Wow the last week has just flown by! Last Friday (the 27th Nov) was Kylie’s birthday. We couldn’t get into the restaurant she wanted to go that night, so we planned on having a Thanksgiving feast for her birthday instead. So I made a pumpkin pie (odd for NZ-ers) and on the day I made Turkey with sage and onion stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, corn & fresh bread rolls. Lots of work, but I enjoyed most of it. My MIL had the day off so I had a free baby sitter while I was busy working. Everything turned out great. I was a little worried about the Turkey. I like to cook them in a roasting bag, but I didn’t notice that a hole had ruptured through the top. It looked like it was going to be dry, but it was ok in the end. It was 4.5kg Turkey (9.9lbs). It cost just under $70. Turkeys are not a big thing here in NZ. Nothing like the US. Also it is not really the right season here for it either. It is spring and generally they are ready in Autumn. Probably a reason why they are so expensive…well that and we get a free range organic turkey. (: Those kind are always a little more pricey.

Saturday was a milestone day for me. Marcello went to Nana and Granddad's for the night. Scott had his work Christmas party on and we were really looking forward to dressing up and going out. The party was nice and it was really nice to catch up with some people I have not seen in a few years. After I got the text that Marcello was asleep and went down without a fight I did manage to relax a little more. But around 10pm I was getting tired. I generally go to bed pretty early since I am usually up at 5. By 1130 Scott and I were on our way home and I am pretty sure I was asleep before midnight. I feel like such an old person. Here I had the opportunity to go out on the town and whoop it up and I was in bed before midnight! It was nice sleeping with out any interruptions, but I woke at 5…then 515…then 530….do you see the pattern? I forced myself to stay in bed until 8. Then we were off to church, Nana and Marcello were waiting for us in our usual seats. He didn’t seem overly happy to see us, but then again he had just woken up.

I managed to sneak out on Monday for a Christmas dinner with my division in St John. It was nice to talking with everyone and hear how everyone is doing. I have been trying to work more events in hopes they will reward me with some training classes that I have been enquiring about. Low and behold I got notice that I can take a driving course early next year and also I can begin my National Diploma in January as well. So I should be driving the Ambulance soon, and by October next year I should be at an Ambulance Officer level. After that I will only have one more course to be a paramedic. Very exciting! (:

Mostly this week has been pretty low key. The weather has not been very nice. And I haven’t felt the greatest and last night Marcello developed a very congested nose, snot and all. Tonight we are suppose to go out to dinner for Kylie’s birthday (the place we couldn’t get into before). But Marcello cried for a long time last night going to sleep and I would hate for Mel (our friend who is baby sitting for us) to be put through it. It can be quite stressful. He is taking a good nap now and hopefully he will take another one this afternoon. Good naps usually equal an easier bed time.

Last night I put up our Christmas tree. Scott was quite tired so he was in bed early, but I just couldn’t wait any longer. It is a beautiful big tree we bought my first Christmas here. I love it! I put all the lights on it and moved into place and then I notice like 10 lights out in a row, so I had a spare strand so I took out one I knew was working and then went through the line and found the one not working. Well about a minute later I saw another one, then another one! It is so frustrating because I checked them all before I put them on. Finally all the lights were working and I positioned it against the wall with a couch on each corner and a table on one side. I think it is Marcello proof…..I think. I put on some un-breakable ornaments on the bottom areas so if he does find a way it will not end in catastrophe.  I still have a little more decorating to do, but not going to do over kill. Marcello will undoubtedly find a way to rip stuff off the walls and doors by Christmas.

Starting yesterday Scott & I are doing some prayer and fasting for 3 days. Our church is doing it and was encouraging us to do it. I have done it a few times before and it was really great. But this time I wasn’t feeling it. Not sure how to explain it. So on Tuesday night I was really praying about it and reading my Bible and thought that I would give it a miss this time. No point in doing it unless my heart was there right? Then Scott came home and was telling me how our friend Keith went up for prayer for healing for his Diabetes at church that night. And I knew instantly THAT was a reason to pray and fast. I have been praying for Keith for some time now, but I really feel God can change this. So I have been praying quite a bit, it comes to my mind a lot. So I am really praying for a breakthrough. What a testimony he would make if his blood sugar just suddenly normalised! I know so many people with this disease. I want it to be gone. I want Keith to have a good day everyday, and just enjoy food and activities with out having to worry.

Well I think I will go rest for a little bit before Marcello wakes up. (:

The weather has been outstanding. You can already feel summer creeping in. It has been hard to stay inside. I have so many errands to do, but we are forecasted to have a week of wind and rain next week, so I feel like Marcello and I need to take advantage of the great weather. We have been going to the gardens to the children's play area. The pools are so nice there for kids. Very shallow and nice. We have met a multitude of friends there. It is like Mummie hang out on a nice day. Ahhhhh…these are the perks of being a stay at home Mum. You forget about the mound of laundry & unfolded clean clothes…the dishes….the grocery shopping…weeding of the garden. Just to play with your 1 yr old in the pool splashing about, enjoying the beautiful day! (:

Today I have the absolute pleasure of baby sitting for my friend Christy. Judah is so adorable. He is very gentle and fun. Very cute smiles and giggles. However, to have 2 one yr olds is quite a handful. I imagine even if you had twins they would be use to being around one another. But for Marcello this was all new. He didn’t really want to share his toys. But all in all it was fun! (:

Got my Thanksgiving Dinner all planned out for tomorrow. Will make the Pumpkin Pie tonight. And I will head over to my MIL’s tomorrow. She has 2 ovens so it makes it a little easier to cook several things. Also she has Fridays off so she can play with Marcello while I am in the kitchen. Makes everything heaps easier. It is also Kylie’s Birthday so we will have a lot to celebrate and be Thankful for.

Letter 3 of 3

Stage 16 Update

Wow. What a day! For the riders, they had two huge mountain passes to cover, Le Grand Saint Bernard, and Le Petit Saint Bernard. Following that, they had a wicked decent into Bourg Saint Maurice. We figured that all the action would occur on the 2^nd climb, up the Petit St Bernard, and so woke at 6, bundled everything into the car, and hit the road, hoping to make it to our destination before the roads were closed. We chose to take the scenic route, through the unbelievable Mont Blanc tunnel, impressive at some 15km in length. Apart from the awesome scenery, we were avoiding part of the tour route itself, which we assumed would be closed. Another interesting thing about the tunnel, is that you actually change countries while you are in it, from France to Italy. Oh, and one last thing... if you’re interested in doing it yourself, be sure to bring 41 Euros for the round trip (ouch).

Once on the other side, we headed for the Italian mountain ski resort town of La Thuile. Our hearts were ticking at this point, because it was around 8am, and half the roads were closed. By this time, we were on the tour route. The actual climb started somewhere around 10km before La Thuile, and we made it through just before the road closed. But not far. Just about 300m on the other side of the town, there was a Polizia car blocking the road, turning everyone back. We were lucky though, and found an open field that was blocked off by a couple of logs and I jumped out and moved them, giving us a good parking spot. After checking the map, I estimated that we had about a 6km walk to the summit, but that was as the crow flies. Knowing that on average we walk at about 7km an hour, and taking into account the winding road, I estimated an hour long walk. Hah!

3 hours later, were grovelled our way to the summit. Easily the hardest walk of our lives! Not to mention pushing Marcello up, and a big bag of food. The atmosphere was incredible though, a real party the whole way up. Literally thousands of recreational cyclists were also on the climb, paving the way before their heroes followed hours later. But most of the spectators came from hundreds of campers, no doubt there from the night before. Marcello was a big hit of course. Being in Italy, we heard “awww Bambino!” a lot! We ended up picking a spot about 300m from the summit. It was on a tight steep bend, and it offered a great view of the Alps, and most importantly, the upcoming riders. Lunch never tasted so good before! Lots of fresh summer fruit, baggettes, ham, croissants, and about a gallon of water I’m sure.  The summit was at 2188m in elevation, and we were actually up above the tree line, where there was still a little ice and snow. Very picturesque. A couple of hours later, the crazy caravan came through again, and we picked up quite a lot of cool stuff, a couple of team cycling jerseys being the highlights. We’re looking at putting together a Tour de France prize pack for the winner of the VirtualBikeRace competition.   

Finally, the riders came through. Firstly a small breakaway group, and then the big guns. I got a pretty cool shot of Yellow Jersey wearer Alberto Contador, and quite a few others. Kristie got some footage on Video too, so we’re looking forward to seeing how that turned out. Unlike the last stage we watched on the flat roads, the riders were a lot easier to pick out, and it wasn’t all over in a flash. Once all the main contenders went past, I overheard a comment from an English speaking couple opposite me, saying, “Can you believe it? We’re actually at the Tour de France!” I know exactly how they felt.  On our long walk to the top, we had passed a camper van, that had posters stuck all over it from previous tours the owners had attended, going way back to 1987. I pointed out, that was about the year I started following the Tour. I was 14, and the only coverage we had back then in NZ, was a small column in the morning paper containing the top 20 riders on each stage, about a day after it happened. Back then, I don’t think I would ever have pictured this day, where I was so close I could literally touch the riders. (although I restrained myself!)

Once all the riders went past, the crowds started to disperse. What goes up, must come down right? Two hours later, we were back at the car. Not a moment too soon according to Marcello. Poor little guy had a huge day, and he was a bit over it by then. At 7:15pm we were back on the road again. Sadly, traffic at the tunnel was horrendous, and it took about an hour and a half to get through. Which is enough time to write this letter, so all is not lost. 

Tomorrow we are cutting short our original plans. It’s not fair to Marcello to have two monster days in a row like that, and quite frankly, I’m not sure his parents have the stamina either! So instead, we’re planning on waking at a more leisurely hour, and driving straight to the finish line. Watching a stage finish is something we wanted to do anyway, but didn’t think we had time. It should make for a much easier day than the one we had planned.

   <—Lance Armstrong

Time to sign off,

Au revoir,

Scott, Kristie and Marcello

It dawned on me that I never put in the next 2 letters Scott wrote from France. They are good and I have pictures to go with them, so I thought I would throw them in now. Here is the 2nd of 3.

Written by Scott 21st July 2009:

Bon soir!

Well, it’s been an adventure again, not unexpected of course, but we’re finally here near La c Annecy. When we last wrote, we were at our campsite near Lyon, and debating our next move. That night we had the shelter of our 1mm thick tent between us and a fierce thunderstorm that seemed to last the whole night. Unfazed, I slept like a baby. The same could not be said of our baby, who slept like a person wondering just what make someone decide that camping in an electrical storm was a good idea. Anyway, he was actually pretty good, according to Kristie’s reports. We’re so lucky.

The lure of the Côte d ‘Azure (Azure coast – basically the Mediterranean) was too much, so rather than cut across the mountains for a leisurely 2-3 hour journey to Annecy, we bundled up, and buckled down for the stated 5 hour trip to Nice.

Hah!

Leaving at about 10, we drove into pouring rain, and the traffic on the motorway came to a standstill. I think it took us around 2 hours to actually leave the outskirts of Lyon! As we got closer to Nice, the weather improved dramatically, which lifted our spirits considerably. Marcello was just about done with sitting in his car seat though, and needed plenty of attention, walks, and fresh air. Late that afternoon we came up towards the business end of the driving day, in terms of navigational requirements. It was right about this time that the laptop ran out of juice and in trying to plug it into the 12v car adapter, we (and when I say we, I mean ME mainly) managed to blow the fuse on the cigarette lighter circuit. I reached for the car manual, to find it is entirely in Dutch. Fun. It turns out that “Äsbak, Sigarettenaansteker on Stopcontacten” was the right page header that had the info I needed. Asking a French mechanic for the right amp fuse is another story, and that will have to wait for another day.

No problem, Kristie being super organised printed an entire book with all the maps to the locations we were staying. Except one problem. We think it was left on our coffee table back home. No problem, we put everything into TripIt, and we printed out our itinerary just in case! Except one big problem. For some reason, we neglected to include this one particular night in TripIt (see for yourself, it’s not there!) Well, we had the street address, and knew roughly where to go, but for some reason, the actual name of the campsite escaped us... As it drew closer to the end of the day we were becoming increasingly nervous of having to spend the night in the car! As luck would have it, there was just enough juice in the laptop to reconfirm our direction, and we headed into the dense forest hills to find the campground. Like an oasis in the desert, it appeared, some 160 hectares of camping grounds actually. We breathed a sigh of relief as we found the reception still open, and the people spoke a little English. Even better, the restaurant was open, and we got a cooked meal into us. As we went to bed that night, Kristie and I both commented on how nice the gentle cooling breeze was.

Within 30 minutes of going to bed, the gentle breeze became a wind storm, that from inside our tent sounded like a Tornado. Poor Kristie had nightmares all night of the trees falling on us, and could barely sleep. Of course, Marcello woke up every 30 minutes or so also. As usual, I slept like a baby!

Next morning was a later start that anticipated. The wind had died down, and Kristie and Marcello caught up on some sleep. At around 10, we took off for our day trip to Italy. What a mission! I’ll spare you the details, but it took a lot longer than we expected. We were hoping to find a nice beach in San Remo, and there did appear to be a few around, but they were all private. In the end, we did find a public access, but it was mostly rocks and huge breakers. Swimming looked like a death wish. The scenery of the area though was truly breathtaking.

On the way back, we detoured through Monaco, which was stunning. A real rich mans playground. We even saw the obligatory Ferraris. Kristie drove up into the hills, and we got a couple of great aerial shots of Monaco for the scrapbook. 

Cool stuff indeed. 

We took the coastal route back home, through Nice. Stopping in an outer suburb of Nice at a Supermarket, Kristie picked up some essentials, while I looked for an internet connection. No luck. Oh well, I was sure that the Virtual Bike Race website was trucking on nicely, and had full confidence in Kylie running it in our absence. :) As Kristie joined back with us, her arms full with Marcello, and groceries, she placed her wallet on the roof of the car as she packed the car. We drove off, blissfully unaware that the wallet was still on the roof... Later in the afternoon, figuring that we were cheated out of our swim in the Mediterranean, we stopped at a beach in between Nice and our campsite. The water was beautiful, and Marcello LOVED it, after the initial shock. J I didn’t have my togs (swimming suit for any Americans reading this!), so I stripped down to my boxers, and jumped in. It was too inviting not to. Besides, most of the Euro men seem to swim in Speedos anyway, so I didn’t look too out of place. After the swim, as we packed up the car, and basking in the glow of a lovely afternoon, our enjoyment turned sour as we discovered the missing wallet. Luckily, it didn’t have a lot of cash in it, and Kristie’s US credit card / drivers license was replaceable, but we thought we’d kick ourselves if we didn’t go back to look for it. We estimated it would take about an hour. We didn’t count on the weekend beach traffic.

Sadly, as we retracted our trip, we didn’t find the wallet, and turned back again to head home, slightly worse for wear after the stress of the CRAZY French drivers, and the streets built hundreds of years ago, not designed for modern day station wagons..

To summarise, we got back close to 10pm, just before the campsite closed, in darkness, and needing dinner. We threw a couple of steaks over the camp stove, wolfed them down, and went to bed. Kristie checked her cellphone first, and that’s when we got the news that there was an error on the website, and it was going to need my assistance. I had no idea where we could get internet access, and besides, the campsite gates were closed.That was probably the last straw for us both. It wasn’t the greatest day as a family, truth be told, but we were on holiday, we were healthy, and as we told ourselves, things could be a lot worse! Tomorrow would be another day.

It was a great night, calm, cool, and even Marcello slept like a baby!

We got up at first light, packed up, picked up our morning baking (mmmm croissants and Pain au Chocolat – yes, it’s as good as it sounds!), checked out at 8, and hit the road, ready for a big day of travelling to Annecy. We were straight into the big winding hills of the Alps, and I happened to ask Kristie how much gas we had left. “Quarter of tank, no problem”. Then I glanced at our route. Big problem. There were no big cities for hundreds of kilometres! We said nothing, prayed a lot, but watched as the fuel gauge dropped to E. There was no turning back, but I admit I was quietly panicking as the fuel warning came up on the dashboard. Quickly turning to our trusty French phrase book, I found the correct way to ask for a petrol station, as Kristie detoured off into a charming village for help. We found an old man, who smiled a lot, spoke a lot of French, some of which I understood, and gestured back in the direction we were heading. “Dix kilometres! Tourne á droit! Tourne á gauche..”etc .. etc.. Scarily, the French phrase book also mentioned that the small town gas stations were generally closed on Sundays. I asked Kristie what day it was, knowing full well the answer... Once again, like an answer to prayer, and right on time, we saw the gas station, and miracles continued as it was open, just for the morning!! We correctly deciphered Gasoil, as being diesel, and filled up, ignoring the exorbitant price. Ok, nearly ignoring it.. (70 something Euros is a lot to pay to fill your tank!) But the stress it relieved was worth every Euro cent. As our journey continued, everything started going much better for us. The scenery was, well, stunning. We ended up cutting out most of the cycling landmarks I had originally wanted to see, but we were determined to make it to our campsite with enough time to enjoy the evening. When we hit the city of Grenoble (near the borders of Italy and Switzerland), we drove around for a time, looking for an internet cafe. We only found an abandoned one, and most of the city was closed being Sunday. But luck was still on our side, as we stumbled upon an unsecured open WiFi connection, and before too long, we had internet access, while Kristie double parked and fed Marcello. I was able to repair the site pretty quickly, and an hour or so later, we were back on the road, arriving here at Annecy at just on 4pm. A great day. Marcello was outstanding also. He didn’t sleep so much, but wasn’t so distressed travelling.

The campsite here is a converted old farm, and you have to see the setting to believe how incredible it is. I have a feeling that my photos won’t do it justice. After setting up camp, we drove back into downtown Annecy, and I have to say that the buzz is electric. At this time of year, I’m sure this holiday resort town is on fire anyway, but with the Tour due here in a couple of days, it’s something else again. Once again, I managed to find an open WiFi point, and entered the days Tour results. (And wow, Alberto Contador looks unstoppable, doesn’t he?) We are missing seeing television coverage of it all, but I’m sure that our roadside view in the mountains will more than make up for it. On the way home, we picked up some Pizza, and had a picnic back at the site. All in all, a great day, and such a blessing after yesterdays turn of events.

Marcello is asleep in bed, I’m writing this email in the car, and tomorrow I hope to send it to you all. It’s a rest day for the Tour de France tomorrow, and it’ll be a rest day for us too. We can’t wait.

We miss you all, and Marcello gives you all a great big hug, and a sloppy kiss. Seriously, he’s doing that a lot lately, we probably should try to stop that somehow!

With all our love,

Scott, Kristie and Marcello
xxx

Update: The next morning.

Since there is a few minutes to spare, and since we haven’t had a chance to send this email yet, I thought I’d add a few more details. We had another great night. Marcello slept well, as did Kristie and I. The local baker comes here at 8 each morning, and it was croissants and chocolate bread again for breakfast.  Marcello loves croissants also. As Marcello and Kristie went back to bed for a nap, I went for a run, checking out some possible locations for watching the Time Trial stage around the lake. Unlike traditional time trials, this is not flat, and will be quite a challenge. Expect Contador and Armstrong to do well. It’s now 30 degrees as I write this, and the cool of the early morning has long since passed. It’s a drop dead gorgeous day. We are so lucky. On my run, I must have seen two dozen cyclists, all recreational, but all dressed in their favourite Team colours. It feels so great to be in a cycling mad country. Even around the campsite as I listen in on other family conversations, it seems so strange to hear the English words of “Cavendish”and “Armstrong” interspersed in their French or German sentences. Even among the locals, it seems that most people have at least a passing interest in who is doing what at the Tour. Of course, they can’t help but be affected by it, since the road around the lake will be closed for a whole day soon. 

We have discovered that the tour roads in the mountains close from 8am. This will mean an early start tomorrow, and I expect a lot of walking. We’ll have to stock up on food today. I am so excited. It’s a dream come true for me to actually witness the Tour de France. I’m so grateful that Kristie shares my enthusiasm! And Marcello, well, he’s happy just playing in the grass and dirt at this age, but at least he’s happy. Oh, and speaking of Monseiur Marcello, he got another tooth the other day. La dent numéro six. He didn’t seem unusually grouchy, so that’s great. He’s sitting next to me right now, giggling as I type. Very cute.

Well cést tout for now.

Au revoir!

Scotty (and Marcello says “ba ba ba! <giggle>”)

23 November 2009, Monday

So I failed on blogging every day. But I thought of it every day, does that count for something? Some days are just too busy or more likely that Marcello will not let me type at the computer. Last week was good.

Wednesday night we had our life group over. Life group is like a bible study in case you were wondering. But instead of a Bible study we watched this documentary called, “The Star”. It was really good. It was about the star of Bethlehem. And it shows with the technology today how you can see how it was possible. It was really cool. It also talked about astrology, which I love. It touched on how God used the stars in the Bible and it had some amazing things about them. I am not going to say anymore...you just need to watch it. Check it out: http://www.bethlehemstar.net/

Thursday is a bit of a blur. I think I did grocery shopping and Marcello and I went swinging in the park by our house. Something we have been doing just about daily now. He loves the swing. He generally cries when you take him out. It is so cute. He loves the slide too.

Friday was a fun day. It was lovely and warm out and we met Scott for lunch and then we went into the botanical gardens in the children’s area. Once again we swung for a while, but then we played in the water. It is so great! They have 2 big pools that are super shallow just for little ones. It is free too which is a super bonus! We met up with some friends we have not seen in a while and some other friends I see weekly. The kids all had a great time. After we came home Nana came over for a little bit and played and then Auntie Kylie came over for dinner. I finally found the first jalapeños of the season so we had yummy fresh salsa with our home made tacos.

Friday night I worked volunteering for St John Ambulance. I worked an event at the Royal Theater. It was Peter Pan the Ballet. It was really well done. There were a lot of kiddies at the show all dressed up like pirates, fairies and Indians (the native American kind). It was so cute. I can’t wait to take Marcello to see some shows when he gets older. In saying that, I am going to make sure he is a bit older before I take him. So many little kids fell asleep during the show, it went to nearly 10pm. Way too late for a little guy. Maybe when he about 5 I will take him to see matinee.

Saturday was nice relaxing day. Our good friends Reuben, Christy and their little guy Judah came over. Reuben is an arborist and he trimmed all out trees. They were in desperate need of it. Now they look fantastic. Marcello managed to wake about 3 steps unassiseted before he fell. Very, very exciting!!! We had a BBQ and all the food was from our gardens. Sooooo yummy! Then I had to leave again to work for St John again. The Ballet again, was still good the second time around. But Reuben & Christy stayed and put the little ones to bed and then they all watched a movie.

Sunday was great. Marcello was up early, about 5am but went down for a nap at 7am. And shockingly enough when it came time to leave for church he was still asleep. I couldn’t bear to wake him so I sent Scott ahead of us to church while I waited for him to wake up. He finally woke at 1015am. So we got to church around 11am, but luckily it was going long so I managed to hear the entire sermon. Woop Woop...that never happens. Marcello usually tries to preach at the same time as our pastor, and I am pretty sure Marcello is louder. He was a little talkative, but Scott held him in the back and he was good boy. In the afternoon he took another hour nap and Scott and I got to watch some track cycling on tv. Very interesting sport. Scott recons I would be good at it. So now I am paying a little closer attention to it and maybe I will give it a go in a few years when we are done having kiddos. That afternoon Scott went back to church to help with the Media for the evening service and I went to Nana & Grand Dad’s for play time and dinner. It was very nice as it always is.

Today is Monday again. Marcello had another big nap this morning, which I took full advantage of by sleeping myself. And he is taking another nap now! I think I am in shock. I wonder how long this will last? Maybe he is in a growth spurt. Maybe this is the new normal! (:

Sorry this one is so long, next one should be shorter!

17 November 2009, Tuesday

So I have confused myself. If I blog in the morning do I recap the day before? Maybe I should just blog in the evening. I think that would be harder. After Marcello goes to bed I find myself wanting to tidy up my house and then just relax on the couch or go to bed. But it makes more sense to do it in the evening. Maybe that is why I have never been good at keeping a journal, if I try to do it at night it just never happens.

Yesterday was an enjoyable day. Marcello took 2 naps, which sometimes it happens but most of the time it doesn’t. I got my grocery shopping done for a few days, and I manage to pick a lovely recipe out of my cookbook to try for dinner. Marcello and I took a walk along the river and fed a family of ducks, 7 ducklings. Some other ducks tried to come over for a few bread crumbs, but the parent ducks wouldn’t let any of them near their babies. Very overprotective, I had to smile...I know the feeling! (: Then we walked to the park a block away from our house. Marcello swung for a while and I swung next to him. He LOVES swinging, he used to wail when we took him out, but now we have found a few techniques to distract him so it isn’t so difficult. We slid down the slide a few times too.

When we got home Marcello went down for a nap and I started dinner. Scott had gone to work early and so we were going to try sitting down together to eat at 5pm. When I say all together I mean Marcello too. Usually Marcello eats at 5 and we eat at 6-630. But lately Marcello always wants part of our dinner too, so we are trying a new thing for a while.

I made enchiladas for dinner. I had not made them before. It was all fresh ingredients except the tortillas. (I do not want to even attempt to make those) Over all they were good. However there are a few changes I think I would make next time.

Today is usually a busy day for me. Marcello and I go to Marnie’s house for Church Mum’s group at 10am and then I meet with our Plunket friends around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. But Marnie had to pick up her Mum from the airport so we have the morning to ourselves. And I haven’t heard from any of our Plunket friends yet. It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day. The sun is shining and hopefully it will warm up a bit. Maybe Marcello and I will go for a swim. But we are definitely going to go for a walk though the park.

16 November 2009, Monday

Well I have never been very consistent in blogging or anything of that sort. But I am quite keen to keep a diary of some sort. Julie my mother in law keeps one and she often looks back and reminisces, and I know the time goes by quickly when you have children and I really want to be able to look back when my kiddos are older and be able to do that. Thankfully the home computer and the internet couldn’t make it easier for me. So here we go, going to try and write an entry every day. It may be short and boring but so be it.

I am a stay at home Mum. Marcello my son is currently 13 months and 2 weeks. Everyday bring new joys and happiness as I watch him grow and develop. Just last night my Hubby (Scott) asked me if I was happy. And I didn’t really need to think about it. Yes I am very happy. Scott and I have been married for 2 and a half years. They have been the best years of my life.

Today is Monday, we just had a 3 day weekend. It is always hard to start a new week. Scott goes back to work and although it gives me time to plan the meals for the week and clean up our house, I really miss him. Seems silly, but I really do. I hope that never changes.

We had a great weekend. Thursday Marcello and I went to the Show with Brent (my father in law). It is much like the fair back home. They had a big fenced off area with sheep lambing. It was actually really cool to watch them being born and stand up for the first time. As a Mum it brought a tear to my eye. Mothering is very instinctual, both for humans and animals. God is such an awesome creator.

The rest of the weekend was mellow. I went for a cycle and Scott took Marcello for a run. We watched a few movies. I saw Julie and Julia, and now I feel somewhat inspired to cook through a cookbook. I have a few Jamie Oliver cookbooks I wouldn’t mind trying to cook through.

Church is talking about generosity this month. I am trying to look past all the talk about financial generosity and thinking of other things I can be generous with. Money is tight, but my time isn’t.

That is all for now.

We had a very special First Birthday for Marcello. Firstly his Grandma and Papa flew in from the USA to help us celebrate. We drove over a lot of the south island to show them around. It was a great trip. We even watched Papa bungee jump from a bridge!

Then on Marcello’s actual Birthday, 2 October, we went to the Willow Bank Zoo. We got to see all sorts of animals, ride a tractor, & we even saw the rare Kiwi Bird.

That night we had a private birthday party at Nana & Granddad's house. Marcello had his very own blue star cake and we all wore crowns. Marcello got a lot of very cool presents. He got a Lion chair, a rocking horse, a push scooter/ walker, and heaps of clothes and other toys.

Then a few days later we had Marcello dedicated in our church. We had purposefully waited for Grandma and Papa to come and visit before we did this very special ceremony. All of our friends and family joined us on stage and Pastors Sharyn and Russel Hay prayed over him. It was very special. Marcello felt the need to put his head on my shoulder while Russel was holding him. Very sweet. And then Papa prayed over him too. After church we all went back to Nana and Granddad’s for a yummy lunch and celebration. A lot of family brought presents for Marcello, so he was very spoiled indeed. We all had a great time. It was a very special day!

Marcello at one year weighed 11.3kg (about 25 lbs) was 76cm tall (about 30 inches) has 8 teeth (including 1 molar). He has a LOT of personality. He is a great dancer & a very fast crawler. Only a few days before his birthday he learned to pull himself up, I am sure walking will not be far away. We LOVE him very much and look forward to many more birthdays to celebrate. XOXO

Sorry I didn't write earlier, we have been flat out, and mostly unable to find time to hunt out Internet access.

It's hard to know where to start. The flights were mostly excellent, understandably Marcello got pretty tired by the third one from Bangkok to Amsterdam, but being in Business class definitely helped. Sadly there were lots of times where we struck turbulence, and we were forced to take Marcello out of his bassinette, which of course woke him up. With the seatbelt sign on, we weren't able to walk him to sleep, so that was a bit tricky. I could feel the eyes of the business class passengers glaring at me! (given that it was about 3 in the morning at that point!)

Anyway, we flew through customs in no time flat. We picked up the car from Budget way too early, but were eager to get on the road. The booking was for 11am, but we got there before 8. The nice lady gave us a free upgrade to a VW Passat wagon. Kristie wants to buy one now. :)

The drive from AMS to Paris was long. ordinarily it would be 5 hours, but travelling with a tired 9 month old stretched that out somewhat. We stopped pretty quickly in Holland, and fed Marcello, while I took some photos of a postcard Dutch village. Pretty awesome...

About 20 minutes later, we were in Belgium, and somehow I managed to direct Kristie off our route into some amazing little Belgian village. I found a bakery where the lady serving knew a tiny bit of English, and bought an Apricot tart thing. I don't know a word of Flemish, and my French is barely passable, but we got bye. :)

Getting back onto the motorway was an experience in itself... Marcello's crying didn't help, but we got there in the end. We're using this Microsoft Europe Mapping software, (Cal, it's the EU version of Streets and Trips) which is great, but I didn't realise I needed to zoom all the way to find the on ramps etc.. The fact that a road hits the motorway on the map, is no guarantee that you can actually join the motorway, of course... Anyway, I'll leave it to your imagination how the mood was in our car at that time!

Kristie drove us through Paris like a pro. You can not imagine what it's like. Parisians have a terrible reputation as aggressive impatient drivers. Within a few minutes, we could see why! Lane markings, and traffic lights seem more a suggestion than a rule. Kristie was unstoppable though, and with only one or two minor deviations from our planned route, we ended up outside our Hotel, right in the heart of Paris, at about 4pm.

The owner of the Hotel spoke better English than my French, and proceeded to inform me that our rooms (we were to meet our friend Lizzy that day) were on the 7th floor. Lovely. Except.... no lift. I did it in 5 trips, while Kristie parked the car in a parking lot somewhere a few blocks away. I was absolutely shattered. 30 hours of flying, and then 8 hours in the car, did not make for good preparation for lugging 80kg (about 190lb) of luggage up narrow steep hotel stairs. Lizzie arrived, and I could barely get up to see her! 

Anyway, we were only in Paris for a couple of days, so couldn't waste it. We went out for a wander around the evening streets of Paris. It's just amazing. I wasn't prepared for how taken aback I would be of it.

After wandering aimlessly for an hour or two, we found a cafe, and ordered dinner. Very average actually, and not cheap. The Euro / $NZ exchange rate is killing us.

On a positive note, we all slept really well that night. Marcello was wonderful.

Next morning, we walked to a bakery and bought our daily baguette and croissant. Simply delicious. It's everything you hear about French baking. Incredible.

It was Bastille day, so we got to see the parades, and the jets doing fly by's. Very cool. We did a huge amount of walking  (about 12 km or so), and saw most of the sights we wanted. La Louvre, La Seine,  La Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower of course. After all that, Lizzy taught us how to use Le Metro, (underground train), and we zoomed back to our Hotel.

That night was a pretty big fireworks display, which we watched from the Place de la Concorde. Along with about 50,000 other people it seemed. The fireworks were actually at the Eiffel tower, so I can't imagine how many people must have been there. Marcello was amazing, just the perfect little baby (or as everyone says here, aww bebe!!)

Next day we woke early after another great sleep. Not sure what we did to deserve such a perfect baby, but he doesn't seem to have any jet-lag at all, nor do we. After leaving Paris slightly behind schedule at 10:30, we managed a perfect exit from the city onto the correct motorway, to our rendezvous with the Tour de France. It was everything I hoped it would be. The buildup was electric, the little French village hosting the rest stop was all out, and there were thousands of visitors from all over the world, lining the streets. The Alps are going to be insane, but we can't wait. :)

Getting to Anse (just outside of Lyon) was supposed to be about 3 hours... but we didn't get here (after a couple of serious navigational blunders that I take full responsibility for) until after 8pm. Sadly, reception was closed. Kristie didn't say a word from the drivers seat, but I was feeling pretty bad about the way things had turned out. Luckily, I managed to decipher something from one of the guests who told me to go to the bar behind the piscine. "Le PISCINE!" I had NO idea. For I knew, just was calling me an imbecile!  Anyway, eventually I worked out that piscine means pool. 

As an aside, as I was typing that sentence, another guest just came up to me (I'm outside reception), and asked what I presume was, "how do I get in?" It's after 8pm again. I proudly explained that La Porte c'est Ferme, and to go to the restaurante by the piscine. (exactly those words hehe). She smiled, thanked me, and walked away. Now she is probably wondering what I told her that the door was closed, and to go jump in the pool! hahaha).

We're in the Beaujoullais region of France, famous for it's wine. It's very hot here, but we can't complain. (about 36 degrees, or 93f I think Kristie said). Marcello loves the pool, but does not like French men who talk to him! He bursts into tears! But he loves the French girls...

Anyway, We're undecided about what to do tomorrow. We're due to drive to Nice, but it's so hard on Marcello to be stuck in the car so long. We'll give you all an update when we can.

Missing you all, 

Scott, (for Kristie and Marcello).

xxxx

Easter in New Zealand is so great. It is not a day, it is a weekend! Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday. Scott was off the entire weekend, so it was nice to spend all that time with him. We were all recovering from a stomach flu and head colds, so it was pretty low key. Mostly relaxing around the house. Friday we went to Scott’s parents house and had Easter with them. It was nice. On Sunday we went to church and then visited Scott’s Auntie Jo and met up with some family there and then we went to Scott’s parents house again for dinner. It was a nice weekend, very relaxing. It gave us time to reflect what Easter really means.

It is hard to believe that tomorrow Marcello will be 6 months old. Seriously…where did the time go? He is growing quicker than we can keep up with. His 9 month sized clothes are not fitting him very well length wise. He pops the buttons on them. Tomorrow we go for a check up and we will get to see how much he has grown.

Last night we cut our first tooth. Front bottom left. He was a good boy. He was a little fussy, but as soon as it came though he was fine.

About 5 weeks ago he began to roll over, from back to front. A few days ago he rolled continuously until he got by my feet. (:

Also 5 weeks ago we began first food. We started with carrots. Not a very successful first food, he spat it out at me and gagged. It was pretty humorous. But it has been mostly successful since then. We have eaten carrot, pumpkin, kumara, potato, avocado, banana, apple, pear, corn, beans, fish, & organic baby rice. I still have a few more I am going to try this month. Then next month we will be onto stage 2 foods and I have a bunch more I can give him. I have been making all of his food. Pretty easy actually. I have only bought a couple of jars, and those are the ones that I would have a hard time pureeing into a soupy texture (corn). I really need to get him into some more meats. I have read they are running low on iron by 6 months so it is important to get some meat into them. This is a hard one for me because I do not want to give him meat from the supermarket because I know those animals have been pumped full of stuff and I do not want him to eat that kind of stuff. The veggies I get are all organic from local farmers. I guess it is inevitable that eventually he will be eating it, but I am just so protective of his little body.

Tomorrow he will be getting his second Vaccine shot. We delayed his vaccines until he was over 4 months old. It was something we were considering not doing at all, but will several local outbreaks of Whooping Cough, and with all the travelling we do, we did find it in his best interest to get him vaccinated again some more serious diseases. I was a basket case the day we got his first shot. I couldn’t stop crying and I actually left the building when they gave him the shot. Much to our surprise our little M did not even make a peep! He gave a little jump and looked at Scott, and Scott smiled and told him it was ok, along with a kiss and a cuddle, and he was satisfied with that. Hoping tomorrow will be just as successful. Scott is taking his lunch break to go with us, so I am very relieved.

Scott & I are both doing well. We have our 2nd Anniversary this Saturday. We both are still adjusting to parenthood. Scott is a great father. I just love watching him interact with Marcello. He is also very helpful keeping the kitchen tidy most of the time, and an expert at loading and unloading the dishwasher. He has even vacuumed a few times while I was out of the house. I am currently recovering from a nasty stomach virus. (Not prego, I checked) And love watching Marcello grow. With both Scott & Marcello I feel like my cup runneth over with love. The greatest blessing God has bestowed. 

Halloween is not a huge event here in New Zealand. Which doesn't really bother me one bit. But it is always cute to see little kids dressed up so cute. When my Mom was visiting she brought a cute onesie with her for Halloween. It said, " I love my Mummy, and my Mummy loves me." and the word Mummy was like the mummy wrap a mummy would be wrapped in. Does that make sence? Come to find out that my friend Sarah here, her mother brought the same one for her baby Ida. (Sarah is originally from Minnesota) So of course we had to get the kids together to take their photo.  Marcello is on the left and Ida is on the right.

Ida was very excited for Marcello to come visit on Halloween. Notice the kiddos are already holding hands in the second photo!

My cutie waving Hello to the camera! Rubbing noses with Daddy (:

The first All Blacks game of Marcello's life was on. So naturally he got all decked out in his All Black's gear! All Black's won of course! (:

That's all for now! XOXO