Heading South for Easter 2014.

This year, Easter and Anzac Day were only a few days apart so by only taking three days out of his annual leave, Chris scored a 10 day holiday. 

With plenty of time to make the journey, we decided to spend Easter and the few following days visiting Chris' family in Albury.

We broke up the trip by stopping in Camden to visit our friends Mick, Jess and their adorable baby boy Archie. We love catching up with those guys and getting a chance to see little Archie grow up. Last time we saw him, he was only 10 days old. 

I love thinking about what our reunions will be like in a few years when our little boys can play together. There should be a few more by then too and it's funny to think that Hugo will be the oldest of the lot. We'll have to wait and see what kind of group leader he will be... 

Hugo did so well in the car. He slept most of the way and we just had to stop once to stretch our legs, refuel the car and our stomachs, before hitting the road again. Once he was awake though, he did become somewhat of a full time entertaining job. Chris sat in the back waving toys at him while I drove the rest of the way.

Once in Albury, we quickly fell into a nice baby-friendly and relaxing routine. Hugo made himself quite at home, quickly gaining confidence with his cousins, grand-parents and even the dog. We spent most of the time exploring the garden, playing in the giant sandpit and the swings, discovering the cubby house, the plants, the bonsais... We even attempted some arts and crafts, taking advantage of having an outdoor space, but without much success. 

Overall, I think Raja, a big but gentle dog, was the winner of Hugo's little heart. At first, he was fairly hesitant, happy to watch from a distance and retreating whenever Raja got closer. After a few days, Hugo would calmly get closer, still cautious but not scared, and "pat" Raja on the back, grabbing big handfuls of hair as he did it. 

While Harry wasn't terribly interested in Hugo, Jinty certainly was. She is older than Hugo by a few months but they are more or less the same size. After some initial poking and pulling, they happily played side by side and passed objects around. 

It never stops being fascinating to watch Hugo as he negotiates all these interactions with humans and animals, big or small.