aftermath
Ben, Eliana and I have all been in recovery mode, and it is nice to see life falling back into its old patterns. Ben is on TAFE holidays, and so his dear daughter has been lapping up the daily attention. We have all recovered from our various illnesses, and bid Katy farewell once again.
Eliana and I had a wonderful trip to Sydney, so full of family fun and memories. The highlight was definitely our big trip into the Sydney Aquarium with Mum, Rach, Katy, Harry, Georgie, Lucy and Ethan. Having gone from two steps to 50 within a matter of hours prior to our departure of Port Macquarie, Eliana was thrilled to stumble around the Aquarium at every opportunity - squirming wildly when any mother, Ahma or Aunty dared attempt to pick her up or put her in her stroller. The glass windows were at a very Eliana friendly height, though she wore herself out too quickly, and missed the sharks and glass floor…
It was great staying with Dunc, Miri and Abigail, and watching the two cousins entertain each other in the early hours of each day, and sometimes late into the night. The same can be said for Elie’s fascination for her Tempe cousins who had her in constant smiles and squeals/laughter.
Despite our late flight home, Eliana was awake when Ben came and picked us up, and couldn’t stop chatting to him all the way to our BBQ at Ben’s bosses home… it was so sweet, as she had definitely been missing him all week. One night, I had to make an emergency call to Ben, as I mentioned ‘Dadda’ and she burst into uncontrollable tears until hearing his voice… so precious!
Murphy is also very happy to have us home again, despite finding Eliana’s increased mobility/chasing ability. Our beach trips are a lot easier on my back now that Elie is walking, although our pace creeps at toddler speed (ie stop and look/touch/pickup anything even remotely different… including sand). Elie loves throwing balls for all the differing dogs on the beach, and some even humor her max 1ft throw (with a mini ball thrower… it’s less if thrown by hand). Elie still reigns supreme as the most beloved regular on the beach, with almost every local stopping to chat to her or let her throw a ball to their dog… I wonder how she’ll cope with the competition come October!
We took Ben to the park on the weekend… probably our first family activity at a park together - Ben was just as excited as Eliana!
