So Logan is almost walking, she's began taking a few steps on her own here and there. She is very skiddish and careful and I think that's why it's taking so long. She's learned to go down stairs on her own and she bum scoots down them very carefully and slowly. She's just a cautious child. Fox is getting bigger and bigger and so placid. It's very difficult to get a giggle out of him as shown in this video:
So the past weekend marked some highlights for our little boy. He started eating rice cereal. I can't say if he loves or hates it. Like I said he's very placid and doesn't seem to care either way.
Some friends we made invited us to go to an A and P show on Saturday. I guess that stands for agriculture and something? On the way up we drove through clouds. It was a very weird experience. I tried to capture it on camera but it didn't quite turn out. Then all of a sudden we were out of them. It's very strange weather we've learned here.
So anyways we drove to Sheffield to go to this A and P show with 2 friends and their 3 children. It was a lot of fun and Logan loved seeing the animals. She didn't know what to think of this one:
This is Logan on the bouncy castle with her new friends (our friends children). We weren't going to let her go on at first since it cost $2 (yes we are cheap) but she cried so hard and got so excited when she saw it we had to let her go on.
All in all it was a fun day!
On Sunday, I did a bit of biking around the city and I have to say, it's amazing! Every street has a bike path on the street and the city is completely flat. I had to go pick up some clothes I won in an auction for Fox and I groaned when I looked at the map and saw it was 5k away. (We are trying to not use our car because gas is so expensive and also I really want to get in better shape). So anyways I groaned because 5 k in toronto is still a short bike ride but it's still up and down and tiring. Then when I went on the bike ride, it was sooo effortless which is great for commuting around the city, but bad for my workouts. No hills = no abs, lol. So I pretty much can bike ride anywhere I need to go in a very short amount of time. I've been taking Logan to Hagley park on a semi-regular basis in the bike trailer and it only takes me 20 minutes and that's with lugging the trailer behind me. We go to the playground there and I'm looking forward to next summer when I can stick both kids in the trailer and bike there and take them to the playground and paddling pool (wading pool).
Another thing I'm getting excited about is TradeMe which is a used classifieds that is auction style. Yes it is a reality we are going to have to buy lots of things here. We usually bought 2nd hand in Toronto because it saves a lot of money and usually you can get great deals. So I'm excited about 2 deals I got yesterday. Fox doesn't have many winter clothes. We only have about 2 outfits for him and it's starting to get chilly in the mornings/evenings, so I needed to get him some clothes. After shopping around to get a feel for prices, I realized I couldn't get any good deals at any childrens clothing stores or even kmart. I mean $30 for a pair of baby pants is just stupid. So I bid on a clothing lot on Trademe and won it for $22 NZD and there is more than enough pants to get him through another year. We may have to add a sweater or 2, but the clothing bundle had a lot of sleepers, pants, one-piece outfits and shoes. It's definitely enough to get him through the winter. And the clothing is nice stuff too.
The second thing that I was super excited on Trademe that we won is a Miele Vacuum cleaner! We bid on it at the last minute for $41 NZD (about $30 CDN) and won it! I couldn't believe it! I thought it was too good to be true but we've picked it up and used it and it works wonderfully! It looked scratched up in the pictures so that could've been why nobody else bid on it.
I absolutely love New Zealand, they are going to have a tough time getting rid of us! There's also a lot to do here with the kids. A lot of stuff is closed right now. Once it reopens there will be more to do but there is still lots to do.
This past week we had plunket appointments for the kids. Plunket is a baby/childrens wellness organization that is absolutely fabulous. They take care of kids right from birth-5 yrs. They do everything from checkups to playgroups to parenting courses (and it's all free!). So Fox and Logan each had a checkup where the nurse measured the usual height, weight etc. Fox is now 16 lbs! They also give you a book where everything is recorded from each visit and it contains everything about their health. It's basically a baby manual/ record of every visit/vaccine etc. Let's just say NZ's system for babies and children is much better and much more organized than Canada's.
We also registered with a doctor and Fox got his second round of vaccines (which again was all free) and got checked out by the doctor and nurse. I was a little worried before we got here to what everything was going to cost us for health wise. We have insurance for emergencies but I was more worried about regular checkups for the kids, but so far everything has been free and we have noticed people are also pretty accommodating when they find out you are not residents and have to pay full fees. It's much more laid back in regards to cost when you are here than when you enquire about it from overseas.
On Saturday we are going to join up to a toy library which I am really excited about for the kids. It's $70 NZD / year. For that price you can take out 8 toys every 2 weeks (at no cost once you are a member) and you have to help out a few times a year. I think it's an absolutely brilliant idea for so many reasons. I don't know why that doesn't exist in Canada. This way we can get new toys all the time for them (because they get bored of them so quickly) but we can also try toys before we buy to see if Logan and Fox will really love it and it will have longevity in our house. Also for Fox it's great right now because he could really use some developmental toys (like an exersaucer) but it's the type of thing they use for a couple of months and then they are done with it so you can just borrow it every 2 weeks.
Also it seems that churches (like every church) run playgroups and music programs for the kids at no cost. So once I figure out one that's close, I'd like to get involved with the kids.
It's just such a family friendly country. I feel like you can be a stay-at-home mom here and you don't get looked down on at all for raising your children (not that I want to stay home forever but for now I love it). Also you can be a stay at home mom and never be at home because there is so much to do with the kids.
Anyways enough rambling, I know this post is incoherent but that is what happens when you combine Logan and Fox in a room for the last few nights (before that he slept in the living room). A combination even coffee can't remedy but they will get used to it!
Oh and a last picture of my cutie Fox. I love taking pictures of him :) and naked babies are always cute!
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