The Nettings Do NZ - Week 9

This week felt like a typical busy week, like it would have been in Canada.  On Monday, Kensley and I walked to the mall, which was about 35 minutes each way.  It really made for a great afternoon and I was really impressed by the mall.  We bought her some new, bigger sleepers!  On our walk home, we stopped at Gold Eagle Brewery to pick up a few beers for Caleb.  On Tuesday, Kensley went for her 6-month immunizations, which were quite traumatic for her.  She saw a great doctor at the clinic around the corner and she weighed in at 13.5lbs!  Thankfully, the NZ immunization schedule is extremely similar to Canada’s (same immunizations just their ages are slightly different).  Then, that evening, we had Jacqui (the mom I met at the coffee shop), Hugh and Walt (her two boys) over for a visit and dinner.  Walt, who is 4 weeks old, is almost the same size as Kensley, which is pretty darn cute.  On Wednesday, we met Julia and Lucy for a walk around Hagley Park. Thursday, Caleb was on call and Mary was back from Ireland, so she came over for wine and dinner!  Funny enough, Mary brought the same wine that I had picked up, for the second time!  If that isn’t a sure sign that this friendship is meant to be, then I don’t know what is.  It’s not like there are 4-5 wines to choose from, there are like 20-30!  Friday was off to a rough start in our household, I was purely exhausted and Caleb’s bike was stolen!!!  He was SUPER upset to find this in the morning (yes it was locked up).  He was on call and biked from another hospital to the one across the street from us for the evening.  When he was done at 11pm he walked home (you can literally see our place from the hospital), forgetting his bike was locked there.  We played Friday pretty low key but we did meet Kayla for lunch at the Boat Shed around the corner.  While I was feeling exhausted and a little defeated from my half marathon training, I had a hard run to get in on Friday.  I was seriously thinking, how am I going to push this run, but my body pulled through and I felt amazing, running my best postpartum 10k yet!  Caleb thinks I might be getting faster than him….I know that’ll never be the case because any time we run together he has to be one step ahead of me :P.   Nonetheless, I’ll take the compliment.  We enjoyed two pinot noirs from Central Otago this week: The Crater Rim 2016 ($25.99) and Driven Snow 2016 ($21.99).  Both were good but I preferred Driven Snow and am giving it 4/5 and Crater Rim 3.5/5 – I’m getting more harsh on my ratings.  I forgot to take notes on my phone while we were having them so we are lacking tasting notes.  I remember Caleb found the Driven Snow had hints of raspberry and it was super easy to drink.  He rates Crater Rim 4/5 and Driven Snow 4.5/5 – I think he’s becoming kinder on his ratings.

On Saturday, we did our typical Boat Shed latte bowls, and then packed up the car to head to Methven, the town at the base of Mt. Hutt which is about 80k west of Christchurch.  This is Kayla’s hometown and we stayed there with her at her parent’s (Jan and Dylan/Dave) house.  Jan was so sweet to Kensley, she had a room set up for her and toys out and was so eager to give her cuddles.  Caleb was doing a race called “Peak to Pub”.  He skied down Mt. Hutt, hopped on his bike (actually not his bike because his was stolen the day before) to do a 20k downhill ride, then a 12k run that finished at The Blue Pub (there is also a pub called The Brown Pub).  I’ve mentioned before, that Kayla has been a blessing to us here.  She is always going over and above.  She rallied up and was able to find Caleb a bike to use for the race.  She also drove him to the top of the hill for the ski, where she then had to remain for a few hours because the roads were closed for the race.  Her sister, Lucy, hung out with Kensley and I in town and drove us around to collect Caleb’s bike at the transition and various points to cheer him on!  The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as we saw from Kayla’s family.  They are all gems.  Caleb thought he could pull off the race without support, but it was very clear that Kayla and Lucy were essential to our day.  And to have a nice home to stay at afterwards with Kensley was great.

Anyways, Caleb had an amazing race!  I am so proud of him.  He finished 15^th out of individuals racing!  There were a total of around 400 people doing the race, some individuals and some on teams with different people doing different portions.  He said the bike was “scary” and for him to say this, I am certain that it was probably terrifying.  Apparently, people were just flying down the hill on their bikes, clearly very experienced (or just down right crazy) riders.  He said it was tough and that the run was harder than he was expecting after the ski and the bike.  The run was on some rough terrain and they literally had to swim 15 ft across a freezing cold river in the middle of the run; he said his legs felt like they froze up after that.  Nonetheless, he finished strong and we were happy to cheer him on!    

On Sunday, we left Methven pretty early so we could get back for my long run.  I did 15 k while Caleb took Kensley to a bike store to replace his stolen helmet (yes, jerks took that too) and another bike lock.  My run felt pretty slow but it’s done!  I’m definitely finding that I’m needing more recovery time than I did previous to being a momma and need to figure out my groove.  I finished the run to see Kensley and Caleb playing on the grass by the river, which was such a great sight.  Later in the afternoon we met Caleb’s surf bro (only I call him this), Michael and his fiancé, Jess, for a walk and a drink.  All-in-all, it was a great week!  Oh and with one bike gone for Caleb, he somehow has convinced himself that he needs two new (used) ones...one has already been purchased: one beater/commuter and another mountain bike.

Is she for real!?

A couple of besties taking a mall selfie for daddy.

Big girl eating!

Just hanging out in her PJs

Little sleepy doll.

That hair, that lovey, that bassinet!

Love Jan's glasses!  And this wine!

Wine and curried lentil nachos for a Friday night!

Caleb finishing the bike

Transition from bike to run

Nice bum, where ya from!?

Solid finish!

These two!

<3

Kensley hanging with Lucy and her friends!

The Nettings Do NZ - Week 8

Breaking news this week: Caleb is on the hunt for a new surfboard, Kensley has taken a bottle everyday since my blog last week, and yes, she is still in her bassinet!

I need to start keeping notes on my week because I’m having a hard time recalling what went on Monday and Tuesday – I guess nothing too remarkable!  On Wednesday, Kensley and I met up with Julia and Lucy for a walk around Hagley Park and coffee.   On Friday, we went back to our mom and baby fitness class, which I was really happy to return to.  Kensley has been having her best nap of the day at the same time of the class so I hadn’t been going, but I thought I’d give it a go (with some major encouragement from Caleb) and see how she did.  It was nice to chat with other moms so although Kensley only napped for 15 mins (instead of her 1.5-2 hrs at home) she wasn’t a complete disaster during the day so we will return!   Caleb took his gals out to a patio late Friday afternoon for beer and early dinner.  Spring has definitely sprung in Christchurch – the temperature was in the high teens to low 20s all week which had our moods high and craving a patio.  Once Kensley was settled into bed we then started our Central Otago Pinot Noir tastings.  We had Black Thistle 2015 Pinot Noir ($23.99) with an aged gouda and some other “pick-its”.  This wine was delicious and just damn good!  We tasted black cherry and Caleb noted flavours and “charcoal and smoky”.  We give this wine 4.5/5 – yes, even Caleb is giving a 4.5!  We actually had their Marlborough pinot noir as well a few weeks ago and also gave it a 4.5! 

On Saturday morning, following our latte bowls and walk through the botanical gardens, I left Caleb and Kensley for a glorious 14k run!  I love those two more than I can express but it certainly felt great to have some me time!  After my run, our little fam jam packed up the car to head to Sumner Beach, which is 10k south east of us.  We wanted to check out this area and Caleb wanted to give surfing another go!  To my surprise, when we arrived on the beach we were greeted by Michael.  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one to have gotten a number last week!  Caleb met this guy last weekend surfing.  Kensley and I had seen them chatting but we had no idea there was an exchange of digits (actually just names for a facebook add).  Anyways, Michael has been in NZ for 5 years, originally from the UK and might just be Caleb’s NZ surfing bro.  They did their surfing thing and Kenz and I walked the beach and played in the park.  Sumner definitely has a more posh feel than New Brighton Beach.  Following the surf, and Caleb concluding that he needs ANOTHER (bigger) board – we headed to a surf shop to check out boards.  We then had some fish and chips (still nothing that compares to Akoroa) and THE BEST coconut milk ice cream EVER.  Probably the biggest news of the day/weekend though is that I drove home from Sumner!  It was my first time driving in NZ and I’m happy to have gotten it over with.  I was creating more and more anxiety about driving on the left side of the road, on the right side of the car, as the time went on.  It really wasn’t a big deal once I got behind the wheel but I certainly do think it'll take extra concentration for a while. 

Caleb felt like Sunday would be his last opportunity to get skiing so he went to Mount Olympus, which is about 130k west of us.  He says the ski season is definitely coming to an end, as the snow was getting pretty sparse.  He also found it a long way to go because it took about 2 hr 15 mins to get there as a lot of the drive was on very rough dirt roads (see pics for vehicles ppl use to drive up there).   I think it was worth it because he found some pretty yummy meat pies on the way, which he brought home!  Kenz and I went for a walk and then met up with Liz and Harriet.   We went and sat in the botanical gardens while Kensley played on her blanket and Harriet ran around, returning for an intermittent squeeze of Kensley, which was pretty darn cute.  Harriet actually even shared her muffin with Kensley.  Yes, my 5.5 month old is eating muffins; she’s seriously an animal and wants to eat anything and everything!   Liz brought a bottle of wine and some plastic wine glasses so we enjoyed a glass of wine in the park.  I guess it’s a “thing” (an awesome thing) that you can legally drink in parks and on beaches here! 

I really feel like Kensley has turned a leaf this week and is becoming a big girl.  I have no idea where this came from but she doesn’t seem as baby-ish to me.  As I mentioned, she is eating everything we offer her, and yells/stares us down for the things we don’t offer her.  She received a great gift in the mail this week from her friend Kate.  Kate is about 3.5 weeks older than Kensley and her mom, Jaime, has been my pregnancy, postpartum, fitness, everything-baby mentor.  As I laid on my couch during early pregnancy, puke bucket in hand, begging Caleb to smother me, I would watch Jaime run by my window with her cute baby bump and feel inspired – I knew we needed to be friends!   Jaime is basically me, but blonde and with two kids; so she knows what she’s doing and lets me copy everything!  Anyways, they very kindly sent Kensley a “lovey” to use in her bassinet, so when she moves into her crib she will bring her lovey with her and [fingers crossed] the transition may go easier!  She cuddles and sucks on it, so I’d say it’s a hit! 

This weeks successes:

Kensley continues to eat and drink from a bottle

Caleb is working more independently

Caleb has a surf bro

Caleb discovered a 40k bike loop he thinks we can do together

We discovered Sumner – I want to spend A LOT of time here!

I drove!

Spring has sprung in Christchurch!

Melt my heart...

One of her finds in the botanical gardens

Cherry Blossoms surround Hagley Park

Loving her life!

So focused on the daisy

Thanks for the lovey, Kate!

These two are the cutest together!

My little bestie!

It's the little things...

Central Otago - Black Thistle Pinot Noir

All set to cheer daddy on!

Surf bros  :P  And Caleb's new hood

They look pretty cool!

Mount Olympus 

The Nettings Do NZ - Week 7

Going into this week, I was feeling a bit down and lonely following Caleb’s 30-hour work weekend.  I wasn’t surprised by the emotions and I’m sure this won’t be the last time but I succeeded in snapping myself out of it with a little help from Caleb ;).  I’m reminding myself that I’m blessed to be off with Kensley, exploring an amazing country, while my husband works his butt off.  However, I will also be kind to myself and allow a pity party now and again; because as if being a mom isn’t hard enough, I’m now on the other side of the world from all of my supports (Caleb excluded obviously).  As I meet more friends I’m sure (or I hope) that there will be fewer and fewer pity parties.  Interestingly, the day following my pity party, Kensley and I made our way to our favorite spot for our afternoon latte and I got another moms number (woohoo insert new friend, Jackie).  Kensley and I sit at the same table most afternoons and do our thing: me sipping on my latte and enjoying the delicious complimentary little short bread cookie that comes with it (this may be why it’s my fave spot) and her watching the people around us while intermittently smacking her lips to show me she’d like some of my latte and cookie.   This day, a mom sparked up a conversation with me.  She was there with Walt (2 weeks old) and Hugh (3 years old) and the conversation ended with an exchange of numbers and her inviting me to hang out 2 days later!  Unfortunately, I had to decline but we will try to meet up this week!  I know it sounds crazy that I declined but I actually had a walk scheduled with Liz (& Harriet) for that same day.  Since I didn’t write a blog until our second week here, I missed the chance to introduce Liz, Andy and Harriet who we saw for brunch during our first week.  We met Andy (James’ friend) last summer at Lara and James’ wedding.  Yes, they are the ones that introduced us to Kayla too – crazy that they each had a friend here for us to meet!  Liz is Andy’s wife and Harriet is their daughter (~13 months).  They’ve actually very kindly lent us some baby things to use while we are here which has been so helpful in entertaining Kensley!   Anyways, Liz and I had a great visit and we are hoping to see her, Andy and Harriet during one of the upcoming weekends.

Ok, so what other than my pity party this week!?  Well, Kensley’s high chair arrived and she still hasn’t met a food that she doesn’t like which makes us happy!  She is also still obsessed with her daddy which melts my heart and I know it melts Caleb’s because I heard him telling her how happy her smiles make him!  Kensley is loving playing peek-a-boo (her giggles are the cutest) and also LOVES looking at herself in the mirror.

On Friday, the orthopedic department had a ski day for their team so Caleb made his way to Porter Mountain (ski hill) for the day.  Then, in the evening they had a dinner for everyone and spouses, which took us to Town & Tonic (a restaurant that is about 2k from our place along Hagley park).  This meant our first date night out since we’ve been here (wooohooo!).  Sarah came over and thankfully, Kensley slept the whole time.  I say thankfully because recently Kensley has been waking randomly for evening feeds and I cannot predict when or why, and I wasn’t exactly sure how she would do with Sarah if she woke and wanted a feeding from momma.  Nonetheless, I left a bottle (even though I gave up trying bottles about two months ago).  I’m sure Sarah would’ve handled Kensley just fine if she woke but instead, she  got to work away on her homework (she is seriously the sweetest!).  We had the greatest time being out together and enjoyed some Waipara pinot noirs.  I wasn’t on the ball and didn’t get pictures of the bottles but trust me, they went down very easily!  So easily that we weren’t able to start our Central Otago pinot noirs this weekend because we had to recover. 

On Saturday, after an early wake up and a little tylenol, we made our way to The Boat Shed for our latte bowls and Caleb and I each got a run in while Kensley had her morning nap.  I guess this is a thing that kids do when their parents have a late night: Kensley was up an hour earlier than she ever wakes up – frig!   Anyways, in the afternoon we went to New Brighton, explored the seaside market and had some yummy Malaysian street noodles and ice cream.  Caleb gave surfing a go while Kensley and I cheered him on, walking up and down the beautiful beach.  Unfortunately, he didn’t last long because he needs a hood for his wet suit to keep his head warm, which he has since ordered.  The ocean is cold!  He doesn’t feel he is very good and the board he bought may be a bit small but he also doesn’t have much surfing experience so I’m sure he’ll improve!  When we got home, I figured, we might as well try Kensley with the bottle since we had one prepared for Friday night.   Previously in Canada, I really struggled with her not taking a bottle; it’s all I wanted for a sense of freedom, but that quickly went out the window.  She refused, she screamed, no matter what bottle we tried (late night amazon prime orders), what temperature it was at, or who was giving it to her.  BUT she took this bottle!  Actually she took small amounts from the bottle TWICE this weekend, which is a HUGE HUGE HUGE success to me.  She has become fascinated with my water bottle over the past few weeks and wants to drink from it so I can’t help but wonder if associates the two.  Probably not, but whatever the reason is for this change, I’m good with it!   

On Sunday morning, Caleb, Kensley and I walked to Hagley Park, where Caleb golfed 9 holes (Kenz and I didn’t stay for the game).  He was asking me golf questions during the walk, which had me worried about how it was going to go (I’m NOT a golfer! And neither is he).  He enjoyed the game but thinks a lesson might be in his future.  The golf course is so close and cheap that he can’t resist going while we are here.  Kensley and Caleb then joined and paced me for a 13k run.  Caleb took us along the river towards New Brighton beach, a route I hadn’t done before.  I think this was my longest run in over a year – like since pre pregnancy!  And surprisingly, I felt much better than I was expecting!  This kicked off my training for the half marathon in Queenstown in just less than 10 weeks!  It probably won’t be my best run yet but I’m excited for the training.   It’s definitely becoming more spring-like here so it will make for some good runs!  We celebrated with beer and calamari on a patio following the run.

This weeks successes:

Kensley got her high chair

Caleb skied, surfed and golfed all within 48 hours

I’m committed to a half marathon in Nov

Kensley took a bottle TWICE

Our first NZ date night out

Caleb feels things are coming along at work

Kensley got new sunglasses that she loves!

That’s all from us for this week! xoxo

All smiles for food!

Future ballerina?

Loving her new shades from daddy!

What a girl....

Porter Mountain

Date night!

Some beach ice cream

These two...<3

She can't take her eyes off of him!

And again...<3

Daddy's cheerleaders

Little beach babe

He's all ours!

Our surfer dude

<3

FORE!