Catch up 3

We have been making good use of our Zoo pass, Celeste doesn't enjoy being strapped into the buggy, instead she likes to follow her big sister up hill and down dale. The main thing is that they are both worn out by the end of the visit and we spend lots of time when we get home looking at our animal books and talking about what we saw (and Celeste gives us sound effects as she now has quite a repertoire of animal noises).

We enjoyed a family trip to MOTAT last weekend, Stella summoned up the courage to board the tram, and Celeste as usual went along for the ride with no protest. Here she is eating her tram ticket while hanging out in the backpack, she was pretty tired by this stage so not too many complaints about being carried.

This pic of the girls drawing is one of my faves. Celeste has just started to do more than just eat the crayons and pens, instead earnestly copying Stella and doing her own scribbles. They are becoming good friends and Stella is a very protective and caring big sister, Celeste gazes at her with such admiration sometimes it brings a tear to my eye.

Catch up 2

Another random collection. Two pics of Stella with Mouse the dog and Smudge the cat. We made a much anticipated visit to the Aunties house to see their two dogs and two cats. It was a rainy day but we took the dogs for a walk. Stella is quite nervous around dogs so Peanut stayed in another room however Mouse is a gentle wee dog so Stella got some practice at petting her gently and then sang Away in the Manger for her and Aunty Kath.

Stella playing hairdresser with Celeste who is surprisingly compliant (most of the time). Celeste playing on the fold out couch bed when Nana came to stay as Mark was away. Celeste getting very messy feeding herself.

Catch up 1

Oops, have left it a bit long between posts. Busy time, more bugs, Mark working from home in the evenings meaning no laptop for me. Anyhoo, here are some pics and if I can remember, a bit of commentary to accompany them.

Here are the girls modelling their Halloween tops from Poppa and Grandma Cindy. We have been having fun with Skype talking with them, Stella likes them to pull scary faces and stop when she points her finger at them.

The warmer weather has been slow to come, it took me a while to spend Celeste's birthday money, finally settling on this cool water play table. Both girls have been enjoying it, especially when bubble bath is added to the mix.

Stella has proved to be quite industrious when the mood takes her, she helped Mark clean up our barbecue.

The final pic is of Stella modelling a crown we made her one afternoon when Celeste was asleep, we picked the flowers and stuck them on, then for some reason she got annoyed with it and it ended up in the bin. This happens a fair bit when things don't go right with her art work or writing, she seems to be a bit of a perfectionist already.

Two Fairies

Celeste is starting to want what her big sister has, and brings us a fairy dress to put on when Stella has hers on. I recently put a heap of photos into albums and Celeste in particular spends a lot of time looking at them.

Also a couple of pics of Celeste in her 'skort' from America, too cute!

Sky Tower

We made use of our Entertainment Book the other weekend and ventured up the Sky Tower with the girls. Stella enjoyed looking out at the view and loved the see through panels on the floor (as pictured). Celeste enjoyed roaming around and generally getting under people's feet!

At Home

We've been enjoying the finer weather, Stella loves being in the garden picking flowers and making Fairy Rings. The pic of Celeste shows her in her Angels tee from Poppa and Grandma Cindy and there is one of Stella enjoying licking the bowl from one of our baking sessions.

More Fun in the Sun

Stella and Celeste both love water play, our blue shells have had the sand washed out of them and they are now our summer paddling pools. Also a pic of Celeste looking very pleased with herself, she had been coveting Stella's drink bottle for days so I bought her one of her own which she absolutely loves. The only problem is that when she has had enough to drink she starts squirting water on the floor, not a problem on carpet really, however it makes the tiles slippery and she has gone for a skate a few times when I haven't been able to get to her quick enough.

Spring has Finally Arrived

I have never been so glad to see the back of winter before. The sun has been shining, the girls have been well and we've all been enjoying getting out in the garden. We found our hat collection, Stella had a great time trying them on, Celeste will need more encouragement to keep hers on. I always found with Stella that 'no hat = no going outside' worked, however Celeste is definitely her own little person so we'll see if that approach works with her too. She can follow simple instructions like find a book, where is the ball etc. She is getting good at animal noises, in particular those for cow and elephant (complete with arm movement for the trunk). Both girls are growing up so fast, Celeste's hair is just long enough for pigtails and Stella seems to be growing at an exponential rate, the pic of her with her hoodie on shows how long her legs are now.

Poppa's Flying Visit

Poppa and Grandma Cindy made a brief two night visit from the States for Gran's 90th birthday party. Stella had a great time with them and enjoyed the family celebrations (and fossicking through Poppa's suitcase for presents). Unfortunately Celeste was a bit under the weather so not at her best, there is one pic of her modelling some of her new clothes. The rest are of Stella enjoying being centre of attention (even more than usual!)

Rain in Rotorua

We decided that Rotorua would be a good winter holiday destination this year, both Mark and I recall good times there on holiday as kids. While we expected a certain amount of inclement weather, we weren't counting on four and a half out of our five days involving a lot of rain! Fortunately we got to Rainbow Springs on the one morning that it wasn't raining, the rest of the time we stuck with indoor activities... the Museum, Agrodome and the Caterpillar (as in tractors) Museum. Instead of spending the afternoons at the local playgrounds, we made the most of the spa in our apartment and the local branch of the Warehouse. In spite of the weather, and Celeste's appalling sleeping patterns, we enjoyed the break away from home and work.
















Pic #1 Stella and Mark feeding the trout at Rainbow Springs
Pic #2 Stella clinging to Mark at the start of the Sheep Show at the Agrodome, she wasn't too sure what to expect but did enjoy it. You can see Celeste toddling down the aisle in the shadows if you look closely
Pic #3 Stella and Mark saying hello to the lambs in the nursery at the Agrodome
Pic #4 Stella spent a lot of time playing on the 'Traxcavator" set up for kids at the Caterpillar Museum
Pic #5 Stella working in earnest at the toy corner of the Caterpillar Museum shop
Pic #6 Close up of Celeste in our apartment

Winter Projects

The winter weather combined with never ending coughs and colds has meant a lot of time inside. Stella and Mark started a paper mache project (Stella calls it paper mashing), they have done two layers now, although today Stella left Mark to it so her interest may be waning until it comes time to paint it. Stella is enjoying writing on the whiteboard and often imitates her kindy teachers, asking us questions and showing us how to do things. She has started to draw people and clowns (pictured), the good old head with arms and legs sticking out, we think it is genius however it appears to be quite standard for children her age!

Poor Celeste has been under the weather since her birthday in mid July and has been looking pretty droopy and sorry for herself. Her spunky little personality has taken a back seat and she really has been miserable. Croup is the latest thing, a scary illness accompanied by a terrible barking cough, very hard for her to understand what is happening. She has persevered with her walking and now very rarely crawls. I often do a double take when everyone is rushing around to get ready and she is standing up in the midst of it all rather than crawling around on the floor. She is definitely communicating a lot more directly, bringing us books and handing them to us to read. She babbles all the time so I am trying to take the time to listen to see if I can pick up any of her 'words.'

Celeste Turns 1!

Yes, have been a bit slack on the blog front lately. Winter ills continue to hang around, roll on spring! Our baby turned one in July, we had a lovely celebration and she enjoyed her first piece of cake. Stella was super helpful opening up all Celeste's many presents saying that Celeste was "sharing them with me."