Christmas Morning 2009

We had a late night on Christmas Eve at the beach, so it's no suprise that Luca had a bit of a sleep in on Christmas morning. That's why we were suprised when we heard him pitter patter his way into our room at 6am...but then he just said 'Up, Up peas' because he wanted to sleep with us. He slept in our bed till about 8am. The same thing happened last year...the one morning that I actually wanted to get up early - he sleeps in. Normally we don't encourage this co-sleeping thing, but we've been giving in on the weekends (or holidays!) when we don't have to get up for work.

Christmas Morning 2009

I snuck out of bed to get this photo, and then enjoyed taking my time getting ready for the day. It's usually rush, rush, rush with me trying to sort out everyone else - so a little time to myself was almost like a Christmas present in itself! The little pleasures in life.

When little man did finally wake up, it was all go. He was still talking about Santa from the Firetruck the night before, and we enjoyed watching him open all his presents.

Even though we tried to limit the amount of loot he got - it still seemed like just about every present under the tree was him. We even decieded to not give 2 small items from the $2 shop....we'll save them for his b-day....b/c it just seemd like he had so much stuff!

Santa brought him a lawn mower (which he was so excited about he started jumping up and down), Other highlights included his first backpack, an electric toothbrush, trucks, a few pieces of clothing, books, a sweet table and chairs, an activity playmat, and a motorbike and helmet.....yes, one of those mini electric fourwheeler things. I think he pretty much scored on Christmas, don't you. Such a lucky and LOVED little boy. I wish all the family that mailed over gifts could have been here to see his eyes light up everytime he opened one of your gifts.

This is him ripping open the lawnmower.

And later dumping out all the books in his basket so that he could sit in it.

And later that day we spent Christmas Day with the Deegan family. This is Luca with two of his cousins. To burn off a few Christmas calories we decieded to walk to their house...it's a good 45 mins away, and our mountain buggy got a flat tire on the way. Guess how many gas station bike repair shops are open on christmas day?

We had a fantastic Christmas - I'm already looking forward to next year when we have two little kids to share it with. It's true what they say, Christmas is definitly more fun when you have kids (or grandchildren...but I think we're a long way off from that...ha ha)

Almost two

It's officially 10 days till Luca turns 2 years old. We had corn for dinner tonight. It's finally back in season and thus semi affordable to buy it at the grocery store. Last year giving corn to Luca was a godsend. For several reasons. He loves corn and because he only has a few teeth it would occupy him for at least 15-20 mins, while we got to eat our dinner in peace and quiet. We also felt good because....well it's corn! And we like it when he eats healthy food and actually enjoys it.

Not tonight. He gobbled up his 1/2 ear of corn in about 5 mins flat. Pawing it and turning it over and over in his little hands, just like I'd imagine a beaver knawing through a piece of wood. After he devoured it the first thing out of his mouth was "moe, moe, peas" (translation....more, please?) We gave him the other half of the ear and then we he ate it all up there was a massive temper tantrum because we had run out of corn. Ahhh, one day, little boy you'll learn that corn doesn't just grow on trees.

This is when it hit me, how much has changed in the past year. Not only does this little boy have about 1/2 his teeth, but he can communicate, copy everything we do and say (see the above photo of us in the shower - hilarious!) throw a mean tantrum, run with confidence, and has even gotten rid of just about everything 'baby' - except those diapers! Ahhh, my little boy is growing up.

Palmerston North Christmas Parade - a gorgeous sunny day where it actually felt like summer. Luca loved all the big trucks, tractors, and marching bands

Round Two

I just wanted to share a book that we're been reading to prepare Luca for the new baby. It's such a cute book - very simple lift the flap book, with gorgeous illustrations. Cute, eh?

I think that Luca may actually be starting to grasp the fact that another baby is on the way. Occasionally when we're hanging out together we'll ask him if he wants to feel the baby, and he'll put his hands on my tummy. Sometimes he'll say "Wake up baby" if there's no movement. He's also a bit obsessed with belly buttons, and likes to try to poke my outie back in (which actually hurts!)

This pregnancy has seemed to drag on - and I've only just this week started to stop and think about it. About how cool it is to have two heartbeats in me right now, and to have created something that was only one single cell to something over 5 billion (or whatever that number is...you get the point).

I now visit the midwife every 2 weeks till the baby is born - I'm at 30 weeks....so about 2 months to go. I have bad heartburn, and horrible back pain that shoots down to my right leg. It's apparently called the siotic (spell?) nerve and quite common in pregnancy. I'll have to wait till the baby is born to see if it goes away. I also have this trobbing wrist pain and I'm on the waiting list to see a specialist - I might need surgery.

Besides my body falling apart and getting bigger by the day, I'm doing well. And when I stop just long enough to rest, and rub my belly and actually focus on the baby movine, I feel quite excited about this new bundle on the way.

I'm helping out with antenatal classes each Wed night for new expecting parents. I'm not the childbirth educator - just the volunteer hostess that helps organize the class and gets the parents to 'bond' together. Later they'll form a coffee group, and I'll probably attend this coffee group as well as the orginal one I was a part of - their babies are due the same time our #2 is. It's been a good refresher for baby #2, as it's a class all about pregnancy, the birth, breastfeeding etc. It seems like so long ago that we had a little baby in the house...not quite sure if I'm ready to go through all that 'stuff' again, but looks like I've got no other choice now!

Weekend in Pictures

Do you know how hard it is to look glamourous for a 'black tie' event while pregnant? Well, it's no easy feat - especially when you only get told the week before that the dress code is black tie. Problem solved - I ended up getting this pretty cool long black maxi dress (on sale to boot!) that isn't even maternity to wear to the function - makes me happy cause I'll be able to wear it after the pregnancy as well (and not have the guilts of still wearing maternity clothes! ha ha).

Friday night we had James' (old unit) Christmas Function. It was great seeing everyone dressed up and I even brought the camera along to get snaps of everyone. Guess who was also the sober driver? Thank goodness I didn't wear the high heels I was planning to wear cause lately my feet and legs have been getting quite sore if I stand around for long periods of time. To be honest, although I would've loved to have a few wines, it felt good going to bed at midnight (which is quite late for me these days) and then being able to spring out of bed the next morning to go to the gym. Saturday was the PNCC (my work) Children's Christmas Party. It's really not a big event, but everyone gets free entry into the indoor and outdoor community pools, there's a BBQ, and 'Father Christmas' comes to give all the kids gifts. Many people in NZ prefer to call him that rather than Santa. Have no idea why.

The weather was rainy and yucky but it didn't matter as Luca found some friends to run around in the rain and we had a ball jumping on the trampoline together. Good workout for my calves. In the photo belowe we were marching around singing "The ants go marching 1 by 1...."

I think this might be the first time that Luca has seen Santa in person. Or at least the first time he's recognized it as Santa. No doubt we'll be seing Santa again at the mall for photos, this weekend at the Christmas Parade, and probably a few other places too. Santa must really like Palmerston North. Luca was quite bold and went straight up to Santa for his gift. He didn't hesitate at all. Then it was off to the indoor pools. There had to be at least 200 kids in the pool on Saturday.

On Sunday we went out to Breakfast at McDonalds and I again marvalled at how great it is to have a playground combined with a resturant. It's no wonder those fast food resturants suck the kids into their greasy burger marketing ploys. We're victim by choice, and if I were to ever open up a resturant cafe - I'd make sure I have a kids area.

Luca went to church with Oma as it was a special grandparents day service while James and I finally sorted out some interior house colours. This evening we had a friend's b-day party. In fact the next few weekends are filled with b-day parties of those in the coffee/antenatal class. Party after Party after party....and then Christmas!

Random thoughts

The House:
It's getting more and more exciting as the interior walls have begun to be lined - and yes, all walls are INSULATED....woo-hoo! This is going to be such a nice change, we won't even know what to do with ourselves in a brand spankin' new house. The kitchen looks huge - well huge to use anyways. No, I take that back...the whole house looks huge to us - it's more than 2x the size of our house now - but I wouldn't call it a mansion by any means. Just good sized. And the neighborhood is so much better than were we are now. No more graffitti in the alleyway, dodgy renters doing burnouts down the street, or trash from recycling day being blown into our carport.

Suprinsingly enough we haven't really shown any of our friends the new house. Not sure why...I guess it's probably just not as exciting to anyone else besides us (and James' parents the architects!) Today my good friend Mel was in town. We had become quite good friends, but then she moved out of Palmerston North (like they all do) so we've lost touch a bit. Well anyways she was in town so I got to take her to the house. It was fun getting to show someone else. She loved it - especially the nice section in a great neighborhood.

I totally forgot to bring the camera, so guess you'll just have to wait another week or so till I have more pictures - it's more fun to show you photos when you can actually see a difference anyways.

Thanksgiving!
When is it? I have a feeling it's quite soon, and I'm totally unprepared. Isn't that horrible when you have no idea when the holiday is? Last week I went to the library on one of my breaks and had the staff there help me find a book about Thanksgiving that I could read to Luca. Lo and behold we actually found one that was age approriate. Not only does it teach Luca about the holiday but I think it's probably taught James a thing or two as well :-)

Cuteness~
Luca sat in his baby doller stroller today :-)
His favourite song is Baa baa black sheep, and can even (kinda) sing along with us. When ever we start singing songs with him and sing something other than Baa Baa Black Sheep he goes "Noooo, No, No Baa- Baa"
He took off his nappy by himself last night when we were getting ready to get into the bath. I have a feeling this actually isn't a good thing.
Last night after putting him to bed, I went in and checked on him after like 20 mins (b/c it was quiet). I found him climed up on the lazyboy chair with the lamp on and reading books. His new favourite is a book about Jobs....it has drs, firefighters, farmers etc. I put him back in bed and turned off his light at the wall, and hid the lamp. 20 more quiet mins later I went in to find him sitting in his chair in the dark, flipping through books.
Hard to get upset when he looks so cute!

Christmas~
I actually started wrapping gifts today. We have bought all of Luca's gifts - Santa is bringing him a lawnmower, and a stocking full of goodies. We bought him the book 'Where the Wild Things Are', some new clothes, and a toy truck. It's odd but I really enjoy wrapping gifts. I totally get all into it - in fact I think I'd rather wrap gifts then upwrap them. Maybe I should try to get a job at the mall as one of those gift wrapper people...ha ha.

Officer

And perhaps even more exciting than the All Whites....James is officially an Officer in the NZ Army now. It's been a long time coming (remember he left our honeymoon and trip to the States early so that he could come back for the selection process?)

He was officially changed over about 2 weeks ago, and all last week he was away in Waiurou learning all the ins and out of Officer life. Apparently there's things that are done different in the mess, and a different social culture, different expectations etc etc. There's a 10/90 split between Officers and other ranks, so he really is in the minority now.

He starts his new job tomorrow with the Infantry unit - a total change from what he had been doing. He's acting in a Captain's position - but his official title is Lieutenant (he was previously a Staff Seargent) Officers float around and change units every few years so they get a broader expierence of the Army as a whole. Okay, I should probably shut my mouth now cause really I'm not the expert on all this Army career stuff...and James could tell you better himself....but it's quite an honour and I'm really proud of him for making the change - it's not going to be easy, as it's a HUGE change, but I know he'll do really well once he gets settled in. Again, incredibly proud of him :)

And what does this mean for us? Well it could potentially mean more postings in other cities in NZ - Headquarters in Wellington, or possibly Auckland, or Christchurch...but that's not such a big deal right now as we'll most likely be in Palmerston North for a while. There's also the possibility of overseas postings.....and I admit - that would be quite cool. Yes, REALLY cool (and no I have no problem moving overseas for a bit with two kids!!!) Not for a while though (he's gotta get some seniority first) but the potential to be posted overseas would be AWESOME. But most importantly this posting means that if James choses to stay in the Army for a while - this will be the best career move as far as pay and rank goes. Not to mention it's going to look great on his resume. and of course there's the possibility to contribute more, and actually change the way some things are done in the Army.

Hide n' seek

Well first things first....I have some exciting news to report - the All Whites have made it into the Soccer World Cup. NZ generally punches above it's weight in most sports (for how small the country is compared to larger countries in the World) but the three biggie sports are defintly RUGBY, cricket, and women's netball. I'll be honest I'm not big fans of any of those. Yeah, rugby I enjoy going to games every now and then, but it's seriously on TV like all the time - and those rugby players are hideous....all cauliflower ears, violent binge drinking types, testostorne babies that demand to be pampered by the media....(okay they're not really that bad - but I think since the All Blacks did so poorly in the last world cup, the country has lost a bit of interest). NZ hasn't been in the Soccer World Cup for like 30 years - so this is BIG NEWS. They are projecting that this will boost the local youth soccer teams....which be nice cause if I had to choose I'd much rather Luca play soccer than rugby. Did I mention that James is an awesome soccer player? Maybe he can be the coach!

Luca is changing so much - he's starting to link together two or three words at a time, and is like a little parrot, repeating everything we say. His new favourite game is hide and seek - except he always hides in the same place, and then when we find him he says 'more, more!?' Then he goes and hides in the same place, again! It's pretty cute. Except when you're trying to get out the door and into the car....when he goes and hides from us...he just hides whether you are playing or not.

Hmmmm...where's Luca?

"Luca, Luca?! Has anyone seen Luca?"


And he's a picture of me - 27 weeks pregant! Soon we'll be in the third trimester :-) Baby is kicking and moving around all the time.

The baby has grown up

We knew we would need to get Luca out of his cot way before the new baby made his or her arrival. The last thing we wanted was for Luca to feel like he was 'kicked out' of his bed to make room for the new baby. We were orginally looking for a decently priced twin bed with a trundler but then this bed and mattress was on sale for half off - I'm not sure who was more excited about the new bed - Luca or James. When we bought the bed we were like, "Sweet - it's low enough that no real damage will be done if he falls out, and the sides will keep him in - and I bet he won't be able to reach that light switch anymore!" (a few weeks ago Luca discovered he could reach the light switch from his cot and would amuse himself by turning it on and off, on and off, on and off....we'd go in to find him in the morning with the light on.

Well guess what the first thing he did when he got on his new bed? Checked to make sure he could still reach the light switch. Great.



First few nights were hell as he came out of his room about 50 times and we'd have to walk him back to bed. It's really hard to do this with a straight face when he just looks so cute. Once you break the smile it's all over, and it's like he's won the game. I surfed the net to figure out what to do. The cot had already been taken apart so there was no way we were going to digress.

Once again the internet ruled. We went out and bought a baby gate to put at his doorway to "keep him safe." It's actually just like we've extended the boundaries of the cot. It works a dream. He still cries at the gate when he goes to bed, but we do the whole 'Ferber' thing and his crying has gotten less and less until he eventually goes into bed on his own. And he's been sleeping through the night again! Now if only he could figure out to pull the covers up to keep himself warm....

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

Happy Halloween Everyone! It was yesterday for us in NZ (today in the States) and we even managed to get Luca into his Turkey costume for a children's halloween party. Grandma Cassie mailed this over to us but we hadn't been able to get Luca to put it on....so we finally bribed him with a cupcake. The kid loves cupcakes....so while he was busy stuffing cupcake in his mouth, we were busy stuffing him in the turkey outfit. Checkout this photo - it's when he sees himeself in the mirror for the first time - so cute!
I figure we only have maybe one more year at most that we can dress him up as cute animals...soon it will be superheros and monsters. Our Halloween weekend started off by going to a children's party on Friday night. I joke that it was probably the best party of Luca's life. Lots of kids in costumes, decorations, flashing lights, smoke machines, and lots of yummy food. I knew it was time to go when he was dancing (jumping) on the couch to the music, bounced off the couch and hit his head on the hardwood floor. Ouch. Yep, it was 7:15pm and time to go to bed. It was a good party, and quite rare that someone was actually celebrating the holiday.
These fingers look so real and soooo disgusting. As if Sizzlers wern't gross enought on their own (sizzlers are like hotdogs...processed cheap meat)! I think I might steal this idea for next year - quite clever

In this photo is Thea with son Tom (he was born 2 days before Luca) and the hostess of the party Chelsea with Juliette (born 1 day after Luca). The reason their house was so decked out was because the following day they were having an adult Halloween Party.

We got a total of 2 trick or treaters the whole night. One came to our door at like 5pm and wasn't even dressed up so I told him we weren't participating sorry, no candy. I mean C'mon at least dress up! Then about 30 seconds later his brother came up to the door and was dressed up - but I couldn't give him candy when I denied his brother who was waiting in the driveway. So James and I ate all the candy ourselves because we never got any more trick or treaters and then we went to the party at about 8pm. Don't worry it was only a small bag :-) Not the super duper JUMBO sized ones you have to get in the States to accomodate your 300+ trick or treaters.

Four things that make trick or treating difficult in NZ

1. It doesn't get dark till later - so not the same effect

2. Because of #1 you don't know who is 'participating' b/c it's too light to have outside house lights turned on.

3. No orange carving pumpkins, so again you don't know who is 'participating'

4. The kids don't know you're supposed to actually tell a joke or do a trick for candy - they think you can just show up on someone's door and demand candy (sometimes not even in costume!)....someone really needs to teach this country the rules. ha ha

Luca stayed overnight at the beach with Oma and Pop while James and I went to the adult party. I was a pregnant penguin (Mom, remember that penguin towel thing we bought Luca? Well I wore that over my head with a bow tie, maternity white shirt and black pants...) James was that scary guy from the movie the Crow. We actually looked pretty decent for costumes thrown together quickly. Sorry no photos though....I couldn't find the camera. You'll just have to use your imagination!

Didn't stay at the party very long (what I can say we're kind of lame-o these days and not drinking alcohol doesn't help either) and came home early to watch a rented movie....and get this actually slept in till 9am the next morning. Haven't had a sleep in about 23 months!

This photo isn't Halloween related, but we finally got around to buying Luca a trike...he was outgrowing his digger truck thing.

Happy Halloween!!! This time next year we'll have two little kids to dress up - Yay!!! Okay, so I guess Halloween wasn't so bad in NZ after all....just different :-)

Outside

Before Luca was born, James and I used to go on lots of 'tramping' (aka hiking/backpacking) trips. It was cheap entertainment, and we got to explore some new places, and have lots of long discussions on the trail. NZ has an amazing network of trails and backcountry huts you can stay at for only a few dollars....it's fantastic. Oh, and did I mention no snakes or bears? (or lions, alligators, or rhinos) The most dangerous thing you'd come across would be a wild pig - which isn't dangerous at all....or possibly a hungry possum? I guess before continents spread apart the wild dangerous predator animals decided not to venture to NZ. Ha, that's not really true, b/c I'm sure there's a dinosaur fossils somewhere in NZ.

Love this photo!

So while we were pregnant with Luca we had all these visions of taking our kids on hiking trips, and when they were old enough we'd let them bring their friends and do easy overnight or multinight trips. We swore up and down we'd take him on hiking trips while he was young. Oh, the things you think you'll do.

We're taken him on a few trips, but we hope to do more. I sometimes feel like we don't get him outside enough....but now that the weather is getting better, we don't really have an excuse....so out we go!

We just bought a new to us baby backpack (more so for baby #2) and Luca loves it. We tested it out this weekend on a trail only mins from our house. It was so refreshing to actually get out of town and play in the forest. We played with ferns, pointed out waterfalls, touched trees, and wet moss, and had sword fights with sticks. It was such a fabulous day, and reminded us how much we want to be able to expose our kids to the outdoors. James carried Luca in the pack when the trail got too dangerous or he became too tired to walk. I got to carry the other baby :-)

Look at this cool swimming hole we found! Can't wait to take the kids back here if the weather ever gets warm enough!

Halloween Blues (comes with a warning)

I'll warn you, I'm not in a very good mood right now. Part homesick, part frustrated, part pregnant. If you are from NZ and don't want to hear me complain - close the browser now. If you are anti Halloween - close the browser now. LEAVE. This is my blog, and I don't even think that many people read it (or do they and they just lurk?) so I'm not afraid to say what I feel, when I feel like it. It's not very PC, and I don't care. Time to be honest.


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Okay you had your warning....if you keep reading this, don't get mad at me.


Halloween. What can I say? I love the holiday. The fond memories of apple picking and hayrides, and then after that season, it's pumpkin harvest time. Wandering up and down the isles of the pumpkin patch looking for the perfect pumpkin (or sometimes if Mom was too busy I think maybe we got our pumpkins from the grocery store? ....okay, lets just pretend we went to the pumpkin patch every year!) spending an evening carving the pumpkin...toasting the seeds. Planning out for weeks what the perfect halloween costume was going to be. The school halloween parties, the girl scout halloween parties, the youth group church parties, the dance class halloween parties....and not getting sick of ever dressing up. That's what Halloween is all about....letting yourself be someone different, being creative, having fun! A celebration that brings people together. Then on the actual night of Halloween (oh! to be so lucky if halloween fell on a weekend...woo-hoo!) I'd get all dressed up with my sister or young friends to go trick or treating from house to house - always accompianied by parents who would wait patiently on the sidewalk while we went up to the houses. The endless halloween jokes, comparing which houses had the coolest decorations, and walking around till we couldn't even carry our bags full of candy anymore. Getting home, comparing our 'loot' and having mom go through to pick out anything deemed 'unsafe' (candy not in wrappers, coins that we could choke on, you know the routine) and then eating enough candy to rot our teeth out before going to bed exhausted. If we limited ourselves to one or two small peices of day, that loot would last us until at least Thanksgiving! Who wouldn't love Halloween?





Halloween in NZ .... yeah, almost non exsistant. Okay, to give NZ a bit of credit it has been growing a bit over the past few years. Spotlight (the local craft store) has a bit of a selection of things that has been getting bigger each year. But no pumpkin patches, no city wide halloween parties, and the rare trick or treater might be seen. But rare.


I was at work today doing some web surfing....actually it was work related - I was looking up what other cities do for Christmas tree lighting ceremonies...and then I got distracted by the City of Chicago's city promotion website. (OMG....I so need to plan a trip to Chicago). Then I got distracted by their Chicagoween website. Chicago has this massive halloween celebration that lasts all month and there are heaps of great things to take kids to - most of it very low cost or free...harvest festivals, pumpkins in the park - sponsored by WAlgreens, dress up events...the list went on and on. It made me homesick. I want to give Luca all those cool things that I got to do for Halloween. I want to be the one taking cute family photos of us in the pumpkin patch. I want to be taking advantage of all these family friendly activities. I've viewed about 5 of my friends and family's 'pumpkin patch' photos this past week on facebook/blogsites etc. Yeah, they're cute.....But that should be me! I want to do that stuff!!!! (yes, I'm whining and complaining....annoyed? I told you to leave.)



After looking at the Chicago city website, I decieded to do a little investigation to see what Halloween activities happen in Palmerston North that I could possibly take Luca to. The anit- halloween parties outnumber the halloween parties about 10 to 1. People are so concerned about this evil holiday coming to NZ that they feel they need to offer alternatives - safe places for children to be, like churches.

I know, I know...I moved here so I need to adapt (and I pretty much do....but this, halloween thing has got me a bit down). I mentioned halloween a few weeks ago at work, and just about all the parents were against Halloween. They think it's an evil holiday that is unecessary in NZ. They think it's unsafe to let children go door to door. (C'mon...you live in NZ! and don't they understand that parents are suppose to accompany the the children?) I didn't even have the energy to argue against them. What's the point? I'm out numbered and it'd just sound like I was being a whiny American.

They have this funny thing in NZ about fencing off the front yards of houses....not all houses, but lots of houses. I guess it's safer for children and pets, but it creates a sense of closed offness from your neighboors and in general I prefer to look of open front yards...but again, another cultural difference.


During this Halloween discussion at work (where I remained mainly silent) one co-worker even said..."thank goodness I have a fence in my front yard. Everyone knows that's the #1 rule for school fundraisers and things like that....don't open any gates to get to the front door of someones house." First of all I didn't even know about that rule, but it does make sense I suppose...and second of all....she was boasting that b/c she had a front fence she was happy not to get any trick or treaters. Sad. Luckily none of my co-workers know about this blog....


Okay, so I'm bummed. Bummed to not be able to provide my children with some of the most incredible basic childhood expierences like halloween. I suppose you want to pass on to your children what you grew up doing and by living in NZ I can't exactly do that now can I. Okay, Okay, I'm not all full of sorrow. I realize that by living in NZ I can expose our kids to different things - things that James grew up doing (like Guy Forks day, chasing lamb in paddocks, christmas at the beach etc etc) things that are equally as cool. But still, it's not exactly cool crisp autumn evenings and halloween fun is it?


James says I need to just understand other people's point of views that they think Halloween is a holiday deep rooted in evil undertones. Okay, I understand but that's not what people are celebrating....it's like Christmas. Sadly, how many people do you think celebrate the real reason for Christmas? We all know the real meaning behind Christmas, but do you think that's what everyone is thinking about when they get together for christmas dinner - everyone? Christmas is also a time for family and friends to come together - to celebrate, to enjoy. In a way Halloween is the same way.


Okay now after all this complaining I do have to say that we've been invited to a halloween party - which is quite cool (and a bit rare) and Luca does have a halloween costume....thanks Grandma Cassie. The anti halloween attitudes have me a bit down, but I guess it's just me being homesick. And to be fair to everyone around me, I won't complain or mention halloween again. I haven't even told many people about this, b/c well...it's hard to understand if you never celebrated halloween to begin with. Poor James, he had to hear my venting about Halloween last night, but I won't even mention it again to him anymore. There we go....finished - Done, got that off my chest. Now back to being happy and pregnant :-)



Hopefully I'll be able to update with roof photos soon!

Baby talk

It's official. We have finally started to tell Luca about the new baby. I decieded it was pointless to even mention the new baby until I started to show - which, yep is now. Before we'd briefly mention baby things to Luca, but now we've broken out the library books and started talking about the fact that he's going to be a big brother, and "ouch - be careful not to jump on Mommy's tummy - there's a baby in there." Grandma Cassie sent us a stroller (in gender nuetral red) with baby, and Luca loves pushing it around the house. He calls it his baby, and sometimes will even put it to bed. But heaven forbid, don't give the baby his special night time sleepy friend, or else he'll really go off the rails. Not everything's for sharing...

Before dinner I sat down with Luca and looked at some photos of Grandma Cassie, Aunt Erin, and new baby Ethan. He seemed really interested in the photos, and everytime I asked him what Ethan was....he'd say "Ba-bu." He's almost saying Grandma Cassie too....well kind of.

The library is chock full with 'new baby' books for toddlers. One of our little adventures is our bi-weekly trip to the library. LOVE our local library, and I'm really looking forward to taking Luca to the mid week story sessions once I'm on maternity leave. Yeah, I'm not ashamed to admit that I take full advantage of these rate payer funded activities - gotta milk the good free stuff. Anyways back to the 'new baby' books...

I've resisted the urge the check them out, until now. The first one that we brought home is called "What's in Mummy's Tummy?" A lift the flap book that seriously has to be one of the cutest books ever, but after reading the book, and him giggling at the pictures of cakes, sunshines, and red balloons, and yes....a baby, I ask him if he wants a new baby in the house. He responds with "nooooooo!" - lets hope that changes in the next few months...ha ha

20 weeks!

We are about 20 weeks now, which equals halfway through the pregnancy. My tummy is definitly getting big now, and there are many pants that I already can't wear. Last week one of my projects was to box up some of the things that I won't be able to wear for the next 6-7 months and get out all the maternity clothes. I was quite nice to see those maternity clothes again - they bring back so many good memories from the first time round.

Luca in our new kitchen - he loves playing around the new house. I love the new wood smell.....

This pregnancy is much different - I can hardly believe that 20 weeks have gone by. The first pregnancy every single waking thought was focused on the baby.

What will it look like?

Am I eating okay?

What do I still need to buy?

Names, Names, Names...

Ouch...it's kicking :-)

Our life is going to change sooo much!

20 weeks, and I've barely even picked up a pregnancy book - last time I had probably read about 10 by now. I've only just started to think about names, and It's dawned on me that less than 20 weeks from now, we're going to have another little baby in the house. Yay!!!

Soon we'll have a roof! Wouldn't you know it's suppose to rain all week long.

We had our 20 week anatomy scan today. It all looked good, except they are asking that I return so they can take another look at the chambers of the heart. Nothing to lose sleep over (yet) but they just want to triple check everything. The baby is breech, but still has lots of time to turn, and no we couldn't tell what sex it is. The radiologist could tell but we asked her not to tell us. But....believe me, we both looked and couldn't see much. Does that mean it's a girl? Or does that mean we have no idea how to look at those scans....ha ha. Who knows?

Luca just loves to help me out in the kitchen. When the kids are older it's going to be a house rule that they have to plan and cook 1 meal a week for the family. I want them to grow up to be confident in the kitchen.

I've been scouring the internet to find good quality used baby gear that we'll need for #2. My latest obsession is trying to find a good double mountain buggy for walks into town from our new house. Those things brand new are about $800! I'm hoping to find a used one for around $250-300. There's a few cool hiking trails behind our house, so we got a baby backpack to carry the new baby around in while Luca goes on 'hikes' with me. We tested it out with Luca. He thought it was better than McDonald's playland. I raced up and down the hall with him on my back, giggling and squealing out of control.

And of course James had to give it a go to. Look how happy they both are....so cute. If the weather is nice this weekend, maybe we'll take Luca for hike. Oh, and good news....it's DAYLIGHT SAVINGS.....which means more light in the evenings and in the mornings. Thank Goodness!!!!

The Digital Age

Our exciting news of the weekend....we finally bought a new TV. I think we might be one of the last of many people I know to finally get a flat screen. We've been holding out for a few years because we couldn't justify the cost when we didn't even watch TV all that much. We knew we were going to get one for the new house b/c the TV is getting recessed into the wall above the fireplace, and there's no way our big clunker box would fit in that tiny tiny slot. Verdict...

We LOVE the new TV. Now that we're digital with the rest of the world, we get a few extra channels so that brings the grand total of watchable channels to 10 (we don't want to pay for the extra channels) - but when you consider that we'll never watch the chinese, maori, or preview channel....that brings us to 8! And...get this....we get this free children's channel with cartoons, and baby zoo stuff. So very cool.

The TV seems so much bigger than our old box. It's 42" (wierd how they measure TVs in new zealand by the inch when everything else is metric....) and I was almost concerned it was going to be too big for the new house. James thought I was silly to even ponder such a thought. ha ha

How come we waited so long to get this new TV?!

In other news we took Luca to his first rugby game. The Turbos (the minor league "grass roots" local team) were playing and we knew Luca would love all the crowd, noises, and yes...the hotdogs. Yum! The hotdogs are the things I look forward to the most about rugby games.

He was also quite fascinated by the mini wind turbine at the stadium. He loves ceiling fans, and things that go round and round.

And....we're still waiting to hear from Erin about the new baby. She's 1 week overdue today, and apparently getting quick sick of all the waiting. We can't wait to meet the newest member of the family!

An apple a day...

This week Luca woke up with a really high fever - so high that all our books recommended we take him straight to the hospital/Doctor. We were reluctant to go because they really can't do much except look in his ears, listen to his lungs, attempt to look in his throat, take his temp, look for spots, and then recommend giving him children's paracetomol. Can you tell we've been through this several times before?

Being safe rather than sorry, we were off to the ER at 11:30pm. We got out of there at 1:30am and were assigned with a very young doctor who I don't think had any expierence looking at children. He actually thought Luca was going to open his mouth up for him, and a nurse that tried to take his underarm temp. Yeah, right...try that with a screaming, wiggly sick baby. I felt like handing the Doc our high tech forhead thermometer (thanks Fran!) and saying, "here just use this." I'm not sure, but I think that perhaps the nurses have to supply their own thermometers which is why they all have the ultra cheap ones? It's gotta be the only answer.

Bless the NZ health system....where it's free to visit the ER, and get medical treatment, except for a tiny fee (waived for under 5 year olds). You just have to be patient, and wait, and wait....and wait....

Anyways they gave us antibiotics and told us to use paracetomol. Only problem is little man refuses to take either. He's just too smart (stubborn) for any of that business.
It's horrible. He used to actually like the taste of that bright pink parecetomol in the syringe....but a few months ago something happened, and now he won't let us near him with it. He spits it out everywhere (and the stuff stains carpet, clothes, and just about anything else it comes in contact with). In order to get him to take I have to physically hold him down while James holds his tongue. He gags, his eyes get as big as saucers, and it makes us feel like horrible parents, but how else do we give it to him? We've tried everything...mixing it with food, reverse psycology "no, none of this yummy pink stuff for Luca...it's only for mommy and daddy....", mixing it with liquids...nothing seems to work.

We should have told the pharmacists to perscribe us 2x as much medicine b/c he ends up spitting more than 1/2 of it out. We're hoping that baby #2 won't be so difficult when it comes to medicine, and praying that they figure out how to make a powdered non flavoured paracetomol that we can just sprinkle on his foods. Any pharmacists out there that can do this for us?

PS...my friend Toni took these photos of Luca - isn't she good?

Father's Day 2009

James just finished his 8 week officer training course, so this weekend it was time to relax and celebrate. SOOOOO good to have him home. He said it was the most difficult course he had ever done while in the Army, but was awarded top of the class (and most of the class consisted of high ranking officers!). We're so proud of him :-)

We had a busy weekend which started off with a visit to Luca's Great Grandad and then off to the Foxton Fair - a mini carnival in a very small town. Followed by gourmet sandwiches at the Beach.

Our big Father's Day breakfast (and this was Dad's choice) was at McDonalds. Nothing out of the ordinary since we seem to end up there just about every weekend. Yep, we've fallen into McDonald's marketing ploy. We go cause it's tasty, cheap, and Luca can play on the playground. Yep, totally falling into their corporate hands - next thing you know we'll be having Birthday Parties with Ronald McDonald....ha ha.

'Luca' got James two tennis rackets and tennis balls (which Luca thought was just too much fun putting them in and out of the cylinder plastic container). We live quite close to some public tennis courts and for the past few years have been talking about getting some cheap rackets, but just never had. I figured we only have a few more months left living in the neighborhood so we might as well take advantage of the courts while we can. Better late than never, eh? Luca also made James a few drawings.

We spent the rest of the day hiking on the walking trails behind our new house, playing at the building worksite, checking out our friend Moi who competing in the radio competition "Dad's in Drag at the local mall" and digging up the front garden. It was fantastic weather, and and all around good day.

The babies grow up

I haven't seen much of my coffee group friends lately. About half the group is back at work, and one family has already had #2. We try to all meet up at least once a month, and a few weekends ago we had a Pizza Party on a Saturday evening so that we could catch up - Dads too. It's hard to imagine that just 20 months ago we were toting around little babies and now they're running, jumping, tornados. We had a great night - ate way too much pizza, and realize that boys aren't as intelligent as girls at this age (or at least they just don't talk as much....they just move...ha ha!)

Georgi, Luca, and Flynn - amazing I got them all to stand still long enough to take this.

Chelsea, Fiona (who just had #2 about 2 months ago), and Amy

Okay, I had to capture a pic of me with Fiona's new baby, Hazel and Tom. I wanted to see what I would look like with a baby and toddler together at the same time. I can't believe that our solid little family unit of 3 will expand to 4. FOUR!? I need to cherish these days of threedom while they last.

Oh, and my friend Shelly from Coffee group is also having #2 - just a month after our baby is due...which means I'll have a few friends on maternity leave with me....now we just waiting for the rest of the group to get pregnant...

A few weeks ago there was a nationwide SPCA cupcake day sale. I baked several dozen of these beauties to sell at work - with all proceeds going to SPCA (like the humane society back in the States). Pretty cute, eh? It totally reminded me of cupcake days held at Bowles Elm school as a fundraiser for the PTA. The thrill of buying a cupcake that had the most icing or best candy on it....waiting all day until your class could go out in the hall and buy cupcakes - all for a mere $1. I hope these cupcake sales still happen. I'm a huge cupcake fan.

Random Confessions

I've lost my camera cord, and haven't yet got around to buying a new one (thus no new photos). I'd love to have a new digital camera - one that doesn't have a 10 second delay like ours does after you press the button.

I eat some of the pregnancy no no's....like the egg salad sandwiches from the City Council Cafeteria....I trust them that it's not going to kill me, and so far it hasn't. Yep, I'm bad.

I can not wait till maternity leave.

I've totally switched from Diet Coke to Coke Zero...who would have thought? Yeah, I know...probably not the best for the pregnancy either but I only a drink a little. Honest!

I always thought I'd live in the mountains. I love the mountains. I miss the mountain lifestyle - so much.

I can't wait till Luca is old enough to go skiing. A few months ago I spent way too much time looking up the most child friendly resorts in NZ, and how much lift tickets cost for little ones...good news, is that most places are free for kids under 7 - sweet.

I'm already mentally planning a ski vacation in the US somewhere for 2011.

I've been in NZ for about 5 years now and haven't been skiing/snowboarding once. Yeah - crazy I know. I miss this part of my life, and have made a will to include playing in the snow a family must no matter where I live.

After a bad night with Luca last night (probably 5 hours sleep max) I seriously considered giving him some alcohol to make him sleep. Okay, well the thought passed my mind, but of course I'd never resort to that.

I can not wait till maternity leave.

One reason I'm not finding out the sex of the baby is b/c if it's a girl I'll have 5 months to go shopping for all things girly. You don't even know how much I would enjoy this, but finacially if we leave the sex a suprise I'll probably spend less money b/c I'll be too busy with two little ones to even have time to shop. Sad, eh?

Our builder probably wants to kill me. I just added a closet to the master bathroom and changed the direction of the pantry. I don't care though - I'm happy now that's its changed.

I reuse Luca's swim diapers. They're expense those little things, and we try to get to the pool once a week.

My favourite moment of the day is when I put Luca to bed and if he's in a good mood he gives me a cuddle and a kiss on the lips. I could hug him forever like this.

I've been here 5 years and I still don't like the warm Christmas'. Hate it. I know, I'm being a stick in the mud, but some things will never change.

The most exciting thing about our new house is going to be the central heating, and the nice kitchen with walk in pantry (well it's all going to be great, but these two things I'm looking forward to the most). Maybe I should finally get a breadmaker, now that i have the storage....

Did I mention that I can not wait till maternity leave?

Little Model Man

After a several month break, I've decided to continue with the floristry learning. I have another wedding coming up next month, so I need to get back into it. I've taken a bit of break while James focuses on his officer training course, and his University study. It's a bit hard for both of us to study at the same time, b/c someone needs to watch Luca. Luckily James has only 2 more weeks of his officer course - then he's home for a month, then he goes away to Singapore for a month of training.

This weekend I whipped together a few ring bearer pillows and matching buttonholes. Luca was my model, but he's constantly on the move, so it was quite hard to get pictures.


I got him all dressed up in his suit from our wedding - It barely fits anymore! He wasn't in the mood to cooperate (spelling?) and barely wanted to hold the pillow. I'm amazed that he did so well at our wedding.

And a rose pomander for the flower girl....except I didn't have any little girls to dress up and photograph.

James was away this weekend, but we kept ourselves busy going for a long walk to play around at the construction site. Good news, we got our council permits to start building last week. This was finished about a week earlier than expected (yay!) We also visited a few friends from the coffee group, went swimming,drank milkshakes (suprise, suprise), hung out at the park, and practiced making biscotti. Tomorrow is Monday - yuck. So not looking forward to a week of work.