30 months and a long time in the tent

It took more than ten days for Milla to ask about home. We were on the road, camping and adventuring and there was no mention of home, Alpi or screentime. We had fourteen nights away all up, final two nights in a house but 12 nights in the tent. Longest continuous camping ever I reckon.

Cape Conran campsite pack up 31 December. 2.5 years old. 

Milla at thirty months:

• Converses! Can talk and talk. Drops words into sentences like 'different' and 'wheelchair' and 'true'... and 'actually' is how she starts many sentences!! 
• Very tender with her cousin Solomon... Says his name 'Somolon'. Gazes at his pictures and says 'ohhh he's soooo cute'. 
• Bedtime routine is milk, teeth, pjs, some books, with an episode of Peter Rabbit somewhere in there as an incentive: usually with milk, sometime also after teeth. Teeth can sometime be a battle resulting in a smacked hand by Charlie.
• Still has a nighttime nappy, that is quite wet most mornings.
• Loves to exercise! Karate, dancing, somersaults recently, lunges, push ups and jumping.
• Can open her bedroom door, and ours. Gets up and comes into our room - but at a mercifully reasonable hour. 
• Calls our bluff when we ask her where the plot is!  "Here it is!" with an imaginary thing in her hand. 
• Can spell out the letters of her name! Can write M - i - l - l - under supervision.  
• Very confident swimmer.  
• Met her paternal great-grandmother.
• Tantrums.
• Tantrums.
• Tantrums.

Falls Creek

We're back.

Same as ever but not at all. Back to the Bogong High Plains. Where we did the longest multi-day hike ever. Where we camped below the roof of Victoria. Where we turned back on the Mt Cope track, but not before I took some of my favourite photos. That was years ago. May 2011.

Cope Hut, 8 May 2011.

Back to Falls Creek where Milla cracked all those teeth through her gums, so painful, so unhappy. That was seven months ago.

Charlie doing training, that's what got us up there. He was effervescent on the Ring Road, Friday night, past 7pm, we were on our way.

Long drive, Milla dressed in her merino gear for an easy transfer to the tent, she fell asleep, we high-fived, I fell asleep. Around Mount Beauty, Milla woke up, I tried to soothe her. We wound up the mountain. She started throwing up. We couldn't stop, she was gurgling. Horrible. By the light of the moon, we cleaned up. The mountain forest was beautiful. Changed clothes, kept going. Another spew just before the village. A quasi-change of clothes and then press on to Langford West Horseyard on the Omeo side of Falls. Milla quiet and peaky.

Set up at the familiar spot, two tents now. Milla went to sleep quickly, but it was after 1am. A long day.

Waking happy.

From the wake up on Saturday morning things straighten out again. Life is good. Charlie rode, met up with a friend. Milla monstered, took naps, we did a walk along the aqueduct towards Roper Hut, with a random that I made friends with.

Saturday night we had camp dinner, listened to bogans chainsaw, and when Milla went to bed, we sat by the aqueduct and chatted. After a while I checked on her, howling! I lay next to her, she relaxed, I fell asleep.

Sunday I ran, the morning was glorious. Breakfast in a singlet. The weather closed in later, as I revisited Mt Cope track, with Milla sleeping on my back. We sat on the step of Cope Hut and had a snack.

Milla at Cope Hut, Bogong High Plains.

Drive home following picnic lunch in Mount Beauty, Milla didn't sleep, not til nearly home, but we were all content. We did it.

Day 3 first hike

Such a perfect day. We decided to extend our stay at Falls Creek by two nights and skip a big back country camping traverse. So we'll take main roads straight to Jindabyne.

Weather has been perfect, bright days and freezing overnight. We are very cosy and the days seem so long. Our mini routine is: up 7ish for breakfast, I go for run, get back and Milla naps while Charlie does some mountain biking. Then lunch and out for short hike along the snow gum lined high plains tracks. Back for play, nap, relaxing and then on with dinner prep. Milla to bed around 7ish. Reading, lounging, plotting or TV. Sheer luxury.

The baby hiking pack was one of the last pieces to come together. We ordered one and it never turned up, so bought one from trusty Bogong the day before we headed off. Milla liked it so much she fell asleep immediately.

Cheesy grins.