Solid Success

Esmee loves the carrots, broccoli and sweetcorn combination, though she much prefers to take it from Xander!
Last night we gave her a little while we had dinner and then she refused a feed from me, i had to give her a bottle. I thought, "oh, my gosh, she has self weaned!" but no, thankfully she had her 5am feed just fine this morning.
Xander loves feeding her, he even makes the aeroplane noise to go with it....

My Gorgeous Family!

our gorgeous little girl

our amazing kids

father and son

Esmee and her doting men

our family

Not a Solid Start.

After a rather nice long weekend in Taupo (despite the much cooler weather by 5 degrees!) i decided that Esmee is ready for solids. She pays close scrutiny when we are eating and has often reached for my fork when on my knee - taken a few mouthfuls of iceblock too when i wasn't watching! And she has been quite hungry in the afternoons but still sleeping through the night - such a lovely child!

So after her afternoon sleep today, i made up some pear and banana farex. Xander helped me feed her and her face said it all - "Yuck!" She was initially happy to open her mouth for the spoon that Xander carefully aimed at her mouth but upon tasting it, showed her instant displeasure.
I think i might try the vegetables tomorrow rather than the fruit - she may prefer the less sweet option!

third anniversary

Today is our third wedding anniversary. I can't believe it is only 3 years. It seems much longer. I guess having two kids in those 3 years makes it go fast. Most people are planning their children in their 3rd year. Guess we were just real keen (real stupid?). nah, i love having our kids. Many people have commented that it would have been better to be a bit older and have more money before we start, but i think it's best while your young - you can cope better and aren't set in a career mindset.
Anyways, it is so hot even with the wind today. We have all three fans going (bought a new one last night!) and we are still all damp.
Oh well, it will be nice to go out for dinner just me and Alan tonight - don't get to do it too often!

Hot hot hot!

After the last few days being really hot - we hit the 30 degree mark! - we decided a visit to the beautiful lake was in order and we packed a picnic and the stroller and joined our friends.
It was lovely. Very hot, but the breeze there made it bearable.

We fed the ducks, the kids had a play on the playground (Esmee stayed in the stroller and played with her toes!), we had a big walk and our picnic and when we got back to the start we had an icecream.
At home Xander fell into bed for i hope i very long sleep - lately he's only been sleeping for 1 hour and waking really early in the morning so he is pretty knackered in general.
I had a mini photo shoot with Esmee and now she is back to sleep too.

Four Months Old

Esmee is four months old! It is hard to believe she is only 4 months. Everyday she is getting stronger and is already trying to sit by herself.
Weight:5.90kg (13lb)
Height:63cms
that is a growth of 6cms and 650gms in a month!
I have been drinking lots of water and Esmee is getting lots of milk. Hard to believe she will soon be trying solids!

Xander at 26months weighs 14.7kg and is 89cms tall. growth of 3 cms and 700g since his 2nd birthday.

Changing Rooms

We had a massive tidy up over the weekend. Well not too massive.
We shifted Xander into the spare room - the room he calls "nanna's room", and put Esmee into Xander's room in the cot.
We had to sort out the junk in the spare room and have managed to clear out a lot and it is in the garage until we can take it to the dump. Lots of clothes and toys we are taking to salvation army.
The rooms look really good.
Xander has most of his toys in there now and the easle he got for christmas. Also the fabulous new duvet cover from Granny and Grandpa. We put alphabet and number cards up on the wall today, hopefully this will help him with his numbers and letters - he's already very bright, why not make him more so!!
My baby looks so little in the cot, but she doesn't wake during the night so it was pointless having her in our room. Don't worry we haven't gotten rid of the bassinet, it is in Esmee's room in the corner. When we have to take it out of the room Alan is going to pull it apart to store it in the garage. Of course Xander can't stay out of there and has to see what new things are in his "old" room.

Beach Holiday

After catching a few boxing day sales - which was was crazy as The Base was packed! - we jumped in the car and drove to Whangamata for a 10 day holiday.
It was so lovely.
Xander and Esmee enjoyed having all of Granny, Grandpa and Aunty Angelina's attention. Every morning when Esmee was awake Xander climbed on the couch to have a chat - they loved it spending time together!
Xander wasn't too keen on the water, but had fun splashing in the surf and playing in the sand, swimming in the pool at the bach, playing the turtle game and eating lots.


Poor thing was sick for the first 4-5 days we were there and slept heaps and hardly ate, but he made up for it when he felt better.

Henny, Angelina and I hit the markets and i bought Esmee a gorgeous green dress - Alan is still deciding if he likes it! She didn't enjoy the water so much but loved squishing her toes in the wet sand. Poor thing started teething, and she's only 3.5 months old! Our little lady also found her voice - she squeals and is very loud.



I got heaps of writing done which was great - i am now over half way to finishing my novel!
Alan loved the surf (as always :)) and spent most of the ten days in his boardies.
Nita and Michaela came over for a night and had a great time. Xander loved having a friend to share his pool with.Luckily none of us came home with sunburn which i am very pleased about!

Merry Christmas

What a day it was! Poor Xander didn't know what to do when his grandparents (both sets!) turned up at the same time along with Aunty Jenny, Uncle Matt and Aunty Angelina. So many presents!! In the end he was tired of opening more and just wanted to play with his new guitar and lawn mower.Both kids were so spoilt. Esmee was angry that she had to go to bed when everyone showed up.
We had a great day, catching up, eating lots of yummy food - Alan is such a great chef! - and of course the grandads fell asleep much to Xander's amusement. "Grandad sleep on blue chair" he came and informed us - a huge sentence for a two year old!

We hope everyone else had a great christmas!