Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail!

We went to a little town called Nelson Bay yesterday, Easter Sunday, and walked around and had a little lunchie. The Easter Bunny made a visit to the pier. Clearly the bunny looks like he is on drugs and Evan was very scared of him. I think he has good insticts already. But it made for a good picture anyway. They also had a little car show and a small carnival. We didn't ride any of the rides for fear our equilibrium would never recover but Evan did check out the cars. They had a mini Austin Healy which he decided he wanted to race. Boogity, Boogity, Boogity. Watch out Grandpa! All in all we had a great time. When we returned to Peppers, the sun came out for the afternoon so we took advantage of it and went to the beach. Jason and Evan collected lots of shells and a little sand in Evan's pants!

Leaving Their Mark On Australia

The weather today at the beach started out very cloudy and rainy. The sun made a brief appearance this afternoon so we took the opportunity to head to the beach. Evan was quite timid at first but then seemed to enjoy it before we left. We definitely made our mark on Australia, giving a shout out or two to some folks back home. Sorry we couldn't include everyone. Hopefully the weather will continue to improve for tomorrow. Shockingly eventhough it was mostly overcast today, somehow I still managed to get a little sunburn. It couldn't be my albino skin. Don't worry, we put sunscreen on Evan.

Dancin' Man

Please turn your head sideways to watch (I couldn't figure out how to rotate the video) Sorry. It's a must see though!

We had a few glasses of wine last night and then pulled out the ipod to listen to a little music. We found out that Evan got his fathers rythm...thank god! It is too funny though. He really enjoyed listening to a little Otis Redding's "Satisfaction". Enjoy! I know we did.

Yummo

We went to the restaurant at Peppers called Merrets for lunch yesterday. We had an excellent American meal of Club Sandwhichs, shoestring french fries and caesar salad. It was delicious! Even Evan got in on the action! Yummo!

Gimme Some Sugar

Evan thought it was very funny to give GiGi kisses through the glass. He then thought it was funny to lick the glass. That little window licker!

Thar She Blows!

We took a riding tour of Port Stephens and Nelson Bay where we encountered a very angry sea! Kristen-Take note of the pictures where Lindsey, Evan and I are being blown off the bluff. Our hair looks like it did the night of your wedding!

Peppers Anchorage

This is our latest hotel. It is called Peppers Anchorage. It is a beautiful hotel. The first evening we arrived (Thursday) the weather was beautiful and the sunset was magnificent. We tried to get some decent pictures but photographers, we are not.

Gummy Bear!

We were hoping we could get the nurses professional opinions. It looks to us like Evan is going to get every single one of his top teeth at the same time. If anyone thinks differently, please let us know.

Happy Early Birthday!

We held a small birthday party this evening for Evan's 1st Brithday. It is, of course, April 6th. However, Daddy will be in Australia and will miss it so we decided to have a little party two weeks early. Truthfully we mainly wanted to see the little guy eat cake. GiGi (that is Grammy's new name) and mommy bought some blue cupcakes at the bakery and let Evan have at it. He was very timid and was not too sure what to think about the whole thing. He really enjoyed smearing the icing everywhere. I even think there might have been some in his hair! We thought you might enjoy some of the pics. Other exciting events to note include Evan's second bottom tooth has finally popped through, we believe he is trying to get his two top teeth as well. No wonder he wasn't feeling very well! Also Evan has taken his first unassisted steps yesterday. It was only about four steps but man were we excited! We are trying to capture it on tape so that we may share it with everyone. We head to the coast tomorrow night and we couldn't be more excited for a little fun in the sun and surf.

If you are happy and you know it...

...Smile really big! Evan just hanging out at the cottage while daddy is at work! I don't know but hanging out with two gorgeous chicks doesn't sound too bad to me.

The Jason and Evan Show

So Evan hasn't been feeling very well the past couple of days. We believe he is getting another tooth and this has caused him to feel a little crankie and run a low-grade fever. We have been giving him good ol' American Baby Motrin and he is feeling a little better. He was feeling so well in fact we took him to the pool to swim a few laps and get a little R and R in the sun (shade really). Daddy was the main man yesterday so all of the pictures pretty much have either just Evan or Evan and Jason. Evan is feeling a little better today, although still just slightly warm so we will see how the day goes. Jason wants to check out a few more wineries so we may do that. Next weekend, Easter weekend, we plan on heading to the coast to check out the beaches. We are scheduled to stay at Peppers Resort at Port Stephens....here is the link. We should be there Thursday, March 20 checking out Monday, March 24. We will still have Jason's cell phone though.

http://www.peppers.com.au/Anchorage

Only two weeks left!

Miss Carol

This a picture of the gang with Carol. She and her husband Peter just took over Thistle Hill three months ago. They have done a fabulous job and our stay couldn't be better. I took some pictures of our cottage but with the shadows all you could see was the roof. So I will have to do a better job next time and then post those. Evan wasn't too sure about Carol at first (I think it was the South African accent) but now he absolutely loves her and reaches his arms out for her when she comes to visit. Jason is back in town, he has been staying in Maitland (30 minutes away) for meetings so we are glad to have him back for a while. I suppose we will hit the wineries again this weekend....oh darn!

Just checking things out!

Evan was checking to make sure his stroller is sturdy...yep looks good!

Peek-A-Boo!

Evan has learned a new game as you can see. He is such a little pip-squeak! He thought he was the funniest little man and mother and I would have to agree. Don't you?

Gone Swimmin'....Again

I know you have seen this type of picture before, but it was too cute to pass up posting another. This was taken at Thistle Hill's pool. Evan is a born water baby. He loves to splash in the water!

More Beach Photos

I thought I would include more Evan pictures. I don't think you can ever have enough. These are still the pictures of the beach adventure to Newcastle. After a little fun in the sun we headed to the top of the hills in Newcastle and found ourselves a shady tree in a park to have a lunch. No pictures to share, but it sure was fun!

The Pacific Ocean!

We ventured to Newcastle this weekend. It was beautiful! This was the first time Evan has seen the ocean. It is kind of funny that the first ocean he has seen is the Pacific. I always thought it would be the Atlantic. The water was a little chilly, so we only put his feet in it. I don't think he was too sure what to think about it, but it was fun. It was really hot at the beach and of course with my near albino skin, I got burned. But have no fear...we put spf 50 on Evan!

Evan the Great!

Of course I had to include a picture/video or two of Evan! He has been quite good on the trip. He is rolling with the punches and we get our beauty sleep whenever possible. He is drinking his formula less and less and eating more big boy food. I think his favorite is still the scrambled eggs. He has become very sassy lately though. If he doesn't want to eat something or do something, he will definitely let you know. We are trying to keep him in line though. He is learning how to wave hi and bye and that is what is captured on the video. He is becoming more brave with his walking. He still has to hold on to something but lets go every now and then to test his freedom. I don't know if it makes him nervous but sure does make mother and grammy very nervous! Boys!

Wine Tasting...Mmm Mmm

We have been making our way through the Hunter Valley, vineyard by vineyard. The tastings are free and we take full advantage of them. Of course we buy a bottle of wine at many of the places so I think it all comes out even in the end. The only problem with "tasting" all that wine is that we forget to take pictures of the places we have been. These are just a few of the pics. We will try to do better next time! Oh, just as a side note: Evan forgot his I.D. so he is not able to taste. But that works out okay; we made him the D.D.!

Chloe The Kangaroo

So Jason and I went to the grocery st0re this afternoon leaving mom at the cottage with Evan. She went to go check on Evan and walked past the front door and noticed this out of the corner of her eye. This is Chloe. She was standing right at the front door. Mom got some great pictures of her. I am not sure if she wanted food or just wanted to check out the new folks in the cottage but she sure is cute.

A Day Of Firsts

We arrived at Cypress Lakes Sunday, our layover resort, and encountered many firsts. We were sitting around having a bit of wine, of course, and looked out to see a family of kangroos munching on the grass. One of them had a baby joey in her pouch so that was kind of cool. We also discovered one of Evan's hidden talents. Since our house in Indiana is only one level, we had never experienced steps. However Evan is a natural climber as shown on the little video clip. We then ventured to the lagoon pool on the property where Evan enjoyed his first swim in Australia. I think he looked quite handsome in his little board shorts. Although there were no ladies to impress. We left Cypress Lakes on our way to Thistle Hill. Of course we had to take a pit stop for a little gelatto. MMMMmmmmmm. We should be here for about three weeks. They have a tame kangroo on the property named Chloe. She is very sweet and will even let you come up to her. The cottage is gorgeous and the people are quite lovely. We will include pictures on the next blog hopefully.

The Yanks Have Arrived

The Yanks have arrived down unda after a very long day of flying and we felt like the walking dead. However Jason made us walk 4 blocks to Darling Harbour. The first picture is of the Sydney Opera House in the background. The other two have the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background. We hung out there for a while and saw some street performers including a woman about the size of Jaime contort her body to fit into a 16 inch box. Very interesting. We drug ourselves back to The Westin and got into bed at about 6 pm, skipped dinner and fell asleep until 6 am Sunday. We feel very refreshed today and ready to head to the Hunter Valley. Jason will be driving so pray for us all! We are heading to Cypress Lakes Resort and Jason had a difficult time getting onto the internet so you may not get an update for a couple of days. We miss you all!