A serious child, Emby did not crack a smile during her first swimming lesson, but she didn’t cry either. We were the first ‘starfish’ to arrive and to our delight the other two babes to join us were familiar neighbourhood faces.
Colourful balls and mats and a lovely instructor made her first underwater experience bearable, but her shocked expression on resurfacing was rather adorable. The only thing she really didn’t enjoy was riding on the noodle, maybe the indignity of it all weighed heavy on her shoulders. We returned today with a noodle of another colour and she really got into her kicking which she had been only desoltorily attempted the week before.
I don’t think it will be long until the pool, like the bath becomes a joy rather than a chore for little Ember Wren, especially if colourful kick boards are involved.
While extreme temperatures cooked the garden and the power grid we chilled in front of the fan. Despite the heat Ember had one of her best 24 hours of sleeping in a long time, perhaps cosying up to her cot on our futons to catch some fan time made the difference.
We spent a lazy morning with Bub playing in her birthday suit and tasting her first stewed pear. Sweetly sticky we had to wash both Bub and the sheets post pear, but both dried in an instant as the air hummed with heat.
When the cool change hit, we took our first walk for the day. The cool air like silk on our skin after the searing 46C.
To celebrate Emby’s 6 month birthday, we gave her a first taste of solid food. Safe to say it was more of a treat for us than for her. Her little brow furrow deepened the more spoonfuls of carefully chosen homegrown carrot and organic sweet potato we offered her. I haven’t seen her frown that hard since the day she first greeted her parents!
Since then we have offered her very tiny spoonfuls of banana and some nut butter with slightly more positive results. Her extrusion reflex is still pretty strong so looks like she needs more time for her swallow to mature. We’ll keep trying, but there is no rush, for now that red spoon is much more appealing to her than its contents.
Later that day we met up with Emby’s new friend Ebony and her parents at the zoo. It was hot and after a humid train ride we sought shelter in the cavernous seal enclosure. Things certainly had been upgraded since I was a child. Even the seal sculptures now lazed on a man made beach replete with sand castles and sun umbrellas.
On baby Liam’s suggestion we headed to the butterfly house which I think was a clear highlight for bubs. Everyone seemed to have butterflies landing on them except for the one who had made special effort with a floral top. Our fluttering friends annoyingly seemed to prefer Dylan’s plain white t-shirt and Krystal’s straw hat was a veritable butterfly dance party.
The swishing bamboo forest surrounding the else-hang exhibit was deliciously cool. The Indonesian signs and faux cafes a cute touch. No sooner had the elephants appeared, than Emby cracked it wanting a drink, who could blame her on that hot day. We joined her with yummy overpriced ice creams.
We are still no closer to learning what sounds we should make for zebras and giraffes when we sing ‘Old MacDonald’. Munch munch is still the best filler it seems.
We didn’t mean to stay until closing time, but I guess the zoo had us under its spell. Most of the big cats were lounging in the shadowy corners, evading the camera lens. However, some little critters still were up for a show. The landscape gardens around these exhibits were lovely. The soft foliage of the minature woolly bushes was gorgeous in the fading light which also held the yellow flowers of the ground covers in its spotlight. I think our zoo pass is going to get a workout this year.
We’re back home and I think even Emby feels that slightly hollow feeling after a holiday because she kept waking up crying in the night. After some good naps and play with grandmu and opa hopefully tonight is better. I made sure I got the ocean white noise cued up, fingers crossed it does the trick.
So I thought I’d just post all the last couple of days images to savour the last fragments of beach holiday vibes.
Ember’s return home seems to have coincided with another mental leap. She’s started really concentrating on her mmm sounds. Mmmmmm… Ma…. Mmmmmm…Mum is it too early at just under 6 months for her to be calling out for me with outstretched arms? She’s also started getting clingy and wanting mama in the evening. Oh oh, so glad I extended my maternity leave to May to slowly ease her into childcare. For both our sakes!
There were guests downstairs so we made a nest for Emby in Nanny Annie’s upstairs bedroom so her stomping wouldn’t disturb the visitors. For one so small she certainly makes a racket. Phil’s much loved teddy bear came out of retirement to keep her company as well as her Christmas caterpillar and a colourful iPad case that she wanted to gnaw on.
Another beach visited resulted in a full face of sand, but surprisingly no tears. I think we’ll be finding grains of sand off her scalp for weeks to come, it’s as tenacious as glitter even after a nice warm bath in a laundry trough. Her new skill of sitting up makes sink baths a lot easier than when she was a sweet newborn blob.
I got use to a berry breakfast fresh from the garden everyday and it’s sorely missed now I am back home.
On our last day while everyone sweltered in 40+ temperatures in Melbourne it was 10 degrees cooler down the coast, but still too hot to do much more than enjoy a cool bath in a bucket. Her new toy submarine is made from recycled milk bottles, but still not as eco as marigolds from the garden.
Dada Dylan had to exit the festivities early to rescue Phil who had ridden an hour from home and shredded his tire. Early rumours that his tires actually melted from the heat turned out to be unfounded, which was a disappointment to all. Especially those who thought it was madness to ride out at all in the heat.
The cycling tomfoolery was not at an end though, because while Ember was reclining on her cushion with nothing but a nappy keeping her decent three hot and hyperventilating cyclists fell at Anne’s doorstep begging shelter and refreshment from the heat. I think Emby was the wisest of the bunch, cool as a cucumber under her ceiling fan.
Ember made sure she kept uncle Bevan’s favourite couch corner warm in his absence. It will be interesting who wins the coveted spot when she’s older. She does have cuteness on her side and tears and a quivering lip won’t hurt either. She also polished Nanny Annie’s floors scrupulously everyday. Sometimes on a small purple cushion, but her favourite was the hilariously long patchwork cushion that had at least two body lengths on her. Another novelty was riding on Phil’s toy cow. Why does a grown man have a toy cow you ask? No not one toy cow, he has two! Of course the answer is disappointingly mundane, he won them in a bike race. Snore!
Our last day we went for a little walk in the bush out the back because it doesn’t feel like you’ve done grey river properly without it. The bush was alive with orange butterflies so thick that battered softly against our faces as we passed through to Emby’s amazement. She rode on Dylan’s shoulder on the way back, still too small to grab on. The coastline sparkled below us as we said goodbye, until next time holidays.
