Holiday!

Well, not really. But that's what Ari called our weekend sojourn to the Yarra Valley.
It was lovely. We stayed at the beautiful Yering Gorge Cottages*, which Ari just adored. The cottages are set on a gentle slope, just perfect for top-speed bike fanging. We went on a short bushwalk to a nearby waterfall and the boy relished the opportunity to pick up lots of sticks (a relatively new obsession).
Ari also had the chance to try out his new travel cot, called a KinderKot. We found ourselves in a little bind - Ari had outgrown his conventional travel cot (the boy really does take after his tall, tall Dad), but it seemed silly to shell out on another travel cot when he'll soon be in a bed. Trouble is, in between that time, we'd still like to travel. The Kinderkot (basically a mini tent with its own inflatable mattress) is supposed to sleep kids as old as four, so we thought it would be a good investment. It was a hit...Ari loved sleeping in his "tent bed".
Today we took the boy to Healesville Sanctuary, which was okay (loads of American tourists + not too many native animals = not much fun), until we got to the Birds of Prey demonstration. Ari was absolutely enthralled. He sat almost perfectly still for a full half-hour and for the first five minutes of the demonstration yelled "WOW!", to the hilarity of some around us (I think others were a bit peeved). Whenever a bird flew back to its HQ, he would say "come back bird!"
Needless to say, it was the highlight of Healesville Sanctuary for us.
So a trip to the Yarra Valley and not a single winery visit. I think that's what you'd call parenthood.

*Disclosure: Rob designed the website for Yering Gorge Cottages.