Kate and Andrew Scott

Well the start of the month saw us back in Perth to celebrate Nancy’s (Andrew’s mum) 60th birthday. The celebrations were appropriately split over a number of days including a church service on the Friday afternoon, and dinner at a local Italian restaurant (Friday being Nancy’s actual birthday), and then a catered bash on the Sunday afternoon for friends and family. But one of the best bits, and we know Nancy would agree with us, was having all of the family together, with Doug, Mitsuyo, Hannah and Rosie flying in from the USA to join the celebrations. The four cousins met for the first time and if Tyler felt a bit out numbered by his female entourage he didn’t seem at all fazed by it. It was lovely to have all the Scott clan together, and to celebrate such a milestone birthday; as Lindsay said in his speech, six years ago we didn’t think we’d see Nancy’s 60th birthday and it is thanks and testament to the hard work and love of Nancy’s carers (and Lindsay himself) that she’s not only around to celebrate her 60th, but that she’s made the recovery that she has.

While we were in Perth we also celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary, going out for dinner on the Monday night. We had a bit of trouble getting out the door, Harriet had had a big day of visiting Perth friends, but sitting on the banks of the Swan with our glass of champers and our nice meal gave us a great chance to reflect on what a massive year it’s been (yet again!). Big thanks to Rob and Donna who babysat Harriet that night, although in typical Harriet fashion she was fine once we left the house, showing-off in front of strangers as per usual!

We also went to see Slumdog Millionaire, just before the Oscars, leaving Harriet with Kate’s parents. We used to go to the movies at the drop of a hat, having dinner out beforehand and coffee afterwards. It was more of a military operation now, with a drive down to Mentone (and our kind babysitters), several bags of stuff for Harriet, as well as a picnic dinner for us, as there was no time to have dinner before the movie given Harriet’s bath and bedtime routine. But that said we had a lovely evening, even felt a bit like we did before the arrival of the gorgeous Miss H, footloose and fancy free. The movie was good, and it was great to be able to say we’d seen it once all the Oscars were announced.

Other February events include celebrations for Amelia’s 1st birthday; amazing to think that she’s one year old! And dinner with some of Andrew’s colleagues, the first time we’ve had dinner out at a non-family event since H arrived. Harriet has also had her first experience of childcare, sleeping through a 1 hour stay at the Ascot Vale pool creche, while Kate swam some laps and sat in the spa. We also did an exellent first aid course, and feel slightly more up-to-date on current best practises for children.

For Harriet watchers, February saw some amazing achievements:

• Rolled over for the first time – see video. It was pretty amazing to witness the look of surprised shock on Harriet’s face as she realised that she’d moved on her own for the first time. She now flips over pretty much as soon as she’s put down, having finally worked out how to escape the dreaded tummy time.
• Gets bored when left for too long, sadly has yet to work out how to entertain herself
• Loves to sit up, thank goodness for bean bags
• Has a discovered that full volume gets the most attention (such as right now while I’m trying to finish this post!)
• Gets more remarkable, crazy and amazing with each passing month!