Tooth #3

Alexis cut her first top tooth!  (Upper right central incisor.)

Magnetic Island

Nana's trip to Townsville would not be complete without visiting Magnetic Island (and don't forget lunch at our favourite island restaurant Noodies), so off we went.  We took our car over for the first time, which was nice and made it a lot easier to bring all of our fun beach stuff and the necessities for Alexis.  It was overcast the whole day, not great, but ok, and then it started to pour as we were taking our last walk on the beach before catching the return ferry.  What luck!

On the ferry to Maggie Island.

Arthur's Bay

Having fun in the water at Alma Beach.

Watching Alexis in the water was so hilarious.  The first time we took her to the beach a couple of weeks ago the waves made her a little nervous.  This time she would just crawl right into the waves, even when they would go over her head.  She definitely takes after John where water is concerned.

FHE at the Strand

Tonight we decided to have Family Home Evening at the Strand.  It was such nice weather out, we couldn't resist, and Nana's in town, so we wanted to go out to dinner.  The nice thing about a casual dinner at the Strand is that there are several restaurants that offer take-away, so everyone can choose exactly what they want and then we can eat on the beach. 

Church #35

Alexis already loves shoes.  When she first crawled into the closet, all of the shoes were on the shelves.  She especially loves to chew on the laces and straps.

Mission Beach & Cairns

The last time my mom came to Australia was when Alexis was born.  Because I had had a c-section, we didn't really do any site-seeing, so this time around we wanted to show her all the places we love, which of course includes Mission Beach.

John and I usually go to Mission Beach every January and rent a holiday house on the beach with some friends.  Every year we try out a different house.  I've been wanting to stay in a house called "Sea-s-ta" for awhile now, but it's always booked out.  Lucky me, that is where we got to stay this time; unlucky for John, he had to stay home and work on this thesis.  (But I promised him that this January I would book really, really early, so he could get to stay there too, because it was amazing!)

Here's just a few pictures from Sea-s-ta:

We couldn't have asked for any more perfect weather (warm and sunny with just a touch of wind). 

It was nice to be able to take walks on the beach, lay out and play cards with my mom.

And Alexis got to go in an outdoor swing for the first time!  She loved it.

After two nights in Mission Beach (not long enough), we headed farther up north to Cairns.  That same day we took a half-day cruise to Green Island.  The island was beautiful, but it was extremely windy.  Our trip to Green Island was supposed to be my mom's chance to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef.  I gave it a go, but the current was super strong and the waves were bringing in a lot of silt, so there was no visibility.  It was still a gorgeous day and a fun day-trip.

Our next day-trip was to Kuranda, a small village in the Daintree Rainforest.  We had a short walk around the shops and a fantastic lunch at a local cafe, but the best part of the trip was taking the skyrail over the forest canopy.

We also spent a day exploring the shops in downtown Cairns, as well as some time by the pool.  Alexis loves swimming, and had fun in the hotel pool, even though the I thought the water was freezing!

Overall, it was a fun week away with Nana.  If we hadn't missed Daddy so much, we would have loved to stay away longer!

Pebbles

We put Alexis' hair in her first ponytail today, a la Pebbles Flintstone. Daddy especially thought she looked cute. So cute, that he insisted I do Alexis' hair like this for church tomorrow.  The only thing I'm missing is a little ribbon to tie around the rubberband.

So big!

Nana taught Alexis a new trick.  When you say "so big" in a fun, high voice, Alexis raises her arms above her head.  It's so cute.

And happy birthday to Aunt Dani!