The Jeffrey-Wilson Family

…..so here are a few highlights since the last blog.

 

CJ blasted past 1, now 18 months!!!

New house

New car

New bike

Baby bike

Baby seat for big bike

Kaye back at work

Malcolm still working

New cousin for CJ

Many trips back and forth to Chch for CJ and Palmy too

CJs first bus trip, now a few times over

Walking, running

Lots of teeth, teething pains

Flus and colds all around (this winter has been really bad for all of us)

Visits to town, walking around with mum and dad

Swimming

Helping dad in the shed, the new "man" shed for the new house

 

That’s a few of the things that have been happening in our lives for the past few months, there is heaps more, lots of people visiting and coming and going etc. 

 

Spring has now sprung here in NZ and there are lots more adventures to be had.  Plans for the Tongariro crossing and the 42nd Traverse (the first a walk, the latter a bike ride, Kaye and Malcolm will do each seperately while the other hangs with CJ).  There is a Pearl Jam gig for the grownups of the Jeffrey-Wilson family, which should be awesome, with Ben Harper opening for them!  Nice one.

 

There’s some racing coming up for Malcolm on his mountain bike now that all the flus and colds have been kicked to the curb.

 

Well, it’s been a while, and it’s not the most revealing or most updating of blog entries, but just enough to let you know we’ve been flat out!! Keeping the photos up to date is a chore enough!! 

 

Catch you soon,

 

Malc, Kaye and CJ!

 

 

Where has the last year gone…. well I guess if you read all the blog entries you will know all about it, but gosh, the last year has really flown.

 

This time last year we were on holiday in the South Island.  Little did we know what present we would bring back from our holiday with us!

 

So Cameron-Jayne turns one next week.  It has been a big year for us and a very special time too.  Each moment with our little girl is just so precious.  She has truely enriched our lives. 

 

So CJ has 5 teeth – 3 on the top and two on bottom – is crawling everywhere and pulling herself up on everything.  Her favourite things are cellphones, remotes, the recycling bin in the kitchen, chewing the side of her cot and computer keyboards.  She loves technology.  She has also climbed our stairs a few times too – all the way to the top!  She is such a happy little girl.

 

I’ll update you all next week with stories from CJ’s birthday and party on the weekend.

 

Time flies…..

So this weekend we went to Chch. (I started this last week!! lol) 

 

Well, when I say we…..  it was a bit of a mish mash really.  Originally it was to be that Kaye and I were to go to Iron Maiden, and CJ crash with someone for a few hours that evening.

Sadly, Iron Maiden got shifted, and so then it was me going to that, Kaye heading home on the Sunday and and and…  Oh well.  On the Saturday I hired a car and shot down from Chch to Ashburton to spend the night and Kaye’s parent’s place, and then drive Kaye and CJ back to Chch on Sunday. This made it really easy for getting them to the plane too.  Anyway, Iron Maiden was AWESOME!!! I mean, just outstanding!! If I never see another concert in my life, I can say that with happiness as that gig tops every single live act I’ve ever seen before!! They were my band through high school while my mates were into the hair bands like Poison, Aerosmith etc.  I stuck to the Irons!  They didn’t let me down, and wow. 

Prior to the gig, we caught up with Geoff and Andi and Georgie which was really cool!!! GREAT to see you guys, especially before the wedding as we figure that day will be a hectic one for you all!!  And I was staying with Kerry and Kev turned up too.  (I have only days to live with my Karapoti…)

 

Anyway, whilst CJ was in Ashburton, she learnt a new trick. How to crawl.  As is evidenced by the pictures, she’s really getting the hang of it, and I spent a bit of time this weekend showing her how to get off things like the couch, the bed, all without knocking herself out by clouting her head on the ground! Ha!   She’s pretty much got it sussed now, legs over the edge til her feet touch the floor, stand a while, then sorta drop to her bum! Too funny!!

 

So yeah, now our house is WAY too small and it’s time to enter the home buyers market.  Let the fun begin! 

 

 Karapoti, this weekend. And I have a cold!!! Terrible timing, but that is ok, life is like that some times.  My lead up isn’t as bad as a fella I know.  Not only was his rear wheel smashed to pieces by an errant brick in the middle of the road, add insult to that injury and his bike was stolen shortly after he got home!!!!  NOT cool.

 

 

Ah well.

 

Hey, as a last note, thanks to some healthy eating thanks to the guidance of Kath Fouhy, Kaye and I are becoming the biggest losers!  Both of us have doownsized around about 5kgs each!!!  Amazing, and neither of us feeling really bad for it either!!  So onwards and downwards for us!

 

Well, Kaye’s turn for the next one!!

 

MJ, K and CJ.

SO it’s Malc’s turn for one.

 

Holy smokes it’s amazing watching CJ these days.  I can’t believe what a growth she is going through!! Buttons are her thing at the moment, if there is a button to press, she’ll press it.  It’s awesome!! And the rolling and movement?  Scary!! Won’t be long til she is biking everywhere I hope!! ha ha ha

 

For me, work is going great guns, Tim the boss talked to me this week and basically told me that I have to step up and teach some Windows Server courses!! Something I’ve been wanting to do for absolute ages, so finally!!  YAHOO!! I have my MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) qualification, but teaching it will be a whole other thing!

 

Sports, I am so lucky to have a partner that lets me off out and ride a whole lot.  Currently I am training for the Karapoti, possibly Xterra in Rotorua at easter time, and of course, the long road to Ironman 2010.  Nice. 

 

For this, I’ve hooked up with Kath Fouhy for nutrition, Dave Creamer for Tri coach, and Ali Dennis for swim coaching.  It’s going to be a long road.  For now, the toughest is the diet from Kath.  Kaye and I are both on a new diet, and sometimes it’s a little hard to maintain a sense of humour when you aren’t taking in as much as normal.  But it’s working, Kaye is looking slimmer, and I am apparently too, though I don’t feel it! lol

 

 

Anyway, I thought I should throw up that gallery of my recent big bike trips.

 

Chat soon all,

 

Malc.

Today CJ had her first swimming lesson and she loved it.  It was only 25 minutes long and was at the pool across the road from home, so parking was no problem .

 

There were 4 other little babies in class and all us Mums were in the water with the babes.  We played some games in the water like ring-a-ring-a-rosy, humpty dumpty (where CJ sits on the side of the pool and then jumps into the water) and fetching balls and ducks and putting them in a hoop.  Of course CJ wasn’t making her own way around the pool but was floating and kicking all the time.  She hasn’t gone under just yet but will in a few weeks.

 

Even though the class was only 25 minutes it is pretty tiring for a little person.  She slept for 3 hours solid after the class and so missed out on her solids for lunch. 

 

Same time next week…

 

As you can see from the photos she is also learning to crawl.  She is very good at getting up on all fours but seems to go backwards instead of forwards.  Will keep yo posted on the progress

 

So today all CJ wants to say is Mum Mum Mum Mum Mum…… from waking in her cot at 4:30 am and again at 8 am.  And now again as she is playing in the lounge  Mum Mum Mum Mum Mum

 

No Dad yet but it won’t be too far away if Malcolm has anything to do with it.

(Malc’s turn to write stuff)

So another year starts and kicks off, and sitting back at my desk at work feels a little odd to be honest.

 

Had a great break and for the first time in a while managed to actually relax.  I know it’s not the same for Kaye as she has a lot more baby duties than I do.  I think that has a lot to do with the fact that whilst I might have mannish boobs, they are in fact dry.  Kaye often says that while the location changes, there really isn’t a holiday there for her.  Though with her mum and dad really looking after us in Ashburton, and my mum and dad doing the same in Palmy, and then Jo and Mo, I think that some relaxing was achieved for all of us.  Even CJ, when her teeth weren’t playing up for her.  We now suspect that there are one maybe too more on the way.

 

New Years was nice and chilled out, and we were in bed before 10:30!! We must be getting old!  ha ha ha

 

Had a couple of mountain bike rides the next couple of days, one with Ange and two of her friends, and the next with Carl and a mate of his.  It was good times, cruisy rides each of them.  A bit of a climb to the top with Carl and friend, did a new trail up on Makara called T3.  It stands for Technical Torture Trail, and it is! ha ha ha, we all had a crash.  Admittedly one of those crashes was a twofer, (two fer the price of one) as I’d stopped in a spot that wasn’t so clever, Carl stopped behind me, lost balance, then went tumbling over into the gorse.  BUT his bike was leaning on mine, and so I went too!!  Crashes where you can get up giggling are wicked eh?

 

I did a solo mish too, last week.  I thrashed myself up and down a hill, the climb alone is normally a meandering 1hr, but I did it in forty minutes, then set about trying to ride as hard and fast as I could for the rest of it.  I expected it to be a two hour loop, but managed it in 1hr 18mins.  Wowsers, I thought that I’d lost a lot of my fitness but that ride along proved otherwise.

So then it was Thursday last week, and back to my mum and dads for a couple of nights.  Nice, totally nice and relaxing time.  No bikes though, as the Subaru was to meet us in Napier on Sat, with Danny driving.  This meant that I could really relax and forget about training or sports etc.  It was great for me!! And with CJ sleeping the night through, and mum and dad being bloody awesome hosts and doing so much for us, it was wicked!! As usual mum put WAY too much food out for us to be able to graze on all day long!! Ha ha ha, nice!!!

 

We caught up with Pete and Craig too, and the three of us, with my dad, went indoor karting on Friday night!! That was hard work, but lots of fun. (I got the fastest lap time of the four of us, but I am not one to boast).

 

Saturday we packed the Honda up again (amazing, that car is the Tardis!! It fits soooooo much) and after CJ’s brekkie, we went up to Napier to Auntie Jo’s and Uncle Mo’s place.  We met up with Danny en route who’d driven from Wellington that morning, with his mate Matt, and then had a lovely lunch at Jo and Mo’s.

 

Then it was mountain biking at Eskdale!! HOLY SMOKES!! What an excellent place to ride!! From nice easy meandering trails, to ball bustingly hard climbs, to flowing single track, to HUGE road gaps (talking 20-30ft atleast!!) it has a bit of something for everyone. And the skills area is bloody cool too!!!!  And all, basically, on Jo and Mo’s back door!! Excellent!

 

That night was a lovely roast, followed by pool and darts in the games room. 

Sunday the other boys were tired, and it’d started raining quite a lot, so it was a rest day really.  We had brunch with Michelle in Napier (3rd cafe lucky…) who is recovering from a hip replacement.  She was already kinda hip but needed more!  ha ha ha.  She is doing great and it’s always awesome to see you Shell, hope 2009 is as wicked for you as it should be!!! We then drove on to Waipukerau to see Lisa. Danny and Matt drove on from there, heading straight back to Wellington.

 

Lisa, was GREAT to see you, you look like your normal self again, it’s frikkin cool. That old job must’ve been so sucky, cos it’s night and day from the last time we saw you!!! Excellent!!

 

Well, then it was Palmy again for the night, I had a coffee with Pete, just sat there talking shit for a coupla hours, that was mint as and needed!! 

 

Then yesterday a drive home, stopping in to see our friend Mandy, and then home.

 

Today, back to normal, whatever that really means.  I have no idea!! Ha ha ha, and it’s time for me to hit the books, I’ve got a load more study to do this year as I want my SQL quals, and to be the geekiest CRM geek there is! Nice.

 

Well, that was meant to be about 50 words. Oops!!!

 

To all our friends and family, here’s to a bloody awesome 2009!!! Let’s all win Lotto and retire young!!!  🙂

 

Just to wrap up, I got this email today that I thought I’d share.  I’ve highlighted the bits that sum things up for me….

 

Twenty five ways to tell if you’re a triathlete:
25. One of your goals this year is to be faster at getting out of a wetsuit.
24. You talk about a “hammer” and “brick”, but you’re not referring to construction
23. You spend seven days going to eight stores in four malls before buying a pair of running shoes. But you take one afternoon to go to one car dealership and walk out with a new car four hours later.
22. That charming cologne (or perfume if you’re a girl) you wear to work is chlorine.
21. You have more water bottles than glasses in your cupboard.
20. You have enough pairs of old running shoes sitting in your closet to open your own shoe store.
19. You immediately bow down before someone with the Ironman “m dot” tattoo. (Is it really tragic I’ve got one of those?)
18. You have NO idea what to do with yourself on your off day. You mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, washed the car, and there’s STILL four hours of daylight left! Aarrgghh!
17. You often show up to work in the morning with goggle imprints around your eyes
16. You have so many tan lines you look like a zebra Running socks, bathing suit, jersey, biking shorts, tri shorts, sunglasses, gloves, watch, etc. (This is really nice at the beach.)
15. The first three items on your grocery list are Horleys replace, power bars, and gels.
14. You get funny looks when putting on Body Glide on your neck because people think it’s deodorant.
13. About half the shirts you own have at least a dozen logos on the back of them.
12. You wait a couple of days to take your car in when the check engine light goes on, but when your bike needs a tune up you take it right away.
11. You refer to the front hall of your house as the “transition area”.
10. The one “suit” you own has ORCA on the chest. (Or Ironman.)
09. When you get home from a training session, the newspaper is just being delivered to your house.
08. You consider work regeneration time between training sessions.   HA HA HA HA this is so totally Malc!!!
07. Your bicycle is in your living room. (Or bedroom.)
06. Your car smells like a locker room – and you are the only one who doesn’t smell it.
05. There’s a separate load of laundry every week that is just your workout clothes.
04. When asked how old you are you answer 35-39.
03. Your first thought when you wake up is how high your rest HR is.
02. Your spouse cried during Terms of Endearment; you cried during the television coverage of the Hawaii Ironman. (Every time. And inspiring triathlon videos.)
01. Most of this list doesn’t seem like a joke to you.

Where has the last year gone….. bringing a little girl into the world and learning about ourselves along the way.

 

So much has happened in the last month I’m at a loss to know where to start!

 

So the Half IronMan in Rotorua.  For those of you that don’t know Malcolm had an awesome swim, a fantastic bike ride but for the run it just wasn’t his day.  He seemed to be suffering with dehydration, so had to pull out.  It was a hot day and I don’t know if he had fueled himself properly, so he will be back for December 2009!  We already have the room booked.  It was a pity as he was looking at doing a 6 hour time which was 1 and a half hours faster than last year (I hope I had that right).  CJ is looking forward to running across the finishing line with her Dad.  Let’s just say that Malcolm is very disappointed not to finish and doesn’t want to talk about it too much.

 

CJ and I had a lovely time in Rotorua.  She was teething which wasn’t that much fun but we managed.. sleepless nights and all. 

 

Thanks to Matt and Megan for a lovely holiday in our cabin – next year again Matt??

 

Then it was the weekend before Christmas….. and life was as busy as ever.  Christmas dinner in Palmerston North with Malcolm’s parents.  It was a lovely BBQ dinner even if the weather wasn’t so night.  We all got showered with lots of lovely gifts as Santa had come early.  CJ liked looking at all the neighbourhood Christmas lights.  The street Malcolm’s parents live in tend to compete with each other for the house with the most lights on it – it is great for us and I’m sure CJ is going to love it even more next year.  We managed to get a great photo of the 3 of us in front of a blow-up Santa… I must find that photo and put it on the blog.

 

And the other big news is that CJ has her first tooth!!  Is a little sharp spike cutting through her bottom left jaw but it is definitely there!  AND she is also sitting up.  We still pop a pillow behind her just in case she flops over but she has good core control.  What a little rock star!

 

The following day we had Christmas dinner with the Williams’s.  I felt the need to cook dinner so it wasn’t a traditional Christmas dinner but man the lasagne was good – even if I do say so myself.  CJ joined us at the table but she doesn’t eat much – next year it will be different!

 

We also caught up with Stephen Chong and his lovely wife Kiran.  This was the first time we had met Kiran even though we had been to their wedding… long story but we were part of a video conference from Palmerston North, NZ to the wedding in New York State, USA.  It was a very special day for all involved. 

 

Malc finished work on the Monday before Christmas and then it was on a plane to Christchurch on Tuesday (23^rd) to spend Christmas with my parents in Ashburton.  We had a lovely lunch with Megan at Untouched World in Christchurch on our travels – I miss you Megan and wished we lived much closer than we do!

 

Then it was holiday mode for the next five days.  Mum and Dad you are wonderful hosts and I loved that we spent CJ’s first Christmas with you.  Thanks for making it so very special for us all.  CJ may not remember it but it will stay in our hearts forever.  Christmas eve saw Grandma and Grandad Wilson doing some babysitting while Malc and I dashed out and did some very last minute Christmas shopping and later in the day CJ visited the Ashburton Santa too.  The photos were much better of this one that the one in Welly. 

 

Christmas day was the most relaxed I think I have ever had.  We sat under the Christmas tree mid morning (once we had all woken up – CJ included) and opened our presents.  Gosh we have all been spoilt this year.  CJ has a great time opening her presents but to be honest was more interested in the wrapping paper.  I again will post some photos of the opening of gifts.  Lunch was a lovely roast chicken with all the trimmings – I love roast vege and gravy.  Malc loves Tomato Sauce on his roast – this is just strange!!  Roasty chicken was followed by fresh raspberries and strawberries with the NZ favourite pavlova with lashings of vanilla ice cream and icing sugar.  Afternoon tea with the Wilsons (my Dad’s brother and his family) was hosted at my cousin Richards new house.  It was a cold day so we all played inside and ate yet more food.  It is Christmas after all.  CJ and her second cousin Alexander were the new editions to the family this year!  CJ was a bit tuckered out so she had a long sleep before our next outing – this time to my Mum’s side of the family, hosted at Aunty Ali’s house.  It was lovely to catch up with so many aunts, uncles and cousins – and of course to show off our little Cameron-Jayne.

 

 

All to soon it was Boxing Day – this is the name for the day after Christmas Day in New Zealand.  CJ had a little cold and was a bit grotty with it so CJ and I stayed home that day.  Malc was up early and off to Christchurch with his bike for a day of playing on the Port Hills with mates.  He managed a few trails and probably a few coffees too.  He also caught up with Anna at her parents place in Sumner and was back home to Ashburton at 6 tired and a bit sun burnt.  A good day by all accounts.

 

Now I mentioned that CJ had a bit of a cold.  This was disturbing her sleep and also her feeding.  We decided that she was also growing so fast and she wasn’t getting enough from my milk along and the solids she was getting.  She used to sleep through the night but was waking at least once during the night and wouldn’t settle afterwards.  I spent a few hours each night sleeping on the bed in CJ’s bedroom trying to settle her – it wasn’t too much of a holiday for me in the end.  I was shattered!  So we are increasing CJ’s solids – well trying to anyway and will start her on a formula feed at night too just to make sure she is really full before going to sleep.  I do hope this works.

 

CJ is also more mobile now.  She is rolling freely from tummy to back and to tummy again.  She has taken to rolling all over the place in her cot and wakes Mum and Dad up because she is in the strangest positions.

 

Yesterday we had a lovely but busy day.  It started off having brunch with Marilyn and her partner Doug.  Marilyn and Malcolm used to work together in Christchurch so it was great to catch up with them.  Then we had Stephen and Kiran over for afternoon tea – well they bought the milkshakes from Maranui – YUMMY!!

 

Late afternoon was spent with our friend Blair and his gorgeous nearly 3 year old daughter Amy.  They have recently moved back from Belgium and bought a house in Petone.  We had a pleasant time sitting in the late afternoon sun eating cheese and swapping stories.  Dinner was meant to be fish and chips on the beach but it was a bit cold.  It took a while to find a chippie that was open but we did – thanks to the great New Zealand shut down!

 

Late last night we had a terrible scare with our precious little girl.  She has a cold but seemed better.  Was a bit off her food over the last few days but seemed to be on the improve.  She woke for a feed last night about 2am and seemed to be playing in her cot at 4am.  When I went in there was vomit everywhere and she was a bit distressed.  She was thrown in bed with Malcolm while I cleaned it all up but in the process she went back to sleep but was thrashing around the place – rolling from one side to another and back again.  She just couldn’t catch her breathe because her nose was fully blocked and as a result was choking….. then vomiting because of the choking.  Not a good situation to find ourselves in at 4am.  She was a bit floppy and not behind her eyes.  We were scared so Malcolm said dial 111 now!  Soon the ambulance was there checking CJ over and it was off to the hospital for a check up.  By the time the ambulance arrived she was a bit better but rather pale and really not herself.  At the hospital the nursing staff did all the observations then CJ let loose with a massive sneezing fit – probably 10 or 12 in a row.  Well….. I have never seen so much snot and vomit in one place at one time.  After she felt so much better.  After a check over by the doc and a feed, it was home again and sleep time.  What a night.  We all slept through for another 4 hours and then it was feed time again for CJ!!  She seems much better today but we are watching her closely.  I do hope that never happens again….

 

So that was enough drama for one day so as 2009 draws to a close tonight I hope we are all in bed well before midnight!!

 

Happy New Year everyone!

What a busy time we are having!!  This past weekend we have hardly touched the ground.

 

Friday night saw Malcolm doing his bit for the Neonatal Trust and manning up and getting a leg and chest wax.  What a star for saying OK in the first instance.  He was rather nervous on the day but there was no backing out. The stage was set and everyone was gathering to watch the big event.

 

Karin and Debbie, from Spatini’s, set up the bed and warmed the wax…. Malcolm was set atop the bed and if we could have, we would have tied him down.  The girls worked together and waxed Malcolm with quick and steady strips.  It did take some time to complete task as he wanted a few breaks to catch his breathe. 

 

I’ll spare you all the details but Charmaine and I got to have a go and Malc didn’t have a “40 Year Old Virgin” moment. 

 

So after about an hour of waxing, yes a whole hour!!!, it was done. 

 

We think we have raised about $1700 for the Neonatal Trust.  This should buy them 2 breast-feeding chairs or half a breast pump.  I can’t want to hand over the cheque    So if you pledged and have still haven’t contacted us about payment please do so….. or please pledge now as there is still time

 

 

 

Also this weekend we have 3 Christmas parties!  Yes THREE.

 

Saturday morning started with our antenatal group brunch.  Every week us girls meet up but once a month we meet up for brunch with all the Dads too.  Don’t we all look great under the Christmas Tree at the St James Theatre.  Of course there are some missing, as babies being babies we can’t always make it.  So I have included some photos of our class mates and now very good friends.   The babies also shared Secret Santa presents – Cameron-Jayne got a paddling pool.  This is going to be great on the deck this summer. 

 

Then it was off to the Neonatal Trust Christmas Party.  There must have been around 100 kids there, from only just discharged from the unit to teenagers!  It was great to catch up with some of CJ’s room mates.  Gosh how they have all grown…..  There was a pirate show and lots of things to play with at the venue – a kindy in Miramar.  And now the best bit… Santa, a reindeer and his elves arrived in the Westpac Trust Rescue helicopter.  It was sooo very cool.  Malcolm caught the whole thing on video so I’ll try to see if I can get videos up on this.  CJ was given another present – this time a Tubby Turtle for bath time. 

 

Today was the PHARMAC kids Christmas party.  Three in two days.  There was a petting zoo which CJ just loved.  The animals were all very placid.  We know CJ loves touching fur – she grew up with Sophie the cat and now loves playing with her sheep skin.  She plays for ages touching the fur and we are sure it reminds her of our beloved Sophie.  So today CJ played with a rabbit, chicken, goat, dog, sheep and a little pony.  Then it was off to play on the slides and other things at the kindy.  There were crafts to do but she was too little this year – but bring on next year.  She slept through the treasure hunt and woke just in time to see Santa make another appearance.  As he was already in town he didn’t need to come on the helicopter today.  All the children must have been good as they all got presents.  CJ was wearing her new special Santa t-shirt – “I love Santa…. Santa loves me!”  It must have worked because Santa gave her a Dora ball and a maraca. 

 

Gosh, how are we going to top a weekend like that!

 

So it is back to work tomorrow and back to training for Malcolm.  Next weekend is the Rotorua Half Ironman! 

 

We are looking forward to having a holiday soon.  Roll on Christmas….