"Sweetie Brother" Takes off Running

Sweetie Brother.

That's Lukas' nickname for Alexander, when he's feeling affectionate.
But for the full effect, you really have to hear him say it,

"Awwww... you're a sweeeetie brother!"
I just melt away.

Or try this one on for size:

Lukas: "The moral of the story is, you don't yell at someone when they're on the potty!"

Me (smiling): Did you just say "The moral of the story?"

Lukas: Yeah, I did.

(And in my defence, I didn't exactly yell. His sometimes frequent, but unsuccessful, attempts to go "#2" can try my patience.)

Alex is walking... actually, running nearly! And talking. Not all of it makes sense (to us) but his first word (other than "Mama" and "Papa") is "duh-dee". This is a multi-purpose word, used primarilly to describe a "doggy", but also employed for lions and cows (or pretty much anything that walks on all-fours) and "duckies". We love it. Then there's the jibber-jabber perhaps best described as the human version of the Australian magpie call. It's kind of a sing-songy, made-up language that will sadly disappear with time. I'll see if I can get a video of it soon.

On the teething front, poor little Alex has four incisors coming in... at the same time! What did they do before Orajel?!?

Other than that, we've been very busy preparing for an excrutiatingly long journey. After about 24 hours in a plane (broken up with 2-nights' stay at Dubai's famed Atlantis), we'll touch down in Queenland's capital city of Brisbane. It's a city near and dear to our hearts, as we lived there for 13 months back in 2004/05.

We'll be in Australia for a month, and are excited to see it from more of a kid-perspective this time around... visiting zoos, rainforests, national parks, beaches, the Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane's beautiful South Bank, and one of Lukas' very favorite landmarks... the Sydney Opera House (thank you, Little Einsteins!).

So on that note, "Cheers, mate"! Let the "walkabout" begin.

Enjoy this clip from the goosebumps-and-all advertising campaign for Australia, created by Baz Luhrmann.