Southbank with Nieces

Clockwise from top left - walking along Southbank, on the bridge looking down at buses and cars, C in comparison with the shortest human on earth, B and I looking into the display of real size animals.

2 weeks ago, hubby and I spent almost an entire Saturday with our B&C nieces. Their parents were in church for a training session and some work so they asked if we were free to take them for most of the day. Since we were free, we were happy to do so. We had C stayed over with us the night before - her 2nd time. Like her 1st stayover, she woke up 2-3 times at night but this time, it took longer for her to get back to bed because she is weaned off the milk bottle which helped her to go back to bed quickly. But in the same way, she continued to sleep when I brought her onto my bed at around 6am when she woke up. In fact, I woke up earlier than her, leaving her on the bed with hubby.

After picking B up from her home, we drove to Southbank. The girls were really excited to spend the day with us. We walked quite a distance, stopping by every now and then for toilet break, drinks and morning tea,  on our way to the Queensland Museum. The girls were fascinated and wow-ed by almost everything they see - birds, flowers, water fountains, Brisbane 'eye', the top of buses and cars when we were on the bridge to the Musuem, the egg tarts I made for them, statues, displays and the promise of visiting the museum and a picnic lunch thereafter. 

The trip to the museum was both educational for the girls and us. There were exhibits on the modes of transport available in the old days - carriages, boats, cars. The most interesting was the "Animals and Man" exhibit where many real sizes of animals and insects were exhibited for us to compare how the real thing looked like. It was quite cool to be able to walk beneath a live size 'whale' which feels like you are underwater and looking up in awe of the size of the big whale. The girls were quite afraid of the sound that whales make, which was played along the public corridor. We had to carry them and assure them that it was alright. B was also afraid of some animals that looked big and threatening and refuse to go anywhere near it, e.g. an angry-looking big brown bear. She was not afraid of snakes and spiders (I wonder if she will be if they were real) and she was happily looking out for kangaroo, sea lion, penguin, koala, fishes, crabs, jellyfish, turtles. C was a little more brave but by then, she was a little tired and so hubby had to carry her quite a bit (he had sore biceps the next day :p). 

After the time in the museum, B finally had her long-awaited picnic. At the beginning of the day, I told her that we will have a lunch picnic. We chanced upon a playground along the river and decided to find a nice spot there. There were many children running and playing. I watched the girls at the playground while hubby went to the car to get the mat and grab some lunch from the nearby food stalls. The girls had a ball of time at the playground before we had a seafood platter hubby bought, along with some fruits and egg tarts I brought along. 

I was thankful that the girls held up and not sleep in the car on our way home, even though I know they were quite tired out. B usually has more energy and able to stick out for a bit more since she is older. You know when she is really tired when she has been walking the entire morning and suddenly ask to be carried. I told them to not sleep in the car and wait until they get back to our place for a nap and they did :) Back at home, it was really sweet to see them waiting to sleep with each other on a small little mattress on the ground. I instructed them to sleep and left them alone, which they did for around 1.5 hours. I promised B that I will make some jelly with her for dessert. C also got involved and they were rather thrilled to make jelly out of oranges (I figure this was one way I could get B to eat a fruit that she does not usually like to eat). After we were done, I felt tired and needed a nap. So I left them by themselves to play, while hubby was fixing something nearby. I am thankful for the girls to be quite good to keep themselves occupied with the limited toys we have at home. 

By the end of the day, I know they do miss their parents but I know they also had a lovely time with us too. Their parents were also happy, having a day of 'freedom' without kids and busy at home. They popped over for dinner and pick up their girls. I had a good day and time with the girls. I know hubby did too. :)