't really very game to keep going. I've decided to stick to it until I use up all my drugs - about 2 more weeks or so. Will see how I last but at that is the plan. At least he is doing well! Thank goodness for formula.

We (C, E, & N) went to the botanical gardens & had a picnic (everyone ate, some a more liquid diet than others). My favorite spot there is the hot house with the gigantic lily pads.

We've been here for close to 3 years and I'm still discovering different parts of Adelaide. I've been to the botanic gardens a hundred times and I haven't been to this glass house since we first arrived. Nevlin was quite comfortable in his stroller & Cam enjoyed getting out of the house even for a few hours.

Snuggles & Mystery Gifts

 I always imagined lots of snuggles when I had a baby, and I finally got some really good ones this past weekend. Nevlin has this really amazing ability to find the perfect spot on your neck or shoulder to cuddle into, as evidenced below.

He has been much more active in the last few days...especially with Daddy. The little guy has been smiling at both of us, but when it comes to food, DO NOT interrupt his flow. He gets so upset at a lack of milk. This really warm sleeper is just a bit too tight on him as he continues to grow. He's stretched over 7 cm in the last two months.

We received some mystery gifts in the mail from Amazon, from people we can't thank. This one will be for Nevlin in about a month when he is teething. He likes rattles already so it probably will be a crowd pleaser.

The other mystery gift was a gym where he can reach up & touch three animals. The stripes are wicked cool, but Nev doesn't really reach for many things. We've had a lazy day & I've been updating blogs. If anyone knows who gave us either of these mystery gifts, could you let me know? Would like to thank the generous person/people properly.

MaryEd, walks, and a taste of archaeology

 While MaryEd was visiting us, we did a lot of walking. We went to Aldgate, a small town in the hills where Nevlin had his first picnic.

Unfortunately, MaryEd hurt her leg from all our walking and ended up buying a cane. Here is the little one eating with MaryEd helping him along the way.

The neighbors came over the weekend before MaryEd left for a BBQ. It was really tastey with salads, steak, and fine company. We all had a great time.

One of the absolute cutest things about Nevlin is his forehead. When he raises his eyebrows, there is a triangle at the center of his head made from the wrinkles. You can barely see it in the photograph below, but it's there.

Just after MaryEd left, Nevlin visited his first archaeology site, one that will be excavated in the new future. Its on the site of the high school on West Terrace, under a parking lot. He was asleep during most of site visit, but it was another first of the little man.

Baptism party!!!

 We had a party at the Buffalow, a floating boat restaurant in Glenelg (suburb of Adelaide). It was a great setting. It is a replica ship that is equipted with a kitchen. Here's a view of the ship in the port.

The whole group really cleaned up well for the occasion! It included my Ma, Cam's parents, cousin, brother and his family and our two neighbor couples. A really nice and small group.

The ship made for an interesting background. This is what the top deck looked like, although we ate below. It was a beautiful day, but much too sunny for little Nev.

Nevlin raked in a bunch of presents including this wicked pacifier or "binky." His mouth is a bit small at the moment, but I'm sure he'll love it soon enough. His Godmother, Michelle, was the giver.

What party would be complete without a cake? We ordered Nevlin's from across the street and it was a really awesome strawberry and cream cake. YUM!!!

The baptism weekend saw out of town company beginning on Friday night. We went out to dinner where Meme and Gpa got to meet Nev for the first time. He was bright eyed for the beginning, but soon enough began dozing off in his carrier.

The other highlight of the evening was my choice of restaurant on Sat night. All that had been requested was "meat" so i went to choose a dry, vegetarian Yum Cha restaurant. It was absolutely not the best choice, but did make for a very memorable meal. We headed off to the Belgium pub afterward. FUNNY!