Ahoy there Matey!
I realized I only update this blog once a month. Very pathetic I know!!!
So in all things that are new here we go...We've finally found a church community and feel so much happier and settled now that we have people to pray with and live in community with. Definitely makes being here a lot easier!
The aftershocks have been mellow for a while so we are feeling a bit better and less nervous. I'm sure there will be more big ones but it's nice to have a break from them either way!
We drove down to Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook, it was beautiful and magnificent. We went on a big hike there and Logan was a champ. It was only a 3.5 hour drive to get there. It was awesome. Pictures can be seen by clicking here.
The water is back open!!! The City council has given the all clear to go back in and it's not contaminated anymore. So we can go surfing very soon! When the water warms up a bit! It's still very cold!
Today we went to a Pirate Market at the New Brighton Mall that's less than a 5 minute walk. It was awesome. It was like a community outdoor market that was pirate themed with a pirate band and puppet show for the kids etc. All in all it was sooo much fun! I really LOVE the area we are living in. It was a bit dull in the winter but I can tell it's REALLY going to pickup and be an awesome place in the summer. Even now it's great! For pictures from the pirate market click here.
We are definitely feeling more positive about staying. I love Christchurch, the earthquakes suck but they have to calm down eventually right?! I hope so!
Here's a video of Logan dancing at the pirate market:
and her dancing with a pirate:
and here's a video of me and Fox playing ball...sorry about the fuzziness!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Doubts and Birthdays
This past week has marked a milestone in our little girls life. She turned 2 and I still can't believe. I guess I'm going to be saying that pretty much until she's an adult right? I can't believe we have a 2 year old! It was a great birthday for her, She got lots of gifties from us and her Grandparents and all in all it was a great day. However it was a particularly difficult day for me. It was one of those moments that made me realize how homesick I actually was.
I miss our friends and family. I really miss the interaction between those friends and family and our children. It was one thing I loved about everyone, how great they interacted with Logan and Fox and I really miss it. Nobody here loves our children like at back home and skype does make it easier but it's not the same.
It got me and Andrew talking about what we really want in life. Right now we are torn. Christchurch is not what we thought it would be...and yep I can pretty much blame it all on the Earthquake. Besides the constant living in fear of aftershocks, the earthquake changed a lot for us other than that. Yes Andrew came here for Law school and yes he's enjoying it. We also came for a lifestyle change and a better life for our kids. We didn't know if we were going to stay beyond the 4 years or not but we wanted to give it a try. After the earthquake things changed drastically. We adapted quickly to the boiling water and the terrible roads and the non-functioning toilets. Those were minor annoyances and didn't rattle our views about coming here. One of my reasons for coming was I love the Ocean. I love swimming in it and surfing in it but the water is so contaminated you can't even go near it. We all got gastro from the beach a few weeks ago. What used to be a vibrant city is now a dead town. Nobody's really around, everyone is transient. People are all dealing with something whether it be insurance claims, chemical toilets, emotional turmoil, construction, moving, staying, going, who knows? All I can describe Christchurch as right now is transient. It's very difficult to live in it right now not knowing anyone...and the problem with an Earthquake and the severe destruction it caused in this city and the ongoing ones means it's not an easily fixable problem and it's not going to be fixed overnight.
We just don't know if we're willing to dedicate the next 4 years to living among this and spending the amount of money we have to spend to be here on this kind of experience. There are many factors to be considered, one being our future in Toronto which seems bleak as well. We do have friends and family there who mean the world to us but the cost of living in Toronto is too high. We'd never own a home, we'd be treading water the rest of our lives. We do feel a bit trapped right now and it's difficult. We've also talked about wanting another child (Don't worry not right now!) and we're not sure how this would work with our NZ plans right now. They deport pregnant non-residents because their maternity services are too stretched apparently, and it would cost more to go home and have a baby than to just have one here. We don't want another child right now but also not in 6-7 years.
Lots to think about and big decisions to make. I did find myself giddy when the new rebuild Christchurch plans came out this week, but then was quickly disappointed that even the basic things are going to take 5-10 years to rebuild. We always said we'd give it a year and the year isn't up so I don't want to say how we feel yet because right now it changes often. I definitely know that visitors would help ease the homesickness *wink wink*
In other news, Fox is getting lots of Toothies. I can't say enough how cute he is. He is absolutely adorable!! Pictures don't really do him justice but he's just the happiest most content little guy. However he is absolutely terrified of strangers. Logan would walk away with anybody when she was a baby. But Fox wails! We had my friend Ruth and her friend Kaitlyn stop in from Canada last Thursday. They were on a NZ road trip and stopped in to see us which was sooo great. It was so nice and comforting seeing a familiar face. Anyways point of the story was Fox wouldn't stop crying, he was inconsolable. I felt so bad for them. I always hate it when babies cry at me. Fox is a complete chicken. I can't put on Baby Einstein videos for Logan anymore because he cries at the puppets...seriously! the puppets?!
Anyways here's a picture of his toothies:
Here's a couple extra videos. Our kids are awesome, this is pretty much what I walk into every afternoon after their nap is done.
Here's them doing the Row Row Your Boat song :)
Here's a picture of Logan and Fox passed out in the car on a recent car trip...so cute!
I miss our friends and family. I really miss the interaction between those friends and family and our children. It was one thing I loved about everyone, how great they interacted with Logan and Fox and I really miss it. Nobody here loves our children like at back home and skype does make it easier but it's not the same.
It got me and Andrew talking about what we really want in life. Right now we are torn. Christchurch is not what we thought it would be...and yep I can pretty much blame it all on the Earthquake. Besides the constant living in fear of aftershocks, the earthquake changed a lot for us other than that. Yes Andrew came here for Law school and yes he's enjoying it. We also came for a lifestyle change and a better life for our kids. We didn't know if we were going to stay beyond the 4 years or not but we wanted to give it a try. After the earthquake things changed drastically. We adapted quickly to the boiling water and the terrible roads and the non-functioning toilets. Those were minor annoyances and didn't rattle our views about coming here. One of my reasons for coming was I love the Ocean. I love swimming in it and surfing in it but the water is so contaminated you can't even go near it. We all got gastro from the beach a few weeks ago. What used to be a vibrant city is now a dead town. Nobody's really around, everyone is transient. People are all dealing with something whether it be insurance claims, chemical toilets, emotional turmoil, construction, moving, staying, going, who knows? All I can describe Christchurch as right now is transient. It's very difficult to live in it right now not knowing anyone...and the problem with an Earthquake and the severe destruction it caused in this city and the ongoing ones means it's not an easily fixable problem and it's not going to be fixed overnight.
We just don't know if we're willing to dedicate the next 4 years to living among this and spending the amount of money we have to spend to be here on this kind of experience. There are many factors to be considered, one being our future in Toronto which seems bleak as well. We do have friends and family there who mean the world to us but the cost of living in Toronto is too high. We'd never own a home, we'd be treading water the rest of our lives. We do feel a bit trapped right now and it's difficult. We've also talked about wanting another child (Don't worry not right now!) and we're not sure how this would work with our NZ plans right now. They deport pregnant non-residents because their maternity services are too stretched apparently, and it would cost more to go home and have a baby than to just have one here. We don't want another child right now but also not in 6-7 years.
Lots to think about and big decisions to make. I did find myself giddy when the new rebuild Christchurch plans came out this week, but then was quickly disappointed that even the basic things are going to take 5-10 years to rebuild. We always said we'd give it a year and the year isn't up so I don't want to say how we feel yet because right now it changes often. I definitely know that visitors would help ease the homesickness *wink wink*
In other news, Fox is getting lots of Toothies. I can't say enough how cute he is. He is absolutely adorable!! Pictures don't really do him justice but he's just the happiest most content little guy. However he is absolutely terrified of strangers. Logan would walk away with anybody when she was a baby. But Fox wails! We had my friend Ruth and her friend Kaitlyn stop in from Canada last Thursday. They were on a NZ road trip and stopped in to see us which was sooo great. It was so nice and comforting seeing a familiar face. Anyways point of the story was Fox wouldn't stop crying, he was inconsolable. I felt so bad for them. I always hate it when babies cry at me. Fox is a complete chicken. I can't put on Baby Einstein videos for Logan anymore because he cries at the puppets...seriously! the puppets?!
Anyways here's a picture of his toothies:
Here's a couple extra videos. Our kids are awesome, this is pretty much what I walk into every afternoon after their nap is done.
Here's them doing the Row Row Your Boat song :)
Here's a picture of Logan and Fox passed out in the car on a recent car trip...so cute!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
There's Something in the Water...and babies
Good Morning!
Today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, children are happy. The sound of Fox chirping in the background and catching Logan out of the corner of my eye dragging toys around in circles makes me pretty happy.
Andrew has started back to school now. It's the first time since we moved I've been at home alone with the kids and it's been great so far. This is the first time ever we have lived in an apartment with ground access and it's made my life that much more enjoyable. I'm not too lazy to use stairs but lugging 2 children down the stairs (or up) with a stroller and whatever goodies I'm bringing back with me (groceries etc) was quite exhausting. Therefore, I never ended up going out much. Now our stroller is in our front hallway and to get out of the house by myself, I just throw the kids in and walk out the door. Life has gotten so much easier for me. Now I can take them to the playground everyday and get out of the house more regularly.
Andrew has been doing really well in school, getting A's and stuff. I'm really proud of him, he's working really hard. He also got that job I was writing about in my last post where he gets to work from home...yay! It's great for all of us and so far it's going well.
I'm super excited but sad at the same time. Our two friends Jonathan and Christina are going to have a baby girl any day now and I am so excited for them but sad because I can't be there to meet her! I remember both of my pregnancies coming to an end and the excitement and joy you feel is wonderful as you begin parenthood. They are both going to be wonderful parents! One of my other best friends is also pregnant. Mary-Beth and her husband Matthew are expecting as well, and I think she is due in December sometime so Congratulations to them as well. I am so stoked for Mary and Matthew. I've known Mary since I was 19 and she is one of the most amazing women I know and they will make such great parents as well! I'm sad I can't be there though :(
There's something in the water! The last few days have been brutal for all of us including the kids. The city has been heavily chlorinating the water since the earthquake for obvious reasons and I'm not sure if they've been scaling it back or if the chlorine has been getting to us but we've all been feeling super sick from it. The poor kids for their stomachs hurting and the bad diaper rash this is causing, and poor us for having to change their really gross poops 5 times a day! We've started to boil water today and here's hoping it helps!
Until next time...
Today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, children are happy. The sound of Fox chirping in the background and catching Logan out of the corner of my eye dragging toys around in circles makes me pretty happy.
Andrew has started back to school now. It's the first time since we moved I've been at home alone with the kids and it's been great so far. This is the first time ever we have lived in an apartment with ground access and it's made my life that much more enjoyable. I'm not too lazy to use stairs but lugging 2 children down the stairs (or up) with a stroller and whatever goodies I'm bringing back with me (groceries etc) was quite exhausting. Therefore, I never ended up going out much. Now our stroller is in our front hallway and to get out of the house by myself, I just throw the kids in and walk out the door. Life has gotten so much easier for me. Now I can take them to the playground everyday and get out of the house more regularly.
Andrew has been doing really well in school, getting A's and stuff. I'm really proud of him, he's working really hard. He also got that job I was writing about in my last post where he gets to work from home...yay! It's great for all of us and so far it's going well.
I'm super excited but sad at the same time. Our two friends Jonathan and Christina are going to have a baby girl any day now and I am so excited for them but sad because I can't be there to meet her! I remember both of my pregnancies coming to an end and the excitement and joy you feel is wonderful as you begin parenthood. They are both going to be wonderful parents! One of my other best friends is also pregnant. Mary-Beth and her husband Matthew are expecting as well, and I think she is due in December sometime so Congratulations to them as well. I am so stoked for Mary and Matthew. I've known Mary since I was 19 and she is one of the most amazing women I know and they will make such great parents as well! I'm sad I can't be there though :(
There's something in the water! The last few days have been brutal for all of us including the kids. The city has been heavily chlorinating the water since the earthquake for obvious reasons and I'm not sure if they've been scaling it back or if the chlorine has been getting to us but we've all been feeling super sick from it. The poor kids for their stomachs hurting and the bad diaper rash this is causing, and poor us for having to change their really gross poops 5 times a day! We've started to boil water today and here's hoping it helps!
Until next time...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Fox and 30 years behind pt. 2
So our little man has been growing like crazy. He's so much quicker than Logan was at her age, not to compare because every child is different. I only say that because I'm used to a different pace of development and he shocks me everytime. We took out this gumball machine at the toy library this week for Fox, it's the same one my mom bought for Logan's 1st birthday and it took Logan a while to get the hang of it at 12 months...but Fox has figured it out so quickly. Here's a video of him playing with it (he's 8 months by the way).
Other than that, an interesting thing happened to me last night. I've taken up jogging and I've always said I hate running on treadmills and on Toronto streets and people always thought that was an excuse! Well it wasn't because I am absolutely loving running on an Ocean beach, it's beautiful and since I am overweight right now, the sand is very forgiving to my knees! Anyways I basically run down the beach and then back. As I'm running down the beach, I see a group of people with quite a few dogs. I think to myself this must be some type of dog group. I get closer to the dogs and find it strange that all these people are holding on to their dogs. They all start barking at me which I find odd. I run very close to the water because I have fun when a big wave comes and I have to dodge it. So I am running at water's edge and there's a large piece of driftwood/tree stump. I am kinda not paying attention because of the barking dogs right there and I almost step on the wood and then trip over my own feet and keep running. It wasn't until I was on my way back up the beach that I realize that this large piece of driftwood is actually a seal! I very very large seal! I was about 1 foot away from it and had almost stepped on it! I couldn't believe it! I felt very dumb that I hadn't even noticed it on the way there and hadn't put 2 and 2 together with all the barking dogs. Well I guess I can sum it all up by saying That's New Zealand! It does make me nervous though when the water opens and I can go surfing. Seals aren't exactly friendly, but I think that seals aren't normally on this beach and it was a one-off.
So my 30 years behind segment. We sat down with our neighbours for a cuppa the other day and she was born in Toronto and grew up in Scotland but went to McMaster for Uni. We had a good rant about New Zealand housing and how behind the times they are. Apparently they said things are changing and there are some new requirements for new houses being built. What is wrong with the housing you ask? Hmm well let's just ask what is central heating? They wouldn't know what you were talking about in NZ. Most houses have paper thin walls with no insulation. Remember here you don't have basements so the houses are built on very small foundations which is why when the earthquakes happen you see some houses that have basically been picked up and turned 45 degrees and dropped back down...because the foundation was all of like 1 foot? So most of these houses don't have floor insulation either or ceiling insulation. That is problem number 1.
Problem number 2 is the terrible heating solutions that they've come up with here. Well it's more like what heating solution? I've seen fire places but haven't really seen one's that pump the heat to the other rooms and without any insulation, you'd have to have the fire going 24/7. Then there's portable heaters (oil, halogen, fan etc). Those aren't really a great solution with kids because they touch it and get burned, and also they don't really produce heat to a large area. Then there's my favourite heating non-solution: heat pumps. Basically all a heat pump is is an in-wall heater (some are external that are mounted to the wall) that blows heat with a thermostat. They don't really work well because 1. The thermostat isn't accurate because it's reading the temperature of the room right where the heater is and 2. 1 little heatpump is not going to heat your whole house let alone even the room it's in 3. Apparently heatpumps are incredibly inefficient which leads to crazy power bills especially if you have an uninsulated house. I've read on forums that people building houses here who come from other countries ask them to put in central heating and the tradesmen don't even know what that is. People get by ok in Christchurch or northern cities but what about down in Invercargill? I can't imagine how cold houses down there get!
Problem number 3 is that windows and doors are not made to insulate. Most aren't double glazed and I always see huge gaps in doors and windows here that people can't be bothered to change. I keep seeing these thermal insulating curtains advertised and I just keep thinking "OR you could just put in proper windows". What good does an insulating curtain do when you open it and all the cold air just comes through the window? Although speaking to one NZ couple a few months ago, it seems it is still very very expensive to make the switch to good windows and doors.
So basically our solution to this problem? We almost never use our fancy heat pump (realtors make such a big deal if a house has a heat pump) because it's in the living room and we're really only in the living room during the day and the cold is tolerable with a sweater and slippers. At night however it gets really really cold (It can go to below 0 degrees). Please think about that in Toronto when it is 0 in November or December and imagine that with no insulation or proper heating...COLD, if the power goes out, people could die! We have a portable heater in the kids room and shut the door at night. I hate having a portable heater because it just freaks me out because it's such a fire hazard especially when you have aftershocks knocking it over. We don't have a choice though, it just gets way too cold in there without it. The heat pump won't reach the bedrooms so it just stays off at night. We close our bedroom doors and we had a heater as well. We found an electric mattress pad though on sale for $39 and bought it for bed and I have to say it was the best investment ever! Andrew just rolls his eyes because I talk about it so much, but finally I am actually warm at night! Our rooms stays an ok temperature as long as the doors stay closed and sometimes on really cold nights we have the mattress pad on and the heater on. We have 2 duvets equalling 700gsm of wool in our comforter. So it just shows you how cold it can get here. Luckily I am pretty sure our walls have insulation as well as we're a middle unit so insulated by the other units beside us. I can't imagine how cold it would be in an uninsulated place. brrr!
Anyways that is it for my post! My last and final thing is a prayer request. I explained in a previous post about the difficulty in Andrew finding a job. He's had a couple leads and a couple interviews. Please pray that one of these pans out. One job is working from home again and this time wouldn't violate his visa conditions. It sounds like a great opportunity for us so please pray it works out!
Also for those who don't know about my photo blog...I have started updating it again. Click here to see it!
Other than that, an interesting thing happened to me last night. I've taken up jogging and I've always said I hate running on treadmills and on Toronto streets and people always thought that was an excuse! Well it wasn't because I am absolutely loving running on an Ocean beach, it's beautiful and since I am overweight right now, the sand is very forgiving to my knees! Anyways I basically run down the beach and then back. As I'm running down the beach, I see a group of people with quite a few dogs. I think to myself this must be some type of dog group. I get closer to the dogs and find it strange that all these people are holding on to their dogs. They all start barking at me which I find odd. I run very close to the water because I have fun when a big wave comes and I have to dodge it. So I am running at water's edge and there's a large piece of driftwood/tree stump. I am kinda not paying attention because of the barking dogs right there and I almost step on the wood and then trip over my own feet and keep running. It wasn't until I was on my way back up the beach that I realize that this large piece of driftwood is actually a seal! I very very large seal! I was about 1 foot away from it and had almost stepped on it! I couldn't believe it! I felt very dumb that I hadn't even noticed it on the way there and hadn't put 2 and 2 together with all the barking dogs. Well I guess I can sum it all up by saying That's New Zealand! It does make me nervous though when the water opens and I can go surfing. Seals aren't exactly friendly, but I think that seals aren't normally on this beach and it was a one-off.
So my 30 years behind segment. We sat down with our neighbours for a cuppa the other day and she was born in Toronto and grew up in Scotland but went to McMaster for Uni. We had a good rant about New Zealand housing and how behind the times they are. Apparently they said things are changing and there are some new requirements for new houses being built. What is wrong with the housing you ask? Hmm well let's just ask what is central heating? They wouldn't know what you were talking about in NZ. Most houses have paper thin walls with no insulation. Remember here you don't have basements so the houses are built on very small foundations which is why when the earthquakes happen you see some houses that have basically been picked up and turned 45 degrees and dropped back down...because the foundation was all of like 1 foot? So most of these houses don't have floor insulation either or ceiling insulation. That is problem number 1.
Problem number 2 is the terrible heating solutions that they've come up with here. Well it's more like what heating solution? I've seen fire places but haven't really seen one's that pump the heat to the other rooms and without any insulation, you'd have to have the fire going 24/7. Then there's portable heaters (oil, halogen, fan etc). Those aren't really a great solution with kids because they touch it and get burned, and also they don't really produce heat to a large area. Then there's my favourite heating non-solution: heat pumps. Basically all a heat pump is is an in-wall heater (some are external that are mounted to the wall) that blows heat with a thermostat. They don't really work well because 1. The thermostat isn't accurate because it's reading the temperature of the room right where the heater is and 2. 1 little heatpump is not going to heat your whole house let alone even the room it's in 3. Apparently heatpumps are incredibly inefficient which leads to crazy power bills especially if you have an uninsulated house. I've read on forums that people building houses here who come from other countries ask them to put in central heating and the tradesmen don't even know what that is. People get by ok in Christchurch or northern cities but what about down in Invercargill? I can't imagine how cold houses down there get!
Problem number 3 is that windows and doors are not made to insulate. Most aren't double glazed and I always see huge gaps in doors and windows here that people can't be bothered to change. I keep seeing these thermal insulating curtains advertised and I just keep thinking "OR you could just put in proper windows". What good does an insulating curtain do when you open it and all the cold air just comes through the window? Although speaking to one NZ couple a few months ago, it seems it is still very very expensive to make the switch to good windows and doors.
So basically our solution to this problem? We almost never use our fancy heat pump (realtors make such a big deal if a house has a heat pump) because it's in the living room and we're really only in the living room during the day and the cold is tolerable with a sweater and slippers. At night however it gets really really cold (It can go to below 0 degrees). Please think about that in Toronto when it is 0 in November or December and imagine that with no insulation or proper heating...COLD, if the power goes out, people could die! We have a portable heater in the kids room and shut the door at night. I hate having a portable heater because it just freaks me out because it's such a fire hazard especially when you have aftershocks knocking it over. We don't have a choice though, it just gets way too cold in there without it. The heat pump won't reach the bedrooms so it just stays off at night. We close our bedroom doors and we had a heater as well. We found an electric mattress pad though on sale for $39 and bought it for bed and I have to say it was the best investment ever! Andrew just rolls his eyes because I talk about it so much, but finally I am actually warm at night! Our rooms stays an ok temperature as long as the doors stay closed and sometimes on really cold nights we have the mattress pad on and the heater on. We have 2 duvets equalling 700gsm of wool in our comforter. So it just shows you how cold it can get here. Luckily I am pretty sure our walls have insulation as well as we're a middle unit so insulated by the other units beside us. I can't imagine how cold it would be in an uninsulated place. brrr!
Anyways that is it for my post! My last and final thing is a prayer request. I explained in a previous post about the difficulty in Andrew finding a job. He's had a couple leads and a couple interviews. Please pray that one of these pans out. One job is working from home again and this time wouldn't violate his visa conditions. It sounds like a great opportunity for us so please pray it works out!
Also for those who don't know about my photo blog...I have started updating it again. Click here to see it!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Kiddie Update
As promised a chillin update. Andrew is off playing video games with Duncan from Toronto over the internet, so their relationship hasn't changed much and I have some time while the kids are napping to update.
Logan and Fox have both grown so much over the last few months but in different ways. Logan hasn't really grown taller or gained any weight (maybe 1 lb since we got here) but my oh my has her brain developed. I can't even believe it, it's almost like it happens overnight. I can still remember the one day when I realized she wasn't a baby anymore back in Toronto. I think she was about 14 months and I walked into her room while she was napping just to make sure she was asleep and I looked at her outstretched in her crib in just a onesie and realized she was HUGE. She took up so much of the crib and that's when I realized she wasn't a baby. I guess with your first child you don't realize it until certain moments because you are constantly thinking of them as a newborn and with your second you have to hurry their growth along to catch up with the first so you are thinking of them as your older child. Another lightbulb moment was when she put the circle into a shape sorter toy by herself and I was just thinking when did this happen?! Here's her jumping:
Anyways she has gotten so smart. She names the animals in books and now asks me "whaza" meaning "what's that?" when she doesn't know what it is.
She sings Twinkle twinkle little star and the Barney song. She also absolutely loves Skinamarinki dink. She knows her alphabet up to the letter G. Me being a teacher of course has to get her started young. My friend Heidi gave Logan a Magnadoodle for the plane ride to New Zealand and it has been the best toy/learning tool ever. Logan is really fussy still at times and very stubborn (that hasn't changed since birth). Often when she is waiting for food or we're in the car or pretty much anytime she gets restless; I just break out the magnadoodle and start drawing letters for her and teaching her them. She loves it so it keeps everyone happy and gets her learning young. We have also started counting up to 3, but she can't properly pronounce the numbers yet and often just repeats 2 over and over again and throws in a 9 (don't know where she got the 9 from).
She is so so good to her brother. I can't even explain how blessed we are by this. Every morning she wakes up and greets Fox with a "Hello Fo" (Fox) and waves at him. When Fox is crying she will find a pacifier and give it to him and rock him in his chair. She will sometimes hold the bottle when he is feeding. She very much adores her brother and often I will find them in the morning both in their separate cribs giggling and laughing with each other. It's very sweet.
Logan has become quite the little helper too. Everything from laundry to tiding up her toys, to throwing out diapers, she helps me with. She understands the instructions and although she doesn't always complete the task I think it's good to give her responsibilities from this early age. She seems to like it and it will teach her she needs to help out.
She also loves to climb. When we were in the process of moving I had dismantled the cribs and stacked them against the wall. I got the fright of my life when I left the room for a few minutes and then called Logan but she didn't come. I walked into the room looking for her and she was perched at the top of the stacked crib just sitting there kicking her legs looking at me. She scared me so much for 2 reasons! First because she just scared me because I didn't see her and secondly because if she had tried to get down she probably would have landed straight on her head. Anyways I then grabbed her and put her down and she went straight to climb it again and I thought I'd film it (now that I was standing right there to catch her if she fell).
Now on to Fox. Fox is the best baby ever! He is so good and almost never cries. I love my little boy so much. He's grown a lot since we got here. I think he's up to 19 lbs (only about 3.5 lbs shy of Logan!) and Logan and him wear the same size diapers now. We now feed him a mix of mashed foods and whole foods. He is still learning how to eat whole pieces of food but he is much quicker than Logan was. I think in a month or so he'll be off mashed foods. Developmentally he's much quicker than Logan so far. He's not crawling or anything yet but sits up and reaches for everything. He has gorilla arms as me and Andrew call it. You will sit him somewhere and be shocked at how far he can reach to grab something. Let's just say many cups and plates have been knocked over by him which seemed out of his reach.
He's a very happy baby and it's very easy to make him smile and giggle. He is a typical baby right now shoving everything in his mouth. He's got 2 teeth still but a third one is now poking through. He is such a cuddly baby and needy. He just loves to be held and cuddled which is fine by me :) He loves songs and I got him clapping his hands a few weeks back to 'If you're happy and you know it' but he doesn't do it anymore and I never got a chance to film it.
Both Logan and Fox absolutely LOVE Winnie the Pooh. I have the original movie and they love to watch it. Logan gets really excited during the songs. It all began when my friend Tanya bought Logan a little tigger snuggle buddy to sleep with when she was a newborn. She is very attached to it and we thought it would be cute to get Fox the Pooh. They are both very attached to their snuggle buddies and often Logan will bring Fox his Pooh if he's upset. OH and Logan also LOVES books. She insists on sleeping with a book every night. It makes me laugh.
Here's a couple of videos from Fox and Logan about a month ago. I was testing out my SLR's video mode so it's a little slow on the focusing.
Fox playing with pots
This is Logan's first Dip (French Fry dip). She saw us eating with ketchup and wanted some too:
Hopefully you enjoyed those videos and I will try and update and put more up here more regularly.
Logan and Fox have both grown so much over the last few months but in different ways. Logan hasn't really grown taller or gained any weight (maybe 1 lb since we got here) but my oh my has her brain developed. I can't even believe it, it's almost like it happens overnight. I can still remember the one day when I realized she wasn't a baby anymore back in Toronto. I think she was about 14 months and I walked into her room while she was napping just to make sure she was asleep and I looked at her outstretched in her crib in just a onesie and realized she was HUGE. She took up so much of the crib and that's when I realized she wasn't a baby. I guess with your first child you don't realize it until certain moments because you are constantly thinking of them as a newborn and with your second you have to hurry their growth along to catch up with the first so you are thinking of them as your older child. Another lightbulb moment was when she put the circle into a shape sorter toy by herself and I was just thinking when did this happen?! Here's her jumping:
Anyways she has gotten so smart. She names the animals in books and now asks me "whaza" meaning "what's that?" when she doesn't know what it is.
She sings Twinkle twinkle little star and the Barney song. She also absolutely loves Skinamarinki dink. She knows her alphabet up to the letter G. Me being a teacher of course has to get her started young. My friend Heidi gave Logan a Magnadoodle for the plane ride to New Zealand and it has been the best toy/learning tool ever. Logan is really fussy still at times and very stubborn (that hasn't changed since birth). Often when she is waiting for food or we're in the car or pretty much anytime she gets restless; I just break out the magnadoodle and start drawing letters for her and teaching her them. She loves it so it keeps everyone happy and gets her learning young. We have also started counting up to 3, but she can't properly pronounce the numbers yet and often just repeats 2 over and over again and throws in a 9 (don't know where she got the 9 from).
She is so so good to her brother. I can't even explain how blessed we are by this. Every morning she wakes up and greets Fox with a "Hello Fo" (Fox) and waves at him. When Fox is crying she will find a pacifier and give it to him and rock him in his chair. She will sometimes hold the bottle when he is feeding. She very much adores her brother and often I will find them in the morning both in their separate cribs giggling and laughing with each other. It's very sweet.
Logan has become quite the little helper too. Everything from laundry to tiding up her toys, to throwing out diapers, she helps me with. She understands the instructions and although she doesn't always complete the task I think it's good to give her responsibilities from this early age. She seems to like it and it will teach her she needs to help out.
She also loves to climb. When we were in the process of moving I had dismantled the cribs and stacked them against the wall. I got the fright of my life when I left the room for a few minutes and then called Logan but she didn't come. I walked into the room looking for her and she was perched at the top of the stacked crib just sitting there kicking her legs looking at me. She scared me so much for 2 reasons! First because she just scared me because I didn't see her and secondly because if she had tried to get down she probably would have landed straight on her head. Anyways I then grabbed her and put her down and she went straight to climb it again and I thought I'd film it (now that I was standing right there to catch her if she fell).
Now on to Fox. Fox is the best baby ever! He is so good and almost never cries. I love my little boy so much. He's grown a lot since we got here. I think he's up to 19 lbs (only about 3.5 lbs shy of Logan!) and Logan and him wear the same size diapers now. We now feed him a mix of mashed foods and whole foods. He is still learning how to eat whole pieces of food but he is much quicker than Logan was. I think in a month or so he'll be off mashed foods. Developmentally he's much quicker than Logan so far. He's not crawling or anything yet but sits up and reaches for everything. He has gorilla arms as me and Andrew call it. You will sit him somewhere and be shocked at how far he can reach to grab something. Let's just say many cups and plates have been knocked over by him which seemed out of his reach.
He's a very happy baby and it's very easy to make him smile and giggle. He is a typical baby right now shoving everything in his mouth. He's got 2 teeth still but a third one is now poking through. He is such a cuddly baby and needy. He just loves to be held and cuddled which is fine by me :) He loves songs and I got him clapping his hands a few weeks back to 'If you're happy and you know it' but he doesn't do it anymore and I never got a chance to film it.
Both Logan and Fox absolutely LOVE Winnie the Pooh. I have the original movie and they love to watch it. Logan gets really excited during the songs. It all began when my friend Tanya bought Logan a little tigger snuggle buddy to sleep with when she was a newborn. She is very attached to it and we thought it would be cute to get Fox the Pooh. They are both very attached to their snuggle buddies and often Logan will bring Fox his Pooh if he's upset. OH and Logan also LOVES books. She insists on sleeping with a book every night. It makes me laugh.
Here's a couple of videos from Fox and Logan about a month ago. I was testing out my SLR's video mode so it's a little slow on the focusing.
Fox playing with pots
This is Logan's first Dip (French Fry dip). She saw us eating with ketchup and wanted some too:
Hopefully you enjoyed those videos and I will try and update and put more up here more regularly.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
At least 30 years behind...
It's been a while since I updated. Things have been absolutely crazy the last few weeks. First off there was a 5.7 and 6.3 magnitude earthquake which shut the city down for a few days. The local library only just reopened again. Meanwhile we'd asked before this to get out of our lease and there was a family who was supposed to take it over. They ended up bailing but I'm assuming because of the earthquake decided to change their minds. So we ended up being given 1.5 weeks notice to find a new place to live. This was difficult because so many more homes were destroyed and became unliveable and Andrew had no idea what was going on with his exams. The university was extremely late in giving answers about student's exams. Then a few days later there was a 5.4 aftershock which was quite strong and had us evacuated from our residences...at 10:30pm at night. Great! We drove around for a few hours, the kids were cold and miserable and we ended up stopping at an open Mcdonalds for some fries and a hot chocolate (but they weren't serving hot drinks because of the aftershocks). It was a long long night which really made us think what on earth are we doing here?
However God came through for us and provided a flat way beyond our expectations right across from the beach. It's a great apartment and you can open the doors and hear the Ocean waves. We feel extremely blessed although bummed we can't surf and the water likely won't be safe by summer they are saying.
However we can't ignore some of the difficulties we have been faced with in New Zealand. Much of which have made us want to go back to Toronto. The first Feb 22 earthquake shut down the city for months. I wouldn't even say the city has fully recovered. We had to boil water for a couple months which was annoying but the least of anyone's worries. Things started to look a bit better, and you start to think "ok this was a one-off and we can get on with our lives" which is what we thought about the first September earthquake. But then when another one hits and another and another and they are all on different unknown undiscovered fault lines, you start to wonder when it will end and if it will ever end? It's difficult for us because we don't have many friends here and no family. We don't have established lives here so every time another aftershock hits, it disrupts our whole lives and our chances of staying here. Andrew is having difficulty with school and never knowing when his classes/breaks/exams etc will be. A lot of people stay in Christchurch because they have friends and family here or grew up here etc. We just don't have that same attachment. What we are finding very difficult at the moment is finances. We saved for this move but nobody could prepare us for the high cost of living. We expected it to be high but also counted on Andrew getting a part-time job during the school year and full-time work during the summer to help offset the cost. This is proving next to impossible and the frustration is setting in on what do we do? First off the earthquake caused a lot of unemployment due to the CBD being closed and also businesses being unable to survive after the initial quake. So there are already so many unemployed looking for a job. On top of that add that Kiwi's have this thing against hiring immigrants for jobs. At first I didn't think this was the case but the more jobs I've seen Andrew apply for and get rejected from I think this has to be the case. He's been overqualified for almost everything he's applied for and he's gone for so many and nothing. Thirdly throw in that most businesses want to hire people as independent contractors (a violation of Andrew's visa terms) is making it next to impossible for Andrew to find a job. I'm not hopeful for him finding a summer job only...which makes us wonder what to do. I won't even get into why I can't get a job right now. So yes we are frustrated. Sometimes it feels like an investment that just didn't pan out.
However New Zealand is beautiful. The people (for the most part) are lovely, and the scenery is stunning. We definitely feel like we fit in here.
Let's see...so we moved and then we were supposed to go to Auckland. We were all geared up to go and got to the airport only to find out our flight was delayed until 8:50pm (2 hours late). Logan and Fox were miserable and then Logan started to get sick, and just about everything that could go wrong went wrong and we decided to just go home. Sometimes things just happen and you just have to roll with it. We lost our money on the flight but luckily it wasn't much. A few days later we ended up driving to Hanmer Springs for the day just to get out of the city. It's a 90 minute drive and was worth it! We enjoyed the day looking at snow-capped mountains while sitting in the thermal pool which we had gotten coupons for. Logan got used to being in a pool again which was great. Since all the pools were closed for so long after the earthquake, she had to be reacquainted with them. It was a relaxing day and we just sat there not having to worry about aftershocks. I can't even describe how nice it was to get out of the city even if only for a day.
Other than that not much else is new. I titled this Blogpost 30 years behind to explain my disbelief at some NZ trends but I will save that for another entry. I will leave you with some recent pictures of the kids. In the next few days I will post about the kids and post a few videos of the kids as well.
My beautiful Logan walking on the dunes and clutching of course the rubber duckie her daddy bought her. She is so attached to her rubber duckies. She brings them everywhere and sometimes insists on sleeping with them.
Don't touch the seashell Logan! The water is contaminated! Somehow she just doesn't understand that when I tell her.
Logan smiling after a cracker.
Fox is getting so big and so handsome. He's such an awesome baby.
Logan playing with her dump truck in our courtyard.
Fox smiling. He's so handsome :)
Andrew cooking up a storm in the courtyard.
However God came through for us and provided a flat way beyond our expectations right across from the beach. It's a great apartment and you can open the doors and hear the Ocean waves. We feel extremely blessed although bummed we can't surf and the water likely won't be safe by summer they are saying.
However we can't ignore some of the difficulties we have been faced with in New Zealand. Much of which have made us want to go back to Toronto. The first Feb 22 earthquake shut down the city for months. I wouldn't even say the city has fully recovered. We had to boil water for a couple months which was annoying but the least of anyone's worries. Things started to look a bit better, and you start to think "ok this was a one-off and we can get on with our lives" which is what we thought about the first September earthquake. But then when another one hits and another and another and they are all on different unknown undiscovered fault lines, you start to wonder when it will end and if it will ever end? It's difficult for us because we don't have many friends here and no family. We don't have established lives here so every time another aftershock hits, it disrupts our whole lives and our chances of staying here. Andrew is having difficulty with school and never knowing when his classes/breaks/exams etc will be. A lot of people stay in Christchurch because they have friends and family here or grew up here etc. We just don't have that same attachment. What we are finding very difficult at the moment is finances. We saved for this move but nobody could prepare us for the high cost of living. We expected it to be high but also counted on Andrew getting a part-time job during the school year and full-time work during the summer to help offset the cost. This is proving next to impossible and the frustration is setting in on what do we do? First off the earthquake caused a lot of unemployment due to the CBD being closed and also businesses being unable to survive after the initial quake. So there are already so many unemployed looking for a job. On top of that add that Kiwi's have this thing against hiring immigrants for jobs. At first I didn't think this was the case but the more jobs I've seen Andrew apply for and get rejected from I think this has to be the case. He's been overqualified for almost everything he's applied for and he's gone for so many and nothing. Thirdly throw in that most businesses want to hire people as independent contractors (a violation of Andrew's visa terms) is making it next to impossible for Andrew to find a job. I'm not hopeful for him finding a summer job only...which makes us wonder what to do. I won't even get into why I can't get a job right now. So yes we are frustrated. Sometimes it feels like an investment that just didn't pan out.
However New Zealand is beautiful. The people (for the most part) are lovely, and the scenery is stunning. We definitely feel like we fit in here.
Let's see...so we moved and then we were supposed to go to Auckland. We were all geared up to go and got to the airport only to find out our flight was delayed until 8:50pm (2 hours late). Logan and Fox were miserable and then Logan started to get sick, and just about everything that could go wrong went wrong and we decided to just go home. Sometimes things just happen and you just have to roll with it. We lost our money on the flight but luckily it wasn't much. A few days later we ended up driving to Hanmer Springs for the day just to get out of the city. It's a 90 minute drive and was worth it! We enjoyed the day looking at snow-capped mountains while sitting in the thermal pool which we had gotten coupons for. Logan got used to being in a pool again which was great. Since all the pools were closed for so long after the earthquake, she had to be reacquainted with them. It was a relaxing day and we just sat there not having to worry about aftershocks. I can't even describe how nice it was to get out of the city even if only for a day.
Other than that not much else is new. I titled this Blogpost 30 years behind to explain my disbelief at some NZ trends but I will save that for another entry. I will leave you with some recent pictures of the kids. In the next few days I will post about the kids and post a few videos of the kids as well.
My beautiful Logan walking on the dunes and clutching of course the rubber duckie her daddy bought her. She is so attached to her rubber duckies. She brings them everywhere and sometimes insists on sleeping with them.
Don't touch the seashell Logan! The water is contaminated! Somehow she just doesn't understand that when I tell her.
Logan smiling after a cracker.
Fox is getting so big and so handsome. He's such an awesome baby.
Logan playing with her dump truck in our courtyard.
Fox smiling. He's so handsome :)
Andrew cooking up a storm in the courtyard.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
The good the bad...
So now I will begin my new series on Likes and Dislikes of New Zealand. Each week (hopefully) I will post one thing I like about NZ and one thing I dislike about NZ. This week I will be discussing the beach and driving.
Like: New Brighton Beach. I want to move here! It's a beautiful beach with a pier and an awesome library and I love spending time in this area. There is a mall right across from the beach (which isn't like a CDN mall)...more like a promenade type thing but awesome! There is a wading pool and playground for kids and I think before I didn't give the area enough of a chance before I judged it. Sure there was a junky lying on the picnic table in the kids playground but I think it was a one-off. I do think that there are sketchy people in this area and sketch stuff goes down but I think there is a lot of good in it. I think that when the sun comes out NB (New Brighton) becomes this happening lively community where people from all over Christchurch come for a little day out. I have seen many families there having a good time and it makes me think that overall it's a nice community that gets a bad rap because of the few who spoil it.
The library is awesome, I take Logan and Fox there all the time. They have this thing called Baby time for kids 2 and under and I went with Logan and Fox for the first time last week and it was awesome! They sing songs with the kids and blow bubbles and give the kids shakers and it's really interactive with the little ones. I actually had fun! And the adults in NZ who do this stuff with their tots get right into it so it makes it that much more fun. It's not like in Toronto where the kids would get excited and all the adults are kinda sitting there mumbling the words to themselves looking bored. They do the baby time at all the libraries but the 2 near us are still closed so I figure if I'm going to have to drive to a library, I might as well go to the one on the beach.
Dislike: DRIVING IN NZ! Ok let me retreat a little from that statement a little bit and say for now mostly in Christchurch. Ok first of all driving in NZ outside Christchurch I don't have much experience with but I hate driving through huge gorges and mountains on roads with no guardrail and sheer cliffs right beside you. It's absolutely terrifying being a passenger when you look out your window and you can see straight down a sheer cliff face...not fun! Now you Torontonians might think you have some experience with this but if you haven't been to a place like NZ then you do not understand how large these drops, mountains, valleys, and gorges are! Absolutely HUGE. I can't even describe how big they are! They are super windy roads too, and why they always feel the need to post a speed limit of 100km/h before a very sharp turn I don't know! Because Andrew and me are driving like 30km/h! Who is going 100?! It also is very unsettling when you are driving and then see skid marks that swerve and then kinda just end going over the drop. Very unsettling.
Now to my complaints about city driving/traffic. I am not sure how the traffic was before the earthquake but now that everyone is displaced and roads are closed driving 2 blocks takes 20 minutes sometimes. Frustrating! I also find drivers here to be insanely aggressive. I have had people swear at me because I made a turn too slowly and had people in parking lots almost drive right into me to prove a point.
My biggest hugest dislike about driving in Chch is the roads. Who the heck designed these roads. You REALLY have to pay attention. Driving straight down a road goes something like this: Drive straight, swerve to the left to keep going straight, cross the intersection, swerve back to the right to go straight, swerve to the left, merge with traffic into one lane, road turns into 2 lanes again, go around a traffic circle, merge, swerve left to keep going straight, find yourself in a lane that is only turning right, swerve left to get into the only other lane which happens to be turning left now. Was it that hard to design a road that has a lane that is designated to go straight?! Ever heard of a right-hand turn lane? or a left hand turn lane? If you are going to have 2 lanes on a road...could you just keep it that way for the remainder of the road? Do you need to go from 2 lanes to 1 to 2 to 1 to 2 and repeat? I just want to drive straight Christchurch, that's all I want to do! Do I need to constantly be swerving to go straight?
For those who have spent some time in Christchurch, you will understand this especially if you have lived elsewhere. I have appreciation for the people who designed Toronto roads....man they knew what they were doing. I can't even comprehend who designed this city's roads and thought it was a good idea! End rant...
For some new pictures of our latest adventures please click here.
Like: New Brighton Beach. I want to move here! It's a beautiful beach with a pier and an awesome library and I love spending time in this area. There is a mall right across from the beach (which isn't like a CDN mall)...more like a promenade type thing but awesome! There is a wading pool and playground for kids and I think before I didn't give the area enough of a chance before I judged it. Sure there was a junky lying on the picnic table in the kids playground but I think it was a one-off. I do think that there are sketchy people in this area and sketch stuff goes down but I think there is a lot of good in it. I think that when the sun comes out NB (New Brighton) becomes this happening lively community where people from all over Christchurch come for a little day out. I have seen many families there having a good time and it makes me think that overall it's a nice community that gets a bad rap because of the few who spoil it.
The library is awesome, I take Logan and Fox there all the time. They have this thing called Baby time for kids 2 and under and I went with Logan and Fox for the first time last week and it was awesome! They sing songs with the kids and blow bubbles and give the kids shakers and it's really interactive with the little ones. I actually had fun! And the adults in NZ who do this stuff with their tots get right into it so it makes it that much more fun. It's not like in Toronto where the kids would get excited and all the adults are kinda sitting there mumbling the words to themselves looking bored. They do the baby time at all the libraries but the 2 near us are still closed so I figure if I'm going to have to drive to a library, I might as well go to the one on the beach.
Dislike: DRIVING IN NZ! Ok let me retreat a little from that statement a little bit and say for now mostly in Christchurch. Ok first of all driving in NZ outside Christchurch I don't have much experience with but I hate driving through huge gorges and mountains on roads with no guardrail and sheer cliffs right beside you. It's absolutely terrifying being a passenger when you look out your window and you can see straight down a sheer cliff face...not fun! Now you Torontonians might think you have some experience with this but if you haven't been to a place like NZ then you do not understand how large these drops, mountains, valleys, and gorges are! Absolutely HUGE. I can't even describe how big they are! They are super windy roads too, and why they always feel the need to post a speed limit of 100km/h before a very sharp turn I don't know! Because Andrew and me are driving like 30km/h! Who is going 100?! It also is very unsettling when you are driving and then see skid marks that swerve and then kinda just end going over the drop. Very unsettling.
Now to my complaints about city driving/traffic. I am not sure how the traffic was before the earthquake but now that everyone is displaced and roads are closed driving 2 blocks takes 20 minutes sometimes. Frustrating! I also find drivers here to be insanely aggressive. I have had people swear at me because I made a turn too slowly and had people in parking lots almost drive right into me to prove a point.
My biggest hugest dislike about driving in Chch is the roads. Who the heck designed these roads. You REALLY have to pay attention. Driving straight down a road goes something like this: Drive straight, swerve to the left to keep going straight, cross the intersection, swerve back to the right to go straight, swerve to the left, merge with traffic into one lane, road turns into 2 lanes again, go around a traffic circle, merge, swerve left to keep going straight, find yourself in a lane that is only turning right, swerve left to get into the only other lane which happens to be turning left now. Was it that hard to design a road that has a lane that is designated to go straight?! Ever heard of a right-hand turn lane? or a left hand turn lane? If you are going to have 2 lanes on a road...could you just keep it that way for the remainder of the road? Do you need to go from 2 lanes to 1 to 2 to 1 to 2 and repeat? I just want to drive straight Christchurch, that's all I want to do! Do I need to constantly be swerving to go straight?
For those who have spent some time in Christchurch, you will understand this especially if you have lived elsewhere. I have appreciation for the people who designed Toronto roads....man they knew what they were doing. I can't even comprehend who designed this city's roads and thought it was a good idea! End rant...
For some new pictures of our latest adventures please click here.
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