Double trouble .........

Couldn't resist taking these piccies of Finlay and Ewan in the bath the other night ... just gorgeous ... they were having so much fun as you can see .............

Finlay Update

As you can see from the above piccie our baby is a baby no more!!!! Every day he is turning into a little boy which although sad to see the baby go means more than words can say. He is doing so remarkably well and all his Dr's are very pleased with his progress. Last week he finally hit the bottom of the growth charts!!!! Big Yay!!! It is a real juggle managing his diabetes so that he can get bigger and stronger but Alan and I are finally recognising that we're actually doing an ok job in keeping this little boy alive and healthy. He is zooming around on all fours at the moment and just starting to pull himself up to standing ... he loves being on his feet now so I'm sure it won't be long before he's running around after the other two boys.

His feeding is coming on; although he is still very much dependent on the complete nutrition he gets from Pediasure he is starting to become very interested in food and gets quite upset if he isn't getting something to eat if anyone else is which is just fabulous. We have an appointment with the surgeon next week to discuss a gastrostomy which will mean putting a wee button direct into his tummy which will mean finally after 19 months getting rid of his Naso gastric tube. Although it will mean an operation the advantages for Finn really do outway the disadvantages and hopefully will mean a big improvement in his eating and talking. Both hard to do with a tube down your throat!!

At the moment we are lucky enough to temporarily have a continous monitor which allows us to keep a very close eye on his blood sugars without having to do the finger pricks all the time. Although there is a lag of about 10/15 minutes it gives a fairly accurate reading in the lower levels and is allowing us to rein those sugars in even more ..... all positive :o)

Will keep you posted as to the outcome of the appointment with the surgeon next week ......

Heart Children Christmas Party

Yes it's that time of year again and it all kicked off last week with our first of many Christmas parties. Heart Children put on a fantastic party for all the local Heart Kids and their families. It's a great time to get together and catch up in a relaxed atmosphere and have a lots and lots of fun!!! Can't be bad!!!

This year, like last, it was at Steam Scene which is the home to a miniature railway which all the kids (and adults) had a chance to enjoy. Alongside the railway there was a spit roast which made for a yummy lunch, bouncy castles, lots of games, a police car and truck rig and of course no Christmas party is complete without a visit from Santa!!! It was one of the hottest day of spring so far (ok so we haven't got that far in yet!!) and the boys had a fantastic time and were all spoilt with presents from Santa ..... a good time had by all :o)

waiting to see Santa ...

Our very own gorgeous Heart Kid having a fantastic time with Daddy :o)

A day out a Orana ....

Did I mention that the weather here has been fab ... I did ... sorry!!! Last week we took a picnic and went off to our local animal park - Orana. We have another years pass which allows us to go in and out as many times as we want throughout the year ... a bargain considering how many times we usually end up going!!!! It was lovely to see Finn more into the animals and really curious as to what was going on especially watching the spider monkeys ... funny really all the boys seemed to have quite an interest in watching them get up to mischief ... learning new tricks most likely!!!!!!

Other highlights of the day were Peggy the gibbon .....

the new Kea enclosure (Kea's are the worlds largest parrots only found in NZ) .......

the farmyard (always a favourite of Cameron's) ...

and of course a visit to Orana wouldn't be complete without feeding the giraffes!!!!

Getting to work in the garden ....

With the arrival of spring the garden has sprung into action, so with the aid of our new lawnmower Ewan and Dad have been hard at work .............

Ewan is turning out to be a big help!!! Our latest project is our veggie patch, so far we have radishes, beans, cucumbers, courgettes and corn planted out with broccoli, carrots, onions and lettuce waiting to go in. Also tomatoes in pots. Fingers crossed we will soon have a bounty of new veggies fresh from the garden!!! No pictures as of yet but hopefully will get some soon.

It's so nice to have the longer days and more often than not sunny weekends ... next BIG job for us will be painting the exterior of the house ......paint bought just need to get started!!!!

Apologies ..........

...........for the long delay in blogging ... where does time go to?!?!?!? Hard to believe we're fast heading towards the end of the year. The bonus is that we are well into spring and fast approaching summer here!!

I will attempt to fill you in on what we've been up to ......

A Weekend Away

As Spring has arrived (ok, I'm typing this with the heaters on, the fire blazing and the rain pelting against the window but it is spring!) we decided to have a weekend in Hamner, a village up in the mountains famous for its thermal pools. We rented a house for a couple of nights and set off. Despite the rain on the Friday night and a foggy drizzly start to Saturday it brightened up and was really sunny for the rest of the weekend which was great (even better when we got back to Christchurch and found they'd had rubbish weather).

Riding round the village on our 5-seater

Walking up Conical Hill

Tired at the end of the day

We're really pleased that Finlay is growing well. Sadly this isn't the case with his hair which started to look like a mop. So a few weeks ago we bit the bullet and gave him his first haircut.

Before

And after

A Sad Farewell

This week we said goodbye to a good family friend after 2 years. Admittedly the relationship has been strained at times and she has needed a little more care and attention than we might have hoped but we were all sad to see her go.

OK, here's one of the view without the car!

Spring has well and truly arrived now so last weekend we spent the afternoon in the sun at Orana Wildlife Park just outside Christchurch. We had the sunblock out for the first time since the autumn!

Cameron and Mr Bojangles, the class bear, have a go at feeding the giraffes.

The giraffe takes a closer look at the bear!

Some native geckos looking cuteA cheetah cub enjoying the sun

Reaching for the Skies

It's amazing what hidden talents people have. Over a well-earned beer after work a few weeks ago, Andrew, who works beside me, happened to mention he had a pilot's licence.

"oh, really"

"Yeah, I do a bit of aerobatics"

"Oh really!"

"We can go up for a quick flight one day if you want."

"OH REALLY!!!"

So on Tuesday we skipped lunch (in hindsight a good move considering what was to come) and headed to the airport.
After a quick check of the plane we were off.

Sometimes he heads over to the mountains where the scenery is fantastic but we were a bit pushed for time and the mountains looked a bit cloudy so we headed over the city to the coast at New Brighton.

The Avon below us with the estuary, coast and Port Hills in the distance

Once there he climbed a bit and then launched straight into a loop. I don't have any pictures of the manouevres or, sadly, my facial muscles during the trip. It was impressive how much the forces threw me about and made my face do Jim Carrey impressions!

After a few more moves that I can't remember the names of but mainly involved fast, unexpected turns, spinning around a lot and quite a bit of being upside down, he talked me through a roll (amazing!) then we headed back. Actually he gave me the option of staying out a bit longer but by now I was happy to head home. Again, no pictures of my face so I'm not sure exactly what colour I was but I doubt I was very rosy-cheeked. So I just sat back, breathed deeply and enjoyed the scenery.

A fantastic day and one more thing to tick off the list.

The Port Hills looking South

Banks Peninsula

Sumner with Lyttleton Harbour in the background