Goodbye family

Sad to see the family drive away this morning,makes you realize whats important.Atleast Jasper was at an age where he could really interact with his grandparents.He had a lovely bond especially,with his granny-they would lye on the sofa and gran would sing songs to him and he would listen intently and just smile-It was adorable.Ofcourse grandpa,too,had a special place in jaspers heart-he was simply known as "Ga-ga" to Jasper,atleast that's what he affectionately became called,to all of us!Oh well,he still has his auntie Fi here (for awhile anyway.)
His grandparents can atleast keep track of his progress on this blogsite.So,hello Gran and grandpa!!
Needless to say,we now have a very quiet house.It is kind of nice just to wind down after the madness of christmas,and welcome in a brand new year.So happy New year to all of you!!.

Thought I'd add my 2 cents worth... A whole new year, a lot is going to be happening, a lot of changes coming up, am really looking forward to it.
Jas has relly come along in the last few weeks. Since his granny and grandpa arrived, they have seen him get up onto his knees for the first time (he is not too far off from crawling now!), they have seen him get 3 new teeth, grow a lot of hair, his hand/eye co-ordination has come along in leaps and bounds, he even learned to wave the day before they left. It was really cute, all of us waving as they drove off!
Hopefully the transition back to normality will be smooth and painless for all parties concerned. It will take all of us a while to get used to the quietness of the house, mom and dad have only just left and the place already seems so much more empty. Am sure that Jasper will be right back into his routine within a day or two.
Went for a picnic yesterday , just in the greenway near the house, under some shady trees, it was the perfect day for it, Jas has a really great time, he absolutely loved it. We were all down on the ground on blankets, on his level I suppose, wow, how much fun can one small boy have!
Will have to repeat it again soon.

Christmas snaps

We are still recovering from the excesses of Christmas day, yesterday we were recovered enough to go up the gondola in Queenstown, some of us (except for the pregnant lady) even luged down again. A great day was had by all.
Have set up the printer that the folks gave us for Christmas, so far so good.
Jasper has 3 new top teeth, he is coping well with the teething process, the odd sleepless night here and there. He is certainly chopping through the chicken bones at the moment (see photo). Great stuff, chicken bones, they really work! If his dad has his way it will be bitong next!

Christmas Day

We have had a fabulous christmas day.LOADS of pressies for jasper,he was exhausted by the end of his gift opening session!He got given about 6 new books by Gran W,Gran and Grandpa, uncle J and uncle G, Poppa and Gran R, we gave him one, his library is growing..., aunty Shanley sent a beautiful fairy photo album for Ruby, not born yet and getting presents already! Jas got a load of toys, many bath toys, a ball popping machine from aunty S, a cookie shape sorter from gran and grandpa (it sings and I fear it will soon be running out of battery life!), he also got a cool toy helicopter that, surprisingly enough, also sings, from aunty Jean and uncle Ian and kids, gran in England sent heaps and heaps,an african shirt from governors camp in Kenya (where I used to work), a melamine set, toy/travel books for stroller and car, to mention a few.Auntie Fi gave jas a wooden toy(that has a spring attached and which i cant help playing with!) and auntie Heather and uncle C ,in south africa,gave jas a beachset.Poppa sent clothes and a pull-along-duck set.Great-grannies gave him clothes and a book and toy duck. These are a few of the presents, not all have been mentioned, no offence to anybody. BIG thank-you's to everybody who sent something and made our little boys day.

Summer time

Jasper and Daniella

Jasper and his "Ga-ga"

Jasper is getting the hang of this crawling thing.He is now managing to get up on his knees but he is still moving backwards?We were amazed the other day,Jas nearly pulled himself up on the couch himself(Which is typical jasper~Trying to do a million things at once.)I am amazed at the sheer determination that jas has,once he starts something he will see it through~It's a good trait to have i think.
He has started babbling "Ma-ma" and "Da-da"when dave or I pick him up.He also calls us "Ga-ga","Bub-ba"etc...so I don't know how much is recognition and how much is repetitive babble,but it still makes dave and i go all mushy inside when we hear it.We call him our little "Na-na",mainly because he always seems to have banana hanging off his face.

Holiday snaps

This morning we went cherry picking out at Ripponvale Orchard and stuffed ourselves, ending up with 5 kg of cherries! We still had room for ice cream afterwards...ahhh, holidays! Have included some photo's of this, and the glaciers.

West coast dreamin'

We had a great time in fox.Ofcourse it wouldnt be the west coast without THE RAIN!or THE SANDFLYS!.On thursday we hibernated in the cabin and jasper loved the portable cot provided,which i admit we kind of used as a playpen~have to get one for the next bub.He sat in there with his toys and giggled at everyone and was happy as larry.
On friday,we had a break in the weather and the family got to see fox glacier.Even second time round for dave and I,it was still very impressive.Dave even managed to get the stroller halfway up the track and jas looked so gorgeous all snuggled up in his red blanket.I admit i didnt even make it halfway!(It is bloody hard when your 5-months pregnant).But a curious kea kept me company.
We also had a look at lake matheson .The highlight for me was heading off the well beaten tourist track and driving 10 kilometres thru bush to gillespies beach~awesome stuff.So wild,with the kind of surf that could break a back(I've never seen surf that actually breaks on the beach itself) and huge stones that that same huge surf threw out and which covered the whole beach.Very cool and being on the west coast made me miss the west coast back home~Piha and all those special places,which thankfully dont have the sandflys.
A great little holiday away.Today we will nurse our sandfly "wounds".

music group

Today we took Jasper to his music group Christmas Party. There were lots of fairies and reindeer and one wise man! jasper had his jingly reindeer antlers that his gran Walker sent him, on. We went over to the church hall where all the kids entertained the old people with singing and dancing. Dave and Gran were there as well so we got some pics.

Family fun

Today we went to a picnic out at Lowburn, a chance for the family to meet everyone from our church. Jas had a great time, he was really well behaved, just sat and ate grass...and played with a puppy. He was fascinated to watch his daddy playing volleyball. It's a lovely hot day, lots of hats and sunscreen, perfect picnic weather. Jas is loving having the family here, lots of cuddles and attention.

The family arrive

Very busy day yesterday. Dave's family arrived around 11am but I was at a course in Alexandra for kidstart. I didn't get home until 5:30pm, it was the first time I've been away from Jasper for so long, was surprised by the depth of emotion I felt when I drove away.
Anyway, it is fantastic to have the Doyles here. Jas took to them straight away and had a ball, everyone was paying attention, which he loves! Anne was so looking forward to meeting her first grandchild, she could hardly wait for him to wake up. They had great cuddles, Aunty Fi and Grandpa also got into the act, Grandpa gave him his afternoon bottle.
Jaspers in our room and we are all finding the change very hard. His sleep pattern is all over the place, hopefully he will settle down VERY soon.

Pink booties!

Gorgeous pink booties arrived in the post today!So sweet and really hitting home that we really are bringing another little life into our home next april.
Jas is fantastic,he is desperately trying to crawl~It is so frustrating for him,he wants to move forward but finds himself going backwards.Today 4 the first time he was trying to move off his butt and forward onto his hands and knees~that confirms he is trying to crawl.Lately he has taken to just flopping onto his tummy and then he just stays like that~he kind of skipped the stage where they learn to roll?So he just flops around like a little fish and hopes for a miracle,or for mum or dad to pick him up,whatever comes first.

Babble and brush

Our boy has discovered the art of babbling and man,It is such a crackup!His latest is "Da-da"which is followed up with a succession of blowing bubbles.He is such a boy- he is so loud.Before I found out i was having a girl,I was imagining myself chasing 2 boys around ,an endless round of cowboys and indians and discovering our VCR or telephone taken to bits and then left like that!I know, i have 2 brothers!
Boys are cool tho,Ok,they may go through a smelly patch as teenagers but at the moment jasper is just adorable(and a long way off from becoming a teenager,thank goodness) Jas is
very affectionate-I get lots of cuddles and unconditional love(babies don't judge) He loves my singing!!
He loves bathtime,and he has taken to brushing his teeth in the bathtub lately-we have included a photo of this .I love getting up in the morning and seeing 2 big toothbrush's and 1 little one-It's
never too early to introduce good dental hygiene.

The learning curve

Jasper is getting cuter every day. He is learning so much all the time, really developing into his own little person. We always have a great time playing in the bath, his favourite toys are yellow duckie and two round rattle bath toys that Granny Doyle sent to him, and he splashes, whacks and wallops until he is almost breathless. Always before, he has tried to grab all the toys at once, to his undoing because he can't hold onto all of them and invariably loses the lot. Just recently he has learned to grab only one toy, and play with that for awhile before trying for the others, a toy in the hand is worth three that annoyingly bob out of reach the whole time! Small things, but amazing to watch him work them out.
Lee was telling me today about him learing to share. He has always grabbed a toy and played for a bit, amusing himself but not letting other people into the game. Today for the first time he held his toy out fot Lee, sharing with her, encouraging her to join him in his game. Wow, a small step perhaps, also a giant leap, I was so proud.

Funny thing today, I put Jas down for a sleep but he likes to sit up in his cot a the moment before lying down for a sleep, Well, I left him thinking I'd removed all hazards from his cot; five minutes later I hear this almightly static on the baby monitor - I rush back to his room and here's Jasper, happily chewing on the monitors wires with a big grin on his face. Oops!
I took him out to playgroup this morning. It was his first time at this particular playgroup as it has always cut in on his morning sleep time before now. I always feel a bit awkward when i first rock up at these things, and although I did find the competitiveness between the mums about "whose babies doing what" a bit annoying, I found Jasper really enjoyed it. I find his at the age now where he needs that social stimulation with other people and I do too. Cromwell is so small and it's very easy to make and maintain friends because you are always bumping into one another. thats the nice thing about living in a small town, I know just about all my neighbours on our street, it's nice and safe for children.