Hi all, just a short update from the Grey's....
We have been here for 3 weeks now, and it's been wonderful!
The flight was great, we flew from SA to Sydney, then on to Auckland NZ. Our toddler Phoenix (almost 2 years) slept through most of the flight, as it was night time in SA, Phew!. Arrived about 8 pm, and Daniel's NZ Friends greeted us at the airport. We stayed with them for a little over a week. Surfing the net, looking for cars & Accommodation. They were very welcoming, and warm, and made us feel right at home! John, Delysse, Harry & Tom, you are a true blessing!!!
Jet lag lasted for about a week.
We bought a car about 6 days after landing, a 2005 Ford Mondeo Station wagon for $12000. It use to be a rental, so it's in Perfect condition, even smells new!
You can imagine our surprise when the car salesman handed us the key, and then stepped back so we can take the car for a test drive ALONE! The whole experience was very pleasing, and FAST!
Got a wonderful Rental property in Mount Wellington - $500 pw. 4 Bedroom, 2 bathroom, Laundry, living room, kitchen/dining room. All Wooden floors, Victorian bath, we LOVE it! The property is on the market, so we are seriously thinking of buying. We also got ALL our furniture & Household goods for really good prices. (Did a lot of bargaining with the furniture shop, and it really paid off! Saved us about $600 overall).
I went for my first Mid-wife appointment on Wednesday. Two very friendly ladies, who patiently answered ALL of my questions and more (I kept them busy for almost 2 hours) I am now a day shy of 35 weeks, so, if this little boy is to follow his two older brothers, it could be only 3 weeks before we meet him! YIKES! Luckily we met up with some old SA friends of Daniel, Ruellyn and her husband Louis, they have been a great help, showing us where to bargain buy. And Ruellyn has been helping me get hold of some baby-stuff, as I have nothing but clothes and blankets for this little one. (Our container has STILL not left SA! The company we are using has no idea when they’ll be able to send it)
I have to admit, the weather has not been perfect, today being our first full day of sunshine (3 weeks in) but to NZ’s defense, August was one of their driest months to date, so these last couple of weeks rain has been making up for that (well, that is my guess at least) And to my understanding, high summer only starts mid to late January. But today was STUNNING! What a beautiful day, a bit on the cold side, 19 degrees Celsius being the high, but Sunshine all day! We went to church this morning, picked up a baby bouncer we brought on Trade Me for a Bargain, and went straight home to do some gardening.
Overall, I am absolutely LOVING NZ! It’s such a strange sensation, you don’t realize it when you’re living in South-Africa, but you are constantly under stress (Because of the crime & work situation) About a week after we landed, both Daniel & I got this calm over us, we’re just so happy & content.
Daniel is officially starting his business tomorrow. He has a long list of contacts to see. NZ is out of recession, so now is a very good time to start up his graphic design business. (Or should I rather say restart) He will be running his company under the same name he used last time he lived here – Pure Graphics. We are all very optimistic, and excited.
I just want to thank God above all, without His Grace we would not have made it this far so successfully.
We are happy & home!
I will post some pictures soon!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
I can’t believe it!
Last time I wrote it was 34 days to go and now there are only eight-teen sleeps left!
Wow! Things are steaming ahead.
Two weeks ago our leather couches, motorcycle and billiard table where still lurking around and now they’re gone!
Thank you Lord – we prayed about everyone of these items and one by one we sold them for reasonable prices.
We even got down on our knees for Phoenix’s unabridged birth certificate and the next day we had it sorted.
We are flying to New Zealand fully legal, we all have the correct passports and visa’s.
The only thing we still need is a good job and we are sorted. Even that won’t be a problem. Why would God drop me now?
I haven’t been unemployed for longer than two months since 1991. Cool.
Phoenix has had his first ever visit to the hospital (ok besides when he was born). Five days ago he was so exited when Melissa and I got home after work that he ran straight into the couch. He smashed his top lip so hard that the weird little piece of skin between your gums and lip ripped in half – Youch! He didn’t cry much and it seems as if it has already healed. I think we had a bigger fright than he did.
He is real piece of work. Not naughty at all and he keeps himself busy by playing with his toys and he loves his Barney Coloring Book.
He will be an artist like his dad – that’s for sure.
On Tuesday our worldly goods were packed by the moving company and sent off to the warehouse where it will be put into a container headed for New Zealand. We’ll probably see our stuff in two or three months time.
Very weird to be in our big empty house. Weird and exciting.
My mother-in-law Estee is visiting and besides her setting off the alarm every other morning we are really enjoying her company.
Watched the Curious Case of Benjamin Button last night – it was, in the words of my mother in law, fair to mediocre.
Cheers,
Dan
Coloring with Ouma Estee
All of our boxes in front of our house
In the truck heading off to the container
Phoenix's first trip to Emergency. Melissa had to wear a mask to protect her from swine-flu
Last time I wrote it was 34 days to go and now there are only eight-teen sleeps left!
Wow! Things are steaming ahead.
Two weeks ago our leather couches, motorcycle and billiard table where still lurking around and now they’re gone!
Thank you Lord – we prayed about everyone of these items and one by one we sold them for reasonable prices.
We even got down on our knees for Phoenix’s unabridged birth certificate and the next day we had it sorted.
We are flying to New Zealand fully legal, we all have the correct passports and visa’s.
The only thing we still need is a good job and we are sorted. Even that won’t be a problem. Why would God drop me now?
I haven’t been unemployed for longer than two months since 1991. Cool.
Phoenix has had his first ever visit to the hospital (ok besides when he was born). Five days ago he was so exited when Melissa and I got home after work that he ran straight into the couch. He smashed his top lip so hard that the weird little piece of skin between your gums and lip ripped in half – Youch! He didn’t cry much and it seems as if it has already healed. I think we had a bigger fright than he did.
He is real piece of work. Not naughty at all and he keeps himself busy by playing with his toys and he loves his Barney Coloring Book.
He will be an artist like his dad – that’s for sure.
On Tuesday our worldly goods were packed by the moving company and sent off to the warehouse where it will be put into a container headed for New Zealand. We’ll probably see our stuff in two or three months time.
Very weird to be in our big empty house. Weird and exciting.
My mother-in-law Estee is visiting and besides her setting off the alarm every other morning we are really enjoying her company.
Watched the Curious Case of Benjamin Button last night – it was, in the words of my mother in law, fair to mediocre.
Cheers,
Dan
Coloring with Ouma Estee
All of our boxes in front of our house
In the truck heading off to the container
Phoenix's first trip to Emergency. Melissa had to wear a mask to protect her from swine-flu
Friday, August 28, 2009
16 August Bubble fun
Just to show that we do still have some fun, even with all the planning, packing, Stressing & moving.
A couple of pics of our little poser! (He really does strike a pose whenever he sees a camera!)
One of Phoenix's favorite things in the world - BUBBLES!!
A couple of pics of our little poser! (He really does strike a pose whenever he sees a camera!)
One of Phoenix's favorite things in the world - BUBBLES!!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
34 Days to go
Wow, only 34 days!!
We had such a blessed week and month! Here is a short list of things we were REALLY worrying about:
1. Selling the Pathfinder - this was basically the only thing we owe money on. We have property, but we are renting it out, so that is covered.
2. Selling our Leather-couch set - it is huge, and whenever someone is interested they tell us it's to big once they've seen it. We can't take it over-seas with us, and we don't want to put it in storage either.
3. Selling our snooker table.
4. And for me, the BIGGEST worry was getting my & Phoenix's Visa's in time.
So after lots of prayer and Faith:
1. Pathfinder sold, rather quick .
2. Leather-couch set sold and picked up Yesterday.
3. Snooker table, we do have a buyer for it. It looks like he will be taking it next week some time.
4. The Visa's, well, what a story! We handed in my Visa application at New-Zealand High Commission 2 and a half weeks ago. We got an e-mail from them requesting our son's Visa application as well, basically saying mine can't be fully processed without Phoenix's with. We told them that we are short one document, and they said we should hand in what we've got, they'll then start processing his, and then just wait for that one document before making a decision.
Our biggest problem with Phoenix's application was that, at that time, we had not received his unabridged birth-certificate yet. It's suppose to take 4-6 weeks, at this point we have been waiting for 8 weeks, and if you phone home affairs you get told the exact same thing every time "It is on my system, but not processed yet, I don't know what the problem is, I'll elevate it for you. You can call back in a week's time" We tried EVERYTHING! We asked if we could re-apply (and pay again) the answer was No, then we asked if we could talk to a superior, only to be told "this is a call centre, there is no manager/superior you can talk to" Then we asked for the number of someone ANYONE who can just explain to us what the hold up is - nothing. Finally, last Wednesday (11 weeks after requesting the document) Daniel and I decided to just drive to Home affairs Head Office and stay there till we got some sort of feedback. After an hour of standing in reception, right at the front desk, we got 4 numbers we could call. Daniel called 3 of the numbers - no answer, he then called the fourth number, and got put through to the wrong person. She was delightful, explained to us that there is a backlog in unabridged certificates, and they are busy putting babies on the system alphabetically, but they're now only busy with babies born in 2002. UNBELIEVABLE!!!
She also said she spoke to a person the other day, he was in tears, he's been waiting for NINE MONTHS for his son's unabridged birth certificate, and he too can't get visa's done without it.
She then told us that there is a form you can fill in (it seems that the people at the call centre are not aware of the existence of this form) and fax to her, she can then put it on the system as soon as she gets it. Daniel asked her if this means that we have to drive 30 minutes to Cullinan (again) only to get the form. She then asked him to hold the line for a sec. Came back and said to him, that she asked her superior, and she was given permission to do it over the phone. 5 questions later the document was ready for collection!! I swear, I was about to get in my car, drive over to home affairs head office, and kiss her!!
8:20am Tuesday morning I picked the certificate up from Cullinan, went straight to NZ High Commission and dropped it off. 2 hours later we got the following e-mail:
WE HAVE BEEN APPROVED!!! Woohoooo! NZ here we come!
Daniel picked our passports up Friday afternoon. Sweetheart that he is, I was surprised with my Passport incl. Visa, and the Black Eyed Peas CD I've been meaning to buy, with a message written inside from my husband, congratulating me on my Visa approval.
So, Here it is:
(Including Daniel NZ & SA VISA's)
Needless to say we've been saying a lot of thank you prayers. God is good!!
We had such a blessed week and month! Here is a short list of things we were REALLY worrying about:
1. Selling the Pathfinder - this was basically the only thing we owe money on. We have property, but we are renting it out, so that is covered.
2. Selling our Leather-couch set - it is huge, and whenever someone is interested they tell us it's to big once they've seen it. We can't take it over-seas with us, and we don't want to put it in storage either.
3. Selling our snooker table.
4. And for me, the BIGGEST worry was getting my & Phoenix's Visa's in time.
So after lots of prayer and Faith:
1. Pathfinder sold, rather quick .
2. Leather-couch set sold and picked up Yesterday.
3. Snooker table, we do have a buyer for it. It looks like he will be taking it next week some time.
4. The Visa's, well, what a story! We handed in my Visa application at New-Zealand High Commission 2 and a half weeks ago. We got an e-mail from them requesting our son's Visa application as well, basically saying mine can't be fully processed without Phoenix's with. We told them that we are short one document, and they said we should hand in what we've got, they'll then start processing his, and then just wait for that one document before making a decision.
Our biggest problem with Phoenix's application was that, at that time, we had not received his unabridged birth-certificate yet. It's suppose to take 4-6 weeks, at this point we have been waiting for 8 weeks, and if you phone home affairs you get told the exact same thing every time "It is on my system, but not processed yet, I don't know what the problem is, I'll elevate it for you. You can call back in a week's time" We tried EVERYTHING! We asked if we could re-apply (and pay again) the answer was No, then we asked if we could talk to a superior, only to be told "this is a call centre, there is no manager/superior you can talk to" Then we asked for the number of someone ANYONE who can just explain to us what the hold up is - nothing. Finally, last Wednesday (11 weeks after requesting the document) Daniel and I decided to just drive to Home affairs Head Office and stay there till we got some sort of feedback. After an hour of standing in reception, right at the front desk, we got 4 numbers we could call. Daniel called 3 of the numbers - no answer, he then called the fourth number, and got put through to the wrong person. She was delightful, explained to us that there is a backlog in unabridged certificates, and they are busy putting babies on the system alphabetically, but they're now only busy with babies born in 2002. UNBELIEVABLE!!!
She also said she spoke to a person the other day, he was in tears, he's been waiting for NINE MONTHS for his son's unabridged birth certificate, and he too can't get visa's done without it.
She then told us that there is a form you can fill in (it seems that the people at the call centre are not aware of the existence of this form) and fax to her, she can then put it on the system as soon as she gets it. Daniel asked her if this means that we have to drive 30 minutes to Cullinan (again) only to get the form. She then asked him to hold the line for a sec. Came back and said to him, that she asked her superior, and she was given permission to do it over the phone. 5 questions later the document was ready for collection!! I swear, I was about to get in my car, drive over to home affairs head office, and kiss her!!
8:20am Tuesday morning I picked the certificate up from Cullinan, went straight to NZ High Commission and dropped it off. 2 hours later we got the following e-mail:
WE HAVE BEEN APPROVED!!! Woohoooo! NZ here we come!
Daniel picked our passports up Friday afternoon. Sweetheart that he is, I was surprised with my Passport incl. Visa, and the Black Eyed Peas CD I've been meaning to buy, with a message written inside from my husband, congratulating me on my Visa approval.
So, Here it is:
(Including Daniel NZ & SA VISA's)
Needless to say we've been saying a lot of thank you prayers. God is good!!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Khai Kruger Grey
We would like you to "meet" the almost newest addition to the Grey Family.
Khai Kruger Grey.
We went in for our 3D/4D scan yesterday, and were greeted by the sweetest little face. Khai was shy at first, hiding his face in my placenta, but after a few minutes turned to give us a peek into his world. The tech mentioned that he looks a lot like big brother Phoenix. I could definitely see that they have the same mouth (same as daddy, perfect for kisses), and it looks like they might have the same forehead as well, but it looks like Khai got my high cheek-bones. I am SO in love with this little boy! Like Phoenix he as LOTS of hair already, I could actually see it on the 2D scan, but we didn't get any pictures of it.
He weighs approximately 985g - standard for his gestational age. And everything else is perfectly healthy (heart, kidney's etc.)
It look like Phoenix is starting to understand that I have a baby in my belly. When ever he sees a baby he runs up to me, lifts my shirt and softly pats my belly and says "baba". This is very cute, but really not so cute in public places when I'm wearing one of my pre-pregnancy jeans, and have a top covering all the bits that is NOT looking so good, and then have an adorable toddler lifting up my shirt for all to see. (And if I stop him from lifting it I get a temper tantrum)
We take him with us to all the ultra-sound scan's, so when ever he sees an image on the screen (even if you can't make out what it is) he points and says "baba". Oh, and he HAS to sit ON the examining table with me.
Some of Phoenix's words include:
myno - MYNE (mine)
okoek - O KOEK (don't know how to explain that one in english)
Aghuu - LOVE YOU
igg - LIG (light)
aal - AAN (on)
aag - AF (off)
appo - APPEL (apple)
pie - PIESANG (Banana)
datie - DANKIE (Thank you)
du - DUMMY
Teddie - TEDDIE
boo boo - His favorite movie "BABY'S DAY OUT" The story is about a baby called boo-boo
Pap - PAP (Porridge)
Now my pregnancy brain kicked in again and I can't think of other words, there are LOTS more (like mamma & pappa) but thank goodness for that moment of clarity!D
He also Hums the Noddy song whenever he sees a picture of noddy, or if he wants to watch it.
He absolutely LOVES drawing, I can keep him busy literally for HOURS if I give him lost of paper and a pen. I leant the hard way not to leave him alone with pen in hand when he drew on our leather couches that we had to sell the next day. Luckily for us the guy who brought them (at an absolute bargain) just shrugged his shoulders and said "nothing leather dye can't fix.
Here are some pics of Khai!
Some pics of Phoenix (and us)
Phoenix doing his favorite thing - Drawing (note the scrabble on the table as well!)
All that drawing really wears you out!!
Hanging with Lila's boys (Justin & Xander)
Mom & Dad
Khai Kruger Grey.
We went in for our 3D/4D scan yesterday, and were greeted by the sweetest little face. Khai was shy at first, hiding his face in my placenta, but after a few minutes turned to give us a peek into his world. The tech mentioned that he looks a lot like big brother Phoenix. I could definitely see that they have the same mouth (same as daddy, perfect for kisses), and it looks like they might have the same forehead as well, but it looks like Khai got my high cheek-bones. I am SO in love with this little boy! Like Phoenix he as LOTS of hair already, I could actually see it on the 2D scan, but we didn't get any pictures of it.
He weighs approximately 985g - standard for his gestational age. And everything else is perfectly healthy (heart, kidney's etc.)
It look like Phoenix is starting to understand that I have a baby in my belly. When ever he sees a baby he runs up to me, lifts my shirt and softly pats my belly and says "baba". This is very cute, but really not so cute in public places when I'm wearing one of my pre-pregnancy jeans, and have a top covering all the bits that is NOT looking so good, and then have an adorable toddler lifting up my shirt for all to see. (And if I stop him from lifting it I get a temper tantrum)
We take him with us to all the ultra-sound scan's, so when ever he sees an image on the screen (even if you can't make out what it is) he points and says "baba". Oh, and he HAS to sit ON the examining table with me.
Some of Phoenix's words include:
myno - MYNE (mine)
okoek - O KOEK (don't know how to explain that one in english)
Aghuu - LOVE YOU
igg - LIG (light)
aal - AAN (on)
aag - AF (off)
appo - APPEL (apple)
pie - PIESANG (Banana)
datie - DANKIE (Thank you)
du - DUMMY
Teddie - TEDDIE
boo boo - His favorite movie "BABY'S DAY OUT" The story is about a baby called boo-boo
Pap - PAP (Porridge)
Now my pregnancy brain kicked in again and I can't think of other words, there are LOTS more (like mamma & pappa) but thank goodness for that moment of clarity!D
He also Hums the Noddy song whenever he sees a picture of noddy, or if he wants to watch it.
He absolutely LOVES drawing, I can keep him busy literally for HOURS if I give him lost of paper and a pen. I leant the hard way not to leave him alone with pen in hand when he drew on our leather couches that we had to sell the next day. Luckily for us the guy who brought them (at an absolute bargain) just shrugged his shoulders and said "nothing leather dye can't fix.
Here are some pics of Khai!
Some pics of Phoenix (and us)
Phoenix doing his favorite thing - Drawing (note the scrabble on the table as well!)
All that drawing really wears you out!!
Hanging with Lila's boys (Justin & Xander)
Mom & Dad
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Baby Grey Update
Went to doctor yesterday and my son is 100% healthy!
Just like Phoenix my boy – due in November – is developing exactly as Phoenix, our middle son, did.
It is so cool seeing his little heart beat at 144bpm! We could even see all four heart chambers! He weighs in at a healthy 657g, that is almost 100g more than an average foetus his age (24 weeks).
The Lord is great! I cannot believe that all of us were made in this way. Just being here on earth and breathing is a miracle! Living and surviving inside mom for so long and able to give your first breath – all a miracle.
Thanks Melissa for carrying this child and looking after yourself as well. Us men are so irresponsible – no wonder we were never allowed to carry our children!
Anyway – 50 days to go before we land in New Zealand.
Exciting!
Cheers,
Daniel Grey
Just like Phoenix my boy – due in November – is developing exactly as Phoenix, our middle son, did.
It is so cool seeing his little heart beat at 144bpm! We could even see all four heart chambers! He weighs in at a healthy 657g, that is almost 100g more than an average foetus his age (24 weeks).
The Lord is great! I cannot believe that all of us were made in this way. Just being here on earth and breathing is a miracle! Living and surviving inside mom for so long and able to give your first breath – all a miracle.
Thanks Melissa for carrying this child and looking after yourself as well. Us men are so irresponsible – no wonder we were never allowed to carry our children!
Anyway – 50 days to go before we land in New Zealand.
Exciting!
Cheers,
Daniel Grey
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
News
My wife and I are enjoying exciting, and stressful, times.
We are preparing to move to New Zealand in September and have a whole bunch of things to sort out.
We’ve started to sell off most of our material things and we’ll probably only take toys and clothes. The rest we’ll buy on that side. Luckily we’ve sold our cars and the only thing we owe money on is our property and that’s only costing us about R5,000 per month. We’ve saved up quite a bit of money that should last us at least 6 months or more. Cars are cheap in New Zealand and renting is very reasonable. The biggest obstacle is to get our visa’s sorted before we fly on 18 September and of course it would be great if I could land a good job before we leave.
Another headache is to find good, reliable tenants for our plot. Just heard this morning that the one is in a financial crisis and won’t be able to rent much longer. So I’ll need a new tenant from 1 September and we leave on the 18th! My only hope (well, not my only) is my cousin Lila’s husband, Peter. I know he’ll be able to be a good landlord for me.
Things will work out, they always have. The Lord has been with us every step of the way throughout our lives.
I’m really looking forward to the birth of my second son in November. New Zealand will hopefully give us a great laid back lifestyle, one is which we can spend even more time together as a little family.
Obviously I’m, a bit worried and a little bit scared of the future, but I know the Lord will provide.
Keep your eyes on this blog as we give you updates on how well all our belongings are selling, the new tenants, hopefully the final sale of our property, the progress of our visa’s, the healthy pregnancy (like tomorrow’s sonar), and of course our big going away party.
Cheers,
Dan
We are preparing to move to New Zealand in September and have a whole bunch of things to sort out.
We’ve started to sell off most of our material things and we’ll probably only take toys and clothes. The rest we’ll buy on that side. Luckily we’ve sold our cars and the only thing we owe money on is our property and that’s only costing us about R5,000 per month. We’ve saved up quite a bit of money that should last us at least 6 months or more. Cars are cheap in New Zealand and renting is very reasonable. The biggest obstacle is to get our visa’s sorted before we fly on 18 September and of course it would be great if I could land a good job before we leave.
Another headache is to find good, reliable tenants for our plot. Just heard this morning that the one is in a financial crisis and won’t be able to rent much longer. So I’ll need a new tenant from 1 September and we leave on the 18th! My only hope (well, not my only) is my cousin Lila’s husband, Peter. I know he’ll be able to be a good landlord for me.
Things will work out, they always have. The Lord has been with us every step of the way throughout our lives.
I’m really looking forward to the birth of my second son in November. New Zealand will hopefully give us a great laid back lifestyle, one is which we can spend even more time together as a little family.
Obviously I’m, a bit worried and a little bit scared of the future, but I know the Lord will provide.
Keep your eyes on this blog as we give you updates on how well all our belongings are selling, the new tenants, hopefully the final sale of our property, the progress of our visa’s, the healthy pregnancy (like tomorrow’s sonar), and of course our big going away party.
Cheers,
Dan
Monday, June 22, 2009
Father's Day Breakfast in bed...
Let me begin this post by thanking Daniel for being such a good dad (and husband).
Father's day started early for me (Melissa), Phoenix was up at 6, and I took him upstairs to the TV room so his dad could sleep in. We made Daniel a father's day card, and I baked fresh cheese muffins for breakfast (from scratch!). We then served Daniel breakfast in bed. I also banned my husband from doing any work, and he was not allowed near the computer. He had to REALLY take the day off and relax, and he did. I'll post some father's day pics at the bottom of this post.
Other Grey news.
Phoenix is getting cuter and cuter by the day! He loves reading, and looking through books, and if I ask him to point out objects (like a lemon, or dog ect.) he does so perfectly. He sings along with some of his fav. TV shows - he doesn't sing the words, but he mimics the way it sounds. And he LOVES music and dancing. If he is in the mood for a snack he often goes to the fridge and take out an apple for himself. Or if he wants chips he'll call me and then point to what he wants.
Our little boy also got his first time-out yesterday. He wanted something he couldn't get and then cried for it, NON STOP. So I gave him time-out after numerous warning. It worked GREAT! He got up once, but I put him back in his time-out spot, and he sat there for the rest of the minute. Afterwards he behaved like a dream! (I have to say Daniel and I were both amazed, we did not think it would work)
He also eats all by himself, and if I offer to feed him he says "nee nee nee" (nee =no).
I have been sick most of last week, and not being able to take any meds. (because of the pregnancy) made it SO much worse! My wonderful husband pampered me, and did EVERYTHING (taking care of Phoenix, making sure we have supper, and clean the house, AND all that after a hard day of work) for 3 days! Oh my gosh I LOVE DANIEL! I was back on my feet yesterday, just on time for father's day.
With our moving plans, well, all is going according to plan. We are busy selling all our belongings, and that is going great. We might have to move our flight date forward about two weeks, as the paper work on SA side is taking a bit longer than we expected (Police clearance takes 6-8 weeks, and we only handed Daniel's request in last week) We only need about 4 more documents, then we can send in our Visa request, and according to NZ immigration, it should take about 4 weeks for me and Phoenix's Visa's to come through once we send in the forms.
Well, that is all for now.
Here are some Father's day photo's as mentioned before:
Home-baked cheese muffins
Happy Father's Day dad
Breakfast in bed
Some honey for Phoenix
Phoenix LOVED my muffins!
Father's day started early for me (Melissa), Phoenix was up at 6, and I took him upstairs to the TV room so his dad could sleep in. We made Daniel a father's day card, and I baked fresh cheese muffins for breakfast (from scratch!). We then served Daniel breakfast in bed. I also banned my husband from doing any work, and he was not allowed near the computer. He had to REALLY take the day off and relax, and he did. I'll post some father's day pics at the bottom of this post.
Other Grey news.
Phoenix is getting cuter and cuter by the day! He loves reading, and looking through books, and if I ask him to point out objects (like a lemon, or dog ect.) he does so perfectly. He sings along with some of his fav. TV shows - he doesn't sing the words, but he mimics the way it sounds. And he LOVES music and dancing. If he is in the mood for a snack he often goes to the fridge and take out an apple for himself. Or if he wants chips he'll call me and then point to what he wants.
Our little boy also got his first time-out yesterday. He wanted something he couldn't get and then cried for it, NON STOP. So I gave him time-out after numerous warning. It worked GREAT! He got up once, but I put him back in his time-out spot, and he sat there for the rest of the minute. Afterwards he behaved like a dream! (I have to say Daniel and I were both amazed, we did not think it would work)
He also eats all by himself, and if I offer to feed him he says "nee nee nee" (nee =no).
I have been sick most of last week, and not being able to take any meds. (because of the pregnancy) made it SO much worse! My wonderful husband pampered me, and did EVERYTHING (taking care of Phoenix, making sure we have supper, and clean the house, AND all that after a hard day of work) for 3 days! Oh my gosh I LOVE DANIEL! I was back on my feet yesterday, just on time for father's day.
With our moving plans, well, all is going according to plan. We are busy selling all our belongings, and that is going great. We might have to move our flight date forward about two weeks, as the paper work on SA side is taking a bit longer than we expected (Police clearance takes 6-8 weeks, and we only handed Daniel's request in last week) We only need about 4 more documents, then we can send in our Visa request, and according to NZ immigration, it should take about 4 weeks for me and Phoenix's Visa's to come through once we send in the forms.
Well, that is all for now.
Here are some Father's day photo's as mentioned before:
Home-baked cheese muffins
Happy Father's Day dad
Breakfast in bed
Some honey for Phoenix
Phoenix LOVED my muffins!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
18 weeks, 22 to go!
Little Grey is growing just beautifully! We went for another monthly checkup, and he is just perfect. And definitively a HE! (and also not a shy little guy!) His CRL measurement (top of head to bum) is 6.75 cm, and his little foot is 2 cm. Cutest little thing! I've got some sweet profile shots. Sorry about the quality, I took a pic of a pic....
Week 18: Sweet Potato
All About Baby
At week 18, your baby-to-be's senses are maturing. Hiss able to hear sounds within his own comfortable environment, such as the sound of your heart beating, as well as external sounds, such as your voice. He may become more active for certain sounds, and you'll feel his movements. At this point in his development he's still small enough that he has plenty of room to wiggle.
Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.
And some Pics of me, I also included a pic of when I was 18 weeks Pregnant with Phoenix to compare.
Week 18: Sweet Potato
All About Baby
At week 18, your baby-to-be's senses are maturing. Hiss able to hear sounds within his own comfortable environment, such as the sound of your heart beating, as well as external sounds, such as your voice. He may become more active for certain sounds, and you'll feel his movements. At this point in his development he's still small enough that he has plenty of room to wiggle.
Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.
And some Pics of me, I also included a pic of when I was 18 weeks Pregnant with Phoenix to compare.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Our new family plans
A few amazing things have happened since we last did a blog more than a year ago.
We've decided to move to New Zealand, then decided to stay in South Africa and buy a house.
My property didn't sell (I have a large tract of land north of Pretoria) and after renting, free loading and now renting again we've decided that it's time to move on again.
The main thrust behind this decision is our kids. Phoenix is now 19 months old and he has a brother on the way. NZ has amazing health care and we decided that it would be a good idea to go before the birth.
We are now frantically trying to sell all our possessions as it's too expensive to send all our belongings overseas via container.
Well, that's the update for now.
We're very excited and kind of amped and stressed.
See ya later
Dan
We've decided to move to New Zealand, then decided to stay in South Africa and buy a house.
My property didn't sell (I have a large tract of land north of Pretoria) and after renting, free loading and now renting again we've decided that it's time to move on again.
The main thrust behind this decision is our kids. Phoenix is now 19 months old and he has a brother on the way. NZ has amazing health care and we decided that it would be a good idea to go before the birth.
We are now frantically trying to sell all our possessions as it's too expensive to send all our belongings overseas via container.
Well, that's the update for now.
We're very excited and kind of amped and stressed.
See ya later
Dan
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