It's official...I'm a hippy

So, I've moved to Australia and turned into a hippy. It all began with me deciding to stop shaving & using deoderant...okay, just kidding about that! Yuck.

It all began with deciding to use as much organic food as possible for cooking, snacking, baby food, etc. Organic food is a little more expensive, but, in my opinion, worth it. Next, I switched from disposable diapers to cloth diapers for Grace. We found out that she is allergic to the chlorine used in disposables and had a perpetual diaper rash. The cloth diapers have been a miracle for her little bum! Lastly, I have decided to start making my own baby food for miss Haylee. It's so much healthier than canned - not to mention cheaper! I suppose all that's left is for me to start smoking the doobie stick.....

There's actually many hippy communities here in Australia, so I'm sure I'll find some good friends. So, if you see someone hugging a tree on the side of the road, it's probably me.

our cute parasites

So, Bruce and I have decided that Grace & Haylee are really parasites in disguise. Grace has decided that she only wants to be held, played with, looked at, and anything and everything else by me. It wouldn't be all that bad, but Haylee also needs a little of my time, too!! Thank goodness for Bruce...Haylee just loves her Daddy! Grace loves Daddy, too, but only if I'm out-of-sight.

daddy's little helper

Grace helped Daddy put together his Father's Day gift yesterday. The two of them had a great time together! I laughed out loud when I looked in the yard and saw the two of them sitting at Grace's table....Bruce was reading the assembly instructions and Grace was just talking and talking to him! So cute!

Bruce made us dinner tonight on his new grill. He's a great cook on the grill!!

Isn't she lovely?

Okay, so I may be somewhat biased, but Haylee is the sweetest baby in the world! She is so happy and bubbly all of the time. I honestly can't remember the last time she cried. She puts herself to sleep cooing and wakes up giggling. She is our little snuggle bug and would be completely content to snuggle and suck her binky all day, every day!! We love our sweet Haylee!

Gracie the Diva

Just in the past month, Grace has decided she is a big girl. She never wants any help with anything - it's very cute! I'll try to help her put on her "pretties" (necklaces) and she'll say, "No, No Mama!" So big!

She loves to dress up with her sunglasses, "pretties", and shoes and walk around the house pushing her doll in the stroller. However, Grace always wants me to put Haylee in the doll stroller and gets quite upset when I don't. She loves her little sis!!

I love my girls and I am so blessed to be their mom.

Treasures

Bruce and I love the wildlife here. There are beautiful animals and sea creatures to be seen just about everywhere you look. Our favorite treasures so far are the wild parrotts and cockatoos, the starfish and seashells lining the coast, and the jellyfish. We can't wait to do more exploring to see more of Australia's wildlife!

Beautiful Mountains!

We went up to the mountains last weekend - it's about a 45 minute drive. We didn't go far enough up in altitude to be in the snow, but it was definately cold! We all should've had warmer clothes on than we did, that's for sure.



We went hiking through Fern Gully and had a wonderful time. It was beautiful and so quiet. The girls LOVED being carried around like little koala babies - not to mention they just love being outdoors.



We've decided to start going camping up there on a semi-regular basis when it starts warming up this coming spring (late September - early February is the Spring/Summer here.)

The Queen's Birthday

This weekend was the National celebration of the Queen's birthday. Some friends of ours from church have a beach house on the Mornington Peninsula and invited us for the holiday. We had a wonderful time! It was just beautiful. Come visit us and we'll take you there!!