PORT WAIKATO

We have just returned from a wonderful, refreshing and relaxing week at Port Waikato. A fantastic bach and an amazing wild beach. Jo & Alex came down to visit us for a day - Emma and Alex had great fun at the beach - not to mention Dudley & Ben (the dogs). In fact since arriving home Dudley has been seriously sulking! The sunsets were amazing it was one of those beaches that you could spend hours just walking along - in fact thats what we did most mornings (thanks to the Wards for lending us their back pack!) Anyway photos speak louder than words for this post so here's some. (The one of Emma with a black beard is sand - she thinks it's delicious!)

NOT FORGETTING EMMA!

I haven't spoken much of Emma this week so I thought I should share what she's up to... Well she is now 15 months. She has had three successful attempts of walking one step, so I don't think it will be too long before she's running round. She has discovered climbing recently on anything and everything she has no fear! One of her favourite things at the moment is to go for little wagon rides like the photo above shows - she enjoys standing up in this too. This week she also discovered that you can put things in your ears.... I was preparing her super nutritious pudding and left her with some peas (one of her favourite foods must be the British in her!) And when I came back into the dining room she had two little peas sitting in her ear - very funny - but thankfully not in too far! Her song of the moment is 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' which she is good at doing the actions to sometimes - very cute.

MORE ABOUT MY BIRTHDAY!

On my birthday I spent most the day with my gorgeous friend Gillian. She made me a feast - complete with my own huge individual pav and a much required glass of wine! Very impressed she is a domestic diva! Her children Georgia & Sophie (Oliver was at school) also provided lots of entertainment (Em did too of course.. although a little grumpy today!!) So cheers Gilly you made the day very special!

MY BIRTHDAY

Well I'm another year older. The other day I was reading in the paper about a lady whose friends gave her a list of 30 things to do before she turned 30 - (it was in the paper because one of the things was to get her picture printed in the paper). I wander what things Rob and I would come up with for each other if we wrote out 40 things to do before we turn 40 - um interesting thought! It inspired me to look at my life list something I wrote a long time ago, it was an idea inspired by Oprah. It's nice to see I'm achieving some things - like becoming a Mum etc. I also add to this list too like a recent addition is to do a safari trip in South Africa... It's great to think I'm happy where I am in life and I'm enjoying it with all the joys and challenges that it brings therefore no fear of a midlife crisis at this point!

Six Weird Things About ME!

I've just noticed my friend Gillian tagged me which means I'm suppose to list 6 weird things about myself! Umm well here goes.. this is for you Gillian... I hope the UK people don't think I'm crazy...

1. I love washing. My Nana once said that a sign of a good housewife is judged by the way she puts out the washing.. I have taken this to heart - I would never hang out a top with a yellow peg on one side and a pink on the other - no they have to match! And all the tops should be on one line, the knickers should be hidden etc etc.. I also have this routine where I use all the yellow pegs first, then the white ones, then the purple ones etc.. I hate it when Rob puts out the washing especially seem he thinks pegs are a waste of time - fancy that!!
2. I have this thing about toilet paper - the flap has to be on top if not I'll change it no matter where I am doing my business!
3. One new thing I'm obsessed with is children's' books. I could easily spend over an hour reading them in a book shop and if I were rich Emma would have a library attached to her room. Yesterday late in the afternoon we went to the library so there was no time to read her the books before bed - I however had fun sitting on the couch reading them myself!
4. I have an irrational fear of sleeping in high rise buildings! Not sure whether it's related to Sept 11 or something... I'm fine when I'm awake and I'm also fine hanging off a cliff or something... Very strange.
5. I am obsessed with memories. Emma has a journal, a blog, a daily diary, a scrapbook, a calender which I list things on and a memory box... I'm so scared of forgetting her childhood. I look at these things a lot I'm completely sentimental. The other day I found some of her newborn socks which were tiny to store in her memory box..
6. I think I have a little secret desire to be a pop star! I think I sing a lot more than the average person - sometimes I go to church mainly for a good sing-song! Sometimes I wander if I was in a girl band which one would I want to be in?? And how cool would I be? At the moment I think it would be cool to be a dixie chick. If I'm not singing I still have a song going through my head - it's like a soundtrack playing for my life... Music I listen to has to suit my mood.

So there it is six weirdish things about me!

I thought of one more: I think the funniest movie ever made is Amelie a french one. I have only one friend who agrees with me everyone else thinks this movie is strange. I love the innocent humour of it - I have the DVD if anyone wants to borrow it.

ANNIVERSARY!

I love February with Valentines, our anniversary and my birthday all in a row as well as it being lovely sunny weather. Today we've been married for four years. According to my sources the traditional thing for the 4th anniversary is suppose to be 'silk' sounds lovely... Or the modern equivalent is fruit (I could buy Rob a plum!!) Anyway it's nice to remember our special day.

HAPPY VALENTINES' DAY!

Well this year I decided to do something a little different for my beloved Rob. Now, they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach - so I decided to do a secret Valentines' Lunch Box for Rob. Filled with lots of his favourite goodies ie tim tams, sour lollies and all kinds of bad stuff! The idea was that he would find it in his bag and be slightly embarrased opening the pink box in front of his work colleagues! However the plan didn't go exactly to plan... Rob found the box in his bag before going to work and then said he would open his present tonight because he hadn't written in my card yet... So I then had to say he might want to open his round lunch time.. My very cool husband then decided to unpack his yummy naughty lunch out of the pretty pink box complete with bow and heart confetti! He stated that it took up too much room in his bag! Oh well I guess the embarrassment part didn't work - or the surprise part! Oh well I hope my valentine enjoys his lunch anyway!!

MR D.I.Y

Some of you reading these blog enteries from the UK may be wandering what Rob is up to these days... Well he really has become a DIY/Handyman type of guy. He'll come home from work and put on scruffy old clothes straight away and after a quick hello and play with Emma he'll be attacking (opps I mean creating something..) A couple of weeks ago the front porch lights were a problem and they were changed but more recently it's been the kitchen which we've nicknamed the smallest kitchen in Auckland! Ever since moving here over two years ago Rob has been trying to think of ways to improve it - after many (and I mean many) trips to kitchen shops and lots of disappointment cos the bench isn't wide enough to put in our dream cooker or butlers sink (Rob hasn't given up on that one though!) Rob set about changing the look of the cupboards himself framing them to cover up ugly hinges. And more recently he's made a second pantry which has taken lots of time but looks pretty professional so far - I will post the completed pictures when they're all done. We also have plans to knock down a wall in the kitchen.... but we might get a builders' advice before we do that one!...

SWIMMING

Today Emma restarted swimming after a two month break over the Christmas holidays. She has been swimming a couple of times during the break but she hasn't been overly sure of the water. Thankfully today she remembered all the moves and did really well - although she was a little clingy to start off with. Of course I couldn't take any photos of her in the water cause I had to get wet also - but no doubt you'll see some next time Rob comes along.

EMMA HAS A BOY TO STAY!

On Saturday night we babysat Jo's son Alex who is 19 months old. Jo and Jamie dropped him off at bedtime - and we thought it would be fun to set up his port-a-cot in Emma's room. Well fun would be the right word! They had a right party. Alex whose language is fantastic just kept repeating over and over "Emma, Emma!" They both spent two hours standing up in their cots talking in their own special language to each other! As well as trying to share toys between cots. In the end we had to be meanies and move Alex into another room. Jo said the next day Alex was still saying "Emma, Emma!" And thanks to Alex we have heard Emma say her name a couple of times since!

Summer, Summer, Summer...

I'm trying my best at the moment to make the most of Summer. Emma, Dudley and I headed to Mission Bay a local beach early Tuesday morning. We meet a good friend Jo there with her 18 month old son Alex and her black lab Ben (Dudley's best friend). It was a glorious morning so much so that Emma and I even went in for a quick dip. While Alex preferred to paddle stating he had a 'chilly willy!' Dudley managed to get a bit wet too following Ben so far into the water and then barking at him when he went too deep. Alex & Emma then enjoyed the playground before heading home for a much required sleep.

A Summer Wedding!

A couple of weeks ago my cousin Lianne married her partner Warren. This was the third wedding that Emma has been to - and thankfully she was good as gold at this one. Although she did start making a little noise during the vows - but nothing that a dummy wouldn't hush! It was great seeing extended family again and catching up with Mum's side of the family. My cousin Lianne is extremely talented at sewing and smocking and every young female guest had one of Lianne's creations on - Emma had a choice of about five - we opted for the pink roses. So I knew Lianne's wedding would be gorgeous and every last detail was thought about - she had even made the table napkins. The other thing that really impressed me is she made each of the kids that went their own little individual bag of goodies. Emma loved hers - especially the pink ballerina bear. So we had a lovely day and wish Lianne & Warren the best of wishes for the future.