Not only is Preston walking all over the place and driving mummy & daddy crazy with all the chasing we have to do, but he FINALLY grew a tooth! Bottom front right tooth emerged a couple of days ago while we were in Napier and it grows a little more each day. Soon Preston will have a real tooth and officially be a BIG BOY! (he is no longer a baby - he's a small toddler)
Our trip to Napier was great - caught up with lots of people, and Preston got to play with heaps of little kids (even kids at the airport that we didn't know) - he is so curious about other children. He is also extremely curious about everything else now. On the plane I could barely hold him still because he wanted to climb to the window and was pointing out the clouds and land, and then at the airport he was completely mesmerised by all the things going on as we landed. And anything new and interesting that he spies gets a 'oooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO' sound before he rushes over to get it.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Preston is ONE!! His birthday was today and we have had a fun celebration all weekend with all his grandparents visiting. Today we had a fun picnic in a park with all his baby buddies and family and friends - and Preston has been in the best mood all weekend. He is so excited to have so much attention! And PRESENTS! Didn't take him long to figure out the concept of presents, and he has been extremely spoilt. Now he has all sorts of amazing new toys and books to play with, so thank you everyone!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Preston is nearly ONE!
Preston is nearly one!!!! Can't believe it. Here he is studying bubbles floating down around him. He thought it was all pretty funny!
Just had him weighed and measured at Plunket today - his stats are 9.13kg and 74cm tall. His walking is getting better and better, so if you are coming to his birthday picnic this Sunday (let us know if you haven't had an invite and want to come as we don't have everyone's email), he will dazzle you with his walking skills!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Sorry!
Haven't posted in ages... sorry about that. The month leading up to christmas is my crazy season - lots and lots of work, and not enough time to do it all! Not to mention that all the cool toys start to come out before christmas!
Preston got to spend a week with a house full of people - Hayden and Darren came here to stay for a week for a break, watched me work and played with Preston when I was busy. He absolutely loved having people around and was his happy usual self.
But the great news for Preston is that he's starting to walk more and more each day. A week ago it was a pivot on one foot - yesterday he took about 5 steps, and today he took about 12. He's pretty much there - he's just getting used to it, and will hopefully be walking confidently in another week or two!
I'll put some new pics up on the flickr too - lost the camera for a week or so :)
Preston got to spend a week with a house full of people - Hayden and Darren came here to stay for a week for a break, watched me work and played with Preston when I was busy. He absolutely loved having people around and was his happy usual self.
But the great news for Preston is that he's starting to walk more and more each day. A week ago it was a pivot on one foot - yesterday he took about 5 steps, and today he took about 12. He's pretty much there - he's just getting used to it, and will hopefully be walking confidently in another week or two!
I'll put some new pics up on the flickr too - lost the camera for a week or so :)
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Photos of Preston
If you guys haven't noticed yet, I've put a gallery of Preston photos on the right-hand side of the page. I've done my best to add in a photo every day for the last month, and have only missed a couple of days so far :)
You can view the full gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/preston2 or just click on the pics to the right
You can view the full gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/preston2 or just click on the pics to the right
Monday, November 13, 2006
My operation
As mentioned quite a few posts ago, I was scheduled to have an abdominal cyst removed last week, so here is my story for those of you interested!
I had a mesenteric cyst which would have developed before I was born, and it was kind of 'floating' around in my abdomen, although was attached to various places. It was not inside any organs or causing any problems, but after I gave birth and all my insides redistributed themselves, I could feel a big hard lump so (eventually) went to get it checked out. Both the radiologist and specialist were most curious about it and thought it was a great find as apparently they are not common in adults (they are normally noticed in children while they are young). The specialist said that in 10 years he had never seen one quite like mine and it was very interesting.
So despite having an unusual specimen, it was decided better to be out than in, so that's what happened. Last Thursday I had my plum-sized cyst removed, and now I am recovering. It was done by laparoscopy, so i have two small cuts (about 1cm apparently - they are still covered) on my tummy where they could insert the tools, and a small cut by my tummy button where they removed the cyst. They pumped up my abdomen with carbon dioxide so there is room to see what is going on and not disturb the other tissue and organs. Probably the processing of the co2 afterwards was the worst part as i had pain in my shoulders and really bad pins and needles for about a day in my legs and arms, but it all went away once the co2 got out.
Now i just have to wait til my tummy heals, but every day is significantly better and i should be able to lift Preston today. I haven't been able to give him a proper cuddle for days and days - he had started to forget me a bit. When he first came to visit me in hospital, he really didn't recognise me which was sad, but i must have looked pretty weird. But after i changed out of my blue hospital clothes and put on pink clothes, he knew who i was! He had fun at the hospital, charging up and down the hall and charming all the nurses, what a cute boy.
So that is it really. Nothing very exciting, but just thought I would update you!
Preston is so close to walking - he has really mastered his standing abilities and can even stand up by himself from a crouching position without holding onto anything!
I had a mesenteric cyst which would have developed before I was born, and it was kind of 'floating' around in my abdomen, although was attached to various places. It was not inside any organs or causing any problems, but after I gave birth and all my insides redistributed themselves, I could feel a big hard lump so (eventually) went to get it checked out. Both the radiologist and specialist were most curious about it and thought it was a great find as apparently they are not common in adults (they are normally noticed in children while they are young). The specialist said that in 10 years he had never seen one quite like mine and it was very interesting.
So despite having an unusual specimen, it was decided better to be out than in, so that's what happened. Last Thursday I had my plum-sized cyst removed, and now I am recovering. It was done by laparoscopy, so i have two small cuts (about 1cm apparently - they are still covered) on my tummy where they could insert the tools, and a small cut by my tummy button where they removed the cyst. They pumped up my abdomen with carbon dioxide so there is room to see what is going on and not disturb the other tissue and organs. Probably the processing of the co2 afterwards was the worst part as i had pain in my shoulders and really bad pins and needles for about a day in my legs and arms, but it all went away once the co2 got out.
Now i just have to wait til my tummy heals, but every day is significantly better and i should be able to lift Preston today. I haven't been able to give him a proper cuddle for days and days - he had started to forget me a bit. When he first came to visit me in hospital, he really didn't recognise me which was sad, but i must have looked pretty weird. But after i changed out of my blue hospital clothes and put on pink clothes, he knew who i was! He had fun at the hospital, charging up and down the hall and charming all the nurses, what a cute boy.
So that is it really. Nothing very exciting, but just thought I would update you!
Preston is so close to walking - he has really mastered his standing abilities and can even stand up by himself from a crouching position without holding onto anything!
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
Preston is a star!!
Ok, the suspense is over - I'll tell you about Preston's ad! It was actually a print ad, not a tv ad (but he is shortlisted for a tv ad to be filmed sometime later.). The ad has something to do with babyfood, but they didn't really talk about how it was going to be or what they would do with Preston's pictures. I should have a copy of the ad soon and i'll post it here.
Preston had lots and lots of photos taken chewing on all sorts of objects (like my phone and a remote, both of which are his favourite toys!), so perhaps there is a series of ad, I'm not sure so we will all have to wait.
It was a fun morning, and Preston was given a bag of presents (yay!) and some Pumpkin Patch vouchers (also yay!) as payment for his cuteness :)
Anyway, here are a couple of cute photos of Preston helping himself to the baby food. He had such a great time being the centre of attention!
Preston had lots and lots of photos taken chewing on all sorts of objects (like my phone and a remote, both of which are his favourite toys!), so perhaps there is a series of ad, I'm not sure so we will all have to wait.
It was a fun morning, and Preston was given a bag of presents (yay!) and some Pumpkin Patch vouchers (also yay!) as payment for his cuteness :)
Anyway, here are a couple of cute photos of Preston helping himself to the baby food. He had such a great time being the centre of attention!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
Preston's Photo Shoot
At long last, here are the very cute proofs from the cool photo shoot we had in Whangarei last month. If anyone wants a proper copy of any photos, let me know so I can order them. I think it was about $60 for a 5x8 or maybe 6x9, can't remember.
Click on any of the images (of 6) to see it bigger.
Preston is so cute!!!
Click on any of the images (of 6) to see it bigger.
Preston is so cute!!!
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Japan trip - last day
Oops - I forgot to finish off our holiday blog and people are wondering if we actually made it back!
On our last day, we did a last minute shopping expedition at the big outlet mall right near our hotel and ate non-japanese food (we were a bit over it all by then). Actually, the night before was our best shopping time - we decided to go for a big walk to a supermarket I had seen from the bus when we first arrived (we needed more nappies since Preston had just about used up the entire supply we brought with us). It was a big hypermarket at the top of a shopping centre that we didn't know about and we went crazy and bought things at nearly every shop! Including KFC - YUK, I accidentally ended up getting a teriyaki chicken burger - bleech! Lucky they had some pretend macaroni cheese thing to wash it down with.
After all this shopping plus all the game show goodies, our suitcases were full to maximum.
We had a couple of hours to pass before we got picked up for the airport so we went to a nearby park. This city is unlike any other in Japan - a quiet pace of life, parks, lots of space.... It was really fun - there were lots of other families playing in the park and we joined in with another little girl and her parents - they couldn't speak english and we couldn't speak japanese, but we got by and our kids played together very cutely :)
Then it was off to the airport where we found our bags were only 100g under the limit before you have to pay excess, so that was lucky! We tried japanese mcdonalds too which was actually really nice. It's been such a long time since i've had mcd's and this stuff tasted good!
The flight home was reasonably uneventful, although Preston wouldn't go to sleep for 3½ hours and cried lots - it gets a bit frustrating when other people try to offer their hints and tips. Eventually he went to sleep for most of the rest of the flight.
Now we are back and i have spent the last few days listing all our game show stuff on ebay, zillion and trademe (already sold a few things to eager bidders!), and getting Preston back to normal. Luckily his appetite returned as soon as we got home and he had normal food again, and at last his rash all over his face and head seems to be disappearing. I think it is either bananas, rice or baby formula so I will experiment over the next couple of weeks.
Preston coped so well being away - we were so impressed. And he missed our cat - he was so excited to see her again! Now he is not so violent to her so she lets him pat her a little bit. He is getting really professional at walking around the place holding into things too. Wont be long before he has that funny infant waddle! The baby sign language thing is also going really well.
That's about it for now. In other interesting news, I am having an unusual cyst removed from somewhere in my abdomen (don't worry, it's all fine and not at all suspicious, just in the way when I carry Preston) which will be on Nov 9.
On our last day, we did a last minute shopping expedition at the big outlet mall right near our hotel and ate non-japanese food (we were a bit over it all by then). Actually, the night before was our best shopping time - we decided to go for a big walk to a supermarket I had seen from the bus when we first arrived (we needed more nappies since Preston had just about used up the entire supply we brought with us). It was a big hypermarket at the top of a shopping centre that we didn't know about and we went crazy and bought things at nearly every shop! Including KFC - YUK, I accidentally ended up getting a teriyaki chicken burger - bleech! Lucky they had some pretend macaroni cheese thing to wash it down with.
After all this shopping plus all the game show goodies, our suitcases were full to maximum.
We had a couple of hours to pass before we got picked up for the airport so we went to a nearby park. This city is unlike any other in Japan - a quiet pace of life, parks, lots of space.... It was really fun - there were lots of other families playing in the park and we joined in with another little girl and her parents - they couldn't speak english and we couldn't speak japanese, but we got by and our kids played together very cutely :)
Then it was off to the airport where we found our bags were only 100g under the limit before you have to pay excess, so that was lucky! We tried japanese mcdonalds too which was actually really nice. It's been such a long time since i've had mcd's and this stuff tasted good!
The flight home was reasonably uneventful, although Preston wouldn't go to sleep for 3½ hours and cried lots - it gets a bit frustrating when other people try to offer their hints and tips. Eventually he went to sleep for most of the rest of the flight.
Now we are back and i have spent the last few days listing all our game show stuff on ebay, zillion and trademe (already sold a few things to eager bidders!), and getting Preston back to normal. Luckily his appetite returned as soon as we got home and he had normal food again, and at last his rash all over his face and head seems to be disappearing. I think it is either bananas, rice or baby formula so I will experiment over the next couple of weeks.
Preston coped so well being away - we were so impressed. And he missed our cat - he was so excited to see her again! Now he is not so violent to her so she lets him pat her a little bit. He is getting really professional at walking around the place holding into things too. Wont be long before he has that funny infant waddle! The baby sign language thing is also going really well.
That's about it for now. In other interesting news, I am having an unusual cyst removed from somewhere in my abdomen (don't worry, it's all fine and not at all suspicious, just in the way when I carry Preston) which will be on Nov 9.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Japan Trip Day 5 - Tokyo Game Show again
We decided to go back for half a day to finish off a few things - Dan wanted to play a couple of the big games which required hours of queue waiting (one game was a 3 hour queue when he joined it), and i wanted to get the extra goodies I missed. So i went for 2 hours and gathered up nearly everything I wanted, and left Dan to wait in his queues.
Then I went shopping in the local mall which was fun except Preston decided to make a scene so we had to take lots of breaks. I bought quite a few clothes and some cute things for Preston. We ran into Dan randomly when he had played his games (and ended up not getting the prize he wanted which was really the reason for waiting).
We all need a rest so we might do some more shopping later. Then we are coming home tomorrow!
Then I went shopping in the local mall which was fun except Preston decided to make a scene so we had to take lots of breaks. I bought quite a few clothes and some cute things for Preston. We ran into Dan randomly when he had played his games (and ended up not getting the prize he wanted which was really the reason for waiting).
We all need a rest so we might do some more shopping later. Then we are coming home tomorrow!
Japan Trip Day 4 - Tokyo Game Show
Well today is the reason we came to Japan, and it didn't let us down. We could see the enormous queue fromo our hotel room forming from breakfast time, and it didn't even open until 10am. So we decided to wait a bit until we went in. With expected crowds of 160,000 people, this was one BIG event, and queues everywhere had times to let you know whether you even bothered waiting.
It was a pretty overwhelming thing to visit. All the stands for each gaming company had 'booth babes' which are pretty young Japanese women who dont wear much - but not in a bad way, more in a cutesy futuristic way. They have a uniform comprising of short, short skirt made of some kind of vinyl in assorted colours to match the company logo, short top that only reveals their tummy, and white shoes of some kind, either kneelength boots, or white heels. Their job is to give out promotion stuff to everyone, AND pose all day long for gamer geeks who want their photo. It's all very weird, but tasteful. At the end of the day, there was a photo session available outside every booth where the 10 or so booth babes at each would line up and pose for 10 minutes of photos. Here is ours:
The whole expo was just enormous and while lots of people took their kids, its not really ideal. The crowds become crushes near big attractions like the Playstation 3 area and it got soooo hot. Luckily lots of booth babes gave out promotional fans which Preston loved, so they kept us cool.
While Dan went on a game playing mission, I went on a hunting and gathering mission for free goodies. I ended up with SOOO MUCH STUFF - lots of useless things that were given out free, and then cooler niknaks that i earned from standing in small queues (15 mins or less) - so obviously the unpopular games - and then pretending that I knew how to play whatever console it was, let alone whatever game in japanese. I did manage to figure out some cool mobile phone games - the phones here are just amazing and you can play really good quality games and even read comics. Mostly, Preston earned me things because the booth babes thought he was so cute and he would smile and point at them, and who could resist??
The other cool spectacle to be seen was that here in Japan there is a hobby called CosPlay (dress-ups). But this is to the extreme - people seriously put a lot of effort into dressing up like anime characters from comics and cartoons. Outside the event halls were heaps of groups of cosplayers posing for anyone who wanted a photo. Here is one:
After 5 hours of crowds, extreme loudness and smelly geeks, we had run out of time to do everything, and there were lots of goodies that I hadn't collected yet. Our feet ached, and my back was tired from carrying Preston in the front-pack all that time. Luckily for us, he slept through quite a bit of the noise so it wasn't too bad.
Check out our Flickr album for lots more interesting sights! http://www.flickr.com/photos/regen/
It was a pretty overwhelming thing to visit. All the stands for each gaming company had 'booth babes' which are pretty young Japanese women who dont wear much - but not in a bad way, more in a cutesy futuristic way. They have a uniform comprising of short, short skirt made of some kind of vinyl in assorted colours to match the company logo, short top that only reveals their tummy, and white shoes of some kind, either kneelength boots, or white heels. Their job is to give out promotion stuff to everyone, AND pose all day long for gamer geeks who want their photo. It's all very weird, but tasteful. At the end of the day, there was a photo session available outside every booth where the 10 or so booth babes at each would line up and pose for 10 minutes of photos. Here is ours:
The whole expo was just enormous and while lots of people took their kids, its not really ideal. The crowds become crushes near big attractions like the Playstation 3 area and it got soooo hot. Luckily lots of booth babes gave out promotional fans which Preston loved, so they kept us cool.
While Dan went on a game playing mission, I went on a hunting and gathering mission for free goodies. I ended up with SOOO MUCH STUFF - lots of useless things that were given out free, and then cooler niknaks that i earned from standing in small queues (15 mins or less) - so obviously the unpopular games - and then pretending that I knew how to play whatever console it was, let alone whatever game in japanese. I did manage to figure out some cool mobile phone games - the phones here are just amazing and you can play really good quality games and even read comics. Mostly, Preston earned me things because the booth babes thought he was so cute and he would smile and point at them, and who could resist??
The other cool spectacle to be seen was that here in Japan there is a hobby called CosPlay (dress-ups). But this is to the extreme - people seriously put a lot of effort into dressing up like anime characters from comics and cartoons. Outside the event halls were heaps of groups of cosplayers posing for anyone who wanted a photo. Here is one:
After 5 hours of crowds, extreme loudness and smelly geeks, we had run out of time to do everything, and there were lots of goodies that I hadn't collected yet. Our feet ached, and my back was tired from carrying Preston in the front-pack all that time. Luckily for us, he slept through quite a bit of the noise so it wasn't too bad.
Check out our Flickr album for lots more interesting sights! http://www.flickr.com/photos/regen/
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