Marin? No, it's Cooper Park

Another day with little happening until late in the day. We headed out to Cooper Park to see if they had a baby swing and maybe something to climb on. It is down a very steep hill (on the way to Double Bay) and back quite a ways down a lovely tree-covered street. Besides the giant Centennial Park, I think this one is my favorite so far. It doesn't hurt that they have loads of tennis courts a beautiful cafe there too. Must try both of those sometime.

I pushed Amelia in the stroller down and back up that hill. A fellow told me there are pathways which make it quicker to get in and out of the park but not with the "pram," especially not one as big and bulky as mine. I hope to figure out a way to get there without the beast.

Now it's a green fence.

Path to the park.

Ferns along the walkway.

A little "bushwalk" up the hill.

Deserted park.

Of course... the baby swing!

Crazy shadows.

Cooper Park aka Hidden Valley!

The cafe--you can't see the wisteria hanging. So lovely!

One last push.

The popcorn has arrived!

Well not really popcorn, but you would think that was the special package Amelia got by her utter excitement. She played for at least an hour with the popcorn (it's not the styrofoam kind, but rather the kind which disintegrates in water.)

Actually, my parents sent Amelia a care package with a dozen packages of freeze dried strawberries from Trader Joes, along with a variety of other not to be missed items. I think she ate one entire bag at the first sitting! Since then, we are trying to have just handful with breakfast.

So excited about the popcorn.

The circle in the center was after
Amelia "swam" through the "water."

Before the package arrived, Amelia and I met a new friend for coffee and then onto Waverly library storytime. (We had been waiting for almost a week for it. My dad put the wrong address on it and then, after calling to change it, they still tried to deliver to the wrong one. It took them another 2 days to get it right!) I met a nice woman named Milly at Powerhouse Museum a few weeks before and we finally figured out a day to get together. Her daughter, Ruby, is about a year younger than Amelia.

This was their first time at the library and found it to be a great storytime experience. The librarian put on a little puppet show of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. And after the video, the kids colored in butterflies. It was perfect! The 4 of us headed to the mall for lunch (surprise!) and met Milly's husband Matt. Both kids were pretty knackered (I love that word) and in need of a nap. We said our goodbyes.

I later sent Milly a text to see if she knew of a babysitter because my anniversary was coming up. Guess what Milly did? She offered to watch Amelia for us on Saturday night so we could go out! That is kindness you don't see every day. Thanks Milly. You're a dear!

Jet lagging my ass outta bed

Playtime at LAX

Catch up: Days 1-5
It's day 5 and we are having a hard time right now. Amelia has been waking up really, really early. Well, so have I but I still try and go back to sleep, even if it doesn't work.

Grammy Janis is here with us so it's been a little easier, but not always. This morning, for instance, Amelia and I went out to the mall (yes, the mall) because everything else is closed. We rode the escalators up and down for 10-15 minutes and took various elevators too. Nothing is opened before 7 except for the grocery store, Coles, which opens at 6am. I wanted a coffee (no, NEEDED a coffee!) so we had to busy ourselves for 30-40 minutes, hence the escalators.

Getting cozy on the plane with "softie" and friends

I wish there was more to report but we haven't done very much so far. The first day we walked around a little, took a long nap and then went out for dinner. Seems like day 2 was fairly similar. Eric was off Saturday and Sunday so we spent that time with him.

View from the hotel reception area

Day 3 I went on a mini adventure to Maroubra to pick up a free stroller. Yes free. Well, except for the expensive bus trip, it was free. A woman from the library (got cards on Sunday) said we could have hers. So I hopped on the bus and went to her house to pick it up. Though it's quite old, it's functional and, oddly enough, it's green: Amelia's favorite color.

Reunited

Before lunch, we had bathroom drama and Amelia decided she did not care for the little potty I bought at Target (yes, they have Target here) the day before. I found a baby bjorn potty chair, just like the one we have at home in green, only this one is red, online at Gumtree.com. It's Australia's version of Craigslist. Janis took a cab to pick it up (4km roundtrip, $20+ dollars. Used potty seat, $20. Price for a new one, $50. We came out just a little ahead.)

For lunch, Janis tried to go visit Eric at his office. Amelia and I walked to the next town, Woollahara. It's cute and small and has 3 or 4 cafe/bakeries in a 1 block radius. Nice. It was there I found Wholefoods. No kidding. Wholefoods Home to be exact. It's about the size of a postage stamp and had a lot of the foods I am familiar with, even some of the brands. However, most items were at least double if not triple the price I'm used to paying at home. Wow. Whole Foods has met its match in another Wholefoods! After the quite pricey trip to the store (I paid $8.50 for a bag of frozen peas... really!) Amelia and I split a freshly made quiche from one of the bakeries and took the bus home. It was one stop and $2. Ouch.

The adventure for day 4 was a trip to the library. Before storytime, however, we all planned to go get coffee and breakfast at the bakery from the day before in Woollahara, but, on our way, found a natural food store with a cafe. Amelia, still being very jet lagged, fell asleep in the stroller about 9:15am. Janis and I ordered bacon & egg rolls ($7.5 for take-out) and a coffee to go. We walked back to the library and ate our delicious albeit expensive breakfast sandwiches then headed inside, out of the cold.

While Amelia slept, I found a few books for her and one for me. I heard the familiar sound of "Bear Wants More" coming from inside the multi-purpose room where the 10am storytime was being held. This gave me a such a thrill. I know how much Amelia loves listening to that book (we have it on CD and regularly listen over and over and over and over while in the car.) I thought it would bring a little bit of home to Sydney. As it turns out, they read "The Big Hungry Bear", WATCHED "Bear Wants More" then made bear puppets. This storytime rocks! We'll surely be back next week.

Getting ready for the Big Hungry Bear

Catching us up to today, day 5, brings us to the escalator in the morning and (excuse the TMI) more pooping drama the rest of the day. I will spare the gory details, but I will say Janis had to run out for children's suppository and some slippery elm. Things finally worked.

It has been stressful. I'm ready for a good night's sleep! I hope it's tonight.