Bella, Bella, Bella....

On Sunday, Bella and I had a girls afternoon out. It was so great and something we have needed to do for a while.

First, we went to the movies. We saw "Horton Hears a Who". It was a really cute movie, we highly recommend it. I think Bella's favorite part, though, was the popcorn! When we got there, we got the popcorn and found our seats. Bella was more interested in the popcorn than the movie. Finally, she said she was done and handed me the box. I put it on the ground. After a little while she said, "where's the popcorn?" Told her that it was all gone, but she found it one the ground with popcorn inside. I told her that I didn't want her eating anymore because it was too salty and not good for her. She looked at me, pointed to the movie and said,"Mom, just watch your movie"!!! What a little grown-up!!

After the movie, we walked around to some shops. It was really fun spending some alone time with her. It is very different when it is just the two of us. I can give her some more independence and she really responds to it.

Later that night at dinner, Bella put Bill in a time-out! It was so funny! She was messing around with some piece of paper while she was supposed to be eating, so Bill took it out of her hand. Bella preceded to tell him that he was in a time-out for taking something out of her hand(which is something she hears often, but usually referring to her taking something out of Charlie's hand)

I started to talk to Bill and Bella said "Mommy, don't talk to Daddy. He is in time-out"

Then she told me "Mommy, finished what is in your mouth before you start talking"!

Wow, you give a girl a little grown-up fun and look what happens!!!

Charlie's new 'do: before and after...

Charlie has needed a haircut for a while now, but Bill and I just couldn't' bring ourselves to cut off those beautiful blond locks. But, lately, his hair has been so ratty in the back and we were afraid that if we didn't take care of it soon we would be taking care of dreadlocks(not that there is anything wrong with dreadlocks, just not for my baby...)

Yesterday, Bill and I cut his hair....yes you heard correctly, we did it ourselves...and it doesn't look too bad(if you don't look too close or for too long!!)

Charlie did really well sitting still, because it did take a while for us to get it right. I started off the cut and when I started waffling, Bill took over. I thought it was getting too short but it looks really cute!

He looks so different! Charlie is not my little baby anymore. He is such a big boy with a big boy cut!!!

A date with my hubby in NZ....what?

One of Bill's grad students, Brett, and his wife, Lorry, were visiting this past week. Brett was doing some work with Bill and Lorry came along for the ride. We had them over for dinner and then they stayed with the kids while Bill and I went out. It was so great. We had no plans and were so tired but thought we should take advantage.


We ended up just walking around town and then stopped to share a sandwich and dessert. It was at a restaurant that isn't great for kids so a good time to try it!
It was nice being together and reconnecting away from the chaos.

Railway Station

Today we went to the Dunedin railway station. It is the second most photographed building in the southern hemisphere next to the Sydney opera house. It is really beautiful! We go there every Saturday for the Farmer's market but we never go inside the building. The architecture is amazing. It is still a working train station and goes to the Taieri Gorge which is supposed to be really beautiful.

There is a art gallery and the sports hall of fame in the railway station. We didn't go in them because I wasn't sure how child friendly they were.

There were some really cool stained glass windows which Bella really fancied. She said that that was her favorite part.

check out the pics, it really is gorgeous!!

Boot Camp

So I started a boot camp exercise group yesterday....and boy am I hurting today!
It is an eight week program and you workout five days a week, twice with a trainer and three times on your own.
There are eight other ladies and we work out outside...which would be OK but it is coming into winter and it is really cold. Especially since we work out at seven in the morning!
I am super excited and will keep you all posted as to how it is going....

Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!

Today we went to the Cadbury chocolate factory. The kids loved it. We made it home with about 15 chocolate bars!!!(as you can see in the picture!)

I didn't bring my camera because the literature said that you couldn't take pictures but come to find out that you just couldn't take pictures in the factory. Oh well, that just means we will have to go again!

They make you wear a hairnet and take off all of jewellery and watches and such. Bella had no problem with the hairnet but Charlie did. He kept crying every time I tried to put it on. Kelsey, our tour guide gave him an extra piece of chocolate if he put his hairnet on so he did... I didn't even let him eat the chocolate, he was happy just to hold it! What a good boy!

I took the kids by myself and you aren't aloud to bring strollers because there are so many stairs so I brought the backpack. When we got there I found out that I couldn't bring the backpack on the tour so I had to hold Charlie for an hour tour! You had to climb up and down four flights of stairs....Good thing I worked out yesterday!!

We got to go into the factories and see how chocolate was made and then the tour ended with a look into one of the silos where the chocolate is housed. Inside, we got to see the famous chocolate waterfall. It is one ton of chocolate falling down. It is kinda loud and Bella did not like that. She has very sensitive ears and then asked to go home. Good thing the tour was just about done.

Charlie loved that part. He called it the chocolate bath.

There busiest times are Easter and Christmas. This factory makes 4 million chocolate eggs at Easter time and that is just for New Zealand. In the last five years they got a machine that puts the foil on the eggs. Before that the factory workers had to foil the eggs by hand! How crazy! and boring!

Well, it was a super fun and tasty tour!

sweet story

When we were are Chipmunks play land a few weeks ago we met a lady named Sally and her daughter, Olivia, who is 2 1/2.

After talking for a while, I asked Sally what her husband did for a living and she said that he played rugby. I told Bill and he said "what team does he play on?" I said that I didn't know, I didn't even think to ask. So, yesterday we went over to their house. I asked Sally what team he played for and she said the highlanders, which is the big team in New Zealand.

When we were playing in Olivia's room, Sally asked Olivia if she wanted to show Bella the picture of her daddy,(it was a picture of him playing rugby). I told Bella that Olivia's daddy played rugby. She looked unimpressed and said "well MY daddy goes to work!!"

What a girl, sticking up for her daddy!!

When I got home I told Bill that he played for the highlanders and he asked what his name was. When I told him, he said, "oh my gosh, he is famous!!" Apparently he is to rugby what Kobe Bryant is to basketball!!!

Can I pick friends or what???!!

Feeding the Ducks

We have made going to the botanical gardens a weekly venture.

First, we go to the information center get bags of grain to feed and the ducks.

There is a huge duck pond in the garden where the kids can feed the ducks. Bella loves it! I haven't really let Charlie do it yet because there are a ton of ducks, big ones, and I am afraid one of them is going to get his little fingers.

Bella understands and holds her bag high in the air while she is feeding them so they can't get her fingers or her bag. One day she was feeding the ducks and having so much fun and this big duck came over and ripped the bag right out of her hands and went into the pond. Needless to say, Bella was not happy about this.

After feeding the ducks we go to the playground for a while. It is small, but has swings and slides, what else do you need.

After the playground we go to the cafe and get Mama some coffee and head home. It is really fun! This week we added walking up to the aviary to our routine.

Bella and Charlie had a great time. I did too, after I pushed both of them(551bs) in the stroller up a huge hill.

There are macaws, parrots, finches, parakeets and a few other kinds of birds to check out.

Charlie loved seeing them. He kept calling them ducks...

Another fun day in Dunedin!

Penguin Place

Yesterday we went to Penguin Place which is a conservation reserve on the Otago Peninsula where you can see yellow eyed penguins. Yellow eyed penguins are the third largest penguins and they are the world's rarest penguin. These penguins are about a foot tall and they are so cute. This reserve is funded entirely by these tours and the tours are amazing! It is an opportunity to get super close to these penguins in their own habitat.

We drove about thirty minutes from our house down the Otago Peninsula which was a beautiful drive. We arrived at the reserve, paid for our tickets and then had to listen to a speech by one of the guides telling us a little about the penguins we were to see and some rules to remember on the tour.

This reserve is a working sheep farm and years ago the owner found sixteen penguins on his farm. He has built this reserve to help keep these penguins from extinction and now they have seventy penguins.

The penguins breed then have their chicks in the summer when it can get very hot here. So they try to move as many trees around so the penguins can have shade for their chicks. In the fall the penguins go out in the water, feed and get super fat and then go back to their homes to molt. At this time in the year, at the end of fall and beginning of winter they are just about done molting and they are starting to go back in the water to feed. The guides told us that this is the best time to see them because they are the most beautiful colors. So we picked the perfect time!

After the guides talked to us, we got on a bus and took a six minute ride to the walking tour. The kids did pretty well on the tour. Bill had Charlie in the backpack and he wasn't as interested in seeing the penguins as he was in his snacks but he kept quiet, which was important!

They have built these trenches and forts for us to walk in and look at the penguins. There is about a 10 inch space in the forts for you to look through. Bella really loved walking through the tunnels ( as you can see in the picture). We were able to see a lot of penguins on our tour. The guides said that it was the most they have seen in a long while! In one of the forts we were able to see three penguins walking home from the beach after eating. They walked right by the fort we were in. They were about 10 feet from us...amazing!!! They were so cute. At the end of this post there is a video of them walking home. (Sorry the video is sideways, we've tried but can't turn it but you can still see how cute they are!)

We stayed in each fort for about 5-15 min. Bella's attention to the penguins was about 3 min. So, at times it was hard to keep her quiet and out of trouble. There were times on the tour that Bill and I were looking at the penguins and we heard someone on our tour say "the little girl is running away" I would look up and see Bella go running down another pathway or tunnel and have to go chase after her! If the whole thing wasn't so cool, it would have been very exhausting!!!

All in all, it was one of the coolest experiences we have had and the kids did an amazing job being quiet and for those of you who know Bella that is a feat in itself!!

Bella and Charlie

It is the sweetest thing to see your two children loving each other.....

While I am nursing Charlie before nap or bed, Bella will sit next to me and rub Charlies hair. It is the sweetest! He just loves it...

Bella walked up to Charlie the other day, gave him a kiss and said" I love you just the way you are!"

Charlie will find something of Bella's and search all over saying "Bella Bella" until he finds her so he can give it to her

The days that Charlie gets up in the morning before Bella, he misses her so much. He keeps saying her name and looking for her. When she gets up and walks in the room he will keep saying "HI HI HI HI HI..." until she acknowleges him and then he smiles and moves on!

And quickly the sweetness ends as Charlie takes something out of Bella's hands, she pushes him down, he screams, she screams.....you get the picture

Playcentre

We started going to playcentre on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Bella and Charlie just love it!

It is kinda like a co-op playschool. If you are in SC, it is just like together in the park except it is not at a park it is in it's own facility. There is no structure. The children are free to explore as they please.

There is an indoor area and an outdoor area with tons and tons of toys!! The moms (or mums here!!) take turns helping out setting up and cleaning up each day. There is always painting, playdough, bubbles, collage making, clay, water table, chalk and tons more. All the things that you don't want to do in your own house!!!

The kids absolutely love it! Both Bella and Charlie usually paint first then go on to other things. Bella loves the train table and carpentry station. Charlie loves the bubbles and water table.

It is so much fun. The people there are so nice. One day while we were there Bella looked at me and said "I love my new friends!!" It was so great to hear because just last week she said to Bill "my friends don't come over anymore"

So I know this is the best thing for her. As for Charlie, he pretty much runs around for two hours and then sleeps for three at home! Can't ask for anything better than that!!!

Proud Mama!

Charlie has been telling me lately whenever he goes poop....he says pee-poo!
Everyone who I have talked to about it say "get him on the potty!"
So today I bought him a potty. When we got home I asked him if he wanted to take off his diaper and sit on his potty, he said yes.
So I put him on the potty. He sat for a little while and then got up and nothing was there. He sat back down, made a little grunting noise, stood up and low and behold there was pee pee in the potty!! I was so proud of him! I called Bella in and told her what Charlie did. We both clapped for him and then he started clapping for himself. He was all smiles!!!

What a big boy!

Chipmunks Playland

We found the coolest indoor playground here.
The kids absolutely love it. We have been there three times, but I keep forgetting to bring my camera. So, I will tell you all about it and whenever I remember to bring my camera I will add some pics...sorry!!

So, there is a huge slide, which Bella loves. Charlie wants to go on it too but he is too little(you have to be 3)

There is a area for children under 3 which has a ball pit, swings, some toys and a small tunnel/ climbing area.

Then, there is a huge area for children over 3. It also has a ball pit, a small zip line thing the kids can swing on and a huge climbing/tunnel area with three big, tunnel slides. The climbing tunnel area goes way up in the air, almost touching the ceiling and it is big. Sometimes when Bella is in it I have no idea where she is and then she will come zooming out of a slide or something, with a huge smile on her face!!

The last area has a play kitchen, play houses, workbench lots of cars and trucks and blocks. It is enclosed with a cute yellow picket fence.


The best part for parents is there is also a cafe where you can have lunch and really good coffee!!
So I actually have been able to get a cup of coffee, sit and watch the kids play. They are super safe and I am super happy!!


I wish we had something like this in Santa Cruz. It would beat everyone congregating at the tiny play area in the mall on rainy days!!!

Santa Cruz vs. New Zealand

I have been noticing some things here that are the same as U.S. and some that are very different. Here are some...

(and some cute pictures of the kids!!!)

1) Coffee:

You can't just get a cup of coffee here. All coffee shops have only espresso drinks. Then you have to choose whether you want short or long, black or white, flat or fluffy. So many choices! I thought Starbucks was bad! Speaking of, there is a Starbucks here.

2) Fast food:

They have McDonald, Burger King, KFC, Subway and Pizza Hut. Sometimes when I am driving down the street I feel like I am home ( except on the wrong side of the road!)

3) Measurements:

everything is in kilograms not pounds. When I went to buy diapers ( which are called nappies) for Charlie I had to use Google to convert Charlie's weight into kg. Thank goodness for the computer!!!

4) Driving:
First, you drive on the left, of course, which is actually getting much easier. Next, there are so many one way streets. Also, instead of four way stops they have circles here. When you get to one if you want to go straight you have to almost all the way around the circle and on the wrong side...so exhausting to remember!! Also, when you are driving and are going to turn across traffic, you have the right of way over a car coming in the opposite direction who is also turning. (if you can follow that!) We live near the otago peninsula and I was driving there today. It is a curvy road and there are no guardrails or anything so it was a little scary.

5) Names for things:

nappies = diapers

creche = nursery ( like at church)

chips = french fries

biscuit = cookie

croquette = zucchini

aubergine = eggplant

Stay tuned....

I will add more as I learn more.......