Desmond's First Haircut

Desmond was born with a full head of hair. Beautiful reddish-blonde hair. Unlike Vincent's coarse dishwater blonde hair which sticks straight up if it is not kept short, Desmond's hair is fine, slightly wavy, with a bit of a curl when it gets damp.

We had trimmed the front of his hair a couple of months ago because it was starting to hang in his eyes. But, in recent days, we realized that his hair was getting a bit shaggy and it was probably time for his first official haircut. And since the "buzz cut" look works for Paul and Vincent, we thought we'd try it on Desmond. The longest adapter Paul has for his cutter is a number 4. So we thought we give it a go.

We stripped Desmond down to his diaper, and I sat on the edge of the tub with him on my lap. Vincent brought a constant supply of toys to keep Desmond occupied. And Paul was armed with the electric razor/hair cutter. Desmond sat very still and took it all in.

After the first pass of the razor, Paul and I looked at each other in a bit of shock - this was VERY short. But he had to keep going. In the end, it turned out alright...but it will take some getting used to. Now my sweet little cherubic-faced Desmond looks like a bit of a tough guy!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Father's Day in Australia.

Before you ask, Mother's Day in Australia is on the same day as Mother's Day in the United States. And, no, my Australian-American husband does not get two Father's Days - just one. We celebrate the holiday in whichever country we are presently living.

My husband is a pretty laid back and humble guy. And, to be honest, he's probably going to be a bit embarrassed when he finds out that I am about to dedicate an entire blog post to him and the fact that he is a wonderful dad to our two boys.

Paul has told me that when he was a teenager and an young man in his early 20s, he never really saw himself becoming a husband - much less a father. But then he met me, we got married, and things changed (thank goodness!!)

Paul was present at the birth of both boys - Vincent in April 2009 and Desmond in September 2011. But it was with Desmond's birth that he went above and beyond the "normal" father duties when he helped me deliver our baby at home (it was a planned home birth) before the midwife arrived (Desmond was in quite a hurry!)

If you know Paul at all, you know that he is a thoughtful, gentle, and kind man. As a father, Paul is patient and practical and consistent. He plays golf and trains with Vincent, stacks up blocks for Desmond, and enjoys reading to both boys (when Desmond isn't grabbing at the pages). He has amazing and unique bonds with both boys.

This year, we are spending Father's Day at home - Paul went to the Father's Day breakfast at the boys' daycare on Friday and both boys made him cute Father's Day gifts. But we are home today, just hanging out. Things have been a bit stressful of late, and it is nice to have the day at home with just us.

Happy Father's Day, Paul. The boys are lucky to have you as their dad and their role model. We love you!

Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park

Today, we (Vincent, Desmond, Mom/Grandma, and I) went to the Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park. Located 30 minutes north of our house, it is a wildlife sanctuary/zoo of sorts. We had a great time - there were very few people there, and we were able to wander around and interact with a lot of the animals. Some of the animals roamed freely around the Wildlife Park, while others were in more "zoo-like" enclosures. Here is a list of animals we saw:

• Kangaroos (Grey and Red and many other species)
• Wallabies
• Emus
• Bilby
• Koalas
• Cockatoos
• Rainbow Lorikeets
• various small lizards
• Pythons
• Flying Foxs
• Wombat
• Tasmanian Devil
• Quolls
• Dingos
• and Goats, Bunnies, and Chickens

Both boys - and Grandma - had a great time. We were able to pet the kangaroos and wallabies. We learned how to throw a boomerang. And we ate our morning tea and lunch in the presence of kangaroos, wallabies, emus, and a very friendly cockatoo.

Here are some photos of our adventure... (click on a photo for a larger view)

Rainbow Lorikeet

There were at least 3 emus that were roaming around.

Those birds are big!

The view of the bushland from the Wildlife Park.

The kangaroos and wallabies at their morning feeding.

Kangaroos are sooooo soft!

The local cockatoo.

Desmond shows us where cockatoo is - high in the tree!

The Tasmanian Devil

One of the pythons.

Vincent and the wombat eye each other. The wombat was much larger than we expected!

This is Matilda the kangaroo.

She was very friendly!

And cute!

Desmond bonds with the kangaroo.

The koalas were active and very cute. 

Vincent shows us how he can jump like a kangaroo!

Grandma and Vincent throw a boomerang.

I got in on the action too!

Zoe the kangaroo wanted to share Vincent's lunch!

Sleep

I hope you will indulge this quick trip down self-pity lane...


I need sleep. Ok, to be fair, both Paul and I need sleep. But since this is my blog, this is about me. I'm not talking about an afternoon nap or a sleep-in in the morning. I need a good, solid night of 8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Desmond (9.5 months) is not sleeping well at night or, for that matter, napping very well during the day. And this has been going on for months (since before we left the US). And by not sleeping well, I mean that he is waking up - or at least crying out in his sleep - on average, 4-5 times a night. Some nights it is every 45-60 minutes. Last night, he needed soothing a couple of times before completely waking himself up at 2am - and was up for close to 2 hours. The worst is around 10pm when we have just drifted off to sleep. It is also really hard when I get him back to sleep, crawl back into bed, get warm and comfy - only to have him wake up again 10 minutes later.

Desmond started out a relatively good sleeper - not sleeping completely through the night, but only waking up 2 times a night to nurse. But then, as with Vincent, he developed into a light sleeper. It seems that he wakes up or needs soothing at the end of each 45-minute sleep cycle.

It always seems to be something - ear infection, teeth, upset and burpy tummy, mastery of new gross motor skills, a rapidly growing brain. Or an international move.

Yes, I know we could "sleep train" him. We could give him the opportunity to learn to soothe himself by letting him cry a bit. But we are worried he might wake up Vincent. And I genuinely believe that he still needs to nurse at night. And, in many ways, it is just easier to get up and nurse him or rock him than it is to lie in bed and listen to him cry.

I am fortunate that I have a partner to help with this. But, more often than not, it is me that Desmond wants. It is nice to know that I am needed...but this is getting to be a bit extreme.

I know that there are lots of other parents who have gone through this or are going through it now. We went through it (for months and months and months and months) with Vincent. I know it is a phase. I know it will end. I know Desmond will learn to sleep through the night and that by the time he is a teenager we will be pulling him out of bed at noon. But right now that doesn't matter.


I now understand why sleep-deprivation is such an effective form or torture. The only benefit of sleep deprivation (from my vantage point) is that it made the jet lag much less severe.


Fortunately, this pattern of interrupted sleep doesn't seem to make Desmond cranky during the day. Most days, he is happy, curious, laid back. And very cute and charming.

I write all of this not because I am looking for sympathy or empathy. But rather just as a way to vent. And as a possible explanation if I don't return e-mails quickly or seem a bit absent-minded when you talk to me or am completely irrational or am maybe a bit less patient with you than I should be - or if I completely bite your head off.

Just be a bit patient with me. I'm tired.

Dual citizenship

Yesterday, when we collected our mail from the little post box in front of our house after a morning out running errands, we had a postcard stating that there was a package waiting for us at our local post office that required a signature. This could only mean one thing - the boys' citizenship paperwork had been approved! So after lunch and nap, we drove up to the post office to collect the envelope. Our hunch was correct - it was an envelope from the citizenship office in Tasmania. Vincent was very excited as we opened up the envelope just outside the post office. I pulled out the certificate to show him. However, I don't think he was all that impressed by the slip of paper - I think he was hoping that it meant that he got a train or a dinosaur or something!

"Now you and Desmond are Australians," I told him. "You are just like daddy."

That made him happy - he always loves to be compared to his dad. "Yay!" He grinned from ear to ear and went jumping and skipping down the sidewalk.

A lady walking towards us looked at him and smiled. "Must have been something exciting from the post office," she said.

"Their citizenship paperwork was just approved," I replied.

She smiled. "Congratulations! Yay!"

I sort of felt like we should wave a mini-Australian flag or sing the national anthem - or at least "Waltzing Matilda."

The boys qualified for Australian citizenship by decent because their dad was an Australian citizen at the time of their births. We could have applied for their Australian citizenship at any time after their birth. We probably would have done so eventually while living in the US, but the move happened so quickly that it was just easier to take care of it once we arrived in Sydney.

Both Paul and I were quite surprised at the speed at which this process happened. After finally assembling all the paperwork that we needed (birth certificates, proof of Paul's citizenship, proof of address, and the application form), I put the envelope in the mail on Tuesday. The date on the citizenship certificates was Thursday - 2 days after I mailed it. And it had to go all the way to Tasmania to be processed.

So, what does this mean for our boys? Well, they now have dual citizenship with the US and Australia. Once we get them Australian passports, it will make travelling in and out of either country much easier. They are now eligible for Medicare (the universal healthcare system in place in Australia...a future blog post) as well as any other benefits afforded to citizens of Australia. And they will be required to vote when they reach voting age (voting in Australia is compulsory...I think that will be another good topic for a future blog post).

According to both US and Australian laws, dual citizenship is legal in both countries (prior to 2002, if an Australian citizen became a citizen of another country, they automatically lost their Australian citizenship). So the boys will be able to retain both citizenships for life. 

Desmond's new sweater

Before we decided to move back to Sydney, I started working on a sweater for Desmond. It is a pretty straightforward pattern by Elizabeth Smith at The Brown Stitch - a little cardigan with raglan sleeves and a truck on the back. I had made the same one for the baby of a friend of ours a few months earlier, so I knew that it would be cute and functional.

Then we decided to move, Paul left for Sydney, and I suddenly ran out of time to knit. I was about three-quarters of the way through the pattern.

Now that we have settled in a bit in Sydney, I have finally had a chance to finish this sweater! I was a little worried that it might not fit Desmond any more (he is kind of a big and chunky guy), but it fits perfectly and is the ideal sweater for the cool Sydney winter days we have been experiencing lately.

An afternoon at the park

Yesterday afternoon, the boys and I found a great park a short drive from our house. Vincent and Desmond had a blast! Here are some pictures I took with the camera on my phone.