Sechs Monate alt, und hungrig (6 months old, and hungry)

Owen turned 6 months during our Australian holiday. Here's a few milestones and developments we noticed during the trip.

During the first few days of our trip, Owen was learning how to turn over from his front to his back. He really doesn't like being on his front, however until recently he didn't know what to do to roll himself over. He managed a couple of times by chance, but usually he got stuck with his arm under his back. Here's a front and back shot of him in his stuck position. After about 2 minutes of this, he would start crying. Then one day, magically, he worked out that he had to move his arms out of the way before turning, and suddenly he was like those un-tippable toys. You put him on his front, and quick as a flash he's back on his back. Then, all through our holiday we were trying to get him to go from his back to his front. Unfortunately our families missed seeing it - it was only yesterday that he finally did it on his own!

It's a pottee, it's a seat... no, it's a Bumbo! What's a bumbo? It's a specially designed seat that allows babies to sit up even though their trunk muscles aren't yet strong enough. It does allow Owen to demonstrate his strong neck muscles, that can carry that proportionally HUGE head of his! It also allows us to take lots of cute shots of him...

One of the more exciting developments is Owen's hunger. 6 months is the recommended age for starting solids, and Owen knew it. Unfortunately for him, we decided to wait until coming back to Germany to start (better to get into the right time zone before adding another new routine). That meant our hungry little boy was mercilessly teased by seeing EVERYONE eating proper food, but none for him. He would stare intently at your spoon of whatever all the way from the bowl to your mouth, then he would imitate your chewing motions.

Finally, the time came for Owen to have his first solids. He has his own high chair, a collection of spoons and bowls, and wow does he love it! Here's a photo of Dad feeding Owen. He was so excited he wanted to feed himself!

Aaahh. That's better. Yummy yummy yummy I've got food in my tummy!

Of course, once you give an inch, they'll take a mile. "Where's my food??"

Australien (Australia)

Wondering where all the posts had gone? We've been on a holiday to... Home Sweet Home!

After a few weeks of trouble trying to get back to Australia for a holiday (Owen was sick a couple of times, and Nathan's work was too busy to take time off), we finally made it. Here's Owen on his first plane trip. Doesn't look fazed? Actually, he handled it pretty well, though he didn't want to sleep much, meaning neither did we.

So what did we do in Australia? Well, it definitely wasn't one of those relaxing holidays. We ran around trying to cram in as much as possible. Most importantly, we spent most of our time introducing Owen to family and friends.

Here's Owen with his living direct forebears. Owen is the first grandchild for both of our parents, so was fought over to see who could hold him next! He's not such a novelty for Nathan's Grandma, who already had over 10 great grandchildren, but still special.

Here's Owen with some of his "real" uncles and aunties. In chinese culture, your parents friends are all uncles and aunties even if they're not related, but these ones are. See any family resemblances? Be careful - some are ring-ins by marriage.

Actually, alot of people think Owen looks like Jo's brother Richard. He wasn't in Australia during our trip, but here's an older photo of him with Owen. What do you think?

Then, we did some things we couldn't do in Leipzig.

Number one being eating good asian food! The asian food is really not very good in Leipzig. During our trip we ate Yum Cha (pictured), Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian... YUM!

Also, we went to the beach! Our original plan was to be in Australia a little earlier in the year, when the weather was warmer. Fortunately we did get a really nice day for our visit to Manly beach, but it was way too cold for a dip!

Then, all too soon, we were back on a plane to Germany. This time, Owen got a big seat (well, for a few minutes, anyway).