Looking Back on 2010

First words of each month of the last year…

January

(Late pregnancy, summer holidays and welcoming Grandma and Granddad from England.)

Five day’s into 2010…

The weather in Welly is being a tad dicey for us, but we’re grabbing the good and sheltering from the bad (wild winds + late pregnancy hormones = unpredictable mother who should come with a ‘handle with care’ label).

Monday morning on Oriental Parade was entertaining in high winds – cycling in one direction there was no need for pedal action as the wind did all the work; the return ride against the wind was met with some resistance, but the girls still pedaled ten times faster than I could walk and caused many passers by to give a look of, ‘Where is that child’s mother!’ as I waddled along half a km behind….. (cont.)

February

(Chinese New Year. Daddy’s Birthday. Granddad returns home to England. Baby Alice is born! School and Kindi start back.)

Over the hill and not so far away…
lies the sweeping rural beauty of the Wairarapa.

We left on Friday in the most glorious sunshine. Our destination Poplar Cottage on the historic 19th Century Tinui Station, on the Castlepoint Road from Masterton. (cont.)

March

(Charlotte loses her first tooth. Easter celebrations and crafts. Circus tricks. Grandma flies home to England.)

Charli has been cracking us up lately with her daily white-board updates outside her room. Here’s a few from the past week:

She also uses her whiteboard to vent her anger and on occasion puts up a sign to say who can and cannot enter her room! The other morning she was (cont.)

April

(Baking. Football season. Mummy’s Birthday. New shoes for Autumn. Tummy time and coos from Alice. School holidays. Fun on the waterfront and Charlotte’s first blog post. Easter Sunday.)

The clocks rolled back an hour whilst we slept and brought an early start to Easter Sunday. Charli was first awake, wombling into our bedroom at what would have been 7am, but was now a sharp 6am.

“Can I go hunting for eggs in the garden?” she excitedely asked. It was dark, she was wearing her p-jays and the Easter bunny had decided not to put any chocolate outside in case the hedgehogs got it.

“After breakfast, when it’s light, we’ll do an Easter egg hunt. Has the Easter Bunny left you a surprise in the lounge?”.

“Yes and a card. Can I get start getting ready for the day now so I can eat chocolate?” (cont.)

May

(Autumn sunshine. A Father’s love. Water play. Orcas to start the day.  Baby yoga. Rascal the kindi rabbit goes missing again. Holiday in Auckland.)

Then and Now

Taking my shower on Saturday morning, enjoying ten minutes of ‘me’ time, I found myself reflecting on how at this stage of my life I am more inspired and pleased for friends when they shout from the roof-tops that they’ve done a 5 km run or joined a gym, than stories of downing shots over late night pool games.

In my twenties life was a whirlwind of work, socialising, hurried meals and little exercise, apart from walking between bars and to and from work. Dan and I did get away and do some of New Zealand’s big tramps (hikes for English readers!), but daily exercise was low on our priorities (I’m ashamed to say). (cont.)

June

(Charlotte turns 7. Mummy and Sophie write a book about Rascal rabbit. She who trusts. Because. Auckland Holiday.)

On the first day of winter, with heavy rain pelting down, we drove to Snow Planet; where the outdoor weather bears no influence on the conditions indoors. We paid our money and entered a snow filled fun zone built into the side of a hill. The temperature was -4 degrees centigrade. Brrrrr!

After enjoying tobogganing the girls had a go at skiing, with Dan running like mad down the slope with them! They LOVED it! (cont.)

July

(Daddy and Sophie cycle to Kindi. Joys of responsible parenting. 5 month’s, 2 teeth and sitting pretty. Feelings through chalk. Love of Dance. Daddy & Daughter Time. Snapshots from the Pennine Way. Winter school holidays. Sophie meets All White’s coach. )

Stand back! Cover up! Alice’s latest party trick is producing a big dribbling, bubble blowing fanfare, complete with chuckles. And she’s rather good at doing the turtle too…

She loves to giggle over our shoulders and is very ticklish. She loves it when we kiss her chubby cheeks, nuzzle her ear and blow raspberries on her tummy.

She can nearly sit by herself for a wee while, before heading down to her toes.

And her sisters love to dress her up and bow down to ‘Queen’ Alice! (cont.)

August

(Milky Bay Kid. Vlog bake with Sophie. Winter Festival in Petone, Blogladesh. World Breastfeeding Week. Cycling home from work. Spring sunshine.)

Signs of Spring to Combat the Viruses

Back to back viruses continue to plague us, but nothing too severe – just enough to keep one or both children home from school and kindi. We’re into week 3 of term 3 and I’ve had either Charlotte, Sophie, or both the girls home, whilst not feeling great myself with a persistent sore throat and headache that waxes and wanes.

On Friday both the girls were at home and I decided that a dose of Vitamin D was called for and so we headed to the Botanical Gardens. Neither of the girls were up to walking far, but they lit up being in the fresh air and surrounded by nature. Tulip bulbs were just peeking above the earth and daffodils starting to bloom. (cont.)

September

(Ten reasons I love my job. Charlotte the Performer. Alice 7 months. Tribal Wives: Wellington. Change. Hands through the ages. With love to the man of the house (Father’s Day). Spring crafts with children. Shaken awake – earthquake hits Christchurch. School holidays. Tulip Sunday. Wardrobe Wednesday.)

The first day of Spring was glorious and I spent the whole day far away from the house & the chores. The morning was spent walking up and down the beach with Alice sleeping for most of it. (cont.)

October

(School Holidays. The Happy Den in the garden. Back to school blues. Charlotte makes the semi-finals of Milky Bar Kid Auditions. Kindi Fair. Alice the paper chomper and crawler. My kind of bus stop. Wearing our Bandannas for Canteen. Digging up worms and Spring Planting. Labour Weekend. Cocktails at Naptime. School Fair. Happy Beltane.

After the deluge of rain that drenched Wellington on Thursday we were so delighted to see the sunshine on Friday. What’s more the forecast for the whole week is SUN, SUN, SUN! Now that’s something to SMILE about, especially on the school holidays! (cont.)

November

(Guy Fawkes. Showing some visitors to Welly a good time. Family ties and new ones. After school at the beach. Wellington: Coolest little Capital in the World! Kate and William engaged – a Royal wedding for 2012. Riding the First Wave of Summer. ‘I Am’ poem. Full Moon Tales. Mourning the loss: Pike River Mine tragedy.)

Running in the Spring Sunshine

There’s a feeling in the air,
Which tints fair skin that’s bare,
Turns pretty petals to its stare,
And makes children want to run without a care. (cont.)

December

(Charlotte’s first dance show – our own ‘Little Blue Penguin’. Alice turns 10 months old. Sophie finishes Kindi. School breaks up for Summer! Lyrical Sunday kicks off. Lots of baking, making, singing and dancing in the big Countdown! Christmas! Sophie turns 5 – our Boxing Day baby. Thoughts for a New Year.)

With all three of my lovely cherubs at home with snuffly summer colds today we  took the opportunity to dig out the Christmas decorations from under the stairs. (cont.)