Just Evan

So, the little guy...... What is there to say? He is amazing. He is sleeps, eats, smiles, and grows, just like it is written in the big book.

He adores his big sister. Any time she is around or he can just hear her, he immediately looks around to find her.

He is 8 weeks now. He is big. He weighs almost 13 pounds (almost 6 kg). He can eat and eat and eat. He WOULD eat the whole day if we let him. Did I mention he eats a lot?

He is more aware now of his surroundings and is awake a lot during the day. He recognizes our voice and is very interested in new sounds.

Evan is a very mellow little fellow. He looks nothing like me but I think he will have my temper. So, for now we have a fire cracker (Bug) and an easy stud (Evan).

He is the ideal baby (for now). He sleeps through the night with about 2-3 feedings. No fuss to wake me up, just his little sucking sound.

So, you see we think he is one awesome little guy. And to top that off....

HE LOVES TO SMILE!!!!!

Just Naddie

Since I have not been good about keeping the blog up to date here is a post just about Bug since Evan’s birth.
To say “we are lucky” would not do any justice to our situation. Bringing a new baby home we always imagined would bring some sort of sibling rivalry and jealousy. So far (and here I am knocking on wood) we had none of that. Baby Bear is almost 2 months old and we are yet to have a negative sign from Bug. She is an amazing big sister who has so much to offer not only to her brother but to me too.
She LOVES her brother and to show that she shows that in so many different ways. Hugs, kisses, participating diaper changes, bugger picking (out of Evan’s nose) and face wiping. She has offered to feed him (while lifting up her shirt and telling us “she has a booby too”), rock him to sleep or just hold him.
She says she is not a baby anymore. She no longer wears diapers. We did not push her to quit it, we did not ask her to get rid of it. It just happened, right after the baby came to our life.




Bug is a chatterbox. I never knew someone could talk as much as she does. Yep. She even talks more than I do. Will just keeps telling me “now I know how he feels”.
It is not just talking. It is also lots of questions, singing, counting and making monster or animal sounds throughout the day. She can’t even miss a beat, so at night she snores to just keep things going.
She has an amazing sense of humor. She will even say, “I am funny, that was really funny”. She cracks herself up with her own jokes. Hey, at least someone enjoys all that nonsense. Well, actually, we all love her humor.
She is going to start swimming again in the advanced class and dancing for the first time.
She does not know “stage fever”. Bug will take any opportunity to be on “center stage”.
She will talk to anyone, anytime and anywhere.
She gets upset with me a lot. She tells me “you are not my friend anymore”. So I tell her I am not her friend, I am her mom. And that’s where it ends. She is yet to figure out how to react to that.
She has a great memory. She remembers events, places and faces from a year ago.
She is quite mellow, but on the rare occasions she can go from zero to sixty in one second.
So, needless to say, sometimes we have our moments.

A visit to the "other side"

 

Davonport is just on the others side of the bay we live in. It is also one of the places we took Mor-mor to.
It is just a perfect place for a nice short day. Great lunch, quiet walk along the beach and amazing views of the city.
Perfect day with the kids and a good workout for us.

Botanic Garden

Mor-Mor came to visit and stay with us for almost a month. It was a visit so that she can see Bug after almost a year and to meet Evan for the first time. So, in order to keep everyone entertained without breaking dada's wallet and to enjoy the last days of "summer" one of the things we have visited was the Auckland Botanic Garden.





It is the most amazing Botanic Garden I have ever visited. Not only does it offer great range of unusual plants, trees and flowers but it is also free, allows some hand on experience, great children's play garden and I could just go on and on.



We didn't even explore the whole place as the size of the garden could easily match the size of a small town's.



Bug absolutely loved the whole experience along with Mor-mor and I. Evan not so much, however he slept through the whole time.



Well, maybe not thw whole time........

Who needs television when you got “wocks and sticks and a howsee to ride”?

We have a yard. Not the most kid friendly yard but never less a yard. Lately Bug decided to spend as much time as she can out there, just running and jumping around, collecting rocks and sticks and chasing or watching working bumble bees.
She is fascinated with bugs. She is lucky to have many interesting crawlers who like to share our yard or even our house as a delightful guest who just popped in to say hi.
Bug likes to watch them, observe them or even play with a few. At the end of (most) these occasions we let them go free and say our goodbyes.
Who knew that such little things could bring so much pleasure?

The business of being born

So, he is here. Evan Jonas has arrived (fashionable late) on 02/21 at 6:02pm.
He was 9.5 pounds and as healthy as such big baby can be.
We spent only about 4 hours at birth care as I decided not to stay for the night but to go home with my family.
Today was the firth day having him home and I can’t begin to tell how lucky we are with both of our babies.
Evan is the mellowest little fellow and really all he does is eating and sleeping. Bug seemed to change right before our eyes when she first met him. She became the most caring big sister we could’ve asked for and absolutely adores her little baby brother.
Me? I am just waiting to see if this is the calm before the storm?

Vacation #2

We took our second vacation shortly after the new years. This time our destination involved a short 2-hour drive to a peninsula called Coromandel. It was only a short trip, which we planned for 5 days but ended up leaving the 4th day due to rainy weather. Our days included driving from one beach to the next exploring what the peninsula has to offer, spending as much time in the clearest ocean water we have ever seen and surfing, surfing and some more surfing. Even Bug got to use a boogie board which we found at the beach house and every single day the first thing she asked after opening her eyes: “Can we go surf? Let’s go to the beach!” Needless to say I am sure it makes Will happy to have raised (so far) a daughter who shares his love of the water and everything beach. Some of the highlights of our trip included the Hot Water Beach, where you can dig a whole in the sand and find your very own hot water “tub” for the day, also Cathedral Cove where you can hike down to one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen.
The best thing about New Zealand and its natural beauty that it still feels like it is as untouched as can be with 7 million people living here.