Christmas takes on a whole new meaning for Catriona Rowntree, who will celebrate it for the first time with her beautiful bush bub, Andrew.
As Getaway presenter Catriona Rowntree walks into the living room with four-month-old baby Andrew snuggled in her arms, she’s met with a sea of smiles.
“I should have got you to come in and get him up with me,” she tells the admiring Woman’s Day team, who have travelled an hour out of Melbourne to visit Catriona at her stunning rural home.
“He’s just so beautiful when he wakes up; all wide-eyed and smiling. He beams at me every time I walk into the room.”
Andrew certainly is cute. And as he slowly begins to open his eyes wider, newly fed and rested after his midday sleep, it becomes clear he is also one incredibly contented baby.
“He’s so good, and he really is just gorgeous at the moment,” proud dad James Pettit adds, scooping his milk-drunk son from Catriona’s arms and gently patting his back. “He’s only got three different modes: cute, cuter … and asleep!”
As Andrew wakes up properly, he’s met with a scene of busy pre-Christmas preparation. Helping set up for the big day are Catriona’s mother, Heather, and her 97-year-old grandmother, affectionately known to all as Nan.
They’ve driven down from Sydney to spend time with the newest addition to their already-extended family – and they’re clearly thrilled to be here.
“Catriona’s a natural mum,” says Heather. “And Andrew is a gorgeous baby. I have four children, and Catriona is my youngest. I now have eight grandchildren – and Nan has 11 great-grandchildren! It’s so nice to be down here with everyone.”
Looking over at the beautifully set table, crystal glasses winking in the sunlight, linen tablecloth ironed crease free, and cherries stacked high in cut-glass goblets, both Heather and Nan are reminded of Christmas celebrations from years gone by.
“The table does look lovely, doesn’t it?” remarks Heather to Nan, who is seated on the couch, a cup of tea on her lap.
“We used to have big Christmases like this over in New Zealand with Mum’s family when I was growing up.”
“I never had to spend hours in the kitchen, thankfully,” adds Nan. “[The family] were always so pleased to see us, everything would all be done for us.”
The family feasted on turkey, ham and pork, and “always home-made Christmas puddings, with threepences and sixpences in them”, Heather adds. “There was always money in the pudding, and all the kids would try to find it.”
The tradition continued when Catriona was growing up, with family and friends descending on Heather’s Sydney home on Christmas morning.
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