Chloe going to a multicultural day at her kinder

Chloe's first bike ride to the city

Chloe and Peter cycled into the city today.  Chloe was hitched to Dad's bike using the Trail Gator, but she pedaled solo for about 1km along the Gardiners Creek bike path.

We stopped for a coffee, drink and muffin at the lovely cafe near Herring Island on the Yarra, then continued on through Southbank to Docklands.  It was a lovely day, and there were not a lot of people about.

After a session in the nice Docklands playground Chloe conquered the big hill next to it, then we headed off for a quick tour of Docklands.

Chloe liked the permaculture garden, and was interested in the party boat about to head off from the quay.

We took the train home from Southern Cross, tired but happy.  Dad forgot to put suncream on his arms so he now has a rather red "farmers suntan" on them.

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Werribee Open Plains Zoo

We has a great visit to the Werribee Open Plains Zoo.  We saw Hippos, Rhinos, Giraffes, Zebras, Lions, Cheetahs and Tortoises to name a few.

Here is a slidshow of some photos

Chloe's first bike ride with the Trail Gator

Chloe's first ride on her new bike with the Trail Gator bike hitch.  Chloe said she likes the trail gator more than the trailer because I can hear what she says.

She kept telling mum to "hurry up" when she was cruising behind me on the hitch, then asking her to "slow down" when she was pedaling solo on the Anniversary Trail.

The Trail Gator is a great bit of gear we can head somewhere in tandem, then Chloe can get to pedal on her own.

The trick is to flip the trainer wheels up when on the hitch.

Lunch at Maling Road cafe

Theatre Place, Maling Road

On the Anniversary Trail

Anniversary Trail

Hitched up and ready to go home

Here is all the photos in a slideshow

And a video

Chloe's painting of the Weeping Woman

Chloe visited the Australian National Gallery in Melbourne and was very taken with Pablo Picasso's Weeping Woman.  At Kindle, her kindergarten, the teachers found a photo of the painting similar to the one below.

The Weeping Woman, Pablo Picasso

Chloe first drew the outlines, then painted her version based on the original.  Here is the result.

Weeping Woman, Chloe Campbell age 4.5, June 2010

Chloe's first visit to the zoo

Chloe is now 20 months old and has a good repertoire of animal noises, including:

• "moo" for cows
• "grunt" for pigs
• "ee ee" for monkeys
• "nay" for horses
• "baa" for sheep
• "woof woof" for dogs

So we thought she would enjoy a visit to the Melbourne Zoo, and she did.

The gorillas were out and about - very exciting

The big male gorilla is very handsome

Three tigers

Chloe's new Colobus monkey toy was christened 'ee ee'

The young female elephants were introduced to the big male

And got a bit frisky

The Orangutangs were making grass cloaks

Remarkable sentience

My, the Giraffe is big

And the Zebra's stripes are nice

A high rise meal

A placid emu

Looking for the seals with dad

Found them with mum

"Ee ee" is now a favourite toy, and Chloe is still saying "ee ee sit" some weeks after the visit. We think she is looking forward to the next one.

Here is the full slideshow:

Chloe at 15 months, cycling and swimming

Our cycling trip to Docklands

Chloe is now 15 months old and is having a ball. She is very aware of what is going on around her now, a sticky beak even. She has her baby language going well and is occasionally quite vocal.

After some fussy eating (she shakes her head and waves her hands when she doesn't want to eat), we have found the magic food, courtesy of Frank from the Italian deli in Dandenong that Paul and I visit on our way home from bike racing. Chloe loves this "baby pasta recipe":

• Cook serve of small size semolina pasta (e.g. De Cecco Peperini .85) in water with 1 stock cube added
• Use a bit less water than recommended.
• When pasta is cooked. stir in 1 triangle of creme cheese (e..g. Galbani Crema Bel Paese, similar to La Vache qui rit)
• Serve as a thick broth (no need to drain water)

We bought a Chariot cycle trailer and have done a few city trips along the bike trails. Chloe loves travelling in the trailer, even though she has to wear her helmet.

Chloe is now an avid crawler, and is standing on her own and walking with one hand held, but she is still considering her first solo steps carefully.

Chloe in the bike trailer

Adjusting the gears

At the pool

A cool cat with her shades on, but they don't stay on for long

Water is always an attraction