The Nettings Do NZ - Week 51

We had another regular week around Christchurch seeing friends and hanging out, outdoors.  The weather is really spring like, one day up to 20 and beautiful flowers are starting to bloom.  Kensley got a little cold which I wasn’t surprised about because everyone at daycare had a snotty nose this week.   We had Mary over for dinner and we started getting into our wine tour wines: Greystone Sav Blanc did not disappoint and then we moved onto a pinot noir we had in our cupboard from previously. We planned our last weekend away this weekend to Tekapo and Liz, Andy and Harriet joined us. 

Caleb had a late OR on Friday afternoon and Liz also had to work late so Andy and I took off early with the girls.  Unfortunately, this had to be Kensley’s worst car ride ever.  She was miserable and cried off and on most of the ride.  Other than when Andy and I were singing children’s songs.  Of important note: we hit a Wallaby on our drive, which is a fricking kangaroo type thing!   I was so thankful we were in a big truck and Andy didn’t miss a beat: “well, you’re going to die”, was his reaction.  There was no damage to the truck.  Nonetheless we made it, got the girls settled and had a good drink while we waiting for Caleb and Liz to arrive (who saw our dead wallaby).  I made homemade pizza for everyone and we enjoyed a great bottle of Californian Zinfandel that everyone seemed to love. 

Caleb REALLY has wanted to see Mt Cooke while we’ve been in NZ and so on Saturday morning, despite a crappy weather forecast, he and Andy made there way to Mt Cooke village.  Mt Cooke is the biggest mountain in New Zealand.  Their hope was to attempt to do a day hike there but unfortunately, the weather was awful so they didn’t make it far.  They got back much earlier than expected and Liz and I went out for a short run.  Otherwise, Liz, Harriet and Kensley and I played at the park, walked around the little town and went to a café.  They were great company!  Kensley was loving Harriet and Harriet was giving her hugs and kisses.  Kensley even attempts to say her name but it sounds like a throat clearing.   Liz and Andy made a great dinner on Saturday and supplied some awesome wine, an Australian bottle called Caravan Petite Sirah.  They didn’t think it was as good as the Zinfandel from the night before, and it was definitely different but sooooo damn good that I don’t think I agree.  We have so much wine to finish before we leave in less than two weeks but I feel like I need to have this one again!  I actually just tried to search if we could get it in Canada but it was taking too long so I’ll check later.   We had a great drive back on Sunday (sorry you got the crappy drive Andy!) and had a chill day at home/going to the park with Kenz. 

This week Caleb has also successfully sold his mountain bike and kayak!  We have basically everything posted to sell so wish us luck!  Kensley is saying more words and her previous words are getting clearer “up, out, down”.  She calls the doll Caleb bought her “little girl” but it doesn’t come out as clear as that (lillillilgrl).  She loves to imitate people running.  She’s getting much more stable on her feet, stepping over things easily.  She has been going up and down (backwards, feet first) for a while but now wants to try to walk down the stairs as we would so she needs to be watched closely.   Most days, she is still a bear for a short period after her afternoon nap.  She loves to help me do the laundry, bringing me the clothes out of washing machine for me to hang them. 

Girls day in Tekapo

Morning views....

Having a swing

Big girl lunch time

Harriet going in hard

Strollin'

Mt Cooke Village - Start of The Hooker Trail

Lake Pukaki

The Nettings Do NZ - Week 50

I cannot believe that I only have two more blogs to write after this!

So what was up this week?  I was feeling pretty unwell early in the week, a few days behind Caleb I got a fever and felt like I was hit by a bus.  So Monday and Tuesday were pretty quiet.  Kensley is loving daycare and has been going on Wednesday's some weeks (my birthday present).  We spent a lot of time outside this week, as we usually do.  On Wednesday, it was unusually warm for winter, and got up to 20 degrees!  We saw Julia and Lucy for a little play date which was fun because both of the girls are walking/running around.  On Friday, Caleb and I took Kensley to the library in the afternoon which she always enjoys.  We decided to try her on the big windy slide in the children's area after seeing a dad put his 18 month old daughter down it by laying her flat.  He called it "torpedo baby".  I started her at the top and Caleb caught her at the bottom.  He said she looked shocked at the bottom but then kept signing "more" so we kept letting her do it.  She loves the slide at daycare but this was way bigger.

On Saturday, I did a Waipara wine tour with Mary.  It's about an hour away so we hired a tour to take us, and lucky for us, we were the only ones on the tour.  Our guide was awesome and knowledgable (ie., did you know Kiwifruit were only grown in China before NZ figured out how to grow them)  We started at Torlese and had a nice lunch.  I liked their pinot noir but didn't end up buying any wine.  We then went to Greystone which felt a bit rushed but we got a bottle of their Pinot Gris and Sav Blanc.  Their whites were exceptional and they're known for being an organic winery.  Next was Waipara Hills with an over-the-top, detail oriented, but entertaining (and non stop pouring) server.  We got a bottle of "Soul" pinot noir from here.  And then onto Peagusus were we ordered fries with our tasting because we were feeling the wine.  We splurged and got a posh bottle of pinot noir from here to enjoy during our final days in NZ!  It was such a perfect day.  Then Caleb was off to The Super Rugby finals.  The local team was playing, The Crusaders, and they won!

Sunday was Caleb's day.  He went to Diamond Harbour, about 45 mins from Christchurch and did a hike.  He said it was a short and nice hike that he hadn't realized was so close to us.  And randomly, he ran into Andy at a cafe out there.  In the afternoon, he had some work to get done and Kensley and I went to Sarah's for her 18th Birthday Afternoon Tea!

Kensley continues to point out trucks (uck).  She has also starting pointing out cars (ar) and scooters (sssssss).  "Ar, Ar, Ar, Ar, Uck, Ar, SSSSSSSS"  I could listen to it all day.  She loves to talk about her baby.  She puts her into her bed (an egg carton), feeds her, bathes her, tries to undress her etc.  She says "cookie" and has finally tried a cookie from the boat shed.  They give this tiny biscuit (shortbread) with coffee and I let her try it this past week.  Now she says "cookie" whenever I say we are going there.  We left one day and were outside and she was signing "more" and saying "cookie".  I told her that she could go inside and ask for more in there if she wanted more....and SHE DID.  She marched right in there, behind the counter and started signing "more".  I won't be telling her she can do that again, although she has already figured it out.  Kensley has also started picking out her hair clip each morning, and 4/5 days she picks out the hair clips that Caleb got her for Christmas (melt my heart!)

Happy Canada Day from NZ

Dora who?

Kensley the explorer

Climbing at the Arts Centre

Just strollin'

Big girls

Dancing with Daddy and her friends

Rain isn't going to stop us!

Wine tasting with Mary!

Add caption

Add caption

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

The Nettings Do NZ - Week 49

Because I’m behind a week, it’s hard to recall the details.  The things I recall for sure are that both Caleb and I were sick.  He never complains so for him to have to go to bed for a bit because he’s febrile and not feeling well says something.  Kensley didn’t seem to miss a beat despite us being sick.  On Saturday, Kensley and I went to Ella’s family’s for lunch.  It was really nice of them to have us over and Kensley had a BALL showing off.  I think her family realizes that we will take good care of Ella if she does end up in Canada!  Caleb and I were supposed to go out to Godley Head on the weekend but because we were sick, we had to cancel. 

Kensley has really started to love writing with paper and pen.  She doesn’t want a marker, crayon or pencil crayon, always her pen and she’s getting pretty good at holding it!

Things are getting real as we prep for our departure!

Sweet girl

Out for a stroll

Loving her pen and paper

Her first car, from Hugh!

<3

Hill training

Ella's family (minus her mom who is taking the picture)

The Nettings Do NZ - Week 48

Another nice week around Christchurch.  Winter is here.  Mornings are chilly, around 0 give or take a few degrees but it warms up to the low teens in the afternoons, which is very manageable.   I haven’t missed the Ottawa winter one bit this year!  Kensley and I went swimming with Jacqui and Walt at QE2 which had a great set up for babies and toddlers.  We had Kayla over for dinner one evening and Mary over for pizza night on Friday.  Kayla and I had a great Sav Blanc by Jules Taylor (Thanks Gina, you’ve converted my to a NZ Sav Blanc lover!).  Mary brought an awesome Pinot Noir a few weeks ago that we didn’t end up opening so we had that one when she was over which was equally as good.  I forgot to take a pic of the bottle but it was very easy to drink, definitely 4.5/5.

Caleb was on call this weekend but thankfully for us, he didn’t have to go in much.   We did our typical Boat Shed morning and each got a run in.  Then Kensley and I picked up Mary and we went to Beat Street, the new café that Ella works at.  It’s perfect because it has a family room with tables and lots of toys so we park in there and enjoy our coffees while Kensley plays away.  On Sunday, we had Sarah come for a few hours and Caleb and I got out for a delicious brunch and did a little shopping. 

Since I don’t have much to report on activities in our week I’ll try to note the fun things that Kensley has been doing.  She got her first molar this week – that was NOT fun.  It is the worst when she is not herself, exhausting.  Typically she is “full of beans”  - Caleb Netting.  She bobs around happily, laughing and singing and entertaining herself for the most part.  This does NOT occur when she is getting molars but she was back to herself by the end of the week.  She continues to love her baby and plays by trying to feed her pretend meals, and giving her hugs and kisses (with frequent throws on the tile floor to hear the bang she makes as she hits).  Her favorite song is “The Wheels On The Bus” and she knows every motion before it comes on in the song.  She rolls her arms to tell us she wants to hear and then dances happily while it plays and claps when it’s done.  Then requests it again, and again, and again.  Caleb joins in with her….he might enjoy it more than her, and me, more than both of them because they’re so darn cute.  She loves to be chased around our table.  We started this a months ago and say “I’m gonna getcha” and this week she started requesting it by going behind the table and saying “getcha”.    She loves to wave at random people and blow them kisses.  She chases down any dog she sees, screaming with joy and barking.  She points out trucks “UCK” and most of the time she’s right.  She loves her bath time with Dada, splashing him and saying “bubbles”.   

Such a little beauty!

Always drawn to the flowers

She actually did have a really good time despite how serious she looks!

Reading to her baby....

Exploring

Oh hey cool girl!

Daddy and daughter!