Sophia's 2nd Birhday

Here are a few photos taken by Catherine from Sophia's birthday party in the park. I'll post a few more another day. I just had to use Travis's computer before he went to work because mine is still in the shop. It will be back soon and then I'll tidy up this blog post. :)

Sophia very excited about her birthday party.

Singing "Happy Birthday!"

It was very windy, and we had a hard time keeping the candles lit for her to blow out.

Yummy icing!

So happy at her party!

Playing at the park.

Sophia's favourite gift from Margaret.

She loves pushing her new pram.

As soon as we got home she put her babies in it. She has been playing with it every day since!

Zoe

I just saw Travis' blog post. It was a bit sad. No offense Travis, I know you've been super busy! Here are some more Zoe pics for the Auntie and Grandmothers (as well as whoever else looks for them). :)

These first few are over a month old, but so cute! Catherine had a Zoe photo shoot one day while she was staying here while Travis was away in October. Thanks Catherine!

This one is such a Zoe look.

That tongue is almost always out.

Karebear took this one. These are the fingers Zoe has settled on for settling herself. :)

Not that great of a photo, but I thought she looked cute.

Zoe and I had a day together alone because Karebear, Travis, and Sophia went tramping (hiking) on Karebear's last day here. It was so nice to have a more laid back day. This was us getting ready to go on a walk together. Sometimes I just like to have her close to me instead of in the pram.

Warm weather has arrived! Zoe is in an outifit from Grammy C.

P.S. I just posted two videos on my facebook if you're interested.

Our Week Away

Here are some pics (finally) from our week away (that was a couple of weeks ago). I did some serious file sharing last night with Karebear and Catherine to get these photos! Thanks ladies. Oh, and since I blog so infrequently, there are a whole lot of photos this time! Sorry!

All in all, it was nice to get out of Auckland for a few days. I have a whole new respect for my parents after this. Going on holiday with kids is not restful! It was even more tiring than normal life for me because they woke up at 6:30 every day (they usually sleep later), and I HAVE to get up with Zoe (if you know what I mean). At least it was a change of pace and we had lots of laughs together, which is always good. Oh, and of course some good wine. :)

Some of the beautiful vines at the Ascension Winery and Vineyard where we stopped on our way up. We purchased some wines with names like "The Twelve Apostles" and "The Benediction."

Part of the porch of the house we rented with a view of the sea.

A rainbow! This was the view from the house. So relaxing and beautiful.

Sophia and Travis making their way up a very steep hill after walking down to the wharf.

A family photo on beautiful Pakiri beach.

Sophia and Daddy. Awww, so cute!
Love that face!

She loves going to the beach.

One afternoon Catherine and I got to go horseback riding on Pakiri beach. I had not been horseback riding in a REALLY long time. It was a different saddle here, the English version, not the Western like I had done before.

I got a horse called Sparky who I thought had lost his spark, but he proved to be pretty stubborn. I couldn't get him out of the woods, so our leader had to put Sparky on a leash! It was so funny. I am such an amateur!

It was so amazing to ride on the beach! We went into the water and everything. It was a really cool experience. And it was the longest I had been away from Zoe since she was born (don't tell her but it was very refreshing!).
Sophia making a good mess of her ice cream cone.

Sophia feeding a Llama just before it gave her finger a little nibble.

Can you tell where we stopped on our way home?

They have a little petting zoo there and this was Sophia's favourite. This is a NZ possom, a bit different than the US ones. Much softer and cuter in my opinion! Their tales have fur on them so they don't look so much like a giant rat.

Sophia cuddling with a lamb. Zoe and I had to leave the show because she was freaking out with all the noise of the dogs and the dog whistles. Oh well. We had fun together in the car and then joined the rest later for petting the animals.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see this in person, but Karebear gave sheep shearing a go. She looks like a pro!

Random Sophia

Before I post photos from our mini-holiday, here are some that have been hanging around on my computer.

Here is Sophia with 4 of her hair ribbons in her hair from Grammy C. She likes to put all of them in hair for about 5 minutes then take them out. I love those eyes and cheeks!

We had a library book with a little kid making a balloon man, so we had to make one too! I cut out the shapes and Sophia glued them on. Can you tell? :)

Labour weekend we went to the beach twice. This is Monday at the beach with a few friends and Sophia was buried in the sand by Catherine and Chris.

Our coffee group has been meeting outside more now that it's getting nicer out and our kids are all getting bigger and have more energy to get rid of. We stopped down to get some ice cream after playing at the park. Yum!

And yes, Zoe does come along to all these things too. She just usually lays or sits around and hangs out. I'll try to put more pics up of her when I get a chance. For now, I'll leave that to Travis.