Liam's 4th birthday party

Liam turned four on Sunday and we had a party at the park to celebrate.  He had a few friends from his day care and mother's group, and family, and they all had a lovely time together.

It threatened to rain but thankfully the inclement weather held off until we were leaving. 

Liam got heaps of really cool pressies and loved being the centre of attention - James had to take a back seat for a change!

Happy birthday Liam - we are very proud of you!

Liam and James checking out the see-saw

Kerrie, Sophie and Toby sampling the goodies

A space ship cake ... oooh how exciting!

Time to blow out the candles...

A hammer was required to penetrate the titanium outer shell of the space craft...

(would someone wipe James's face!!!)

... to reveal the treasure inside!

A gleeful lolly grab ensued.

Thank you to everyone for your lovely, thoughtful birthday wishes and phone calls and presents, you helped to make it a very special day for Liam!

Ange xx

Dress-ups

Check out my super-hero Liam - ready to fight evil and save the world at any moment!
James stayed true to character and dressed as "the villain" - a swashbuckling pirate ready to rob, pillage and wreak havoc.  Much like everyday life, actually.

Those underpants are a bit baggy there, Superman!

Good point Mum - but I still think I look really cool!

Liam to the rescue!

Zane's birthday

We had a great lunch at the Belvedere for Zane's birthday.

Everybody say cheese!

Leigh's 40th

We thought we would be sneaky squirrels and fly down to Sydney to surprise Leigh for her 40th in June.  Unbeknown to us, Mum had had the same idea!  So there were surprises going on all over the place!

Needless to say, we had a fabulous weekend away (sans kids for me!).  John was in full project manager mode, collecting and dropping off at the airport and moving everyone around like a pro!  He arranged for us all to have a beautiful lunch at Darling Harbour on the Saturday afternoon, and then we had dinner at a great place at the Rocks, followed by cocktails (lemon lime and bitters for me).  It was sooo good all us girls being together again. 

The next day everyone else nursed their hangovers, and I emerged fresh as a daisy, ready for more action!  We had a great buffet breakfast in the hotel, followed by lunch at Leigh and John's local.  Then it was sadly time to say goodbye. 

Thank you so much to John for his incredible generosity and organisation skills.  Thanks to him we had a brilliant and unforgettable weekend.

At lunch

A champagne toast for the birthday girl!

The Warren girls

Dolled up to the nines, ready for a night on the town

Happily ensconsed at the restaurant

The harbour bridge was right behind us! (you'll have to take my word for it)

The best buffet breakfast ever

Fed and watered (I think those are all Leigh's tea cups - she loves a cuppa!!)

Back at the O'Dowds, pressie time

My gorgeous nieces

Brent & Penny's engagement party

It's not often that we go out anymore so Brent and Penny's cocktail party engagement party was eagerly anticipated by us. 

Options are limited in the wardrobe department when you're four months pregnant but one good thing is that your feet don't change size, so fabulous shoes are still an available option!

Pictured above is from left to right - me, Jacki (MIL), Chae, Lorraine (Zane's aunty) and Sarah (Zane's cousin) and of course, the happy couple Brent & Penny.

Sydney

On our way home (as you probably already know from Leigh's blog), we stopped in Sydney for a couple of nights.  James picked up a vomiting bug which resulted in a rather messy situation in the hotel porta-cot (I won't say any more on that subject) - but that didn't stop us from getting out and enjoying the delights of Sydney.  Leigh and John were the perfect hosts, giving us lots of top tips for sightseeing and taking us out for dinner, and having dinner at their place.  It was great to see everyone again and I am SO glad they are back in Oz!  Their house is fantastic and in a great location. 

We also really enjoyed the Sydney Wildlife centre, a trip to Manly on the ferry, and wandering around the Rocks and Darling Harbour.

All in all a perfect way to end a perfect holiday.

Our last morning in Sydney

An impromptu gymnastics display in the backyard

Making friends with the locals

 

Fiji .... again again

The last of the Fiji pics.  Note the lobster for dinner - which we had  twice!!
And the tuna for lunch that Zane had caught off the reef that morning.  Yum!