This is my last day of work for five weeks. I will practice being a stay at home dad. I must admit that the thought overwhelms me a little bit, but I know it will be a great experience for me and hopefully for little Liam as well.

Celeste's parents leave on Monday, I think they are very nervous about me being the full-time caregiver of Liam. This morning I was playing with Liam a bit and Celeste's dad says "I hope you will have the patience to deal with him" I think he was referring to me having patience with Liam, but it might have been the other way around. Either way, I think we will be ok. I have always had good patience with children.

I actually think it will be easier for me with no one else around. I do not like feeling as though my every action is being judged...maybe judged is not the right term...hmmm, let's try again. I do not like the fact that everyone is paying such close attention to my behaviour with the boy, always ready to offer advice and to take him away from me if it seems I am not succeeding. It will be better for me when it is just the two of us figuring things out. Does that make any sense?

Things are very good though. The boy is happy and healthy. Last night he only woke up once in the night for feeding. That was wonderful! Hopefully we can have many more nights like that and then move on to no wakes per night. Sigh, that will be the day :-)

We have gotten very close to purchasing a very small section of land on which to build a house. It seems we are leaning against it now because of our extreme lack of finances. I am still pretty into the idea but I think the more budget-minded half of this marriage will likely win out.

I am excited for the five weeks with Liam, I am hopeful we will get out of the house and do fun things together. Hopefully the weather will cooperate a bit. I would like to take daily walks with Sam and Liam, hopefully at the beach or at least around the neighbourhood.

I suppose that is enough of an update for now. Hey, why don't you check out my newest blogging project greenlinksnz.blogspot.com and tell me what you think so far.

Cheers,

Jon

Hi, I seem to have missed March. Though I was definitely busy, I was not so busy that I couldn't have written. Just not up for it apparently.

Liam is doing very well. Just turned 8 weeks old and is happy and healthy. He smiles quite a bit and is awake all sorts of hours through the day and night. Celeste's parents are still providing the bulk of the housework and keep Liam overnight. That will have to change soon as they are flying back to Manila on May 19th.

Celeste and I got married on Monday of this week. Very few people knew about it beforehand. We just had a quiet little ceremony at the Department of Internal Affairs. Patrick was my witness, Didith was Celeste's. Celeste's parents, Liam and Clark (husband of Didith) were also present. We had some bubbles and snacks afterward.

We then brought some beer home and hung out for awhile. Celeste was asleep by about 8pm! She hadn't had alcohol for quite some time. :-)

At work I have a full team for the first time in a year! It is quite nice to be 3 strong in the office instead of just me. It has been very busy without and it is still busy with the team but much more enjoyable and manageable.  We will definitely be able to do more events and be more streamlined, organised and effective with the new team in place.

Samson is doing very well as well. He's a good boy. He really wants to play with the boy Liam, but as of yet we aren't allowing much contact. Another few months and things will be better for the two of them I think.

Cheers.

At work 

Hi,

We are ten days into the experiment that is parenthood. So far the baby seems to be surviving pretty well.

Right now Liam is sitting naked (plus diaper) in his mom's arms. She is telling him what it will be like when he grows up. 

The naked part is me asserting my parental prerogative. I hate him being in clothes all the time while the Lafavillas apparently feel it is a sin to ever show baby skin to the air. Now he is getting dressed again, obviously my parental powers only go so far. Last night Liam slept in the same bed as us, only the second time he has stayed in our room since we got him home. Celeste's parents have been taking him at night so that Celeste can get much needed rest.

In the hospital they were debating giving Celeste a blood transfusion from low blood count after labour. We all decided against it, but it has meant that she needs a lot of rest. 

Last night went pretty well though. He is pretty easy still at this point. If he wakes up he just needs to be fed and/or changed and he tends to go right back to sleep. If nothing else a quick walk around the house tends to get him ready to sleep again.

I have been trying to do a good amount of assisting. Mostly that has involved washing/sterilising breast pump and bottles, changing diapers and clothing and carrying him around. Oh, I also feed him sometimes (expressed milk or formula).

Otherwise, not a lot to do with baby. We all spend a lot of time staring at him and commenting on how cute (guapo) and handsome (and hairy) he is. This is one furry little monkey, arms, back...you name it he's got fur on it. 

Samson is handling it all pretty well. He is always sniffing around the boy, but he is usually pretty understanding that if he licks he gets removed from the area so avoids that in the main. Whenever baby cries he tends to run to check out what the problem is. When baby slept on the bed, Samson was very good about staying well clear of him.  It will be great once the kid is old enough that he and Sam can spend more quality time together. 

For now, that's about it.

Maybe you should read this for more Liam info, written by his mother...

Some pix for your enjoyment. Someday the whole birth story will be told, right now though, I would like to sleep.

Liam is born! It was a long slog and Celeste was exhausted by the end of it, but Liam is healthy and happy at 3.78kg. He's beautiful!

More later...

Hi All,

We are still waiting for the bundle of joy to unbundle. Some of us less patiently than others.

Celeste's parents are here now. At this moment they are outside pruning (deeply) some trees that keep the sun from shining on our back lawn. They are so committed to their pursuit that I am slightly concerned for the well-being of the trees. Well, I suppose it is worth it to keep them busy :-)

Today is Waitangi Day here in NZ, that means no work for one and exists as recognition of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. We are reflecting on this day by hanging around the house. Celeste is not interested in doing anything besides pushing the baby out as soon as possible (and with as little effort as possible, good luck with that).

Things are interesting at work as I am trying to get organised and plan a couple of events, but I am also knowing that at any day a baby could be born and I will not be in the office for a couple of weeks so it is hard to start new things and make meeting times or appointments.

I am tired, unfortunately I think that will continue to be the case for the foreseeable future.

Cheers all...

Stuff. I've gotten a little mini sickness of some sort. Sore throat, a little achy, tired. Nothing serious, just annoying.

Playing Tegan and Sara, they always make me smile.

Brought Samson in with me today so that Celeste can rest without interruption until we get home.

The baby is still holding on to his happy life on the inside. Celeste is pretty sure that it won't last much longer. I think it's just wishful thinking since she is soooooo uncomfortable (sure I've not written that before ;-)).

Work is keeping me busy.

Celeste's parents arrive on Wednesday. That will be different for sure.

My 12" PowerBook met with a hideous accident, but luckily I have Home Contents insurance which covers the loss. I've replaced it with a MacBook that I am waiting for Apple to send me. I am a bit excited for the speed upgrade but I am sad to have lost the old workhorse. That computer put up with a lot of abuse from me.

Looks like the family (minus samson) will be spending next x-mas in the States. Anyone that has extra room for us in the US please let us know. We will be trying to make the trip as inexpensively as possible. Our current itinerary has us flying in and out of San Francisco, driving to Portland, finding our way to Charleston and then NYC then back west to fly home.

Oh, please share in comments all advice for labour and the first few days of life with a newborn!!! I'm very curious!

Yups.

In the studio being a DJ again :-)
Yesterday was supposed to be a Baby Shower for little Liam, the organisers of the event ended up unable to attend and because it is a long weekend many others were off to more exotic places as well.

Luckily we had a few people come by and it was very enjoyable. Celeste probably would not have enjoyed tons of people anyway, she originally did not feel comfortable with the idea of a baby shower at all. We had a few people from Celeste's work and then our friends Rosie and Guy.

Guy and Rosie came over with little Jos (4.5 months old). He's a very cute little guy and I held him for quite awhile :-) I decided that if by some crazy universal coincidence that both Jos and Liam end up gay, they can hook up :-) Sorry Midge!

Life is good here in Wellington. We had a major cleaning in preparation for the festivities yesterday, that was good. Cleaned up about a ton of leaves from around the outside of the house, that ended up doing a bit of a number on my old-man back. Feeling it today for sure. Nice to have the house looking good though.

We still have a bit of organising to complete before baby and parents arrive but we're really getting close now!

Oh, Baby Shower Gifts, one of my favourite baby toys! The square plastic with different shapes that you fit shaped blocks through. Love those :-) Some baby wipes, baby soap, baby massage oil, baby oil. Good stuff!

Blazers are keeping up the fight! 2 and 2 so far on the road trip

Hi,

Just watched the Blazers lose to the Celtics. Seemed like a good game, just did not have it in us to take it at the end.

Still waiting for baby Liam, I hope I am not writing that repeatedly for the next 4 weeks!

Saturday we are having a baby shower that Celeste's friends at work are putting on for her. There is a lot of cleaning around the house for me to do before then. We have about a ton of leaves around our house that I need to clean up. Plenty of cleaning to do inside the house as well.

This is a long weekend in NZ so many people will be vacating Wellington for the weekend. Not us, we will be here to watch over our fair city. We will take Samson to the beach so he can frolic about. He has been enjoying the beach more and more. He now will run into the water just for the fun of it, we find it very cute!

Well, back to waiting for the baby...

Listening to the Blazers put their new streak to four. 

Yesterday Celeste had another scan on the baby. According to the scan little Liam is ready to be born at any moment! So...we need to get ready! We need to pack bags to take to hospital, we need to wash all of his clothes and bedding and things so they're fresh and ready. We need to make his cot. We need to clean the house. We need to organise all of his stuff! Ack :-)

Today Celeste had to renew her passport. That took much longer than it should have. 

That's really about it, just wanted to mention the scan.

Hi All,

Well, the Blazers finally lost a game, was bound to happen sometime, no? But they've gone on to win two since then and have their chance for revenge today against the Utah Jazz (streakbusters). Let's see if we can get our current streak up to 3 in a row :-)

Things are good. Had one scare in the past week. Samson managed to get his paws on a tray of X-mas chocolates while we were out of the house and ate about 200 grams of milk chocolate treats. Luckily we was still very much alive when we returned. He did end up quite ill however. Diarrhea and Vomiting were the order of the next 24 hours. Silly boy doesn't learn his lesson though, he still very much wants chocolate. Sigh, he takes after his dad for sure.

Speaking of being dad...before sleeping last night I really started to think about this new commitment that is about to be born. It is very intense to think about. This little human will be 100% dependent on Celeste and me for quite a long time. Especially the first few years there is a lot of time and energy that needs to be focused on the little beastie. Really cool and scary.

Also starting to realise he could be born at any minute now. We have got to get everything ready to go! He's very active (causing his mom all sorts of misery already, once again, definitely takes after his dad). We need to organise his clothes and a bag of stuff to take to the hospital with us and get his cot ready to be slept in (though I still believe he will be sleeping in our bed). Celeste finished painting his dresser yesterday, bright red! Isn't that just asking for ADHD???

Haven't even thought about how to deal with other logistical issues, haven't let my Health Insurance company know about the impending addition to the fam. Haven't dealt with citizenship issues...hopefully that's not so urgent to deal with.

I have been pretty good at taking over many of the household chores but am still very much reliant on Let for meals. I know that's not good of me, but I enjoy her cooking so much! I did make fresh salsa and guacamole the other day. Man, it's so good. I had to make salsa just cuz the salsa here is not very good at all! As it was the first time I have made salsa in years it wasn't brilliant, but I plan on making this a regular thing, I will get better.

Tomorrow it is back to work after 2 weeks off. It's been a good break, had some productive days and lots of lazy days. Pretty good combo. Samson spent many hours playing with other dogs at the beach which makes him a very happy pup.

Oh, Jaws was on TV last night and so I watched it for the very first time...not sure I should admit this, but I thought it was a very well done movie. The dialog was generally quite good and the story was well done. Looked quite good too, especially considering that it is 32 years old. So, yes, I enjoyed the movie my mom would not let me see when I was 8 years old :-P

Went to the cinema to see Kite Runner the other day. It was a fine movie but much was lost emotionally compared to the book. So much of the story is internal angst and the movie was not effective at bringing all of that feeling across in my opinion. Still, well shot, beautiful and mostly quite faithful to the book.

Saw Deja Vu (with Denzel) on DVD Friday night. I actually liked it quite a bit. I still have some questions about the timeline aspects of it (I suppose everyone does after these types of movies), but liked the twists and ideas in it.

OK, back to the radio thing...

13!

12 Straight Wins by the Portland TrailBlazers, the Youngest team in the NBA and the longest streak by any team this year! Enjoy great basketball!

Christmas is over and we are almost to the New Year! Wellington becomes a quiet little city this time of year. Many of the residents are away visiting family or taking holidays elsewhere in the country and the world. The streets are quiet.

Yesterday was a beautiful day and we took Samson to Lyall Bay where he got to meet many many other pups! He was particularly fond of a pug mix that he spent some time hanging out with. I feel like all of the people left in Wellington must have gone to the beach, it was surprisingly busy.

Gifts? Celeste bought me a very nice robe. I think she's telling me she's tired of me walking around the house in the nude, :-P especially since her parents are going to be arriving in less than a month. I love the robe though, super soft and comfy. And yes, I did get her a gift too, I was just trying to keep her guessing by my last posting. She does not enjoy the wind around here so I got her a nice, pretty jacket that will block out the wind. That's really about it. Very mellow Christmas, it is a very low key holiday here which suits me fine, Celeste is not quite so comfortable with that though. She is used to the same big commercialised fest that we have in the US.

We finally bought the kiddo a cot/crib yesterday. We put it together in the lounge and then were taking it to the nursery when we realised that it would not fit through the doorway! Then we thought, well, Liam will be sleeping in our room the first few months anyway, so it is better to have it in our bedroom. Didn't fit through that doorway either. So, we have to disassemble and then reassemble in the bedroom. Ooooops. We love the cot though! It can be a bassinet, then a regular cot, then it can be a first bed or a little couch too. Hopefully it will serve us well for the next 5-7 years.

Last night I was feeling him moving around, he's getting big and strong! Celeste told me I wasn't even feeling him in an active mood. Zoiks! I just can't imagine having that inside of me. I really do sympathise with how tired and sore that Let is feeling, but I'm still a bit of a grump about it sometimes. I'm just not good at being 100% 24/7 supportive. I am trying to take on more of a load to get things done around the house. I also brought Samson with me to the radio station this morning so he won't bother Celeste while she's trying to sleep.

Not much else to share really. Things are good here. What did you get for x-mas eh?

Two Sleeps 'til Christmas

My Prezzie from Celeste arrived the other day and still sits in its box on the dining room table (along with far too much other crap) waiting for opening on x-mas day. I wonder what it could be??? She offered to let me open it early, but I am a good boy, I will wait.

I don't think I will give her a present this christmas, don't you think the miracle of a child inside of her is more than enough of a gift? No? Well...hmmm...I'll think of something perhaps.

I will not be back to work for two weeks. That means I should really be able to get a lot of housecleaning and straightening done as well as random other house-related jobs I could take care of. We did buy a weed-whacker (seems to be the most common lawnmower in nz). We only have a small patch of weeds/grass in our back yard that just needs a bit of chopping down once in awhile.

Feb. 8! Will that actually be the date? People tend to think it will be sooner, we need so much more stuff so much more prep! We washed all of his clothes and blankets. Hmmm.

It's a beauty weekend.

Yesterday we went to see the movie Enchanted, silly disney goofiness. McDreamy was in it. Susan Sarandon. Watched Bad Santa on TV last night, first time I've seen it. That is a funny and messed up movie. I do enjoy watching Billy Bob Thornton act though.

If you are on facebook, let's play scrabulous :-)

jon

hi,

We were just in Sydney for 8 days.

We managed to see quite a bit considering how lazy i am and how pregnant Celeste is. if we walked more than 5-10 minutes straight we would take a few minutes rest. that actually worked out well most of the time, it allowed us to take in more of our surroundings. the weather was not ideal. it was quite warm and humid (as Sydney is expected to be), but it was also cloudy a lot with some rain and thunderstorms (as is less common this time of year).

It was a bit stunning for me to finally be in Sydney. Of course the city probably first entered my consciousness because of the Opera House. According to Wikipedia, the first planning for the Opera House was way back in the late 40s (slightly before my time) but building did not begin until 1959. The Opera House was completed and opened in 1973. As I was only six at the time, I am assuming I did not become aware of it until a bit later. It was definitely part of my awareness for a long time and I could never have imagined I would be standing next to it in person. Looking across the harbour at it the magnificent structure led me to ponder the paths of my life that brought me there.

We also took a ferry ride around the harbour, a lot of incredible buildings built along the shore. Many many multi million dollar homes. We went to a wildlife centre and an aquarium. Ate dinner at a private club overlooking the harbour and the Lowenbrau restaurant. Spent the weekend in Kiama famous for its ocean blowhole. Had a couple of great meals there as well. We were both stunned by the size and beauty of the pelicans hanging around a harbour restaurant. Sydney is also home to one of the few Lindt Chocolates Cafes in the world. Unfortunately (and quite rarely) I was not much in the mood for sweets when we visited so I settled for a scoop of Lindt ice cream. We also spent a day at Manly beach, quite touristy with lots of young beautiful people which made me feel old and made Celeste feel gigantic :-P Had a delicious vegetarian lunch at a local all natural cafe.

All in all I think we both enjoyed the trip quite a bit. http://www.flickr.com/photos/xoxo214/

Since being back I have been a bit overwhelmed catching up with email and phone messages. Did manage to attend the Massey-Wellington X-mas Party and also an X-mas lunch with the DVC's office.

We have about 8.5 weeks until our little boy's due date! We really need to buy him a bed :-)

Anika Moa is playing at the San Francisco Bath House tonight, I would like to go to the show, but do not know if I can justify the cost and don't know if my laziness will win out.

For any Americans visiting the site, how was Thanksgiving? I did not celebrate the day. Apparently on Wednesday the American embassy had some kind of Thanksgiving meal at a local church. Thanks but no.

Friday I was in Palmerston North for my PRP (job review). Thankfully such events cause me no anxiety. I believe I do my job well and I really like the people I work for, no reason for any stress, eh? The only part I didn't like is having to drive to PN and back. Otherwise it was quite enjoyable. It is a chance to discuss the year past and the year coming. A good opportunity to talk about possibilities for the future, ways to improve work and all. I continue to talk about going back to study for my Doctorate, that will definitely have to wait awhile with the kid appearing soon.

I think we have taught our pup how to be lazy. We went to the beach yesterday and he ran around a fair amount, but not excessively. When we returned home he pretty much passed out for the remainder of the night! Lazy Sammy :-)

Tomorrow is our final Antenatal class. It is a bring-a-plate night. We will take brownies I think. Celeste makes some good brownies. In fact, time for a shout out to Celeste's cooking overall! She always manages to make very nice food for us to eat.

Need to let you know that I am playing Pump Up the Volume by M/A/R/R/S now :-D

I have found that Kiwis put up with my 'inappropriateness' as well, or better, than Americans. Anyone who knows me knows I can push the boundaries a bit and my friends here seem able to keep right up with me, quite enjoyable! I had worried about that quite a bit. Even some of the most unexpected people can be pretty edgy by American terms.

Tuesday we fly. That means 9 days in kennel for Sam :-( hopefully he enjoys himself.

And then our first visit to Oz. I must admit I am very excited to check the place out. Can't believe that the weather report shows rain for at least the first four days we are there! Still, it will be warmer than it has been here and hopefully it will be intermittent and we can still get around and see things. I know, I'm from Portland why would I let rain slow me down?

Carrie is in Paris! Though maybe on her way back now. She happened to be there during the worst transit strike in over a decade. Probably wore out her shoes :-) Sounded like she was having a great trip. I can't wait to take another trip to Europe.

Celeste and I have so many plans for travel but not sure when we'll be able to realise them. The plan is to be in Europe for Christmas '08. We would be seeing Vanessa (Celeste's sis) in Copenhagen (and the rest of the fam would be there also). We would also visit Jason in Scotland. Hopefully make our way to Ireland for a quick visit and then I would LOVE IT if we could rent a car for a couple of weeks and drive around Eastern Europe. I have wanted to do that for about 15 years or more.

Then we have also been thinking about our USA visit and of course we want to do travels in Asia and Africa plus back to Manila and the Philippines.

Much to do and no time nor money to do it with :-P

Time to concentrate on being a DJ

Hi, Church of Bush is on the air spreading the gospel in both German and English! Are you not traurig that you are missing it?

Today Sammy and Celeste are in the studio! After this we will probably go to the market and get some veggies. Then maybe the beach or some such so the pup can run around. Oh, also there is some Santa Parade this afternoon that Celeste wants to attend so I suppose I will be roped into that exciting activity.

Last night I went to a friend's place and watched his slideshow of pix from his two month trip to Euroland. Made me miss the travel there. One of these days we will make our way...

Also been thinking a lot about a trip to the USofA to visit friends and family. Have to introduce little Liam and of course Celeste to all the peeps. We have a lot of traveling to do and no money nor time to do it! Hmmmmm...For now we are thinking of landing in Vancouver BC and then renting a car to drive down the coast to Seattle, then Ptown, then San Fran then to Charleston and up to NYC, maybe to Vermont and Mass. if we have the time...

Australia is only about 10 days away though. Excited for that trip, pure vacation time! We will get an idea of what it's like across the ditch. One good thing is that because we are "permanent residents" of NZ we received one year multiple entry visas to OZ so we can go back as often as we like for the next 12 months, not that we'll have the time, but nice to have the option. If I find a need a weekend away from Celeste and Liam :-)

Work is finally calming down. The high schools are all finishing off the year and the students are done at Massey. The only thing I really have remaining are Prizegiving ceremonies at schools. Those are a combo of fun and boredom, but overall I like all of these new experiences. It is also a chance to meet more people at the schools which is definitely a good thing.

We bought a dresser for Liam off of Trademe. Only $30. Celeste wants us to repaint the entire thing, I think it looks good the way it is. The only issue is that it has the name Emily painted on the top, but that's small and we can just sand and repaint that little spot. I also suggested we could just remove the Y and name our boy Emil in honor of my teacher from MLC oh so many years ago :-)

We have yet to purchase a cot but we are getting closer to a decision in that realm. I really want to buy one of the "4 in 1" solutions that can be a bassinet, cot and bed (don't ask what the fourth option is). Though they cost a bit more it seems as though the useful life is so much longer than the average cot that it is worth it.

And so it goes...

Hi, we were in Auckland last weekend so no new post.

I had to go up for a seminar with my fellow SLAs throughout NZ. Celeste came up for a bit of a vacation and we spent the weekend checking out a bit of the Big City. After having heard that Auckland was the NZ equiv of Los Angeles I was ready to not like it at all before I even moved to NZ. Then the people I've met in Wellington were pretty negative about it as well. After visiting, I must say, I am not certain I would want to move there, I certainly have better feelings about the city than I did before. Yes, it is a sprawling city and I don't enjoy that, but the CBD does not seem as bad as was implied and seems to have some really nice neigbourhoods close by. Central city public transport appears to be pretty good with bus stops that tell you precisely when the next bus will arrive (Portlanders already have that).

We ate some good food, walked around quite a bit, hung out with friends of Celeste's, saw a lot of parks and slept in a very comfortable bed for the weekend. It was quite nice.

Samson was in a kennel for the period. He seemed no worse for wear when we returned.

Next trip is to Sydney Australia. Quite excited for that one. 8 days of fun in the sun? I'm not a sun worshiper but should be nice none-the-less. We will be staying with Ange and Daniel friends from work here that have moved back home to Sydney. That trip is at the end of this month.

The downstairs neighbour is now moved out, that is a relief. Now hoping that the next tenant is a little more accepting of living below a dog and two humans.

Happy Birthday to Ash, Cait, Misha, Saul, Vanessa and Marti. Anyone else I'm forgetting? Sorry!

Life is quite nice, no?