The Donaldsons in Oz

At 9.30am yesterday (28th October), our 2 new baby girls, Ruby Anne and Poppy Jess, decided to make a very sudden and unexpected arrival. Coming 9 weeks early means they are very small and immediately went into Intensive Care, however they are both doing really well and have now moved to the Special Care ward and have settled into a 3 hour feeding pattern.

They weighed 1.6 kilo’s when born. They will be in hospital for several weeks. Kirstin is doing well and recovering although we’re still both a bit stunned to say the least!

Anyway, here are first pics…

Poppy

Ruby

Poppy later in day

Alan.

Charlie woke way too early on Saturday morning (5:15) which had the knock on effect of him taking a nap mid morning instead of lunchtime which in turn led to him falling asleep in his dinner, literally!!  I cleaned him up, changed his nappy, put his pyjamas on and into bed all while he was sound asleep at 5:45.

It might sound cruel to say but Ella was delighted to have some mummy time to herself (Alan was at the football) without fighting for my attention with Charlie.  I have to say the next few hours before ‘normal’ bedtime were decidedly quieter.  Ella had a bath, she insisted her hair was to stay dry so here she is in her very attractive shower cap:

After bathtime we read her Dora books then she was ready for bed.  She dropped off easily after a relaxing evening.

K

On Saturday morning I took Ella to fairy storytime at one of our local book shops.  It was fun seeing all the little girls dressed up complete with wings, sparkles, tiaras and wands.  I think most of them were in awe of the pink princess dress the author (Anna Pignataro) wore:-

They had giveaways for every child, colouring and drew a raffle for a special prize – Ella won!!  She was a little overwhelmed at first then just delighted to look at the contents of her backpack, everything a fairy girl could wish for.  She proudly wore her bag as we went back to find Alan & Charlie in the market.

K

Frankie spent the day with us on Friday to give Marie & Clint a chance to move out of their house without a toddler under their feet!  The three amigos had a ball with Ella undoubtedly the ring leader.  It was a lovely day so they played out the back in the sandpit, on the trampoline and drawing on the chalk board.  Both Charlie & Frankie took a well-earned nap after lunch.  Ella was tired but she’ll never give in these days.

Later in the afternoon we headed to Cowderoy park use up any remaining energy – thankfully Alan came home early as 3 toddlers never go in the same direction when they decide to run.  Some pictures…

Time to Draw

Frankie & Charlie on the trampoline

K

We were playing in the park beside the lake this morning and I hadn’t noticed one of the swans come wandering into the play area.  Charlie was happily eating a sandwich which the swan obviously fancied for itself.  Needless to say Charlie was inconsolable (although I think Ella cried just as much out of sympathy for him) and for the rest of the day kept showing me his hand saying “sore” and “bad swan”.  I took some pictures of happier children before the incident….

K

It was a beautiful morning in Melbourne today – we walked over to the lake to feed the ducks, played in the park for a while then met Kaylene with Harvey & Toby for baby cinos.  What better way to spend a morning! Here’s some pictures:

K

Alan ran in the Melbourne Marathon on Sunday, completing the race in 3:44:45.  We saw him on the course as he ran along Beaconsfield Parade then we got the tram into the city and made our way to the MCG to see him finish. I was a very proud wife!  Here’s some pictures:

Alan & Kirsteen at the pre-race Expo on Saturday

Ella & Charlie on the way to the Expo

Just over the start line at 7:30a.m.

Running along Beaconsfield Parade (approx 11km)

Running up St Kilda Road (approx 38 km)

Approaching the finish line after a gruelling 42.195km

Alan with Charlie after the race

Marathon Man (hopefully raising lots of money for charity running in that outfit!)

Although stiff legs and tiredness have set in I’m not sure he’s got the marathon running bug out of his system yet…..chasing a time is always the challenge so here’s to next year!

K

Kirstin has been quite poorly this weekend which has meant I’ve had some quality ‘Dad time’ with Ella and Charlie. On friday evening I picked them up from Whitney, who had kindly looked after them for a while that afternoon, and we then went out to a local Italian restaurant on Fitzroy Street for an early dinner. We had pizza, pasta and apple juice all round and we had a great time.

On Saturday morning we got up bright and early, while Ella watched some kids TV, Charlie and I headed out for a run along St Kilda foreshore. They have just created scale model of the solar system that stretches for about 6km, we joined at the bronze sculpture of Saturn and ran on past the planets and eventually reached the large model of the sun – it really makes you appreciate the sheer size of it. Once we got back and had breakfast, the three of us headed to the Aquarium which is always a hit. We spent the remainder of the day in the garden – tidying, weeding and potting.

On Sunday, we awoke to another beautiful spring morning, although daylight saving had started and our clocks went forward an hour, we were up nice and early. This time the three of us went out to a new local cafe, Nacional, for our breakfast. It’s a great spot and the kids love all the toys and the relaxed atmosphere. Then we walked into Middle Park village and had a juice at our friends cafe. Then we headed off to  South Melbourne market for our weekly provisions – the selection of fresh food is fantastic and Ella particularly likes watching me consume a couple of oyster shots at the fish counter. When we got back we had lunch with K and with Charlie off for his nap I took Ella in the running stroller for a couple of laps around Albert Park lake. The plan for the rest of the day is to relax, enjoy the nice weather and cook some food on the barbie a bit later.

Hopefully Kirstin will be back to her usual self soon as although we’ve had fun, we all miss her!

A.