three weeks. unexpected and treasured.

A very happy hello. An instant reconnection between nephew and aunt. Countless meals prepared. Two bedrooms painted. House redecorated. Kitchen cabinets scrubbed. A goetta and pancake breakfast courtesy of Jeremy. A few rainy days. Too many lollies eaten. Many readings of Dinotrucks. One game of Sequence Jr played. One trip to the zoo. Lots of giraffe feeding and a very entertaining baboon troop. Five picnics under gloriously blue winter skies. Four visits to three playgrounds. Regular trips to the beach. A wet and windy Beagle Club walk. One computer broken. So much Good Earth tea drunk. Three playdates. One day of shopping. Many trips to Playcentre. One wild Matariki costume party. Frequent solo bushwalks with one close call under a rapidly setting sun. Lots and lots of walking. A bit of singing and dancing at Mainly Music. A Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains marathon. Many many smoothies consumed. Plenty of meaningful conversation. A very sad goodbye.

Three weeks with my sister. Sharing my everyday with her. It went too fast.

(The photo album can be viewed on Flickr.)

The in laws

will be in town this week, passing through in their motorhome on the way to the South Island. Lucky them!

This shot of the three generations was from Peter's last visit on 11 February. I adore this picture.

a camper van Christmas

We woke Quincy up from a very deep slumber at around 5 to enjoy the evening with Quincy's Nana, Poppa, and uncle. Kiwi style.

In the absence of cousins, who sadly couldn't make it, Cher proved to be a perfect playmate.

He was understandably tuckered out, but he somehow found the energy to devour the potato chips.

Quincy is always thrilled to spend time with his Poppa, and even with a busted up lip, tonight was no exception.

This next series is pretty funny. Quincy picked out a box of chocolates to give to Nana. Now this boy likes his chocolate, especially the good stuff. He has been talking about Nana sharing those chocolates since we bought them. I have explained more than once that when you give a gift, you can't expect to have some of it back! It clearly fell on deaf ears. Just check out his anticipation. You can see it on his face, in his posture, and even in his hands. He is convinced that a handmade Irish chocolate is just moments away.

The kiss on the cheek was so not what he expected!

end of a two-month hiatus

It's hard to believe we have been back for nearly two weeks. We are having so much fun reminiscing. I would love to make some time to do a photo recap, but for now let's just say our trip began like this...

Continued in this fashion...

And culminiated like this...

Happy times.

And I have thousands more photos to prove it.

happy birthday dad!

One of the reasons Quincy and I travelled to Cincinnati at this time was to celebrate my dad's birthday. My mom is throwing a big party and after missing so many big family functions lately, this is a real treat. The Norway clan will sure be missed though.

His twenty-five grandchildren are giving him an album.

They each have a page with their photo and answers. Here is Quincy's...

It was so cool putting this together and reading all the thoughtful answers each of them (ranging in age from 2 to twenty-five) came up with. I loved seeing the many different ways he has impacted each one. I think he will too!

This time the paper comes from Jessica Sprague and everything else is from Designer Digitals.

visit from Poppa

Jeremy's dad was down for a few days and not surprisingly Quincy wanted his attention the entire time. He brought him a tow truck and Q couldn't stop saying "wowww" while Peter was wrestling it from the box. The big hit, though, was this tickling game he played with Jeremy when he was little. Fits of laughter, cries for more, and the declaration, "Poppa so funny" always followed.

fyi: I am currently sitting in my bathrobe on the bathroom floor under the heater. I have been (gently) kicked out of bed by a certain someone who has to work tomorrow. I couldn't go to sleep with this layout unfinished though. Ahh, the beauty of digital scrapbooking. It truly can be done anywhere!

for ten years

Me: I'm going to go take a shower.
Q: Tinty stay with papa...for ten years.

Guess how long elephant babies stay with their mamas. Yup, ten years.

And then in a weekend mad rush to get the most out of our Entertainment Book which expires tomorrow, it was off to Wholly Bagel for lunch and to buy one dozen, and get one free.

We were not deterred by the swells that threatened to eat us, nor by the come-from-nowhere hail.

While at Wholly Bagel, Q played so nicely with a 4-year-old boy named Charlie. He was such a gentle, clever, and well-mannered boy. His parents were American. He reminded me so much of my nephew Thomas, in looks and demeanor. Imagining how much Q would love to play with his cousins made my heart ache a little.

we laughed, and just like that, she's gone.

Wow we have laughed a lot in the last two weeks. Stef just fits into our world so easily. In fact, at dinner tonight...which by the way, was, as proclaimed by Jeremy, "the best meal (he's) ever cooked." It was a fish pie. And that means I've eaten fish three times this week. A record for someone who is weirded out by the texture of fish. Anyway, at dinner tonight, Jeremy said he would have liked her to stay a little longer. We will miss her for sure. I am much funnier when she is around. And I sing made up songs all the time. We have a similar sense of humor and we just feed off each other. We crack ourselves up. And Quincy too. I'm not sure how many times these last two weeks he has said, "Mama cazy" or "Stef cazy." His performer side definitely emerged during her visit. He now wants us to think he's funny too and tries to get us to laugh.

It's also been really nice to have her around to talk to during the days. She is a great listener.

And for so long I have wanted to share Wellington in the summer with my family. I've often thought how nice it'd be to picnic on the beach with them and my wish came true several times.

Of course, the connection she made with Quincy is invaluable to us.

Once again she is leaving a hole in our household. And I have to get back to reality. But getting back to a routine won't be all bad. I love my normal, everyday life. I will have to remind myself of that over the next couple days.

And I will surely have to comfort Q tomorrow morning as he goes hunting for her. I already know what will happen. While changing his nappy he will begin talking about Stef. As we walk upstairs to the kitchen he will repeat several times, "Stef see 'm". As he notices my reaction he will get a little more desperate each time. When he doesn't see her in the kitchen he will repeat "Stef see 'm" as he collapses in tears. I know this because it has happened before. Wish me luck!

To see a slideshow of all the pictures from Stef's visit, click here.

she's here!

Quincy wasted no time to give Stef a big long cuddle.

And despite the stone face, he's thrilled to have his cousin here.

Once home he gave her the tour of all the important stuff in the house, and as expected, I am now chopped liver.

Right now all's quiet around the house, apart from the cicadas and the occasional cough from down the hall. Everyone's napping, including Jeremy who came home sick from work.

stef toming

One more sleep and we can't wait. When I ask Q who is coming tomorrow, he replies, "Stef toming. Airpane. Yiberry. Taygoun." I once mentioned the things we would do while Stef is here and the truly important things stuck. The library & the playground. The priorities of a 21-month-old.

Today was the most perfect weather day imaginable. We hope Wellington keeps it coming while she is here...

Regardless, we will surely have a howling good time.

apologies

So we've been working on the art of the apology around here. A hug, a "sorry so and so" and a brief explanation. We were off to a slow start, but Q seems to be catching on.

Lately he has been kicking me while I change his nappy. Not hard. But seriously annoying. I keep telling him to stop kicking mama but he thinks "keecking mama" is a hilarious game. And if I raise me voice and get all serious and authoritarian, it apparently becomes funnier. But tonight we made a breakthrough. I said sternly, "Quincy, it isn't nice to kick mama." He immediately stopped laughing and said, "saya mama" and pulled me down to give me a hug.

The last few days we've been hearing "saya digger", "saya fire onion", "saya guys", etcetera if he accidently bumps a toy during play or even if he has to move a toy in order to start playing with something else. And yesterday he fell and when I gave him a cuddle, he said "saya mama", so he might just be getting a tad confused and taking it all a bit far.

Tonight I was in the middle of a conversation with Jeremy. He was getting frustrated that I wouldn't read him The Snail and the Whale (Quincy not Jeremy), so he threw the book on the floor (again Quincy not Jeremy). I gasped oh so dramatically and told him with the straightest face I could muster that it wasn't nice to the book, the whale, or the snail, so he said "saya book" while giving it a hug. Jeremy, laughing, took it a step further, and well, have you ever seen someone try to give the floor a hug?

This reminds me of a story about Max, one of my nephews. To preface, they have to give four-step apologies... "I'm sorry for such and such because (insert reason it wasn't a nice thing to do). I promise not to do it again. Do you accept my apology?"

So Eddye was trying to cultivate a beautiful rare plant. Max loved to play with his guys and dinosaurs around said plant. One day he knocked the big red blossom off. Lisa told him he needed to apologize and here is how it went down...

Max: I'm sorry for knocking off your head. It must have hurt. I won't do it again. Do you accept my apology?
Beautiful rare plant: silence
Max: (with a hint of frustration in the voice) I'm sorry for knocking off your head. It must have hurt. I won't do it again. Do you accept my apology?
Beautiful rare plant: silence
Max: (totally frustrated) I'M SORRY FOR KNOCKING OFF YOUR HEAD. IF YOU DON'T ACCEPT MY APOLOGY, I'M GONNA KNOCK YOUR HEAD OFF AGAIN.

happy 50th anniversary mom + dad

Journaling reads: You two are united, sharing common values, goals, interests, and dreams. You always treat each other lovingly and with respect and consideration. Through 50 years of ups, downs, and everything in between, you remain committed to each other. We are inspired by you everyday and are forever grateful. xoxo

I love that with the time change, Jeremy and I celebrate our anniversary on the same day as you. You've got 44 years on us though!

And we're off!

Crazy but true. Quincy & I are off to the States. For a month. Today!

After a few tiny breaks in a long string of bad weather, it's a perfect still, dry day to fly.

Please, oh please, let there be a spare seat next to me. And please let us make our connection in LA this time.

visit from poppa

This morning Quincy waved bye bye to his Poppa, only his Poppa was already halfway down the road. Typical. We had a lovely visit and although Q has had a cold for the last week, he always had a smile and a cuddle for his clone, I mean his Poppa. A long walk on the beach with our pack of three happy dogs, a stop at Days Bay Cafe for morning tea, a tasty dinner out with the fam, and lots of play time made for a very nice visit indeed.

wishing i was four

If I was in Cincinnati, I'd be at the lake celebrating Memorial Day. But since I'm not, I have to be satisfied with a recap phone call from my mom and some photos from Stef.

This one makes me smile. I wish I remembered what it was like to be four. Each with their precious can of soda, reserved for special occasions. Frances with her pin stripe capris and purse. Simon with his wedgie and gun. In their own world. No worries. A great glimpse into four-year-old-hood.

home again, home again, jiggity jig

We're back from a nice trip to Auckland. Fortunately we have a really good traveler on our hands, and he's becoming quite seasoned.

It was very sad to say good bye to Margaret for probaby two years, but I feel lucky that I was able to spend some quality time with her before their big adventure in the United Arab Emirates. Despite the very serious & pensive look, Quincy instantly loved her.

We had fun wandering around this wildlife preserve that rescues animals from the circus, sick animals, and excess breeding stock. There was an otter that was blind in one eye, lots of monkeys and birds, hissing ducks (they were freaking us out actually), and five beautiful lions.

This was so surreal. It's hard to see the background, but picture rolling hills dotted with grazing cows behind this lone zebra.

We were the only ones there and you could get very close to the animals. Little Q had a good 'ol time as did Margaret and I.

Quincy got his fourth or fifth (I'm losing count) ear infection while we were there (he will likely need tubes/grommets), so we had a couple sleepless nights before the antibiotics kicked in. This was at 3:50am. I ended up giving up on sleep that night and just getting out some toys. Looks like it was a popular decision. (And I'm pretty sure that even if he wasn't wearing this shirt, he'd have been up all night.)

Then off to spend a few days with my in-laws, Q's Nana and Poppa. It was nice and chilled out. He got to meet his great grandmother and really liked her walker. She was nice and shared.

He loved all the beautiful (and very breakable) things in his grandparent's house. Luckily the cool (very tall) sculpture only wobbled a bit but managed to stay upright. He also loved their lawn and wondered why our grass at home looks so different (i.e. dead).

Happy Easter!

What a great day! The forecast was questionable, but we were treated to deep blue skies and temps in the mid-20s (75ish). Actually after a cool autumn morning, the mercury hit 32C on our balcony, that's a blazing 90F! Not a bad way to celebrate Easter.

The dogs had their annual kibble & pig's ear hunt while Quincy had a blast smashing colored eggs (destined for egg salad), tasting (make that devouring) chocolate for the very first time, and discovering the (many) goodies in his basket. He spent ages pulling things out one-by-one. Each bite of chocolate culminated in a wide-eyed "mmmmmmmm". Yes, the Easter Bunny was very good to him, and I think he knows it. When asked if he likes Easter, he responds with an enthusiastic and emphatic, "ya." He took two chocolate-induced coma-like naps almost certainly accompanied by sweet dreams.

In the afternoon we all took a good long (much-needed) walk and played on the playground and the beach. Good to see lots of people out and about enjoying the summery weather and the four-day weekend. Good Friday and Easter Monday are stat holidays here and Easter weekend is the last of the warm weather holidays. I love that all the stores are closed on Good Friday and Easter. There was talk in Parliament of eliminating those Easter trading restrictions, but fortunately nothing came of it. It will be revisited in three years, but I would seriously hate to see that happen. In a country that I think lacks the strong holiday traditions that I am used to, it would simply become just another long weekend with a lot of chocolate and hot cross buns consumed (see below).

Anyway, we seemed to spend the entire day eating. For lunch a fruit salad (in an attempt to injest something somewhat healthy...a tradition I established a few years back). Jeremy made perfect omelettes for brekkie (not a single dark spot to be found) and a yum dinner--his take on my mom's rouladen. He made a risotto which he rolled inside pork tenderloin and served with a kumara (like a sweet potato but much much better) version of sauerkraut. Mmmmm.

And how could I forget choc cross buns. Neither of us care for cooked raisins, so we are not fans of the traditional hot cross buns. But choc cross buns, now that's another story. Warm with melted butter. Mmmmm.

To top it off, and I don't mean to brag here, but... the bodysuit that was covered in chocolate from this morning... Well, it's washed, stain-free, line-dried, and back in Quincy's closet. (You gotta love those days when everything just falls into place. How else would you get through the days when it doesn't?)

The only thing that would have made the day more perfect... an Easter Egg Hunt at my parent's house with Quincy's cousins. Another year perhaps.

You may be wondering what I am doing as I write. Eating a Marshmallow Peep. (Which, by the way, Quincy initially scoffed at. Until he realized it was just pure sugar, at which time he took one very restrained bite and was finished. He'd enjoyed it but had had just enough to satisfy him. And that was that. Now if I could only borrow an ounce of that self control from my ten-month-old!!) Anyway, my poor aching teeth.

a special day

Eleven years ago today, Jeremy and I had our first date. Dead Man Walking on the Tulane campus followed by a few beers and a game of Scrabble at my place.

One year ago today, we found out I was pregnant.

(Will add photos once I can access my scanner. Major technological issues in my world. I don't even want to think about it.)

reconnecting

My cousin was here for a couple of days this week. It was such a great chance to catch up after so many years. Growing up we spent so much time together and were very close, but then life just got busy I guess. And the distance didn't help. In the last 13 years we have sadly only seen each other at our weddings. So this was a great opportunity to get reaquainted. What a treat that it was so easy. As if we'd never lost touch.

She was so thoughtful and carried an entire medium-sized rolling suitcase full of goodies. Seriously. No exaggeration. Pop Tarts galore (iced for me, uniced for Jeremy), pounds and pounds of grits, lots of licorice, and plenty of Reese Cups. Oh yeah, and 4 bottles of chipotle hot sauce. Not to mention gorgeous gifts for Quincy. She even knitted me a really cool purse. We definitely didn't deserve such generosity, but we'll certainly enjoy it nonetheless!

Plus, as you can tell, she is fabulous with babies. Once again a welcome additional pair of arms.

A great visit! Short, sweet, but freezing cold!

our television debut

What a blast! Jeremy came along as our "support person" and got to accompany us on set. Unfortunately we didn't realize he could have brought the camera with him and taken a pic of us on the couches. I'm still kicking myself about this missed photo op. Perhaps we can capture a still from video.

Anyway Quincy, our Plunket nurse, and I were interviewed by the wacky Steve who was filling in for the usual host. He made us feel pretty comfortable with his craziness. Beforehand he made reference to babies who look like they've eaten all the other babies. Luckily he restrained himself a bit during the live segment. He did, however, talk about stuff he wasn't really supposed to, like dummies (pacifiers) and bottle feeding, both of which aren't exactly promoted by Plunket. He caught me a bit off guard with "Did you love him straightaway?" Not exactly the "Is he smiling yet?" type questions I was prepared for! Quincy was so cooperative. He started fussing a bit but was pacified by my finger. And then at the end he cried on cue when Steve asked Nicola the reasons babies cry. Perfect.

We aren't likely to forget this anytime soon. We can't wait to show Q the DVD when he gets older.

And now a few pics of our big debut.

at the studios in Avalon...

hair & make up...

in the green room...

the little guy was kind of "over it" by this stage...