Resting in Napier

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Steve in his element

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Well for the first time in a couple of days I get some peace and quiet.  Matthew is fast asleep in the pram in the motorhome!!! And Lloyd is sleeping face down in his cot!  All bad I know, but it works.  It is 7.30pm btw, and I cant believe that Matthew is finally asleep.  Yesterday we got him to sleep early too, but he was outside in the pram, and when we bought him in he woke up and kept us awake until 11pm.  Then he was up at before 7am, so it wasnt funny! 

We have found a lovely campsite and have the best pitch on the site.  I can seeing Steve fishing on the beach as I speak, and hear the waves crashing onto the shore.  It is paradise.  I feel a lot calmer here, probably the calmest I have felt since I had Lloyd!

Things have been very busy.  The kids are a full-time job, and trying to do a holiday around them is at times hard work.  Matthew still isnt in a routine, and I think both the boys are feeling the hot weather, as are we.  It is nice, but hard also as have to keep finding the shade for Lloyd and covering them both in sunscreen.

Sunrise - this photo still doesnt do it justice

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We was in Gisborne on Saturday afternoon/evening, but left Sunday as wasnt much going on there.  So another 150k down the road and we are in Bay View, about 10mins from Napier.  Monday we spent the day in Napier itself, mainly in the park on the main parade.  We had a picnic whilst Matthew played in the park for about 2 hours (or maybe more).  The parks out here are much better than those in england, and very safe, using bark or sand to break their fall. 

The hardest part of travelling with 2 young children is just being able to find peace and a routine.  Its nigh on impossible at present.  Lloyd is also quite colicky in the afternoon/early evening which doesnt help.  He is a lovely little baby though, with a smile that seems to consume his whole face.  I had him weighed and measured today, and he is doing fine.  He is moving rapidly up the centile charts for height and head circum, and is slightly up on the weight centile.     He is able to lift himself up and look round when on his tummy, something I only found he good do when the health worker asked at his weight check!

Early Morning stone throwing exercises!

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Steve is obsessed with fishing.  It has become his new fixation.  I thought bringing him away on holiday I might get his full attention for a while, but it didnt take him long to find something to do.  He thinks about fishing all the time, you can tell as thats pretty much all he talks about.  And men arent multi-tasking, so I dont think there is much other thought going on.  He wants me to look up various things on the internet for him, types of fish, high-tides, etc.  He will be lucky!

Internet connectivity is a problem.  Havent had it for a few days now.  Im typing the blog in text files ready to upload.  I expect we will get connectivity soon, so Im not worried.

Tuesday -

Had a bit of a scare in the morning.  I was feeding Lloyd and Steve was cleaning mat.  He told Matthew to go outside, and then Matthew disappeared.  I stood up and saw Matthew walking towards the sea! He must have been 30 metres away from us, and quite close to the sea.  It was very scary, Im sure I will have nightmares for years to come.  In reality I suspect he would have stopped, but even so I did yell at Steve about it, as he needs to be more aware of where Matthew is.  I think Steve sometimes thinks Matthew is older than he is.

We went to the National Aquarium of NZ in Napier today.  It was good, over a bit too soon, but good.  We have been spoiled by Aquariums such as that in Monterey, CA, but I think Matthew enjoyed the experience.  I would recommend for a morning out.

Again we went to the park, the park on the shore in Napier is excellent for 2 year olds, beating that in Gisborne hands down.  If we had this park in the UK it would be absolutely packed with young children, as the parents would relish the opportunity for peace and quiet.  I seriously think Matthew could play in this park all day every day for the next month!

They also have these canopies in New Zealand (and in Australia), often in the shape of sails.  I like them a lot, we are contemplating installing a couple in our back garden instead of a pagola as originally planned.  They are great in the parks, especially when you have a young baby in tow.