Happy New Year!

We wish all our family and friends a very joyous, prosperious and safe New Year. We hope 2009 is a wonderful year for you and your families.

Our Love Always,

The McKays in Dubai

x

Germany - Munich, Nuremburg & Berlin

Okay, okay - here it is....FINALLY..... The long awaited entry on our holiday to Germany. I suggest going and grabbing a drink of your choice and putting your feet up - this may take awhile. :)

Day 1 - Munich.

We were up bright and early on Tuesday 2nd December to get ready to go to the airport. Paul (bless him) insisted on taking us to the airport even though it was a UAE public holiday. We arrived at the airport, checked in, went through security and went straight to wait at the gate. All this was relatively uneventful, however we needed to check in at Emirates new terminal (terminal 3) but our departure gate was located in terminal 2, so after a rather long walk through the airport with a car seat, a backpack, a small suitcase, (on wheels) a carry on bag PLUS Patrick we finally made it to the gate with enough time to go and get a drink and let Patrick have a run around before cooping him up on a plane for 6 and a half hours.

We boarded the plane, got organised and waited for what semed like forever before we finally took off - I was almost jumping out of my seat with excitement, you couldn't wipe the grin on my face and Patrick was wondering what on earth mum was on!!! Considering Patrick had slept all night and only had a short time to play in the airport, he was really cranky about having to sit, strapped in, to his carseat so it took quite a lot of creativity of Cameron's and my part to entertain him and keep him quiet. Food and toys only last so long, however the remote control to the entertainment system worked a treat. Between that, books, snacks, the DVD player and his stacking cups he was pretty well behaved for most of the trip, although his ears started hurting on decent into Munich which caused a few tears, until we landed and they sorted themselves out.

We disembarked the plane and waited in line at passport control to ger our visa's. Fortunately, this was also uneventful and we quickly gathered our luggage & rugged up before going outside to wait for a taxi. Patrik had only slept about 40 minutes on the plane so no sooner than we got in the taxi he fell asleep and it worked out well as the taxi ride took half an hour and he woke just as we were about to get out of the car at the hotel. The scenery from the airport to the hotel was gorgeous. Lush green fields & trees and it seemed that in no time we were at the hotel, which was on Sendlinger Strasse right near Marienplatz and not far from the train station. It was a 2 * hotel, breakfast included daily, double room with shared toilet and shower facilities outside our room, however it was great. The "double" turned out to be 2 wooden single beds that creaked, LOUDLY, with every breath we took but it was extremely clean and warm. We had a really great time there. Since we arrived early afternoon (Munich time) and Patrick had slept in the taxi, we decided to go for a wander, so we rugged up, unpacked the pram and set off. We wandered down our street to Marienplatz where the Christmas markets are and ended up having dinner at the Hofbrauhaus, which is a pretty famous German beer house. After dinner, we went back to the hotel, and got ready for bed - we were all very tired and had big plans for the next day.

Day 2 - Fussen & Neuschwanstein

An exceptionally early morning, Patrick woke at 5am (damn body clock) meant breakfast at 7 and out of the hotel about 8. We walked to the train station and bought tickets to Fussen as we were off to see Neuschwanstein Castle, which is what the Disney castle is modelled on. I grabbed a hot chocolate at the station - I even ordered it in German - before we got on the train. The train (Zug) took about 2 hours and the countryside was absolutely SPECTACULAR! Mountains topped with snow, green fields and little villages all along the way - it was just amazing. Patrick had a ball on the train he was constantly looking out the window and walking around.

Once we arrived at Fussen we trandferred to the bus that took us closer to the castles. Patrick fell asleep on the bus, while we got talking to a family from Sydney who were also on holidays! Once we got off the bus we booked our tickets for the castle tour, then got another bus to the castle. Before we walked the 10 minute trek to the castle we went to Mary's bridge to take some photos of the castle and the coutryside as the views were stunning. We had a little while to wait for our tour so we had a little wander around, took some photos and chatted more with the family from Sydney. Unfortunently we could not take photos in the castle but we got plenty of others from the outside.

The castle is HUGE, especially considering King Ludwig was single and living there alone, however there was alot we could not see, as it was never finished. King Ludwig died under suspicious circumstances in the lake with his psychologist before the castle was completed, so we only got to see about a third of it. After the tour we got the bus back and had lunch, however this made us miss the bus back to Fussen, which meant we missed the train back to Munich so consequently, we had about an hour or so to kill........

Once we finally got on the train, we thawed out, relaxed & put our feet up, only to discover 2 hours later that we had gotten on the wrong train and ended up in Augsburg! We changed platforms and got on the first train back to Munich which was about 40 minutes away but as you can imagine - we were really starting to get tired, hungry and cranky by this stage. We finally made it back to the hotel, got Patrick settled to sleep before having a light dinner (a doughnut actually) and going to bed.

Day 3 - Dachau

Another early morning, although we bummed around a bit longer and had a bit of a later breakfast. We had decided to get the train to Dachau to see the Concentration campand once we arrived at the train station we took the tourist walk to the camp which was quite refreshing - cold and grey but we were rugged up and it actually wasn't too bad. There were many memorial boards along the way with information on them to read although it was quite depressing. Patrick was a little out of sorts (or maybe just picking up on the dull atmosphere) so we could not take as much time as we would of liked to read all the information and listen to all the commentary about specific areas of the camp but it was still worth the visit for the history aspect.

We had a snack at McDonalds before getting the train back to Munich. Once we got back into the city, we had a wander through the markets again and we bought a Gluhwein (which is a hot alcoholic drink served in a souvenir mug) I had a little taste and while I didnt really like it, I can understand why everyone stands around the stalls drinking it. It sure does warm you up on the inside!

We went back to the hotel for a little while and Patrick had a bit of a play before we went to a little German pub for dinner before going back to the hotel for bed.

Day 4 - Wasserburg & Eiselfing

Cameron really wanted to take me to where he was living when he spent 10 weeks in Germany when he was an exchange student in 1990-1991, so we got the train to Wasserburg (which was the closest train station.) From there we got the bus through the village to the end of the line in Bardia. From there we hiked, through lush green fields to Eiselfing and the house that Cameron lived in! The same family are still there, although the eldest son now lives in the main house and the parents and sister both live within a minutes walk and the other son (the one who was in the exchange program like Cameron) is a pilot for Lufthansa so unfortunently, we did not catch up with him and the father was in hospital so we did not see him either. We did, however, see the eldest son, sister and the mother and were invited in for biscuits and a drink. It was nice for me to meet them and for Cameron to see them again. We then went to a lookout where we could see the whole village of Wasserburg and then we went back into Wasserburg to get the train back to Munich.

Once we got back to Munich we went back to the hotel for a rest and for Patrick to have a play before going to The Hard Rock Cafe for Dinner and then back to the hotel for bed.

Day 5 - Nuremburg

Another early rise for breakfast and then back to the room to pack and load up, ready for the 10-15 minute walk to the train station with all our stuff! We arrived at train station in plenty of time and decided to put Patrick's car seat and the little carry-on-the-plane suitcase in a locket for the few days that we were in Nuremburg and Berlin. 2 less things to carry and even though they don't sound like that much, leaving them in Munich made a HUGE difference!

We boarded the train and settled in for the ride to Nuremburg. Of course the countryside was beautiful - lush and green, although we didn't get to admire it much as just as we settled in, unloaded the rucksacks off our backs and got organised a lady came and said that we were sitting in her seat! We didn't realise the seats were reserved and no where on our ticket did it say where we were supposed to sit. Consequently, we loaded up AGAIN and Patrick & I stayed with our stuff while Cameron went to try and sort out where we were supposed to sit. He eventually came back and told us he had found seats about 3 carriages away so off we went to unload and sit down. We FINALLY got to our seats (we couldn't find seats together so could only sit close by) and sat down for about half an hour before loading up for the last time that day as we arrived at Nuremburg (where it was raining!). We decided a taxi was the best way to get to our hotel (The Novatel) and we found one easily. We checked it, bummed around for awhile before rugging up again, braving the cold and rain and setting out to get some lunch and a wander around the Christmas Markets. We took Patrick to the children's Christmas Markets and got his photo taken with Santa - he was not too impresed so Mummy had to sit with him. We wandered through the markets, I had a bratwurst for Janet and then we got a taxi back to the hotel and chilled out for the rest of the evening after Patrick went to bed.

Day 6 - Nuremburg & Berlin

We travelled from Nuremburg to Berlin by train - Germany's rail system is FANTASTIC, and the journey was amazing! It had snowed overnight so the countryside was blanketed in fresh white snow as were the tips of the pine trees. We had our own little room on the train so we could shut the door and Patrick could play to his little heart's content. We arrived in Berlin, although we got off at the wrong train station, hence we had to get on another train to go to where we needed to go. We then had a 20min (or so) walk down Friedrich Strasse to get to our hotel, passing Checkpoint Charlie along the way. We checked in and relaxed for awhile before going out for a late lunch and a wander.

We had plans to catch up with a friend of mine from Dubai (who spends alot of time in Germany) later in the afternoon, however she ended up not being able to make it, so Cameron decided to go and find a laundromat to get our washing done, while I stayed and played with Patrick. That was all good, so off he went, however, when it came for dinner I realised I had miscounted Patrick's jars of food and realised I had no dinner for him! (I know, I know, I'm a bad mum...........) so I went and asked at reception if there was a supermarket close by, but being Sunday the closest was a few train stations away (and not on the same line so I would have to change trains) and I thought with my limited German and the fact that Cameron might get back and not know where I was that that was not the best option. In the end I went to a little food court on the same street as we were staying and ordered a spaghetti bolognaise and bless the litle darling - he ate it and loved it!

Cameron got home after Patrick was asleep with the laundryso we ordered room service and had an early night.

Day 7 - Berlin

Today was the only full day we had in Berlin so we had A LOT to cram in!. We were up early and went to a little pastry shop for breakfast. We then caught the underground train to Potsdamer Platz and once we were there admired the newer buildings while wandering through even more Chrismas markets. We passed where the Berlin wall used to be and took some photos of existing bits of the wall. We continued on passed a memorial site for the jews that were killed to Brandenburg gate. After photos there we went back to the hotel for Patrick to have lunch and a bit of a play before going out again in the afternoon to the TV tower and going up, Up, UP to admire the 360 degree views over the city - ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! We then had a kebap at the train station (I was MAD for them - they were great) before catching the train to KaDeWa which is Germany's version of Harrods in New York! It was awesome - 6 glorious levels of great quality stuff. If we had more room in our luggage we could of gone mad on shopping, but we didn't, so we didn't :-(

We then caught a taxi to our friend Rene's house (she was in her 40th week at pregnancy by this stage so we were MORE THAN HAPPY to go and visit her) and Patrick had a wonderful time playing with his friend Alexander and all of his toys!

After saying goodbye (until they come back to Dubai in February) we caught a taxi back to the hotel and got Patrick settled for bed. Cameron packed the bags while I went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum and ordered our dinner.

Day 7 - Berlin & Munich

Up and organised early again, caught a taxi to the main Bahnhoff (Train station) to have breakfast and catch the train back to Munich ready for our flight back to Dubai that night. The train ride was pretty horrendous - we had our own room for a while, but Cameron had work to do and because he had work to do, Patrick decided that he ONLY wanted to play with Daddy and Daddy's laptop. He could not be distracted and refused to sleep, hence him being really cranky and grisly (pretty unusual for him really.....) We had to change trains at Fulda, which of course meant loading up all the bags and unloading them on the next train. The next train had a food carriage so we had lunch which killed a little time. Eventually the train emptied a bit and Patrick was able to wander up and down the aisle's and have a little play. He desperately just wanted to run around a bit and after being stuck in his pram A LOT for the past week, who could blame him!

We arrived back in Munich and Patrick promptly fell asleep which was great as we had a chance to unload the bags and sit down for a nice hot drink. We then got the car seat and suitcase that we left in storage, loaded up and got on another train to go to the airport.

Once arriving at the airport we reshuffled the luggage before checking in and going through security. I went to get Patrick's food out of the suitcase only to discover we had packed it in the wrong bag and I only had fruit and custard for him for on the plane. Munich airport terminal was pretty crappy and there was NOTHING for him to eat. After my initial panic I discovered that I could go back out into the main part of the airport and through to the train station (which was connected) to a supermarket to get some food for him, as long as I took my passport and boarding pass. I sprinted through the airport, got food and went back through security and passport control with plenty of time to spare! Patrick had dinner, got changed and then we boarded the plane. We were all pretty fed up and tired by this stage. Patrick went to sleep pretty much straight away and so did we, however Patrick struggled to stay asleep, so I was up with him a lot trying to resettle him. Poor Cameron had to go to work as soon as we landed back in Dubai so he needed to sleep so I got Patrick out of his car seat and he slept on me, however woke or stirred every 15-20 minutes, had a cry and then went back to sleep for another 15-20 mins. Poor bub - he was trying so hard to sleep, but he just couldnt settle properly, hence Mummy didn't sleep either.

We landed in Dubai in the new Terminal 3, collected our bags and Paul collected us and took us home. Cameron had a shower and left for work and Patrick & I played and unpacked as we settled in back home and accepted that our holiday had come to an end. We had an absolute ball, just the 3 of us.

Definently more family holidays to come!

Happy Christmas!

Wow! Another year almost gone and Christmas is upon us once again. The year has been hectic and exciting – so here’s a quick summary:

The New Year found us in Australia celebrating with our families, the first time many of them getting to meet Patrick (being 4 ½ months old). Shortly thereafter we returned to Dubai to ‘see out our time’ – or so we thought. We were visited by Trevor (Kathryn’s dad) and Pat (his partner) and Patrick migrated to a ‘big boy’ cot from his crib.

February was relatively uneventful for us (which was a nice break from the preceding months) with Patrick’s social calendar starting to fill, as well as starting on solid foods (baby rice) and cutting his first tooth (bottom left middle!).

March on the other hand saw us spend some time together as a family with friends. A day at the local water park was one event (with Patrick on a slide or two at 7 months) and Cameron heading out to ‘Desert Rock’ to see Korn and Velvet Revolver (to name a few). By this stage, Patrick was commando crawling everywhere and ‘child-proofing’ the apartment became a priority. The month finished on a high with Kathryn’s grandmother celebrate her 90th Birthday.

April saw the addition of Youtube videos to the blog and Cameron make his first trip to Saudi Arabia.

May started with Cameron returning from Saudi Arabia and getting straight onto a plane that evening for a trip to Bahrain for the family with friends from Dubai. May also saw Kathryn and Cameron move into the lounge room to sleep and Patrick taking over the master bedroom. Up until this point, Patrick hadn’t settled back into his sleep routine after being in Australia and was waking every 2-3 hours, ok for Cameron who generally sleeps though the ‘noise’ but no good for Kathryn. The lack of sleep was also contributing to Patrick not gaining enough weight with the doctor’s beginning to become concerned at his prolonged plateau and little weight gain.

June saw Patrick ‘break on through’ after some ‘tough love’ training from Kathryn and he adjusted quickly to his new sleep routine (along with the suggestions that Cameron’s snoring was the cause of the problems all along) and Patrick was now sleeping through the night. June also saw the addition of another plane to the ‘hanger’ to the pleas of ‘no more’ from Kathryn.

July saw Patrick gain his 6th tooth and the use of them at every opportunity. Patrick was crawling and everything within 2feet of the ground was now baby-proof as he had mastered the ability to climb up on the lounge. July finished up with us deciding to stay in Dubai for ‘one more year’ and then quickly move into our 2000sqft apartment on the Palm Jumeriah – more than enough room for Patrick to roam.

August and we celebrated Patrick’s 1st birthday which included a party for his ‘little friends’ and a brunch for his ‘big friends’.

September is celebration month in this family. It starts with our wedding anniversary. A week later is Kathryn’s grandfather’s birthday, Cameron’s mum & dad’s wedding anniversary, a week later and Cameron’s birthday and to finish off the month, Kathryn’s birthday just makes it in (in Australia too – just to make it that little more special!). Yes, a holiday was had and the family an opportunity to catch up with us all.

October started with us all finishing off our holiday in Australia taking in Sydney and Brisbane and catching up with friends – some of which we hadn’t seen since we’d left Sydney in November 2005. Cameron also got his Amateur Radio Operators License (now known as VK5CCC around the world). October also saw Cameron’s mum celebrate her 60th birthday and Ashley (Kathryn’s step-dad) celebrate his 60th as well.

November sees Jan’s (Kathryn’s mum’s) birthday, Pat’s (Kathryn’s step-mum) birthday and finished up with a visit from Kathryn’s friends from Whyalla – John and Marie, at the start of their 3 month journey around the world. Patrick also started walking this month – he just decided one day that he would walk and has not looked back!

December – well here we are… Well, we kicked into this month with an AWESOME 8 day trip to Germany planned in 24 hours. Munich, Nuremburg and Berlin – a great time was had just the 3 of us (quality family time) and it was nice to be cold – just for a while. Patrick's Christmas photo was taken in Nuremburg and he was not quite as impressed by Santa as he was last year and had to have Mummy sit with him. Cameron gets a super-long weekend (day off for Christmas, Friday/Saturday weekend and Sunday off for the Hijri (Islamic) New year).

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends around the world.

Best Wishes and Love,

The McKays In Dubai!

P.S. We included Patrick's Christmas photo from last year to see how much he has grown!!!

Catching up.....

I have been currently updating and backdating the blog and have done so (consequently, you may need to scroll down a fair way to catch up on everything), however still have our Germany trip to write about, however it is going to take quite awhile, so until I manage to find the time to do it - please be patient. In the meantime, this photo was taken at a friends place a few weeks ago :)

Our latest adventure.

As you may well by now, when we McKays decide to do something - we go all out.

Let me explain.......

A few months ago, Cameron & I toyed with the idea of going to Germany for Christmas, then we decided if we went we would go early December and spend Christmas in Dubai. However after we got home from Australia in October, we decided we would not go at all. Sad as the decision was, we decided it was for the best for numerous reasons, not only financial but practical.

National Day (our Australia Day equivalent) in the UAE means about 3 days off which happens to fall on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of December. Cameron asked his boss wether he would be able to take the Wednesday and Thursday off work, which would mean he would have 8 days in total off work. His boss said yes, so he rang me at about 6:30pm last night and said "Wanna go to Germany on Tuesday???" I said "HUH?????" He said that he had 8 days off and as a bonus it turned out we had enough frequent flyer points for all 3 of us to fly to Munich and back for nothing, saving a FORTUNE! I said "Absolutely - lets go!"

When he got home from work, we sat down and jotted down a brief itinerary of where to stay so we could book accomodation (go www. lastminute.com). We still were not getting our hopes up in case something fell through but we were both VERY excited!

This next morning I get a text message from Cameron saying "flights and accomodation all booked - start packing!" I didn't need to be told twice!

I'll post another blog when we get back - stay tuned :)

Houseguests....

When we left Australia to come to Dubai, my Uncle John & his partner Marie said that they hoped they could visit us one day. Little did I know that they never thought they would because deep down, I had a feeling that they would - and I was right!!! As they decided to do a 3 month holiday, we were pleased to learn that they were going to do a 1 week stopover in Dubai and stay with us!!!

They arrived in the early hours of the morning, however were still up bright and early the next morning. Patrick was a bit perplexed as when he woke up, Mummy & Daddy were sleeping on a blow up bed on the living room floor (we decided they would be most comfortable in our room, hence us "camping" in the lounge.)

We had such a wonderful time with them while they were here. We had breakfasts, afternoon teas, played cards, went to Abu Dhabi, the malls, Atlantis hotel, had plenty of cake & I even got a babysitter for the night so we could take them out for a nice dinner!!! Patrick had a ball with them - looking over the balcony at the dogs with Marie and playing with Uncle John's shoes and suitcase :) He spent the whole day after they left looking for them!

It was such a fun time and I especially was very sorry to see them go, but at the same time happy for them in all the things they had planned for the rest of their holiday. Lucky things!

Happy Birthday Nanny

Happy Birthday Nan Nan Nan (as Patrick says)/Patricia

We hope you manage to find a quiet moment within all the chaos to sit down, enjoy a cuppa and realise how special today is - your birthday!

Lots of love

xxx

Happy Birthday Grandi

Dear Grandi (Mum/Jan)

Happy Birthday to you! We hope you enjoy a lovely and relaxing day and get spoilt rotten as you deserve it.

We love you
xxx

Happy 60th Granddad

We were not able to be with Ashley for his actual birthday but Patrick & I were there for his party the weekend before we left. It was a lovely afternoon, full of good company and wonderful food. Quite a few people contributed towards a new computer for him - and here is a photo of the look on his face as he realised what we had bought him :)

Happy Birthday Ashley/Granddad,

We hope you enjoy a very special birthday,

Lots of Love,

Kathryn (softspot), Cameron & (your little mate), Patrick

xxx

Happy 60th Birthday Grandma

Happy 60th Birthday Bev/Mum/Grandma!
We are sorry we are not able to share today with you but we were glad we got to share your really yummy scrummy chocolate cake with you last week in Brisbane :)
Have a lovely day - relax and enjoy,
Loads of love
Kathryn, Cameron & Patrick
xxxx

Welcome to the world Xander Hogan Ezzy

Our good friends Karen & Phil (Karen's was one of my bridesmaids - for those who were at our wedding) had their baby today, on their wedding anniversary - HOW COOL.

Xander Hogan Ezzy was born and he is already extremely loved and adored even though it will be awhile before we get the priveledge of meeting him!

Congratulations to Karen, Phil & their families and congratulations on their wedding anniversary too :)

Happy Birthday to me.....

Well, it's my birthday today and I know my gorgeous hubby will forget to leave me a message and since we are staying at Cameron's parents place Patrick will not know where the computer is so I will leave myself one instead!

It is so nice to be home in Australia - the air is crisp and clean, the weather is perfect and we are surrounded by our loving friends and families. What more could we want.

We are going out for lunch today (to the same restaurant as we had our wedding reception) along with my Dad, Mum, StepDad, Grandma, Aunt, Great Aunt, Niece, in laws......... and of course my husband and son!

In the afternoon Dad, Patrick & I will go and see Grandpa in the nursing home.

Happy Birthday Daddy

Happy Birfday Daddy!
I am so excited that your birthday is on the weekend and we can spend it together playing and swimming in the pool. I love you heaps and heaps and heaps....
Love Patrick
xxxxxxxxxx



Happy Birthday Hun,
I hope you have an awesome day and many more as we create wonderful memories with our precious son.
My love always,
Your Princess
xxxxx

Holiday to Australia!

Yay! We have finally booked our tickets and are officially going on holidays back home to catch up with family and friends. We leave Dubai on Thursday 25th September at 2am - destination Perth! We spend Thursday night and Friday night in Perth with Kalee and Ben and then Leave Saturday morning for Adelaide, spending time mainly with Cameron's family, inc his Aunt, Uncle & cousins.

We will leave Adelaide on Thursday to fly to Sydney to see Karen & Phil and we will stay with our very good friends Dennis, Stef & Lauren until Saturday when we fly to Brisbane to stay with Cameron's brother David and Cameron's parents who will also be there.

While we are in Brisbane we will catch up with Cameron's family, other brother, nephew, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin & Grandmother. We will also try and catch up with Jo if we can track her down!!!

On Wednesday the 8th of October, Patrick & I will fly to Adelaide and then drive up to Port Augusta to see my Dad, Step Mother, nieces, God daughters and friends for a week. Cameron will fly home from Brisbane to Dubai (via Singapore) on the 8th of october and back to work on the Sunday.

After spending a week in Port Augusta Patrick & I will drive to Adelaide and spend a week with my mum & step dad (seeing my best friend, nieces and nephews, grandparents, Aunties & friends) before flying back to Dubai.

Another whirlwind visit as per usual - - - - - McKay style!

Before....

Before I was a Mum,

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunisations.

Before I was a Mum,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mum,

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mum,

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mum as much as I do.

Before I was a Mum,

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mum,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, or the satisfaction of being a Mum.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mum.

Happy Fathers Day

Dear Da Da,

I hope you enjoy your special day even though you have to work.

Thank you for being such a wonderful Daddy and loving me so much.

Lots of love, hugs & kisses,

Your little man,

Patrick

xxx

Dear Dad (Poppy), Dad (Pop), Grandpa (Great Grandpa) & Ashley (Grandad)

We hope you all enjoy a very happy Fathers Day. We are sorry that we cannot be there to share it with you but look forward to seeing you all in just a few weeks :)

Have a great day,

Our Love Always,

Kathryn, Cameron & Patrick

xxx

Things to learn from a dog...

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY THE BEST YOU CAN!

Realisation.....

To realise

the value of a sibling,

ask someone

who doesn't have any.

To realise

The value of ten years:

Ask a newly

Divorced couple.

To realise

The value of four years:

Ask a graduate.

To realise

The value of one year:

Ask a student who

Has failed a final exam.

To realise

The value of nine months:

Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realise

The value of one month:

Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realise

The value of one week:

Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realise

The value of one hour:

Ask the lovers who are waiting to Meet.

To realise

The value of one minute:

Ask a person

Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realise

The value of one-second:

Ask a person

Who has survived an accident.

To realise

The value of one millisecond:

Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

To realise

The value of a friend:

Lose one.

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special

Happy 1st Birthday Annie

To my beautiful god-daughter, Annie

Happy Birthday little one! May your first birthday bring you loads of love, cuddles, kisses and cake and be as wonderful as you are.

Love you so very much,

Aunty Kathryn, Uncle Cameron & Patrick

xxxxx

A bit of this, a bit of that....

As you can imagine by the lack of entries lately, things have been pretty hectic over the past month here for us in Dubai. It started off early July with the very difficult decision to stay in Dubai or go back to Australia. After LOTS of discussion and weighing up all the pos and cons and to cut a long story short (as most of you will probably know by now) we have decided to stay another year. All going to plan we will be back in Australia August 2009. Then mid-july we started looking for new apartments - since we were staying another 12 months, there was NO WAY we were spending any longer in a one bedroom apartment, especially when Cameron & I had been sleeping on the futon for the past 3 months!!! Anyway, to cut another very long and complicated story short, after looking at numerous apartments we found the perfect one. We are now living on The Palm Jumeirah in a 2 bedroom (+ maid's room) in a 2000sq feet apartment. It is absolutely gorgeous, we love it and are settled and VERY happy in it. There is a facebook link on the right to photos of it. Patrick loves having so much space to play and his own bedroom and bathroom.

After we moved and settled in came our beautiful boy's 1st birthday. WOW, what a day that was..... We had helium balloons, decorations, toys, cake, food, presents & bubbles with a Winnie the Pooh theme (naturally.) It was a great fun filled, noisy day with about 35 people and kids all up! Two days after the party was Patrick's actual birthday and fortunately, Cameron was able to take the day off - we spent the morning unwrapping (more) presents and while Patrick had his morning sleep Cameron was busy assembling tents, unpacking toys from their boxes and constructing his table and chairs. Once Patrick woke up we went out for lunch together and to the toy shop to spend Patrick's birthday money. We then came home, went for a swim and then had a group of friends over for a roast lamb dinner (although Patrick was asleep by this stage!) What an amazing 1st year we have had as parents - we wouldn't swap a moment of the joy or memories for anything else in the world. The birthday celebrations ended last weekend with a Brunch with our adult friends who don't have children (or whose children have grown up) which was great - a great time was had by all. Photos of Patrick's birthday party, birthday and presents and brunch are all on facebook (links on the right hand side of this page) take a look!

We are currently planning a trip back to Oz in September/October - which is keeping us occupied. We most certainly need a break (Cameron especially) and it will be great to see family and friends again :) Will post dates when we have booked and start planing "catch ups"!

Better go now, Patrick just woke from his sleep and managed to get himself out of his sleeping bag - clever boy! The photo below was taken this week.

Happy 1st Birthday Patrick

To our gorgeous baby boy - Patrick

Happy Birthday Little Man!

We love you so very much and hope your birthday brings to you as much love, joy and fun as you bring to us.

LOADS of love, hugs and kisses,

Mummy & Daddy

oxoxox

A Special Suprise Birthday Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB-c8l2c58E

Happy Birthday Uncle Ben!

Happy Birthday Ben (Uncle Ben and God-father to Patrick)

We hope you have an awesome day. Thinking of you and missing you always!

Love Kathryn, Cameron & Patrick

x

Happy Birthday Princess

To our beautiful princess, Jasmine


We hope your birthday is as special as you!


We love you very Very VERY much and think of you always :)


Hugs & Kisses,


Aunty Kathryn, Big Cameron & Patrick
oxoxoxoxoxox

Patrick - almost 11 months old

Could not resist posting these two photos - taken today of our adorable happy boy who is becoming quite crafty of late. He can now get up onto the lounge - he climbs up on his Elmo beanbag, then crawls onto the lounge! He knows to turn himself around so he can get off all by himself also. His 6th tooth is now through (his bottom right of the middle) and he is into biting EVERYTHING, including mummy & daddy!!! Let me tell you - his teeth are DAMN SHARP - OUCH!

You can see his new tooth (bottom left) in the photo below.

Decent People

We had a lovely weekend together as a family. We went out out for a lovely lunch on Friday and then for a swim with Patrick in the afternoon - he LOVES the water. While we were down at the pool a bunch of guys were there, having a ball, smoking & laughing, but as they left (not long after we got there) one of the guys came back and picked up EVERY SINGLE CIGARETTE BUTT and put them in the bin. It was refreshing to see such a thoughtful and responsible act.

9 years

Cameron & I celebrated 9 years of being together yesterday - it is hard to believe we have been together that long. We have been through alot together in those years and have so many wonderful memories. We look forward to many more happy years together. We had a lovely dinner and I got 9 red roses from Cameron and 1 white rose (from Patrick).

Day of Celebration!

A multiple celebration day today - read below :)

To my beautiful Grandparents!

Congratulations on your 67th Wedding Anniversary.

Your love & happiness is a true inspiration!

Our love always,

Kathryn, Cameron & Patrick

xxx

Dearest Jodie

I hope you’ll always know how special you are
and how lucky the world is to have you in it.

Happy Birthday with so much love,

Love always :)

To my adorable God-daughter Jorja,

Hap Birfdays!!! We hope you have a very special day sweetheart!

We love you so very much,

Lots of Love,

Aunty Kaffs, Uncle Cam and Patrick

xxx

4 men & a truck

Cameron & I decided to buy a new lounge off a friend of ours who was selling his and quite frankly, after sleeping on the futon for a total of 3-4 months - I don't care if I ever see it again!!!

Seriously though, Jason was selling a heap of furniture (because he was moving into a fully furnished apartment) so we decided to take his lounge (and a few other things) off his hands. So, consequently, we had to disassemble our queen size bed so we could fit the new lounge in Patrick's bedroom.....which now has quite alot of furniture items in it.

The challenge however, was not only where to store the new couch, but also how to get it to our place. Never fear, we went down to Bur Dubai, found some storng men and a truck and hey presto - problem solved! The guys were great, they followed us to Jason's, loaded the truck.... drove to our place, unloaded the truck and on their merry little way they went (after being paid and having a cold drink).

So, now we just need a new place to fit our couch into!!!

Happy Birthday Zeke

To our dearest nephew (and cousin) Zeke,

Happy 2nd Birthday beautiful boy, we love you so much and miss you heaps. Sorry we can't share your special day with you but you are in our thoughts always.

Enjoy your presents!!!

Truckloads of love, hugs & kisses,

Aunty Kathryn, Uncle Cameron & Patrick

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Patrick 10 months old.

Up, Up & Away....

It's been a while since I (Cameron) have written a blog and while the summer is definately starting to heat up I'm still building and flying my planes. Yesterday saw the end of the build of another kit, this one being my first twin engine. The plane, a Transall C-160, includes an engine synchroniser (which we had trouble with and have disabled for the moment). So, up we got in the wee hours of the morning to head out to the new Jet Flying Field on the Al-Ain Road. At 6am, it was 30degC and stinking humidity, and I was on the road. A couple of hours later (after making some adjustments to the engines) the plane was on the runway for it's maiden flight. Gerald, a colleague, Aussie and fellow flyer assisted with the flights by taking control for the maiden flight. Throttle up and the roll-out started and it was up, up & away. After some in air adjustments, control was handed over to me to 'get a feel' of the new beast. After a short but reasonable flight, Gerald took control over and prepared for the landing approach. On the final approach, with only meters to ground, one engine cut out however skilled control by Gerald brought the plane to a perfect landing and the completion of a successful maiden flight. Back to the 'pits' for some minor adjustments, some more 'sophisticated' radio programming and a refuel and it was one more flight for the day. Again, Gerald did the take off and landing, while I did the rest of the flight. All in all, a great success with much thanks and appreciation to Gerald for the assistance.

Below are a few photos of the plane, named 'George' by Kathryn. Also in the photos is one of my other planes I'm flying at the moment, an Ultimate 40S Bi-plane, which is a real good fun plane which fits in the back of the Jeep without being disassembled.

Time for a giggle....

A store that sells new husbands opened in New York City , where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates: You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs.

She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.

"That's nice", she thinks, "but I want more." So she continues upward.

The third floor sign reads:

Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.

"Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help With

Housework.

"Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please.

Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

PLEASE NOTE: To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opened a New Wives store just across the street.

The first floor has wives that love sex.

The second floor has wives that love sex and have money.

The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth floors have never been visited.

Patrick's Update

Hi again,

Wow, time really does fly by so quickly when you're as busy as I am. I am almost 10 months old now and Mummy and Daddy are starting to think about my birthday party (well, mummy is anyway.....).

What's new with me since last time????

I AM SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!

None of this waking every 2-3 hours and wanting mummy to feed me..... nope, now I go to bed at 7:30pm, give my Monkey a kiss and a cuddle and put myself to sleep and I don't wake or need a feed until anywhere between midnight and 6am. On a really bad night I need 2 feeds but that is not often at all these days :) Mummy is very happy with the extra sleep she is getting. The only downfall for Mummy and Daddy on me sleeping through the night is that they are sleeping in the lounge room - hehehe. Since they moved into the lounge room I sleep so much better, Daddy's snoring doesn't keep me awake anymore (it just keeps Mummy awake instead!)

I still love to play and am now over my fear of balloons. They used to scare me the way they floated towards me, but Daddy & I played with one on the weekend and I quite like them now. I enjoy bouncing balls across the tiles, crashing down the towers that Mummy builds me and I LOVE to read books. My favourite at the moment is called "Kisses for Daddy" and Daddy often reads it to me. I enjoy watching my Baby Einstein DVD's - my favourite is Baby Newton and he is a lion that teaches me all about shapes.

Oh well, that's it for me, till next time!

A priceless moment in a beautiful relationship

As some of you know - Patrick's bestest friend is Max and they absolutely ADORE each other. Their little faces light up like the sun rising every time they see each other. Max is 6 months older than Patrick, however is such a gentle, sensitive and easy going baby and I can only hope that Patrick turns out just like him! The boys love to play with each other - and they play so well with each other. Take this as an example......

Max has been walking for quite awhile and of course, Patrick is still only crawling, but the other week when we visited them the boys were playing in the lounge room until Max decided that they should go and play in his tent. So off he runs, toward the tent..... meanwhile, Patrick starts to follow, crawling as quickly as his little hands and knees would go. Max (standing outside his tent by this stage) looked back and saw how far behind him Patrick was so ran back to Patrick, got down on his hands and knees, and together they crawled over to and into the tent.

How sweet is that!!!

The blending of cultures....

Patrick & I visited our friends today, Shannon & Max for lunch and a playdate :)

Here the boys are playing beautifully together but taking a quick break to watch Baby Einstein!

We had a lovely time, however it just highlighted to me even more how we (Aussies) have different names for the same things..... (Shannon is from South Africa & Botswana)

Let me explain....

We had just finished a lovely lunch of fresh crusty rolls with cold meat and salad (YUM!) and our boys were both due for sleeps. Max went to bed and while I was settling Patrick into his pram, Shannon asks me if I would like some crumpets for dessert. "Great" I say, meanwhile thinking, "I usually have crumpets for breakfast but sure, I can have them for dessert.....I wonder if Shannon has vegemite". A few minutes later I went into the kitchen and Shannon has a baking bowl, sifter and flour on the counter. "What are you making" I ask. "Crumpets" Shannon replies, looking at me as if I had just grown another head (considering she had just asked me if I wanted some) I asked her what she was doing with a baking bowl, flour and a sifter as crumpets come in a packet and go in the toaster. I then got another look very similar to the previous one and she says "No, they cook on the stove". I then give her my own funny look and say "no, crumpets are round, although they can be square, and have little holes in the top and they go in the toaster..." "No, that's waffles" Shannon replies. "No, I know what waffles are, crumpets are different to waffles..... never mind, just make them and i'll eat them" I respond. So Shannon starts mixing things together and heating the pan. When she goes to put them in to cook, I cry out "they aren't crumpets, they're pikelets!!!"

So to cut a very loooooooooooooooooong (and funny) discussion short, Shannon calls my pikelets, crumpets and I call her crumpets, pikelets. I will have to take her some real crumpets to try one day :)

Either way, whatever you call them.....

They were DELICIOUS!!!

Patrick & Mummy having a cuddle...

Patrick playing on Max's ride-along bike - he LOVES it and had a GREAT time :)

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Mummy!

I love you so very much :)

I'm sorry we had to spend your first mother's day at the hospital while I got my needles but I tried to be very brave for you.

Loads of snuggles, cuddles and kisses,
Patrick
oxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Happy Mother's Day

Dear Mum, Mum & Patricia,

We wish you all a wonderful & relaxing Mother's Day. We are sorry that we are not able to be there to share it with you but you will remain in our thoughts today and every day. Thank you for your continued and never-ending patience, understanding, wisdom, guidance, support and unconditional love.

Our Love Always,

Kathryn & Cameron

xxx

P.S. Patrick is truly lucky to be blessed with you as his Grandi, Grandma & Nanny and loves you all very much :)

Cameron in Saudi

Cameron doing some sight seeing in Saudia Arabia. Jason took this photo (Thanks Jase!) Cameron bought Patrick & I back some lovely presents...... I got a clock with the arabic numbers on it and Patrick got an Arabic music CD, and two hanging mobiles for when he gets his own bedroom (in about 3 months time!!!) Cam bought himself a really nice Gold arabic watch and a set of Arabic Rosary Beads.

Patrick & I missed him alot and are glad he is back home, safe and sound, where he belongs!

Home Alone :(

Kathryn & Patrick are running amuck while Cameron is in Saudi Arabia having facials and manicures with Jason....... hehehe. Nah, just kidding - he is actually there for work (of course) something to do with data centres :) He is staying in a 5 star hotel and said that Saudi is very interesting and that the people are friendly. That's all I know so far, he only left last night and is back tomorrow so I will find out more then I guess.

We (and 6 other friends) are off to Bahrain tomorrow night - back Saturday. Should be fun and nice to get away, even if only for 2 nights. Bahrain has a dolphin park http://www.dpbahrain.com/ so I am going to visit and hoping that I (and maybe Patrick) can book in to swim with the dolphins..... Cameron can take photos :)

Well, more from us when we get back!

YouTube Video Links

Hey everyone,

Just letting you all know that we have started uploading our home videos (or the ones we can compress enough) onto YouTube..... The links to the videos are on the right hand side on the blog, under the facebook links!

Take a look when you get a chance, if you wish!