8 Months

Blog note:  You may have noticed the new links down the right hand side.  Rather than trying to include pictures within the blog posts, those will be my "critter gallery."  I'll try to note anytime I update those pages, but this way folks only have to see what they want to see.  :)  There are lots of new pictures on the reptiles and insect pages this month.

Its hard to believe how fast the boys are growing!  Jamie is becoming quite the little boy - climbing and swimming are his two favorite activities.  And he doesn't care where he does them (the bathtub, swingset, couch), we'll really be in trouble when he tries to figure out ways to combine them!

Yesterday the babies turned 8 months old.  It was quite the month for them.  Both started crawling!  Gavin has decided that if he's going to be smallest, he needs to be first at something.  So, teeth it is.  Gavin has cut 8 teeth in less than 2 months.  Even Jamie who got his teeth pretty darn fast took almost 4 months to get 8 teeth!!!

 

Yasi?

Nosi! 

Last week was dominated with talk and preparation for Cyclone Yasi, which hit Queensland pretty hard.  Queensland really didn't need any more rain, let alone a cyclone (hurricane).  What was really notable about Yasi is although it weakened as it came inland, it still managed drop huge amounts of rain across the center of the country. 

We were given flooding preparations plans (Alice Springs Flood Map), buildings around town were protected by sandbags, and we gathered up all the toys in the backyard and tied them down.  We braced for 60mph+ winds and rains up to 12" over a 48 period.

And we got...nothing.  Well, not nothing, just nothing remarkable.  We got rain, but only about an inch or so.  It did come down pretty hard a few times.  Hard enough to overwhelm drainage capabilities in our front yard, which created a wonderful play zone for Jamie.

I'm not sure anything would've made him happier than the hour he spent playing in the rain and splashing in the puddles.

The next day the skies had cleared, the yard had drained and we spent a lovely afternoon playing the backyard.

Gavin LOVED this popsicle!