Breakfast Talk

Scene:

Father sitting in his office room responding to student emails while sipping his first cup of coffee of the day.It is early morning.

Daughter in her own room playing with Legos.

Camera slowly closes on daughter.

Sudden outburst:

BB: Daddy could you please come? I need you!

Father gets up from his black leather chair and starts walking to daughter's room.

W: Why do yo need me honey?

Daughter looks up, camera zooms in on her face:

BB: I need you daddy, because I love you!

Zoo Day

..........and so we went to the Zoo while we had such great weather (see that?picking up right where I left off. nobody noticed that once again I did not post for weeks). I usually don't care to visit the Zoo but having a child changes things and even though I don't like caged animals I will not take this opportunity a way from Bug. Also, this particular Zoo seems to really care about the animals and create an environment that allows them to room around as freely as possible. We had such a wonderful day and the weather turned out to be amazing. Exactly how I imagined spring would be.

The "No, No" song

Naddie Song from Andrea Wood on Vimeo.

Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty from Andrea Wood on Vimeo.

Guess who’s back? Can you ask that fast and four times?

I am not going to apologize. I could, but than all you would be reading about is why I have not posted and how sorry I am and bla, bla,bla.
So why waste time and precious energy, when I can just start right where I left off?
I say “precious energy”, because it is hard to come by lately.
Why? You might ask. Well, I tell you why. We are expecting again!!!!!
I am 17 weeks along and the due date according to the midwife and the doctors and the technicians (at the ultrasound) we have seen so far is February 17th.
Naddie seems to understand that there is a baby in my belly and that we have to be careful when playing. She also does some random act of “loving”. She often comes up to me and says: “I want to give a kissy to the baby”. And than she pulls up my shirt and kisses right where she thinks the baby is.
I do think she will be a great big sister. She seems to really care about smaller babies when we are at the playground and has quite a nurturing nature towards them in any situation. So, fingers crossed that it will be a smooth transition.
At this point we have been here in Auckland for almost three months. We seem to be settling in just fine. Found a great house with three bedrooms in a suburb called Mission Bay. It is about 7 minutes drive from the city and is located right on the beach, hence the name.
Naddie took all the transitions pretty easily as if nothing really happened.
When our container arrived at our house with all of our stuff she literarily had Christmas in July. I think at some point while we were unpacking I found her head over hills in a box full of toys, while she was screaming: OHHHH! UHHH! YESS! LOOK AT THIS MOMMY!!!
We gave her the biggest bedroom, thinking she will spend more time in there than we will in our bedroom. WRONG!
She finds a way to spread all of her toys around be that the bathroom, kitchen, living room, dinning room or dad’s office. She even managed to take over parts of dad’s office at the University.
We are looking into putting her into daycare part time for now and when she turns three and the baby is here most likely full time. The government here pays for 3 days of daycare, which makes life easier, when you have more than one child.
There are different opportunities for kids to socialize. Daycare is just one, but they have “coffee groups”, play centers and of course mom groups.
We are exploring the “playcentre”as parents are deeply involved.
Of course as everywhere else in the world there is a waiting list for each of these centers, so for now we are hoping to get in as soon as possible.
As of October Bug will be starting “Soccer for Tots” and we are also looking into going back swimming around that time. We have been going to this indoor aquatic center that has many toddler pools, slides, wave pools and lots and lots of entertainment for all the 2-5 year old visitors. All this is for a hefty $7. You can imagine how happy this makes me. 4-5 hours entertainment for such little price and I don’t even mind becoming a raisin. “Hi you reached the voicemail of William, Naddie and Andrea. Please leave a message after the tone as most likely we are at the pool. Again!”
There are many things Baby Bug just loves about this whole new situation.
One of them is the “fluffy” also known as steamed milk with a little bit of chocolate. Every coffee place seems to have them and it is like “crack” for toddlers. While they are sipping their own cup (and I mean nice china) of steamed milk they are tricked into thinking “Hey I am also having a cup of coffee”. Genius.
So every morning while I am making Naddie’s breakfast the first thing out of her mouth is “Mommy, I want fluffy too”.

We have taken some trips to the coast but certainly not enough.
The scenery is like something out of a movie. The forests are amazing containing palm trees and evergreens living side by side.
I imagine, as the weather gets better we will be taking more and more trips to explore.
For now I will live you with this post and with a sentence: “I will be back and posting regularly as I used to. Before you know it, you will be sick of all the jibber jab.”
Well, that was actually two sentences. I am already exceeding all expectations.

Sweetiee

Sorry for the lack of posts, but moving across the world sort of got in the way of finding time to sit down and write about the day to day operation of Baby Bug.
To skip the whole “how our move went”, I am just going to update you on how our two weeks have been since we landed in Auckland. I do have to mention however that Bug did great on our 12-hour flight! She slept through most of it and when awake, she watched her own little screen where Air New Zealand had children programs available.
The adjustment is going ok. Bug had to get used to sleeping in a big bed, spending very little time around kids, living in a large city, the cold weather and walking a lot. When I say walking a lot I mean walking A LOT! Auckland walking isn’t even just walking. It is up hill and down hill walking. Just like San Francisco’s streets.
So far she has made a friend named Elli who is 4 years old and has an extensive knowledge of Dinosaurs and the local Natural History Museum of which he was happy to tell us all about in an afternoon we spent together.
He is a son of one of Will’s new college and they were sweet enough to also invite us to their house last Sunday where we learned that the love of Thomas and all his friends is mutual between the two kids.
We have been also exploring much of the city and the surrounding areas and I can say her favorite part was once again the beach and the great park that is located right next to it.
Ever since we have arrived Bug is eating more than ever. If she could she would probably continuously eat throughout the day. She is pretty good with what’s available and we also got her to eat Malaysian food where she picked up the chopsticks and just knew what to do with them.I think she is a natural born “international” baby!

Olivia

"Sorry to those who can not understand this post. It is addressed to Bug's grandpa to thank him for the amaizing Olivia picture he made for her and sent to her."

Papikam!!!
Itt szeretnenk nagyon szepen megkoszonni az Oliviat.
Sajnos a fenykepezogep nem volt keznel amikor is megerkezett a csomag (es meg az iwiwen kuldott uzenetet sem kaptam meg!!)
Azonban a pici lany majden a nadragjabol ugrott kifele amikor meglatta az o "egyetlen" Oliviajat.
Sikongatva vitta apuciahoz hogy mutassa az ujj szerzemenyet!!!
Azota a kep megjarta az osszes szomszedunk hazat hogy mindenki a csodajara jarhasson es a mi kis manokank buszken mutogatja mindenkinek aki beteszi a labat a lakasba es lelkessen meseli hogy a Laci Papa keszitette neki.
Mar azt is megmutatta hogy hova szeretne a szobajaba es nehezen de talan megertettuk vele hogy most meg nem kerul a falra, hiszen nemsoka koltozunk es meg anya be is szeretne neki keretezni hogy nehogy valami "bubuja" legyen az imadott kepnek.
Laci papa! Ha tudnad micsoda oromot szereztel ennek e kicsi lanynak! En miutan bekereteztetem megint oda adom majd neki es akkor keszitek egy kis filmet rola hatha a reakcio hasonlo lesz mint az elso alkalommal valo "talalkozas".

Nadineisms

While getting her ready for breakfast I asked Bug what she wanted to eat. After a short pause:
"BB:Mommy. I eat airplain.
Me:You eat airplain?
BB:Yes mommy! I eat airplain.
Me:Hmm.
BB:Nooo! No mommy!I no eat airplain.
Me:Well, I didn't think you eat airplain.
BB:No mommy! I eat elitopter (aka helicopter)"

Naddie’s solution to “running low on lotion”

Ingredients:
-1 mischievous toddler
-1 very busy mom
- handful of chopped cheese
- handful of sliced pickles
- handful of cooked “hot dogs”
- lots and lots of ketchup

Directions:
Place all ingredients on a plate. Before starting any commotion make sure that mommy is not looking.
When all is clear, push everything on the table; besides the ketchup and slowly, but thoroughly start rubbing the ketchup to every inch of the exposed skin on your body.
Let it sit for about 5 minutes and after mommy’s initial shock enjoy your ­masterpiece.

Visits

I think as the time for our move is approaching our friends and family realized that it might be a year or two before they will see us again. This means we had/have/ and will have visitors at our house until we have the furniture to provide for their comfortable stay.
Needless to say Baby Bug LOVES it. Visitors bring fun and energy to our house. She adores everyone for as long as they play "nice" with her.
So far we had Mor Mor, Jim (who she proudly calls Dium that mostly sounds like Dum. Just like our friend Frank who she calls Freak and sounds like Freak. So now we have two friends named Dum & Freak. No I am not embarrassed one bit!) and our friend Paul is arriving from Seattle tomorrow to spend one fab week with us.
I just really wish we could skip the goodbye part.

Smart Cookie

So, she calls herself a smart cookie now!
She also can read the numbers from 1-5.
On top of all her newfound glory she is also picking up some bad habits, but we are nipping them in the buds.
Some time outs, food fights and whining competitions seem to be the perfect recipes to a wonderful toddler.
Ok, well, not exactly. She is a manageable child, who needs some directions occasionally, and for the most part she is easy to handle.In the past couple of months she also became very affectionate. She loves to cuddle in the morning if we have the time. Sometimes she will hold my head in both of her little hands and kiss me while looking into my eyes. She has a smile that says more than words can ever tell. She will just shout “I WOW YOU” whenever she feels like it. And I LOVE it.

Weekend Update with Baby Bug

California got hit with record breaking heat both Saturday and Sunday. So, instead of dealing with the mad crowd that tends to come our way from "Inland" when such thing happens, we dedicated our weekend to the bank, arts & crafts and the Discovery Museum.

Bug has a bank at home she keeps her change in. She gets or finds change and puts them away. She than takes her "little bank" to the Bank and has a machine count everything she puts in there. After the machine is done, she takes her receipt to the lady at the counter and tells her that it is hers. We have done this routine a couple of times now and Saturday was the fist day I asked her what she is going to buy with her money when she will be able to use it? Her answer was: "Bookc mommy!"

Sunday I took her to the Discovery museum, where they had the 13th Annual bubble festival.

We had such a great time. I think she is at the perfect stage where she enjoys visiting museums and certainly enjoys the "kid" crowd. She participated in most hands on activities and always waited patiently for her turn or in line.

Easter

Easter bunny came to town and dropped some eggs for Bug to find.
She had such a blast seeking all her colorful little presents out in the house and in the yard.
We spent the day at Granny & Gramps’ house and were surrounded by family. We made some traditional dishes, colored some eggs, hunted for eggs and threw paper strips all over the house.
When G gets Bug going there is no stopping in sight. At the end of the day she was completely pooped out.

Nadineisms

I was making Baby Bug’s breakfast when she came into the kitchen carrying her new Donkey. She put “him” down in the corner while raising her voice and telling him:

“Bad, bad dokey! Time out, time out! Yu heaw me?”

San Diego Day 2 & 3

We planned to extend our stay for another day and another night but our plans were washed a way. Literally. Socal gets soo much rain that we should have thought it would happen and our chances for another beautiful sunny day would be zero.

We did however got to go to Point Loma, where it pretty much feels like you are at the edge of the world were the US Navy watches every step you take. We found some great beaches and tide pools along the coast and ended the day with some Mexican food in Old Town after which we took the public trolley back to our hotel.

Even though the weather did not allow us to have fun outside today we still managed to have a "jump start" this morning. All we needed was a big, fluffy hotel room bed! If you know what I mean.

San Diego Day 1

Bug and I took the train from Santa Ana all the way down to San Diego yesterday. Will came down the day before and took the car, but I really wanted to include the Amtrak as part of our mini vacation. Let me just say that it was better than Disney Land. We had to wait about an hour to board our train at he station and we got to watch all the Metrolink trains go by. Each time Baby Bug would bend her arm, move it up and down and say: “Chu, Chuuuu!!!” She was so anxious by the time our train arrived that she kept screaming “Hello. How are you!” to everyone leaving the train and could not wait to get out of the carrier so that she could touch the “chuchu” inside.

She demanded her own seat and window and could not take her eyes off of the scenery passing by.

Our hotel is in the heart of downtown in the Gas Lamp district and after our arrival we met up with Daddy and took the little girl out on the town.She had so much fun. The vibe, the colorful lights, the music playing in all the restaurants and bars kept her mesmerized.

Today we got up early and while walking around I have found this great trolley tour option called the “Old Town Tour”, which allows you to see everything worth to see and be able to get off and back on whenever you want and they come every half an hour.

We got to see Coronado, The bay, Balboa Park, Little Italy and Old Town. We spent most of our day in Balboa as they have over 40 museums in one place and the world famous San Diego Zoo (not to confuse it with the Wild Animal Park, which is also in San Diego). We got to watch a puppet show, saw some exhibitions and walked around the gardens. Unfortunately the Botanical Gardens were closed but maybe next time we get to see that too.

This is all for under $40 for the two of us in San Diego.

Will have mentioned the Sea World but I did not want to spend over $70 to see Shamu in a small pool. I am not even sure if Bug would’ve liked it as much as she liked everything we did today and I even got to learn some neat facts about the city.

Tired! Not quiet.

“Crazy weekdays and mellow weekends” what I would call our life at the moment.
This weekend though was nice and mellow.
We took Baby Bug to a little “Fair” that a non for profit organization put together. She got to see a fire truck from close up and even had a chance to sit in it, but she pretty much refused. Thanks, but no thanks!
We rode a mini train around the park and I might have had more fun riding that thing than Bug herself. She loved it; however I think I loved it more. I felt so relaxed and at piece. It was the perfect weather and I love this time of the year.
Bug is doing great with potty training. She spent the day in her “Elmo” undies on Saturday and just had to be reminded to use the potty every 20-30 minutes. So, I would remind her and her reaction would be: “Oh, yes. Potty, potty, potty. Uh, Uh.” As if she just realized she really has to go and not sure if she can make it to the bathroom.
The newest addition to her knowledge is that she is now pretending to read. She gets the idea that numbers and letters symbolize what she already knows. She knows the ABC and she can count to about 20. Obviously sometimes mixes the line up but she is so proud of herself, that she is now attempting to understand what the symbols mean.
She will look at the measuring cup and tell me that it says “1,2,3.”
Or daddy’s shirt “ABC” and than she will turn it into a singing fest finishing it up with “next time won’t you sing with me”.

Hey pretty do you want to take a ride with me…in my car?

There was a great car show downtown Huntington this weekend. We took Baby Bug and she loved it.
I wouldn’t say she really liked the cars, but she loved the buzz it brought into our little town. There were some great classic Chevys, Mustangs, tons of Woodies and I could just go on.
While gramps and Will strolled around and studied all these beautiful old cars, Bug and I found the ones we liked. Even though I often say she is more of a “tomboy” she still loved the red ones or the pink ones.
We also had some family visiting from Montana and Bug was on her best behavior. Who knew she can sit in one place for longer than 15 minutes.

On a side note: I have gotten my citizenship application approved and now just waiting for the Ceremony date. I have to say I feel such relief to be done with it all. It was 9 years in a making and what a masterpiece…