My it's warm in Cairns

I have been having so much fun this month. However, as a busy baby, growing is what I do best. Crawling is well and truly mastered and I can even climb stairs all by myself. The day of my first step is soon to arrive as much practice and leg stregthening has been happening in the gym (any convenient piece of furniture or grown-ups legs). I can balance all by myself for nearly a whole minute and walk the whole house holding on to Ommas hands.

To keep Omma & Abba happy I have learned to blow kisses and to cuddle sweetly. Mum has very soft lips that I like to kiss, but Abba's whiskers are very bristly and ticklish. I have taught him to do butterfly kisses instead. This is where eyelashes are used to "kiss" the cheek. It tickles softly too. I like that.

August and September can be the coldest months in Ballarat, so I pointed out that I still haven't met my cousins in Cairns (Far North Queensland). One look at the weather map to show temperatures of 27-30 degrees celcius compared to -2 to 6 in Ballarat was all it took to arrange another trip in a big plane.

Uncle Charles, Aunty Jane, Toby and Sam have been great fun. We have been to Muddies heaps of times. This is a great free playground on the beach in Cairns. There are adventure gyms and water playgrounds that are the best fun for kids of all ages. Just the best fun way to stay cool.

I loved going on the Train to Kuranda. You can stick your head outside and watch the long tail of the train chase us up the hill. Toby and Sam loved the big blue diesel locomotives that pulled us all the way up the big hill. At Kuranda we visited the Butterfly Sanctuary. I loved the blue butterflies, especially when they landed on me! They are so soft and I nearly crushed one before Omma showed me how to hold them gently.

Breakfast with the birds was noisy, especially the noisy lorikeets who flew close by very fast. I got to pat an olive python. At first I thought it would be hard but the Zoo man showed me how soft the body really is and you have to pat him gently. His scales were bumpy though and I enjoyed feeling them.

With Toby & Sam's family we went to Mission Beach to play on the sand. I had great fun finding rock pools and splashing in the water. Did you know beach water tastes different too. I found out it's kinda salty, but I had to try a couple of times to be sure.

It has been great having a boy cousin just a little older than me. Sam has been a great playmate. We play cars, dig holes in the sand-pit and bang the drums loudly together. I'm going to enjoy coming up to Cairns to play with him again, but even better he is visiting us for Christmas. I can show him all the fun places in Ballarat too.