Book Nooks and Bug Hunts

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After 10 days of blustery, gloomy weather, the sun is finally back and Wellington looks like the beautiful city we landed in again. Our house is ringed with windows which means that when it's cold and windy, it's drafty and chilly inside if we don't have the space heaters running. But on sunny days, the entire house is warmed instantly and every room is bright and happy.

While Bruce is off making money and curing people, the kids and I are spending our days exploring our new neighborhood and finding new adventures to be had. Unfortunately, the weather has been so terrible that we've had to stay close to home, but even so, we've found plenty to explore.

Amelia has discovered her new favorite reading spot, as you can see above. "This is my book nook, Mommy. You have to tell your body to balance, balance, and lean against this pole. " It's also one of the few places that Quinn can't climb to yet, so she's safe from her little brother eating her reading material.

We've also been on the search for bugs since we arrived as this is one of Amelia's and Quinn's favorite pastimes (Amelia finds them and gently picks them up, builds them homes, feeds them etc. Quinn pounces on them and unless I act quickly enough, devours them.). You can see Quinn in action below. Oddly enough, we haven't found a single bug anywhere....no ants, no flies, no bees, no roly polys, no beetles....nothing. It's winter here but even so, lots of flowers are in bloom, leaves are on trees, birds are singing...but no bugs. I have yet to spot a squirrel either, Anne and Sarah!

Our most exciting accomplishment of last week (aside from my pride in getting both children home from each of our outings without either one of them being blown away) was Amelia's first day of school. We tried out the neighborhood Playcentre which is a parent co-op preschool held in the mornings from 9:15-11:45 and is just a short walk down the street. Amelia was so delighted about the prospect of going to "real school" that she spent a full 20 minutes packing and repacking her backpack the night before we went.

When we set off the next morning, she was very sad to realize that a yellow school bus wasn't going to pick us up. And frankly, I was also quite sad when we stepped out into the pouring rain and gale force winds whipping through the neighborhood. But, we trudged on with Quinn strapped to my back and Amelia in the stroller. It's about a 10 minute walk door to door, and luckily, the rain slowed to a heavy drizzle by the time we got close to the playcentre. Still, we were soaked, and Amelia kept drying off her face b/c our hoods can't stop the wind from blowing the rain right under them. I was so proud of us for sticking it out and kept telling the kids that we were almost there and we'd be dry and cozy in no time. We arrived and I opened the gate, expecting to see all the little ones inside reading a book around a circle, or having a warm snack in the little kitchen - but, no, in fact, they were all OUTSIDE playing on the playground. Seriously. Moms, kids, and even a granddad are all standing around in the rain (the playground is not covered), playing on the playground as if there's nothing unusual about it at all. So, we pulled our hoods down tighter and pretended like we were Kiwis who like playing in the frigid rain. :) Even so, we loved our morning there and both Quinn and Amelia made themselves right at home. It was a very welcoming group of moms and children and we're hoping to enroll for 2 days a week for this term.

If the sunshine holds till after nap today, we're going to try out the Botanical Gardens this afternoon.