It looks like all the practice with her cart has paid off!
After a few attempts, Kirsty and I finally managed to catch Pia taking a few steps on camera! I reckon she’s been walking behind our back for a few days now, but we finally got her red-handed!
It’s been a while since I last spent a weekend tinkering in the workshop, so to fight my withdrawal symptoms, over the Easter long weekend I headed off to Bunnings for a bit of timber and hardware, then dragged out the circular saw, router, jigsaw and drill and got to making a little walking cart for Pia.
After a day of cutting and gluing, as usual the most tedious and time consuming bit was sanding and varnishing, but it came up pretty good, and Pia seems to like pushing it around. Until it bangs into a wall (or a dog!).
Kirsty, Pia and I took a couple of weeks off to chill camping in Gunbower State Forest near Torrumbarry on the Murray, and fulfilling my duty as a loving father took plenty of pics of Pia, and not too much else (Pics in my gallery), except maybe this local inhabitant chillin’ out too!
Pia still loves her broccoli, and eating in the great outdoors makes life easier for mum and dad coz we don’t have to worry about cleaning the floor after Pia decides that its fun to taste and toss.
Yes, yes, that’s a caravan in the background. We borrowed my parents’ van for the trip. Yes, we cheated. We weren’t really camping. But it was nice to have cupboards, hot water, and a freezer! 
And when she’s not eating her veggies, she also loves to suck the goodness out of a juicy chop or steak. Or emptying out a bowl of pasta and bolognaise sauce just to see what happens. Usually ends up with a lap full of food and then a bit of a snack for the dogs.
Of course after tipping a bowl of bolognaise sauce over your head, its bath time! Although not entirely effective after splashing water all around the tub and picking up handfuls of mud to play with. But bath time’s not about getting clean, it’s about getting wet and having fun!
Just to prove that I can take pictures of subjects other than Pia, here’s Dion & Amanda’s son Jett after a covering his tummy with a a couple of slices worth of watermelon juice. Being a kid is all about getting dirty and not caring.
Pia’s not quite old enough to be a legal observer, so on the days when it was just the three of us we couldn’t do any real water skiing, but that doesn’t mean that Pia can’t start learning on dry land. Maybe she’ll start skiing before she starts walking.
Every day the temperature was in the mid to high 30′s, with a couple of days hitting 40, but probably the hottest day we had was the very last day we were up there. Just the right weather to be packing up in. Not! At least Pia and grandma were keeping eachother company in the little shade that was left after all the sunshades were taken down.
(and froop.net’s first video)
One of many presents from Pia’s first Christmas was her very first laptop, courtesy of grandpa. Other presents also included a Tupperware Shape-O, mobile phone, a dial phone, a set of wooden blocks, a fluffy puppy, a twisty abacus thingy, and you’ll have to ask her mum for the rest!
I figure now that since we have the technology, and now also the subject, I should start taking a few vids. Only short snippets, we all know how boring home videos can be!
So to start it off, here’s one of Pia playing with her laptop. Or is she just trying to tell us that she’s finished playing?
One bottle of milk. Shaken, not stirred thanks. Jett visited me this weekend, and we went off to the baby show at Jeff’s Shed. Had to drag mum and dad along too though, coz they’ve got the credit cards! The traffic was a nightmare driving it, but it was okay because I used the time to catch some shut-eye. Looks like the good weather’s starting to come, so thought I should get myself some sunnies. Cool, huh!? I also got some matching pink camo ear muffs for when I get to ride in the boat. Can’t wait to try those out!
During the week I tried some Weetbix for the first time. Silly daddy. What was he thinking giving me Weetbix and not putting a bib on me. Especially when I’m wearing polar fleece! The Weetbix got really mushy after I sucked on it for a couple of minutes, which made it easy for Connie to eat. So I put it on the floor for her. I think she enjoyed it!
