We are amidst the 1st milestones phase now with William... 1st Christmas, 1st tooth, 1st camping trip, 1st swim, 1st word ( ok - does 'Dada' count as Daddy?) 1st fundraiser...
So I'll start where I left off last time - Christmas!!
We had a great time with all 17 of us my husband's side and 12 on my side including us! Our wonderful Ergo Performance got a great work out by lots of us, including one of Williams' Grandmas (my Mum, who will be 70 this year) when she carried William on Christmas Day.
She lives in the Mona Vale Gatehouse, so it was a lovely idea to take an early Christmas morning walk through the Mona Vale gardens, with the kids while they rode on their new presents. She thought it was great and was very impressed at how comfy and light it was. She was so proud to carry her youngest grandchild around. I kept asking her if he was too heavy but she was so happy she carried him for ages, stopping every now and then to let him smell the roses. It was wonderful to celebrate William's 1st Christmas together, there is something sweet about having a new baby to cuddle under the Christmas tree with only the fairy lights glowing.
During New Years we usually go camping but with family here we postponed it but managed to fit a day trip into Peel Forest where we walked down to a river and the kids had fun building dams. It was so great to have William in the Ergo so we could walk up the riverbed and climb over the rocks- plus he always enjoys the view, fresh air and being able to look around. We had stick races down the river and since it was such a hot day the kids loved a splash in the cool river water.
After our guests left we managed to squeeze in a quick camping trip to our old spot in mid Jan at Woodend beach. It was such a nice relaxing time - and 5 of us this time! William's 1st camping trip and also he cut his 1st tooth on his 6 month Birthday! (which was interesting to experience in a tent!!)
It's a bit of a walk to the beach across the dunes there, so the Ergo was our only option. I used the sleeping hood for sunshade most of the time which came in really handy. (It was quite windy most days and his hat kept on flying off!) Once again I found it so easy to feed him too, just carried him sideways.. so easy! There are amazing 'forest' areas to at the beach and hubby enjoyed going for a walk with William in the shade. It's funny when I carry him I always hold on to his feet... especially love it when they are bare! There is nothing better than baby toes.
We have had quite a few adventures in the last couple of months (somewhere in the midst of it all we celebrated 9 years of marriage) and our Ergo performance has been with us everywhere. I used to bring it inside and hang it on the back of the bedroom door, but now it permanently lives in the car by his carseat so I can grab it anytime. My daughters school is raising money for a new gym, so together with 2 families we had a sausage sizzle at the local Hardware store. William 'helped' me take the money as the others cooked and served the sausages. I have also found the fabric of the performance to be really good in the rain!! Not that I make a practice of getting wet, but on the 1st day back at School I had to take all 3 kids into school. I was thinking of putting him in the stroller while we were at school ( not sure why now), but it was raining. So a quick decision was made as I was trying not to get soaked on the footpath. The Ergo was a faster and warmer choice for us both, and so easy to cover us up with an umbrella (which I ended up giving to my daughter). So I pulled over the sleeping hood and we all ran like mad!
I know I've said it before but its also so easy to put on - I had a lady stop by my car and ask me if I needed help the other day - "No thanks, I'm fine" I said as I clicked the buckles up. The back/chest strap is so easy on the performance as you just slide it up or down on the guides/rails.
I know William is probably old enough to carry on my back now, but I LOVE carrying him on my front. He loves it as well, and I always catching him looking up at me with a big smile. My baby is getting big! Hard to believe he'll be 8 months next week. I'm also holding him extra close ( and my 2 other children) due to the 6.3 magnitude earthquake here in my hometown Christchurch, 2 weeks ago. It's been a very difficult time for everyone. Thankfully our home is ok, damaged but we can still live in it. But 2 weeks later we are still cleaning up silt outside & inside our garage. Our large garage was our storage area and we lost a lot of our things from the liquefaction breaking through the concrete floor. It's been heartbreaking filling up the trailer with all our things to take to the dump. The aftershocks keep shaking us all, and we live near to Lyttleton and the hills so they are pretty strong here! But hubby has been working tirelessly to clean up, fix up and secure our property so we can get away for a breather next week, to have some stress-free days and nights.
So once again - we are off out of town with the Ergo - my first choice!
Take care x Gill
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