When we got notice that Ryan would need to travel to Asia, to say that I was disappointed would be putting it mild. I was not happy AT ALL. But, I can't really complain too much. Ryan didn't travel for four weeks before Nicholas was born just in case he arrived early, and Ryan took 3 weeks of Paternity Leave after Nicholas was born. Also, I guess one of us has to work to keep us living in this beautiful place. So, even though I didn't like it one bit... I had to let him go. Nicholas and I were going to be just fine.
I made sure to make lots of plans to get us out of the house so that we didn't miss Nicholas' daddy so much.
On Monday, we met our neighbor, Louisa, and her 7 month old daughter, Sienna, downstairs and then walked a block to the Dockside Cafe for a coffee. We live in Tower 1, and they live in tower 2. But, our balconies face each other. We've yelled across and said hello before. However, this was our first meet up. It was fantastic. In fact, we're doing it again tomorrow. Except this time, we decided to go to the outlet stores and go shopping before our coffee.
On Wednesday, we had a follow up doctor appointment for Nicholas. That was pretty uneventful, except leaving the appointment is where I learned that it's NO FUN putting a baby in a car seat when it's pouring down rain and you're not in a covered parking space. Oh my gosh!! I was soaking wet by the time I got myself buckled in. You can't really avoid the rain during the wet season in tropical Queensland. However, in the future I think I'll avoid places that don't have covered parking. That was ridiculous!!
On Thursday, we went to our first Mums and Bubs group. Ryan and I had taken Nicholas to a Chemist (=Pharmacy) in New Farm a couple of times to have a midwife weigh him and do a quick exam. That same midwife called us a week later and let us know that a new group had formed with moms of babies around Nicholas' age. Generally, I'm not one to join a group like this. But, being over here 7,000 miles away from all of our family and friends convinced me that maybe in this case it will be a positive thing. We had a great time. Or maybe I should say, "all the moms had a great time" since all the babies slept right through our coffee date. All the babies are between 3 weeks and 7 weeks so it's no wonder they were a little sleepy. We're meeting up with the group again this week.
On Friday, we met Marg at the Indooroopilly Mall. There was a bit of a mix up about where we were meeting. I thought we were meeting at the mall, and Marg thought we were meeting at my house. It was pretty comical. Once we figured out that I was at the mall while Marg was outside of my house, we decided that I would go wait by Santa while Marg drove to the Mall to meet up with us. It was the first time Nicholas saw Santa. He was seriously uninterested. It might have been due to the fact that I was feeding him at the time. It was pretty funny to watch the reception that Santa got as he came out to start his picture taking shift. Some of the kids reacted as if they were seeing a ROCK STAR. While others threw themselves on the ground and started throwing a holy hissy fit! Maybe they don't want gifts from Santa for Christmas. Who knows! It was funny to watch, and it made me wonder how Nicholas will react when we try to put him on Santa's lap for the first time.
Today is our apartment complex's first annual Christmas Party. Everyone is meeting down by the pool and media room. I really wish Ryan was here to go to it with me. But, since that isn't possible, Nicholas is going to have to be my date. I think he'll make a pretty good date. Ryan has lived here for 3 years, and I have lived here for 2. I think because it's a secure building ~ meaning no one can get into the building OR up to our floor without us buzzing them up ~ we haven't really met anyone that lives here besides two men who live on our floor, Louisa in tower 2 and our on-site Property Managers Roger and Cheryl. So, it will be nice to meet some neighbors. Although, I'm looking outside and it looks like rain is coming. I sure hope there's enough room for everyone under cover and out of the rain.
We have 6 more days without Ryan, and Nicholas and I have something planned for each of the 5 days leading up to Ryan's return (I'll write more in a future blog) It hasn't been easy having Daddy away this soon after Nicholas was born. But, having some outings has made the days go by a little faster.
