Keeping up with the Aitchisons: February 2010

A busy weekend

Phew ... finally caught up on most of our goings on over the last few weeks!!!! This weekend the weather was absolutely fabulous. We had a quiet Saturday having been to the Classical Sparks in the Park on Friday. The boys went to bed well after 11pm and were still up by 7.30 the next morning so we weren't suprised that by lunchtime they were all decidely grumpy so they were sent off for a snooze which gave Alan and I a chance to just sit and chill for a few hours which was lovely!! In the afternoon we headed into town ..... there was a Latin Festival going on in Cathedral Square which unfortunately we missed most of. Apparently lots of dancing workshops (tango, salsa and the like) and demonstrations, food and laughter. Definately going on the calendar for next year. After a quick look round we had tea in a local bistro ... watching the world go by before we headed back for home and an early night!!

A local busker in the square

The chess set in the cathedral square .....

Today I took Cameron along to a friends b'day party at Clip n' Climb whilst the other boys went into town where we all met before settling down for another local free concert in the park and then heading home.

Classical Sparks in the Park

Another yearly event in our household is the Classical Sparks in the Park ... a free openair concert held in Hagley Park, starring the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.

The first half is usually a mix of well known classics which this year was followed by music from the films. The finale was the Warsaw Concerto accompanied by a feast of fireworks. As usual it was great and the boys loved it ........a very late night and we did pay for it the next day with 3 grumpy boys but it was still worth it :o)

Mummy .... what's this?

The other night Ewan came across the shirt and kilt that Cameron wore to Uncle Ken's wedding when he was about the same age. Straight away he wanted to put it on .... even wanted to sleep in it ..... !!!!

A rather large milestone .....

Last Tuesday Finlay was admitted to Christchurch Hospital ... this time planned .... for a gastrostomy. Basically an opening has been made into his tummy for a tube which goes through the stomach wall into the stomach. It is a fairly common and straight forward procedure only made complicated by his diabetes. We have a fabulous team though and have always had complete confidence in them so knew that we would get through without too many issues. He went into surgery at 1.30pm and we had had a phone call by 2!! We went into recovery and he was still under but soon came round and although a bit sore was in pretty good spirits. The next couple of days was really about balancing out his blood sugars as he was unable to eat/have feeds 4 hrs previous to the op and then nothing until 6 hours after and then only very small amounts. This was balanced with IV fluids topped up with glucose to try and maintain his sugars. The first was a very long night but we came through it without too many issues and the 2nd night was even smoother so we were finally discharged on Thursday morning.

For Alan and I the removal of his NG tube is huge. For the first time in two years we are able to see all of his smiling face and all being well will never have to put to use our newly gained skill of inserting the NG tube again. For Finlay he can now eat and speak without restriction which must feel so different for him .. plus not constantly having tape across his face ..... it's all good. So I'll leave you with a very special photo ..... our boy without his tube .............isn't he gorgeous!!

A walk on the pier.

The weather (which to be honest has been decidedly un-summery) has finally taken a turn for the better recently. Last week one evening after tea we headed over the hill to Governors Bay for a wee walk and to look for crabs on the shoreline. Just beautiful ...we are soooo lucky to live here.

Kite Day

Every year there is a Kite day held in nearby New Brighton. Hundreds of kites, all types and sizes, dart and jig all over the shoreline, including sports kites, school kites, family kites and wind toys.

Once again we went along for a look - another beautiful day and the boys had a great time chasing the waves and getting completely soaked in the process.

Our veggie patch .....

Whilst I was in the UK the boys made a fabulous start on our veggie garden, planting lots of seeds and watching them grow. We have finally dug over half of the existing veggie patch and from there as the summer has progressed we have got a harvest of lettuce, cauliflowers, courgettes, broccoli and beans with onions, corn, peppers and tomatoes still to come ..... yum!!! Great job boys :o)

My lemon bush .... twice the size of what is was last year!!!

Work in progress .....

Beans

Peppers ... or capsicum as they call it here ... now much bigger and starting to fruit!

Our lettuce ... also now completely fills the pot and has already been harvested a few times

Some of our harvest so far ...

The boys ....

Just loved these photos so thought I'd share them ......

Hector Dolphins

As his birthday treat Cameron and I went to Akaroa for the day to see the Hector Dolphins. Last term at school he was learning all about the ocean and one of his favourite topics was the Dolphins. The Hector Dolphin is the worlds smallest dolphin and is only found around the coast of NZ ... quite handy really!!

After dropping the other two boys off we set off for the drive ... it was a beautiful day!!! We arrived just in time for lunch so went to a lovely cafe where we had a yummy lunch before we headed off to the wharf to get the boat.

The 2 hour harbour nature cruise is a chance to see lots of NZ wildlife including the rare, NZ native dolphin - the Hector's Dolphin, as well as penguins and other sea birds. We saw giant volcanic sea cliffs and heard about Akaroa's fascinating past. Undoubtedly the highlight of the trip, for both Cameron and I was the sighting of one of the world's smallest and rarest dolphins, the Hector's or New Zealand Dolphin. We came across a few pods who swam alongside the boat and came up to say hello ... it really was an amazing sight!!! We also caught sight of a White Flippered Blue Penguin, the smallest penguin in the world .... only one but it was very cute!! There were many different bird species in the harbour, including five different cormorant (shag) species and the endangered yellow-eyed penguin. Further along we also saw New Zealand Fur Seals sunning themselves on the rocks near Seal Bay. It was just a fantastic day - in fact Cameron couldn't help shouting about how 'awesome' it was!!!!