The things we do…

Look at what Christian has made us do to:

We have had to stack our couches away! Christian discovered that he could climb them to reach the  blinds and windows. We were worried that he would take a dive off the couches. And the window has a crack in it, which is a major problem when Christian seems to like the noise he can make when he bangs the glass. And he thinks it’s a game when we take him down from the couches.

So when you come over, we can offer you a place on the floor…

At least Nala seems happy.

Heights

Oh. Hi. Don’t know how I got up here…

Life imitating art.

Thank the lucky stars for tolerant cats!

I think it’s amazing that animals seem to realise that babies don’t really know what they are doing. We are thankful that both our cats tolerate Christian’s antics. Otherwise, Christian would already be full of scars…

For example:

Poor Nala.

Christian and Nala

We have one active kid here…

His trail of destruction…

You better watch out Nala…

We are continually amazed that the cats seem to accept that Christian is a baby and they do not react when he does things like pulls out their hair. They don’t even run away! Several times, we have moved the cats away for their own safety and so Christian doesn’t eat too much cat hair…

Helping around the house.

Christian has discovered cupboards and boxes. All he wants is to find out what’s inside them.

Do I wear all of these things?

Fascinating… oh wait, I’ve opened this before. No matter.

Using Nala to distract him.

Hmmm, tastes like chicken.

Godzilla! GrrRRR…Roar!

Both of them fighting to be in the box.

He’s an active little one.

Now that Christian is mobile, we bought him a cage playpen.

It can be quite dangerous in the there with him, especially if he takes a fancy to your hair!

Nala sometimes get interested in Christian’s toys. And Christian is getting interested in Nala too.

Ready… Set… Go!!!

Christian’s new set of wheels.

“Good evening, Mr Bond. We meet again.”

On a different note (yes, there are more things in life than Christian – not much, but there is!), my brother and his wife just got back from the US of A and they brought me a present. A new cap!  I’ve been looking for a new San Francisco 49ers cap, not an easy thing to find in Australia. I think it was time that I changed caps, don’t you?

Revisiting childhood.

It’s amazing how memories come flooding back when you find your old toys. My dad found this lot and even cleaned them for me Christian. One of my earliest memories is playing with this Playmobil castle (and setting up Playmobil soldiers as guards around our house). There are some broken pieces and it’s missing most of the small bits, but I am surprised that most of it is still in good condition. They still make Playmobil sets, but it’s pricey. I’m not going to force Christian to re-live my childhood, but it would be great if he could get the same enjoyment out of my toys as I did.

Argh!!! Monster!!! No, it’s just Kat.

28th April 2008

Listening intently to Bethany reading a story. “Hmmm, tell me more…”

Trying unconventionally to get mum’s attention.

 

In his “cage”.

Pretty Kat

“I surrender!”

Nala, BBQs, and time at home.

We were changing the bed sheets and left the doona on the floor. Guess who found them…

On Sunday, we were able to get some of the CIR mother’s group together for a BBQ. The mothers: Nadine, Erika, and Claudie. The bubs: Natalie, Ben, Hamish, and, of course, Christian! While the mums compared babies, Brian and I compared Bunnings purchases and DSLR cameras…

I’ve taken a few days off so I can spend some time with Christian and to give Claudie a bit of a break. Christian has developed some not-so-good habits with eating (snacking) and sleeping. He has been unable to resettle himself after 45 minutes, which leads to a baby with a bad mood. We are trying to spread out his feeds and hopefully, he gets the idea that he can sleep longer than 45 minutes.

Anyway, couldn’t help myself with the camera.

Yet more photos:

I realise that I’ve been adding alot of photos in the last week, with Easter and visiting friends… there is no way that I can sustain this pace. But recently, my brother gave me some good advice about framing, technique, etc. Paul pointed out that he takes roughly 1200 photos per wedding – that’s what you call hands-on experience. My photo count on the Pentax K100D is just over 3000, meaning that I need to practice much much more…

By the way, this advice is now available for the cost of a good meal to anyone! It will be worth it.

http://www.paulthia.com/weblog/?page_id=202

I was going to save these photos for a rainy day, but I really like these photos! These were taken by Claudie.

Nala studiously ignoring Christian.

I really like this photo

Hard at work.

 Another day at the office.

Nala is not amused.

My new lens

Sometimes, life is made much easier if you have the right equipment. In this case, it’s a Pentax FA-50mm f1.4 prime lens. Most of the photos that you see in this blog are taken indoors, and we are always fiddling with getting the flash setup. With the prime lens, you don’t need a flash.

My new lens.

It’s hard to indicate just how dark the room was for this shot.

Remember folks, no flash needed.

And this kind of shot makes it all worth while.

 

I’ve only used this lens for a few dozen shots, and I still have a lot to learn about photography. My thanks to Paul for encouraging me to get this lens! If you want to see how it’s properly done, check out his website (he just shot another wedding): http://www.paulthia.com/