Two Little Tweethearts

Fear not...

2011-07-14T16:02:00.002+12:00

We are still here!

The weather is miserable though, and with it being birthday season around here (among other things), blogging has fallen by the wayside.

Here is a photo to tide you over until probably the end of this month (when things are due to quiet down a little, hopefully)!

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira

Adventures in Chickenland!

2011-02-10T14:54:00.005+13:00

We eat a lot of eggs around here, so, in an effort to cut costs but also to try and live a little more sustainably - we have acquired our very own chickens, or 'chooks' as they are more commonly known around here.

The first coop we purchased was smaller than anticipated, and since we didn't want our girls to feel too confined, Handyman Roland decided to build them a bigger and better version.

Introducing Camilla (the darker one), Alina & Alana:

At the moment Camilla is our only egg producer, A & A are moulting and thus not laying - but once they are back in action we will be getting an average of 15 eggs a week (instead of just 5 or 6). We're also looking at getting two more hens eventually, and will have eggs galore then! They are hilarious to watch as we let them out to roam most days, and get fed some kitchen scraps as well as special laying pellets.

There will definitely be more chicken updates to come!

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira
XOXO

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

2011-02-10T14:29:00.009+13:00

So we were lucky enough to be able to get a family pass to the Auckland Zoo this year, thanks to some Christmas gift money sent over by Mamere / Carol - we have made good use of it already, and here are some photos from a recent visit:

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira
XOXO

Into a new year...

2011-02-10T13:52:00.011+13:00

And it's a good thing I didn't make it my New Year's resolution to blog more often - or I would have failed miserably!

I'll start off with photos from Christmas, which we spent away on Waiheke Island - a great break from the hustle and bustle of our city and the suburbs.

So as you can see the girls had plenty of fun, and were spoiled rotten - it was very nice to have Nana for company too :)

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira
XOXO

Photos as promised!

2010-10-24T13:47:00.007+13:00

Here are some photos of the handwriting Erin has been so diligently practising:

We are so proud of her !!

The weather here has also been improving ever so slowly, and we have been able to muck around outside a bit more:

That's all for now folks !!

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira
XOXO

ACK! October already!

2010-10-21T13:11:00.002+13:00

I'll make this short and sweet, since I'm not sure how much time I have to type unhindered.

The latest in Official News is that we finally have teeth! Or rather, Keira finally has teeth - they started cutting at 13.5months old, and believe it or not three of her one year old molars decided to arrive at once. It has been a bit of a slow and bumpy process, and now almost six weeks later it looks like the next bunch are coming through - but I will confirm that at a later date since I am not 100% sure.

As for Miss Erin, she is enjoying morning kindy as much as ever, and is really into writing and practicing her letters at the moment. It has really hit home lately how quickly she is growing up, and just how soon she will be at school - only 9 months to go !!

Roland has started a new job, and it is keeping him out of trouble - although he is managing to escape the asylum once again to go back to squash on Thursdays, which is all good since what better to relieve stress than a bit of good exercise?

I'll put some photos up of us all soon, we have had various issues with both cameras / cables / chargers / batteries etc, but once that's sorted - watch this space ;)

Love to you all,
Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira XOXO

Funny Face Baby

2010-09-06T16:58:00.002+12:00

So we started to notice that Keira has this "thing", where she makes a pretend surprised face - usually when someone drops something on the ground (either by accident or on purpose). It's funnier than it sounds in text though, so we finally caught it on video - the best bit is right at the end so keep watching ;)

Love Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

The best toy ever...

2010-09-02T14:00:00.003+12:00

... is still a good old cardboard box!

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

Splish Splash...

2010-08-25T09:46:00.007+12:00

.... we have a bath !!

Just thought I'd share these cute bath pix taken a couple nights ago, it is an absolute joy to watch the girls just mucking about with each other, especially after over four years of only having a shower stall.

(Yes, that is big sister having a big meltdown in the background, she loves her baths SO much she is not usually that keen to get out!)

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

The Big Switcheroo

2010-08-23T14:47:00.008+12:00

We'd been talking about it for a little while, but this weekend we finally made the big switcheroo with the girls' rooms.

Erin is now in the bigger 'pink' room, and Keira is now in the smaller 'purple' room. We've yet to switch the doors over (will do that another weekend, as they open in opposite directions), but otherwise the transition has gone off well.Here are a few photos of Erin's new space:

I'll take photos of Keira's space a bit later, I need to do some sorting into storage bins first and rectify a bit of an issue with her curtains.

Hopefully one day the girls will be able to share the bigger room - but no rush!

There are more bathroom renovation photos to come too, but I'll leave those for another post - time to go sit down with a cuppa ;)

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

Crazy July

2010-07-05T11:43:00.004+12:00

Hi everyone!

To sum up the last few months - life has been hectic! We are so sorry the blog hasn't been updated more frequently, but I have been inspired to start over again and will try to keep things coming more regularly.

I've titled this entry Crazy July because, well, July is a pretty crazy month for us. Three important birthdays - Nana, Erin AND Keira's.

Roland has also been working hard at the bathroom renovations when he gets the time in between various work committments, and we are hopefully in the end stages now - just the painting, floor tiling and new toilet / cabinet to go.

The NZ winter is also here in all it's wet and dreary misery, but we have been making good use of our fireplace and I've also been making a few woolly bits and pieces for the girls to wear so they stay extra warm.

We are off to Wellington in four days for a bit of a break, and will be visiting Roland's brother & family - they have three girls, so it's going to be a busy and exciting time!

When we get back Erin will start morning kindy, and then shortly after that will be the BIG birthday party for the girls - I suspect there will be a rather monumental photo post around then ;)

Keira's life can still be summed up pretty easily - she is a happy, healthy little girl who loves to laugh at her big sister, eats like a (small) horse and busily crawls around exploring / destroying whatever she can lay her hands on.

Here are a couple of more recent shots of the girls to tide you all over until next time.

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

Here we go again...

2010-02-23T11:07:00.005+13:00

For those of you that haven't already seen the photos on Facebook, the madness has begun again! This time we are renovating our bathroom, to finally remedy the fact that we have been bathtubless for more than three years.

The door to the bathroom has moved, it used to be in a really stupid place right by our front door, but is now in the hallway. We're also getting rid of the shower box and will have a shower over bath instead.

And for sheer enjoyment, here is a photo of Erin & Keira at dinner time just a couple of nights ago:

(And don't worry, the beer isn't Erin's !!)

Hard to believe that Keira is almost 7 months old already, and when she turns one later this year Erin will be turning 4 !!

Life has otherwise settled into a reasonably predictable rhythm, but with enough variety to still allow us to visit friends and family.

Roland has also returned to his regular Thursday night squash games, and I haven't quite made it back to yoga class yet but am hoping to get there some day !! Meanwhile we probably need to start making more use of the Wii we treated ourselves to for Christmas.

Anyway, hope all is well with you out there, even though the updates might not come often we miss you all and think of you lots.

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

December snapshots

2009-12-19T12:48:00.008+13:00

Merry Christmas (tree!)

Santa's (not so little anymore) Helper

Some kindy artwork by our clever big girl that got sent away and made into a calendar!

Keira & Erin

A future model in the making?

Daddy & Keira

Erin fast asleep buried under all the couch cushions!

All our love for the holiday season,

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

November Photo Retrospective

2009-12-19T11:11:00.008+13:00

Keira, Erin & Nana Trish

Keira & Erin

Keira

Erin

Mummy, Erin & Keira

More updates to come very soon, promise !!

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

Our summer gardening efforts have begun!

2009-10-11T13:18:00.007+13:00

This is mostly a photo post, but there should be captions for most things... and most of the credit goes to Roland for digging and planting everything, I just helped pick what went where then took the pics!

Lots of Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

New photos of Tiny Girl & the Big Sister

2009-10-04T13:16:00.005+13:00

Lots of Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

Adventures in gardening

2009-10-04T13:01:00.006+13:00

A few weeks ago I was greeted by Erin coming home from kindergarten holding a little paper cup full of dirt... well ok, not just dirt but apparently a tiny little sunflower seed too, that we were under instruction to take care of so it would grow into a big flower.

Well so far it is making very good progress, so here are the first of the photos into Erin's own little gardening journey...

We will definitely be keeping you all posted on this one! :)

Lots of Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

Nana's Training Camp?

2009-10-04T12:48:00.002+13:00

Look what Erin got up to at her Nana's - such a good helper!

Lots of Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

Deja vu...

2009-09-19T16:25:00.004+12:00

So we've been getting this wierd sense of deja vu lately, but it wasn't until today that we figured out why...

That's Erin on the right at about twelve weeks old, and Keira on the left at nearly 8 weeks old now.

Photo update!

2009-09-05T12:16:00.005+12:00

Erin, Daddy & Keira

Working hard at keeping that head up!

Little Miss Smiley Pants

Hopefully there will be a few more to come soon, if the fine weather keeps up and we make it out to the zoo this weekend!

Lots of Love,

Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

One Month!

2009-08-30T13:02:00.004+12:00

It still seems so surreal - yesterday (August 29th) marked our full first month with Keira, amazing! She is still an absolute delight, is making an effort now on occasion to lift her head when she's on her tummy, and the baby 'gurgles' have also started to surface.

Big Sister is back at kindy having fully recuperated from her chest infection, and enjoying it to the full - we are going to have to make space this week for all the artwork she has been bringing home too.

Here are a couple more recent photos of the girls...

We have also started making some vague plans for *gasp* Christmas! We are looking forward to a family gathering in Taupo, mostly Roland's relatives, which should definitely be entertaining (and a good break away from the usual humdrum).

Well that's all for now, take care folks!

Love Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira

How time flies...

2009-08-23T11:22:00.004+12:00

So this week we'll be coming up to a whole MONTH with Keira, time seems to be going a bit quicker this time around, but she has just slotted into our family so naturally.

Generally things at home are reasonably quiet as we are still having broken nights, although nothing we can't seem to cope with.

Erin is getting over a bit of a chest infection / cold, but will be back at kindergarten this week, and Roland has a full plate with work as always.

Anyway, we got out Erin's old playmat with arches and dangly toys today to see what Keira would think, and so far so good! Here are a few photos for your enjoyment...

All our love,

Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

Proud Big Sister !

2009-08-02T10:29:00.002+12:00

Welcome to the World!

2009-07-31T12:49:00.004+12:00

Just thought we'd finally make an update here to announce that on Wednesday morning (29 July) at 9:33am, at home after 2.5 hours of labour, weighing 7lb 3oz - Keira Marie was born !!

Here is a photo, and we promise more details (and photos) soon :)

Mum & Dad are pretty pleased with themselves, and Erin is doing an excellent job of being a big sister.

All our love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

Happy Birthday to our wonderful 3 year old !!

2009-07-16T21:12:00.004+12:00

Someone we know turned 3 on Monday, but we celebrated the night before... here are a couple of snapshots!

Happy Birthday to our not so little girl !!

All our love from Mummy, Dadda & your soon to be Baby Sister xoxo

Nana Trisha's Birthday !!

2009-07-05T20:42:00.004+12:00

Well, it was technically yesterday, but Nana Trisha was busy with a course all day and we celebrated tonight instead with a yummy thai takeaway dinner.

Happy Birthday Nana Trisha !!

Love Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Baby Bird v2

More renovation photos...

2009-04-30T16:28:00.004+12:00

All of the cove / architraves / edging is finished now too, and one coat of gibstopping done - one more coat of that to go, then sanding, then painting - yay!

So as mentioned before, the next steps after this should be putting the carpet back down, sorting out curtains, and moving furniture back in.

Lots of love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & the bump xoxo

It's hard work being a nearly 3 year old...

2009-04-30T16:26:00.003+12:00

And of course I was sitting here wondering why it was so quiet! ;)

Zzzzz...

Lots of love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & the bump xoxo

Erin's new trike!

2009-04-30T16:22:00.004+12:00

A big thank you to Nana Trish for this - she is still learning to pedal and steer properly, but will get there with plenty of time and practice I'm sure!

Lots of love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & the bump xoxo

Easter '09

2009-04-30T16:17:00.004+12:00

We didn't let her eat the whole thing, honest! ;) (It last all three of us a good couple of weeks in the end, and yes it was hollow!)

Hope all of you out there had a great Easter too!

Lots of love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & the bump xoxo

Renovation photos as promised

2009-04-13T12:16:00.006+12:00

Things have progressed a little further still since these photos were actually taken, as Roland has since finished the insulation and the majority of the wiring (except for the ceiling stuff).

So now the GIB for the walls needs to go up, then painting, then carpet - and the baby's room will be done! One day when she's a bit older the two girls will *hopefully* share a room.

Lots of Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & The Bump xoxo

News!

2009-04-13T11:12:00.002+12:00

Apologies for the thoroughly unexciting title ;)

Just a few snippets of news to update everyone with, and then I will get on with making some more photo posts!

Lots of good news - Erin is now finally toilet trained during the day, and we are pretty much able to dispense with nappies (diapers) altogether, except for night times. We have a sticker chart in the toilet for #2 that seems to be working really well, and more often than not she prefers to sit on the 'big toilet' rather than use her training seat.

Roland is making great progress too with the renovations on the spare room, all the insulation is done and pictures will come in a seperate entry I think.

We also had a fairly exciting Easter, with a 6:45am wakeup call to say that "Mummy! Daddy! LOOK! There's a present in the lounge!" Fortunately for us it only comes once a year as the chocolate overload was a bit too much to handle and we all ended up having an afternoon nap.

OH - and I keep thinking of it but forgetting to actually type it, but I think I have neglected to mention that we are going to be having another pink one, so Erin is going to be the Big Sister to a highly anticipated Little Sister.

Anyway, that's about all I can think of for now... 'see' you all again soon!

Lots of Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & The Bump xoxo

Raspberries!

2009-04-04T11:53:00.002+13:00

Love Jacquie, Roland, Erin & The Bump xoxo

Quick photo update :)

2009-04-02T22:29:00.004+13:00

Daddy's Girl

24 weeks!

More updates to come soon!

All our love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & The Bump

Holy tomatoes batman!

2009-02-14T13:43:00.006+13:00

This is what currently fills our kitchen windowsill / bench... and doesn't even cover the masses that we have already eaten, or given away to friends and neighbours! Our tomato plants have just gone mad - we're going to have to find a decent tomato paste recipe soon just to make a bit of a dent... there are at least 20-30 more still growing / ripening out on the vines too.

And some wee 'mini' capsicums that we discovered growing... I say 'discovered' because we thought the capsicum plant had been dwarfed by our uber tomato plants - but there are another two little tiny buds on the capsicum plant still to come as well.

Our only problem thus far has been stink bugs, but they haven't done *too* much damage fortunately. We also harvested some potatoes, broccoli and celery earlier in the season but no photos of those sorry.

Love from Jacquie, Roland & Erin xoxo

Creche!

2009-02-10T13:49:00.009+13:00

We go to creche about three times a week here in lieu of daycare / kindy. Well, mummy goes to yoga / swimming / gym and Erin goes to creche... but anyway!

She absolutely adores it, the staff are great, the facilities are excellent, and this way we both get some time out doing things we like and are relatively undisturbed by each other.

Here are some snaps I took with my new fangled camera, of our big girl (and cheesy poser) on her way to, and at said creche.

If it's not too wet to go outside, Erin tries her best to monopolise the tyre swing... although not often for actual sitting / swinging!

There are often issues convincing Erin to leave creche at the end of the session, but more often than not the situation is quickly remedied by the promise of coming back again.

Love Jacquie, Roland & Erin xoxo

Happy Birthday Roland!! (6th Feb)

2009-02-07T11:31:00.002+13:00

We celebrated Roland's birthday yesterday with cake in the morning (well, mid morning), an impromptu picnic lunch up at the beach, and then dinner out that night at the squash club bar / restaurant.

Happy 34th Birthday Roland !!

Love Jacquie, Erin & the bump xoxo

There's a baby in there!

2009-01-29T16:50:00.004+13:00

Or at least it looks a little less like a blob than it did at our very first scan... (this one was done on the 13th Jan 09)

We'll hopefully find out on Feb 26th if this one is pink or blue!

Love Jacquie, Roland, Erin & 'Blobby'

Auckland Zoo Trip - 4th Jan 09

2009-01-29T16:37:00.006+13:00

Elephants! No, not us... BEHIND us...

Balancing act...

ROAR says the dragon!

(More photos available on Facebook, these were the best 3...)

Love Jacquie, Roland & Erin

A couple of snapshots from New Years Day 2009

2009-01-29T16:28:00.004+13:00

It was a real scorcher!

Love Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Christmas 2008

2009-01-19T13:14:00.006+13:00

The obligatory Santa shot...

Raiding from under the tree...

Cuddles with Daddy... (I think Nana must have taken this one)

The BIG present from Santa...

A play kitchen!

The loot haul from Erin's stocking...

All our love from Jacquie, Roland & Erin xoxo

We'll miss you Papere...

2009-01-19T12:55:00.004+13:00

So as most of you will know by now, my Dad & Erin's Papere, passed away on December 10th 2008.

We are so truly blessed and lucky to have had our our 'big' trip to Canada earlier in 2008 and spent a great two weeks with Mamere & Papere in Alberta.

I'm not sure Erin 'gets' it yet, but at times she will start talking about Papere out of the blue and it makes us wonder!

I traveled over for the funeral service which unfortunately meant I had to miss Christmas Day with Roland & Erin, but we made up for it later. I will make some more entries to catch up on things like this soon.

Erin & Papere, Cold Lake, June 2008

When Erin grows up...

2008-12-08T14:54:00.003+13:00

... she is going to be a big sister!

Just a little note to announce that we are expecting another little Bird baby, due in July 2009! It is going to be a very busy month for us :)

All our love,

Jacquie, Roland, Erin & 'soon to be Baby #2' !

Other adventures...

2008-12-08T14:27:00.002+13:00

Helping mummy vacuum...

Geeking with her Daddy...

Watching TV!

All our love,

Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Fun in the sun!

2008-12-08T14:09:00.002+13:00

Erin pushing Dolly on our 'new to us' swing

Erin's turn!

Playing in the sprinkler

Our beautiful girl

More photos to come shortly!

All our love,

Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Just like her daddy...

2008-11-04T12:36:00.003+13:00

You know those moments when you realise that your house is unusually quiet and your normally boisterous toddler is completely silent?

I wandered down the hall earlier today and found this...

Someone was very proud of herself - at least she knows it goes on her face and not in her mouth !!

Love from Jacquie & Erin xoxo

Congrats!

2008-11-04T12:34:00.003+13:00

What better way to break an absence from blogging with BABY NEWS!

A huge congrats from all of us to Sheryl, Mike & Julia on the arrival of little Emily Mika :) We are so excited for you!

All our love,
Jacquie, Roland & Erin
xoxo

Whoops!

2008-08-20T15:11:00.003+12:00

We haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I promise. At least not yet!

Life is extremely busy, but what's new? I do apologise for not updating more.

Anyway, just a quick note to say Roland is still working hard, Jacquie is training hard at the gym to prepare for the police fitness testing, and Erin is being, well, a typical two year old!

She is a very talkative and clever wee girl at the moment, and she has started to show us she is interested in potty training too. We will see what unfolds in the next few weeks, but won't rush things as it is still winter, and this is all pretty new territory.

I promise there are more Canada photos to come - I think I will just have to pick out a few of the best for this blog, and put the rest in an online album for everyone to see.

Speaking of blogs in particular, I have started up two new ones, well sort of 'new' anyway:

The Uphill Battle is Jacquie's new food and fitness diary - not very exciting, but more of a tool to keep me on track!

Mama Bird's Creations is a crafty type blog, mostly for Jacquie's stuff, but some of Roland's things might start making an appearance in there too ;)

That's all for now though folks, again my deepest apologies, and I will try to remedy our 'slackness' in posting again soon!

Love,

Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Whistler, British Columbia

2008-07-13T01:39:00.010+12:00

We arrived in Vancouver, BC, and were met by Papere & Mamere (Maurice & Carol), and from there we drove straight to Whistler where we stayed for two nights.

The lodge we stayed at was great and the beds were quite comfortable, as Erin can attest to!

The next day we did some sightseeing, including going up and down Blackcomb skifield in an open chairlift!

There was also a bouncy castle in Whistler village that Erin enjoyed very much:

We drove on from Whistler to Salmon Arm, BC - we all became quite seasoned road-trippers!

Fortunately we took a few pit stops along the way to stretch our legs and enjoy the beautiful weather...

OK, that's all for now - more photos to come soon of the rest of our travels!

Love Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Canada 2008 Retrospective

2008-07-13T01:35:00.003+12:00

Hi folks,

Apologies for the lack of communication (again) in the last few weeks - we have just been having so much fun on our holiday here in Canada that there hasn't been as much time to get on the internet as usual.

So, the plan is that we'll let some of the photos speak for themselves!

We're on our way back to Vancouver this afternoon, we'll spend one night there and then fly back home to New Zealand.

Love Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Quick update - we're off!

2008-06-12T21:27:00.004+12:00

Firstly a quick apology for not updating much, if at all, lately. Things got left by the wayside, and then as some of you will know Uncle Ray passed away so that changed our plans a little. We miss you Uncle Ray!

Anyway, we are still off on our big trip to Canada tomorrow, so exciting!

We are pretty much all packed, except for a few last minute bits and pieces.

Speaking of whom, here are a couple of photos taken quite recently - she is getting to be such a big girl, can't wait for all you guys out there to meet her!

I don't know when we'll next have access to internet, as we land in Vancouver (BC) and then drive through to my Dad's in Cold Lake, Alberta - which will take a few days with Erin in tow. See you all on the other side of the world !!

Love Jacquie, Roland & Erin

xoxox

Bald and beautiful!

2008-05-05T20:40:00.004+12:00

So for those of you that haven't caught the news already on Facebook or email - Jacquie took the plunge a few weeks ago on the 11th of April 2008.

As a fundraiser for The Leukaemia & Blood Foundation NZ, she shaved all her hair off and in total managed to get $750 in sponsorship.

Here is the before photo:

And after:

And if you're brave enough to watch, here is the YouTube video!

Even with the weather starting to cool off a bit it hasn't been too bad - there have just been lots of warm hats and scarves involved!

Lots of Love,

Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Serious Girl

2008-05-05T20:31:00.003+12:00

A great big belated THANK YOU to Grandma Sandra for the pyjamas and other beautiful clothes we received the other week - they are gorgeous! And clearly, getting ready for bed is serious business...

More photos to come soon of a few new bits and pieces in Erin's room, including a beautiful new butterfly hanging from Nana Trish.

We will also have photos of the great new fence Roland and our neighbour Noel, put up last weekend.

Mostly, we are still busy working, and slowly organising things for our holiday to Canada - only five weeks to go!

Lots of Love,

Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Photo update!

2008-03-31T09:25:00.009+13:00

I didn't want it to have become April and I'd only made one entry for the month before, so I have sorted out a bunch of the most recent photos for everyone to enjoy.

Back on the 24th poor old Jacquie turned 26 and we had a lovely pre-birthday dinner at mum's the night before - it was a lovely evening so there was BBQ steak, lots of salad, and cake!

Erin also loves to potter around at her nana's house and generally be a goofball... here are a couple of examples...

Erin was also very clever and picked up very quickly how to help nana clean all the slobber off the windows!

We have also been having regular demonstrations of how clever Erin is at getting into her big bed all by herself, and then tucking herself in with her favorite 'baby'.

Seeing as it was also Easter Weekend we had Erin's first ever 'egg hunt' planned, which she greatly enjoyed - no photos of that though, sorry :( I think that will be the first and last time Erin ever has chocolate *before* breakfast too.

In other slightly bigger news, we have a new car! Unfortunately our poor old Honda has come to the end of it's lifespan, a little prematurely, but it was better for us to fork out for a car we could rely on AND wasn't going to cost us more than its own value in repairs and maintenance (not to mention the price of gas / petrol). No photos of the actual car that we bought, but here is a photo of the exact same model - a Toyota Corolla FIELDER (2000):

It drives really well and has a bit more space than our old car, AND best of all (well, sort of) the air conditioning actually works!

Last but not least, the preparations for our trip to Canada are still slowly coming along, lists are being made and suitcases are soon to be dragged out of the basement and dusted off.

Anyway, in my efforts to lose a little bit more weight before we do head off on holiday in a few weeks time I had best sign off and get going on our exercise machine for a while :)

Take care everyone!

Lots of love,

Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Slide!

2008-03-09T21:32:00.003+13:00

So thanks to Erin's nana signing up at a toy library for us (thanks Nana Trish!) we now have access to a plethora of different toys for two weeks at a time. Our latest picks have been a GIANT slide (at least to Erin), and this thing called a 'Spring Bug' - here are some photos!

In other Erin news, she now has her top two eye teeth and the bottom two are still making their way up. She is also starting to fit some size two clothes - unbelievable!

In Roland & Jacquie news life is much the same, flat out during the working week and then catching up together on weekends! The weather has been interesting though, sunny and hot some days but there has been a lot of rain lately too. We are back down to a single car, which is manageable - although we really appreciated the loaner from Nana Trish too while it was here. Roland is considering cycling to work a little more often now, and is still playing squash at least once a week. Jacquie is continuing to learn the ropes with her job but enjoying the challenge, and hoping to secure something full time in the near future as well.

That's about all from us for now though, take care folks!

Love Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Chomp Chomp!

2008-02-17T16:26:00.004+13:00

So it looks like Erin is at long last cutting her eye teeth, there are three out of four poking through the gums now that we can see. Not an easy task getting a peek in there though! All that is left after these are her two year molars, we may even have a full set of chompers by the time we go on our trip to Canada.

Speaking of trips, Roland is off to Sydney this afternoon for a week - lucky him! Mind you, it is for work so probably not *that* exciting. It will be an interesting week here at home, but we should manage OK.

Anyway, here are a couple of (very) recent photos of Erin in her new big girls bed! :-)

That's about all for now folks, take care!

Love Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Grr !!

2008-02-08T11:28:00.000+13:00

Silly old blogger just ate our big update post, grr !!

So here is a photo in the meantime and a bigger update will be coming soon - promise !!

Miss Couch Potato

Take care,

Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Things we have been doing lately!

2008-01-05T15:48:00.000+13:00

Playing with Mega Bloks

Folding like a pretzel

Learning to brush our teeth

Playing in our paddling pool

Daddy has been busy doing more work in the back yard, and is installing a new rotary clothesline, photos of that coming soon.

Mummy has also been busy sewing and organising all her crafty things, here are a couple photos of her 'sewing nook'.

The holidays will be officially over soon too, we (Roland & I) are back to work this Monday, so we will do our best to keep updating things.

Take care,

Love Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Our Official Christmas Card for 2007

2007-12-23T15:22:00.001+13:00

Our deepest apologies if it seems to be a bit blurry, this is mainly for anyone who hasn't / couldn't receive(d) it by email. You can also click on it to see a bigger image ;-)

Lots of Love from Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Even more gifts! (and some news)

2007-12-23T15:10:00.000+13:00

Well first things first, the biggest news I think since our last update, is that I (Jacquie) have finally gone back to work! I think we have all benefited in various ways from me staying home with Erin, but the good thing is that I am only working part time for now so we are still able to keep some balance in there. It has been very exciting but also very challenging, I haven't been in a 'regular' job for quite some time now - so the old grey matter has been aching a little with all the extra effort.

Anyhow, we have a couple more photos to show off, mostly to say thanks to Grandpa Maurice & to Carol for the things we were able to get for Erin for Christmas (plus a playhouse update).

As previously mentioned there was some furniture from The Giddy Giraffe, and here is a photo of Erin sitting at her lovely new table and chairs set:

I will try and get a photo of the beautiful new storage unit in her bedroom once she is awake later today.

As for the play house that was a present from Erin's 1st birthday, it has finally been moved to it's permanent resting spot - and all the loose boards from the little front patio have been nailed back place as well. The main things that will need doing now are to give it a good water blast, vacuum the inside, and give it a good sanding - then the real decorating can begin. Here is a photo taken just today of Erin checking things out:

Our plans for Christmas include going up to Grandpa Ted & Jo's place for the day and have a Christmas lunch with them and some of Jo's family. They live right by Snells Beach up north, so we hope the weather is nice and sunny to go for a Christmas Day swim!

That is about all for now, there are lots of presents still to be made and wrapped, so when all that is done there will probably be some more photos.

Until then, take care folks!

Lots of Love from Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Aren't we lucky!

2007-12-23T15:06:00.000+13:00

Just a quick photo of Erin with one of the lovely gifts given to her by her Nana, whom we all went and had an early Christmas dinner with last night - seems Erin has the right idea about going shopping already!

Here is another photo of her just generally being a cute little monkey...

More photos and news to come shortly!

Love Jacquie, Roland & Erin

Long time no update!

2007-11-25T16:24:00.000+13:00

OK, this time we'll start with a few photos and then update with the latest Bird news :)

Miss Erin contemplating pouncing on Possum the cat.

Wondering what mummy is pointing the camera at her for :P

Trying to get a glimpse of the "baa baa" next door - our neighbours have a goat named Spirit that Erin just loves to bits!

So we are now well into the 'silly season' and the weather has been particularly good - we have had lots of outings to local parks on the weekend and Erin especially loves going down slides. Only four weeks or so until Christmas too - crazy! We have arranged most of Erin's gifts and there will be photos coming, some of it is furniture from The Giddy Giraffe

Roland is still hard at work as usual, and juggling squash during the week and usually plays 2-3 games unless there is a tournament on (in which case he will play more). We have his work's Christmas party to attend next Friday, which will certainly be interesting! The first time we will have been out together and Erin-less in a little while.

Besides Erin-wrangling, I have been trying to devote some of my spare time to my new "business" venture, feel free to check out the website - Mama Bird Designs Although I will still be looking for paid employment to start in the new year.

As far as new things in Erin-world go, she is just motoring ahead and LOVES to talk - some of it we can understand and the rest is in Erinese ;) Her favorite things at the moment are butterflies and pussy cats.

And even though it's a little while away yet, it looks like we will be going on our first overseas holiday as a family in June / July 2008 - four weeks in Canada, yay! On one hand we are very excited, but on the other hand it is going to be a very interesting experience travelling with a nearly 2 year old.

That's about it for now though, so until next time please take care :)

Lots of love,
Jacquie, Roland and Erin

Happy (belated) Halloween!

2007-11-04T08:31:00.000+13:00

OK so Halloween isn't so much of a big thing here in NZ, but we decorated this year anyway! Here are a few photos:

Candy

Front door

'Ed' the skeleton

Ghosts and bats

Cobwebs

Front gate

We're not sure whether we actually had any trick or treaters this year though, because we ended up going out for dinner and didn't get back until a little bit later. We did leave a note on the door though, to wish all the kids a safe and happy Halloween.

Take care everyone!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

A new toy!

2007-10-04T18:34:00.000+13:00

Someone has been very lucky and spoiled, and got a new Playskool toy from our lovely next door neighbour Jan - a cool mini racing track with three little racing cars. She loves it, and makes lots of "brooommmmm broooooommmmm" noises too.

And here is a shot that we thought was kinda cute - She was playing 'peekaboo' with the camera. It's a bit pink because the curtains in Erin's room were still closed.

That's about all for now folks, take care !!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

And she's off!

2007-10-04T16:29:00.000+13:00

She sure is a big girl now! :-D

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Peekaboo!

2007-10-01T14:27:00.000+13:00

I see you!

Taken on Sunday 23rd September, at Nana's house - where Erin had great fun exploring!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Coming Soon!

2007-09-22T12:37:00.000+12:00

Happy (belated) Fathers Day!

2007-09-03T14:52:00.000+12:00

Fathers Day was on Sunday 2nd September for us, Roland got a card hand delivered to him in bed in the morning and was then left to sleep in. We had a nice morning tea later on, with goodies from the local bakery, yum yum!

We would also like to wish a Happy Fathers Day to Papere Maurice, Granddad Ted, Poppa Bruce, Great Uncle Ray, Uncle Alex, & Uncle Dean - our deepest apologies to anyone we have accidentally left out!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

More polka dots !

2007-08-12T16:43:00.000+12:00

Who could resist a face like this? ;-)

Extreme close up!

Godzilla baby says GRRR!

Erin's daddy calls this expression "sucking lemons"!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Look mum, no hands!

2007-08-12T16:37:00.000+12:00

Erin isn't walking yet, but watch this space - we don't think it is very far away!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

PS - Sorry about the dark photo!

Finally, photos from Erin's birthday !!

2007-07-19T10:43:00.000+12:00

As you can see we had a wonderful day, even though it was just a small party - we will probably have a bigger party for all Erin's little friends next month (we had to cancel her original one due to the virus she caught).

Take care everyone :)

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Happy First Birthday Erin !!!

2007-07-13T12:35:00.000+12:00

Then and Now - Miss Erin Alexandra Bird

13 July 2006

13 July 2007

And what an amazing year it has been !! We didn't have her party last Saturday as originally planned, because poor Miss Muppet had a virus :( But she is all better now and her party will be rescheduled for sometime next month we think. Lots more photos to come later today or tomorrow as the day progresses - we will be having cake tonight after dinner, and opening some presents for Miss Erin too !!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Snuggles with Daddy

2007-07-09T22:50:00.000+12:00

Someone was in an especially cuddly mood tonight.

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

It's been a while...

2007-07-05T16:08:00.000+12:00

... but here are some photos to make up for it !! We've just been busy with regular things, but also with planning a certain someone's first birthday party. We've also recently been dealing with our first tummy bug for poor Erin - had it going at both ends for a while, not pretty at all. Had a trip to hospital to make sure it was *just* a tummy bug, and things seem to be coming right finally.

Anyway, here are the aforementioned photos !

Awww MUM !! Did you have to wake me up !?

Close up !!

Our big girl - ready to start the day !

As you can see she has quite a few teeth now, four on the bottom and four on the top, with two on the bottom coming through - including her first molar (ouch).

There will be more to update soon, Erin's birthday party is this Saturday - we are holding it the weekend before her actual birthdate as July is a busy month for us, with lots of other parties to go to !

Take care folks :)

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Erin's new hat !

2007-06-12T22:08:00.000+12:00

We are all very pleased with Erin's new hat - finally a hat that stays on her head and isn't ripped off in two seconds flat !! Mummy is especially proud because she sewed it herself - honest ;-)

And it just boggles the mind to think, that this same little monkey is going to be 11 months old tomorrow - and a year old in only a month !!

No major news, unless you count tooth #9 coming through - which has been "interesting" to say the least. We're glad that teething isn't something that little people really remember, that's for sure.

Anyway, take care everyone !

Love Jax, Roland and Erin

Hello !!

2007-06-10T22:55:00.000+12:00

I'm coming to get you !!!!

Well hello there !!

Whatchoo talkin 'bout ??

To be honest, there isn't much news - and the weather has been really horrible !! This week should be fairly busy and exciting, so more updates to come soon - promise.

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Newsflash !

2007-06-06T12:50:00.000+12:00

Our little monkey is getting so clever, just yesterday we discovered that she can actually give kisses !! They are a little bit slobbery, but if we ask for "Erin kiss" she will lean in with her lips all puckered up - SO cute !! In the last few days she has also learned to clap hands, and loves jiggling along to music, we should have some video of her "dancing" up soon.

That's all for now though, just a quick update - hope everyone is well.

Take care,
Love Jax, Roland & Erin

All this playing is hard work...

2007-06-04T11:17:00.001+12:00

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Look mum, only one hand !!

2007-06-04T11:15:00.000+12:00

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Daddy in the garden...

2007-05-20T10:14:00.000+12:00

While Grandma Sandra was here Daddy took a bit of time off from work, and used some of it to chop down the big hedge between our house and our neighbours, Jan & Noel. It was a big job, and looks really good ! At first we thought a new hedge would be put in, but now it is going to be just a fence instead.

We have also been busy planting vegetables in our new vege garden, which is growing really well so far. We have lettuce, spring onions, a few different herbs, silverbeet, broccoli, and cauliflower, as well as some lavender and aloe vera. This weekend we put in some seeds for peas (climbers), radishes and carrots, although it will be a while before we can eat any of those. We will try and take some pictures today to put up later.

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Mothers Day

2007-05-20T10:08:00.000+12:00

This year it was a first for Jax, so as a special treat we all went out to dinner - well, all the grown ups that is ! Our wonderful friend Margo came over to babysit (even though Miss Erin was already in bed), so Jax, Roland, Nana Trish, and Grandma Sandra went to a thai restaurant. It was yummy! We also got to drink some lovely sparkling wine, and finished off with a wonderful dessert as well.

Oh, and as it turns out Miss Erin must be super duper clever, because when Jax woke up in the morning (after a great sleep-in) she discovered a box of chocolates and a card next to her on the bed - mmmm, chocolate...

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Rub a dub dub, part 2 !!

2007-05-20T09:55:00.000+12:00

We have been a bit quiet here in blog-land the last few days as we have had a special visitor, Grandma Sandra ! After spending some time in Sydney with Uncle Alex, Aunty Karen, Zara & our new little niece/cousin Jamie, she came to NZ to stay with us for a few days. We had lots of fun, and would also like to share some of our latest bathtime photos.

Getting ready...

Ooooh, lots of bubbles !

Gasp! It's WET in here!

Daddy being funny and squirting Erin with a bath toy :)

Daddy & Miss Erin (check out the resemblance!!)

Drying off with Grandma Sandra

That was so much fun !!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Rub a dub dub

2007-05-08T10:10:00.000+12:00

Check out our new makeshift bath tub !

As you can see, Miss Erin enjoyed herself quite a lot - especially with all the toys. We do still hope to get a "real" bath though, someday !!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Toothy pegs

2007-04-30T20:28:00.000+12:00

So the latest update on the teething front is that Erin is sprouting not just one new tooth, but two at once ! Take a look:

She's going to need some top teeth soon, but hopefully there will be a bit of a break in between.

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Just for cousin Julia !!

2007-04-30T20:25:00.000+12:00

We were taking a few photos today and thought we would take a picture of one of Erin's special custom-made diapers... yep, it's Dora !!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Whoops, forgot to add that...

2007-04-23T10:54:00.000+12:00

We had a visit to our Plunket nurse the other day (child health people), and Erin was weighed and measured etc. She is now 8.7kgs (about 19lbs) and 73cms long !! So it looks like she has been doing some very serious growing of late. The nurse said her fine motor skills seemed to be developing very well etc, she is reaching all the milestones that she is meant to, and luckily for us is still sleeping through then night from about 7:30pm.

Over and out,

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

For your viewing pleasure...

2007-04-23T10:49:00.000+12:00

As you can see, someone has turned out to be a bit of a poser... ;)

Take care folks,

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

A new Sunday tradition...

2007-04-23T10:40:00.000+12:00

So lately on Sunday afternoons we've created a new Bird family tradition by going out after lunch to see some... uh... birds ! Hehehe. To be more precise however, we have a lovely park that is about 5 minutes drive away and next door to our local sugar refinery, and there are lots of ducks, seagulls and swans that live there. Erin has just recently realised that the ducks are "real" and enjoys flapping her arms back at them, making various duck-like noises, and eating the bread that we are meant to feed them. The Sunday before last however, one of the big ducks decided that Erin had to share her bread... and took it right out of her hand as she was putting it into her mouth !! Jax took a quick photo of the culprit with her cellphone:

Anyway, after we're done feeding the ducks we usually detour by a local cafe on our way home, they do very very good coffees and hot chocolates.

This Sunday was a relatively quiet one however, Roland put up some more underfloor insulation so that our house is nice and warm and dry for the upcoming winter. Although that said, today is lovely and sunny !!

The other major news is that Miss Erin's second tooth is on it's way, which has meant a bit of grumpyness, but nothing too major.

We are also looking forward very much to Grandma Sandra's visit in two weeks, although there is still a bit of tidying up yet to be done...

That's about it for now folks, might put up a few photos a bit later on :)

Take care,

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Play date

2007-04-08T10:28:00.000+12:00

We had a busy week last week as you may have guessed, here are some photos of Erin & a couple of her friends playing at our place (while their mummies had a nice relaxing cup of tea and a good chat!).

Erin & Zamara

Erin & Scarlett

Scarlett (aka Squishy)

Zamara (aka Monkey)

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Granddad Ted & Jo visit

2007-04-08T10:09:00.000+12:00

Last weekend Granddad Ted & Jo came down from Snells Beach to visit us and have afternoon tea.

As you can see, Miss Erin thoroughly enjoyed herself and all the attention she got ;)

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Dress ups !

2007-04-08T10:00:00.000+12:00

About two and a half weeks ago Erin & Jax went to PixiFoto, because we had received a voucher for a free photo session. Erin was so well behaved, loved all the different costumes and props, and did some wonderful smiles for the camera. Well, yesterday Jax went to see how the photos turned out - and they were all fantastic ! It was so hard to choose which ones to buy, but here are the two best ones.

Erin the fairy

Erin the bumble bee

Now the next part of our mission is to find some nice frames for the pictures to go in, and then somewhere to hang them up.

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Happy Easter !!

2007-04-08T09:54:00.000+12:00

Happy Easter everyone !!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

The giant baby eating bean bag !

2007-04-06T16:50:00.000+12:00

Thanks to Aunty Gen for the kind donation ! (This is where daddy puts Erin for "time out" so she can't escape!)

Today we have also discovered that Erin is a Hi-5 fan, breakfast this morning was spent with Erin's neck craning desperately towards the TV while mummy tried to get breakfast in without spilling all over the carpet.

That is pretty much it, our day was lovely and relaxing, and we managed to squeeze in watching World Trade Center on DVD - not *toooo* bad for a Nicholas Cage flick.

Take care everyone !

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Oops !

2007-04-06T10:23:00.000+12:00

Apologies for not updating things in a while, life has been pretty busy for all of us ! Roland has been busy at work, although for all the extra time he has been putting in they have given him (us) a gift of a nice dinner out courtesy of his company.

Jax & Erin have been busy too, lots of appointments and visits - places to go and people to see ;)

We also had a visit to the doctor the other day to make sure Erin didn't have a throat or ear infection, as she has decided her bottle isn't as interesting anymore - but Angela (our doctor) said that she is in tip top shape and perfectly healthy, and that some babies go through a stage like this at her age. Speaking of age, we can hardly believe that Erin is going to be a whole nine months old in a week ! Time sure flies.

At the doctors office Erin was also weighed and measured, she is now 8.3kgs (18lbs ish) and 72 cms long - she has been doing a lot of growing in the last couple of months. The latest developmental milestone is that she can finally crawl forwards instead of backwards, and is pretty darn fast ! Fortunately for mum & dad she isn't pulling herself up to stand on the furniture yet, so we don't have to rescue our CDs & DVDs just yet (although no doubt it will be soon).

Sadly we haven't got any new photos yet, but there are plenty waiting to be loaded from the camera onto the computer, so hopefully they will be up tonight or tomorrow.

Meanwhile, watch out for bunny rabbits scurrying about... and we hope everyone has a good Easter !!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Look how clever we are !!

2007-03-18T17:29:00.000+12:00

While mommy was out shopping for some wool this morning and new knitting needles, Daddy was in charge - and look what he taught me to do !!

Love, Erin

Crash !

2007-03-18T17:17:00.000+12:00

Erin loves her Peek-a-Blocks, especially when they are stacked up high - so she can knock them over then mommy will stack them again.

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

I spy with my little eye...

2007-03-17T17:18:00.000+13:00

... something beginning with T !!

(Click on the picture for a bigger version.)

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

One of Erin's new favorite toys...

2007-03-11T10:05:00.000+13:00

Best of all, it only cost $2 !!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Erin singing to Daddy !

2007-03-10T17:10:00.000+13:00

Love Jax, Roland & Erin

Erin's new (winter) PJs

2007-03-10T16:54:00.000+13:00

This is Erin in her very first pair of proper pyjamas, courtesy of mummy's friend Emma - thank you very much !!

Love Jax, Roland & Erin