Goodbye, Hello, and Happy Birthday

I am finally getting the chance to do another blog post now that the dust has settled and I found the camera cable in our luggage.  It's also helpful to have both kids asleep before 9pm! The last few weeks have been full of memorable events, and I could easily have filled several posts about our last week in NZ, our few days in BC, and our first week here in Berkeley. Instead, I'll recap here and hope to stay on top of upcoming adventures. 

Our last few days in NZ were not too busy with packing since we had done the majority of our packing a week before we left in order to know what we were sending via cargo. This meant we were able to enjoy fish and chips at the park with Emily, Matt, and Jac...

And of course some special story and cuddle time with our dear neighbours Mike and Carolyn...

The day we left was filled with tears for me, but seeing Madeleine so excited for every little thing - the visits from friends, the shuttle van, the airplanes, the luggage trolleys - certainly helped lift my spirits. Both kids did wonderfully on the long flights, and we were all so happy to see my Mom and Dad at the Vancouver Airport. Our few days with them and visiting my grandparents were a wonderful taste of familiarity and comfort in the midst of the big move.

My Dad drove down to Berkeley alongside us, and after two long days in the car, I think the kids were wishing they were back in the airplane. However they did extremely well considering they had no screens for entertainment and the scenery outside ended early with dusk at 5pm. As we drove into Berkeley on the five-lane highway, at around 8pm the second day, Madeleine exclaimed "the sun's coming out! It's not dark anymore!" We told her no, it's just the big city...

We spent the day exploring San Francisco on foot yesterday. Madeleine got to stretch her legs at a playground in Civic Square - a far cry from our local park in Eastbourne.

Ross and Kristin climbed one of the hills together.

And Madeleine and I looked out at the Bay Bridge.

One of the highlights of California for Madeleine so far has been the presence of Polly, my sister Kristin's dog. Kristin and Polly are with us for a couple of weeks, and are adored by both kids.

In the midst of all this, Ross turned ONE! The blue star blanket that I use for his monthly photo is packed away somewhere, and there is little chance of him staying still on it anymore. He is cruising everywhere and starting to stand on his own.

He absolutely loved the chocolate cake made by Auntie Kristin. He continues to charm us with his cuddles, kisses, and unending curiosity.

We are staying in a short-term rental house until February 1st, when we'll move into our more permanent rental in a suburb called El Cerrito. After a few days of looking at many houses, Steve and I settled on one, and are happy to have that behind us. Tomorrow Steve starts his new job, and I'm very happy to have my Dad, Kristin and Polly here for another week to help with getting settled.

Happy New Year!

We took advantage of a sunny New Year's Eve to make the short ferry trip to Somes Island, in Wellington Harbour. We look out at this little island every day and yet we had never made the trip over to it. It used to be a military post in WW2 and later became a quarantine centre for animals imported into NZ. Now it is a historical and conservation area with lovely bush walks and a lighthouse that still operates. 

After a snooze in the backpack, Ross woke up to enjoy some of our picnic lunch.

Madeleine did some walking, but also took her turn snoozing in the backpack.

The power of ice cream (and bribery!)...  she was completely refusing to pose in front of this young Ngaio tree until we mentioned that we could get an ice cream later if she stood there for a picture. She turned into a little angel and stood there patiently, saying "cheeeeeese!"

Our days have been full of packing, purging, and selling all of our belongings. As we sell off our various items, and tell Madeleine someone is coming to pick them up, she asks, with a bit of sadness and hopefulness, "but we'll get a new one in California?" So far, she has coped really well with saying goodbye to all our things. We have five days left here, and the reality is starting to hit. It is a very bittersweet time for us - so very sad to say goodbye, but exciting to start this next adventure.

Merry Christmas!

Despite the forecast for rainy weather, today turned out to be warm and sunny and we made the most of our last summertime Christmas. 

It was chilly enough this morning for the kids to wear their new Christmas pyjamas from Grandma Georgia. However, after about 30 min, Madeleine carefully unbuttoned and removed her top and declared that she was not cold.

With the impending move, we kept gifts to a minimum and ended up not getting a tree this year. But last night Steve and I had some last minute guilt about the kids not waking up to a festive Christmas morning, so we made a paper tree and put Christmas lights on a chair to hold what few gifts we had for them. It worked - both kids thought it was fun and exciting and they thoroughly enjoyed the little gifts we had for them.

We skyped with lots of family today, but this is actually a picture of the kids (and Steve) completely absorbed by the advent calendar sent to us by Steve's Aunt Joanne. It had some amazing animation and Madeleine would ask to watch them over and over.

After a little hike in the hills behind our house, we took our salmon dinner down to the beach.

Madeleine loves throwing stones in the water, and is getting much braver at venturing into the water (which is actually really cold).

Aside from our Christmas celebrations, we have been really preoccupied with organizing things for the move. We had a garage sale last weekend, and we have listed a lot of things on Trade Me, the online auction site within NZ.

We made a trip to the zoo this past week with Emily and Jac. Jac and Madeleine both loved the humongous spider exhibit and the lion eating his lunch. We have a similar picture of the kids from our zoo trip last December... hard to believe how much they have changed in a year!

11 months!

Ross' 11 month birthday was slightly overshadowed by Steve's defense, but here are some pictures of him from this past week. 

He loves Madeleine's little dolly (who never wears clothes and whose hair is in unintentional dreadlocks) and is always thrilled when M lets him hold her. I'm not sure what he loves most about Dolly, but her moving eyelids and chewable limbs seem to be what he usually goes for first.

He is into everything these days, much to Madeleine's dismay. She is great at imaginative and independent play, but Ross just wants to barge in and tear things apart and climb all over everything. It leads to many tears. They still love to play chase and tackle though, and crawl through tunnels and tents (tables and couch cushions) together.

He is standing and cruising a lot now and has even started crawling up on his knees more and more.

He says "daddy!" with great enthusiasm when Steve comes home from work, and is making lots of new sounds lately. He loves the bathroom - the toilet, M's potty, the toilet brush... M never got into those things, so this is new territory for us. He also loves Steve's guitar, books, and paper. It's hard to believe that next month he'll be one year old, and we'll be celebrating in California!

Steven Ross Gibson, PhD (!)

Here was the scene this past Saturday afternoon, as Steve read through his thesis one more time in preparation for his defense on Monday.

Steve spent all day Monday in Christchurch for his defense, and he passed with flying colours. One of the two reviewers flew in from Australia, while the other skyped in from his base at Harvard. They had many positive and encouraging things to say, and also some thoughtful and challenging questions that Steve answered very well. He has some relatively minor corrections to make and then the university will formally issue his degree (although just through the mail since he won't be flying back from California for a graduation ceremony). The next adventure (aka the real job) starts on January 20th in Berkeley.

Weekend at the Bach

This past weekend we went to our friends' Matt and Emily's family bach (cottage) at Waiohine Gorge, about 1.5hr away. It was a mix of rain and sun, but such a peaceful and quiet setting, and we all loved it. 

 Ross taking in the view (seen below) from the covered porch.

 Jac and Madeleine sharing a moment (although not sharing a bowl).

Roasting marshmallows by the fire... neither Jac nor Madeleine wanted to eat a roasted one, but found it very interesting to watch. Poor little Ross was watching from afar...

This is one of the views, looking out over the Wairarapa.

Looking the other direction is the little bach (sorry, not my best shot). There is no electricity, which helps make it the wonderful, peaceful place it is.

Camping at Otaki Forks

A couple of weeks ago we went car-camping with our friends Emily and Matt and their little boy Jac. We went to Otaki Forks, up the Kapiti Coast, about 1.5 hours away. It was a beautiful sunny weekend and the river was a refreshing treat.

Ross loved the water, but mostly because of all the rocks he could pick up and eat. Both kids got to try out their new togs (aka swimming suits) from Grandma Georgia.

Madeleine and Jac got along really well and spent ages throwing rocks into the water, playing in the tents, kicking the ball around, and sitting in the cars pretending they were going to the shops. I guess there is something to be said for having your car right there when you're camping!

Matt and Emily moved to NZ from Wales just over two years ago, and Emily and I met at a local playgroup shortly after they had arrived. She has been my closest friend here in NZ, and Madeleine loves Jac like no one else. We will sure miss them when we leave.