Cameron's 37th Birthday celebrations

April is one of the busiest months of the year for us. We start the month off with birthdays and our wedding anniversary and end it with Cameron's birthday on the 22nd. 

On his actual birthday he had a massive workshop at work so was unable to take the day off. After a very long and busy, even stressful day for him we went for dinner at Et Tu, a local eatery in our neighbourhood which I can tell you straight off the bat is our new favourite restaurant in Auckland. Darian wasn't behaving in the best way so we almost caved in and decided not to go but because every year we tend to find an excuse for Cameron's birthday, this year, I put my foot down and went no, it's your day we are going to celebrate. Unfortunately we didn't take any pics, mostly because I had one hand on Darian throughout the while evening because he thought the tables were chairs and that the chairs were trampolines. All our usual tricks to get him to sit still just did not work so we ate very quickly and thankfully the short 2 minute drive home didn't allow him to get too out of hand! All in all it was a lovely dinner, food wise! For starters I had the lady fingers, Asian inspired spring rolls on a bed of rocket with a lovely chilli sauce, Cameron had the prawn and calamari skewers. For dinner I had the pork belly and Cameron had the T-Bone steak, that was cooked to perfection. We have learned to live with restaurants not cooking a perfect medium rare steak but Et Tu has redeemed our faith in restaurant chefs! 

This year I wanted to do something special for him because he always goes without with all that happens in April. So I got onto Facebook with a few of his friends and thought I'd organise a boys night out. I was overwhelmed, but not too surprised, by everyone's eagerness to be involved. For anyone who knows Cameron, you can't help but love him and each and every one of his friends came back with a resounding, "COUNT ME IN". So it was set, all the boys were keen! I made reservations at Wildfire at Princes Wharf, one of Cameron's favourite restaurants. It took a few weeks to get this going but once it was confirmed, I just couldn't keep it from him any longer and told him a few weeks ago what I was up to. He then asked me to add a few guys from the office to the reservation. So our table of 10 ended up being a table for 13. 

Getting ready for his boys night out

Darian kept photobombing 

Trying to find the right angle

The boys at dinner

Happy birthday to you! Told the guys that they have to make sure they sing Happy birthday to him! LOL! One of the guys sent me these pics from dinner.

Cameron got home about 3am! And all of Sunday he was beaming about what an awesome night it was. I'm grateful to each and every one of the boys who came out to celebrate with him! You have each been an integral part of our journey here in NZ. Some have been with us from day 1 and some have been part of our journey for just the last year or so, but each of you mean so much to us and hold such a dear part of our hearts. Thank you guys!

The rest of the weekend was about recovery for some and relaxation for most. We visited the park and the mall but come Monday, the public holiday (ANZAC Day) we just stayed home because it was storming. 

my big boy on the big swing for the first time ever... not a baby anymore!

He loves the Turtle at the play ground

We had a great afternoon at the playground after a morning at the shopping mall!

Darian's Third Birthday Celebrations

This week we celebrated my baby boy's 3rd birthday! And what a week of celebrations it was.

The day before his birthday I took a half day so I could bake some birthday cake and make some toffee apples for the kids at daycare. I was only meant to bake one cake but Cameron wanted a cake for home too so that we could sing at home and have him blow out the candles. So I ended up baking 2 cakes, one which was egg & nut free for school and a yummy chocolate cake for home. I wanted to do something special for the kids at daycare, most of the mothers have made little party packs for the kids to take home but I wanted to be different, so I made toffee apples for each of the kids to take home. The parents were impressed and the kids were really intrigued by these things they'd never had before.

After baking up a storm we realised we still needed to put his birthday present together. So about 9:30pm the night before his birthday we got his drum set together so he could wake up to a birthday surprise.

The birthday present

The morning of his birthday he woke up to his surprise! He was totally happy with it! Good choice mum & dad.

I took some time off work just to get to daycare while they had afternoon tea and sang Happy Birthday for Darian.

The goodies baked for our boy's big day

The kiddies at daycare enjoying some cake. 

All Darian ate was the icing while everyone else enjoyed the cake.

The kids singing happy birthday to Darian

When we got home, after bath and dinner we had another round of happy birthday and blowing of candles for our now 3 year old.

Cake at home 

On the Friday before his party, I had to take Darian for his haircut. I was a bit worried that he wouldn't sit still but surprise surprise, he was uber excited to get onto the seat and sit by himself and get his hair cut and sat for a full 50 minutes, quietly and patiently (well he got to watch Disney Jr, the barbers were happy to change the channel from MTV to Disney). And once they found out it was his birthday they gave him his haircut for free. Of course Daddy had to come and suss the situation out on his way home from work, which I have to admit was a good thing cos I had no idea how they should cut it. So once Cameron arrived he gave them a full explanation of how it should be cut and full directions on how he wanted it to look. The end result wasn't too bad. My boy looks like such a big boy.

For a while we couldn't really decide what we wanted to do for his birthday. After the last 2 birthdays we just wanted something a bit more low key but still something that would celebrate our boy's last birthday as an only child. We eventually agreed to have something small at Chipmunks Henderson that would allow us not only time to relax as we wouldn't have to do a thing but also, give Darian time to just play and have fun.

We invited a few friends with their kids and were happy to have all the kids just run around and have some fun.

My big boy on his way to his Party on Saturday afternoon

Such a cutie

Mum & Dad on the way to the party

making silly faces in the car

being silly with mummy in the car

Kiddies at the party

Kids enjoying some eats after playing for a few hours in the play area.

A few of the kiddies having something to eat

Enjoying some eats with the his friends

Little Bethany enjoying some yummy food

Luka and Owen arrived with their mum Deanne, their dad wan't able to make it but Deanne brought along her friend Natasha, seen here holding Owen, who is on holiday in NZ from SA.

Charlie Chipmunk arrived with a gift for the Birthday boy. Luka (in the background) was clearly not happy with this strange creature who arrived.

 Getting his gift certificate and gift from Charlie

Giving Charlie a cuddle

Blowing out his candles (again)

A group picture with the kids who weren't afraid of Charlie. 7 out of 12, not too bad!

Cutting the birthday cake

I'd left the camera with Cameron but unfortunately he didn't take any pics of the kids playing in the playcentre but nonetheless they all had a blast and every single one stayed til closing. All in all it was a successful day and I'm so blessed by all the love our boy received on his special day. Thank you to everyone who came along to celebrate with us.

After the party we headed home where a few people did come round to have dinner with us. The kids played and the parents enjoyed each other's company. It was a lovely evening.

After a week of celebrations and cake and candle blowing, this mummy with a growing belly is completely and utterly exhausted.

I just pray my baby boy had a great week's worth of celebrating his birthday. This is the last one he will have as an only child but I'm glad we got to celebrate each and every birthday he has had so far in a special way. 

Our 7th Wedding Anniversary Weekend

So this past Sunday we marked our 7th Wedding Anniversary.

It's hard to believe that it's been 7 years since we said I do but alas, it is. 7 years and almost 2 boys later, I couldn't be happier, nor could I ask for a better life. This year also marks the 12th year Cameron & I have been together, that's even harder to believe. Where has that 19 year old gone! LOL! I've been super blessed to have Cameron as my partner in life. He is definitely my rock, someone I can lean on and depend on wholeheartedly. We have been through the best & worst of times and have come out stronger and more resilient. Happier and more in love.

I remember when we first starting dating and we heard the song by Daniel Bedingfield, "If you're not the one" and after we heard that we looked at each other and knew that this would be "our" song. Yesterday I listened to it after a very long time and remembered what it was like to fall in love with this awesome man. And it took me back to those first few years and ultimately rekindled that love I have for my husband. It's really been a roller-coaster of a ride, this relationship of ours. We've come up against a lot of people who have been against us being together, we've endured pain & loss, we've overcame the hurt that people have caused us and all it's done is make us stronger and more committed to each other. With one gorgeous little boy and another on the way, I can only imagine what awesomeness this life has in store for us and I look forward to the lifetime we will share together.

After the debacle of an anniversary we had last year, this year we had to mark the occasion with happiness. So, even though we couldn't find a babysitter on Saturday night, we went out for dinner at Toby's Restaurant in Titirangi with our little boy who was surprisingly very well behaved. And on Sunday, our actual Anniversary, we spent the afternoon with friends, celebrating their recent nuptials. After of course, heading to KMart to stock up on Darian's winter wardrobe.

It was a really good, relaxing weekend and I'm glad we got to spend it together and with our friends.

A collage of the last 7 years. From engagement, wedding, pregnancy, life in Auckland and of course holidays to Australia and South Africa.

Family Selfie before dinner on Saturday night

7 years together, couldn't ask for a better partner in life. I love you honey!

Here's to the next 7 years!

Easter 2015

Happy Easter to one and all!

I for one was so looking forward to this long weekend, and it could not have come at a better time. And for once we had nothing planned and were just going to wing it this weekend.

Thursday was mum's 65th Birthday. Although we couldn't be with her our thoughts were with her. It's so sad to be away from family, especially on special occasions but we can look forward to mum coming to spend some time with us later this year when baby number 2 arrives.

Happy birthday mummy, you mean the world to us!

On Good Friday we had a very relaxing day and actually didn't leave the house at all. BLISS! Although I did, for the first time on my own, attempt to make Pickled Fish, a traditional South African Easter dish of fried fish pickled with onions. Typically eaten cold on Good Friday. And well, let's just say for a first attempt it was quite good. Thursday night of course I had to, at the last minute ring mum for her recipe and of course get Cameron to stop at Countdown on his way home and grab whatever fish he could find! All shops are closed on Good Friday and Easter Sunday (And Christmas Day), here in NZ so Thursday night he had to do a mad rush to ensure we had everything we might need for Friday. We also had to give Darian his Easter egg on Friday even though we intended to wait til Sunday, he was just beside himself with excitement and tried to eat it all in one go.

Asked him for a kiss and this is the face he gave me.

We had to wear Bunny ears to eat our Easter Egg, of course.

The face when he saw his Easter egg, #priceless.

Wish I had captured this video from the moment he saw his Easter Egg, his reaction was "Oh WOW, AMAZING". It was too cute for words. Love how big my boy is getting and what a character he is becoming. Love seeing his personality developing.

On Saturday we decided we needed to go shopping for a big boy bed for Darian. As we are now 24 weeks pregnant, we need to start planning for our little one to arrive, which means getting Darian out of his cot so we can get it ready for baby number 2. Even though it's a convertible bed and is currently a toddler bed, we need to get Darian out before baby arrives. As it is, everything is "mine" so don't want too many changes to affect him when the baby comes. Anyway, he had a blast jumping in and out of the beds in Target and testing them out. He even got comfortable under the covers with a teddy they had used as a prop.

Easter Sunday we headed off to Church and then to Lenny & Premika's for a BBQ. It was a lovely evening with our friends. We got to talk and catch up while the kids kept themselves busy and kept each other company. 

Today (Easter Monday) was round 2 of big boy bed shopping but after a day of shopping we still came home empty handed and decided we'd wait til the perfect deal came up. So, this remains a WORK IN PROGRESS! LOL! We got home and I decided to make a full on Sunday lunch, with Roast Chicken and Stuffing, twice roasted potatoes and a parmesan crisp salad. And of course milktart for dessert, which unfortunately was a complete flop! Didn't set at all so we had biscuits and custard! LOL! Tasted good though! Will try again and get it right! Or wait for mum to get here and help with my milktart craving!

Not looking forward to work this week, even if it is a short week. But it will come nonetheless!