Prams at the Pix: Tully

I went to my first Prams at the Pix at the local theater and saw Tully with a group of mums and bubs from my mothers' group. The movie was pretty good and took an unexpected turn. It was also just nice to see a movie with Penelope and not have to worry about it if she cried, since everyone else in the theater was in the same boat. Prams lined the whole front of the cinema, moms were up and down walking in the side aisles during the movie, feeding their babies, etc. Penelope was really well behaved anyway. One of the other mothers complimented how she was so alert, and yet, not fussy. She even got to do some tummy time during the movie. Anyway, it was a good experience and I'd definitely go back.

Penelope Takes Flight

We survived our first two flights as a family with a baby. Penelope was a little angel for the first flight. She was sound asleep during takeoff, didn't cry once, and fed during landing. The Gold Coast was fun with friends, although there were times we had to trade off watching her. She is very social most of the time and enjoys being around and meeting new people. Penelope was doted on in the spirit circles after a few of Michael's games, and she ate it up. 

Penelope also gave us a brief scare when she was sleeping in a tent next to us, and a freak gust of wind was strong enough to blow the tent over, tumbling her inside. She woke up a little startled, but the ordeal seemed to bother me more than it bothered her, and she settled quickly. It just goes to show you how careful you have to be and how quick something can happen. We thought she was perfectly safe in the tent right next to us, and we thought it had been weighted down properly considering it was breezy and not very windy. She currently weighs about 5 kilos, which is still not very much. Lesson learned. 

During the flight back, Pen was less of an angel. She had woken up early and not gotten a solid nap - just ten minutes here and ten minutes there - so she was definitely more fussy and cried a few times. We were those people with the crying baby, at least until Michael took her during landing and finally got her to sleep. Luckily, she wasn't the only crying baby, so at least we could share the blame. Anyway, what can you do? If you have a baby, and you go places, occasionally she is going to cry. Other people just have to deal. For longer flights, we might do something nice like give the people around us candy and earplugs, or something like that. At least she is cute most of the time, so maybe that makes up for it somewhat, at least for the people who get to see her when she's cooing and smiling. 

A slow exodus has begun. We have six friends who will be moving from the Sydney area in the next few months, and the first has left. It's kind of a bummer, but I think this just kind of cyclically happens every few years when you live in a big city. People come and people go. We are very happy for our friends to be moving on to new adventures, and in a year to a year and a half, we will also be moving on. I like to think of it like at least we will have friends living in different interesting places to visit around the world. It will become an excuse to travel, as if we needed any more excuses. There is no doubt in my mind we will meet up in other cities to do fun things, like ski or hike or play in more frisbee tournaments. It will be trickier in the next few years now that we have a little munchkin to tote around too, but if you make friends and travel a priority, a getaway here or there is doable. Now that we have Pen's first flight under our belt, there will be more to come.

May Happenings

Since I last posted, we took Penelope to her first farmers market and for her first time to Bondi Beach. Both were fun for her and us, since we got to get out and about and be social with friends.

What else have I been doing, you ask? I've also been working on Pen's first Shutterfly album, and I'm quite proud of how long it's taken me, which is about two weeks. It's a fun creative side project, and I already am gathering the photos for the next one. 

As the week barrels into its second half, we are getting ready for Penelope's first flight up to Coolangatta. We have been there several times before, so it's nice to do a trial weekend away somewhere familiar. The flight is only about an hour. We will also have loads of friends travelling up too, since it's the weekend of the beach nationals frisbee tournament. Even Pen's best buddy, baby Finn, will be there. Mike will play, and Pen and I will be the cheer squad. I'm not in shape to play a tournament so soon after having her, but hopefully I'll be able to play next year. At least I'll probably be able to take a dip in the ocean while a friend looks after her in the shade tent. 

Whenever I saw someone travelling with a baby before I had one, I'd think, "That looks like a pain". Now I'll get to be that person! If the choice is between going through the extra effort to go somewhere or just staying home, we choose to still have a life (or try to anyway). 

See you later, Alligators!

Saturday night, we found ourselves at a birthday party for a friend that could only be described as fabulous, and it was totally different from any party that would be thrown by anyone else we know. Our trivia friend, Rose, went all out for her 30th. We got to enjoy our cocktails while eating delicious nibbles and overlooking the harbour from 24 floors up, and we were entertained by a drag performance to "I Will Survive". It was our first real night out since becoming parents, other than going to a movie the night before, and it was pretty fun. By the end, I was itching to get back to the little munchkin, though. 

It was a great first Mothers' Day! I got to eat breakfast food for lunch at Micky's, spend time with family, and have a long bath and nap. Penelope was even extra smiley for most of the day.

We had a great time while Mike's parents visited for the last two weeks, and we had to humbly say goodbye on Mothers' Day. Penelope enjoyed getting to know them, and we enjoyed seeing them and having babysitters. Now that both sets of grandparents have come and gone back home, it's up to us to keep updating with pictures, videos, and Facetime until we can see them again - hopefully in the US fall.

A Quiet Place

Mike's parents babysat last night so we could go on our first movie date since PJ was born. We saw A Quiet Place, which we found out will give you a particularly visceral reaction if you are a new parent. Despite that, it was really well-done. After seeing it, Mike and I came up with a few ways we would be better prepared than the family in the movie, so we'll be good if aliens with super strong hearing ever take over.

The Riverboat Postman

We have gotten to do some fun stuff with Michael's parents so far on their visit. Michael went with them on the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb and a clear, sunny afternoon. Sunday, we got to go on a lunch cruise on the Hawkesbury River with them and some other friends, and friends of friends - there were four babies along with our group! It was actually a lot of fun and not as chaotic as one might think four babies could be. The weather was gorgeous, the views were beautiful, and the fish and chips weren't half bad.