the first nine months...

 august

 september

 october

 november

 december

january

 february

 march

april

may

just days away...

the ONE

last time kp and i were in dallas, i decided to take my first birthday candle back to australia with us. it’s a clown with a blue numeral ONE for a body. he’s missing one arm. we’d been trying for a baby for a year and had plans to do IVF once we’d gotten our permanent residency. i hoped the candle would be a good luck charm.

a month or so after we got home, i realized that i had no idea what i’d done with it. i couldn’t remember packing it, definitely couldn’t remember unpacking it, and feared i’d lost it somewhere between plano and canberra. this wouldn’t have been too hard to do – it was a stressful time, on both sides of the pacific, and i was distracted. i looked through the cabinets, in my closet, in the suitcase pockets... but i couldn't find it anywhere. kp said not to worry, it would turn up.

this happened every couple of weeks – i would suddenly remember the ONE, look around for it, fret, then let kp (temporarily) calm me down with promises that i'd find it eventually. 

in april we started IVF. it was unsuccessful. i had three embryos left, so we made plans for a frozen transfer in early july but that too was a failure. i was devastated and so afraid that it wouldn't happen for us. the doctors were telling us we wouldn't conceive naturally, and here we were failing to conceive with their help. i was panicked. kp kept calm and tried in vain to get me to do the same, promising me with every setback that it was just a matter of time before we found the ONE.  

we made some changes at that point: switched fertility doctors; quit drinking; cut way back on meat; started taking a ridiculous amount of vitamins; started acupuncture and craniosacral massage; ignored work emails (and meetings and interactions with my supervisor)... you name it. and all that time, i would periodically panic about the ONE, wondering where i could have put it, hoping i hadn’t lost it... and kp would tell me not to worry, that it would turn up.

we tried a less invasive tracking cycle with our new doctor, but it didn’t work, so we started thinking about the next IVF round. the timing was going to be tricky because we’d made some travel plans for november, and it looked like we might not be able to do it until january or february. i was really frustrated. but kp said not to worry, it would work out.

on september 13, a few days after our 8^th anniversary, we hosted some neighbors at our place for mid-season mardi gras. september is the end of winter in canberra, and the perfect season to make shrimp creole. kp is the chef, so I was in charge of straightening up and arranging the mardi gras beads. i was dusting the bookshelves when suddenly it occurred to me to reach back behind a row of books... and there it was. i'd finally found the ONE!

the very next morning we learned we were pregnant - naturally! and nine months later, the ONE finally arrived, after many years of hope and anticipation. she was more than worth the wait.

catching up

so i totally dropped the ball on fravina, just ran out of gas. but there is nothing like the imminent arrival of a little one to get you back into all your old projects. suddenly, i'm frantic to refinish that funky wicker table out on the patio and finish all our photo albums. but deep down i know i won't finish either. so to console myself in advance, i'm getting back into the blog. maybe not with much regularity... but it's better than nothing. right?

family photos, the paris years (2005-2010)

i'll come to the most exciting developments in the next post (we're having a baby!!!), but a few other lovely things first. i need to clear the decks before i can focus on the super fun stuff.

first, a most wonderful getaway weekend: myall lakes, nsw

kp and i now count ourselves among the lucky few to have spent an afternoon on the beach all by ourselves. i'm ruined forever. there are no beaches like australian beaches.

 byron bay (there were people here, but it's still wonderful)

 our cabin in myall lakes - eco luxury!

dark point sand dunes

a canoe trip

the beach at dark point - just us, the clouds, and the waves!

second, scenes from the homestead (or, winter is all about cuddling):

 winter on hart st.

 eggs from the gallinaceous gals next door

 bob had surgery... and came home in a ridiculously large cone - made for hours of hilarious photo shoots, poor thing.

j&j down under!

j&j made their *first* trip over last april, and it was a great trip... minus all the rain... which seemed to follow us around the country. they hit sydney, canberra, melbourne, brisbane, the gold coast, and noosa in 2 weeks - such seasoned travelers! 

after spending a few days solo in sydney, they visited us (and bob, of course) in the can. we grilled lamb on the barbie, admired sidney nolan's portraits of ned kelly, and studied australian aviation at the war memorial (there's not much to do in canberra)...

then we flew to melbourne, and headed promptly for the builders arms hotel...

... where jim had trouble making up his mind!

and we went for a meal at coda, a really fantastic asian-style tapas restaurant, where - if you get the right table - you can dine while looking up fancy lady's skirts. 

 then the rain set in... so we decided to do the bus tour.

 then kp and i hit the national gallery of victoria...

after melbourne we headed to brissie, where it was finally sunny. three cheers for sunshine! we checked out uq's campus, enjoyed the views from the citycat, and spent an afternoon at the lone pine koala reserve. 

jp makes a new friend!

another afternoon at the gold coast...

...then we finally made it to our real destination... la plage! 

they look like locals!