What does the future hold?

Future vet?

Probably.

Future musician?

Quite possibly.

Future chef?

Maybe.

Future shopkeeper?

Perhaps.

Future rollerblader?

Probably not.

snippets of a sunday.

Papa: Quincy, tomorrow morning I'll make pancakes or waffles. You choose.
Quincy: Ummmmmm, pancakes. Pancakes sound good. We don't have waffle spray. Waffle spray. (thinking a moment and recalling that Jeremy ran out to get some last time he made waffles) Actually, waffles sound good.

Quincy: They're good. They're really really good. I love waffles. I love Papa. And Papa loves me.

Quincy: I just need to drive for a liiiiittle bit.

Wearing a hat and sunglasses just like Papa and waiting in the car while Jeremy gets chips to enjoy during our walk. Slightly counter productive, don't ya think?

Quincy pedaled for our entire dog walk. It was so fun. A new door has definitely been opened.

Quincy: The dogs are fast and I'm prrrretty fast too.

Pausing for tricycle ice cream. There were plenty of ingredients on the beach for the five dollar (gasp!) ice creams. Jeremy's flavor: anchovy. (You did this as a kid, right? Jeremy thought I was a bit odd.)

Another stop. This time at the playground, where Jeremy gave Q lessons to improve his pumping.

Me: Quincy, you are not the boss of the playground.
Quincy: The biggest chimp of the troop is the boss of the playground.

He always has the last word.

pizza night

We don't get "cheap" pizza often. In fact, last night was Quincy's first time having it. We often make pizzas at home and occasionally splurge on the good stuff from Days Bay. We were beginning to worry that we were turning the boy into a pizza snob, so it was about time...

To say he was excited about it is an understatement. We were all cavemen, a tribute to his Dinotrucks book and Jeremy's Fire Eater pizza. He held his hand on Jeremy's knee pretty much throughout the meal. He clapped, chatted, and smiled his way through dinner, eating two pieces of his Simply Cheese.

The following are some of the many gems that passed his lips...

"This pizza is good. It's really really good."

"When I'm a Papa, I'm gonna loooove jalapenos."

"I have to-mah-toes just like you, Papa!" (said in his best Kiwi accent)

"Papa, you are so nice."

"Papa, I can help you pour your wine."

"Cheers!" (with pizza slices)

"Berkley and Kai are jealous dogs. They want pizza."

"Quincy Caveman is gobbling up his Fire Eater pizza."

"Kai, how was your good morning, little Kai?"

It ended with an unsolicited hug, before the two of them were off to fix the water heater, and Caveman Quincy magically transformed into Plumber Quincy.

Last night, Q was so sweet, I could have eaten him up.

trip to the Plunket nurse

Quincy finally had his three-year check with the Plunket nurse today.

Here Plunket offers well-checks and looks after kiddos until they're five, ensuring they are reaching milestones and growing properly, and also offering (often unsolicited) parenting advice. This is a free service. It is a good service. Really. Especially when they are babies, I found. When they get sick, you take them to your GP.

Depending on your Plunket nurse, it's easy to leave feeling like you are doing an inadequate job as a parent. They have very specific things they want to cover at each different appointment and are pretty much all business. If all the right boxes are ticked, you might get a compliment.

We weren't in the room but 30 seconds and she requested that he sing her a song. Not surprisingly he declined. Luckily I had been forewarned that she asks them where they live, so he redeemed himself pretty quickly.

She asked him to draw a picture of my face. I had no idea what he would do, as I have never asked him to draw anything specific. I was surprised that he actually included a mouth, nose, and eyes. The fact that they weren't anywhere near the circle didn't seem to worry her. Shwew!

He sailed through the object counting and letter matching, but disappointed her big time by not completing the never-ending eye test. He did well on the right eye, but after a while, the novelty of the eye patch wore off and it was irritating the heck out of him. In his book it's written, "Left eye: incomplete. He grew bored."

We were told to floss. Really? I have a hard enough time getting him to keep his mouth open to give his teeth a quick brush.

Last up...ball bouncing and catching. He held out his arms with a big smile and wide eyes, but managed to miss every time. It was a small ball, I tell ya! The last time he picked up the ball he quietly talked about the fact that the ball was actually the world. If given the chance, he could have identified about 20 countries. Instead, she turned and said, "You see what you have to work on, right Mum?"

Let's just say, I was very surprised to read in my book later that "I should be very proud of our accomplishments." Don't get me wrong, there were a few kind words and compliments thrown our way during the visit, but, when it comes to your child, those are too easily overshadowed by even the smallest criticisms. Fortunately, I am confident enough in my parenting to take it all for what it's worth. Really.

i {heart} beautiful winter days

Today was good.

Today was fun.

Tomorrow is another one.

(Dr. Seuss)

memories etched forever on the brain. i hope.

Tonight was one of those perfect Sunday evenings. One that is extraordinary only to those that lived it, and ordinary to everyone else. One worth remembering. Forever. And I will try to tuck the memories of tonight into my pocket and pull them out on those less-than-perfect days.

After a week of non-stop rain and shivery winter weather, we had a beautiful blue sky Sunday, albeit cold. We all were in need of a run around, so before dinner we bundled up and took Quincy and the dogs to the playground. While Jeremy headed to the village for a scoop of chips for us to share, Q and I ran, hand-in hand with the pups down the soccer field. He pretended to be lost in the woods, saying many variations of "I'm afraid I might get lost in the woods." With one of his library books in mind, we talked about the ferocious creatures that might be in the woods. I spotted Jeremy at the other end of the field and we let the dogs tear back and forth between us, enjoying a chip each at Jeremy's end. Then we finished up the chips together amidst the trees, with Jeremy passing them to Q through the branches as he was still lost. A run through the dunes and then a walk on the beach in the setting sun. We talked about cavemen, ancient fish, and the orcas that occasionally visit the Wellington Harbour. We found some Neptune's necklace, lots of bull kelp, many sponge varieties, one very small paua shell and one enormous one, and a radiate limpet. We came upon a cool bivouac that some beachgoers would have spent the better part of the beautiful day building. Q had a play and found a stick to keep. One person passed as we were out on the beach and it happened to be a friend, Mary. We had a chat, before heading to the playground. Jeremy and Q had fun on the Rocktopus and Q asked to be pushed higher on the swing for the first time. He saw Jeremy go and promptly asked to touch the sky too. With a great deal of concentration, he learned to pump. As expected, he didn't want to go home, but home we went. For dinner. Leftovers and banana muffins for dessert.

An evening I am determined to remember.

three weeks. unexpected and treasured.

A very happy hello. An instant reconnection between nephew and aunt. Countless meals prepared. Two bedrooms painted. House redecorated. Kitchen cabinets scrubbed. A goetta and pancake breakfast courtesy of Jeremy. A few rainy days. Too many lollies eaten. Many readings of Dinotrucks. One game of Sequence Jr played. One trip to the zoo. Lots of giraffe feeding and a very entertaining baboon troop. Five picnics under gloriously blue winter skies. Four visits to three playgrounds. Regular trips to the beach. A wet and windy Beagle Club walk. One computer broken. So much Good Earth tea drunk. Three playdates. One day of shopping. Many trips to Playcentre. One wild Matariki costume party. Frequent solo bushwalks with one close call under a rapidly setting sun. Lots and lots of walking. A bit of singing and dancing at Mainly Music. A Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains marathon. Many many smoothies consumed. Plenty of meaningful conversation. A very sad goodbye.

Three weeks with my sister. Sharing my everyday with her. It went too fast.

(The photo album can be viewed on Flickr.)

happy fourth.

This year we had an unseasonably warm mid-winter fourth of July. Lots of time in the sandpit. Lunch on the deck. Homemade pizza and games in the evening. And a touch of patriotism.

No fireworks this year, I'm afraid. They are only available in the week prior to Guy Fawkes Day in November and we didn't have the forethought to buy ahead. We'll remember this November.

Notes: The flag was used only temporarily to torment the dogs.

A few days later I noticed him waving the flag. He grew quiet and looked as if he wanted to say something profound. Out came the very enthusiastic declaration, "I'm an American of CIN-CI-NA-TEEEE!"