#anettingnewzealandadventure: The Nettings Do NZ - Week 26

This week we got back into the swing of things with Caleb returning to work and Kensley and I flying solo for the first time in 8+ weeks. Things went pretty smoothly! On Monday we got groceries and played it low key. We had Mary and her friend Andrew over for dinner. On Tuesday, we met Jacqui and Walt at The Colombo – a cute shopping centre with great boutique stores that is a 2ish k walk from our house. I don’t think I would’ve found this place without Jacqui recommending it. In the afternoon, we made our way to the library to meet Julia and Lucy and Hannah and Isabelle. It was great to see the girls and hear about their holidays. Kenz, Lucy and Isabelle are definitely interacting more. Kensley LOVED the library; crawling around the children’s area and paying random strangers a visit. I also got back into the swing of running with the stroller. My goal is to run with Kensley only twice a week and then the other days Caleb and I will make it work so that I can go solo.

On Thursday, Sarah came over for the morning with Kensley and I had some time to myself. Thursday afternoon, Elena and Katya arrived. Elena is my friend Lisa’s daughter and she and her friend are doing a university semester in Wellington. The semester doesn’t start until March so they are here to do some traveling and woofing (working on organic farms). They stayed with us until Sunday and we had a great time with them. On Friday, the girls let me sneak out for a quick run while Kensley napped then they went to explore. In the afternoon, we made our way to the Botanic Gardens with a bottle of wine and some pick-its. Caleb was able to join us a little later, unfortunately for him, the wine was gone :P. Saturday morning, Caleb tended to Kensley while Elena, Katya and I went to Godley Head for a trail run and I took the girls to this amazing place in Sumner for some ice cream afterwards (they have coconut milk ice cream that I dream about). In the afternoon, Caleb went to thr river for some kayaking. When he got home, he, Kensley, Elena and I made our way to a patio for some snacks and beer. No, we didn’t leave Katya at home; she was born in Christchurch and lived here until age five so she visited an old family friend. Sunday, the girls moved on to Akoroa for their first woofing gig. Caleb went to Goat’s Pass (2 hours west), which is where the trail run for The Coast to Coast is. He feels like he knows most of the running terrain now. His main concern is his lack of kayak experience but he has two guided trips coming up the next two weekends so hopefully he’ll feel more confident. Sarah came over for another morning on with Kensley on Sunday, and again, I enjoyed some time to myself! Sunday afternoon was beautiful so Kensley and I spent much of the day watching the Busker Festival and just playing in the park. Summer is definitely here but it's been a really nice temperature in the low to mid 20's with a super hot sun. None of that crazy humidity that we get in Ottawa!

Kensley is pulling herself up onto everything and trying to climb the stairs. She gets very proud and excited about the little things she does and claps and smiles for herself. She has rug burn on her knees and shins from non stop crawling. She isn’t content on the grass by the river, or on the sidewalk – she crawls right for the road. She absolutely lights up when Caleb gets home from work – she crawls as fast as she can to greet him at the door with big smiles and giggles! She knows where my nose, teeth and tongue – which was a big surprise to me. She has started playing hide and seek with me (I hide and she finds me). The unfortunate thing about summer is that our bedrooms are on the 4^th floor of our building. Kensley’s room has been 27-28 degrees at night which stresses me out slightly. It doesn’t seem to be affecting her sleep though.