Week Four ... May 27 - June 2, 2012, Waiting for Baby

Things slowed down this week. With the house set up and the baby things ready we could all take a breath and slow down. The week took on a more leisurely pace, mixed together with the excitement and anticipation of baby's arrival.

Niels and I needed some exercise and wanted to explore so we did both at beautiful Titahi Bay which is about a 10 minute drive from the house. The skies were an intense blue and the sun was out, but the air was cold. We walked toward, then around, the boat houses on the northeast end of the beach. After exploring that area we turned back and walked along the beach toward the southwest end. Behind the boat houses on the southwest end there was a trail that led us uphill, then down, around several curves, and eventually ended at another bay. From this bay, looking south, we could see the South Island. Turning a bit to the west we also could see Mana Island which is closer in. We turned to one another and exclaimed that this is where we would take our walks ... such an amazingly beautiful place! And, as we would later discover, this was not the only trail along this coastline. As we walked back to the car along the beach Niels became certain that this bay could produce some rideable waves...we'll keep an eye out for that!

Boat houses at the northeast end of Titahi Bay beach

Beyond the boat houses on the northeast end of the beach

On the trail behind the boat houses on the southwest end of the beach

Views from the trail

 Views from the trail, Mana Island mid-ground, South Island background
 

Landing at the end of the trail

Beach at the end of the trail, South Island in the background

Looking back toward Titahi, from the trail

There was one last-minute thing that needed to be done - getting suitcases packed. Heather and I made lists then spent some time packing her and baby's suitcase for the trip to the hospital. Of course, this was great fun for us; the excitement and anticipation of meeting this little baby was definitely in the air... but for Heather, it was co-mingled with a bit of anxiety as well with the thought of the upcoming labor...a real unknown for her at this point!

Getting Baby's suitcase ready

 

Baby's things

Mama's suitcase is ready

Mama and Baby's suitcases ready

Heather had been given two due dates; June 2nd and, later, May 29th. As such, the baby should be born this week....May 29th came and went, no baby. It was then that Niels turned to astrology...he declared that the 2nd of June looked promising, not only because it was Heather's second due date, but because there would also be a full moon that night. He was certain the baby would be born on the full moon and he was certain the full moon was on June 2nd .... it turned out that the full moon was on June 4th ... can't blame you for trying Niels! It was an amazingly beautiful night, certainly a beautiful night to be born, but no baby. The next theory he proposed was that the baby would be born on Heather's birthday which is June 5th...nope! Then he reached for the next astrological event - the Transit of Venus on June 6th - a rare and special occasion for the birth of a special grandchild. Unfortunately, on that day we had stormy weather and the skies were not visible ... baby did not come that day either. The last prediction was that baby would be born on Levi's birthday (Heather's cousin) which is June 7th - but, it didn't happen. Baby was going to have his/her own day! The following photo shows the full moon just after rising over the hills as viewed from our dining room ... it speaks for itself

               Full Moon on June 4th in New Zealand                 

                      Week 40

The wait continues ....

Week Three ... 20 May - 26 May 2012, Preparing for Baby

The first two weeks were busy and this week was going to be busy as well...but who could complain? It's a happy busy - setting up our life in New Zealand. We had some loose ends from the previous weeks to tidy up but mostly this week we needed to get ready for baby!!...Heather and Loren had bought very little up to this point because they were waiting to get moved and settled first. No need to move things twice. 

At the beginning of the week Niels and I started setting up a space on the ground floor. We already had the home gym and art space set up, but we needed a space where the two of us could disappear. We decided to purchase a love seat and television. This would give both us and Heather and Loren some personal space when needed. Once the couch and tv were in place we purchased a Play Station 3, on Heather and Loren's advice, so we would have a way to watch free tv programs, listen to music and also play movies on DVD. It is nice to have this space set up for ourselves ... it works! 

We met the photographer at the Retter Street house early this week. He was taking the photos for the Realtor's listing. Fortunately it turned out to be a gloriously sunny day and as a result it made for some beautiful photos. There has been three very favorable open houses. The "tender" closes this Thursday and we're hoping that one or two people have made an acceptable offer. If so, the house will be sold by the end of the month!

           Let the sun shine in!

On Tuesday Heather and Loren and we hosted Tuesday Night Dinner which happens every week. Tuesday night dinner was started by a guy in Wellington who opens his house up every Tuesday night for whomever wants to come. He posts online the theme for the evening and whoever comes brings a dish or cooks something at his house for everyone to share. Last year he moved and no longer had the space to host it. Most of the people who attended his dinners now take turns hosting at their houses. It was a lovely evening with some interesting people and really good food! The theme: winter warmers...following are scenes from the dinner.

We had a few car issues to sort out this week also. Since there are two foreign drivers (Niels and I) and one learner (Loren) we decided it best to get some car insurance, which isn't mandatory here apparently. We didn't care so much if our cars were insured but did want to be covered in case some other car was involved. The insurance was really inexpensive in comparison to the states so it didn't seem too cumbersome. Then we took the Toyota for a servicing and according to the kind mechanic the car looks really good! We were set to do the hospital runs...safely! Just need to get the baby car seat!


Niels and I were given a delightful task which we happily took on. Heather had bought an older bassinette (cradle) which she wanted sanded and painted and asked us if we would do it. It was fun working together and thinking about the little baby that would soon occupy it. Below are some photos ...

             The bassinette, "Tea Ceremony" green

I plan on painting some designs on the bassinette at some point. Heather is thinking about something to do with the year of the dragon!....hmmm, I'll have to think about that! Since the bassinette was older Heather ordered a new mattress which was delivered this week!  Baby now has a place to sleep ... getting closer to being ready.

Once the bassinette was ready Heather and Loren wanted to get the cot (crib) purchased and set up in their room. The idea is to set it next to the bed so at night the baby is right with them and they can get to baby easily.  So we went cot / other baby things shopping ... and the baby car seat was hired.

           Week 39

The baby's room: 

 

This week also brought the heat pumps installers!  The house would now be nice and warm for baby (and all of us)! We had one installed in the living room and one in the downstairs. It took two days to install and is so worth it! Winter weather soon followed and we were happily prepared! Heather claims we have the downstairs set at 'tropic' temperatures ... We also had the electrician install some new electrical outlets and put in double outlets all around. Some rooms had only one single outlet. Our home is now set up! Baby things ready, heat pumps, household put together, art space, tv and couch downstairs, gaming space, computers and home gym... Time now to wait for baby's arrival...

Week Two ... 13 May - 19 May 2012, Preparing Old House

Happily mostly-settled into the new place we now had the challenge of getting Heather's "old" house ready to put on the market.  She and Loren met with several realtors and found one that really impressed them. They deduced that because this realtor was so good at selling his services to them, he would be great at using those same skills to sell their house.  They met with the realtor a few days later and signed a contract with him.  By then Heather was getting tired and a bit stressed out so much had been going on. I told her I would take over everything else for her and that her only concern was growing the baby.  If anyone called she was to give the phone to me and let everyone know that I was the main contact.  And so, happily, she did.

At first, Niels and I thought we would do all the work ourselves. The realtor's plan however was to have the house on the market by the following week and have it sold within four weeks. We knew we couldn't do everything that needed to be done in one weeks time. The realtor suggested that we arrange for a painter to spruce up the interior and some of the exterior as needed, a gardener to work on the yard and to wash the exterior, some trash haulers to take away everything that had not been included in the move, a handyman  to repair a few windows and someone to shampoo the carpets.The realtor gave me some names of people he works with on a regular basis that know exactly what he wants done to get houses ready for sell.  I called them all, met them, individually, at the house so they could assess their particular task, gathered their quotes, then hired them all immediately. Fortunately, they were all available that week and by weeks end their work was done. In additional to all that, on Thursday and Friday Niels and I did all the interior cleaning of the house ourselves. By time the week was out the place was looking absolutely beautiful....

        

 

The following week the house was on the market and that Sunday was the first open house...which was well-attended. The hope is that by the end of June the house will be sold!  

This week was also spent gathering a few furnishings needed for the new house. Of particular interest to all of us was a couch and a couple of comfortable chairs for the living room. Although Loren and Heather already had a couch, with four of us now living together there weren't enough places to sit when we wanted to watch a little TV or a movie in the evening ... especially when Heather wanted to lie down after a long day of carrying the baby weight around! We ended up buying a couch and two rocker/recliner type chairs. Having a rocker was especially important, I felt, with a baby on the way. We moved the older couch to the dining room and the new stuff into the living room and we are all very happy with the choices. In fact, the rocker/recliners have become the favorites...and the baby is not even here yet! You just never know!