And so we're back!

From outer space. Or maybe back to outer space? Regardless, it's good to be home in our huge Santiago apartment. And the dreaded 18-hour trip wasn't so bad, actually it was probably our best long-haul flight yet. That is encouraging progress. 

Maya is getting to the agreeable stage of [more or less] going to sleep when she gets tired. It seems, to me, a rarity in the toddler world and I embrace such sensibility wholeheartedly. She slept more than half the way and we had to wake her up to land in Chile. And so we got some sleep too and even squeezed in a movie.

Nor did she cry, at all. She's such a happy little monkey, even when she's tired. It helped that the plane wasn't full and we did our usual switcheroo and had the middle four rows so she could stretch out and sleep properly. And when I walked round the plane it seemed everyone travelling with kids was given an extra seat. Go LAN. 

Speaking of good airlines, we flew Air New Zealand the first leg to Auckland and now I can see how they win so many airline of the year awards. From the check-in staff to the stewardesses, everyone was so friendly, helpful and efficient - and coming from Australia, that's saying something. Even the food was good - how many times can you say that about economy class grub? - I had an actual chicken breast in my chicken salad.

Arriving in at lunchtime Monday, there's minimal traffic in the airport and everything went so smoothly - none of our usual paperwork hiccups at immigration. Maya chased the drug-sniffer dogs round as usual and the Chilean police are always nice enough to let her distract them from their duties for a quick cuddle. Maya happily fed one of them her biscuit which it then got into trouble for eating. Whoops.

We all had an afternoon snooze and are heading out for a walk now to get some dinner and fresh air. Maya is elated to amongst all her long-lost toys and is happily doing some bailando (dancing). The first word she said upon waking up this evening was "Je Je?" It will be a happy Maya-Jenny reunion tomorrow. 

Back to the nation's capital

We've made it back over to the east coast and into Canberra for a few days. This time next week we'll be on yet another plane - the horrendous 18-hour trip back to Chile that I am just dreading.

Yesterday, in Adelaide, just as we were piling the suitcases up to put in the car, Maya had a bit of an accident. In our last few days, Gabriel started to see Maya more as a co-conspirator than a rival for his toys which is great but they still couldn't go without supervision for more than a couple of minutes. Each would happily follow the other into mischief. And of course this happened in those two minutes when all the adults were out of the room. 

Anyway, I didn't see what happened but I think Maya fell off a suitcase and hit her mouth on the wooden floor. I freaked a bit when I saw all the blood. We rushed her into the bathroom - she was screaming blue murder - and I envisioned a trip to the hospital instead of the airport. After washing out the blood we saw there wasn't any teeth damage (thank god) and she was soon sucking on a frozen yoghurt tube (very handy to have in the freezer) as the tears subsided.

She just has a small bruise today but I don't think she even remembers it. All she said this morning, waking up in a new bed and a new room, was "Oofy? Oofy, where you?" 

People schmeople. She misses the dog in Adelaide more than anything. When we are finally back in Australia next year, we'll get her a dog from the local pound; I always had pets growing up and a house seems empty without them. 

Until then, we'll just have to adopt every other animal that comes our way. 

Nipping out for wine tasting in the Adelaide Hills

A holiday to Adelaide is never complete without visiting some wineries. It just isn't. 

South Australia produces about half of all of Australia's wine and you don't have to drive far to find the wineries. In fact where we're staying, in the Adelaide Hills, there's one across the road. Beautiful green vines and big, tall gum trees against a very blue sky. Last week there were even koalas in the gum trees - and you don't get more Australian than that. 

 Two fat koalas in the second tree from the right

We did manage a quick spin into Bridgewater Mill last week - a relatively famous Australian winery with some really nice wines under the Petaluma label.

But yesterday afternoon, post Maya's two-and-a-half-hour nap (amazing!), we bundled her into the car and set out further afield. We figured we could do two wineries comfortably, plus a 20-minute drive there and back, while keeping Maya in relative good spirits. Any more than that is just reaching. The sad realities of wine tasting with a toddler in tow.

One advantage of towing Maya along though is dressing her like a little doll - 

how gorgeous is this dress? We received many a compliment on her stylish frock

First stop, Shaw and Smith near Handorf. It's a gorgeous winery set on a sloping hill that leads down to a lake. Picture perfect. 

Unlike most Australian wineries, you pay for a tasting here - $14 for four wines with a matching cheese platter. We shared a tasting, sitting out on the verandah and admiring the view.

Then, we drove a few minutes down the road to Nepenthe. 

This winery only started 20 years ago but is already winning gold medals in international competitions. Pretty amazing. We tried most of their wines on tasting [all free] while Maya flicked through wine magazines and toasted our glasses with her sippy cup "cheers!"

And then with three bottles in hand, we headed home, congratulating ourselves on a successful outing. 

Water baby

One of the best parts of this holiday at home has been Maya's enthusiasm towards swimming. She's always loved the water but preferred playing on the edge than actually getting in and paddling about. And after last year's disastrous swimming class, I didn't want to push her into trying again before she was ready. 

But now I really think she is. 

Today, we went over to Adelaide's aquatic centre, a huge indoor enclosure with about five pools for different ages, plus slides and diving boards, steam room, sauna, spa pool, etc. The whole place was packed full of families.

Maya had an absolute ball of a time, jumping in and out of the pools, kicking, splashing, ducking under the waterfalls, running out onto the grass and then back in the water. 

See that yellow slide in the picture above? She even went down that with az - a super fast slippery dip that zips round corners and then dunks you right under the water at the end. I took three-year-old Gabriel down and we dropped like a stone to the bottom. He was less than impressed but the rest of us thought it hilarious.

Enormous fun :)

There was an island in the middle of one of the bigger pools and Maya would clamber up on it and then run from side to side while az and I waded round as fast as we could to catch her wherever she decided to jump in. Little scamp. 

It's great that at this age - and Maya has just clocked 20 months - kids have no fear and no inhibitions. A perfect age to learn to swim; I saw kids only a bit older than her paddling around on their own. Before Christmas, a friend in Santiago was trying to organise a toddler swim class. Hopefully, we can just join in that one when we get back to Chile. 

Until then, we're going swimming every day in Australia! 

Hot summer days

The weather in Adelaide has been sort of topsy turvy - cold nights snuggled under a doona listening to a howling wind, followed by cool days and then warm afternoons. Finally though, the hot weather is coming back.

And what do you do on a hot summer day in Australia? Get in the water, of course.

So, this morning we drove to Glenelg Beach, Adelaide's version of Bondi Beach in Sydney. And our first stop was the water fountains in the mall.

There were a horde of kids having great fun here as warm water spouted up randomly through coloured discs in the ground.

I wish we had these in parks in Santiago, especially in the hot, hot summer. There is a big set of water fountains in that park [can't remember the name] down Andres Bello but I think they're more decorative than something you can play in.

After the water fountain, we trotted on over to the beach. 

Such beautiful water - though damn cold; we just paddled around at the edge and dug holes in the sand. Maya decided it would be more productive to deposit her sand directly into the ocean a few metres away and went back and forth, back and forth, with her tiny handfuls of sand. I just love how kids wear themselves out in these pursuits. 

Not surprisingly, after all that sun and water and fresh air, all three bubs fell fast asleep on the drive home. And stayed snoozing long after the cars were parked in the driveway.

Then, if that weren't enough for the water babies, late in the afternoon az and his brother took the kids in the swim spa. It's just big enough for everyone to have a paddle. I cooked up a prawn curry (yum) for dinner.

Perfect summer's day. 

Holiday tantrums

We are going to take Maya this afternoon to see the doctor, I think she might have a tummy bug. Her nightly wake-ups are getting worse and now we just pop her into bed with us, despite the squirming and kicking. Our defences are at their lowest in the middle of the night when it's cold and we're staying in someone else's house.

That could be a reason too - we are at present in a mad house with three children under four. It's funny, though, how kids are completely oblivious to things happening around them. What I find stressful is like water off a duck's back to Maya. She's having a grand old time on holiday. 

Most definitely, the highlight of Maya's holiday is uninterrupted doggy time with the resident pooch, Swiffy - or as Maya refers to him, "Oofy". She kisses and cuddles and pats him all day long, feeds him most of her food and talks about him constantly when he's not around. It's very cute. Lucky he's such a patient and sweet-natured mutt. 

 World's best dog - all he asked for Xmas was equal rights but Santa was fresh out

It seems much of my day is spent refereeing over toys and encouraging the kids to speak in a normal tone of voice (instead of yelling). It's all new ground for me - spending a lot of time with other people's children, and spending a lot of time with little boys. I always used to feel a bit nervous around kids really; after Maya I feel a lot more confident with babies and toddlers but I haven't mastered the young child age group yet. 

 A hug or is she just holding her baby cousin Sebastian down?

Best friends... for now...

This parenting learning curve never stops, does it?

The reluctant parenting holiday (Adelaide)

I had a glimpse into my future today and it scared me. Like walking into a very noisy disco and feeling 15 years out of place, I stepped into Wacky Warehouse today and had the same weird sensation. 

This is Wacky Warehouse. It's fun, fun, fun. 

Actually, it is a pretty cool place for kids. With tunnels and slides and ball pits and all sorts of things. Maya had a great time. I'd love to have something similar in Santiago, it would be a huge hit.

And it was packed to rafters with shouting, shrieking, excitable kids on holiday.

And that's when it dawned on me - this is what holidays with kids is like, ie, this is what my holidays are going to be like for a good long time. 

I don't mean just school holidays when parents try to fill up the long and now completely unstructured days with all sorts of fun activities designed to drain energy faster than a electric car battery. All parents have to deal with those. I mean the times whereby you pack your bags, leave your home and go on a very long plane trip to take a holiday elsewhere... and then all you end up seeing is Wacky Warehouse and the local park. 

If that sounds jaded, it's because I am. And tired. Maya hasn't slept a full night this week. And Adelaide used to be our relaxing holiday, place of endless wineries, great restaurants and days spent lounging about reading or in the pool with a glass of wine. Now suddenly there's children in the picture and I have to sneak out of the room to get five minutes to myself.

The thing is, I'm just not ready to give up all the special things I enjoyed and looked forward to about going on holiday. If I can't get a proper night's sleep, have to eat dinner at 5pm, and hide in our room to avoid a screaming toddler [that isn't Maya], I'm wondering what the point of leaving home is in the first place.

But until the little rugrats are old enough to understand compromise, it seems there'll be less wine tasting and more child-friendly activities. I just need to start drinking earlier.

An unexpected dress find

I found my wedding dress today.

I'd love to show you a picture but that would spoil the surprise. I can tell you that it is white, very cute and not particularly like me. But then I don't imagine that a long, white, puffy dress is really anyone's style. Or maybe what I'm trying to say is that the whole thought of a wedding where I'm the centre of attention in a fancy white dress is not my idea of a fun day. 

It's also a good thing az is no wallflower. He'll happily take centre stage. I can even get out of giving a speech. I much prefer to do the organising and add the personal touches. Location-wise, we're now thinking about Canberra and Sydney venues too as our original Blue Mountains [outside of Sydney] plan may not work out.

But I can tell you that I was very pleasantly surprised to find this sweet little dress that will also work perfectly as a wedding number.

I didn't find it at a wedding shop. It cost me a cool $50 on sale in a generic chain shop in downtown Adelaide. Gotta love that. I'll dress it up a little perhaps with a veil or a flower hair piece or something. And I have to find some shoes (and that's not my idea of fun either).

But, yay for me, I've found my wedding dress! 

Up the coast and back again

We've just returned to Sydney from several days up the coast staying with my Granma. I would have loved to stay longer, it's been two years since we were there last and it irks me to have missed the big family Christmas (40-odd people) by only a few days. 

Such is life. I enjoyed our little family Christmas in Santiago too. 

Maya has added a few more English words to her vocabulary, the most popular being "beach". Every time we got in the car or whipped out the sunscreen she'd start bleating "beeech, beeech". It's a little sad for me, as an Australian, that at 19 months, Maya finds going to the beach such a novelty. 

I think this is actually the first time she's ever been (well, technically, we went last summer to Maitencillo but it was cold and miserable and we didn't linger). 

Australians are unfairly advantaged in beautiful beaches - endless sand, sea and sky

She also added some Spanish words to her great-granma's vocab, particularly aqua esta! (there you are, here it is!) uttered with surprised delight every time she found something or anyone (cat included) came into the room. Though to be fair, Maya pronounces it as "ah ka-ka!"

Bringing a bit of Chile into the lives of some very Australian Australians.

I remembered this Australianism when the first question out of everyone's mouths was not "How's it going in Chile?" but rather "Have you been watching the cricket?"

Australians, if you didn't know, are sports-mad. They're also very good at most of them, and cricket is no exception. Australians probably look forward to the Christmas season more for the five-day test matches and one-day series' which start on Boxing Day.

Are Australians as cricket-mad as Chileans are soccer-mad? Well, at least no one was tooting their car horns down the road all night long when that fellow scored 320 runs not-out the other day.

Tomorrow, we fly to Adelaide for two weeks with more family and more of Maya's toddler cousins. There's also a dog. In fact, we've told Maya the whole visit is about going to stay with a puppy, and haven't mentioned anyone else in the house.

Oh, and it's raining. Real, proper rain. I'm so glad. 

The flight home

We had a good flight. At least, in hindsight it was good. It seems to be the case that as she gets older, Maya is better behaved on flights - in one sense that is; she can sleep when she gets tired instead of fighting it for hours and becoming really, really overtired.

Maya had two long naps that day so things were looking hopeful for our overnight (18 hour) flight. We arrived a solid 3 hours early at the airport, went to the business class preferred check-in (thanks to az's frequent travel points) and yet still managed to get the trainee person. So, while several other customers came and went, az stood at the counter for about half an hour. Maya and I went for a walk. That is, she bolted off and I trotted behind her.

And the trainee didn't seat us together; not even remotely, we were at completely opposite ends of the plane! I was so not impressed at this point.

Anyway, we got on board and found that the plane wasn't completely full as we had assumed, and with some quick negotiations with our fellow passengers, we managed to get a row of four seats together - so lucky! So Maya lay down between us and actually got some sleep and we snoozed on either side.

There were several other babies on the flight and not all of them had a spare seat which is a tough way to travel. We always, always ask the hostesses or other people to get an extra seat; usually they're obliging. No one really wants to sit next to a crying baby anyway. Maybe it's a bit pushy but I think you just have to do it. Better a parent with a little child gets the spare seat than someone who just wants the extra room to put their bags on. That's my two cents anyway.

So Maya did get some sleep. Though it would be helped a LOT if LAN hadn't waited a whole three-and-a-half hours after take-off to turn off the overhead lights. Why flights try to peddle their stupid duty free products after dinner at 2.30am when 95% of the passengers are trying to sleep is beyond me. Who buys duty free on the plane and not the terminal when you're whiling away the endless hours waiting to board?

We only had two hours of tears and sleep-fighting which is stressful nonetheless but in all she slept about eight hours - pretty darn fantastic in my book. On the Auckland-Sydney leg, we managed to snag pretty much the only spare seat on the plane (how good are we?) and Maya conked right out while we watched movies like real people - always a good feeling.

Luckily, her sickness cleared up the day we left, or rather, she gave it over to me because I felt pretty terrible the whole flight. I cursed myself for not bringing all my sore throat stuff and ear drops in particular, and honestly, I haven't felt much better since. I should try to see a doctor today and perhaps get non-antibiotics. I don't know, it's highly unfair being sick on holiday.

Now, we're with family near the coast and it's lovely. Maya is having a ball roaming the garden, chasing the cat, swimming, going to the beach and generally being adored by everyone around her. Life is good.
 

2011 and what have we done?

Adios 2011! Another year over and what have we done? Well, quite a bit actually...

We kicked off January with our first Chile road trip. The actual driving part was fun and it was fascinating to see 'the real Chile' outside of Santiago. It is said here that Santiago is not a reflection of Chile, and Chile is not a reflection of Latin America. That's very true. Chalk and cheese. For starters, it's amazing how barren and desert-like the landscape becomes outside of the city. Especially to the north.

We were supposed to spend a few days in the popular beach town of Maitencillo but Maya just couldn't sleep in the night (for undetermined reasons) so it became a whirlwind tour of the coast, Vina and Valparaiso, then we arrived home three days early.

We followed this up with a visit to the south of Chile and the beautiful town of Puerto Varas. We loved it - cold, rainy, scenic. All three of us slept like logs at night in our rented apartment right next to the lake. There were great restaurants and views and drives around the national parks and dormant volcanoes. For me, this is my favourite place I've been to as yet in Chile. 

Boat rides from the ferry town of Petrohue

The view from Volcan Osorno

I'd love to go back south again soon. We had a trip to Torres del Paine planned for February but with the recent forest fires [still burning], I'm not sure whether we can anymore.

In February, my mum visited us in Santiago and that was really lovely. Nine months old and Maya was crawling and exploring all over the apartment.

Maya practises walking with Jenny

In March, Maya and I went home for a visit - and I don't recommend that flight solo with a baby. But we had a new baby cousin to see - Kiran. 

Another baby cousin was born at the same time too, little Sebastian in Adelaide (pictured below with his big brother Gabriel). Maya and I will be meeting him for the first time in a couple of weeks. 

April, and we're back in Santiago and have moved into a new apartment. It's much bigger with a great kitchen and a very city-like view of lots of office buildings which is nicer than it may sound. There's a beautiful garden downstairs and the building staff are all as nice as pie.

May, and it was getting cold. Maya turned one. She could stand by herself then, walk when holding hands and her own first steps weren't far off. 

June, and we celebrated her birthday with a belated party. It rained that day - my remembering is this an indication of how just how little it rains in Santiago! We also finally bought a car in June and despite the manic Chilean drivers, it's made such a difference to our life here. June was also the month Maya started to stretch her wings and develop her mighty toddler personality, right on cue.

July was really cold with snow on the mountains, it was so beautiful. We went to the very, very cold Cajon de Maipo with friends for a weekend.

 

Maya started walking confidently, eating selectively, and enjoying life as top dog in our house. 

In August, our friend Amber visited us from Australia and we went skiing in the Andes. We also made a second trip to Buenos Aires, city of steak, tango and leather, leather, leather. That week though, I had a miscarriage and my Dad died somewhat unexpectedly too. It was a particularly hard week. We had to book a last minute flight and fly home with Amber. My sister and I organised my Dad's funeral. It was sad but peaceful at the same time. 

I still find it strange to think I won't see him again, particularly going home now at Christmas time. 

September was a good month and it was warm again. Spring really is the loveliest time for Santiago weather. I made some great new friends and finally began to feel much more at home here. Maya started a baby music class, which sounded silly to me but she loved it and I think she's developed some rhythm and more confidence around other kids which is really important. 

My mum and step-Dad returned for another visit and we drove across the mountains and into Argentina and Mendoza, wine country. This was really one of the highlights of our whole time here - if you get the chance to make this drive, do take it.

Llamas and alpacas roam freely around Tapiz winery

September was also our first dieciocho (Chilean national day) and it was great to see the city come alive with patriotic madness. 

October, and our one year anniversary in Chile. Probably the highlight was that fabulous wine show we went to at the Hyatt. It's definitely on the list for 2012.

In November, I got some friends together for a family day out to Morande winery which was really fun - great company, food and wine, and all very cheap. I can't wait to go back there again. I also organised a Christmas present drive for a girls' orphanage in Santiago. I love doing these sorts of things. I'm looking forward to next year when Maya can get more involved - buying the gifts and wrapping them (or maybe she can just choose the wrapping paper). 

I finished up my uni studies for the year and got a high distinction in my last class. There's some inspiration for next year. 

And now it's December again and this month hasn't been slow either. We drove down to the beautiful Colchagua valley (wine country) for the weekend. 

We delivered over 130 regalos (gifts) to the orphanage - a truly special experience meeting some very warm and wonderful people. 

And we celebrated Christmas at home with good friends. 

Tonight, we get on a flight to Australia for a month. Bags are packed and fingers crossed that we just might get a spare seat to help Maya sleep. She's been out of sorts this week and the doctor said yesterday that she has a bit of a throat infection but last night she slept like a log so I think the worst is behind us. Thankfully. I wish I could say the same for me, I'm fighting a cold and not feeling my best. 

This time Monday, we'll be in Sydney, having spent NYE on the plane and skipped Sunday altogether. Hopefully we'll all be snoozing off the jetlag and looking forward to some real Thai food for dinner. 

Happy new year! I wonder what 2012 will bring?