The freaky looking bird monster that guest starred at Lisa's party. We asked for Ronald McDonald, and they gave us Big Bird. Not only that, but it scared some of the younger kids.

Lisa just turned 3. We had a birthday party at McDonalds with all of her cousins. She loved her cappuccino flavoured cake. And didn't even need the neighbouring chilli sauce to enjoy it.

Singapore Zoo. "Look Daddy. Z is for..."

We also caught up with Darth Vader at the "Art of Star Wars" Exhibition at the Singapore Science Centre.

Another non-avian wildlife picture from Jurong Bird Park. Because we went on a weekday, there was hardly anyone else around.

Jurong Bird Park - Singapore.One of the highlights of our kids' holiday. Not for the beautiful and exotic birds. But for the wet play area.

The bassinet on our Singapore Airlines flight was a good idea. Too bad there wasn't much sleeping done in there.

Catching up with some old friends in Singapore. In our hotel room at YMCA International House. All smiles, except for one cranky tired little miss. Can't blame her though. It was almost 2am according to her Australian body clock.

Brushing away the cobwebs...

This blog has truly been neglected.

We've just been so busy lately.

In the meantime, I'll post some photos of our recent trip to Singapore and Malaysia...

Reality check

A friend at work wisely checked himself into hospital yesterday after experiencing chest pains in the morning. The doctors ran various tests on him and requested that he stay overnight.
He later found out that when he had the chest pains, he was actually suffering a heart attack.

Pretty scary. Especially when this guy does more exercise and eats more salad than anyone else I know. And he's only 25 years old!

And here I am, eating fast food lunches 4 times a week - thinking that I'm blessed to have a ridiculously fast metabolism.
People must look at me in disgust. Not just because I stuff my face with junk at my workstation and litter my desk with crumbs. But because they see all the fat going in, yet my weight barely reaches 60kg.

For some people, eating a donut is a major life event. Each morning tea sees them calculating the amount of exercise required to burn off the calories. Me? I could chow down a box of Crispy Cremes without a second thought. My clothes will still fit me in 10 years time.

I used to think that was a cool thing. Like a nerd super power. Not anymore.
If anything, it masks what's happening inside. At least with the expanding waistline, it gives the owner a visual cue to slow down.

New Year's Resolution: Eat less rubbish.

Test post. Hello from Picasa

Just testing the Picasa and Hello software combination to post to this blog.
I just installed Picasa yesterday and so far, I am VERY impressed.
This photo of Maggie was taken at Bateman's Bay in March last year.

Maggie's Hat Trick

Maggie has grown up so much over the last couple of weeks.
She's learned to crawl out of and off the bed by herself, even in the middle of a nappy change. Grrrrrrr!
(Of course I'm still talking about OUR bed. Unfortunately the euphoria around her sleeping in her own cot was shortlived.)
She's also developed a unique laugh, which sounds more like a high pitched chuckle.

Today marked another milestone in Maggie's exciting life.
She managed to score a hat trick of mis-haps.

• The first occurred while Marge took the kids shopping at Westfield Woden. As Marge wheeled Maggie's stroller out of Big W, she noticed something different about Maggie. Our baby's shirt and the sides of the stroller were soaked in vomit. Maggie was still smiling, so it musn't have been too uncomfortable for her.
• The second - in the evening, after I got home from work. We heard a thud from the kid's computer table, followed by Maggie's unmistakable roar of pain. We rushed over and found Maggie crying face down on the carpet. She must have climbed onto the table again. These days, she loves to climb. Thankfully, it was only a 1 foot drop. Lisa was actually laughing at Maggie's misfortune, until she saw our panic when we realised that blood was trickling down the side of Maggie's mouth. We quickly checked her mouth. Her teeth seemed OK. We traced the blood to a cut on her top lip. It's a bit swollen now, but she's fine.
• And the third. While Marge and I were winding down, after putting the kids to sleep. Another loud thud - this time from our room. We didn't even have time to roll our eyes and give each other the 'Not again' look. We rushed in and found Maggie on the floor sitting upright against Marge's bedside table! She stopped crying pretty quickly - she's had worse. Thank God she didn't roll off my side of the bed. She would have hit a minefield of junk.

I'm so glad Maggie's sleeping soundly now. After a day like today, she deserves it.

My kids (as seen through the Canon S2 IS)

Never before have I been able to take portrait shots like these.

I was so impressed with these shots that I had them enlarged and framed.

(You can find larger versions via the Flickr badge or just visit my Flickr site)

This camera has transformed me overnight from an 'if-it-moves-we-can-shoot-it fully-auto camera-wielding wannabe' to an 'if-the-light-and aperture-and-shutterspeed-align-we-can-shoot-it wannabe photographer'!