A few more random weekend shots

Bunky had a pretty rough flight last night, and I'm too knackered to pretty-ify any of these photos from the weekend (I just dragged them off my memory card).  Normal service will resume soon.  Oh, and I took a crapload of photos on my phone too - I quite like going through photos on there.  The camera on the phone is a bit crap, but that does lead to some cool (inadvertent) effects. Anyway, here are some from the big camera:

.

Aunty Momo trying to distract George from important tasks on the grass with Paddy and Rachel

.

George with his Aunty Jane, who is definitely in his top two favourite aunties list

.

Granny B, Rachel and Jane enjoying some bubbly on our last night in Auckland

.

Just before George's mini-party on Sunday afternoon. L to R: Aunty Momo, Aunty Jane, Uncle Eugene, George and Granny B

.

He wanted the sunglasses but ended up with a kiss on the forehead.  He was unimpressed.

.

Explaining the nuances of squeaky hammers to Paddy

.

Defying gravity in the back yard with Aunty Jane

.

.

Early birthday drinks

Although Bunky doesn't turn one for another nine days, we decided to have a few early birthday drinks (and cake) for him today in Auckland.  The little piglet managed to scoff cake, part of a sausage roll, some rice cracker, more cake (with cream) and he washed that all down with some delicious leaves from the back yard. Here are a few from the day - once again without the benefit of any Photoshop magic...

.

 

.

.

A few more photos from New Zealand

As much as I miss using Photoshop, I couldn't resist uploading a few photos from our last few weeks of touring.  We hit both Wellington and Hawkes Bay (both very briefly) and we're now back in Auckland, dreading our return to Hong Kong on Monday night. Eeeek. iPhoto has seemed to have done a pretty decent job of tweaking the RAW images and exporting them to jpeg - I may have another go when back in Hong Kong, but for the time being... here you go:

.

Taken from the Koru Lounge at Auckland Airport, waiting for our Wellington flight

.

A (fairly rotten quality) photo of George being stalked by his grandmother

.

A dog named "Dog"

.

George in a pool with (one of) his Godfather(s) and Lucy

.

Enjoying a swing push from his mate Ella

.

Uncle Godfather Ross

.

Dinnertime with Lucy

.

Jump time with Ella

.

Watching an outdoor movie at the Blackbarn Vineyard Amphitheatre

.

Lucy braving the sprinkler

.

Ella taking on the sprinkler

.

.

The photos that Aunty Momo didn't want you to see

.

.

.

A few random photos from NZ

Just a quick post - the computer is in the same room as Bunky's cot, so I'm just uploading a few photos before his majesty takes over the room for his morning snooze... These are of little G enjoying some time in the swimming pool given to him by Aunty Jane and Uncle Eliot, and a few from yesterday when Aunty Momo spent the afternoon with him:

.

.

.

Merry Christmas from Bunky!

. .

.

Leavinggggg on a jetplaaaaaane

Off to work shortly, but flying out tonight - I leave you with this photo of Bunky (taken about 20 minutes ago): .

.

.

Bathtime polaroids (taken on my phone)

. .

.

.

Weird outfit, slow Daddy

If anyone is looking for backup dancers for a baby Flashdance re-enactment, then George is your man. Check out this morning's outfit (it wasn't me): .

.

.

And this is what happens when I'm too slow with the camera:

.

.

.

Low humidity = Floppy hair

Despite Uncle Sam's assertions to the contrary, it is rather cold here (maybe our blood has thinned over the years).  With the cold comes an extreme drop in humidity, and with the drop in humidity, the hair of certain household members becomes a little... "floppy": .

.

Ok, so the middle one wasn't so floppy, but I threw that in there to show you how he can make plastic objects levitate.  He's clever like that.

.

.

Poppy is cold | Every photo needs a cat

It got a bit cold today - there's a cold snap that will apparently last until early next week.  Just how cold was it? You should have asked Poppycat this morning: .

.

.

And on a completely different subject (one that annoys Rachel), I discovered an application for my phone that does something absolutely unique and awesome to photos. It adds cats.

Seriously, I can't count the number of times I've looked at a photo and thought to myself "That photo really needs a cat".  Now, thanks to the folks at CatPaint, I can add cats to any photo on my phone.  Seriously, it's the best cat-based photo editing program I've ever seen. Some examples of my work this evening:

.

.

.

I know what you're thinking: "Awesome."

.

.

He waves

Not particularly well, but he does wave.  It's a bit random - sometimes he copies whoever is holding him, sometimes he waves in corridors, and when we got home this evening he waved rather energetically at May. This morning I shot this incredibly short and shaky video (I was waving too):

.

.

.

Visit from Aunty Ros

Aunty Ros popped in for a quick visit this afternoon (en route to NZ from London), and after an initial bout of shyness from the Bunky, he warmed up considerably and even let her read his favourite Schnitzel Von Krumm story to him... .

.

.

...and a few cellphone photos to finish the weekend

This afternoon we headed up to Tai Tam Reservoir for a short walk - partly to get Bunky out and about, and partly to test drive one of those baby backpacks that someone had kindly given us. We discovered two things on our walk.  Firstly (apparently not a real word, but I'm using it anyway), it appears to be rather comfortable in the backpack:

.

.

.

Secondly (also not a real word but I'm using it anyway) and probably more importantly... Bunky seems to have taken a shining to ice cream:

.

.

.

Sunday fun at the park

This morning we took the Bunky down to Cyberport to eat grass play in the sun. No need to really say anything else - the photos speak for themselves.  Kiddo had a lovely time (except when his chin met the concrete step during his ascent of said step...) .

.

.

Saturday: Tears and Beers

Saturday was a funny day - we went to gorgeous little Ava's first birthday party in Kennedy Town, where Bunky proceeded to burst into tears every 15-20 seconds.  Someone nudged him - tears and wailing.  Dropped a toy - tears and wailing.  Someone looked at him in a funny way - tears and wailing.  It was most uncharacteristic of the little munchkin, and we can only really put it down to it being a little bit loud for him.  Or he's a bit of a wuss.  Probably too early to definitively tell on that front. Anyway, a few photos of the beautiful little birthday girl (oh - that's George's curly hair on the left in the first photo...the only photo of him not crying):

.

.

.

In the evening we went to Sam and Mary's for pre-Christmas drinks. Had a lovely time and a great meal - and Sam and Mary had even organised a secret santa for everyone as well.  They're about to take Christmas Holidays closely followed by a short sabbatical holiday, so we won't see them again until around April next year.  We met some lovely people, including a Canadian vet whose cousin I worked with in Canada in 1997.  It's a small, small world...

.

.

.

The many, many faces of George at breakfast

Ok, so there seems to be a common theme.

.

.

Looking innocent

He's not fooling anyone. .

.

.

Special guest photographer: Mummy

A few photos that Rachel sent me from her phone during her day with Bunky. Scribbles on the photos are obviously mine: .

Lunch at Chez Bunky

.

Helpfully rearranging things in the lounge

.

.

A few more weekend photos

This one from Central - I took it looking down the road where the wet markets begin: .

.

.

A friend of Shay (in Emma's baby group) was looking for someone to take a few photos of her children, so after a few back and forth emails, we met at Cyberport on Saturday afternoon to see if we could get a few photos done.  After the boys had a quick rock-throwing session in the Cyberport fake-creek, we ended up having a great time and getting some lovely photos out of the session (they even managed to sit still long enough for me to get a few photos of them with their little sister, who at the tender age of 9 months old obviously couldn't keep up with her big brothers):

.

.

.