3rd Anniversary

Yesterday we celebrated our third anniversary! I can't believe that time has gone so quickly and that I have lived in Australia (on and off) for 5 years now. Wow!

It was also Jessie's 5th birthday so we took her out to the dog beach for a walk in the morning. Yes, we got married on her birthday so we (mainly Barney) wouldn't forget our anniversary :)

As we do every year, we went up to the look out where we got married for our annual picture. I sure look a lot different this year!

Our wedding day:

1st Anniversary

2nd Anniversary (after renovations to the lookout)

3rd Anniversary (29 weeks pregnant!)

We were going to go out for dinner, but decided lunch would be better as I couldn't be bothered to go out at night as I'm too tired. We went to a new restaurant that opened last week and it was delicious! They are still under renovations but it's going to be beautiful.

Barney had a cured salmon dish with avocado, horseradish cream and sourdough crumb and I had tempura prawns with an Asian style salad. We didn't leave full but were satisfied! We then walked down the beach next door to the shop for an ice cream for dessert. It was a perfect afternoon together.

I'm glad we had such a nice day together yesterday because I feel completely off today. I am exhausted after a good sleep last night, don't feel like eating and don't want to do anything but lie on the lounge. I really hope I am not getting sick!

Thankfully, I am only working 4 days this week because my cousin is coming to visit for the weekend! She currently is a teacher in Jakarta but will be coming to Australia for the first time to visit us and spend Christmas with friends up north.

Looking forward to her visit and a long weekend!

Pregnancy Woes

I don't want to complain because I have gratefully had an easy pregnancy but there is just two things that have been the toughest.

#1: My teeth!!

At 10 weeks I cracked a tooth and had to get a filling done. Last week, the same thing happened again. I was just eating as normal and after my tooth felt funny. I realized that a quarter of my molar was missing! I have had a few cavities growing up but generally no teeth problems until being pregnant. So, for the third time this pregnancy I headed to the dentist. I had a major filling done. Yuck.... The good in all of this, private health insurance! I've hardly had to pay for any treatment. Yay!

#2: My hips/legs

Yes, I know. My hips are slowly widening to prepare for birth and with that comes pain. After being at home all day, then going to work for 8+ hours, my right leg aches. I lie in bed and can hardly move it. The pain goes from my lower back right through to my upper thigh. It's not fun! I can hardly bear weight on my right let at the end of the day. My left leg is still in great shape.

I had a massage last week which helped but a week later, we are back to square one. All I can do is put my feet up and stretch it out. I'm nervous to see what happens when I get bigger. I've gained roughly 7-8kg so far but I'm sure I will add at least another 5kg to that total.


Even though pregnancy is taking a toll on my body, I wouldn't change it for anything. Feeling this boy kick and move is incredible. It is truly amazing that God creates this being inside of us! I am very thankful that I get to have the experience of growing a baby. It is really a miracle.

Vanuatu

I can't believe we have been home for a week already but we had the most amazing time on our holiday.

The first few days were spent doing activities and seeing the sights and the last few days were for pure relaxing.

We spent the first 2 nights on the island of Tanna, home of volcano Mt. Yasur and many ocean blue holes. We had our own blue hole to snorkel in and it was some of the best snorkelling I have ever done. Its just off the beach and is protected by the reef at low tide. Please ignore the water shoes on my hands in the first picture! I was holding them both because I was scared to go in (the water and I are not friends) and finally decided to go in. Glad I did! My body also felt so good in the water and took the pressure off of my back and joints.

The volcano was amazing!! You can drive to about 100 meters from the top then walk up to the rim. It is the most active volcano in the south pacific and even maybe the world, with eruptions happening every few seconds. You could actually see the sound waves rise through the smoke before it would sound like the loudest thunder you have heard. It took our breath away.

The second island we went to was Santo. Its popular due to the Millennium caves. It involves hiking through the jungle, visiting a village, walking through the caves (in nearly a meter of water) then coming back hiking over boulders and drifting in the river. This was not recommended for pregnant women so Barney went alone while I sat by the pool and read my book for about 8 hours. Bliss!

We also drove up the east coast to Lannoc Beach seen below. There is a resort there but it was very quiet so we had the beach to ourselves! Most of the beaches charge an entrance fee except for this one. We had lunch there then headed back to catch our flight to Port Villa.

We spent the last 4 nights in the main town of Port Villa where we spent time kayaking in the lagoon, walking around town and visiting nearby Hideaway Island to snorkel. It boasts the only underwater post office in the world and you can dive down (as seen in the last picture by Barney) and mail a postcard. The snorkelling was great but I didn't last too long as I felt like my lungs were going to collapse.

We also drove up to a fresh water blue hole where Barney swam while I watched from the side. They have a big rope swing and it was very entertaining to watch people attempt to swing from it.

All of our holidays in the past have been very full on and we've always tried to pack in as much as we possibly could. We wanted to make sure we took the time to rest and relax this time and I am so glad we did. We came back Monday night and both went to work the next day. It was the first time we felt we didn't need a holiday from our holiday!

Now, we are beginning to prepare our home (and minds!) for our little bub who will be here before we know it. We've hit the third trimester and are 27 weeks pregnant! Yikes.... its going quick!