Underwater World

Even though I have done very little work from home for my company this year, my boss was still kind enough to invite me to the work Christmas Party. This year we all drove up to Mooloolaba to visit Underwater World before going on a short cruise around the canals, rivers and ocean in the area and then enjoying lunch at the local Surf Club.

Max was quite good on the long car ride up to Mooloolaba but was a little tired by the time we met up with everyone and went into Underwater World. We were lucky enough to get a behind the scenes tour before seeing the rest of the marine park, which Max thought was pretty cool because we got to see lots of turtles up close as well as see the sharks from the main tanks swimming past with their fins out of the water.
His favourite thing about the underwater tunnel was not the big scary sharks, or huge flying rays, or tiny little brightly coloured tropical fish, however. Max was much more interested in the moving walkway that takes you through the tunnel. He had lots of fun getting onto it, and then off again, and then trying one leg on each which of course made him fall over.

Once he had had enough of that we went exploring to see what else we could find. Max liked the seals because they kept jumping in and out of the water and making splashes and being playful.


By then it was almost time to leave for the cruise, but not before trying to take the obligatory tourist photos in front of the big shark's mouth. Max coped better with this than I thought he would and we got some pretty decent shots.

By the time the cruise started Max was a very tired boy indeed, but there was enough to keep him entertained for a little while. His favourite people on the boat were my boss's 3 daughters. He had lots of fun with them - giving high-fives, pointing out their various facial features, and especially giving them lots of kisses. But even that started to get a bit too much by the end of the boat ride and he fell asleep on my lap for the last 15 mins.

The short nap recharged his batteries enough to stay happy during lunch, especially since he got to eat grown up food and share my orange juice and spend more time playing with the girls. But after that it was time to head back to Nanny and Poppy's place for a proper nap at the end of an exhausting but happy day.

Choo choo trains

Nanny and Poppy are members of a car club which has an annual Christmas party where Poppy traditionally plays Santa Claus. So they were keen for us, and especially Max, to come along to have fun at the party and see Poppy as Santa, but the main reason is that the party is held at the miniature steam train park in Nambour. We knew Max would love seeing and riding on the fully working steam train models, along with all of the other car club members and their families.
We all had a fun day riding on the trains and eating lunch together, and Max loved seeing Poppy as Santa and receiving a great little truck as a present.

Merry Christmas!

Sorry once again for the lack of recent blogging. We have been travelling lots this Christmas season and haven't had computer access for much of it to do things like download photos and post them up here. But now we are at Pfeffer's for new years I can do both of these things so expect a bit of a flood from the backlog.

First things first - Christmas! This year was Batkin Christmas, which we spent up at Hervey Bay with Cameron's sister Bronwyn and her family. Max was a little grumpy the morning of Christmas Day since we had to wait until everyone arrived before letting him near the tree and the presents. By the time everyone had arrived he was having a nap, so we decided to eat our delicious Christmas lunch before opening presents. We had the usual cold meats and tasty salads, which Cam organised and prepared, as well as perfectly cooked meat from the barbeque care of chefs Cam and Sam.

After we had all eaten plenty we gathered around the tree and cousin Liam was selected for the vital role of Santa Claus.

Max was much more interested in everything this year, especially when it came to opening and receiving his own presents!

Thanks to all the Batkins for an excellent Christmas Day. Max enjoyed it so much, and will continue to enjoy playing with all of his shiny new toys!

The twins come to visit!

It's been a while since the twins have come over to our house to play so it was wonderful to see them and their parents last Thursday. It was one of those really hot and steamy Brisbane days before a storm so we were trying to keep the little ones as happy as possible by removing their hot clothes, so we got some cute topless photos to show you!




All three of them are doing quite well at the moment. All are healthy and growing well, and also are continuing to learn more words and be more active, so they enjoyed having extra playmates. Max doesn't quite know what to do with other kids his age and tends to be a bit rough with them, so he got into trouble a bit for pushing the girls out of the way of his toys. They got some respite while he went and had a nap and then really had fun exploring a new house and lots of new toys with no fear of Max wreaking his vengeance.
After Max woke up and we all had some lunch he was in a better mood and decided to make up for his earlier behaviour by trying to kiss the girls, especially Elke.



He thought this was such a fun game and Elke wasn't too scared of him either, even though he still gives kisses with a wide open mouth, so we had fun just watching them and taking photos.

Elke has also learnt that there will soon be a third little person in their family, and she pushes up Amy's shirt to point at her tummy and say 'bubba'. What a nice way to begin welcoming their new little person - congratulations Mutzelburgs!

Fun at the Beach

After the BCEC Christmas Party we headed up the coast to Bli Bli since Cam had a couple of days off. Max was so tired out that he slept the whole way so it was a nice easy drive up.
On the Monday we drove out to Kenilworth to visit Nanny and Poppy who were on their annual caravan club holiday. Max slept in the car for a little while but then woke up and we all had a wonderful time eating yummy burgers and fish and chips for lunch, playing in the park and eating delicious Kenilworth icecreams afterwards.

On Tuesday Nanny and Poppy came home but had to go up to Maryborough to attend a funeral for Poppy's uncle, so while Cam was driving them up there Max and I went to the beach at Cottontree. There's a great playground there and it's right next to the beach. Last time we went I didn't take spare clothes for Max and had to try and keep him dry, but this time I was prepared and I let him go crazy. He had so much fun splashing in the water and exploring the wet sand and playing with the beach toys from Nanny.