Christmas Time - 2005

Happy Christmas from the Hong Kong Hunters!

The monsoon season is over....

- but it pays to be prepared, just in case.

Alright, let's go!

Gracie

Jane at 4 months

Deep breaths, Jane....count to 10....

They'll both be big school-kids soon and you'll have mummy and the house to yourself from 8am until 3.30pm weekdays.

Does this hat make me look like Benny Hill?

Mates

Charlie and Grace watching Pooh's Heffalump movie. It's nice to share some interests with your sibling.

Uniform Boy

Charlie's first day of kindergarten....with a uniform.

Three

Sometimes Charlie and Grace's sophisticated jokes are lost on Jane.

Strollin'

Even if you're just going for a stroll on the Podium it does not mean that you should relax your grooming standards.

Love Quilt

Alice and Marion show off the quilt that Victoria 1 branch Relief Society made for Jane. Our creative daughter is adding some colourful little spots of her own. Lovely.

Chillin'

Here's Gracie just relaxing with her beverage of choice (ie apple juice, diluted to the point that it's still recognisably apple juice but could also be confused with HK tap water).

Princess Party

Gracie recently attended her friend Natalie's 'Princess Party'. The guest entertainer was a middle-aged British expat woman, aka 'Princess Barbie'. She did magic tricks, put on a puppet show and made snide comments about Prince Ken. Gracie loved her and really enjoyed the party.

The Famous Five Get Dressed Up

This was taken by Grand-dad Thomsett, as we prepared to go to church (September 2005).

Five

Nice Hat, Gracie!

Our friend John, from Sydney, came to visit in August.

Rich's 38th birthday party. Jane wasn't much help blowing out all those candles.

The family at Gracie's second birthday party.

Laura and Rich: Wan Chai June 2005

3

It's kind of tricky to get all three kids looking good and in focus at the same time.

percentile girl

Last week we found that Jane has shot up in to the top percentile of her age group for weight, height and head circumference! What a good girl! Here's a photo of that beautiful, big head.

Aunty Maira

We were delighted to have Maira visit for a day. Charlie, Grace and Jane think she's fantastic.

a fairy party!

Grace was invited to a fairy party to celebrate her friend Kitty-Kate's 2nd birthday. As this was her very first try at being a fairy she was initially somewhat cautious about the whole fluffy dress and sparkly wing thing. She soon noticed, though, that a wand can be a lot of fun.....

Charlie's 5th birthday party

Playing 'do this - do that'.

Waiting.....

Waiting for your birthday party guests to arrive can lead to some unusual ideas.

Not the rocket cake

Not as visually impressive as the still-in-planning rocket cake - however, this birthday cake was delicious and did not last long.

Fuzz Lightyear?

"That's not yesterday's breakfast on my sleeve - it's a laser".

Thankfully this Buzz Lightyear costume was made locally so the quality is second to none. So we only need to wash it once a month.

Reading time

Grandparents are very handy at reading time.

Shooters Restaurant - The Peak

After our trip to the hospital we had a hearty meal of tomato sauce and sprite at Shooters. A model train choofs around a track a few feet above the patrons. Made some of us feel like trolls. To the right of Gracie is a lovely view of the Hong Kong Island and harbour. You'll have to just imagine it, though, as Jane had her own meal in mind by this stage and we didn't have time to take any more pictures.

The clinic

We all went to the Baby Clinic at the Matilda for Jane's check-up. She is doing very well.

Baby Blessing

On Sunday, July 3 (Charlie's 5th birthday), Jane was blessed at the LDS Chapel in Wan Chai.

Hello James!

We are not sure whether to correct Gracie when she calls Jane 'James'.....or just let her work it out herself over the next 20 years or so.....

Does Jane need a new nappy?

No, it's Uncle Robert's durian chocolate treats repeating on Laura.

Bert flew in for the weekend to meet Jane and spend time with the family.

Hospital room balcony

"She's not quite a Buzz Lightyear action figure....but Jane is quite nice"

It's a Jane!

Jane was born on June 28, 2005. She weighed in at eight pounds five and at full stretch was 52.5 cm long. We adore her and welcome her into our little family.

The Sun setting on our two-child family

Life had been sweet for Charlie and Gracie. The big brother and the darling little sister. All that had changed. Charlie was now a big brother with two little sisters to help look after, and Grace was a 'big girl' and the 'middle child'. Are they ready for the challenge? Probably not - who is? But they are doing fine. This was taken outside the Matilda Hospital in Hong Kong, a day after Jane was born.

Who are the Bamboo Grovers?

The Bamboo Grovers are an Aussie family living in Hong Kong. Their blog name is taken from the name of their Hong Kong high-rise home - and has nothing to do with a failed Muppet movie project about Grover in search of his oriental roots.

Certain Bamboo Grovers enjoy lasagne, Peter Combe songs, milk, golf and reading. Can you match the hobby or interest to the correct family member?