First day of kindy

Well we have done it! Tommy started 'kindy school' yesterday and he had a wonderful time. He spent time outside in the sandpit, water tray, and had lots of fun climbing the fort and swinging like a monkey. One of his favourite activities at home is cutting paper and cardboard with scissors - so of course time at the cutting, gluing table was in order. We cut triangles, squares and circles and glued them on to paper. By the time it was ready to go home, their was a bit of a meltdown, but with the promise of an icecream he was soon skipping out the gate to the car.


Here is our very excited little man on his first day of 'kindy school'

Today brought about a much calmer Tommy and Mummy. We had a great time at kindy, Tommy spent lots of time at the cutting and gluing table and the painting easel, so we have lots of great artworks now. He also took off and spent some time in the sandpit with his new friends. Meanwhile, I spent my time doing odd jobs for the teachers so Tommy knew I was there but that I was 'busy helping the teachers' which gave him the time to explore and feel more confident in himself and his environment.

We have had a fairly busy last few days and each night Tommy has 'crashed' into bed very, very tired; although it hasn't stopped him from still waking at 6am each morning! Aargh!

Caterpillar update

Well it's been a while since we let you know what our caterpillars are up to. We ended up with close to 30 caterpillars feeding on 4 plants. They chomped their way through those in no time and after much hunting around for mature swan plants (there weren't any) we had to settle with pumpkin plants - apparently another tasty treat for caterpillars. Ours must be fussy as they all took off for greener pastures and we ended up with 3 that stuck around.

Here you can see one slowly working its way into a chrysalis. This process took no longer than an afternoon!

We don't know if it is Daddy and Thomas that have stuck around - but the 3 we have now are all in their chrysalis and we are eagarly waiting their transition into a beautiful monarch butterfly. This should happen in the next few days!

Happy Birthday Morfar!

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday dear Morfar, who's 64

Happy Birthday to you!

(To be sung in tune, if you can)

Love from us xox

The Sunflowers

On the weekend we went and visited friends - Michael and Tania with their two children Caleb and Derryn. Outside the kitchen window were the largest sunflowers Tommy had ever seen. He was fascinated by how tall they were and we showed him just how tall.


Check out our first family photos in a very long time!

Caterpillars galore!

We are having a wonderful time watching our swan plants being taken over firstly by the "mummy" monarch butterflies leaving us their eggs, and now by at least 30 caterpillars in varying stages of growth.
We will keep you posted with photos and stories of their development.
Here are our two biggest caterpillars to date, we have named them Daddy and Thomas.

Daddy

Thomas

They made it to New Plymouth, New Zealand

Wow! What a lot of firsts have happened over the last few days. Thought I'd share this one also with you as we were there at Ngamotu Beach in New Plymouth.

Two Aussies, Justin Jones and James Castission kayaked across the Tasman Sea (2200km). They took off from Australia mid November 2007 and have finally made it to New Zealand - landing at Ngamotu Beach here in New Plymouth where we live, Sunday 13 January 2008 at 12.20pm.

An amazing journey with I'm sure some wonderful stories to tell that will last them a lifetime!

Farewell Sir Edmund Hillary

A great kiwi icon has passed away and we would like to thank him for all that he stood for, his reputation was immense and his kindness extraordinary!
"We knocked the bastard off" announcing he and Tenzing has reached Everest's summit. What a statement!
A state funeral is being organised for Sir Ed - a fitting tribute to a great man.


Check out more at http://www.stuff.co.nz/0a26512.html