Happy Birthday to Lili!

Love,

Little Bear xx

New Grass

A few weeks ago we asked Peter the gardener come over to even out our front lawn and put down some grass.

A big freight truck with a lift attached to it parked down the street, and then the driver got out and drove the lift with the turf on it over to Peter and Jackson.

Jackson then helped Peter to roll our the first of the turf.

Then he helped some more.

We're looking forward to having picnics and lots of fun times on the new grass this summer.

Cup Day

Last Tuesday it was Cup Day in Melbourne! Granma and Lili came over and we had a BBQ lunch.

Then we all drew the names of our horses out of Lili's bucket.

It was an exciting race!

Jackson hoped his horse Shocking would win...

And he did!

Yay for Jackson! Each of us had contributed a "favourite" item to the basket, for the winner to take all.

But there was also a chocolate hamper price for the person with the last horse to come in, which Mama won!

Yay, Mama and Jackson! Hooray for Cup Day!

Wheels on the Bus

One of Jackson's favourite songs that he sings at school is "Wheels On the Bus." Here he is singing it over lunch at Lili's yesterday.

Halloween!

The day before Halloween Jackson and Mama made sugar cookies!

They were shaped like ghosts and cats (our Halloween costumes) and we got the recipe from Memaw's old cookbook. They tasted like ones Name used to make.

Then we carved a little jack-o-lantern.

The next day we went trick-or-treating!

We stopped by Granma's first. She had lots of Halloween decorations and treats, including TS Eliots Book of Cats!

Then we went to lunch at Misty's American Diner. Jackson practiced his "scary" face.

Next we went to Lili's house. She had decorations and treats, including a lovely pumpkin shepherd's pie for Mama!

She also had a neat mask for Jackson.

Happy Halloween!

A Friend Like Ben

Happy birthday to Ben, who is now 2 like Jackson! Jackson and Ben love to play together.

"Yep, this nappy needs changing!"

Sleep...

Here are a few choice shots of Jackson napping on his little pallet at Lili's house over the last few weeks:

Rides!

(Thanks to Lili for the photos and all the $2 coins for the rides!)

The AFL Final: Cats Win!

We really enjoyed watching the Aussie Rules Football final at Vicky and James' house last weekend. Jackson seems to be becoming a full-fledged Geelong Cats supporter (Mama and Daddy are still undecided).

Vicky provided this interesting article about the match in the New York Times.

Go Cats!

The Royal Melbourne Show

Last Friday Jackson, Daddy, Mama, Granma, and Lili all went to the huge Royal Melbourne show! Among other things, Jackson got to ride rides...

...ride on a pony...

...get a special stamp and hear stories about farming life in Australia...

...watch some huge cows "do poos"...

...and touch some yak fur (Jackson said, "Where its face?").

We had a great time getting Show Bags (bags with samples of sweets, toys, etc), digging for potatoes in the vast food hall, looking at all the arts and crafts and animals, and eating lots of yummy fair food like scones and corndogs and ice cream.

On the way out Lili bought Mama a classic "Show Doll." Jackson is still thinking of a name for her.

(Thank you to Lili for the photos!)

Welcome Home Daddy!

Daddy has been in England for the last week. He sent Mama some flowers and chocolates and wine to keep her company while he was away.

Mama and Jackson have been busy gardening, Spring cleaning, working, playing, and getting our hair done. We're glad you're back!

Harry

One of Jackson's favourite books at the moment is Harry the Dirty Dog. He decided that one of his bowling-pin friends that Granma got him for his birthday should be called Harry.

Harry accompanies Jackson a lot these days. Here are Harry and Jackson counting all the machines in the book.

(You can see the wonderful desk and chair Lili made in the background.)