World Traveller - Amsterdam and the home stretch

Well, what can we say, Amsterdam is one of our favourite European destinations. Obviously things were different travelling with the little man in tow but it still rates highly. We decided to rent an apartment on the outskirts of the centre - close to parks, good cafes and restaurants. We spent our days walking the streets and canals, watching the autumn leaves fall and stopping regularly for food, coffee and beer. We ventured into the centre once, which was also the only day where Jed developed a little cold. He had the runny nose, red eye look going on, blending in quite well with all those seedy coffee shop punters.

Vondelpark was a real treat. Massive, beautiful, parklands that takes hours to walk around with a great cafe (although we got attacked by pigeons - much to Jed's amusement). We definitely relaxed but it wasn't too long until we were back on a plane, heading to London for the weekend before the flight home.

It was definitely not as smooth sailing as the flight over. I have a little tradition at Heathrow. Every time I'm there, I head to the seafood bar for a glass of bubbles, some of the freshest salmon around and sit back and recap on my fabulous holiday. And this is exactly what we did. Jed was asleep in the pram, we drank, ate, reminisced and possibly got ourselves a little too relaxed before the flight home. We had to wake Jed up to board, only to be delayed for 2 hours. Just like his parents, the little man does not like a delay. And this was only the beginning. We were pretty much delayed every leg of the trip, totalling around an extra 6 hours of travel. Jed managed to sleep for about 8hrs of the total 28hrs travel time - he was exhausted the poor little tacker. To add to his crankness, I had not packed much food for him for the flight. On the way over, I had brought all his meals on board, but he was supplied with a delicious array of fine canned and jarred baby foods which came with the price of the ticket. So I thought I might have overkilled on the pre-packed food and decided only to bring a few jars - big mistake. After waking from his night-time sleep, when we were all enjoying a not so delicious eggs and mini sausage breakfast, Jed was supplied with a can of chicken hot pot and a can of chocolate egg custard - both of these things he had never tasted before and was certainly not interested in doing so at breakfast time on a plane.

Upon arriving in Melbourne and waiting 1 1/2hrs for our luggage, we headed home - delirious and kinda wide awake. It took us all around a week to get back our southern hemisphere body clock but it was certainly worth it. What a wonderful, fun filled, sometimes challenging holiday we just had! Thank you to all who so generously looked after us. We hope we can do the same to you if you're ever in Melbourne.

World Traveller - Sweden

After saying farewell to Mops and Pops in the UK, we flew over to Sweden to visit the gorgeous, most hospitable of friends - John, Sal and Arjun. We caught an evening flight, which again was totally out of the norm for the little man, but once again he just went with it and was totally chilled. My only small complaint would be that on take off, I breastfed Jed (helps clear his ears) and he fell asleep, but not before doing the most hugest poo (tennis ball size) just before. So here I have this beautiful rare moment where my gorgeous son is calmly and so cutely asleep in my arms but with this nasty stench warming my lap - I guess thems the breaks!

The major highlight for Jed would have to be that he found first gear! Yep - little man is crawling and crawling forwards! After a couple of months of backward commando moves, it was pure pleasure to see him finally move forward. We'd been in training for weeks - placing tantalizing objects (beer bottles being his favourite) in front of him hoping to lure him forward, only to see him shuffle himself backwards, further away from the object. A few times I've taken my eyes off him for a second to find him reversed under the couch with only his head and arms sticking out. He didn't seem frustrated (attention span is still extremely short) but he was certainly looking pretty happy with himself when he finally got the moves right.

Jed also indulged in some traditional Swedish cuisine. While travelling, he certainly had his fair share of jar baby foods (to my disgust but what are you going to do?). Being in a country where ingredients on labels are not in English, Jed was introduced to a variety of new flavours. I'd generally go for the jars with vegetables displayed on the label but we thought we'd see if he'd like a little fish. The jar had some fish meat, potatoes and herbs on the label - looked pretty good to me. Sal tells us that it was a very traditional Swedish dish and hey, we were in Sweden after all.... Jed didn't mind it either, the only problem was, it left the most intense after smell on his little breath! Very fishy and very dilly - ugh.. And unfortunately little man is too young for toothpaste or mouthwash so we just had to sit it out.

We also just want to say a massive thank you to our fabulous hosts - you guys are the best and it was absolutely lovely to see you all again. We miss you all xxxxxoooo

World Traveller - England

Jed's first overseas trip! Off to England, Sweden and Amsterdam we go! We boarded the plane to London in Sydney with many of our fellow passengers giving us that look - 'damn, I'm sitting near a baby - you better not be a cryer' and fortunately for them, Jed was the best behaved baby one could hope for. He slept most of the way to Singapore and when he was awake, he played happily with the complimentary toothbrush provided. We'd spent quite a while at home deciding what toys to take on the trip, something for each mood etc. If only we had known a simple toothbrush would help him pass the hours! Upon arriving in London, we were approached by many passengers congratulating us on such a well behaved little man. There were even some applauses when disembarking the airplane. Jed certainly knows how to put on the charm. Coy little smiles and giggles - it'll make anyone go ga-ga.

England was fantastic. Lots of family time with relatives that we unfortunately don't get to see very often. In London, Jed met his cousins (or 2nd or 3rd cousins?) George (3) , Otis and Frankie (the gorgeous twins, 3 months) for the first time which was a real treat. Jed spent lots of time looking up at his older cousin George, playing (and almost swallowing!) his Lego; they even managed a couple of baths together. I totally get why our parents did it to us - put us all in the bath - save a bit of water and what a great photo opportunity! See family photos for pics...

Then it was 10 days in the north with the famous Mops and Pops. Jed met his great Mops Frieda for the first time - another very special family moment as well as many 'Crazy Carter' and Boagey relatives. Again, Jed put on the charms with each and everyone – there was plenty of cheek pulling and cuddles. We also took a few day road trips to the Yorkshire Dales and North Yorkshire Moores, where we dined at our first Michelin star pub in the beautiful little country town, Herome. Again, Jed on his best behaviour - good little man. And speaking of culinary delights, Jed had his first taste of ice-cream. You see Redcar, where my father grew up and where we were staying is famous for it's Pacito’s ice-cream. Every time we would visit as kids, there was always a mad dash to Pacito’s (my dad in the lead) where we would all indulge. I was very excited to give Jed his first taste. So, after his lunch (avocado, yoghurt and apple) I slipped a little taste of the creamy goodness in his mouth. Unfortunately, this didn't go down too well at all. Jed dry reached, then projectile vomited his entire lunch all over the floor and me - poor little guy! I felt awful!

London was crazy. So many people to see and not much time to do it in. Jed was a real trooper though, particularly on the tube. Trying to navigate a pram up and down stairs is always a challenge but surprisingly, somebody would always offer some assistance. And at the end of each day, Jed required assistance with clearing out black snot from his nose - dirty, dirty tube.