the prince

 My little prince is eight months old today. I cannot believe how fast and how much he has grown.

He is an amazing little man and I pray everyday that he will make a difference for God in this world.

At 8 months:

His favorite foods are banana, pumpkin, toast and sweet potato.

His favorite things to do: pull up on the couch and stand...then let go and scare mom half to death, to go on walks with mom, sit on dad's shoulders and sing 'Good Ole' Daniel' with dad.

His favorite story is still the Gruffalo's Child.

His favorite toy is his monkey rattle that his aunt KK bought him as well as his piano that speaks french and spanish that his Saba and Grammie J got him.

Today is Saba's birthday in America. This is what happens when you try to get a picture of an eight month old with a piece of paper.

 and mom gives up as he rips it in half. :)

and then attacks the camera!

 he stands...

 look ma...no hands!

I thank the Lord for you my boy!

shake it up baby...

Due to the bleary weather, I knew I had to cave and take my laundry to the laundromat to get it all done. Ever since we came back from America, it has been a struggle so I had to do something. I spent a little extra and had them dry and fold it while I ran errands. I figured that was the most efficient use of my time! To be honest, it didn't cost much more than it would for me to have sat there pushing in dollar coins for a few hours. I won't do it often, but it is good to know that I can do that if it gets too much. Jared can't believe it took me so long to cave. I think secretly he was kind of proud of my cheap ways. haha.

I snapped this picture today as we were headed out.

It looks like a jet has come shooting to the ground or maybe went straight up...either way, I am quite glad it did not land on my house. :)

I took BK to the doctor today to have  a follow up from America.

We didn't really let others know we had to take him in because we left the next day. The day before we were supposed to leave the US we took Brennan to Children's in Knoxville for what turned out to be a minor infection.

We took him to Children's because they were the only ones that took our travel insurance, not because it was hospital worthy.

I omitted this picture from the America album, but he is just so stinkin' cute in a hospital gown!

He is 100% but they have referred us to a local pediatrician to keep an eye on it.

Here is is at the doctor today almost two months later...

He looks like such a little man in his robot pajamas. haha. I can't believe he will be eight months old tomorrow. It blows my mind!

The night sky is pretty clear tonight with a big full moon. We are headed out to Jared's parent's house to use the telescope he brought back from our trip.

This is a link to the earthquake damage in Wellington yesterday. Jared preached in Lower Hutt/Petone that morning and luckily was on his way home when the quake struck. The have closed the CBD (central business district) for the day. It looks like a ghost town! If you get as far as picture 37, you can see the church of Christ in Wellington. They have opened their doors as one of the only relief centers in Wellington. Go guys!!! :)

Earthquake damage

Have a a great night!

short and sweet

Today is Sunday. I got to worship God with my family and friends.

I experienced three earthquakes. One was very strong and nerve wracking since I was home by myself with Brennan.

Having said that,I think I will go snuggle with my boys!

Here is your gratuitous daily picture of Brennan!

'queen' of the world

Wow...what a day.

It started for me at 11:30 a.m.

You saw that right.

I woke up and fed Brennan at 7. I remember hearing Jared say that he was getting up to make scones and he took Brennan with him.

About 9, Jared brought Brennan back in to hang out with me. He fell asleep quickly and so did I.

Brennan and I woke up to a cheese scone on my pillow, an empty house and a clock that said 11:30.

I haven't done that in a long time. I certainly haven't slept that late since I gave birth to a human alarm clock.

I quickly fed him 'brunch'. haha. and headed for the shower.

Before I could jump in the shower, I heard Grandma's voice calling out to us. Her and Grandad were there just in time to see my tangled mess of hair and laugh at how long we had slept. Jared had gone to give her teeth a clean. He was supposed to work on my teeth as well...my bad.

Grandma and Grandad watched Brennan while I grabbed a shower.

We hung out most of the afternoon and then Jared asked me out on a date.

Palmy has a wind farm on top of the ranges behind our house.
He has been wanting to take me to the wind mills for forever.

It would take a good two hours round trip if we really took our time and enjoyed ourselves.
The weather has always been too bad or we haven't had time.

Today, none of those things were going to stop us.

I fixed sandwiches for lunch (at 2:30. wow.) and we headed for the hills.

You have to drive through the Manawatu Gorge to get to the windmills.

A while back, there was a slip (landslide) that closed the gorge for the better part of a year. I have only been through the gorge once and that was at night.

I took a little video of our drive through. I stopped right before the waterfall because I didn't know it was there. Also, I make a weird noise because I almost fall onto the driver's side. You can see the netting and barriers they have put up on the right side of the screen to catch falling debris and try to prevent another slip.

Manawatu Gorge Video

Brennan slept most of the way. Actually, he looked like this most of the way...

 When we got to the top of the ranges, we saw the windmills and terrific views.

The fog was pretty thick at the very top and gave the weirdest silhouettes of these trees.

There was an 'outcropping' (as Jared calls it) on the way down the mountain where he said tons of people climb out and get their picture taken. He knows me well.

I climbed over the fence and became...

'queen of the world!'

Here's a video of my solo adventure.

When we got back in the car...Jared told me he had never done that and thought I would be too uncomfortable to.

I only did it because I thought he had done it multiple times. hahaha. oh well.

Have I mentioned how much I love that guy?

Since I have officially been up twelve hours...I think I will go to bed. ;)

pumpkin pits and stink eye

After an earthquake this morning, I felt a little more energized to get stuff done.

As in...you may die today, get your stuff together...kind of way.

I worked on paperwork and did my Bible study with a baby climbing me like Everest. We went grocery shopping and prepared for youth group tonight.

Brennan didn't sleep a lot today and after he woke up from his quick nap this afternoon, I sat him in the floor to play. This is what he did.

 I think little froggy bottom needed some more sleep.

Before youth group, Brennan peed everywhere because I wasn't quick enough changing his diaper. Since I had him stripped down, I wanted to experiment with how he would feed himself.

 You lookin' at me?

See video here!

He had pumpkin for dinner. Well...that is what I gave him. How much he actually ate, I'll never know.

He had it all over his face, in his diaper and even in his arm pits!! 

 

well that was fun...what next?

 

After he finished, I ran a bath for him to get him cleaned up before the kids came. A good scrub down and a tub of orange bath water later...my non-oompa loompa child was back!

For several weeks, Brennan has developed a face we lovingly refer to as the stink eye.

If he doesn't like something...he will let you know!

It occurs in the video above at around 16 seconds (after the cutest snort!)

Here is a picture of him giving me the stink eye! I was so happy to capture it!

 

For youth group, we planned to go ice skating in the Square tonight. No one felt like paying money to make fools of themselves so we decided to do a hang out/singing/movie night tonight. Lots of sweet treats and beautiful singing!

I love having them come around. They are pretty inspiring. I am glad Brennan gets to look up to them and grow up with such good role models.

all you need to know

This morning started at 2 a.m. for me. Brennan was needing some extra cuddles and a bit of extra food. I fell back in bed and all three of us slept until 8:30.

When Jared woke up, we were talking about how Brennan wasn't up yet. Then his door opened and closed a few times and he squealed with laughter...he was up!

We had an appointment with our accountant this morning and after it was over, decided we had time to go out for brunch.

One of our favorite places in town is Cafe Cuba. We haven't been there for some time as we try to eat out only once a week, if that.

Jared got the eggs benedict with a mochaccinno and I got the hashbrown stack.

 Brennan was the life of the party and sitting pretty in their cool high chair!

 

Brennan enjoyed the remnants of Jared's drink (it was empty and not hot).

We made a stop by the local bike shop to price check for Jared's birthday present and then he headed off to work.

Since we finished lunch around nap time, we headed home and konked out. (Yes...both of us.)

We had a bank appointment later that afternoon with Jared. It was good to see him so much today! Especially since it is his late night to work!

All you need to know about the rest of the night...you can see in this video!

He blesses and blesses again

Normally, if I know I am going to have a busy morning, we plan for the evening to be at home. It works vice versa as well. This helps me to make sure that I get my stuff done but also, that I have plenty of time to cuddle and play with Brennan.

This morning I was excited to head to Foxton to visit some good friends of ours. Hannah and Stephen are a couple that work with the church there. Stephen is from Georgia. As two couples with an amerikiwi twist...we have a lot in common.

Hannah and I had planned to go second hand shopping in Foxton and Levin. She knows all the good spots and was willing to scout them out with me.

On a side note, Jared said that there had been lots of snow on the ranges yesterday when he worked on the bus. Unfortunately, I didn't see any today.

We met at her house where she fixed me a lovely chicken pizza with apricot sauce. I am telling you...it was divine. After sitting and chatting for a while and getting Brennan's needs squared away, we headed out. We stopped at a local trading post where I found a lot of vintage flower frogs. 

You may not know what those are but I googled it for you here.

I had been looking around for some earlier this year and found one in a random retro shop in Sanson. The trading post had several and one that looked just like mine. We didn't buy anything, although we got very good customer service in that store. I think she tried to sell us the building at one point. :) Just kidding.

Our second stop was in Levin. We rocked out the stroller and the sleeping baby and headed for the Salvation Army store. It's similar to the Goodwill Stores in the States.

After playing dress up, I decided on two hilarious caftans and a retro print dress that I actually like. The caftans will be making appearances sometime this year. I reluctantly left behind an asian dress jacket with red fur around the collar and cuffs. :) That part of the day reminded me of the Goodwill Safari that I did with my friend Denise. Good times.

We found a dollar shop down the street that had some really good stuff! I got a lot of stuff to decorate the cradle roll class that I will be teaching next term!

We got back in the car and headed towards Foxton after the dollar store. It was a really good day. I don't get to spend enough time with these guys but I will definitely be making more of an effort. I enjoyed every second. Especially, when I can drop awkward comments into conversation with Stephen. hahaha.

Because we were gone most of the day, the only picture I got of Brennan was when he stole my apple. It's kind of a random picture! He tried so hard to eat it, I wish I could have gotten a video!

Grandma had called earlier and let us know that Grandpa had come home early from his work in the Solomon Islands. The weather on one of the islands he was supposed to go to was just too wet. Where he normally goes it is the dry season and on that island, it is the wet season.

We were glad to hear he was home and invited them over for dinner. I had no idea what I would cook as I had only defrosted enough chicken, before I left, for Jared and myself.

When they came they brought steaks and veggies and dessert! In the end, we had; steak, garlic oregano soy chicken (sounds gross...so good.),smashed potatoes, pumpkin, broccoli and blackberry/raspberry tarts for dessert. While dessert was cooking and Grandma and I did the dishes, Brennan got a bath and Grandpa got his suitcase from the airport. They had lost it and since he wasn't home, they wouldn't bring it to him.

Once he returned, we all gathered back at the table for dessert and a Bible story.

A minute ago, I fed Brennan before coming to bed. I sat there, sort of reflecting on the day and thinking about how incredibly blessed I am.

I have better friends than I deserve all over this world. Most people could only ever hope for one side of their family to get along, I have both sides that love and adore each other. As I sat there, I looked at the little boy curled up in my arms.

A contented smile cracked his sleeping face.

I know boy. I know.

The Lord has been mindful of me!

Tuesday with Morrie

Brennan didn't really sleep all that well last night. His heater didn't go as high as it should have and I think he got cold. (insert mom guilt here).

So around 4 a.m. he came to snuggle with me. Now, it may have been that I was curled around a sleeping baby or maybe it's just how it is, that I had a raging sinus headache this morning. After Jared went to work, I decided that Mr. BK and I were getting some more shut eye. He is pretty cool like that. Lay down with him and he is out. We woke up a bit later and I felt tons better.

Because of school holidays, we didn't have playgroup this morning. I decided that we were going to spend the day catching up on things and hanging out. I knew we had Bible study later tonight and that Grandma would be coming over for dinner, so the morning we spent chillaxing. (it's a word).

Brennan has gotten to where he looks for me now. If I am hiding behind the couch, he will crawl around the back to see if I am there. When he sees that I am...he squeals with glee! I enjoy this game a little too much I think because he tires of it before I do.

About two o'clock, I knew I needed to go for a walk on this sunshiny day to kick the last bit of achy sinuses. I also needed to mail a letter and grab some milk and bread. I bought some milk Saturday but we go through it quick apparently.

I got on my gear and strapped Brennan into his stroller and walked towards the grocery store. If you have been reading my blog since the beginning, you know that is about a 15 minute walk into town. On the way down Albert Street, there was a nice older woman pruning her roses. I passed by and said good afternoon. The look on her face was neat. She was glad I had spoken to her. It kind of made my day.

I kept walking and a while down the street the thought came to mind...I need to be friends with that woman. She seemed so nice and I prayed that she would still be outside on our walk home.

I didn't have long to fret about it because as I was coming up on the mailbox I was heading to, the Courier Post van pulled up. I was close enough to see him but not close enough to get there without running. I ran as far as I could, knowing that the next street corner had no pedestrian walk. I have a baby in a stroller and need to be able to think about which way traffic goes before I worry about a letter.

I ran to the corner and a bit down a side street where I could cross. I crossed carefully and as I turned the corner, the van was gone. Bummer.

I looked way up the street and saw it turning into a driveway. I could make it. So off I ran. I know I looked hilarious holding up my waving letter and saying, 'HEY!!! WAIT!!! I HAVE A LETTER!' I must have even more hilarious in his rear view mirror, because again, he was gone.

So much for that. Oh well, I got to the grocery store faster!

Sometimes people look at you funny when you are in exercise clothes with a stroller instead of a buggy (trolley). Especially when you are balancing milk and bread on the handle.

P.S. We drink lactose free milk. Ever since I moved here, the richness of the milk gives me bad stomach aches. Our milk is $3.10 a liter. That's right. to buy a gallon of lactose free milk...$11.71.

 what was that you were saying about $5.00 a gallon? :)

We checked out and began our walk home.

I started to think about how I could strike up a conversation with the lady I passed earlier. I didn't want to seem like a weirdo that walked up and said 'Let's be friends!' haha. I honestly just want her to go to Heaven and I figured by starting a small conversation, maybe we could build to a conversation about that in the future. If it seems weird to you, try it. 

Jared spent the weekend working in the garden. I figured I could complement her on her yard and how tidy it was and ask for some gardening advice. I also saw the garage was open and I could see and old Model T covered with a sheet. I figured if attempt one failed, we could move to conversation topic number dos. I was flying by the seat of my pants here. 

I mean...think of what could happen!

 

She could chase me away with her pruning shears and spit at me as I run away!

OR

She could be a lovely lady looking for someone nice to talk to, and what would that hurt?

As I walked to where she was, I could see the plants moving like someone was pushing them around. I was so excited that she was outside! I stopped and complemented her garden. Plan one worked.

She told me her name was Morrie.

She keeps her yard tidy by working a little bit every day and watching other people's gardens as she walks down to the river or to town.

Her and her husband loved this house the moment they saw it and the street noise isn't bad at all like she thought it would be.

The rubbish truck backed over her fence last week and she was quite excited because she needed a new fence!

Unfortunately, they broke the wrong part of the fence and took out the bricks instead.

She had spent the day waiting for them to come and fix it.

She thinks Brennan is quite the little lad and he flirted it up with her for good measure.

I asked her if we could come back and have tea or if she would like to have tea with us. I said I could bring some baked things and she said that would be lovely. She also says she eats way too many things to keep her girlish figure. I laughed and so did she. Simple...but now we are friends.

Today was a Tuesday with Morrie.

But since I have heard that is a terribly sad book...next time, I'll make it a Wednesday. :)

The rest of the evening was full of picking up Grandma and fixing dinner before heading to Bible study. The little man fell asleep on the way to take Grandma home so the husband and I had a 'drive around in the warm car and talk' date. I love him.

 playing with Grandma while I fixed dinner.

THIS is what worn out looks like.

I am going to have to pay for this picture in the future.

As we speak, Brennan is in his room snuggled up with a hot water bottle and and accurate heater. Here is to a full night's sleep for all!

Monday Funday!

 Today we knew we were taking Grandma to the eye doctor and having Jared's boss and his wife over for dinner. We didn't know such a seemingly simple day would be so much fun!

waking up in his big boy room and ready for the day!

This morning, we played and ate breakfast. His ended up all over his face!

 I'm sorry...but he has to be one of the cutest kids ever.

Grandma's friend Karen dropped her off at our house and after a quick sandwich and some cuddle time...we headed to the eye doctor.

Brennan and I ran some errands (buying a new computer charger...yay!) and then we waited for her to finish her appointment.

 When we took Grandma home, Robert had put the cows in the field closest to their house. They were very interested in the car. Brennan would have been interested in them too, but he was asleep.

What the picture doesn't (and can't) show is that they had run to us from the other side of the field as soon as we pulled up.

We came home and in a whirlwind finished cleaning and began dinner.

I made a blueberry coffee cake that was a first time recipe. It was definitely a winner.

For dinner we had: barbecue chicken, green beans, corn, salad and some bread.

The wine glasses weren't for wine. They are just our fancy glasses that we earned with points from our local grocery store. haha.

Before dinner, the boys played trains with the train set our friends got Brennan for Christmas.

After Brennan went to bed, we finished our evening laughing and talking with two great people. They have done so much for us and we thank God for them always!

Like I said, it was a simple day but it was really enjoyable.

and Mya...if you are reading this--there is blueberry coffee cake headed your way in the morning!