3 beautiful photos!

I took some photos of Noah and Tim the other day when we spent the afternoon at Manly Dam and I wanted to use them on a topic. I have been thinking of the perfect topic and I am actually not sure whether words can justify the photos...but I will try, so here goes!

Most of you would know that Noah is a surprise baby. Tim and I had just been dating for a year when we found out that I was pregnant. I actually told Tim over the phone when he was in Argentina on business as I wanted to tell him the news first before I shared it with my family. Anyhow, Tim will probably agree with me that his first reaction to becoming a parent was apprehension. I remember him telling me that he could not even take care of himself, let alone a child and me. That was in June 2009.

Fast forward to January 2012 and here is what we have...

Tim is a totally devoted father to Noah. It is Tim who wakes up when Noah wakes up in the morning. He truly cannot wait to greet Noah and get him out of bed to start their day. A couple of times, I have actually told Tim to not be so excited as we could probably get an extra 30minutes of sleep by leaving him alone (yes, I am the party pooper in the family!). Tim organises his breakfast and ensures that Noah is well tended to, while giving me a few extra minutes to snooze.

Bedtime is also Tim's domain. Tim always makes a point to be home for Noah's bedtime routine which I am grateful for. Tim, always with enthusiasm brings story books to life for Noah. The Magic Hat is sang like an opera, one will definitely know how hungry the tiger is in the Tiger who came to Tea and you will really experience the wild rumpus of the wild things in Where the Wild Things Are when Tim is doing the reading.

At 22months old, Noah's vocabulary is starting to expand. Amazingly at lot of his words are animal related. Roar for Lion, E for Elephant, Smake for Snake, Shark, Duck, Baa for Sheep are all part of his daily language. He loves looking at picture books of animals, identifying his favourites and needless to say we have been to the zoo, oceanworld, aquarium and wildlife world countless of times (thank you Nanny and Grandad for the annual passes!). It is obvious that it is Tim's love for animals that continue to rub off on Noah. Tim patiently goes out of his way to show Noah Mother Natures wonders and when I see them bond over their love, my heart continues to expand.
 

When I see Tim with Noah these days, my heart is bursting with pride.  Tim once told me that Noah is his shining light (should I be offended that it is not me?! Ha!) The above are just some examples of Tim as a father. I can go on and on and on of how blessed I am that Tim is Noah's father and that he is my parenthood partner but I hope the photos speak for themselves. He truly is a proud father and the look on his face often shows it all.

Our first dip for the year!

Most of you know that we live in Fairlight. I count myself very lucky to be living where we live especially now that we have Noah. We are a 10 minute walk from the infamous Manly beach and  we have amazing playparks within walking distance from our flat. As a new parent, I quickly found out how important it is for my own sanity (and Noah's) to keep Noah occupied (entertained!) when he is with me. A good walk or run around usually results in a good nap which I can tell you is a blessed relief which I definitely need and look forward to!

As Tim is still on holidays, we thought of heading down to our beloved Fairlight beach for a little play this morning. We are lucky enough that Fairlight beach is less than a 10 minute walk from our place and it is not so crowded as some of the other child friendly beaches as most of the people who go to Fairlight are locals.

We were there well before 9.15am and it was still relatively quiet.  There were several babies getting some beautiful sunlight, a couple of toddlers paddling with their grandparents and several swimmers exercising in the rock pool.

Now with the cold summer that we have recently had, Noah and I have not been in the sea since last year (or I should say last summer season). Growing up in the warm seas of the tropics, my tolerance for Sydney sea temperatures is just not that great.  However I have been trying to get better as I really should be setting a good example to Noah (definitely would not want him to be a wuss in the water!).

Since Sydney has finally been showing off its true summer colours and Tim (who loves the sea and goes in it all year round) has promised me that the waters are finally warm, Noah and I braved the waters for the first time this year (or this summer season).

With the glorious sun blazing, the waters were just so beautiful and warm (yes, Tim was right!). Luckily, we brought back Noah's floaty car which his Tita (Aunt) kindly got for him in Pila, Laguna (my Dad's hometown in the Philippines) so Noah enjoyed himself ever more.

We pretty much stayed in the toddler pool as Noah was having so much fun with his car. It was also the first time that we have seen him kick his little legs to make himself move in his floaty (we used to push him all the time!) so the little man was very proud of himself for being able to move. It made for playing chase a lot more fun!

We hanged around for a good couple of hours. Of course, Tim manage to sneak in a little snorkel which left Noah and I playing together.

Apparently the visibility is not that great but the abundance and variety of fish that he saw was just amazing.

By the time we headed back home, it was almost 11.30am and the beach was starting to get very busy.

As we walked back up to our place, Tim and I reveled in the lovely morning we had, discussing what we were going to do in the afternoon.  As we turned to our street, we noticed that our little man had fallen asleep in his pram. Exactly what we had hoped to happen! Sign of a great morning I always say!!! Hence, I am now writing this while Tim is cleaning his bike!!!