18 Months

Since I stopped taking pictures monthly of Myles once we hit 1 years old, I figured I should write up an 18 month post, even if its a little late.

Weight: 13.2kg or 29lbs (97th percentile... my chunky monkey)
Height: 82cm or 2.7ft (85th percentile)

He got his 18 month vaccinations a couple weeks ago and did great. He even fell asleep right away so I went out for lunch while he slept. No complaints from me!

Myles is really a good kid. He helps clean up his toys before bed, happily runs to the bathroom to brush his teeth and doesn't make a peep going to bed. Don't get me wrong, he is still a tantrum throwing toddlers but he seems fairly okay to reason with. The last couple days he has had a serious case of the giggles and oh my, it is adorable!

I often worry about his speech development as he doesn't say too many words, but thankfully in the last week he has really been trying to say new words which makes me feel better. He can say, mum, dad, nan, Jessie, shoes, ta (thank you)and everything else is mostly gibberish.

He loves being outside and is always happiest being there. We bought him a $5 tricycle at a recycling centre and he loves riding it around the back yard, although he cant use the pedals. He also has a lawn mower he loves to play with.

His biggest obsession at the moment is his stack of cups. He plays with them all day long, building them up to a tower and crashing them down, sorting colours and putting them back together. He also loves puzzles and sorting his shapes. He seems to have a methodical brain which I think is great.

We decided to wean him off his dummy (soother) the other day but after a midnight meltdown, we decided to put it off a little longer. My cousin suggested slowly cutting the tip of the dummy off until he no longer desires having it, so we might try that next. We might wait until the nights get warmer so its easier to get out of bed to deal with Myles... it's too cold at the moment.

Myles continues to thrive at day care. He can apparently use sign language to say all the colours, please, thank you, more and all done. I might need to google how to do it so I know what he is trying to tell me! Whenever I go to pick him up, he runs away to keep playing with his friends. It sure makes me feel better as I know he is loving it.

We love our little man so much and couldn't imagine our lives without him. He brings us so much joy and we are forever grateful for him being in our lives! We can't wait to watch him grow into a young man.

Celebrating Barney

Friday night was Barney's 37th birthday so I surprised him by taking him to a fancy restaurant for dinner. We were both so tired from work and being up early with Myles, so the 45 drive to get there wasn't enticing but I am so glad we went!

We went to a restaurant called Hobarts in Newcastle. Barney heard good things about it and I found out the chef at my work and the chef at Hobarts used to work together. Small world.

For entrees I had scallops with crispy kale, sea grapes and Japanese vinaigrette. Barney had beef carpacio with fennel, avocado puree and horseradish.

For main course I had "3 little pigs" consisting of pork belly, pork roast, pork sausage, cauliflower puree and apple. Barney had confit duck leg with crisp duck tongue and duck neck sausage. They were both delicious!

For dessert we had their signature "Monet" dessert. They put a piece of plastic down on the table and the chef comes over and makes the dessert in front of you, like a work of art.

Once everything is on the plate, the chef pours dry ice over the chocolate shell in the middle making everything inside it freeze.

Once the dry ice settles, she picks up the chocolate shell and drops it, causing it to shatter and all the yummy bits spread over the table. The dessert consisted of raspberry coulis, passionfruit curd, black current gel, chocolate and macadamia soil, cookie crumb, coconut foam, cherry jelly, white chocolate shards, fresh raspberries and blueberries which freeze in the middle, hazelnut ice cream and the chocolate shell. It was divine! We ate nearly all of it but were so full after. It was fun to eat off of the table too.

We had a lovely date night and Myles was a good boy for the babysitter so it was a win win!

On Sunday it was Father's Day here in Australia so we decided to go into Newcastle to the farmers market. The produce, flowers, meat, breads... everything looked amazing. Most of it was organic so it was a bit expensive for us, but we walked away with a pineapple, purple carrots and organic beetroot. We got to sample some beautiful salami and swiss cheese too which Myles loved.

We left the markets and headed to another town to do a bit of shopping and stopped for lunch and a play.

We headed home and just hung out until nap time. We all had a 2 hour nap which was glorious! I went off to church and Barney cooked me a beautiful dinner. It probably should have been me cooking but he loves it and I appreciate it!

Myles and I are so grateful for Barney in our lives. He is a great dad and wonderful husband! We love you Barney!