Just more January

This past weekend was the first ever go-kart race on Point Howard. There are a bunch of kids on our street and they all got together to put this on. They built the go-karts with their parents and geared up in everything from wetsuits to leather jackets and helmets for the big day. It started at the top of the hill, which is right near our house, and they zoomed down the hill to a flat section. That portion of the street was closed, and there was a sausage sizzler afterwards, and even a little trophy for the winner. It was pretty fun to watch, and luckily none of the crashes required medical attention. All the go-karts remained in one piece until the very end, when the mums and dads all took turns - that's when wheels went flying.

Madeleine and I were having fun cheering on the kids. She had just woken up from a nap (okay, I confess, I might have woken her up so we could go watch...).
Madeleine is not a very snuggly baby - she stopped resting her head on our shoulder as soon as she could hold it up herself. I relish the cuddles I get when I nurse her and she gets all sleepy before bed. Poor Steve only gets the occasional snuggle when she is really tired, or maybe not feeling very well. Still, he doesn't stop trying to get her to rest with him on the couch. Most of the time she just props herself up and grabs at everything in reach.
Here is little M after her nap yesterday.
She likes to help Daddy bring the washing in... she hasn't tried crawling around on the grass yet - I think she's always too busy picking at the little white flowers.
We are counting down the days until Grandma and Grandpa Gibson arrive in NZ! They get here next weekend, and will be staying with us for three weeks.

Crawling...

After more than a month of almost crawling, she has finally done it! She is relieved, I think, to finally be able to get to where she was wanting to go. She had been clearly frustrated at times that she couldn't propel herself forward towards the toy or power cord she was eyeing. Even though she usually reached her target anyway by a combination of rolls, turns, and backwards scoots, crawling forwards is clearly more efficient, and any daughter of mine is bound to love efficiency. Unfortunately, she's also like me in that she isn't incredibly patient. Exactly a day after mastering the forward crawl, she started holding onto the edges of a shelf or table, trying to pull herself up, and whining when she couldn't do it. I tried to tell her to take it slow, but that doesn't seem to help.

Enjoying the views of Wellington from the top of Mt Victoria, during Uncle Chris' visit.
Steve and Chris did the Tongariro Crossing in early January. It is a 7-8 hr hike that starts and ends in different locations, and since the weather was looking a bit unpredictable that day, I volunteered to be the chauffeur for the day.
They ended up having beautiful weather though - once the morning fog and cloud lifted, the sun was out and they had great views from the top.
Madeleine and I hiked up from the other end and met them at one of the huts. It was a long, steady climb for little M and me...
... so I let Daddy have a turn with the pack on the way down. Madeleine loves her new backpack carrier.
While exploring the beach with Chris one day, we saw these interesting "sea wave" clouds, which Steve quickly identified as Kelvin-Helmholtz instability clouds. Naturally, that was what I had thought as well.
Daddy and Madeleine enjoying one of her new Christmas books.
Madeleine, looking her usual messy self after spagetti and yogurt for dinner. She goes straight to the bath after dinner!

Happy New Year!

Our life here has been far more exciting lately than it normally is - I wish it was holidays all the time! With my sister and Steve's brother both here, we have been making the most of the sunny weather and getting out to see the city and surrounding areas. Uncle Chris arrived on the 26th, so we went to the beach that afternoon for a sausage sizzler (bbq).

We all enjoyed a pancake breakfast on the deck one morning.
We hiked up the Belmont Trig to take in the views of Wellington harbour.
We also hiked up to the top of Castlepoint's big cliff and had a picnic lunch before going back down to explore the beach and lighthouse.
We've been getting lots of use out of our new baby backpack, and Madeleine seems to enjoy the ride. The main issue is keeping the sun and wind off of her, and remembering to take the head cover off for pictures...
On the 30th, we all flew to the South Island to spend New Year's in Queenstown. We had some spare time at the Wellington airport so we set Madeleine on the luggage scale (she weighed in at 9.8kg or 21.6lb). We realized that the flight back to Wellington was her 10th flight already - no wonder she's such a good little traveller!
In Queenstown, we did a full day (12 hr) tour to Doubtful Sound on the 31st. The journey to and from Doubtful Sound took longer than the tour itself, but it was beautiful scenery the whole day. Both ways involved a 2 hr bus ride to the town of Manapouri, then a 1 hr boat ride across Lake Manapouri, and another 45min bus ride across the Wilmot Pass to reach the boat that would take us on a 3 hr tour of the fjord called Doubtful Sound. Madeleine did really well the whole day, either sleeping or talking and looking out the window.
The mountain and sea vistas of Doubtful Sound were beautiful and we had perfect weather for the entire day.
Madeleine mostly stayed inside the boat, where there were tables and big windows all around.
On the way home, we got to go to the Manapouri Hydroelectric Power Station. The bus drove us down a 2km long tunnel to get to the entrance (193m underground!), where you can see the tops of the 6 turbines. 80% of the power generated goes to an aluminum plant on the South Island.
We had New Year's Day in Queenstown to explore the city.
We walked around the gardens, which are on the edge of the lake.
And we took the gondola up to a lookout over the city and lake.


We flew back on the 2nd, and spent the next couple of days relaxing at home. Kristin made a Pavlova - a traditional Kiwi dessert that she had always wanted to make. We were very willing to be her guinea pigs, and it was scrumptious.
We took Kristin to the airport yesterday, and she is now on her way back to Canada. Chris has another week here before heading back to Ontario. It has been so fun for us to have them here, and Madeleine clearly loves the extra attention.
She is a great traveller, but she always loves coming back home. She especially loves having real baths again. She has also finally gotten her first tooth! The little white fang is poking through on her bottom gum, and except for a few rough moments in the middle of the night, she seems to be coping pretty well.

Merry Christmas!

Today is a beautiful, sunny Christmas Day here in New Zealand. Kristin arrived just over a week ago, and Madeleine has been enjoying lots of Auntie time. She was comfortable with Kristin from the moment we met at the airport, which is wonderful since Madeleine is starting to be a bit more hesitant of strangers.

Last week, Kristin, Madeleine and I drove north to the Coromandel Peninsula. On the way up, we stopped for a night in Taupo and took more scenic routes, like driving up the western side of the peninsula and stopping at this little rocky beach for a Madeleine-service stop.
The Coromandel is a beautiful part of New Zealand - full of inlets and beaches, green hills and lush forests.
We stayed in the little town of Whitianga, on the eastern side of the peninsula. This is the local beach, a few minutes walk from our hostel. Yes, we stayed in a hostel. The three of us shared a double bed in a small room with paper-thin walls. We all slept great, but I'm not sure if the same can be said for our neighbours who likely heard Madeleine squawking away at 7am each day. She loved people-watching in the hostel, and seemed especially taken with the many German-speaking travellers.
The first day, we drove to a nearby town of Hahei, where the beautiful red Pohutakawa trees were blooming along a white sandy beach. We hiked about 45 minutes to Cathedral Cove, a beach famous for rock arches and sandy beaches.
We enjoyed the beach for a few hours, and Madeleine packed away a few strawberries dipped in sand.
The next day, we took a 2 hr trip on the Glass Bottom Boat tour. We got to see some of the majestic cliffs...
and even got to see a pod of dolphins swim and jump around our boat!
They took us out to a marine reserve, where some of us went snorkeling. This is me, under the glass-bottomed boat, waving at Madeleine and Kristin (who both stayed aboard).
Later that day, we drove to Whangapoua and enjoyed another beautiful sandy beach. This one was very quiet and had beautiful views of green hills, red Pohutakawa trees, and islands in the distance.
These pictures of happy Madeleine were taken only after a good 20 minutes of fussing and downright screaming. It was strange for her, and I tried everything, except of course, a nappy-change. So finally, I clued in that perhaps it was her nappy, and I went to change it, only to discover a little ladybug-like insect squished right into her bum cheek! It had clearly been there a little while, as there was a definite bug-imprint on her cheek. The second her nappy was off, Madeleine was smiling and chatting, and ready to play.

We drove the whole way home in one day, which took us 11 hrs (including Madeleine service stops whenever she asked for them). She is a great little traveller, but she was VERY happy to be back home. Here is our decorated tree, with popcorn chains, red balls, and paper origami stars made by Kristin and me upon her arrival. The bounty of gifts below the tree are all thanks to our parents, who have once again been more generous than we ever expected.
Steve is on holidays now, and was thrilled when the weather cooperated and he was able to go out observing the last two nights. The long summer days mean that he is out from about 10pm until sunrise at 5am, so this Christmas Day morning, he is sleeping in. There is a comet in the morning sky right now, and Steve managed to catch a full view of it last night, from the coastline near his observing spot. It is named Comet Lovejoy - an appropriate name for a Christmastime comet!

We are looking forward to tomorrow morning's arrival of Steve's brother Chris, who will stay with us for a few weeks. We plan to have a Christmas sausage sizzle (barbecue) on the beach to welcome him to New Zealand!

Christmas Trees at the Beach

We got a Christmas tree this year to make the house feel more festive, because it is really hard to remember that it's Christmas when the weather is summery. In true Kiwi style, we got our Christmas tree from a truck parked on the beachfront in nearby Petone.

Here is Steve holding our little pine tree before loading it into the car. Pictures of the finished, decorated tree will come soon!
Madeleine is 7 months now, and according to our luggage scale here at home, she is 9.3kg (20.5lb). She is definitely on the move and can roll, turn, and scoot backwards to get where she wants to go. She's often backing herself into a corner, or rolling into something, so often gets frustrated and cries out.
She enjoys listening and playing the piano for little bits of time.
She is often quite happy sitting and playing on her own, but she can easily get onto her tummy from sitting, so the days of leaving her unattended for too long are soon to be over.
She loves hearing me read aloud from any book - as long as I put plenty of expression and enthusiasm in my voice.
We are really excited for Auntie Kristin's arrival later this week, and our road trip to the Coromandel with her next week. Then, a few days after we get home to Daddy, Uncle Chris arrives. We have lots to look forward to!