Ticey Treats

Rhyanne - A Friend that won't be forgotten!

2011-02-03T21:55:00.005+13:00

One not so happy thing that has been timed with Isaac's birth is the sad passing of my dear friend Rhyanne. She fought a good fight to try to overcome breast cancer and she never lost hope that healing would come.. however in the end it was not meant to be. And her journey in this world has ended and she has left behind a devoted husband and three gorgeous children who all share the same light as what she possessed. Her funeral last week was a beautiful celebration of her life and it captured the essence of her beautifully. I was honoured to be asked with some others to set up the foyer of the church with some of her craft things and it was a joy to do this. One testimony I will never forget in regards to her life is this beautiful picture she painted only days before she died - it shows the vibrant awesomeness of her character and I truly believe it was a miracle that she had the strength to create something so beautiful in her last days. This was at the front of the church at her funeral and it was marvelled at.

If there's one thing I will never forget about Rhyanne is that she never gave up. She was never the pity party type. She was in pain and hurting but she never stopped smiling and giving to others. I know she prayed for Isaac despite all that she was going through she still took the time to pray! In a self-obsessed, self absorbed world/culture she was truly selfless! Her children will be able to remember how full of life she was.

There's still so many fun times and things I wanted to do with Rhyanne. Things I wanted to create and share with her and vice versa. I miss her already I can't imagine church without her smile but I know she's in a better place finally free of pain and smiling even more now!!

Isaac William

2011-02-03T21:48:00.003+13:00

Delighting everyday in this little guy who came into our lives on 15th January. Emma is loving being a BIG sister and wants to hold, cuddle and sing to Isaac as much as possible. She is also still good at stealing Mummy moments - like putting make up on me while I feed Isaac! She started back at school this week and seems to miss him terribly when she's at school - she did try to tell the office ladies that she needed 8 months off school for parental leave!! I do think she thinks she really is Mummy no#2!! Anyway here's a photo of my gorgeous ray of sonshine!

Christmas 2010!

2010-12-30T08:33:00.005+13:00

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone had a good day - here's some of our pics from the season...

Sleeping under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve - so peaceful and content! Mummy slept on the couch this year though -( too hard getting up from a mattress on the floor with all my toilet stops during the night!!

Gingerbread biscuits, chocolate biscuits and a gingerbread house!

Christmas Craft: Peg Angels

Emma near a snow machine - and Rob's attractive foot!!

A few days with Dale and Nell in beautiful, relaxing, sunny Taupo... So glad we went - had the best sleeps I've had in months...

Yes thats my little girl on top of a roof!

Hope everyone had a good day - Merry Christmas. Didn't actually take photos on Christmas day will have to get copies from family...

Waiting...

2010-11-26T16:32:00.003+13:00

Yesterday I washed some baby clothes and these little shoes haven't been put away! Aren't they just so cute! I can't wait to fill these... Well I can wait because I'm only 32 weeks and I want wee Percy to grow and come out when he's fully cooked!... But this week I have been thinking of him lots just wondering what he'll be like... I can't wait to see him, meet him, kiss him, whisper in his ear and smell him! I've got to the stage now where I look sooo big that people ask me when I'm due and then they offer sympathy about the heat (which so far hasn't been too bad anyway!) Long list to fulfill before Percy is born - like the major swap around of bedrooms to do once our room is renovated! But for now I'm happy sitting on the couch with hand on my stomach wondering what our little long awaited man will be like!!

First Day of School...

2010-11-26T16:21:00.002+13:00

This is my favourite 'first day of school' photo. I think it represents this moment in Em's life perfectly - I love the umbrella - rain which turned to sunshine by the end of the day! I also love the way her Barbie bag brought by Grandma is almost as big as her! I love how she has her Dunlop shoes on which Daddy had brought especially for school in England. I love how she chose to wear bright pink socks pulled up! I also love that hiding inside her bag is a little teddy just in case she needed something familiar during her first day. I also love that I remembered to leave her a love note in her lunch box! A very yummy lunch I made add too! And lastly I love how it represents her heading off into the big world of school - which I'm happy to say after two weeks she is loving. I'm happy that her teacher is kind and loving and that she is surrounded by wonderful friends that are providing lots of fun at lunch times! I love that she is like a little sponge waiting to soak up everything that school has to offer... Good times ahead...

Emma's 5th Birthday Party!

2010-11-26T15:36:00.005+13:00

Emma's disco party was lots of fun! And really easy to organise! It took a wee while for some little girls to warm up on the dance floor but with help from the bubble machine everyone soon got into it! For the invitations Rob made CD's of five songs that we played on the night - think Hannah Montana, Justin, Chipmunks etc! We asked everyone to come dressed sparkly - which then became the theme for decorations with mirror balls, sparkly material, CD's etc. Food was easy too - we ordered pizza and hot chips and for pudding the kids made their own sundaes. My wonderful friend Gilly made the cake - she's great! We played Freeze and ran out of time for anymore games. Courtney & Laura were great facepainters even letting the girls loose on their faces to be covered in black paint! Anyway here's some pics...

First Day of Spring!

2010-09-01T12:18:00.003+12:00

Only one way to celebrate the first day of Spring... A walk in Cornwall Park amongst the daffodils and baby lambs. Gorgeous sunny weather after so much rain. Em and I even celebrated by having an icecream for morning tea! I love the promise of Spring...

Percy Ticehurst!

2010-07-30T08:32:00.003+12:00

Once again it's been a wee while since I blogged... And so much of life has changed for the better! Everyone knows by now (I think...) that I'm 15 weeks pregnant with no. 2! Very delighted and thankful and still blown away daily at the reality that I will be holding a new babe in early 2011. I'm finding I'm having to slow down a little bit and nausea is still there when I'm hungry which I can handle cos I just keep on eating!! Emma is delighted too she has nicknamed the baby Percy which is kinda cute but not a name we would choose... We have however brought a Percy Bear - which the babe (I keep thinking boy) will be able to have from day one. Here's the first official photo and Percy Bear. Hope life is all good with you - have a grand weekend! X

We're also up to our eyeballs in bathroom renovations which is all going well. Can't enter the bathroom today cos of some under floor heating stuff that's gone down... Maybe a good excuse to stay in my PJ's all day!! Especially seem Em's sick and staying home from kindy today.

Black Tie Dinner

2010-06-15T16:01:00.006+12:00

We had a great night Saturday night at the Pharmacy Awards Dinner at Sky City. Rob had tickets because he was a finalist and then he won his catergory too! Very proud of him and an award seems like a good token for all the hard work he does! The dinner was yum and it was fun dressing up! Em had a sleep-over at Grandma's and had fun applying her make-up (yes I wish I had a photo of that!)

Happy Mothers Day!

2010-05-10T08:11:00.003+12:00

Happy Mothers Day (for yesterday..) to all those lovely, caring, beautiful, self-sacrificing, tender, gentle, fun, cool, wonderful mummys out there. I hope you were all treated to something special and if not maybe treat yourself for a change this week... XX (Emma loves being let loose with facepaint - she loves painting my face and then me doing hers yesterday we even had fairy dust too for the occassion...)

Church Camp!

2010-05-04T08:24:00.002+12:00

Em & I ventured to Matamata for the bi-yearly church camp at Totara Springs this past weekend. Rob had a conference in Wellington. It was my first long distance driving but I actually really liked it... I have wonderful memories of Totara Springs and so much of the weekend was like going on a time walk - remembering past camps there. We had a blast at camp. The photo above is of some of Em's dearest friends - photographed with High5 who ran the concert and were delightful! Not sure if Em looks a little star struck!

But Em's favourite thing at camp was the Hot Pool - I wish I had counted just how many hours we had spent in that pool! Wonderful weekend - I've decided we need more weekends away it's so refreshing! Hope everyone had a good weekend too. X

Goodbye Beautiful Simba!

2010-04-27T08:13:00.004+12:00

Last week was a crazy week with lots of really dramatic things happening in some peoples lives! One of those weeks I just wanted to end... Anyway one thing I will share is that darling Simba was put to sleep on Thursday night. He was 15 years old and a treasure to the end. But illness and old age meant that it was his time. Mum (actually her cat) and I were with him when he had his injection and it was very peaceful. Here's a few random memories that I don't want to forget about this precious cat...

*Firstly he was known as wobbly cat. They think he had an inner ear infection when he was a kitten that affected his balance for the rest of his life. He walked like a bendy bus - but after being very sick he adapted beautifully.

* When he was sick and we weren't sure he would survive I used to carry him round in a sling - I was doing my nurse training at the time so I remember studying and nursing Simba at the same time!

*The softness of his fur - he used to pee in the pots on the deck and never went outside much so his fur was beautifully soft.

* Jonty Mum's other cat and Simba were great friends - and watching them play was always amusing. Jonty protected Simba from the neighbourhood bullies.

*And lastly his wonderul meow... He was the most chatty cat that I've ever known. I'll miss our conversations...

Emma says Simba is now hanging out with Rocco (neighbours cat) & Pop. She also mentioned that he may become human when he gets to heaven thanks to the fairies... Interesting idea!

You'll be missed wobbly cat... XX

Girls Craft Weekend!

2010-04-22T08:02:00.005+12:00

Had a wonerful weekend last week. Rhyanne, Mel, Kelly and me headed off to Orua Bay for our annual girls craft weekend. We had a great time - achieving mostly scrapbooking pages and for me a couple of wooden trees (post to come in the future...). What made it great was not only the craft but also the quality uninterupted conversation, food, chocolate, wine and I would like to say the beach but this weekend we hardly ventured outside cos we were so craft focused! Here's the lovely ladies minus Kelly who managed to avoid my camera - Kelly made heaps of awesome cards which I'm hoping there's a pink flower one left for February!

Rhyanne who managed to achieve the most pages... We should've had a prize for her! Thinking & praying for this special gal today as she starts another round of chemo.

Mel showing her favourite page - love it Mel you're sooo clever!
And of course not forgetting the guest of honour this year 6 month old Chelsea-May (Mel's baby). I won't ever forget those gorgeous raspberries sweetie!...

See you soon Janet & John!

2010-03-24T08:39:00.003+13:00

We farewelled the last of the English crew on Monday. It was great having Janet & John staying here - especially for all their home renovation ideas and the way I didn't have to do dishes for a month! It was great to spend time with them and for Em to get to know them properly all over again. Thank you for a lovely time and we'll see you Christmas 2011...London -July 2008 - Em aged 2

Auckland March 2010 - Em aged 4 yrs

Summer Holiday!

2010-03-17T15:39:00.003+13:00

Just had a wonderful three weeks with Rob's sister Jo, Pat and their kids Maia & Holly visiting all the way from England. We did a bit of a road trip to Port Waikato, the Mount, Napier and Rotorua. Rob's Mum Janet and partner John are here for another week but travelling this week round the Bay of Islands. It's so hard to reflect after such a great holiday so I'm going to write a list of a few of the special things that I don't want to forget:

*Emma & Maia meeting at the airport - they chatted away like they had never been apart.
* Holly's gorgeous cuddles!
* Fish n Chips on the beach at each destination
* Lots of beach days & swimming pools
* Emma & Maia playing 'Operations'
* The spa pool at the triangle house
* Holly's love of action songs!
* Also Holly starting walking
* Maia teaching Em to wash her hair
* Maia and Em encouraging each other with stuff - Em helping Maia with putting her head under water and Maia helping Em with hydraslides.
* Watching the Black Caps beat Australia* All the gorgeous sunshine
* Grandma Janet & John helping with 'childcare!'
* Having time to read a book!
* Emma & Maia's swapping of clothes and catwalk shows.
* Em & Maia dancing & singing on every stage they could find.
* Hearing Maia's lovely little English accent!

So many other things that I could mention - wonderful time. Received some gorgeous flowers from Jo & Pat today - thanks guys we miss you and we're suffering from post holiday blues!! We'll see you Christmas 2011! Xxx

34th Birthday!

2010-02-16T14:59:00.005+13:00

What wonderful friends I have! This morning I had a tea party at home with some friends. And not one but three of my friends brought me sunflowers. So love them for their brightness, cheerfulness and they've been my favourite for years. Isn't it nice to have friends who know you so well! And then all my other pressies were craft related which is so me too! Hubby is buying me a sewing machine can't wait to choose that... I even thought about getting a sunflower tattoo once upon a time but then decided I was too much of a wimp! So loving them ladies - thanks for a fab morning and for the gorgeous flowers and pressies. You're all fabulous and mean a lot to me XX

We're ready for Maia!

2010-02-16T14:53:00.003+13:00

The bunk bed in Emma's room is all made up and ready for you Maia! Looking forward to seeing you real soon! (I couldn't take a photo of Holly's bed - cos that isn't made up yet but it will be soon!!)

2010-02-14T12:48:00.003+13:00

I'm not the kind of person who can endure parenting books. So often I read them and think what boring common sense they are... Quite often I buy them or borrow them thinking they might blow me away but I am often left disappointed. However two parenting gurus who I would listen to and read until the cows come home are Ian & Mary Grant. Two great kiwis that have opened the Parenting Place as part of Parents Inc - the positivity and advice available through this place is amazing. Emma & I made a trip to the Parenting Place the other day. Great selection of books and wonderful cafe. I've only ever heard Ian & Mary Grant talk once - but one day I hope to go to more seminars on a topic of interest for only $10. Anyway the other day I went with one book in mind 'Cappuccino Moments for Mothers ' - by Mary Grant. A simple little book full of fun creative ideas.

One idea that I had to do for Em straight away was a treasure hunt afternoon tea. It was such fun. I left to pick her up from kindy and at the front door I left two fancy dresses one for her and one for me with the first clue. She was thrilled and quickly got into the spirit of the occasion. And she was delighted when the clues led her to a little tea party round the back of the house. Wonderful way to have some quality time after a day at kindy and so much better than TV! Mental note to self: Do more of this kind of thing with my darling little girl!

Happy Valentines Day too! To all believers in love out there! I treated my two darlings (yep I included Emma this year) with a tin full of favourite candy! And I copied Becky Higgins blog by putting in some note paper to encourage us to write love notes to each other this year!... We'll see....

Christmas Recap - if I can remember!

2010-01-27T07:52:00.005+13:00

Some random Christmas memories like promised. Photos to tell the story...

Opening Presents - Em wanted pink balloons from Santa!

Eating way too many of these! Even grew some this year!

'Mummy can I open just one present?'

Fun craft adventures with Em!

Our first attempt at making Gingerbread houses!

Enjoying the sunshine at a park on Christmas day

Stayed at Grandma's for a night - while Rob & I had a great date night! Em enjoyed seeing the Christmas lights with Grandma, Courtney & Laura. We went to Mum's for Christmas dinner.

Trying to get Kaleb to sit still for a photo!

Wonderful famiy time! Santa parades, Christmas in the Park, Christmas services, Christmas shopping... So love this time of year! X

My Movie Girl!

2010-01-21T08:05:00.006+13:00

This one is for you Mum after saying it had been ages since I posted the other day! I know I still need to do Christmas too... And I was looking at old posts during a loooong night shift the other night and I noticed I never did get round to posting pictures of our new kitchen which has been finished for ages now - so I'll do that soon too.

But this post is about Emma's love affair with movies. She use to have a very real fear about the trailers/previews - why, not completely sure?? Anyway now she quite likes them and it seems to work in encouraging her to go to more movies.

This holiday season despite it being Summer we've managed to see three movies. Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs - on the last day of kindy. The Princess & the Frog - which she saw with just me - she decided one day that she sees lovely girly movies with Mummy and silly ones with Daddy - suits me!! And then on Saturday she saw Alvin & the Chipmunks her first movie with Grandma.

Since seeing Alvin she has been playing 'Alice in Wonderland' which is a trailer she saw. She loves acting out movies. I saw in a magazine the other day that one of the latest things in a America at the moment is movie-oke (don't know how to spell it..) Basically like karaoke but you act a movie scene on stage instead. The pictures surrounding it had Kate & Leo on the Titanic in that classic I'm flying scene. And they also had the Meg Ryan - Harry met Sally cafe scene! What classic movie scene would you act out? Anyway here's some pictures that I took while leaving the cinema after watching the Princess & the Frog. It started a chain reaction of others taking the same kind of photos!

Christmas Advent

2009-12-03T12:47:00.004+13:00

Emma has 3 advent calendars... One a Christmas Tree that I made last year with a sour snake lolly inside each little present. Another one a Barbie one brought from Grandma who likes to buy treats when she goes shopping with her little helper! So the third one that is hung in Emma's bedroom I wanted to do something different.. And then I remembered something about a baby being born at Christmas!! I am now using each day in Decemeber to share a little of the Christmas story with her (good for a four year old attention span too!) We started on the 1st with Mary and the 2nd the angel Gabriel. And it's so easy to spread the story out. Wouldn't it be cool to do a mass production of a nativity advent... We went to our first Farmers Santa Parade on Sunday and I couldn't help but notice the lack of a nativity float. And then I thought of all the rich churches in Auckland full of creative people... I think a nativity float should've been leading the way! The Playgroup I help to run at church does the Christmas story in there music session every year for the Christmas party and kids love it when they pass round a dolly during Away in the Manager - kids love the Christmas story despite what there parents believe!

Year Review 2009!

2009-11-22T22:32:00.005+13:00

I'm thinking of the environment this year and not doing a Christmas newsletter but a year in review blog! So tomorrow I'm sending Christmas cards to the UK and they can choose whether to catch up on our year!... I'm flicking back in the calander/camera and so I thought I might do a 12 month highlight reflection with pictures...

January - Rob turned a year older! And it's Summer and holiday time! We took Em on her first camping experience in our very small tent (we did buy another one not long after!) We went to Raglan - a gorgeous little small town with large surf beaches. This time of year is always great - hot, lazy Summer days... And Holly Eve - Jo & Pat's baby girl made her entry into the world..

February - My birthday! Emma started at Kindy. I remember the day before she started she fell over and hurt her knee and as I comforted her I feared that at kindy if this sort of thing happened she would'nt receive the same comfort. But to my relief she loved kindy (& the teachers love her) and after the first week she said she never wants to go to school she just wants to stay at kindy forever!!

March -Quieter month getting into the year... We did have the Coldplay concert this month which was awesome. And Emma had the Wiggles concert which was fun too. Bummer thing for the month was having the car stolen...

April -A nice quiet Easter... And our nephew Kaleb had his first birthday! I love seeing how Em & him are such great mates.

May -My first weekend ever away from Em - I went to Port Waikato for a ladies craft weekend which was fun & refreshing.

June- At the end of this month my Mum & Emma had an operation on the same day. For Emma it was her tonsils for Mum it was a knee replacement. Both recovered beautifully with no probs!

July - We had a great week down in Queenstown - we hadn't been for about 8 years so it was great seeing how it had changed/developed. Rob managed a bit of snowboarding while Emma and I made snow angels and drank hot chocolates! Wonderful family holiday.

August - Looking forward to the end of Winter.. I joined the gym & was good at going at the start... No before & after photos (ha ha ha!! - I wish!)

September -Springs' here! Spring party at Kindy, Spring fairy festival, daffodils at Cornwall Park and Spring Flowers! The only time I buy flowers every week!

October - Rob had a conference in Rotorua this month which Em and I went along for too. Gorgeous Spring weather with so much fun things to do! We're going to head back there in February when Rob's family comes over. Fabulous few days away during a very busy month!

November - Our little girl is growing up! Em turned 4 - November 14th and we celebrated with a Little Miss & Mr Men party which I talk about in the previous post. She was very cute this year with her wish list and knowing exactly what she wanted!

December - This month isn't upon us yet but I look forward to our Christmas traditions including: making gingerbread houses, making Christmas crafts, new pj's on Christmas Eve, Church service Christmas Eve and then all sleeping under the Christmas tree which is easy to do with a family of 3! Having a nice lazy Christmas morning opening pressies and pancakes for breakfast - taking Dudley somewhere for a Christmas walk followed by more food and family time at Mum's place! Can you tell I love Christmas! Hope everyone has a good one! And all the best for 2010... XX

Emma's 4th Birthday!

2009-11-15T13:09:00.004+13:00

What a long blogging holiday I've had... October was Light Party month which I'll have to blog about at another time.. Because this weekend has been all about Em! My little girl is growing up she turned four yesterday!

This year we celebrated with a Mr Men & Little Miss party. Em had nine little friends come and help her celebrate. And she was completely spoilt with gorgeous gifts. At the start of the party the kids dressed up glittery $2 shop hats - which was Em's own idea! I should've taken a picture of everyone wearing their completed hats but I only thought of that after the party!!

We played a few games - a postman game complete with Mr Men & Little Miss letterboxes, musical statues and pass the parcel.

Our house is little so I hired a gazebo where I set up the party table. Grandma Janet helped getting cool Mr Men & Little Miss cups, napkins and banners sent from England and these were great - thanks! Party food included some of Em's favourites - jelly, lollies, popcorn, fairy bread, cupcakes, strawberries, grapes, cheerios and cheese and pineapple sticks.

Em's present from us this year was a trampoline which Daddy was still putting up late on Friday night! Em was surprised and delighted. It was well and truly tested during her party. I had wanted my friend Gillian to do one of her amazing cake creations - maybe a Miss Sunshine or something... However my independant daughter was determined to have a trampoline cake which I managed to do myself - although being the theme addict that I am I remade the dollies clothes so they were wearing Little Miss & Mr Men clothes! This won't make sense cos I don't have a photo just yet! But below is a photo of the take home goodie bags that I made - full of important things like - hairclips, bangles, glitter pen, Mr bounce ball, Little Miss figure and jelly beans.

Em has always had issues with the Happy Birthday song - not too sure why and she can't explain it herself... This year Emma had a few ideas of what to do... 1) No one sing and just shout out Happy Birthday! 2) Grandma only is allowed to sing Happy birthay as a solo and lastly 3) Children were allowed to sing it but only if they sang it like a choir! In the end Em wanted option one - there were still some tears but she quickly told us they were happy tears!!

Mummy even shed happy tears later that night too - the wonder of loving a little person so much and feeling so blessed for the last four years. Just one of those heart bursting moments...

Spring Weekend!

2009-09-09T09:03:00.005+12:00

We had a wonderful weekend... Em & I went to the annual Ellerslie Spring Fairy Festival - which was fun, hundreds of little girls dressed as fairies being entertained by older fairies! Em wasn't overly convinced about the fairy dust and the fairy wishes... And then in the afternoon I was motivated enough by the sunshine to do some gardening and even planted some strawberries and flowers in pots (now I just need to remember to water them - we encourage Em to sing to them too!)

Meanwhile Rob was busy assembling our new garden shed. Our next house WILL have a garage!

And then on Sunday it was Fathers' Day so we had a nice lazy picnic in Cornwall Park with a lot of people who had the same idea! Great to get the annual daffodil photo with Em! Wonderful weekend and the sunshine is gorgeous! I heard on the radio the other day that August was the warmest recorded August since they started recording... yippie roll on Summer!

Em made Rob a Number '1 - that said 'I love you Daddy because... 'you make me giggle, you take me swimming, you spin me round, you fix stuff and you give me sloppy kisses!!'

Queenstown

2009-08-10T08:30:00.004+12:00

Long time since I posted... We had a busy month of July! But feeling all refreshed now after a lovely week in Queenstown. Rob & I hadn't been there for about 8 years - it's changed quite a lot with old motels/hotels gone and new luxury apartments in there places. Emma got to direct lots of what we did for the week - like she was desperate to go swimming, to Puzzleworld & to play mini golf! Rob on the other hand heard the Mountain calling - Emma and I went up with him for one day and once again Em's favourite thing was the chair lift! I was amazed to see some kids as small as Em already learning how to ski - paranoid nurse Mother wants her to be a bit older! My one request for the week was that the motel had to be nice and cosy - it was bliss doing no cooking, or housework - (to me thats a holidays these days!!) So we all had a great time - I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

What a Day!

2009-06-29T17:58:00.004+12:00

This photo was taken yesterday after a family lunch... And today these two very special people have undergone surgery. Little Em has had her tonsils out today - with no problems. A few classic Em comments like on the way to the hospital "Mummy I don't think I'll need the medicine in the mask to have my tonsils out - I think just Pamal will be ok!!" And then on the way home - "I'm all better now - can I go swimming!" Everything went very smoothly.. And she's not into the icecream & jelly thing - what did she request for her first non-tonsil meal - a happy meal from McDees of course!!

And my darling Mum is at this very minute having a total knee replacement. So blogging and praying all is going smoothly for her too! Mum is coming to stay at our nice flat bungalow after her operation - after about a five day hospital stint. So I'll be busy with 2 patients!!

The highlight of Em's day - getting her first Barbie doll from Grandma. I did catch her kissing her and telling her she loved her...

Emma's Five Greatest Loves Right Now!!

2009-06-26T08:07:00.008+12:00

The other day Emma was sitting and drawing and started randomly listing some of the things she loves - so thought it was worth sharing!...

1) Singing - usually Abba - which has been a hit to Em now for over 6 months. She is amazing how she knows the words. She has also recently discovered humming!!

2) Playing: She stated she likes playing 'cafes & Mums & Dads'. Yesterday when Em came home from Kindy I had used a broom between two chairs to set up a shop with her dress up clothes. Complete with till - hot chocolate & chocolate fish! We had great fun taking turns being the shopper & shop keeper. She loves this kind of play now.

3) Dressing Up: Em has loved dressing up for ages now. She loves being let loose on her dress up box and it is so fun seeing the different things she comes up with! I'm so thankful for the $2 shop which has provided most of the must-haves in her box!

4) Dancing: I know I've used this image before - but dancing is still right up there for Em. I stopped taking her to the Pre-Dance class - but I think come next year we'll be back doing some form of dancing. She loves twirling - and quite often she'll ask me to be her Prince and to dance with her - how could I resist!!

5) Cooking: Wasn't sure what to say for number 5 when there are lots of things Em loves!! So I just asked her and she said cooking - more like baking! Oh well at least she didn't say watching TV which would rate in the top 5 if she had thought of it!!

2009-05-25T08:19:00.004+12:00

Ever since Emma got a book out of the library called 'Choosing Day' - by Jennifer Beck she has been desperate for me to try on my wedding dress and show her! In this book the Mummy spends a whole day in her wedding dress - shopping etc... Emma was delighted to see me in my dress which is stored at Grandma's place. It doesn't quite fit like it once did - but I was happy to get the zip up all the same even if it was sitting in the wrong place!! Emma also wanted to put on her favourite blue/white check dress so that she could be my bridesmaid. I guess dressing up is still lots of fun for me too!! - I didn't risk the zip by going shopping though!!

Butterfly Creek

2009-05-07T08:08:00.004+12:00

I loved the school holidays... The first week was a bit of a bore for Em - with me having scans & blood tests galore (for fertility stuff that didn't work this month anyway!!) Oh well so I thought I had better make it up to my darling daughter in the second week. So we had lots of fun trips and playdates. One of my favourite places that we hadn't been to in ages is Butterfly Creek. This has a very hot tropical butterfly house with hundreds of butterflies flying round and doing there thing. It also has a pettting farm - always a hit to hold a baby bunny! And the cafe & playground are lovely too. We went with my friend Diane and her daughters Grace & baby Abbey. Emma & Grace have a lovely love/hate relationship they're great friends but they know how to push each other's buttons too! Oh well this particular day was great. Emma's other treat for the holidays was buying the Madagascar DVD - and if you see her she'll be sure to ask you... "Do you like Madagascar??" She asks her one year cousin everytime she sees him!

Easter!

2009-04-14T09:24:00.005+12:00

Emma survived her first term of Kindy! I'm so impressed with the way she's settled so beautifully into it. One day a couple of weeks ago I was the 'parents help' and it was so great seeing her playing and interacting with everyone - at one point I witnessed her chasing a boy twice her size round saying "Sione - I said my name is Emma!..." I love how she cares about everyone at Kindy and wants to know everyone's name and story!

Easter was a fairly quiet weekend. Too much chocolate, too much TV, too much shopping!! But we did do an egg hunt on Sunday morning for Em - with little eggs hidden around the garden with clues attached to each to find the last treasure egg! Em loved it.

And the little chick in the birds nest was the easter craft for the year - inspired by Martha Stewart. The little eggs are yummy candy covered chocolate eggs and they're very yummy! Emma painted the chicks (plastic egg) herself choosing the colours and choosing to paint them with a cotton bud! Hopefully over the next two weeks while we're on holiday from kindy there will be lots of time for more fun craft stuff...

Something Old & Something New

2009-03-27T08:28:00.004+13:00

About a year ago I accidentally/on purpose borrowed some dolls clothes from Mum's house... These are gorgeous little numbers that take me right back to my own childhood. I automatically know when I pick up the silver/pink one that it has a broken button at the back - I remember that the pink bootie has a hole and I remember the hours I use to spend playing with dolls, my old favourites and even dressing my cat Shadow in them etc... I think some of these clothes were created by my Mum's Grandmother, so isn't it awesome to think that Em is playing with dolls clothes that were made by her Great Great Grandmother. Even if the old ponchos look a little out of place on Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisies! It is fun to watch Emma play and I love it when I hear that small voice saying "Will you help me...." Then everything else can wait....

Anniversary Thoughts...

2009-02-23T10:36:00.004+13:00

Last weekend was our 6th anniversary.... And Emma & I were away with Grandma in Masterton celebrating my Aunt & Uncles' 50th wedding anniversary which was lovely. Great seeing relatives I haven't seen in ages. Emma who is amazing us more & more by being more bold and not so shy,was great chatting away to anyone who spoke to her.

The other week Gail (who is a blogging queen) mentioned things her father in law had shared at her wedding - which encouraged me to look back on what was said at our wedding six years ago. My brother who is a youth pastor took our ceremony and he gave us a red rose to symbolize different things - (we still have that rose - its pretty dusty but its still in one piece...) Anyway these are the three things my wise old bro said...

1) A red rose stands for love - remember to passionately & unashamedly love each other. Be proud of each other - build the other person up whether their there or not. Let the words of your mouth build each other up.

2) Second thing to remember is that pruning produces growth... Prune back the pressures of life, prune back time so that your marriage may grow. Don't be ordinary be adventurous. Prune the old and do new things that cause you to grow together. Don't leave the small things untreated by quick to mend any fences that may appear in marriage.

3) And lastly... Remember the unseen. You may not be able to see the scent of a rose but its there - you may not be able to see God but he's there and only a prayer away!

Cool eh? In fact I think I might need to buy some roses today...

Dancing Queen!

2009-02-23T10:13:00.004+13:00

Emma has a new obsession! She is loving Mamma Mia & everything about it. It started when we were in Taupo and it was a grotty rainy day - Rob was asleep and I was bored (Dale & Nell both at work...) And so I lay Em on the couch while I watched Mamma Mia - but Em's eyes stayed open the whole time and she watched the whole thing and then said at the end of it - 'can we watch it again Mama?' Very cute - my little one sings from the moment she wakes up until she goes to bed. Her favourite song today is 'Honey, honey'! (And she likes to hold a diary while she sings it like Sophie on the movie!!)

Everything has started for the year now. Emma is now a big girl and is in the swimming pool all by herself - which she is finding a little scary but it's early days. And she has also started in a Pre-dance/Preschool dance class (thanks to UK pounds sent for Christmas!!) The first week she couldn't understand why Mummy wasn't dancing too - but by the second week with a little bit of a chat and bribery she was dancing with the best of them. And she was enjoying it too cos she had her gorgeous little content smile on her face. It was lovely seeing her dancing being Humpty Dumpty - a fairy etc... So cute I almost got a bit choked up - bit sad really!

First Day of Kindy!

2009-02-03T16:06:00.005+13:00

Emma has just survived her first day at Kindy! I was a little sad last night - knowing it was the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter in her life... I love kindergartens and the whole philosophy around them and it's all part of the bigger picture with school in mind! Kindy is 2 and a half hours three times a week - focusing on learning through play and then when she's four she moves up to mornings five times a week in preparation for school. So that means I'll be missing my little gem for seven hours every week - I'm thinking I might do housework, go for a run, sleep & scrapbooking! But we'll see.... but first I have to learn to let her go just a little bit!

Also - yesterday we had a great day to celebrate kindy starting - a real Mummy/Daughter date day. Firstly I took Emma to the movies for the first time - she wasn't so keen on the movie previews but the actual movie (Madagascar 2) she loved. It was nice being in the movies with only 5 other people - didn't have to feel so bad with all Em's questions.. "But why did the lion do that Mummy..!" Very cute phase! A McDonalds Happy Meal was also enjoyed together. And then we explored and played on a playground we haven't been to before. And then to top everything off we went to the Fairy Shop and brought clips for the first day at Kindy! While Mummy went to a shop further up and brought pretty tea cups... retail therapy can't beat it!

Lazy Days of Summer

2009-01-16T08:24:00.004+13:00

Loving Summer! Lazy days - not doing much! Going to parks everyday - water play somehow everday -picnics everyday & beach bag packed by the door just in case we're in the mood!

And then there's lovely weekends away... Some of these photos were taken while at Taupo staying with Dale & Nell between Christmas & New Year. And then last weekend we took Em on her first camping experience. We went to Raglan which was perfect - I love the beach there. Emma thought sleeping in our very small tent was great - it did keep us dry & very warm when there was thunder & a lot of rain on Saturday night!

Joy, joy, joy long may Summer continue...

Then Christmas Day....

2009-01-02T09:08:00.004+13:00

We had the morning to ourselves... Which of course consisted of opening presents and then playing with presents! We had a yummy pancake breakfast which Emma helped to make in her new chef outfit! In the afternoon we went to a local park for a picnic (dogs still need walking on Christmas day!) And then mid afternoon we headed to Grandma's house - for more presents and yummy food. Mum made a delicious meal of Christmas ham, lamb and chicken. We ate outside on the deck - which was perfect with the lovely weather on the day. All in all Christmas 2008 has been fabulous - I love Christmas and the journey leading up to it and Emma makes it more special every year.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-02T08:37:00.005+13:00

Emma really got into the whole Christmas story this year. She loved dressing up like Mary and wrapping baby Jesus. We went to a Christmas Eve service and she wore this blue/white dress and a blue scarf of mine -complete with a dolly wrapped in a blanket for baby Jesus - and she was a gorgeous Mary through out the whole service. She said the Christmas carols were lullabies for Jesus. She wanted me to dress up as Shepherd but in the end she was happy if I carried a stick - which I was happy to do cos it was only about 5cm long!!

The next photo is Emma writing a note to Santa to leave with his Supper of cupcakes, lollies and juice.

We decided we would sleep under the Christmas tree - which meant moving a mattress into the lounge. It was great fun! A new Christmas tradition started for us there! Emma's only request from Santa was for red balloons which appeared during the night...!

Tis the Season to be Creative...

2008-12-13T08:56:00.004+13:00

Dudley's Haircut!

2008-12-10T15:40:00.002+13:00

"It has been said that every child should have two things - a dog and a Mother that will allow him to have one!"

Emma always showers Dudley with affection after he's been groomed as if we've brought home a new puppy or something.... Very cute - she often involves Dudley in her play now as if he's a little sibling!! Thankfully Dudley is a big goof and is usually very happy to comply!

Christmas in Emma's Room!

2008-12-01T08:16:00.005+13:00

Last week - Emma & I put up her wee Christmas tree... A little lopsided due to missing legs and needing to use a pot full of sand instead! While I was looking for the missing legs - Emma was looking at some decorations and she found some fake little presents which of course she unwrapped not just one or two but the whole lot - good determination to find a present I guess!! I had put all Christmas toys, books, CD's away so she really thought it was Christmas when they came out! So cute... She still can't get enough of Jingle Bells! Roll on Christmas....

Bugs Party!

2008-11-15T22:22:00.005+13:00

Our little angel is now three! We had a great day celebrating yesterday - Daddy had the day off work and we went to the Zoo. And then Emma chose to have a picnic for tea but it had to be 'curry!'

And then today we had Em's Bugs Party! Which was lots of fun! Twelve of Em's friends came dressed as little bugs - they all looked adorable. Emma was a beautiful lady bug. We started the morning with a bugs hunt and then a friend from Playgroup did a few 'bugs songs' with the kids - which went really well and the kids did some great dancing! After that it was time for morning tea - which was of course bug food - spider lollypop, cheerio butterfly, grape caterpillar, ladybug cupcake etc.. My friend Gillian made the amazing Ladybug cake - she is one talented lady. We held the party in the Lighthouse - which is a little house linked to the church and playgroup so it meant we had access to the sandpits and playground. My pretend niece Laura whose 13 was great at entertaining the kids managing to get them to fly round the playground like butterflies!

I had great fun with decorations - I love parties and planning so I thought of the theme a long time ago and have been buying things since... Bugs was a fun and easy theme to do and the internet is great for inspiration. Some sites I love are www.familyfun.com and www.littlies.co.nz.

All Em's friends took home a packet of swan plant seeds (I did try to grow some but there still little!) And a lady bug/beetle plant stake. Emma receieved beautiful presents and was truly blessed! All in all it was a perfect day! And then tonight we went out and celebrated that my brother Dale has been given the all clear from Cancer! What a great day!

Where have I been?

2008-11-05T08:56:00.007+13:00

Two words really.. Light Party! Let me start from the beginning.. About five weeks ago I stood up in church (a miracle in itself...) And said I was keen to do a Light Party - but was only going to do it if I got the helpers. For those who don't know a Light Party - is a positive alternative to Halloween - meaning the kids come to the church for a massive party instead of going trick or treating. The Light Party celebrates life and all the good things so no nasty costumes are allowed. Well after my annoucement in church I had masses of people willing to help and donate money, stuff or time. So my time has been spent looking after all the little details in regards to this - and I have loved it. On Friday night during a boogie with the kids at the start of the night I almost felt a little choked up to see 150 kids just having pure fun!! They all had party trumpets so the noise at the start was spectucular! The night was run with different game stations and the kids moved round the stations in teams. Some of the stations were a bouncy castle, messy food station, a box maze (the youth group did this and it was beyond incredible!), inside games, outdoor games and a glow stick lolly hunt room. And of course a parents cafe for coffee and cake for parents. It was a perfect night weatherwise after a very rainy week. I think I'm still a little tired from the whole planning thing - but I am also still buzzing too - just every little detail worked out and I give all the credit to the guy upstairs who looked after everything... Yesterday when I was at playgroup someone said to me that there child had said they wished everyday was a light party day - so I think it was a success to the ones who matter most too! Now for next year... I think next year we'll start planning in June instead of 5 weeks before though... I was running around like a headless chicken on the night so no time for taking photos - but here's a photo of Emma in her cowgirl outfit!!

2008-11-05T08:56:00.004+13:00

Afternoon Tea!

2008-09-26T08:01:00.002+12:00

Anyone for a few sprinkles on their yoghurt? This is what happens when you turn aound!

Snow Bunny!

2008-09-18T08:12:00.003+12:00

We took Emma to the snow for the first time this last weekend. When we arrived on the mountain it was perfect timing as it was actually snowing - and Emma tried catching snowflakes! She had a great natural knack for making snowballs and yes she knew to throw them at people too! She decided she must have her bucket and spade so many snow castles and sculptures were made. We also had lots of fun sliding down the mountain, making snow angels, eating brownie and drinking fluffies! When asked what Em liked best she said it was simply the 'swing' - which was the chair lift ride she went on with Daddy.

A Part of my Story...

2008-09-05T09:16:00.002+12:00

On a personal note.... I remember when I was pregnant with Em being very humbled by different peoples' stories about motherhood & starting a family. For example the lovely friendly cleaner at work that experienced miscarriage after miscarriage (she now has one though!) Or the lady at the supermarket who had been trying etc etc. Little did I know then that we would be one day struggling with secondary infertlity. It's no secret Rob & I have been trying for ages and we're now under a specialist. I had a dreadful scan (makes a smear seem like a picnic!) on Monday and it was discovered that I have an adhesion (joined scar tissue). This is only on my left side but it may be partially to blame. So our story continues - not sure what the plan will be - will not be seeing the specialist until November sometime.

It's an amazing the rollercoaster I feel like I'm riding - there are days when I'm not phased at all and then there's days when I feel like I could cry all day and then I usually feel guilty as if I'm not grateful for Em... crazy feelings really. But the below song summed it up on one particular hard day - I am still holding on and I know one day we will have a sibling for Em and there will be a happy ending....

Goodbye Sweet & Lovely Kitchen...

2008-08-24T20:27:00.002+12:00

What a weekend! Rob has been amazing tearing our kitchen to pieces! Tomorrow the builders' are in and our first major home renovation project is started. So farewell kitchen it's been great cooking in you with your country kinda of style. But now we look forward to an english looking open plan style - and I'm looking forward to it! After pictures to follow...

Home Sweet Home..

2008-08-03T05:36:00.004+12:00

We made it safe and sound back home. The flight back was ok - Emma and I slept beautifully for the first leg - while Rob wasn't so lucky. Singapore airport was a treat as usual we had a 12 hour stop over - the first part of that was spent in the airport swimming pool which was pure luxury to say the least and Emma loved it! We then had a hotel room - Emma only slept for four hours - so then I was up wandering round with her at 3am Singapore time but we found a Starbucks and did some cool drawing. We even stumbled across this sunflower garden, I was delighted to find my favourite flower. Emma & Rob slept well on the next flight I wasn't quite so lucky - oh well! In fact as I type this it's 5.30am NZ time and Emma has been awake since 3.30am and I've been struggling with sleep all night although I feel exhuasted... The joys of jet lag - I just have to remind myself it won't last for long...

A big thank you again to everyone in the UK. I feel really sad coming home this time knowing we leave so many family/friends that we love on the other side of the world... You all gave us an awesome holiday and lots of happy memories. Thank you especially for the love you all poured out on Emma - I know she'll be talking about England for ages... We promise to be back soon and we promise to keep in touch...

Last Week in the UK

2008-07-28T09:07:00.009+12:00

Cornwall Our next house!!

We're still having a great time in the UK. The last few days have been incredibly hot and lovely up round 27-28 degrees - pure bliss.

Since I last blogged - we had a week in Cornwall with Jo, Pat, Maia and Janet & John came up for a couple of days too. We had a lovely week - taking the kids out for lots of fun entertainment including swimming pools, water slides, the sea-side and very large indoor playgrounds with somewhat scary slides! Cornwall was great - we stayed in Fowey which was a very quaint & posh town. The photo above that looks like a castle - is in fact a private house - amazing huh - we tried our best to get in for a tour!!

Eva, Louisa, Martha, Emma & Me Skegness

Don't worry Grandad I can drive!!

Then we had a few more days in London - including a great BBQ to catch up with family friends. We then headed to Lincoln for the week to spend time with Rob's Dad and wife Deborah. Which was great as well - we had one day in Skegness a typical English seaside place which was interesting to say the least! I won't go into great detail - but I'm thankful that our beaches at home are left as just beaches with maybe a park or too! We also spent a day in Harrogate catching up with some of Rob's Uni friends and meeting new babies.

Emma in Ely with Nan Goodbyes to Jo, Pat & Maia today..

We also caught up with Nan a couple more times on the way and on the way back from Lincoln. We're now at the horrible part of the trip that we have to say goodbyes or see you soon to people which is always very hard... If only we could be torn in two or encourage everyone to move to NZ!!...

10 Things I am Loving about this Holiday!

2008-07-11T01:47:00.003+12:00

*1* Well of course first is seeing Rob's family. It's wonderful seeing everyone and catching up and having quality time with them. Time over here is limited so it makes it even more precious the time we spend together. Also feeling very grateful for family - thankful that Rob's Dad contributed on the plane fares to get here, thankful for Janet & John for letting us use there car etc etc...

*2* London - after living here for 14 months there's something wonderful and familiar about returning here. Yesterday Rob and I went into central London (while Grandma Janet babysat - you don't want to take a pushchair into central London if you don't have to!!) And it was great the complete craziness, squashed sardine kinda feeling you get when your in London. It's just so huge and busy that it makes you feel tiny and for some strange reason it's a feeling I like sometimes!

*3* Seeing Maia and Emma together - priceless! They're great little friends. On Saturday we head to Cornwall with Jo, Pat & Maia so it will be great to see Emma and Maia play together for a whole week. It is of course great for us to meet our little gorgeous neice Maia too.

*4* Summer - there's been some gorgeous days and some hideous but this is my grateful list so I'll mention the good days! We've had some great days outside at places and Parks I never knew London had. On Tuesday Janet took us to Willows Farm - where you could feed the animals, go on rides as well as play on a big indoor playground. Emma went on her first ever ride and she couldn't stop smiling!

*5* Shopping! - It's got to be said! Even just to look - the shops are huge - and when I go in them I just want to inhale and absorb the whole experience! That may sound sick - but I know what I mean! I love going back to old favourites too - like NEXT, Monsoon, Ikea and the department stores over here are amazing. Marks & Spencers for example I am amazed looking round there food department - everything looks perfect - pricey but perfect! Yesterday we stood behind an obviously weathly lady as she easily spent 126 pounds (close to 300 NZ) on very little food!

*6* Playtime! I love standing back and just watching others play with Emma. Grandma Janet & John are loving playing with Emma - taking her to the park at every opportunity, Grandad also was great fun to play with in the Wendy House in Lincoln at the weekend. It melts my heart everytime I see Rob play with her too - just to see what a great & fun Dad he is.

*7* Seeing Nan especially! Rob's Nan wasn't very well round Christmas so we were a little worried before seeing her that she may appear older and frail - but I'm thankful to say that wasn't the case at all - she looks fantastic! After having a rough time with a bad leg - you wouldn't even know now!

*8* Catching up with friends! We still have more to see... But last night Rob saw some friends that he hasn't seen since he was 18! Courtesy of Facebook where they've all managed to make contact again - it was fun watching them all reconnecting and remembering the good old days!

*9* Meeting new babies! We still have more to meet. But tonight we meet Matteo now 11 months. Lovely to see so many families growing!

*10* Time together for us too! Rob especially has had a full on last 6 months - with directing a uni paper, doing 2 uni papers and working his usual 40+ hours a week!! It's nice being here together and not having to think about any of that. Or for me not having to be tired from jolly night shifts!

UK!!!

2008-07-08T08:16:00.006+12:00

We made it!! And we're loving our holiday in England so far. Emma was fantastic on the plane - she wanted to sleep on me which made me uncomfortable but things could've been a lot worse. Our stop over in Singapore was a dream - swimming, sleeping and showering without leaving the airport - courtesy of an airport hotel.

We were greeted at the airport by Grandma Janet & John so first stop London. Janet has gone all out for Emma finding lots of cool retro toys up in the loft that Daddy use to play with as well as buying some other treasures like a tea-set and a dollies pushchair etc. Our first couple of days in London the weather was gorgeous so we enjoyed it by visiting parks, swimming, picnics etc. Aunty Jo and cousin Maia came to visit from Portsmouth on Monday - it was great finally meeting Maia. There's only 6 months between Maia and Emma and they've become great pals - copying each other and playing beautifully.

This last weekend we headed to Lincoln and caught up with Grandad and Aunty Deborah and Jo, Pat and Maia came too - so it was a great family time. Tim & Deborah live in the country and have a huge garden with a wendy house so the girls had a blast.

On the way to Lincoln we also called into Ely to visit Rob's Nan. We're always greeted there with a cup of tea, sandwiches and cakes. Emma loved meeting her Great Nan and they became friends very easily. We also visited Nan's sister Norma and son Rodney and crazy licky Suzy the dog.

So we're having a grand time - the weathers taken a turn for the worse but the thing I love about the rain is that it's just an excuse to go shopping!!! (Enough said... )

BIG Bed!

2008-06-19T08:42:00.003+12:00

About a month ago we finally took down Emma's cot - after Emma sleeping in it for about 6 months without a side on it. Emma loves her new mattress that Daddy brought - the other one somewhat of an antique! So we went out and celebrated by buying a duvey - a special counting one that Emma calls her 'strawberry duvey!' We are now often hearing counting & numbers coming from Emma's bedroom. And the best thing is the extra space in Emma's room - a family corner has been created - which has meant being able to get some toys out of the lounge!

And good old Rob even discovered a good use for the old cot mattress it has been cut up and used as a cushion so Emma can ditch the Phil & Teds chair at the table and actually sit in the BIG chair! Oh my little girl is getting BIG!!

Queens Birthday Weekend

2008-06-03T13:56:00.005+12:00

Just had a wonderful weekend away in Tarawera. The three of us went down to meet up with my dear friend Laura who has just come back home recently from Afganistan. We had great fun down there. We went to the real Hot Water Beach - wonderful natural hot water pouring into the beach - in fact parts of it were a little too hot! The photo above shows Laws was the only one who could brave the extreme heat! Emma loved the Pattersons' retro boat - especially when it was bumpy! It was a blessing to have some much needed fresh air and time outside enjoying the gorgeous views and sunshine. I have wonderful fond memories of times spent in Tarawera with Laura and others so it was great to be there again with Laura and to show Emma & Rob such a beautiful place.

The Wiggles & Playdough!

2008-05-16T08:58:00.002+12:00

I love sharing Emma's latest loves on this blog as a way of keeping people in England up to date... Well when I think of what she loves right now two things come to mind:

1) I don't think I've mentioned Emma's current obession with the Wiggles. We are constantly amazed by the complete random Wiggles comment that come out of her mouth! Like the other day deciding to try bananas (one of the few foods she isn't keen on) because Anthony had been eating one on the Wiggles. Yesterday on a walk to Cornwall Park - Wiggles songs were sang the whole way. In fact she has already started teaching baby cousin Kaleb Wiggles songs too. She adores all four of them - I just wish they were touring...

2) And another love would be playdough. She is loving this right now - creating and playing. Today is our lazy day of the week and when I asked Em what she wanted to do she simply stated 'play with playdough!' A simple wonderful pleasure.... I was talking to a Mum the other day who said she finds playdough too messy - well Em gets so much joy from it, so long may the mess in this house continue!!

Happy Mothers' Day!

2008-05-13T08:02:00.002+12:00

I had a lovely day on Sunday - Emma picked me random flowers at least at three different times through out the day - handing them to me and saying 'present for Mummy!' Rob had been sneaky and gone out and brought me a coffee machine the day before - which was a complete surprise ( I usually spoil surprises by finding presents etc...) I am delighted to finally have a coffee machine a luxury I have been coveting for a looooong time.

We had a lovely lunch at Ross & Barbara's house (Janelle's inlaws). It was cool seeing the different stages all the kids were at - Emma little Miss Independent at 2 and a half, Samara (Kay & Andrew's baby) beginning to find her feet and exploring at 10 months and then there's little Kaleb the essence of gorgeous new life.... (at five weeks). Wonderful times. Great to celebrate everything about motherhood.

Baby Scrapbook Done!

2008-04-24T08:20:00.003+12:00

Just celebrating a bit because I've finished a project (one at least!) Since about December 2005 I have been doing a scrapbook with Emma's baby photos. For those who don't really know what scrapbooking is it's about putting photos together, journalling and the whole idea is to leave a legacy... Emma's baby scrapbook is huge - it is yet to be seen whether the album will hold! But it's been great fun and I'm glad to have finished her first one - already she loves sitting and looking at it. I've already started her toddler scrapbook which will hopefully show ages 1-3years. I do enjoy this hobbie (expensive and sometimes frustrating) but when Emma's asleep on a Sunday afternoon it is a real treat for me.

Anyone for Macaroni?

2008-04-15T14:45:00.003+12:00

The next Jamie Oliver maybe? Kept Em busy for ages while I was preparing dinner one night last week. The pretend play is becoming important. Yesterday we even played shops - I set up the lounge especially for her and we had a ball using good old Monopoly money. I am so loving this age/stage - long may it continue....

Welcome Kaleb!

2008-04-08T12:47:00.004+12:00

Good News... Wee baby Kaleb William Ross Parker made his way into the world on Sunday night at 6.30. Weighing in at 7lbs 13oz. He is completely lovely and cuddly - newborns have to be one of the most beautiful sights in the world! We got to meet him nice and early for a fleeting visit on Sunday night and then yesterday we spent more time with him. Emma is very excited to have a cousin on this side of the world. Emma has been calling him Elmo since Christmas time so it will be interesting to see whether that continues.... But now for some pics...

Happy Easter...

2008-03-25T13:51:00.004+13:00

Hello... I haven't done a post for a wee while because the new memory card Rob brought for the camera doesn't seem to like the computer... And a post without pics just seems boring.. I would like to show you the picture of Emma cracking up holding an enormous easter egg that she managed to unwrap - and the one of her wearing bunny ears. And of course the easter craft she created for family easter presents... How annoying...

We had a fairly quiet easter - Rob working hard out on Uni stuff and trying to do his best rather than me who was always happy just to pass! We've had lots of visitors recently - firstly Ben the black lab, then Tim from England and lastly my Mum who has a broken arm and has been needing some help. So Easter was a catch up quiet time really but lovely all the same. And we hope all of you had a lovely Easter too - especially those in England who had a white one! I'll post some photos soon...

A Week on the Sunshine Coast

2008-03-02T15:39:00.004+13:00

We're just back and fresh from a wonderful week on the sometimes sunny Sunshine Coast - Queensland - Australia. We had a great week staying with Sheryl, Gary, Caitlin and Ryan. Emma took to calling Ryan 'boyfriend' or 'Alex!' And on the days we were out by ourselves Emma often said 'back to Ryan now!' She may be a little bored and lonely this week! Sheryl and I managed to get out a few times for Mummy time out which was also great. While Gary and Rob went to watch the Warriors lose! There were a couple of rainy days - but I'll never forget the day it was 39 degrees - it was just pure heat & sunshine! The beaches were amazing - in fact Emma got up this morning and put her togs on and said 'swimming!' So all in all it was a lovely holiday.... no more now till July! So thanks Sheryl and Happy Birthday!

A Day @ Home

2008-02-18T23:20:00.002+13:00

On Friday we had a delightful day at home - which consisted of baking, lots of dancing and a tea party! Emma loved the tea party - which kinda turned into waterplay inside! But very cute and adorable and something we will have to do again. I love quality time with Em.

Weekend in Port Waikato

2008-02-13T16:56:00.004+13:00

We had a gorgeous weekend in Port Waikato last weekend. All the family came - Mum, Janelle, Skip, Dale, Nell & us. We stayed at the Hopkins very cool bach - which Emma was very excited about seem it was a triangle (it's an 'A' framed house). Saturday was lovely and sunny so we all spent lots of time at the beach - Dale & Nell being a little more active getting the kayakks out. Emma had great fun splashing in the waves & building sandcastles. Last year when we came here she was fully into eating sand - I'm glad she's over that now! Sunday was a little wet and stormy which was a good thing for the area with the grass being a shade of brown. Nell & I still enjoyed a walk in the rain on the heavenly beach which is miles and miles long. And then it was back home to the reality of a night shift!.... Oh well it was a great weekend - family, food, sunshine and the beach a winning combination!

Summer, Summer, Summer

2008-02-06T20:43:00.000+13:00

It is proving to be such a delicious Summer this year - and Emma has been having so much fun. We have been visiting the local swimming pools reguarly and Emma loves jumping in off the edge now - she often points up at the diving boards too! The above photos show some other things she is loving this Summer. Hanging out in her new playhouse (trademe purchase!) Seen above eating an icecream and not sharing with a hungry Dudley! Enjoying lots of water play in her paddling pool and her sand pit. Emma also loves checking Daddy's tomatoes and trying to eat any red ones! She also loves checking on Rosie & Martin the two very hungry caterpillars on our swan plant too. May Summer go on and on and on....

Happy Birthday to Rob!

2008-01-09T22:32:00.000+13:00

Another year older... Rob is now 35! A normal working day - although Emma and I did go in and visit him at work. Tried to cook a favourite for Rob for dinner - steak and soy potatoes were a hit! Chocolate cheesecake not quite as great as it sounded... Oh well we had fun celebrating Daddy's special day. We are also planning a possible trip to Raglan at some stage to celebrate some more - we might even give Emma her first camping/tent experience.

Christmas Day

2007-12-30T16:04:00.000+13:00

Christmas day started at about 8.30 when we heard the usual pitter patter of feet heading towards our bedroom... Emma was very excitied to see all her presents - especially her little bike which was too big and difficult to wrap. She spent ages opening each present saying 'rip rip,' as she did - and she spent ages looking at each thing before moving onto the next present! We then had yummy pancakes for breakfast! And enjoyed some family time together.

Mum came over mid-morning and had a simple lunch with us. Then it was time for the traditional Christmas snooze.... Energy revived it was time to head over to Skip & Janelle's for more presents and food (delicious turkey and lamb on the BBQ - yum!) Dale & Nell travelled up from Taupo so it was great catching up with them. Emma lasted beautifully through out the day I thought she would need to go down at Janelle & Skip's but at 10.15 she was still going strong! We even managed to check out the Franklin Road lights on the way home (a street famous for it's houses covered in Christmas lights.) All in all we had a fantastic Christmas and the build up this year was amazing - I actually feel sad that it's over... Oh well roll on Christmas 2008!!

Playgroup Christmas Party

2007-12-18T21:14:00.000+13:00

And the best Christmas party so far was the final playgroup of the year. There was a wonderful music session conducted by two very holy angels! Lots of incredibly delicious party food. One of the highlights for Emma was a fire engine coming with real fire fighters. Now the reason this was a highlight is because Emma has the DVD 'Elmo goes to the firehouse' - so today when she saw the fire engine the first thing she said was Elmo! Elmo is currently her latest obsession! Someone she's not to sure about is Santa. Today she managed to go up to him because he was holding out a present for her! Otherwise with all the shopping trips we've made she is happy to wave at Santa and say "Bye bye'" but if he talks to her she becomes very very shy!! Maybe next year we'll get Emma in the photo with Santa....

Christmas @ the Zoo

2007-12-16T21:07:00.000+13:00

This is a bit different from the things some of you will be doing in the UK! Going to a special Christmas celebration at the zoo - complete with a very summery pacific Santa (Samoan and wearing a lavalava). We had a lovely picnic with the rest of Auckland and with a very cheeky Pukeko who wanted to try my not very tasty quiche! Emma had her first experience on a bouncy castle which lasted 30 seconds or so! As well as Christmas carols and entertainment. And then of course we had to visit the animals while we were there - the monkeys were especially entertaining tonight and the hippo (who Emma has named Harry) always puts on a good show tonight showing us his teeth! When we asked what she liked best she stated it was the elves & mice (people dressed up as...) We've recently purchased a Friends of the Zoo pass (thanks to UK birthday money) so we have lots of Summer zoo trips planned. Last week we went with Jo, Alex and Hamish - so thats when the gorgeous photo of Em and Alex having a cuddle was taken!

Christmas Angel!

2007-12-07T12:55:00.000+13:00

Last week we went to Mainly Music for the first time with Jo, Alex & Hamish - Emma had a great time. Although there's one song that she cries in every time - it's a song we do at playgroup too not sure what the association is with it or whether she just doesn't like it! Anyway we went along again today for the last one of the year which was a Christmas Party. Here's our wee angel dressed as an angel. My cousin Lianne makes these gorgeous smocked dresses and I don't get the chance to dress Emma in them too often - so dressing as an angel was the perfect excuse...

Christmas in Emma's Room...

2007-11-28T13:42:00.000+13:00

I once watched Dr Phils wife suggest that it's a good idea to decorate a child's room for the holidays as it helps them to understand what the holiday is about... I thought that sounded great and I've tried to do this for Emma. And then my friend Gillian let me know that the Warehouse had bargain fake small trees and she was getting one for each of her kids - and I thought Super! This morning we started the decoration process - some of the decorations Emma has made (and then she pulled some to bits this morning too...) But we had lots of fun with Christmas Carols on in the background. Here's some photos before the tree gets pulled to bits...(All part of the fun!)

I'm also loving some Christmas ideas from other peoples' blogs this year. This is one that I got from bestlife - it's an advent calendar.... Which is a row of numbered socks each with a few hidden stickers inside. Bring on Christmas!!

Sticker Girl!

2007-11-23T15:54:00.000+13:00

Thought I should share this one! Whenever Emma gets a sticker she puts it on her cheek - so when she got hold of Daddy's sticky labels they ended up all over her face. Also Emma is now sleeping in the cot without a side - so far there's only been one tumble out... It makes stealing kisses when she's sleeping a lot easier!

Emma's Teddy Bear Picnic

2007-11-10T21:07:00.000+13:00

Teddy Invites Emmy having a play pre party

Today we had Emma's 2nd birthday party which was a teddy bear's picnic. Above is an example of the invitations that were sent out to four of her favourite wee friends, Aunty Janelle, Uncle Skip and Grandma.

Thankfully it was a gorgeous sunny morning so we could have most of the party out on the deck. The obvious decorations were teddy bears - thanks to Grandma and Aunty Janelle we had heaps round the place. I also did little paw prints made out of brown card leading people to the front door. Emma's bedroom is right near the deck so I did a teddy bears picnic scene in there that the kids could see through the window.

Food glorious food! Party favours

The children all had indvidual picnic baskets of party food - which they then got to take home with bubbles, stickers and tiny teddy biscuits. They also got to take home the calico bears they had decorated with buttons and bows. The cake of course was a teddy bear. Emma seemed over whelmed when everyone sang her Happy Birthday! We did try to do a group photo with all the kids and their teddies however Sophie was the only one willing by this time!

Emma's favourite word for the last week has been 'party!' And she loved having all her friends here. Everyone seemed to have a good time and happy memories were made!

Teddy Birthday cake & Calico Bears

Sophie waiting for a group photo! & Grace

Favourite photo of the day with Aunty Janelle.

Claire's 2cents Worth!

2007-10-23T15:24:00.000+13:00

Last week our car was towed! Yep $180 later - more than just a slap on the hand for parking in the wrong spot (all my fault...) but an almighty whack that hurt! The thing that hurt that most was the pleasure the towing company seemed to gain from me turning up flustered with a toddler on my hip! (How do they sleep at night?) Anyway.... I have been meaning for a couple of months' to start a gratitude journal - or at least to write at least three things in my diary each day that I'm thankful for. Simply to try and be a little more positive... On the day my car was towed I was very happy - Emma and I had visited a toy shop which was full of very grumpy, very flustered, very unhappy staff. Didn't really suit the beauty of the shop - so Emma and I made up for it by being very happy and playing with lots of toys for over an hour... However, my mood soon changed when after visiting the next shop to come out and find my car had been towed. I went from happy go-lucky -nothing -can -bother -me to a very angry crazed woman within minutes! Which kinda got me thinking... Anyway my gratitude comments are under way in my diary - but here's three real easy one's to think of straight away...

1. Emma - the joy and sunshine of our lives. No one makes me laugh as much!

2. Rob - I've been mostly a grumpy wife this last weekend - full of a cold and sick of being sick and sick of working... I'm grateful to Rob for the things he does round the house - like water blasting the deck this last weekend. I'm grateful he's a fantastic Dad and a wonderful provider.

3. I forgot to mention in my towing story - there were some fantastic workman close by who took pity on me - and one guy drove me to the towing yard. If he hadn't of done this I would probably still by wandering how to get to New Lynn from Mt Eden! Also I'm grateful that I could easily make up for the fine by doing an extra shift at work - made it easier to tell Rob too!!

Play, Book & Park

2007-10-18T23:48:00.000+13:00

If during our morning snuggle I ask Emma what she wants to do today she'll generally say one of three things which are: 'Play, Book or Park!' Sometimes she'll mention someone's name too as if she wants to see that person - not always easy when it might be cousin Maia in England that she suggests! Above are some pics of her doing some of her favourite things...

Small bits of Life!

2007-08-26T14:28:00.000+12:00

Here's a few snippets of different things we've been up to lately...

Last Friday Rob was off work sick so we headed off to Kelly Tartlons to use our free pass. We loved the penguins I never realised they were such show-offs! Emma especially was very entertained and now has a newly found interest in fish. When we were at Jansens' (again) the other day she was saying 'that one, that one, that one!' to the many colourful fishes for sale!

We were excitied to see signs of Spring in Cornwall Park as the daffodils are coming out. I love walking along Twin Oak Drive when it's lined with the gorgeous daffs. I love Spring flowers (hint, hint Rob!! - in fact don't worry I'll be buying them myself!!) We even saw heaps of baby cows - now we're just waiting for the lambs.

This morning we had a Ticehurst adventure - after buying a bike seat for Emma on trade-me we headed out to a very flat area to try it out. Rob had to spend a bit of time yesterday servicing our bikes (I haven't been on mine since 2003!) But we had great fun and Emma loved zooming along even if she was somewhat close to Daddy's bottom! Poor Dudley seemed to suffer the most having to run to keep up! No photos of this sorry - co-ordination not good enough to be able to ride and take a photo!

Emma & Dudley

2007-08-16T12:13:00.000+12:00

Well not much gets Emma down... Despite being sick again this time with tonsillitis she is still happy playing. Here she is happily deciding Dudley looks a bit chilly so dressing him in a scarf found in my wardrobe. She also is very observant noticing that Dudley hadn't had his fur brushed today so she gave that a go too - using Daddy's hair brush!! Life lesson from Emma for the week - find amusement in the little things despite how you may be feeling!

Child Abuse - A National Problem

2007-08-09T18:24:00.001+12:00

Yesterday at 12.12pm everyone in New Zealand was encouraged to stop what they were doing and to stand out on the street for three minutes. This was to symbolize that we as a nation are not going to tolerate child abuse and if we see something dodge we will do something about it. The statistics of child abuse which has ended in death in New Zealand is shocking. The recent three year old that was killed in Rotorua shocked me to the core. So I did stand out on my little street yesterday (although I did get a little distracted picking up old raisin packets from the car!) But today watching this youtube video it made me just want to scream again....

Painting!

2007-07-25T19:49:00.000+12:00

One of the things I love about blogging is being able to share Emma's firsts... And the above pictures are the evidence of her first real attempt at painting this afternoon. I've been trying to encourage painting every now and then with not much success - but today I brought some cool sponges from the $2 shop and they were a hit. Emma seemed to love it and kept saying "Wow!" (Her word for the week). She did enjoy using a paint brush as well as the sponges. Watch this space for more paintings in the future from our little budding artist!

Sickie Girl

2007-07-21T16:00:00.000+12:00

Our wee baby girl is currently on her first ever course of antibiotics... Emma has a nasty ear infection & a sore throat. She was miserable on Thursday with a temperature and much the same again on Friday.. we went to the Dr's and by this stage her temp was 40 degrees. I always feel a little split with the child sickness thing and when to take her to the Doctors. There's half of me that says I'm a paediatric nurse - we don't need a Doctor (arrogant I know!) And then there's the part of me that panics and cries when she has so much as a sniffle! Rob's at a conference all day today - so I'm very thankful that Aunty Janelle & Grandma came over for lunch & a catch up.

Furry Festival

2007-07-16T13:22:00.000+12:00

Yesterday we had an interesting Sunday morning - we went to the Furry Festival at Jansens' Pet Shop. We took Dudley with us and he had a grand time. Emma loved the mobile farm and being able to say hello to lots of rabbits. There was also a bouncy castle, face painting, sausage sizzle but the most exciting for us a competition called Pet Idol. I registered Rob & Dudley in the pet/owner look-a-like category! So funny seeing them up on stage on the 'cat walk!' We didn't win - but we did win a spot prize (Rob reckons he was 2nd) which was a family pass to Kelly Tartlons (an aquarium and somewhere Emma hasn't been.) Emma also had a great time saying hello to other dogs/pets there - she really has no fear with animals happily wandering up to a huge Newfoundland to say "hi!" But she is gentle and lovely with animals.

Stormy Day!

2007-07-10T23:29:00.001+12:00

Cold, wet and very stormy day in Auckland today... Picture this - happily making muffins with Emma in the kitchen, heater on in the lounge, drier on, lots of lights on when suddenly there's a power cut at 5pm... Felt a tad stressed with having to leave for work in just an hour and a half - and a whole lot to do beforehand which involved power... Emma was very fascinated by the candles and after singing 'happy birthday' to everyone we know - I decided to give Emma her first bath by candlelight. Perfect thing to do with limited lighting and Emma acted like it was a treat! I even started singing Christmas Carols deciding it was a Mid-Winter Carols by Candlelight Bath Special! So blessed to have these special moments with Em! All power is restored now - home from work and managed to avoid all fallen trees!

PS Photo not really related... but it was Emma in 2005 after her first real Carols by Candlelight service in Taupo.

2007-07-08T21:44:00.000+12:00

This is just to show off the gorgeous poncho and hat my Mum made for Emma recently. It's adorable and really soft and warm. I love the colour and it makes her eyes look really green. I sometimes call her 'Apple' when she wears it! Everywhere she wears it we receive comments on it and we have people asking for the pattern! So cheers Mum thanks for all the gorgeous things you make for Emma - they are truly appreciated and loved! I'm currently trying to knit myself with a lot of help from Mum!

A Night with the Stars!

2007-06-24T11:05:00.000+12:00

What an awesome weekend... It started off on Friday night going to see my pretend nieces Courtney (13) & Laura (11) in the production of High School Musical @ the Aotea Centre. They were both high school kids and they did perfectly. It was wonderful seeing them afterwards buzzing with excitement despite having done the show three times that day! So well done girls - I've been singing 'soaring, flying...' all weekend.

And then on Saturday we had the Pharmacy Awards Night - which was a Black Tie Dinner. There is one category for hospital pharmacists - and Rob had entered this in 2002 and won our honeymoon (a trip to Thailand) so we were excited when Rob was a finalist again this year. The night started off with cocktails for the finalists at the Rendezvous Hotel we were then transported in limos to the Old Town Hall. The theme of the night was 'a night with the stars' and you felt a bit like a star when there was red carpet and a photographer while hoping out of the limo! Once inside there were a lot more people 480 it was wonderful seeing so many people all glammed up.

With Rob being a finalist we had a good front row seat - we were sat at tables and served a gorgeous meal between categories. Unfortunately Rob didn't win this year - but there was still plenty to celebrate as others at our table won their categories. I even managed to spill wine all over the gentleman beside me which must have been good luck cos he won his category ( I didn't have any more wine for ages after that!) We then enjoyed a night of great company & dancing and before we knew it it was midnight. We stayed at the Rendezvous hotel which was also all paid for - which meant a yummy three course breakfast this morning! What a perfect night!

If you're wandering where Emma was for all of this... Well Grandma came to stay the night. Thankfully Mum was able to lend me lots of glamorous stuff too - like makeup, jewels,a purse and even the black cape (which is beaver fur - I know it's naughty to wear fur but it kept me very warm! It's over 100 years old so I figured it was ok cos the beaver wasn't killed especially!!) Emma was an angel for Grandma and slept beautifully. She seemed to enjoy watching us getting ready yesterday too - very fascinated by panty-hose and nail polish! And as usual my makeup!

A Week in Sydney

2007-06-17T21:22:00.000+12:00

We've just got back from a lovely week away in Sydney. We managed to pack up the rain and take it with us and solve the NSW drought! It rained nearly the whole week and it was also very cold - especially for those of us who took mostly t-shirts to wear! We stayed in Manly on the beach in a great homely apartment. We caught up with friends Niamh & Ewan who recently married in Scotland so it was great seeing all their wedding photos and catching up on their news. Of course we did lots of shopping (not much else to do in the rain...) We enjoyed shopping at Ikea again - and Emma finally has a table to match her little chair she's had for ages. In fact nearly everything we bought was for Emma... We did visit the kangaroos and koalas at a wildlife park and Emma had a ball trying to chase them as well as some other wandering children!

Some sad news to come home to though - our darling cat Ruby had been run over and killed while we were away. Very sad cos she was our first pet and we couldn't of asked for a nicer cat for Emma - she tolerated Emma's not so gentle pats and her fascination with her whiskers! Emma's first word in the morning is usually 'cat' so she will be very sadly missed.

You know you're a parent when...

2007-06-05T07:35:00.000+12:00

* Your credit card bill has more mention of Pumpkin Patch than Max.

* You know Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy off by heart.

* You can do just about anything one handed- with a baby glued to your hip.

* Television appeals featuring starving babies make you cry (in fact almost anything does!)

* You write your shopping list in crayon.

* You have a new appreciation for what your parents did for you.

* When somone's kid throws a wobbly at the supermarket you cast them sympathetic glances.

* You cringe when you remember saying "my kid will never have a dummy, sleep in my bed or
watch telelvision!

* Your handbag contains crayons, snotty tissues and crumbs.

* You haven't been to the loo in peace since heaven knows when!

* Your washing line is always full.

* You find yourself humming the Wheels on the Bus while driving alone.

* You know there's nothing more heart-warming than watching your baby sleep.

* You find yourself absent-mindedly rocking the super-market trolley.

* Somehow worrying about the meaning of life seems pointless... you know what it is!

From the latest Treasures' Magazine.

This Week..

2007-06-01T10:29:00.000+12:00

Well it's been a funny week really... Rob & I have both been sick with some grotty viral cough thing... Last weekend was a write off for me after working a night shift (on the delivery suite - umm very interesting..) I got a nasty migraine - haven't had one since 2004 so can't complain really! A little scary for Rob though - because when I get them I loose the ability to speak (peaceful weekend for Rob!!) And I slept the whole weekend away - and then passed on my coughing germs to Rob so he's been off work most the week. Thankfully we weren't at our worse together - and I'm so thankful that we're a team - so I could sleep last weekend and be confident that wee Em was being cared for. Thankfully Em had the cough first so she's been happy as could be all week! Her latest thing at the moment is circles - she loves doing this especially in front of the mirror - it also seems to be her way of dancing! Anyway Rob came to swimming with us yesterday - so another swimming photo..

Welcome to the world to Joshua James Wood - and little buba Thomson who doesn't have a name just yet a wee brother for Alex.

My Little Chef...

2007-05-22T07:42:00.000+12:00

One of the wonderful things about going to a local Playgroup is being able to see the toys that Em likes to play with. She always seems to like the family corner with plastic food, dolls, a toy kitchen a toy oven etc... So one particular day I took a photo of the oven and I showed Rob and said 'Emma would like you to make one of these please!' And the picture above is the result - a very cool, very groovy, painted to match her bedroom oven... She is loving playing with it! Thanks Daddy you're sooooo clever.. Now for your next project... a toy kitchen, a dolls house ummm the possibilites are endless....

New Purchase!

2007-05-14T12:09:00.000+12:00

This is Rob's new baby... A 150cc Belladonna Scooter. This has been purchased so that I am free to have the car and do very important Mummy things while Rob rides this to work. It costs a whole $6 to fill up with petrol! Really must think of a name for it - any suggestions... The first few times he rode it I sat at home chewing my nails until I heard he had arrived safely at work - don't fully trust Auckland drivers that are rushing to work! Anyway to date he is enjoying riding it - and of course I'm enjoying having the car (although I have been reminded about the cost of petrol!!)

I had a lovely Mothers' Day yesterday. And major headlines for today is Emma is 18 months old today - I'll write a post soon about what she's up to.

Family Fun Day!

2007-05-06T13:43:00.000+12:00

I was so excitied to have the weekend off - that we decided that we would make the most of it by venturing out for a family outing/treat. Thanks Jo, for letting me know about Kiwi Valley cause thats where we headed. It's a farm out West in Henderson with heaps of very friendly farm animals. Emma had a ball saying "ROAR" whenever she could to every animal (thats her favourite animal sound although she does a pretty good chicken at the moment too!) It was amazing having animals that usually run away running up to greet us.. although we had food so I think that was there true motivation! Anyway we had a great morning.

My girlie girl Emma

2007-04-30T13:31:00.000+12:00

Decided to take some photos yesterday when wee Emma was dressed in a way I've always dreamed about dressing my little girl... Yep the tights, the clip in the hair, the little jean skirt and then the ultra cute jumper (which I'm pretending still fits from last Winter). And then seeing her like this made me realise just how quickly she's growing up - it seems like only yesterday that we were wandering if she would get any hair and now she has enough for a clip! This photo was taken while she happily sat on her change table with me right there putting some make up on before heading out - Emma loves my make up and is quite content to sit there playing with it - trying to copy me as I put it on - it's very cute. I think I may be raising a girlie girl - nothing wrong with that I say!

Super Sonic Aunty Returns!

2007-04-19T13:57:00.000+12:00

This is my dear friend Laura (Laws). She has been working in Afganistan - not a place many would chose to live, but then Laws is a super amazing gal! Willing to make all kinds of sacrifices for other people. I've called her the super sonic woman for years - just cause she's the kind of person who knows how to sew a fancy dress - but she also knows how to catch and gut a fish! We joke that one day she'll have to teach Em to fish. Laws is back in the country for a month and yesterday we caught up for lunch followed by a walk in Cornwall Park. I appreciate our friendship heaps - and I love that when we do see each other it's like we saw each other just yesterday. Looking forward to spending more time with Laws before the end of the month.

A Chilling Walk in the Rain!

2007-04-13T13:54:00.000+12:00

Hopefully for those in the UK the sun is starting to shine... Because over here it's beginning to get cold and raining heaps... Of course Dudley needs walking despite the weather - here's a photo of Em as we set out to get wet. She's wearing her brand new raincoat - just needs the umbrella and gumboots to match! Talking of walking - Emma is doing really well now and has been finally favouring walking over crawling for about the last two weeks.

We got soaked in the rain - So here's the after... Emma was all snuggling under the storm cover while Dudley and me were completely soaked through.

And then last night we went to watch the Blues (Auckland) rugby team loose. And guess what it was raining! Thankfully my clever sister in law Nell got us tickets under cover. It was fun being there anyway - can't remember the last time we went to a game...

Happy Easter

2007-04-08T15:35:00.000+12:00

Happy Easter to everyone who reads this! We've had a fairly quiet weekend with Janet leaving on Friday (previous post..) and I have to work tonight (boo hoo!) But hopefully you're having lots of fun. This is an example of the easter treats I've made for family this year - copied from the latest Treasures Magazine. Emma enjoyed her marshmallow egg - and guess what she said when she held her very first easter egg?? "Hot" - thats one of her favourite words at the moment. Have a good one and remember the reason....

See ya later Grandma Janet...

2007-04-06T21:21:00.000+12:00

Three weeks has gone very fast - Janet has left for the UK tonight. It's been great having her here. And it's been wonderful to see Emma & her develop a close bond - Grandma Janet has helped teach Emma - to roar like a lion, patty cake patty cake to name just two examples. It's been an active three weeks (see previous blog..) with lots of walks (Dudley has had two a day and I'm expecting serious withdrawls - he's even taken to sleeping outside Janet's door!) Lots of sunshine, a bit of shopping but lots of precious family time. Thank you Janet - please come again soon we miss you already! (The photo was taken after feeding the ducks in Auckland Domain.)

Road Trip '07

2007-04-03T13:20:00.000+12:00

Last week we went on a bit of a road trip with Janet. We started our week in the Coromandel. I love this photo of Rob and Emma - it shows how little she is! We had a couple of lovely days enjoying the beach & sunshine in the Coromandel.

From there we travelled onto the Mount - one of my all time fav places - trying to convince Rob that we need to live there! Here we are after an energetic walk up the Mount (about an hour all up hill!) Em wasn't so happy in her back pack - and I had forgotton her dummy - so she need carrying and lots of songs on the way down! Grandma Janet has learnt all her songs very quickly!

From there the road trip really begun as Rob drove (what a star) round the East Coast/Cape. It was amazing all the desserted wild beaches and very very rural. This photo is only one example of the many wild animals that were wandering about - much to Emma's delight. Our destination was Gisbourne - where we enjoyed a couple of rainy days (not as bad as Auckland though!) We stayed right on the beach again. I also had the chance to catch up with Rach - a nursing buddy who is loving the life in Gizzy!

And then lastly we went onto to Taupo to catch up with Dale & Nell. And of course you can't visit Taupo without going to the Huka Falls and the Honey hive (shop and bees making honey..)

All in all we had a fantastic week. A big thank you to Skip for swapping cars with us - so we could travel with space! And also to Karen, Mike & Ava (and Martha the dog) for looking after the house and Dudley (who has just turned two!)

New Camera!

2007-03-23T17:09:00.000+12:00

And the bargain of the week was a new digital camera - brought through good old Trade Me (like ebay). So we've been a bit snap happy. This shot is Emma after feeding herself yoghurt. Oh such fun!

Swimming Take #2

2007-03-23T16:48:00.000+12:00

Grandma Janet came to swimming on Thursday so here's a couple of swimming photos as promised. Emma is loving swimming again after taking a while to warm up after the long summer break.

Grandma Janet Arrives...

2007-03-20T12:02:00.000+12:00

Grandma Janet arrived safe & sound from England on Saturday night. Her & Emma are making up for lots of lost time - and as long as Em can't see me (she's pretty clingy) she is enjoying lots of cuddles with Grandma Janet too. Hopefully there will be lots of sun for the next couple of weeks so we can enjoy lots of outside time together. Although if it is raining it gives us a good excuse to go shopping something Grandma Janet is very good at...

Emma's Week

2007-03-16T14:51:00.000+13:00

Emma's been a little miserable this week with a nasty cold.. But one happy moment she had today was when I was tidying her room and I got distracted moving clothes round - and together we came across these hats. Emma had great fun trying them on and I decided to turn into a kodak moment... We need to work on her looking at the camera! She is very good at getting the camera out of it's case and saying "Cheeeeseee!"

See ya Later....

2007-03-16T14:27:00.000+13:00

I caught up with Sheryl, Caitlin & Ryan the other day for am tea it will be the last for a while because they're off to live in Australia. Sheryl has been my friend for years - we first meet during our nurse training. And we have been through all kinds of stuff together and we have lots of fun memories too - one that comes to mind straight away is a week in Sydney being somewhat young and crazy! And then we grew up and we both found English Pharmacists for ourselves! Caitlin (4) & Ryan (22 months) are completely adorable. Caitlin is extremely gentle and loving to Emma reading her stories and drawing her pictures. While Ryan is the loss of a boyfriend for Em! Thank goodness for email, blogs, phones etc... Sheryl is a priceless friend and we wish them all the best and promise to keep in touch and visit for very sunny, beachy holidays!

I remember once hearing someone say they never say goodbye they always say See you later instead so things don't sound final... This is Jess another dear friend whose leaving the country. Jess is off to the sunshine of California. It was great to catch up with Jess the other day and we wish her all the best for her time in the States.

Laura Comes to Stay

2007-03-12T11:18:00.000+13:00

Laura Anderson came to stay last night - it was teachers' only day at her school and Debbie (her Mum) had a busy day at Uni. And it is never a hassle to have Laura because she completely adores Emma. Repeating constantly 'thats so cute!' So far since she's been here she's read Em about a hundred books - Em's most favourite thing in the world. And Laura loves watching Motherhood in action - like nappy changing, bathing etc. Laura is 11 years old and for those of you in the UK who came to our wedding she was one of our then little ring-bearers. This morning we went for a nice walk round Western Springs getting rid of heaps of old bread to the very hungry ducks, geese, sparrows, pukehos and other strange animals (a bird that is a bit smaller than a duck but is completely black apart from one stripe down it's head and beak???) Anyone it was great having Laura to stay and we're hanging out till she's old enough to babysit!!