Bastian the brave

Our poorly soldier.

Still smiling though, so brave!

About halfway through my four weeks alone with the kids disaster struck and Sebastian got an awful cold. Conjunctivitus set in, along with a hacking cough and it was pretty grim. He felt worse at night and coped by feeding every hour. Which obviously wasn't the most fun I've ever had but a great excuse for copious amounts of coffee during the day. During his first doctor's visit Zach dubbed him 'Bastian the Brave' for enduring his exam with a smile.

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Farmville

Pete supervises feeding the llama.

Zach gets the animals fed while Uncle Sam keeps Daisy safe.

Fashion in the field.


Zach and Sam get up close with one llama...

...then another.

We spent an afternoon followed by a lovely dinner at Rach's parent's farm in Ruby Bay. Zach loved the animals and Daisy loved their beautiful house with heated tiled floors.

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Sam, Rach and Harry come to visit.

The two littlest ones try out the double buggy.

Rach, practicing for having two already.

Harry says a little prayer.

Then is blessed by Zach, the mad preacher.

Harry and Bastie, you are SO cute!

Auntie Rach gets to know Sebastian.

While I get to know Harry.

Superbaby.

Sam shows off Harry.

Sam, Rach and Harry came to Nelson while we were there. They stayed with us for two nights which was a great chance to catch up and meet Harry who is gorgeous and very sweet.

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Rabbit Island

The clouds converge on Daisy's head.

Sand is no object to eating cake.


Anna, Giorgia, Katie, Sebastian, Zach, Isabella and Daisy enjoy the winter picnic.

The bouncer goes everywhere with us.

After 10 nights in Nelson, Andy headed back to Dubai for late night drinking with the boys, weekend lie ins and golf. And probably a bit of work too. The kids and I kicked off four weeks on our own with a great day out at Rabbit Island for Anna's birthday. The kids had a great time splashing around, eating cake and hurling sand at Marcus.

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Tahuna

Turtles!

Daisy in full mother hen mode.

Andy and the kids duck over the dunes to check out the beach.

We also spent a bit of time at the big playground in Tahuna. Another day, another playground. Or two. I got thoroughly sick of playgrounds. But look at those little faces, they loved it!

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Macmillans

The big climb.

Farmer Dais.

What the hell is THIS?

Zach gets up close with Katie the pig.

Macmillans is a cafe in Richmond that has great outdoor space for the kids to run around. There is swings, a duck pond, a tractor, bunnies, a pig called Katie and a small hill to fall down. Oh, and good coffee for sleep deprived mummies. Perfect.

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Sebastian's first solids.

Sebastian ponders his first mouthful of real food.

It gets the thumbs up, hurrah!

Oh no! It's all gone!

Mmmm.

Sebastian turned 5 months old in Nelson and celebrated with a small bowl of baby rice. He loved it.

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Nelson

Daisy and Zach reacquaint themselves with The Suter toybox.

Sebastian says hello to Grandad Peter.

We spent a lot of time lounging in bed.

Lots of fun was had with Isabella and Giorgia.

Lots of time was also spent lounging on the couch.

In the bath with Isabella and Giorgia.

Zach on the Central School slide.

Daisy's turn. It was pretty fast.

Walking to town, all umbrellaed up.

Daisy, Georgia and Sam bust some moves.

Faulkner's Bush was great.

We had a lovely break in Nelson. We stayed in a house right in town, on the river which was perfect. Ducks to feed right outside the front door. Andy had 10 nights there and the kids and I had 30 nights. We went to a LOT of playgrounds, I drunk a LOT of coffee and we just generally took things pretty easy and enjoyed seeing family and friends.

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Congratulations Oli and Rosie!

The new family of three.

So cute!

Slightly belated as we've been away but Sidney John Gibbs was born in Christchurch on July 28 at 4.30pm weighing 9lbs 1oz / 4.1kg. Check out that birth weight, hurrah for Rosie! We've been lucky enough to meet him in all his chubby cheeked glory (more photos on later blogs) and he is adorable.

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Christchurch

Getting ready to gasp...

Daisy and Zach cosy up to the Chalice in The Square.


The old fav, chasing pigeons.

Daisy, Zach and Josh take a rest from bean bag wrestling.

Lesley multi-tasks whilst Matt and Andy watch the rugby.

We had a very relaxed five nights in Christchurch. The kids were jetlagged and badly suffering from lack of sleep after the excitement of Singapore so we had a couple of 15 hour sleeping until midday marathons. Nice. In between all the sleeping we managed to fit in catching up with Ol and a very pregnant Rosie and also see a few friends which was great. We had lots of meals at my favourite vegetarian restaurant (happily, it was over the road from our hotel) which I enjoyed. Zach wasn't so sure though and spent one visit bellowing 'I want sausages'. Eeek. I also had a lovely evening out with Katie and Lesley.

The kids were shocked by the cold, Daisy coped pretty well as she was thrilled to be stepping out in her winter wardrobe but Zach would often stand in the hotel foyer sobbing 'I don't want to go outside, it's too cold, it's freeeeeeeezing'. Sebastian was very cute and as happy as usual all rugged up in his Baby Bjorn but would gasp and give little squeaks when the arctic wind blew in his face.

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