Happy 2019!

We rang in the new year with some friends in a little house in the mountains, playing boardgames, and watching music and fireworks on TV. We could see the same fireworks, well the tops of them anyway, tiny and very far away, over the hills in the distance, which was pretty cool. It was perfect because we could be social and have Penelope there too, sleeping in the other room, without having to host in our small apartment. We had a delicious potluck meal/burned BBQ, and then the next morning we had a delicious breakfast spread including scrambled eggs and extra crispy bacon. 

It's funny, we try to teach her so many words and names, and but the next ones after mama, dada, and Lala (her grandmother's nickname) have been cat and dog. At the house, there was a little dog that Penelope was fascinated with, and she couldn't stop saying, "dog". Only, when she says it it sounds like, "dog-gue". 

Goodbye, 2018. Around the world, there were lots of disasters and crazy news stories. Personally, our 2018 was pretty good. We welcomed Penelope, and she consumed almost all our time in her first few months. As she got a little bit older, we had been able to take her on some short trips, I was able to start playing frisbee again, continued my semi-regular trivia nights, I babysat and taught here and there, and then we had our big trip to the US at the end. Penelope has done an amazing job in her swim lessons, and it has been a great joy for all of us.

I'd say we have done pretty well at remaining social while having a baby. How do we do it without having many people around to help us with her? Trading-off is key. Our social lives are somewhat separate when we do things during the week, but then on weekends we might go to brunch with some other families or all go to the pool or for a walk together. So, we manage. I also try to only be away one evening during the week, since I like being around to put Penelope to bed. 

Hello, 2019. We are awaiting our Australian citizenship application to be processed. With Elizabeth Warren already announcing that she will be running for president in 2020, we will be following US news and politics closely. As the new school year starts up here, I will try to work more days again. We hope to do a few more travels in this part of the world before heading back heading back to the US later in the year. 

I have no resolutions this year. I just want to get off to a positive start in general and enjoy our remaining time here in Australia.