last Sunday of autumn; first Sunday of winter

Weather can change just like that in South Australia.

We went to Mt. Lofty in the last Sunday of autumn. Mt. Lofty is about 18 kilometers from Adelaide and it took us 15 minutes by car to get there. The sky was a striking cobalt blue, the air was nice and warm… and yes.. the cappuccino was extremely good (there’s a restaurant at the summit). Mt. Lofty, which is 750 meters above sea level, is a good place to have a good panoramic view of Adelaide. It is said that on a clear day, one would be able to see as far as Kangaroo Island (one day we will have to go see this island to verify whether kangaroos still live there).

A cairn of stones were erected on the summit, replaced several times, and an obelisk finally constructed in 1885. This obelisk which is a trigonmetrical survey station, is known as the Flinder’s Column.

Mommy and Daddy have fond recollections of this place. When lola came to visit in 2009, this is one of the places we took her to. We hope that she will come to visit us soon again.

The following Sunday was the first day of winter. It was so cold and it rained the whole day. We spent most of the day at home which turned out to be a good idea since you were coming down with a bad case of coughing.

It was a good time for you and Mommy to snuggle under the covers and read Monsters University again and again. Mommy thinks we scared Daddy at some point with the screaming of the robot child ;)


Sunny days are great but stormy days aren’t too bad especially if we’ve got good books to read (again and again).

R is for Rocking Horse

We drove to Gumeracha last weekend to see… the biggest wooden rocking horse you can imagine! Gumeracha is about 35 kilometers from Adelaide and it took us around 40 minutes to get there. Interestingly, we found that Gumeracha is 6,164 kilometres from Manila.

What a horse! It was 18.3 metres in height and 17 metres in length. It was made of steel and weighed 25 tonnes. It was set in 80 tonnes of concrete to prevent rocking. There were stairs incorporated inside the rocking horse which led to three viewing platforms – the head, saddle, and on the “rocker bows” near the base of the structure.

You are still too little to climb on to any of the platforms. We contented ourselves to riding the smaller version of the horse. One day, we shall come back and try to get to the very top like how Daddy did in 1993!

There are other interesting things to do in this town. There is a toy factory which sells wooden toys and souvenirs.

There is also a wildlife park covering approximately seven acres and features native and introduced species. We saw a peacock, goat, sheep, and a kangaroo which went hop, hop, hop!

You must have gotten tired chasing the kangaroo, you promptly fell asleep in the car on the way home.

That is why you are not in this picture when Mommy and Daddy quickly jumped out to do a photo of this picturesque bend of Kangaroo Creek.

M is for Mother's Day

Today we went to
Port Adelaide

We took a stroll
Along the wharf
Scoured the flea market
Browsed old books
Had a cappuccino
While watching the
Sun set...

Thank you to you and Daddy
For making this day
Extra special.
(Everyday is special).

PS. Mommy especially loved
the bookmarker you and Daddy
made for her!

A is for Anton at Ardrossan on Anzac Day

Today is Anzac Day
We decided to go for a drive
With no particular destination
In mind

After 145 kilometers
We found ourselves in
Ardrossan!

We stopped at a
Quaint cafe
Watched the seagulls
Took a little hike

Then headed to the
Jetty!

PS We now know what a stump-jump plough is:

P is for Port Adelaide

Daddy introduced us
To Australian footy
To his favourite team
And to his team's hallowed grounds

O is for Outdoors

Today
We left our books at home
Basked in the sunshine
All day long.

sand, sea, and Anton Lee

When there’s a will, there’s a way;

And when there’s a child, there’s a will.

         -  Marcelene Cox

 

It does not look like you just travelled 125 kilometers, in these photos! You have the energy and the stamina of somebody who had several double espressos along the way.



At 11.5 months, walking confidently with just one hand held for support.

Anton's first beach adventure

Fellowship:  The Next Generation

anton lee @ 10 months

Cruising at 10 months

 

The past four weeks have been a series of exciting social activities for you.

 

At Ninong Ricky's and Ninang Menchu's
 at Tagaytay

 

 

 

 

On the weekend you turned 9 months, we drove all the way to Tagaytay to visit your Ninong Ricky and Ninang Menchu.  Travelling 65 kilometers each way was nothing to you (this was your longest road trip to date)! You enjoyed the scenery and when that was enough sight-seeing for you, you just went off to dreamland.  You had a great time crawling your Ninong and Ninang’s long corridor and taking in the fresh morning air afterwards.  You also went along with our sampling of restaurants and listened closely to adult conversation about politics, the economy, and similar serious stuff.

 

 

The weekend after that, we spent at the Richmonde Hotel, Eastwood City, where Mommy and Daddy got married.  Your Ninang Cristine was a fantastic babysitter, reading to you the books we brought with us.

Then the weekend following, you went to not one but two birthday parties in one day. We joined our first parlour game. Was so much fun!

 

Alon's "wavey" birthday

 

Princess Janice's birthday at McDonald's

 

The day after, we drove all the way to Nuvali City, which is 50 kilometers from Manila. It was your Tita Connie’s birthday and we spent the whole day with your cousins, aunties, and uncles on your mother’s side.

This month has been one of great achievements for you.  You can already walk and run while holding on to someone, and slowly cruise while holding on to objects.  You also like your teeth being brushed (six of them!). Just rightly so, because you’re eating varied foods now in addition to your usual fruits and vegetables – ground beef with potatoes and carrots, lentils with fish, and today, your first Filipino spaghetti which Mommy cooked for your birthday!

 

Standing unassisted @ 9.25 months

Brushing teeth @ 9.75 months

First (Filipino) spaghetti @ 10 months

 

There’s not a boring moment with you belloching – reading, running, and even eating are activities charged with so much energy.

 

We're multi-taskers (eating while reading)!
@ 9.5 months

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re counting the days now to your first birthday!