At Darling Harbor

We took Piper to the Darling Harbor playground two weeks ago and got in some quality time together.

Crossing the bridge at the playground.

This is Piper's second time on a merry-go-round but her first full-sized carousel. She kept wanting me to get on the horse next to her. She would do giddy-up.

Piper's friend Toby

Piper and I went to visit our friend Jo and her little boy Toby a few weeks ago. Toby is a few weeks older than Piper but we were in the same mother's group so we've known Jo and Toby since he was a wee thing. Jo had another little boy, Riley, about a month ago so we went to see how she was and to meet the new baby. Plus Piper got some one-on-one time with her friend. We had a great time; Piper shared her crayons and paper with Toby which he LOVED. Seeing Riley at two and a half weeks old, it's hard to remember that Piper was that tiny once. Oh, how fast they grow!

Piper took over Toby's chair (and his toys). I've looked for a chair like this for Piper but the store must have been sold out.

Trick or Treat

As we did last year for Hallowe'en, we took treats to the neighbors with Piper in costume. We visited several neighbors, some of whom had treats to give Piper. She wanted to eat all of the cookies right then. She was a cute pirate if our opinion means anything, which it does. Her costume was a bit difficult to keep on since she's such a wiggler, which is why we didn't get any perfect pictures of her in it. Piper said that her mascara moustache was "pitty" (read: pretty) when I put it on her. She cracks us up!

Take a look at the next post too to see some crazy hair on Piper. Where did she get those curls?!

Our two pumpkins


Yaarr! Don't ye pay no mind while I pick me teeth with me sword, matie. (Do you like my parrot?)


Pirate Piper and Papa together

Well, shiver me timbers!

Hairy Scary

This was Piper's wild Elvis 'do after her nap the other day. Can you say jellyroll? Or maybe it's more Jerry Lee Lewis. Thank you very much! (insert Elvis impersonation here)

Fish, fish, and more fish

With the construction going on in the apartment next door last week (and this week too!) we made plans to spend the day out the house. We went to the aquarium with our friends Mindy and Zoey, fellow Americans who moved here in July. Piper had a ball. She and Zoey ran around and ran around. I think Piper's favorite thing was the penguins.

There's a bench. We must sit on it.


In the underwater walkway beneath the sharks

In the big viewing room of the shark and ray tank

Can you tell that Piper was loving the blueberries?! (side note: she'll only really eat them if someone else has them, among other things.)

The girls are about to be lunch for the passing shark.

Here are Piper and Zoey on the crocodile teeter-totter at playgroup.

Piper is "in da house" at playgroup

Rick and Piper sharing a moment

Visitors to Sydney

So we've had some visitors recently to the Sydney area. One a big pest and the other a delight; we'll let you guess which is which (just kidding Fred).


















These are Bogong moths which come to Sydney and create havoc for two weeks. They get distracted in their migration by the bright lights of the city. They weren't bad last year but man alive if I haven't killed hundreds in the last week. One morning I killed at least thirty in an hour, in the house by the way. They're getting in through a gap in the door jamb. Piper thinks it's funny to watch me and Rick swat at them.

Fred is an old friend from New York who has moved back to London in the last year. He was in town for his brother Harry's wedding. Fred was my first boss at Interbrand and we worked closely on the huge AT&T account he brought in. We had a great, if brief, visit with him. He lived in Hermosa Beach years ago so we have the South Bay in common too.

In other news, our neighbors have started the renovation of their $2M apartment this week. They'll be jackhammering both bathrooms all day on Monday. Piper and I have planned a fun day out of the apartment to avoid the noise. We're going to the aquarium and lunch with an American friend and her daughter who's Piper's age. Then we'll hit the library and maybe the park.

Other than that, things are pretty quiet. Oh, except for the fact that I was made Relief Society president last week and that our new bishop is only 27 years old. Yikes!

Castlecrag, flowers, and dressing up

We took a drive a few weeks ago on a lovely Sunday afternoon to a quaint neighborhood called Castlecrag. We went for a walk while we were there and saw some amazing houses. Piper found some flowers in a small park and loved smelling them. She would actually blow on them when we would tell her to smell.

What a lovely flower!

What an impish look.

Piper is tickling Rick while he's trying to sleep.

Rick thinks this onesie looks like an old-fashioned swimming costume.

Piper wanted to play dress up yesterday so I put one my t-shirts on her with a belt. She looks like she's wearing a kimono and obi.