The Torrance Family

I don't like it, Mummy!

2011-04-04T07:46:00.007+12:00

Yesterday, Andrew took me on a driving lesson. It has been about 8 years since I have been behind the wheel. I was very nervous so Andrew took me to a large car-park so I could reacquaint myself with the gear stick.

About 30 minutes in a little voice perked up from the back, "I don't like it, Mummy!" Andrew responded "Don't you think mummy is a good driver, James?", "No, Daddy". "I know but she is getting better, isn't she?" "No!". "Is daddy a good driver?" "Yes" "Do you feel safer when daddy drives the car?" "Yes! Mummy is being naughty. It's not nice daddy, it's not nice!"

How's that for a confidence boost?!

Conversations with a 2 year old

2011-03-31T10:10:00.011+13:00

Every day James is becoming more eloquent. In the last few months he has gone from stringing together a few words to having full conversations with us. Here are a few of my favourite James lines:

One morning James was drawing on his chalkboard and I asked him what he was drawing, he said "It's Uncle Robert." Then he stood back from the picture took another look and said "Nooo, it's a fish!" Apparently it can be hard to tell the difference.

Potty training had been going pretty well. On the second day James had zero accidents. But after taking him to the toilet regularly throughout the day and encouraging him to "push out the poos and wees" he finally reached his limit before dinner and cried "No Mummy, please leave James. I can't push anymore!"

A couple of days ago I was trying to dress James, which is proving to be a bit of a nightmare of late. I finally managed to get a vest and pair of trousers on him and was trying to persuade him to let me put on his socks. "Come on James. Look, they say "cool dude" on them! Don't you want to be a cool dude?" he sighed "No Mummy, I'll look ridiculous!"

My biggest worries...

2011-03-24T08:19:00.007+13:00

When I was pregnant I never worried about labour, not that I had an easy one with James- far from it. I dilated really quickly, arriving at the hospital already 10 cm after only 3 hours 45 minutes of contractions, but I was in the pushing stage of labour for 5 hours 5 minutes in total. I pushed for 4 hours and 15 minutes before they decided he wasn't coming naturally and they would have to intervene. They delivered him with forceps. But second time round I didn't dwell on this. Baby was in there and had to come out, I didn't see any point in getting myself worked up.

However, there were two things I was really worried about. The first was what we would do with James when I did go into labour. Because I had dilated so quickly with James my midwife warned me that second time round my labour would probably be "very efficient" (How right she was!), we just didn't expect it to be quite so fast! All my worries- about who we should call, and would they come to us or should we take him to them, and what if he was upset and what if it was the middle of the night and he wouldn't settle, and what would happen when he woke up and we weren't there. All this worry turned out to be pointless! Since I had Anna Jane unexpectedly at home, we didn't need to call anyone for James- there wasn't time for anyone to get to us. And after she was born he came with us to the hospital. So many months of worrying and it all turned out fine!

The second thing I was really worried about was how James would react to a new baby. Throughout my pregnancy he had become very possessive of me. When he would see me hold another baby he would become cross. He would say things like, "No! That's my mummy". On occasion he would even tried to hit the baby I was holding. It was a real worry. How was I going to feed a new baby when my toddler was jealous? I prayed about it and asked others to pray about it too. I sought advice from parents of 2 or more kids. I read books about introducing your child to a new baby. I am so thankful to say that far from being jealous of his baby sister, James adores her. Indeed, now my biggest worry is that he might smoother her with his "big brother hugs". Generally, he is gentle and always very affectionate. It is such an answer to prayer.

Here they are- my beautiful children. This is real sibling love! I pray they will grow to really love and care for one another and be really good friends.

Happy St Paddy's Day!

2011-03-17T14:30:00.001+13:00

Anna Jane is 10 weeks today

2011-03-12T19:48:00.006+13:00

... and wow, what wonderful weeks they have been, after a bit of a rocky start!

On the Wednesday after we were discharged from hospital we went for her routine hips, joint and hearing test. Our midwife decided to do a blood test to check Anna Jane's jaundice and it came back showing very high levels. So we were readmitted then and there where she was put in an incubator under the lights. Thankfully, she improved quickly and we were able to leave the hospital on the Saturday. Since then her weight gain has been great and the jaundice has subsided.

She is thriving now. Such a happy and low maintenance baby. From 2 weeks old she began to give us 5 hour stretches every night. At 4 weeks this increased to 7 hours. At 10 weeks she often gives us 8 hours and is still gaining 220g a week! It's wonderful!

Anna Jane smiled at me for the first time at exactly 4 weeks old. A beautiful big smile which melted me completely.- oh and she still has all her beautiful hair. I'm hoping that means it's not going to fall out at all! Take a look at this-

James is still very much in love with her. I have no need for a baby monitor because as soon as she gives even the slightest whimper I hear "MUMMY, MUMMY, Anna Jane sad! Quick, get her Mummy- GET ANNA JANE!" He is such a sweet big brother.

We are loving being parents of two. It is much busier but also much more fun.

The Fast and Fabulous Birth Story!

2011-01-04T19:33:00.009+13:00

At 2.45 am on 1/1/11 we welcomed Anna Jane Torrance into our family- a pretty amazing way to begin the new year. The story of her delivery is quite extraordinary and we pray that her wild excitement to get into this world will continue with a wild excitement in this world. Here is her story.....

Andrew and I decided to take it easy this New Year's Eve. We had thought about having people over, we even went as far as to make a phone call a few days earlier, but when no-one answered I realised that I was actually quite relieved and said I'd rather it just be us. So we put a bottle of sparkling grape juice into our fridge, snuggled on the sofa and watched a few episodes of House M.D as we welcomed 2011. We watched the countdown on our laptop and failed to see the fireworks from our window. I commented "Well Andrew, doesn't look like bubs will be the first for 2011, sorry!". He laughed and said "Yeah baby, what's that about? You better hurry up or stay in there for another 12 months!" Apparently she was listening......

We headed to bed around 1 am. Up until this point I had felt great but as I lay down I just couldn't sleep. At 1.30 am I felt a little trickle in my underwear and wondered if my waters might be breaking. I rushed to the toilet but after having a wee decided it mustn't have been my waters, I was barely wet, so I put it down to poor bladder control i'd heard could develop in late pregnancy and went back to bed. About 10 minutes later I had a really intense contraction. "Andrew, I'm having a real contraction!" (Pain in voice!) Andrew, with his eyes still closed, rubs my back saying, "relax Julie". (Clearly he didn't believe me, I was only 38 weeks). I grabbed my mobile and noted the time, 1.45 am.

I tried to get comfortable again but soon I felt another one. I rushed to the toilet and my bowels moved. I had been on iron tablets so this was another indication to me that this was real labour. Still, I realised that real labour normally takes a long time. I went back to bed and told Andrew (who I'm pretty sure still didn't believe me.) Next contraction I jumped out of bed putting on the side lamp. I clung to the edge of the bed saying, "Andrew this is definitely it". (I think he started to believe me but still wasn't budging from the duvet.) I rushed to the toilet saying, "I don't think I can do this again." I looked down and saw the blood on my underwear. "ANDREW, I'm bleeding!" At this my husband sprung to life and bounced from the bed to the bathroom.

"What should we do?", "Call Mary". He grabbed the phone and called. It went to voicemail. "She's not answering!", "Try again... OH, here comes another oneeeee....." He tried again, it was about 2.15 am. "Julie, the voicemail says we should ring an Elizabeth Thompson if it is an emergency". "No Andrew, she's not my midwife, I want Mary! Get Mary!" Andrew tried one more time. "I'm sorry Julie, I think we need to call this other number". "Fine! OOOoooooo...". I rushed to the bathroom again. Andrew followed behind me. He was on the phone to Elizabeth. As I sat on the toilet during another contraction I felt myself open slightly.

Andrew was on the phone with Elizabeth. I could only hear his side. "I'm not sure, I think they are about every 5 minutes. They are really intense though." "Andrew, I think she's coming". I think Elizabeth heard me, she told Andrew she was going to call us an ambulance. They hung up. I was having another contraction. "What should we do with James? Should I call someone?" (He was still asleep. Thank goodness he is a good sleeper- the bathroom is right next to his bedroom and the walls are thin!) "Try Nathanja, they are closest" (our friends had just moved into a house in the next street). As he was calling her I felt the baby starting to slip out. "Andrew, I think she's coming" I stood up from the toilet. He looked between my legs, "Yes, she is!". He hung up. "What do I do?" "Call the midwife back!" He started dialing but in his panic he dialed the wrong number. "I called the wrong number I need to find it again" He rushed to the bedroom and I lay down on the floor.

"The baby is coming now! What do I do" He got on his knees. ("What do you see?") "The head is coming out" ("Put your hands under the head, tell your wife to breathe slowly") "Just breathe slowly. O.k the head is out! The cord is around the neck, what do I do?" He tried to pull the cord up but it was too tight he moved it slightly. I wasn't feeling any contractions but knew I needed to push. I pushed hard and as she moved forward the cord loosened and he got it up over the head. "O.k cord is off, she is out to her middle". I pushed again. "O.k everything but the legs is out." I no longer felt any desire to push, and wasn't having any contractions. ("O.k Andrew, you need to pull out the legs.") "How do I do that?" ("Pull gently downwards") He pulled, "oww, that hurts Andrew". He gently tried again. It was 2.45 am. She was out!

Andrew lay her on my stomach. He heard the ambulance arrive and rushed to answer the door. There was heaps of excitement as the three women rushed to my aid. The commotion woke James and I could hear him from his cot shouting "It's Santa, it's Santa ho ho ho!" With such excitement in his little voice!

Angela bent down to see how I was. "Well done, you have made our night!!!", "I'm sorry, I didn't have time to re-shave my legs!" She laughed. "That is the last thing you should be worried about!" She delivered the placenta and helped me onto the stretcher. James was up and being introduced to baby in our hallway. Liz, one of the other women said, "What's her name mummy?" "We haven't decided yet, Andrew, is she Anna or is she Kate?" "Anna, shall we call her Anna?".

I left in the ambulance and Andrew followed behind with James after giving the bathroom floor a good clean and popping all the towels and nightgowns into a hot wash (he is so well trained ;o))

My body went into a bit of shock, so when I got to the hospital they had to put a line in me. I had lost a lot of blood but thankfully I hadn't torn. They just popped in one stitch! Anna went blue during her first feed and they had to give her some oxygen but she came round quickly. Thankfully she hasn't had any further problems. They all praised Andrew for his newfound midwifery skills. So if the PhD fails.....

Anna means 'Gracious or Favour and Prayer.' Anna is mentioned in the book of Luke of the New Testament. She is a prophet who was present during the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. She had prayed and fasted in the Temple every day since she was widowed at a young age. During the presentation of Jesus she began praising God and to speak about the child to "all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." (Luke 2:38) Our prayer for Anna is that she will follow the example of this Godly woman, eager to tell the world about Jesus.

Jane also means 'Gracious or merciful' or it's Hebrew meaning is 'Gift of God.' This was Andrew's mother's name. Another amazing, Godly woman for our daughter to look toward.

We feel so blessed to welcome our beautiful daughter into our family. She has already made quite an impact on us. James is in love with her, constantly asking for "Anna hugs" and we are doting on her.

Thank you for reading her story!

Here are a few more pictures :

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

2010-11-18T13:00:00.024+13:00

...o.k so that is a little belated. We have been very busy and I'm way behind on my blog posts. My lovely husband celebrated his 26th birthday on the 30th October. I praise God for this wonderful, handsome, conscientious, Godly man. (If you know Andrew, you will know how much this comment will make him blush! It makes him uncomfortable when people point out how wonderful he is... well tough cookies, it is a wife's prerogative!) Thank you for being a fabulous husband and father. Thanks is also due to his lovely family- particularly to his wonderful parents for raising Andrew to become such a great catch ;o) I am very thankful!

In the morning James ran in to wish his daddy a happy birthday, he then ran out of our bedroom suddenly- we weren't sure what he was up to, a few seconds later he appeared with one of the cards he got for his birthday, gave it to Andrew and sang "appy burthday to you daddy" It was very cute! I made some pancakes for breakfast then we headed to the botanic gardens where we fed the ducks, went to the aviary to see and talk to the beautiful birds (James was fascinated by the parrots!) and played in the park. We then went to visit some friends to meet the new addition to their family. That afternoon we attended a little costume party hosted by some friends of ours and in the evening we enjoyed dinner with friends. It was a fantastic way to celebrate a very special day! Here are some pictures-

A card for Daddy! James spent a long time finger painting this card and another picture for Daddy to take to decorate his office! He was so excited to give them to Andrew, saying "See Daddy?- it awesome!" It is indeed!

James feeding or rather chasing the ducks!

Father-son cuddles!

James had so much fun seeing the birds, he particularly liked this parrot who was very chatty:

Giving daddy a birthday kiss

Family portrait

James loved exploring- he wanted to look at every single placard giving details of plants- it took us a while to walk a short distance!

At the play park- Andrew looks slightly evil as he watches James dangle! Good job James loves those things!

We forgot to bring our camera to the costume party but our friend took these photos of us.

I was an angel (thanks to my friend Charissa who had this costume which fits someone 7 months pregnant! James was a builder and Andrew was incredibly creative and original- he went as a skateboarder!

After I got James into his outfit Andrew felt it was lacking something and used a felt tip marker on James' vest to create the 'builder's bum'. Needless to say I wasn't impressed that he had ruined James' vest but I could definitely see the funny side and everyone at the party did too- in fact James won the prize for the 'silliest/funniest costume'

The toilet roll mummy competition. There were 3 teams. I was wrapped up for my team, and James was wrapped up by his team. His team won!

Andrew impressed the kids with some skateboard tricks outside. I love the expression on James' face in this photo!

A very heavy chocolate cake- it is delicious but I almost wish I didn't know the ingredients, not in the least bit healthy but definitely worth making for a special occasion once in a while! YUMMY!

I wish I had the time..

2010-11-16T12:37:00.008+13:00

and the energy to do more sewing. I really love it but in the short time that James naps during the day I have so many other things to do it isn't possible and in the evening I'm so tired that when I try to sew I get impatient and frustrated. I have so many projects I want to finish before Christmas, actually a few weeks before Christmas so that they make it to people in time- and since we only have about 5 weeks left, and I'm going to be VERY pregnant I really don't think I'm going to get them all finished! Aw well!

It gives me so much pleasure when I finish making something. Here are a few things I've managed to fit in over the last few months.

Humpty Dumpty

I designed and made this little Humpty Dumpty pattern myself. It was my first time making a stuff toy and I was really just experimenting. I thought it would make a sweet little gift for James for his 2nd birthday. The pattern needs a lot of work and there are many things I would change if doing it again- but James LOVES it, which is all that really matters.

Humpty Dumpty's legs and arms attach with poppers, so that he can fall apart after his 'Great Fall'

Another basket and some coasters

A birthday gift for a friend. I love making these fabric baskets and have made lots before. You can find a pattern for them here. They are so versatile and easy I make lots in different sizes. The criss- cross coasters are also very fun to make, a great way to use up fabric scraps, here is the pattern!

For a sweet baby boy:

We were so excited when good friends of ours welcomed their sweet new baby boy to the world at the end of October. Since we are approaching summer here I was wracking my brain as to what to make for him. I finally decided on a little short sleeved Kimono wrap top with matching shorts. I finished them late Saturday night, just in time for his baptism on Sunday morning. In my tiredness the shorts weren't as perfect as I would have liked them to be but I was still chuffed with the overall result. The Kimono is from this wonderful pattern which I got from another blogger, Amy, a while ago. The last time I used this pattern to make a gift for a sweet baby girl we were approaching winter so I made it with fleece and cotton layers and did some embroidery, I was so pleased with it but also thought it seemed like quite a girly pattern. I was definitely wrong, with the right fabric this makes a very sweet gift for a baby boy. I love this fabric, which my husband actually picked out as I was being very indecisive! I definitely think he made the right choice. I feel so blessed to have a husband who is so supportive of my hobby, especially considering the mess and chaos it can cause! The shorts I designed myself. I wanted them to come up quite high so that they fit over cloth nappies (I had so much trouble getting some of James' baby clothes on him when he was little, store bought clothes are often not designed to accommodate washable nappies!) These have elastic in the back and ties at the front, they have little chuffs and could potentially be 3/4 bottoms too!

I'm feeling more inspired now- maybe I'll pull out the sewing much tonight.....

Caught in the act...

2010-10-18T13:24:00.004+13:00

One morning last week James managed to get into the cupboard where the hot chocolate powder lives and decided to help himself. This is the result....

Celebrating 2 years of our precious boy!

2010-10-13T13:43:00.008+13:00

On the 10th of the 10th of 2010 our sweet boy turned 2! Our baby has become a handsome little boy and brings us so much joy every day (between the frustration, tantrums and tears that is :o) ) It feels like time has gone so quickly.

Reminiscing:

A picture of our sweet boy the day he was born:

On his first Birthday:

To celebrate our boy entering his 3rd year of life we had 13 children (all 5 and under) and their parents descend on our tiny home for a fun Spot birthday party! Are we crazy... YES! It was exhausting but absolutely wonderful! James had such a lovely time. Here are a few pictures of the big day!

The invitation:

James requested a Spot cake for his birthday (hence the theme). I looked at pictures of Spot online and drew a picture onto some grease-proof paper as a template for the cake. Here is what I hoped it would look like:

3 LARGE cakes later, lots of icing and a VERY late night for mummy = the finished cake! James was delighted with it (and still talks about it) making it all worthwhile!

Blowing out the candles:

Waiting for a slice of cake:

Yummy:

Playing pin the spot on Spot:

James may have cheated a little:

Opening presents. One of the mums knit James this cute hat. James LOVES hats, so he put it straight on!

After the party James took some books he got as gifts and sat on a bench to read them while we cleaned up. It was so cute!

We cut the balloon cake first so the entire Spot cake was left untouched (did I mention they were LARGE cakes?)

We cut Spot up and popped him in the freezer:

Family picture:

The next morning James opened a present from his Grandpa Alan- this cool net and ball. He was so exhausted he curled up in the net and said "Night night, mummy!" He had a long nap that afternoon!

This was his last birthday before he becomes a big brother! It's hard to believe I only have 3 months left to go- Yikes! Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Our Little Rock Star!

2010-10-01T20:19:00.011+13:00

Well, September is over and what a month it has been! We celebrated my 26th birthday and our 3rd wedding Anniversary, I passed my learner's driver license test (the system is different here. You have to sit 3 tests to get your license, 1 theory and 2 practical- so it's one down, 2 to go!), we have been getting excited about welcoming a little girl into our family and have been happy to have some warmer weather- oh spring, how we love you! October will be another busy month. Andrew has a Southern Sinfonia concert coming up, meaning lots of evening rehearsals and this month we will celebrate James' 2nd birthday! I can't believe my baby will be 2 in 9 days! WOW! It is also Andrew's birthday at the end of the month. (And breathe).

I have been doing lots of sewing this last week and will post photos of my latest creations soon, but for now enjoy these "Rock Star" pictures- the pictures James will probably hate me for taking! He is in raggy clothes and got into my bedroom and put on my hair-band, he even has a band on his wrist! How could I resist taking pictures when I catch him in the hallway like this?!

The mysterious gift..

2010-09-23T11:47:00.003+12:00

Here are some pictures of the mysterious gift for a friend I mentioned in my previous sewing related post. The parcel made it's way to Zurich and my friend was delighted with it!

Deborah is an enthusiastic knitter and has knit some pretty awesome things for James, so it occurred to me that she might like somewhere safe to keep all her needles and accessories. Mine end up all muddled together in bags and this little creation can put an end to such chaos.

You can find lots of patterns online but I based mine off of this tutorial.

The flap prevents the needles from falling out-

Pouches of varying widths and lengths should accommodate all needles and accessories.

And it compacts nicely...

Ta da...

I have finished another gift for another friend recently too (it has been birthday season) but I can't post pictures until she receives it. I have also cut out fabric to make more dresses and start making christmas gifts... 13 weeks until christmas- 16 until baby girl! I need to get ahead of the game!

23 weeks pregnant...

2010-09-16T23:09:00.000+12:00

Girly things...

2010-09-13T14:12:00.005+12:00

Since discovering that I am due a little girl I have been so excited to make little girl outfits. As I mentioned in a previous post I designed a little reversible wrap dress pattern for our little girl and I was so happy with the result! I reckon it could be worn 4 different ways. Here are some pictures:

Font 1

Back 1

Front 2

Back 2

I can't wait to see this on our little daughter :)

Once I got started it has been hard to stop! I made another dress as a gift and have cut out some more fabric waiting to be sewn into a third dress (I haven't finished it as I was working on another project for a friend. I can't say too much about it as it is on it's way to her but I will post pictures of it when she receives it!)

Here is the little dress I made for our friend's new little baby girl, Little Miss Evelyn Anne Easter. It is also reversible but it poppers down the back.

Front 1

Back 1

Front 2

Back 2

I'm really enjoying looking through all my girly material and deciding on future projects!

Finger paint fun!

2010-08-31T22:32:00.010+12:00

James and I had such a fun day together. We enjoyed pre-school music group in the morning then while James napped in the afternoon I finished sewing my first little dress for little Miss Torrance. (Photos coming soon!) This was followed by a fun time finger painting! Here are some photos of James tapping into his creative side:

He definitely needed his bath tonight but his smile made the mess totally worthwhile! After a fun bath-time James and I snuggled on the sofa reading stories before bed. I love being a mummy :o)

A little MISS Torrance!

2010-08-20T15:02:00.005+12:00

Yesterday we had our second trimester scan. It was so reassuring to see our little baby wriggling about in there. Everything is normal, healthy, measuring well and .... PINK! We are so excited to be having a little girl. It will be so wonderful to have a child of each gender. We finally bucked the long tradition of boys in the Torrance family! :o) Here are a few pictures of our little girl:

Profile

Head and Hands

19 weeks pregnant!

A weekend break...

2010-08-18T21:05:00.011+12:00

A few weekends ago we joined some friends of ours on a weekend break in central Otago. We stayed in a beautiful house owned by mutual friends, surrounded by breath-taking views! James loves playing with the Nicol boys, aged 4 and 2 years and so he had a blast! We enjoyed the company of great friends over dinner and board-games in the evening when kids were all in bed. We had a a really fun time!

Here are some pictures of our trip:

Andrew's version of parenting- tie your child to a tree. (Don't worry he was only there long enough for a picture)!

Sweet daddy son moments. Yes we keep James on a 'leash' ;o) around water!

Andrew goes for a swim in the lake- YES that is snow on the mountains behind him. It was FREEZING!

Playing it cool...

2010-08-18T20:59:00.003+12:00

James finds mummy's sunglasses....

"Helping" mummy make the bed!

2010-07-22T11:06:00.004+12:00

James loves being with me when I make our bed! As soon as he see that I'm about to start he jumps up into it and pulls the covers over him. We play a little game when I pretend I don't know he's there and try to flatten the big lump- I love his giggles! He loves any opportunity to climb under our covers, and often brings his teddy in too. Andrew and I regularly pull soft toys and cars out from under the covers before climbing into bed at night which James has tenderly tucked in during the day.

In other news, I walked to the shop yesterday to buy then come home to consume almost an entire jar of pickled onions. (I also stocked up on branston pickle). Textbook pregnant lady anyone? I don't remember craving pickled products when pregnant with James- instead I would consume excessive amount of fruit and vegetables! I remember having to stock up on canned peaches because I would eat the fresh fruit so quickly. But it seems at the minute I am craving that strong vinegar taste! Weird!

It was Positive....

2010-07-19T15:33:00.006+12:00

In my last post I missed out something rather special. We weren't ready to share it then but are excited to update you now- I am PREGNANT. Just over 14 weeks! We are really excited. Baby number 2 is due on the 14th January, and since James arrived early Andrew is hoping that this little babe might be the first baby in the world to be born in 2011! James has taken to pointing at my tummy (which has already started to form a little bump) and saying "Baby"! He will be 2 and 3 months when this little baby graces us with their presence, making for a really lovely age gap between siblings! We look forward to finding out the gender at my 19 week scan.

It has been a tough 1st trimester with a lot of sickness. I was put on medication to ease the vomiting, which helped a little but not completely. It sure is hard looking after a busy toddler, (James is 21 months) while suffering from morning sickness. James was very concerned, patting my back saying "k mummy?" and breaking me off bits of toilet roll as I cradled the toilet! (How sweet is that?!) I'm starting to feel a bit better and have stopped taking the medication though I still have it just in case and yesterday I did take some after an afternoon of sickness. Just praying that it phases out completely soon!

So there you have it- 2011 is going to be a busy year, we are so happy!

An update

2010-07-13T14:38:00.004+12:00

It has been a while since I last posted, there hasn't been much worth posting about, but I decided it was about time for a little update. We are mid-winter here in Dunedin and it is freezing. The winters here are still really beautiful, the sun still shines and I still manage to get my washing dried outside, not something I'd be able to say about the U.K! Our house is pretty cold though, which is very standard in Dunedin. Houses are so poorly insulated and have insufficient heating systems. We have a heat pump in our family area which keeps us cosy there but the other rooms have to be heated by electric heaters so we only heat the bedrooms just before going to bed, meaning the hall and bedrooms are super cold during the day!

Our little man is thriving though, really active and vocal now. He is 21 months. The time has gone so quickly. We just love this little man. He keeps me busy during the day, constantly up to mischief. Unfortunately he is obsessed with the telephone. If he manages to get it he sits and pushes the buttons, occassionally calling people if I don't get to him in time! He has a pretend phone which he will regualrly walk around the house talking into. His vocabulary is brilliant. He recently added "Awesome", "Cool" and "Wuv ouuu" (Love you) to his repertoire! It's so fun to watch him develop. He loves music and has a great C.D that came with a book "The wonky Donkey" which he always asks for and then spins round and round to it! He also loves books, every time we have a visitor who takes any interest in him he will bring them a book and ask them to read him a story. It is definitely the way into his heart.

For a long time we had trouble (and still have some trouble) with his dislike of his cot. Every time we put him into it to go to sleep he would get really upset and bang his head, giving himself bruises. It really worried us so we ended up setting up his travel tent to sleep in. He only just transitioned back to his regular cot this week and needs a lot of reassuring at bed time. He loves to take books to bed and last week we went in to check on him and tuck him in before we headed to bed and found him sitting up, fast asleep with a book open on his lap, it was so sweet we had to get the camera out. How sweet is this picture?!

So there you have it, a speedy catch up! I will try not to leave it too long until my next post.

Singin' in the Rain!

2010-05-29T14:31:00.005+12:00

Following a week of being house-bound due to torrential rain and experiencing severe cabin fever, the Torrance family decided to brace the weather and go splash, dance and sing in the rain. Here are some pictures we took once we got home.

James had so much fun, so did his mum and dad. It was also lovely to get dried off and come into a warm room afterwards!

Some New Creations..

2010-04-28T20:44:00.009+12:00

My recent sewing achievements..

I love, love, LOVE this design. It is a little kimono style wrap jacket, I made it from this pattern. Thanks so much to Amy for making this pattern available, free of charge! The booties are made from this tutorial- again another free pattern online! Amazing!

This was a gift made for our friend's newborn baby, a sweet little girl named Eliana (her name means 'God has answered'- just beautiful!)

I embroidered the flowers myself, my own little design. It took a long time! The inside (the yellow) are poppers, which fasten the jacket closed. It is made with a fleece layer and a cotton lining layer, so nice and warm!

A new apron for myself, my own pattern. It is reversible, with pocket and adjustable popper neck.

Exploring New Zealand with a tent and a teething child!

2010-04-16T15:19:00.012+12:00

We got a wonderful tent as a Christmas gift, which we were super excited about trying out, so after Easter we packed the car and took off to explore some more of this beautiful country! We headed to Wanaka, to a great campsite, pitched the tent and then took day trips from there. Here are some pictures of our adventure.

The lake at the campsite, James got very wet!

Playing peek-a-boo from behind trees.

Playing in the park in Wanaka- where Andrew can remember playing when he was little!

At the park in Wanaka. Don't worry- Andrew was behind him!

Our new tent- it was so great, with heaps of room inside so that we could fit a double blow-up mattress and James' port-a-cot tent inside! We got James his own little camping chair- which he loved! Such a great buy as we got it in a 50% off sale, the day before we left, for just $6.50- score!

Andrew had fun getting some nice shots of the tent at night, he did a wonderful job of getting the stars in the picture on the right.

This photo was taken following our first night in the tent, which wasn't too bad, apart from James deciding he wanted to sleep on top of me! The second night didn't go so well as James started cutting a molar and awoke in screams of pain at 2 am. We tried to give him medicine- which he spat out over the sleeping bags, we offered him milk, which he refused,- we even tried offering him chocolate (when we heard tents around us starting to unsettle!) but nothing would work! Andrew ended up having to drive him round and round the campsite for an hour, until he calmed down! That's when we decided not to risk a third night camping while our child was teething!

A day hike to see the Rob Roy Glacier- James and Andrew on the rope bridge!

During the hike Andrew became a bit snap happy, I wanted to take some more pictures of him but he didn't want to share the camera. The spot where the top right picture was taken had a sign next to it that said, "Danger of rock-fall. Absolutely no stopping!" So Andrew decided this looked like a perfect place for me to have my picture taken. I did query him- but he insisted he' be quick- should I be worried? It was a bit of a climb to the spot where the bottom picture was taken- again Andrew insisting it would make a lovely photo. I guess he was right!

We made it to the top. This is the view of Rob Roy Glacier. We watched 3 avalanches, which were pretty cool to see so close!

Some fun mummy son moments at the top! James was such a trooper- he loves hiking- and he has it pretty sorted, he travels in style and comfort in the backpack!

At Dublin Bay- It was so pretty!

We took a trip to Queenstown. We went on the Gondola- James didn't like that much! I also had a go on the Luge, a 800m track down the mountain in a little cart, feels like being inside the computer game Mario Kart, with spectacular views!

Some family pictures with a view overlooking Queenstown.

Back down on the Gondola

On the beach in Queenstown, Daddy teaches James how to throw stones.. oh dear!

Sweet Father-Son moments!

Another family portrait- though James wasn't very co-operative!

On the way home we decided to get fish & chips for dinner as a treat, James was thrilled, he has only had them once before and loved them. He very much enjoyed them, as I'm sure you can tell!

We had such a great time. Thanks for reading about our adventure!

Rainy day projects

2010-03-29T09:27:00.006+13:00

A while ago I found a tiny piece of fabric in a remnant box in one of my favourite op-shops. It was too small to do much with, but I just loved the design and colours and popped it in my basket.

I found it again a couple of weeks ago, and was trying to work out what I could do with it. I had been wanting to make some nice coasters for a while and decided that this might be perfect. I'm quite please with the results.

I still have some of the fabric left and plan to make some more, I think they may make a nice gift for someone, though I will have to work out the kinks first.

Bargain Buttons!

2010-03-26T14:40:00.008+13:00

Those who know me well, know that since I arrived in New Zealand I have discovered a love for some new hobbies. My love of sewing is less of a secret, I am so grateful to Andrew's cousin, Anna, for lending me her sewing machine (which she rarely used) while I am here and to my friend, Charissa, for teaching me how to use it! However, with this new love comes the need to find patterns, materials, craft accessories etc, and it is from here that my passion for op-shopping emerged. I love finding a bargain. This new hobby has definitely saved us a lot of money here, however, Andrew likes to tease me saying that it also costs him a fortune because I go looking when there is nothing we actually need. Today I was looking for a big pot, which I couldn't find but while looking, I found a fantastic bargain, which I am very excited about. A large bag of big, funky buttons, (152 to be exact- yes, I counted!) for only $5! This is a steal! They are normally priced at 50c per button, so it is quite a saving! ☺ I just had to share this with someone....

Funky new shorts

2010-03-05T17:02:00.003+13:00

I fell in love with some fabric I found in a material shop before christmas. I intended to make James some trousers out of it, but was so busy making christmas presents I never got round to it. I finally got some time a few weeks ago and I managed to finish them... kind of. I've made long shorts, which can become trousers later! I've added poppers around the inside leg and kept material to add the legs to them, so that they can be trouser/shorts. (And last a much longer time). I'm yet to finish the leg pieces, but James doesn't need them yet, and I love the shorts on him. Check them out:

JAMES' 1ST SURFING LESSON!!

2010-03-04T12:15:00.008+13:00

The long awaited photo's of James' 1st time on a surf-board, in the sea, at 16 months, with his daddy! Enjoy :o)

It started with a picnic...

... but James wanted to stand on Daddy's board. So....

...they started in the shallow water....

.. and gradually it got deeper

LOOK AT HIM GO!

Yes that is James behind the wave- you can just see the top of his head in the middle of this picture!

That was a big one!

Check out the stance..

Chatting about those awesome rides

oh boy that was fun!

"Maybe I should have another practice daddy?"

Like Father like Son

My house is always going to be full of surf-boards, wetsuits and sand isn't it?.... sigh... ;O)

Evening at the beach

2010-03-04T11:52:00.004+13:00

We have been enjoying walks along the beach after dinner most evenings. James loves trying out Daddy's surf board!

More waddling and splashing at the beach!

2010-03-04T11:35:00.003+13:00

It's so fun living so close to the beach, especially when the sun is shining. Here are a few more photo's of family fun!

A waddle along the beach...

2010-03-04T10:57:00.007+13:00

We have been fortunate to have a string of good weather here recently. Sunshine is bliss. Its funny how it can so drastically change my mood. We have made the most of it and been enjoying family times on the beach! Watching James try to keep his balance on the unleveled sand was very funny, but he got the hang of it quickly and I now spend most of my time as a bouncer between him and the sea! Here are some photos of his first time walking on sand (20th Feb)

Its hard work walking on sand!

... I'm gonna try eating it instead! (Don't worry- this was discouraged!)

Yes I'm getting the hang of this! (Dancing with his shadow! :O)

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle....

2010-02-18T20:54:00.008+13:00

New Zealanders seem to be much better at recycling than people in the U.K. There is a real concern for the environment and I really love and appreciate that here. Their system of rubbish collection makes much more sense to me. You don't pay for your recycling to be collected, however, you have to buy special council bin bags for your rubbish to be collected. In this way you actually feel like you are benefiting from careful recycling- the more you recycle the less you need to spend! Further, op shops (charity/second-hand stores) are really popular here. There just isn't the same snobbery about them that I think is common in the U.K. I've noticed a real Kiwi ingenuity when it comes to inventive ways to reuse old stuff. I have really enjoyed trying to become a part of that. I love looking for material in op shops that I can turn into things we need at home. I've made James clothes from remnants of material, I've made handbags from old curtains, and shopping bags from pillowcases!

Here are some shopping bags I made from material I gathered in a op shop where you fill a basket for $2!

2 bags are adapted from this pattern. I adapted one to allow slightly longer handles so you can carry it on your shoulder. These were just for our shopping!

This one is completely reversible, with reinforced handles. I found the pattern here and made a couple as a gift for some friends.

Being Crafty ;o)

2010-02-18T14:20:00.006+13:00

Now that we are fully moved into our new home I have been able to get the sewing machine back out... Oh how I missed it when I was away! Here are some pictures of a few things I have made in the last week.

These little fabric baskets are so fun to make. The pattern comes from a free tutorial available here.

I made a few as christmas presents for family and friends but forgot to take photos before giving them. Here is one I made last week as a gift for my friend's daughter-

These hair bands are my own design. They are the first ones I made so still working out the kinks but I thought they turned out o.k. They are both reversible and one has a detachable flower. It attaches with velcro, the softer velcro is sewed to the hairband and the harsher piece to the flower. This means that if you chose to wear without the flower, the soft velcro can be worn against the head without being irritating! Another gift for my friend's little girl.

Dreaming of a white Christmas....

2010-02-16T14:45:00.020+13:00

While many in NZ wished they could have a white Christmas, we were fortunate enough to get one when family generously paid for us to have a trip home for the holidays. It was a short visit, most time was spent visiting relatives and we apologise to all our good friends that we were unable to see while we were there.

It was wonderful to see family and, in particular, to reintroduce them to James, who was only 3 months old when we left the U.K. At almost 15 months old it had been nearly a year since relative had seen him in the flesh- he was a big hit and LOVED all the attention he was getting. It was really snowy in Scotland, the most snow I have ever seen there and we relished the opportunity to get some nice photos of James

and some fun family shots.

James in the snow.....

After just a day back in St Andrews James started saying Doggy! He just loved Kiera.

Train 'em up young! ;o)

Such a fabulous background!

A musician in the making- James LOVED the piano!!

On his Daddy's old trike. Apparently when Andrew was little he refused to let his parents give this away. Good job- James LOVED it!

While mum's not looking...

Visiting family in St Andrews

The Torrance Family

With Uncle Peter and Auntie Maeve

With Grandpa Alan

Visiting family in Northern Ireland

With Grandad Derek

James was VERY excited to open presents in Grandad's house!

He loved his book that plays the tune Silent Night

With Grandad Derek

With Uncle Scott

With Uncle Jeff

With Great Auntie Ursula (Where Julie gets her middle name from)

Stephen and Liz (Very close family friends- Julie has known them as Aunt and Uncle her whole life)

With Julie's cousins- Ruth and Owen

His great Auntie Mary and Great Uncle Tom

James visits his Great Grandparents in Edinburgh

With Great Granny Mary- Andrew's Paternal Grandmother

With Great Granny Torrance, Great Auntie Marion and cousin Alistair

With Great Auntie Heather

Andrew's maternal grandparents

The extended Bartholomew Family (Andrew's Mums side)

Our little Lamb!

2009-12-13T13:22:00.002+13:00

James was a little lamb in our church nativity this morning. Given his boisterous nature we were a little concerned he might become a lost sheep ;o) but he was very sweet and crawled around the front among the other children. We forgot to bring the camera, but thankfully a friend emailed us a nice picture.

'tis the season... (I forgot to post this when I wrote it a couple of weeks ago ooops!)

2009-12-04T16:38:00.008+13:00

The last month has been busy! At the end of November Andrew led his first ever Church service, which was wonderful. He did a super job. James said 'Amen' for the first time that same day! We have encouraged this and he now regularly says Amen when we pray with him.

In Dunedin you can have all four seasons in one day, so we have never known what to wear throughtout Novemeber. Now that Summer has officially begun, that still hasn't changed. Advent is here, yet it still doesn't feel like Christmas. It's not cold or dark enough. Despite it not seeming very Christmassy to me, I have been trying to get into the festive spirit. I started making a large advent calendar but haven't managed to find the time to finish it (I've been making lots of Christmas present, so between that and packing and cleaning,as our lease for our flat runs out in a few weeks time, I have been kept busy!) but I did managed to make some rudolf cupcakes!

Enjoy Advent everyone!!

We are Thankful

2009-11-26T15:31:00.012+13:00

Today is American thanksgiving and despite feeling unwell (I have come down with my 6th bout of mastitis!) I know I have lots to be thankful for. I am thankful for my family, both near and far, for wonderful, supportive friends all over the world, for my husband, who surprised me yesterday with a beautiful bunch of yellow lilies (which I am also thankful for- God's beautiful creation!), for our beautiful son, for our health, for our education, for the opportunity to be in this wonderful place, for everything God has done for us. I am thankful.

I am thankful for amazing technology that allows me to communicate my thankfulness and to share some pictures from the last month.

Here's what James is thankful for-

The Beach: We often spend time playing with the sand while daddy surfs.

His toys: Knowing this his dad tried to use them as an incentive to get James to take steps away from the furniture. He has been cruising since 8 months but still not taken steps by himself. So his dad dangled James' stuffed toy from the ceiling hoping he would try to walked toward it. Good idea, but it didn't work!

Chocolate: since discovering chocolate on his first birthday James quickly developed a love for it. A few weeks ago I caught him in the cupboard where he'd found some biscuits we'd got for youth group. He was delighted- I was not!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Mummy, Daddy and James know how to make good food!

2009-11-12T20:45:00.004+13:00

Mountain cake... but you don't know why it's special until you cut into it....

.... (half eaten!)

The men of the house hang out by the BBQ

James shows daddy how it's done!

Up the pineapple track..

2009-11-12T20:02:00.009+13:00

Saturday past was a beautiful day for our weekly hike, and we decided to try the pineapple track... it was a very good decision!

Running towards the camera!

A very happy little dude!

'Giddy-up horsey!'

It was all too much

Fast asleep!

Heading home...

Raiding the cupboard!

2009-11-06T11:54:00.003+13:00

James loves going through the kitchen cupboards. We usually keep him out by tying the handles together, but sometimes we have forgotten, and James has lots of fun pouring bisto on the floor, sucking food colouring, shaking the bag of rice... but his favourite thing to get at is the container of raisins! Early one morning, while mummy was clearing up after breakfast, James discovered that mummy had forgotten to tie the handles together... SCORE!

'I know it's here somewhere...'

'Aha! I got it'

(Just after he had emptied contents out on kitchen floor!)

'Yummy!!'

On the up side, it kept him quiet for 15 mins! :o)

Our New (to us) BBQ

2009-11-06T11:13:00.004+13:00

We have recently been passed a rather beautiful and flash BBQ, which we are very excited to have as we await summer here in New Zealand. Last night we had 3 couples round for dinner to test drive it.

The day was beautiful, sun shining, shorts and sunglasses on, but as always, as soon as we wanted to BBQ at about 7pm that evening, the rain poured. Andrew was a champ and waited for the rain to die off a bit and then he BBQed in the drizzle while everyone waited inside. He wasn't alone.. he had his good friend Mr Beer... but don't worry he was "Sotally tober!" ;o)

Flintstones, meet the Flintstones, and have a yaba daba doo time....

2009-11-02T10:27:00.008+13:00

We had to dress up for a friends Halloween party and went as the Flintstones! I made the costumes on my sewing machine and the total cost of material came to less than $2. Not having a heap of money to spend on costumes I had to get creative and went to a great op shop, where you fill a basket for $2. They have a big box of material remnants and shelves full of linen. So not only did I get the material for the costumes, but heap more material to make some more baby clothes (I filled 2 plastic bags with material all for $2)

Fred's costume was made from a large sheet, some remnants of black material and his tie is made from a pillowcase (I was so happy to find these colours), James' Bamm-bamm costume was the remainder of Fred's sheet, a kitchen roll tube with extra material wrapped round it for bamm-bamm's club, and a little sun hat we had. (We are aware that Bamm -bamm is the Rubble's child, but thought it might have lasting damage if we dressed James as pebbles!) My outfit was made from some white stretch material. I was going to make myself a big necklace but ran out of time so I'm wearing pearls, which unfortunately you can't really see in the photos below. I was very pleased with the finished products and since it was so inexpensive, so was Andrew! Check out the pictures below...

Remember to leave a comment if you enjoy our blog! It's nice for us to know who is keeping up with us. Just click on the 'comment' link below, which will bring up a box for you to write in, then press 'post comment' when you have finished.

Celebrating 1 year of James Derek Torrance

2009-10-26T10:57:00.018+13:00

On the 10th October 2009 our sweet son turned 1! What a year it has been. We have loved watching our little dude develop from that tiny newborn we marveled at in the hospital, to a fun-loving boy 'monkeying about on chairs' (as one of his uncles nicely put it!) And to think what this beautiful boy has experienced in his first year, including moving to the other side of the world!

THEN......

NOW....

We love his smiles, his cuddles, his kisses. We love it when he calls for us, 'Mama, dada', when he puts up his arms to be lifted by us, when he giggles and plays. We love everything about our sweet boy, and are proud to be his parents.

For his birthday we had a Teddy bear picnic party. Unfortunately, the weather did not permit us to hold this gathering at the park, where we had intended it to be, but with a bit of rearranging of the furniture, we managed to fit everyone in to our tiny living room (about 30 people!) Here are a few snaps we took......

We borrowed a little table and chairs set for the party, which James loved! This is him the day before his birthday, clearly very excited about the party he knew we had planned ;o)

The day of his birthday. James' Great Aunt Elspeth chats to him as he devours his party food....

James didn't quite get the concept of pass-the-parcel and cried every time he had to hand it on! Thankfully, when the parcel stopped on him, the hidden lolly calmed him right down!

First Cakes- The story Behind them....

Mummy made him a bumble bee cake, because she said she had never been to a picnic without a bee, but more importantly because when James was newborn and too upset to

sleep, Andrew made up a little song about James being a 'Bouncy Bee' and it became one of the few things that would settle him down and off to sleep.

Daddy was very proud of his monster cake creation, which he made from the leftover cake that mummy cut off when making the bee. In this picture the monster appears to have lost it's nose!

First mouthful of cake...

James' very much enjoyed his cake... we couldn't even stop him eating for a family picture.

Father & Son Cake eating competition.. Ready, Get set... GO

Yummy....

James' decides to savour the cake instead!

James embraced his bear themed birthday....

What's going on over here....

Playing with Noah's Ark

He loves that spinner

Very happy with his new toys...

Will my parents ever stop photographing me?....

What a wonderful day it. We are looking forward to what lies ahead for our precious son as he journeys on into his 2nd year!

A hike up Mount Cargill

2009-10-26T10:21:00.008+13:00

As I said previously, Andrew and I have been enjoying lots of hiking, or 'tramping' (what it is known as in NZ) recently. While we had Ben to stay for a few weeks, before he returned to the U.K after a season of snowboard training in N.Z, we took him up Mount Cargill, which is a beautiful walk, and this time we remembered the camera.

Off we went...

Ben and James go into hiding

It was extremely windy!

Mummy son shot

We all had turns with the backpack

Great opportunity for a few family pictures.

A catch up....

2009-09-26T17:58:00.009+12:00

I had wanted to wait until I had some nice pictures of us celebrating before writing this blog, but since we are yet to really celebrate, we haven't taken any. To clarify, in the last few weeks there have been a few special occasions worth celebrating, my 25th birthday (on the 6th sept), which also happened to be father's day (Andrew's first) and the next day it was our 2nd wedding Anniversary. However, over that week Andrew had rehearsals every night for a concert he was performing in, meaning we couldn't really do anything. We decided that we would wait and celebrate properly by taking a trip to Queenstown, which we are yet to do. So, once we have done that I will upload some pictures from it.

The last couple of weekends, Andrew and I have taken advantage of the nice weather and have been hiking a bit, with James enjoying the views from the backpack! Last weekend we went up Mount Cargill and today we are just back from climbing Signal Hill. It is sooo amazing to have such beautiful walks on our doorstep. However, both times we forgot to bring the camera.

James continues to thrive, he has lots of teeth now and his walking is coming along. He has yet to take steps away from the furniture but he is becoming much more confident, and just pushes the furniture anywhere he wants to go! His highchair gets moved all round the room, as does our mini coffee table. His 1st birthday is fast approaching (2 weeks today) and I am currently planning a party for him! I will be sure to upload some picture of the day!

Pucker Up Dad

2009-09-03T20:46:00.004+12:00

Spring has sprung in New Zealand! And while a beautiful pair of blackbirds have been wondering up and down the fence in our front porch, inside James has been showing his love for mummy and daddy. He has become super affectionate, constantly wanting to plant big kisses on us (often 3 or 4 in a row, with the cheekiest grin between them). And while they may be slobbery and snotty, we can't get enough of our sweet boy's loving kisses!

Up close and personal...

2009-08-27T10:18:00.020+12:00

James loves the camera. Every time it comes out he crawls over and gives you a lovely close up (although sometime they aren't so 'lovely', or he gives you a nice close up of his hand!). A few evenings ago he was in a particularly good mood after dinner,which was rubbed nicely into his hair. After a quick wipe down James prepares to pull poses for his photo shoot.

Our blue eyed boy...

If this seems familiar to you, you may just be recognising it's similarity to a particular Albert Einstein picture ;o)

He is looking more and more like a little boy and less like a little baby!

He tries to get away with everything by clapping at us... charmer!

Last smile... then it goes downhill....

Can you guess who taught him this?

"What's up doc?"

We're so proud :op

Mummy's favourite!

Slightly loony...

Looks just like daddy :op

After the a big photo-shoot, one really must get their beauty sleep!

James claps- clearly not realising where daddy is taking him!

How could one resist him?

Fun at the park!

2009-08-25T14:06:00.017+12:00

James has suddenly started to freak out when placed on sand or grass. He is o.k if you hold his hands and walk him on it, but if he has to touch it himself, to crawl for example, he can get a bit upset. I'm not entirely sure why but I suspect it is partly because of his stage of development. I read that at around 10 months babies can become afraid of things that never seemed to bother them before. We want to encourage him and reassure him that grass is good (without allowing him to eat it!). Because we don't have a garden, if we want to get him used to the feel of grass we need to take him to the botanic gardens (the entrance to which is at the end of our street). The weather is really warming up here and a few Sundays ago we took full advantage of the sunshine and had some fun in the gardens. It was a great opportunity to get a few family photos too.

Eyeing grass suspiciously!

Playing ball with mummy

Playing football with daddy

Daddy gets silly!

A Few of James' Favourite things...

2009-07-28T11:12:00.009+12:00

Eating home-made pizza.....

Reading with daddy....

Playing on the rocking horse....

Splash-time fun!

2009-07-14T21:10:00.001+12:00

Our Little Indiana Jones...

2009-07-10T21:03:00.002+12:00

'How to' lessons from James....

If mummy takes too long to get you breakfast in the morning, find some digestive biscuits....

If mummy is too busy to help you play on the rocking horse, push your box of toys across the room, climb into the box and pull yourself up....

Congratulations Uncle Peter!

2009-07-05T13:59:00.002+12:00

James claps for his Uncle Peter... who passed all his medical exams. After graduation it is Dr Torrance all the way!

Goodbye Uncle David

2009-06-30T11:16:00.007+12:00

As I write, David is on his way back to the U.K after a wonderful semester studying theology, in the University of Otago, as part of his gap year. We have loved having him here and James has had lots of fun playing with his Uncle David! We will miss him dropping in for coffee between classes and his enthusiasm when it comes to seeing James and watching him grow up. All the best with Cambridge David, we have no doubt that you will excel there!

Thanks for a great Semester. We will miss you!

First tooth!

2009-06-29T13:15:00.003+12:00

While feeding James some breakfast this morning, I noticed that his bottom tooth has cut through the gums. It hasn't fully popped up yet but I'm guessing it will in the next few days. We are hoping that this was the reason James has been so unsettled at night this week, and that he will now start sleeping right through again.... here's hoping!

Ben comes to visit!

2009-06-28T00:16:00.007+12:00

One of Andrew's best friends (and now a very good friend of mine too!) from the U.K is a snow-board instructor, who will be working in NZ this winter for 4 months. He came to stay with us for a week before heading to Wanaka. Ben was amazing with James, who had a great time with all the extra attention!

Of course Ben couldn't resist telling James all about snow-boarding, it's never too early for a few pointers!

If the boys weren't talking about snow- then they were talking about the sea! While Ben was fixing up his new surf-board James kept pulling himself onto it. A sign of the future perhaps?

*learning how to catch that wave!*

If they weren't talking about snow or surf they were watching it!

Thanks for a fun week Ben!

Just cruising!

2009-06-27T23:52:00.006+12:00

Just a few days after turning 8 months, James decided that crawling wasn't cutting it and that he had to take it up a notch, he pulled himself up on the sofa and walked along it! Needless to say we were excited, it is absolutely wonderful to watch this new stage of development, but also super tiring. He pulls himself up everywhere, meaning lots of bumps and bruises. It has also become much more important to properly strap him down in bed, otherwise he wakes us by standing up in his cot and shaking the bars! So, how long before he starts walking? ..... Watch this space!

Latest creations

2009-06-02T11:22:00.006+12:00

James has outgrown his sleeping bag, which was armless so didn't keep him quite as warm as I'd have liked. As it has gotten really cold here, and he has a habit of kicking off his blankets, I decided to make him a new one. I made this from remnants of heavy fleece material I found in an op shop, and some fighter jet material I bought reduced in a material shop (just to add style!) The arms are doubly padded for extra warmth, and the squares cover holes that I made so we can use it with his car-seat. It is pulled over the head and the flap at the bottom fastens with velcro, so easy access for nappy changing. This cost me about 30c to make (roughly 12p) Just a tad cheaper than the ready made ones you can buy in a baby store (which are $40 minimum- about £17). So I feel like my 2 hours spent making this earned me money :o)

The trousers below are also made from remnants of cord material found in an op shop. I made two pairs of these in different sizes, and I am currently working on a jacket to match! They are very 70's! :o)

A catch up....

2009-06-01T11:30:00.017+12:00

In the last month James has progressed wonderfully!

Much to his parent despair he is now crawling everywhere (started crawling 2 days before he turned 6 months), it seems our son wants to be an electrician when he grows up, judging by his fascination of wires and sockets... or perhaps a cleaner, since he seems to love the brush, mop and kitchen bin!

He is now sitting by himself really well, as you will see from the pictures below. James loves feeding himself crackers! And has a brand new high-chair to sit in.

But probably what excites us most is his talking!!! Ma's the word.... well, actually da's the word! He said 'da-da' first.... but said 'ma-ma' later the same day- how p.c of him!

Julie also enjoyed her first mother's day... being adequately spoiled by the 2 wonderful boys in her life! Mother's day here is later than in the U.K, so we celebrated it on the 10th May. (click on pictures to enlarge!)

James enjoys reading books. Mummy takes him to the library lots, and he get new stories and c.d's with nursery rhymes. He loves his own book though.... 'you're not so scary Sid!' A brilliant puppet book we bought him in the u.k before leaving. (click on pictures to enlarge!)

James also got a brand new toy. Thanks to Uncle Jeff, James now owns a brilliant new train... his very own first set of wheels! (click on pictures to enlarge!)

It has been a wonderful month watching him grow and reach new developmental milestones! We are having so much fun with him!

Traveling with friends.. Naseby, Central Otago

2009-04-27T10:31:00.015+12:00

Last weekend Andrew, James and I took off to Naseby with the Nicol family. We had lots of fun and it was great to see James interacting with Elliot- 3yrs and Theo-1yr. The cottage or 'crib' was lovely, with a beautiful open fire and a garden full of bramble berries. We went to the park, swimming dam and Andrew and I had our first experience of wine tasting! Charissa showed me how to use a sewing machine (see post below) and we enjoyed evenings of dinner, wine, board games and trouser making! It was sad when we had to leave. Here are some pictures of our trip.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

After our trip wine tasting we stopped by a lake and the boys went swimming

Making my way out for a fun family photo

Unfortunately this pic is a little blurry but I love it because James is smiling too.

After daddy finished his swim

At the swimming dam just a few minutes walk from the cottage- we had some great weather

James chills out and watches his daddy

Andrew obviously missed the sign :o)

James practising walking

Searching for gold

Mummy gets creative...

2009-04-27T10:09:00.007+12:00

Andrew's cousin from NZ was given a sewing machine that belonged to her Grandmother, since she reckoned she would rarely use it she passed it to me to use. I had never used one before but making your own clothes is popular here, many of the friends I have made make clothes for their children. So when we went to Naseby, central Otago, (see above) with our friends, the women brought their machines to the little cottage and sat by the open fire and made baby clothes (how modern, right? :o) ). Charissa showed me how to use the machine and off I went. These trousers were the final product of my first attempt!

(you can click on the pictures to enlarge)

Happy Birthday Sinead!

2009-04-16T16:40:00.002+12:00

Sinead, James' Godparent's daughter who I looked after a few mornings a week when completing my undergraduate, turns 3 on the 17th April 2009. We will be away for her actual birthday but once a fortnight I meet with 4 other women and their children for morning tea, we take it in turns to host and this morning it was my turn, so I was able to host a mini birthday party for Sinead and made her a ladybird birthday cake. This is the first time I have ever designed/ decorated a cake (and only the second cake I have ever made) and I was really pleased with the turn out. It tasted pretty good and Sinead loved it. I am looking forward to making lots of fun birthday cakes in the future for our little dude!

Easter on the farm!

2009-04-16T14:59:00.018+12:00

Andrew's aunt and uncle own a farm in Mount Summers (near Chistchurch). We spent Easter weekend there. It was a short visit but we had lots of fun introducing James to lots of new, weird and wonderful sights and sounds. He loved it and so did we.

Having a cuddle with Great Aunt Elspeth

Spot the family resemblance...

James loved that necklace... Andrew did not.

Riding on the back of the truck like real men

Family Photo

What is it they say about NZ and sheep?

Meeting the dogs

On our walk... such breath-taking scenery!

James acting sheepish Baaa baa :o)

On the motorbike brooommmm brooommm!

Tractor time. James wanted to take off, pulling at all the levers. Thankfully Aunt Elspeth still had the keys.

Meeting Simon.

A trip to the park!

2009-04-02T15:29:00.009+13:00

On Saturday (30th March) we took a trip to the park where Andrew played when he was little... I think Andrew enjoyed it more than James.

Rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub!!

2009-04-02T15:17:00.005+13:00

Weaning continues to go really well, James now eats; carrot, sweet potato, potato, parsnip, banana and baby rice! he was not a huge fan of Parsnip at first, vomiting twice while eating it, but I have since mixed it with carrot and that goes down very well. See for yourself....

Re-connecting and making friends

2009-03-31T15:48:00.006+13:00

It has been so wonderful to connect with all the friends that Alan and Jane (Andrew's parents) made when they lived in New Zealand. We have felt very blessed to have been greeted by such a Torrance fan-club! It has been particularly lovely to reconnect with Jenny Beck, Jane's best friend. I had met her once in the U.K when she came visiting. She is an amazing person and it is not difficult to see why her and Jane became so close. A mother of 7 sons, who owns her own Law firm and still has the time to welcome us and make sure we are settling in! We have enjoyed getting to know each other over pots of tea, (when she found out I had never read Little Women she was not impressed and bought me a copy as a gift :o) I am nearly finished it and have enjoyed it immensely!) Jenny has loved getting to know James. We had Jenny and family for dinner last week and I took a few pictures of her enjoying a cuddle with him.

Thanks Auntie Ruth!

2009-03-19T21:47:00.004+13:00

St Patrick's day was loud in New Zealand! Students had a massive costume party in the next street and riots broke out. We didn't get a lot of sleep that night, so we couldn't have been more thrilled in the morning to find a parcel from my wonderful cousin, and childhood pen-pal, Ruth. She wrote that we each got a present.

We weren't told what was for who, so we had to work it out ourselves.

James does his 'drunk Irish-man' impression. Convincing huh?

We thought we should upload one of a nice smile too!

Thanks to the wonderful Mulligan family!

I should have known better....

2009-03-18T15:10:00.003+13:00

..... than to moan to Andrew about the excess weight that I hadn't shifted since having James. Andrew is less of the sympathetic, 'Oh don't worry Julie, you still look great' and more of the 'If it bothers you so much get your butt out and do some proper exercise!' type of person! He was not going to let me get depressed about it. When we first arrived in NZ, I was making the most of the beautiful weather and going running 3 times a week. That slowly decreased as the weather turned colder. But cold, wet, windy weather is not a good enough excuse for my health conscious husband! The day after I had complained about it, he arrived home at lunch-time, 'Right, I'm home to look after James, go for your run!' (Not really the sympathy I was looking for! Especially since he sat there watching a movie and eating pasta and sausages!) He was on my back for the week after, and I guess he knows me best because after only a week of being back out running, I have so much more energy and I'm generally feeling much better about myself, I have my own motivation back! I have even taken up the 'Tracy Anderson Method' and have been doing her mat work-out for 45 minutes a day. Pre-pregnancy clothing... here I come!

Uncle David turns 18!

2009-03-16T12:24:00.010+13:00

David Alan Torrance turned 18 on the 15th March, while in New Zealand as part of his gap year. Our present to him was to host a birthday dinner party for him, which he was thrilled with. Here are some photos from his special day!

Everyone had their fill of Lasagna, home-made pizza and Salad (David's meal choice) and David enjoyed a bottle of beer!

The heavy chocolate cake, so heavy it literally caused my whisk to explode!

I totally missed the actual blowing out of the candles!

Dessert! Yum

Cutting his birthday cake!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!

Unconventional Play!

2009-03-16T11:43:00.009+13:00

We have been discovering that James does not like to play with things in the conventional way. Instead he has a fascination with pulling things apart. Below is an example of this.

When I started washing some dishes James' play-mat looked like this-

2 minutes later and.....

Pulling things apart makes him so happy!

Thanks Auntie Deborah!

2009-03-13T10:39:00.005+13:00

James loved the beautiful parcel he received from Auntie Deborah (my wonderful bridesmaid!) The cardigan was the very first thing she knitted which wasn't a scarf! We were very impressed. James loved the monster puppet from India, and the sparkly card, which was specially written to him!

Mummy, Daddy, I'm a big boy now, please may I have some big boy food?

2009-03-08T20:49:00.017+13:00

On the 6th March, 4 days before James turns 5 months, Andrew and I decided to try him on solids. After reading up I realised that our little dude was exhibiting all the signs of being ready; bringing everything to his mouth, trying to grab our plate, glass, fork etc at the table and watching intently as we ate. Mummy bought the stuff he needed, daddy got the camera and camcorder ready and baby got into his full bib.... Lets go.......

Mummy got the stuff all ready, yum yum, 1 tablespoon of baby rice mixed with breastmilk... could it be any more ummmm... bland?

Daddy talks baby through what is about to happen, he gets him into his full bib (a present from the lovely Shona) and we get started.......

The first mouthful!

Yum, I like this mummy.....

A few mouthfuls and attempts at grabbing the spoon later.....

James really enjoyed every spoonful. I commented to Andrew that most of the books I read said that the first time can be a real disaster, with child spitting out the foreign food and crying, who replied 'But that's not what Torrances do, is it James?!' We had one very contented little boy afterwards, and he slept all night! Horray!

After 2 days of 1 tablespoon of baby rice, I upped the amount to 2 1/2 tablespoons today, he cried when he was done, he loves it!

Practising sitting

2009-03-04T14:47:00.009+13:00

This morning James and I headed to the swimming pool with Judy and Sinead. James worked really hard, he even tried some surfing on a foam board :O) He loves the water now, meaning bath time is a very very wet time, with him splashing the entire place!

After a nap to recover from swimming James practised sitting.

It was hard work so James needed a bit of a rest. He loves to snuggle his teddy, which has a matching outfit! This lovely outfit was from his Great Aunt Heather, and the teddy was from his Uncle Scott.

Daddy time

2009-03-04T14:36:00.005+13:00

When my boys hang out together I often catch them watching movies! James loves to snuggle up to his daddy during these special times. Here are a few sneaky shots I took.

Especially for Uncle Scott!

2009-03-04T14:21:00.006+13:00

James perfects his footwork while wearing the Northern Ireland Kit his Uncle Scott bought him for Christmas.

James is horrified by Uncle David's taste in Music!

2009-02-20T16:53:00.007+13:00

When David returned to Dunedin after spending some time with Aunt Elspeth and family, he and James had some catch-up boy time. Yesterday, David wanted to listen to some music with James. James was not impressed with the stuff David was playing! I took some photos of them hanging out! James' expressions are priceless.

First they chat about what Uncle David likes to listen to...

Then James has a look to see if his uncle has anything good on his itunes account...

He was horrified by what he found!

Clearly James has a lot of work to do when it comes to his Uncle's music taste! What are grown ups listening to these days?!

James has now doubled his birth weight!

2009-02-19T11:21:00.008+13:00

On Tuesday James got weighed by the plunket nurse and has reached a big 16 lbs (Plunket is similar to the health visitor scheme in the U.K), he also had his 2nd lot of immunisations. He did really well only crying when he was being injected and settling straight down with a cuddle from mummy. He is becoming a bit of a mummy's boy at the minute and is starting to become more shy with unfamiliar people.

Some photos of our road trip!

2009-02-17T11:26:00.006+13:00

Here are some photos the Kinnears sent us of our road trip with them (look at previous posts!). They took a picture of James as co-captain of the camper-van with Douglas as captain! James' cap, which we were given by the Baxters (Bill Baxter led the orchestra which Andrew played in while in St Andrews), appropriately had pictures of cars, vans and traffic lights on it!

Just rolling around...

2009-02-16T16:33:00.002+13:00

So our little dude has become quite the little mover over the last week. He rolls everywhere! He managed to roll his travel bassinet (I don't know it's real name, it's like a sleeping bag/ moses basket) unto it's side when he was supposed to be getting ready for bed.

We have had quite a busy week, on Tuesday we went to a music group, it was like Little Cherubs only less story and more singing. It was run by some older ladies who attend our church. James really enjoyed it, although it was hard to meet new people because so many attend! On Wednesday we went swimming with Judy and Sinead. That was super fun. The pool here is awesome, huge and very inexpensive if you go with your baby/toddler before 11.30 am! Score! Friday morning we went for a walk with Judy and Sinead round the botanic gardens, feeding the ducks and then headed to the play-park there. Judy kept an eye on James while I went for a jog. Since I got here I have been much more dedicated to getting fit and have been going for runs round the botanic gardens about 3 times a week. I'm feeling much better for it. Jason was away at a conference for the weekend so Judy and Sinead came to ours for dinner on Friday night. Sinead loves James and is very sweet with him and it is so nice to have Judy here. Just to have a friend who you don't have to start from scratch with and who knows what, who, and where you are talking about when referring to St Andrews, and of course the Goroncys are James' Godparents and they love to watch him develop! It's so cool that I have been able to watch Sinead grow from she was only a week old and I will have the pleasure of seeing her starting school! They brought us some eggs from their chickens, which were especially nice when Andrew used them to make pancakes as a valentines breakfast! Yum! We had a lovely morning attending the farmers market in the morning (my choice) and after lunch we headed to the beach and I took pictures of him surfing (his choice). It was such a fun day. Andrew bought me two lovely pendants which are both quite particular to NZ, one was a dove shaped pendant which was made from a green coloured precious stone and they other was a Paua shell pendant! I had bought him some photo frames with pictures of him and James and promised to take lots of pictures of him surfing! On Sunday morning we made it to our first b@ch service, a breakfast definitely worth getting up for! Fruit salad, croissants and pastries, nice breads, cereal, real coffee... yum! After church Murray (Andrew's supervisor) asked us if we would consider leading a homegroup for teenagers. The results of a survey they did in church showed lots wanted to have a group 'Starting out in the faith'. We said we would love to. So within a month of being here we have been signed up to 2 youth groups! We had Helen and Trevor, some keen undergrads who we are supporting in leading a younger youth group, round after dinner for some dessert and tea on Sunday evening, to discuss the group. Andrew and I are feeling quite excited about the potential of this group. It will certainly be a change to work with Christian kids and we are excited to be able to open our home for pizza nights and board games.

Waitangi Weekend- Sunday

2009-02-11T14:25:00.007+13:00

We intended to start Sunday morning off by going to 'B@CH' (bach) which is a breakfast church connected with our 10 am service, however after our Saturday adventures, making it to Church by 8.30 am wasn't gonna happen. After church we went to the Ross' holiday cottage for lunch and had a swim in their pool! This was James' first time in a swimming pool, he did really well. His swimming short were a little big and I still hadn't got a wet-top for him so I improvised and pull his onesie over the outside of his shorts. Very cool. Here are some before and after shots.

Waitangi Weekend- Saturday

2009-02-10T20:53:00.021+13:00

Waitangi Day is a public holiday held each year on the 6th Feb to celebrate the signing of the treaty of Waitangi, NZ's founding document, on that date in 1840. This year it fell on a Friday, meaning school children who had only returned from their summer break on Tuesday, had a long weekend. Saturday lunchtime we set off on our first Waitanga weekend adventure. We decided to go and visit the Moeraki boulders, but as with every trip in NZ we knew there would be plenty of other fun place to visit on the way.

As predicted there was a lovely cliff walk on the way. So we set off. In New Zealand you can drive so high without realising it... if it wasn't for the popping ears! We had lots of fun getting good shots with our new camera.

The walks always have stunning views here. It is so amazing to have such awesome scenery right on our doorstep. (We literally have some beautiful views from our sitting room window!)

My boys sticking their tongues out!

You will probably have realised that James at 4 months is not quite old enough to be asked to stick out his tongue... It just happened that as I was taking the picture he stuck it out so I told Andrew to do it too. Such a brilliant picture!

James- just chilling (And don't worry Andrew is hiding behind him. James isn't quite advanced enough to hold himself in a sitting position, this was three days before he turned 4 months old)

We finished our beautiful walk and decided to start heading to the boulders.

We arrived at the wrong time in the tide... meaning that we got very wet trousers! Apparently they look far more impressed when they aren't quite so surrounded by splashing waves (although I still thought they looked spectacular!) James had a great time!

When we left we saw a sign for a lighthouse, which Andrew thought might be the rather large impressive one... it wasn't the one that he thought it was but it had another really cool walk, and we saw more penguins! My boys got a bit tired and had to stop for a rest.

By the time we got home we were very tired, so we decided to watch a movie. I picked from a selection that Andrew offered. We watched 'Step Brothers'. It was not a great movie but it had a few laughs. Andrew complained (as always) about my selection. I don't think I will be allowed to pick next time! :o)

We had such a fun day! SMILE

Waitangi Weekend- Friday

2009-02-10T20:44:00.003+13:00

So, after very little in the way of 'Church-Hopping' we have settled into a church, somewhat accidentally (we attended it 2 Sunday's in a row, the first because Graham Redding, an ex student of Alan and family friend, was preaching, and the next week because Murray, Andrew's supervisor was preaching) but we are happy to be there, and for those who know them, it is where the Goroncys also attend. It somehow got out that Andrew and I were experienced in youth work. So our details were taken and on Friday the couple responsible for coordinating the youth group came to our home to encourage us to get involved. They would like us to support another couple who are just starting out in youth work, and occasionally to lead it to give them a break. It certainly seems like it will be easier than our previous youth work. :o)

A bit on the wild side...

2009-02-03T11:46:00.033+13:00

While visiting Duncan and adventuring around NZ, Sally and Douglas Kinnear took us on a road trip in their camper van! (Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of James travelling upfront as co-captain!) We headed to Sandfly beach where we had a picnic (in the van as it was very windy there) then hiked down to see the seals and sea-lions. We have never been so close to them, it was very fun, although I certainly did not want to get in their way with James strapped to me, apparently they can move pretty quickly when they want to. Andrew was trying to convince Duncan to give one of the sleeping sea-lions a kick on the bum to see what it would do... ummm... maybe not so clever. Thankfully Duncan was bright enough not to attempt it :o) But they did get chased by a rather noisy sea-lion pup, as you can see from the pictures! Almost like a celebrity chasing the paparazzi...

We then headed to the albatross center, we didn't go on an actual tour as we really didn't need to, they came so close. Their wing span was amazing, so majestic! I let James have a peek through my binoculars, he didn't really understand and tried to eat them! (Most things go in his mouth now.)

Since we had done all that we decided we might as well make the most of it and just head down to the Penguin viewing resort! The Kinnears very generously paid for us all to go

on one of the tours, which was incredible! We got to see them up very close. It was fun seeing the chicks. They are huge. Apparently they are fed 2 meals a day, which consists of 1 kilo of fish per meal... about a 5th of their birth weight. Their mothers do this so that when they leave them to find their own

food they have storage, as it will normally take them 2 days to get used to fishing and catch something. Is this a good mothering tip? ;O) I was a little worried that James would disturb them and cause a problem on the tour, but he was fascinated and just singing to himself for the first part of the tour and fell asleep for the second half (when we needed to be particularly quiet... which was perfect!) It was such a fun day.

We made it home at about 9 pm, in time for our next door

neighbours flat-warming party to really get going.... :o)

A stroll in the secret gardens....

2009-01-29T16:55:00.009+13:00

So the day after purchasing our rather snazzy new stroller, thanks to my Dad, we went for a nice walk in the Botanic Gardens, which is a 2 minute walk from our house. James was rather unimpressed with his daddy trying to leave him up a tree, so we took him to see the ducks instead! It got pretty hot so it wasn't a long walk. We went to the beach to cool down.... am I rubbing it in too much? :)

James at 3 months

2009-01-29T16:03:00.002+13:00

We have arrived!

2009-01-29T14:52:00.002+13:00

So with 6 large cases, 3 pieces of carry on, 1 viola, 1 car-seat, and 3 month old James, Julie and Andrew successfully made the 36 hour Journey to New Zealand, leaving Edinburgh at 10am on Sunday 11th and arriving in Dunedin 12 noon Tuesday 13th. We are thoroughly enjoying our time here already, taking in the scenery, loving the hospitality and chilling on the beaches! What a beautiful place to be. I (Julie) decided to set up a blog for all those sensible people who do not have facebook accounts, so that they too can keep up to date with our progress, since so many of you begged me for photos after my last email. So here we go... The Torrance Family blog.... enjoy!