Casey and Carla

Back from the beach - work next week...

2012-01-06T18:48:00.002+13:00

Well we arrived back from the beach house today. It was sad to leave as the past few days were awesome, it was just us three and Mum and Dad with some beautiful weather. Yesterday Casey, Charlie and Dad went out in the boat and had a great old time being gone for over an hour. Needless to say Charlie slept well last night and didnt get up until 9am this morning....a treat for sure!!

So back to work Monday it is but a new year and new challenges will be good.

Off to my best friends little sisters wedding tomorrow, should be fun.

Off to bed for us all now xx

New Year - 2012!!

2012-01-02T17:31:00.002+13:00

Well it has been far too long since we have posted any news and one of my resolutions for the new year is to maintain this!! So here goes..............

We just celebrated our New Year at the family beach house and were lucky to have some special visitors from America!! My host brother from my 1995 exchange programme in California, Ken and his lovely wife Adina came and stayed with us for a night. The weather was not so good but we had such a lovely catch up. It was great. The weather has fined up so even though I have come home to work for one day I look forward to heading back to the beach house and spending some quality time with Charlie and Casey.

Charlie is now two and a half years old - scary to say that when you see how long it has been since I posted anything!! He is just a sweetheart - gorgeous just like his Dad and cheeky - just like his Mum! We love him to bits and every day is so much fun with his vocabulary growing - one of our favourites..."mmmmmmmm Delicious!!!"

Casey is doing really well although suffered a bug over the past few days but is on the mend now. His work is one his major passions at the moment which is so great to see and he loves working for his company, Tonkin and Taylor. I see him there for many years ahead.

My work is going well - I look after the Accounts Payable team which services a large amount of companies located in NZ, Australia and Asia. I work with great people and although the job is a challenge at times with a team of 14 I do wake up each day looking forward to what lay ahead.

My family in NZ is fine - both my brothers has two boys and both them and their families are doing well and keeping busy. Mum and Dad are well and finding themselves spending more time at the beach house with Dad doing some serious alterations over the last couple years.

I had the pleasure of heading to California in August to be a bridesmaid in my dear friend Natalies wedding. It was such an awesome trip and I will post a couple pics. Thanks Nat!!

This past year saw us selling our first home here in NZ and we are renting until we figure where we want to buy next in Hamilton. We are looking forward to getting ahead financially this year and enjoying time with family and friends. We have our first visit from Judy (Caseys mum) this March so we look forward to that and will be taking another week off to enjoy some sunshine at the beach house!

Well I will continue to post more and will shortly add some photos.

Love to all

C3 xxx

Meeting Grammie and Grandpa for the first time!!

2009-11-11T09:29:00.002+13:00

Dad (Ken) and Cathi were at the airport to meet us and it was a lovely reunion with them meeting Charlie for the first time.

It was a long first night as with the time difference Charlie did not want to go to bed until about 1am. At least we all got to spend some quality time with Charlie and hang out!!

Ken and Cathi with Charlie after his first bath in California!!

Trip to California - Sep/Oct 09 - Departing NZ

2009-11-11T09:18:00.003+13:00

We left New Zealand for our flight to San Francisco at about 8pm on Sep 23 and had Charlie all ready to go in his pajamas.

Mum drove us to the airport and saw us off - we were so excited but anxious about the plane ride with Charlie!! We are happy to report Charlie slept 8 hours of the 11 hour flight there so we were very impressed. When he was up he was happy to look around and enjoy the flight and the other people.

Charlie excited for his first trip on "the big bird in the sky"!!

Family shot at the airport - getting ready to leave Nana.

We are back!!

2009-10-27T15:15:00.003+13:00

It has been a long time since I have posted any news so will be doing a few catch up posts soon!!

We had a fantastic trip to California and also have just spent a lovely long weekend over at the beach!!

Charlie is now approaching 5 months of age so we are thoroughly enjoying him and the new things that come about everyday with him!! He has recently started to eat food and I have attached a photo of this for you to see.

Will do the catch up posts shortly!!

Charlie - 3 Months Old

2009-09-14T08:36:00.004+12:00

Charlie and Casey - he is his fathers son!!!

Having a great time on his mat

Too cute!!!

Charlie is now 14 weeks old!! It is hard to believe where all this time has gone!!

Charlie is doing really well and learning new things all the time. He has started to reach out for objects which is pretty cool as he tries really hard to focus on getting his hand to go where he wants it to!!

He is giggling and talking so much more now which is so nice as it feels more like he is communicating with us.

He has his three month immunisations this month so it will be good to get those out of the way.

Mum and Dad have returned from Europe and could not get over how much he had changed. He has a real fuzz of blonde hair on his head - it is so cute!!

Only a little over a week until we go to California - wooooo hooooooo!!!

Week 12 - First Rugby Match

2009-09-02T20:37:00.002+12:00

This past week we had a special visitor from the California - our good friend Gordon. We decided to make a trip to Auckland to watch our local Rugby team (Waikato) play one of the Auckland teams (Counties Manukau). It was such a great day and Charlie did really well in the car and at the game. As you can see in the picture he was quite interested in what was going on with the game! It was a great day out.

Other than this all is going well with Charlie although he has had a cold but he is fighting through it and seems happy enough. Just lots of sneezing and coughing and runny nose.

Looking forward to Mum and Dad coming home from Europe next week and hearing all about their trip and also it is 3 weeks until we leave for our trip to California!! So exciting.

Casey, Gordon and Charlie

Charlie passed out on the way up to the Rugby.

Charlie - 11 weeks

2009-08-25T16:44:00.003+12:00

Carla and Charlie having cuddles

Casey and Charlie chilling on the couch

Charlie will actually be 12 weeks old this next Monday!! Crazy!!!

That also means his 3 month immunisations are coming up too.

We should be receiving his NZ passport this week and we have an appointment in Auckland for his United States one so they will all be ready for our big trip!! (4 weeks until we go)

All is going well and Charlie has started to sleep through the night and seems to be doing it more and more. Sometimes he can do the straight 12 hours and then other times he does 10 hours then goes right back down for another 2 so no complaints here!!

He hasn't been weighed lately but will be in a couple weeks so imagine he has put on another pound or so for sure.

He is changing everyday and loves to giggle and laugh aswell as stick his tongue out.

He is such a sweetheart and we love watching him grow up!!

I head back to work sometime in November and Casey is full on at his work. He is actually up in Auckland for a couple days at the moment for a course.

Until next time.....take care. XX

Charlie - 9 Weeks Old

2009-08-11T15:54:00.003+12:00

Bath Time - love it!!

Smiling for the camera!

Tummy time with Dad - I am so strong!!

Wow - where does the time go!!

All is well with Charlie and he just keeps growing and changing everyday!

He now weighs just over 13 pounds and has grown out of all his new born clothes and has started wearing 3 months sizes.

He is getting easier to take places as if he gets grizzly in his stroller or car seat it is pretty easy to keep him occupied enough to keep him calm which is nice.

Coffee group with my antenatal group has been going every Monday which is really nice and Charlie is by far the biggest (tallest mostly) in the group! This coming Monday I will be hosting it here at our house as one week we go to a cafe and the next we rotate through everyones homes which is nice.

Its now just under seven weeks until we go to California so we are super excited!! Still working on Charlies passports but will get them sorted in time I'm sure.

Take Care.Xx

Charlie - 8 weeks old

2009-08-04T21:46:00.004+12:00

Charlie and I having cuddles.

Casey and Charlie reading the Sunday paper in bed.

Charlie getting ready to go visiting.

A smile for Dad.

All is going well with Charlie with each and every day bringing something new!

He is just awesome and we are getting lots of smiles and giggles from him now which is so rewarding especially for Casey after a long day at work.

We are getting out and about more and visiting lots of people.

Nana and Grandad go to Europe for a long vacation on Thursday so we have been spending loads of time with them.

Tomorrow Charlie gets weighed again so it will be interesting to see what his weight is as he was 12 pounds and 4 ounces last weigh in.

We are getting excited for our trip to California which is in 7 weeks now! Working on getting Charlies passports taken care of as he will have both NZ and US passports.

Take Care xx

Charlie - 6 weeks

2009-07-23T18:24:00.002+12:00

Charlie is now over 6 weeks old and weighs 12 pounds and is 60 cm long!!

All is going well and lots of smiles are going on and more alert play time which is lovely!!

We are so excited to be taking Charlie to California in September for three weeks to see family and friends!! Cannot wait!

Have attached a couple pics of our beautiful boy!

Charlie and Grandad reading a book!

Passed out in his bouncinette! Too cute!

Charlie and I having a cuddle after a bath.

Charlie - Approaching 5 weeks old!!

2009-07-10T20:26:00.004+12:00

This coming Monday Charlie will be 5 weeks old and it feels like yesterday that I was waiting for the big day and wondering when I was going to go in to labour!!

Time just goes by way too fast!!

Some things that have happened in the past couple weeks are that Charlie has started to smile!! That was the best moment - bought tears to my eyes especially since I was able to differentiate it from the "wind" smiles!!

He has also started to coo more, not just grunt and cry which is really nice to hear. He also is much more alert for longer periods of time. This makes it enjoyable for Casey to play with him when he gets home from work and enjoy some cuddles.

Casey Mom went home on Monday and it was awesome to have her here with us for the first month of Charlies life.

I have attached a few photos of our precious boy.

Love this picture of our little bundle of love!!

Charlie and I having a cuddle.

Just hanging out with Mum.

Charlie is three weeks old today!!

2009-06-29T17:02:00.003+12:00

Wow - cannot believe Charlie is three weeks old!! Time sure does go by fast when you are getting no sleep and feeding all the time!! The good thing is its definitely worth it!! Casey and I are really enjoying it and it has been great having Judy here (caseys mum) and having help from Mum and Dad too. Thanks to all the girls for the meals they bought over too - that was awesome!!

Casey and Charlie having a nap.

Charlie having a little tummy time on his mat.

Just had a bath - glad to report he loves them!!

Will post some more soon

Charlie

2009-06-21T18:30:00.003+12:00

Here are a few pics from the very first hours of Charlies arrival. Labour went well although long but was pleased it was all natural. Casey and I are very proud parents!! Hope this finds you well and will post more pics from his first weeks in the next couple days.

Mum and I with Charlie shortly after he was born.

Casey, Charlie and I once he was all dressed after birth.

Charlie as soon as he was born.

Charlie Giberson has arrived!!

2009-06-18T19:46:00.002+12:00

Charlie Giberson arrived Monday June 8th at 5.03pm and weighed 7 pound and 14 ounces. He is absolutely gorgeous and we are very proud parents. Will post some pics of him in the next day or so - sorry for the delay but as you new mothers know it is a whirl wind first couple weeks!!
Love to you all C, C and C

Any Day Now...........

2009-05-31T18:36:00.003+12:00

Casey and I braving the cold weather - no one was really around so it was cool to enjoy the gardens.

Casey waiting for his Cappuccino. Notice all the birds on the ledge behind him.

Me at 39 and a half weeks!! Am bundled up but believe me there is a baby in there and I am sure it will be a decent size!!!!

Hi All -

We are doing well and just doing lots of relaxing and enjoying the long Queens Birthday weekend. Its a shame the weather is a bit cold. We still got out and went for a walk through the Hamilton Gardens even though it was raining and picked up a hot drink to walk around with.

We came home and Casey made YUMMY carnitas (pork) burritos today which were delicious and now we have a roast chicken in the oven with roast vegetables!! Do love the winter foods.

I have been off of work now for two weeks and think we are pretty much ready for our baby to arrive. The nursery is finished - we picked up the stroller and the bassinette yesterday and they are all set to go. So now its just a matter of time.......

Have attached a couple pics from our adventure today and my big bump!!

Judy (Caseys Mum) arrives in a week so we are really looking forward to that and as there is a good chance the baby still may not be here by then it will be especially special to have her here.

Happy Queens Birthday to you all - we will be having home made scones with cream and jam tomorrow!!! Yum!!

Take Care xx

Nursery...and only just over a week to go!!!

2009-05-25T16:47:00.003+12:00

Hi All -

Sorry for the delay in these. We finally picked up the crib and Casey put it together over the weekend and we love it!!!

Hope you enjoy the photos.

Tonight we have our last birth (antenatal) class so we are looking forward to that and cannot believe we only have a little over a week until due date!! Crazy stuff!!

We are ready as much as we can be so now its sort of a waiting game to see when I go into labour!

Will post a picture of my big belly later on.

Take Care xx

Baby Shower - April 25th

2009-05-12T20:05:00.003+12:00

Sorry for the delay in getting this post up!! It has been a crazy couple weeks. Only 3 weeks tomorrow until due date!!

Friday is my last day of work and I am pretty busy trying to finish things up and handover to my team but am sure all will be fine and the girls will take care of things just fine.

The nursery is all finished - we are just putting all the furniture back in there so this weekend will show pics of that. It is a relief to have all that done as we did not anticipate it would take this long!

Thanks so much to all my wonderful high school friends for putting on such a wonderful baby shower for me!! Nic and Nat - you did an awesome job!! I felt very spoilt and really enjoyed the high tea theme and a lovely day catching up!! Thank you all so much for the wonderful gifts!!

Below is a few pics from the day -

Mum and I at the baby shower. Was wishing I could have a glass of that champagne!!

Getting ready to open some pressies!!! Fun!!!!

Mum and I up against each other in one of the games - I won!!!

All the girls - Love them!!!

5 and a half weeks to go!!!

2009-04-24T17:47:00.003+12:00

34 and a half weeks!!! Yep getting big now!!!

Well I cannot believe how fast time has gone by! With being so sick at first I couldn't imagine that I would be now this close to having our baby but we are!! Only 3 weeks of work left and then a couple weeks to hopefully relax and prepare for the baby.

I had the day off work today which was awesome and went out to breakfast with Mum and then we met Casey for lunch. It was nice to take it easy and also pick up a few things for the babies room.

Tonight I am meeting a couple girlfriends for dinner which will be really good!!! I will treasure those independent times as am sure they will be less frequent very soon!! We are very excited about the unknown though and the adventures that are ahead of us. Bring it on!!

Easter Photos

2009-04-24T17:33:00.003+12:00

A few photos from Easter Break......

New renovations to the beach house - still work in progress but views are stunning through all the new glass doors!! And the extension makes for much more living space. Well done Dad!!!

Mark and Forbes with Marks 15lb snapper!!!!

Casey and Oscar having a little rest in the room.

Oscar and I having a cuddle.

6 and a half weeks and counting!!!

2009-04-19T17:36:00.004+12:00

Sorry for the delay in my post!!

Last weekend we had a five day break at the beach house and I didn't get a chance to post anything as we have been busy ever since we got back!!

Easter was awesome. We headed to the beach Wednesday night after we finished work and had a wonderful 5 day weekend relaxing. We went on a couple big walks and Casey went fishing with Dad and Mark and they were very successful one of the days catching many Snapper and Mark catching one that weighed 15 pounds!

Paul and Kellie got food poisoning so they didnt end up getting to come away for the weekend which was sad.

Oscar did well for being only two and half weeks old and would only wake once in the night to feed which no one else even woke up for anyway.

We had a fantastic break and ate lots of food and slept in so all in all no complaints!!

This week back to work was very busy with now only four weeks of work left and 6 and a half weeks until due date!!!

We have our first prenatal class starting tomorrow evening so we are looking forward to that. It runs for six sessions so ends right before due date.

We ordered our stroller this weekend so that was fun making our final decision and it should arrive in three weeks or so. It is mountain buggy range - "swift" is the model. We went for the grey and black colours so pretty neutral.

We have had a busy weekend - more work on nursery - getting there. Its a lot more work than we initially thought but at least we haven't rushed it and are happy with how it is coming along. Once the final colour is on I will take some more photos.

I will write another post during the week updating on how our first class goes!

Take care xx

Our busy weekend with our nephews!!

2009-03-30T19:49:00.003+13:00

We had a fantastic weekend spending lots of time with our nephews. Friday night we had Sam over to play and he stayed for dinner. Casey took him to the park with our neighbours and then we had some yummy hotdogs for dinner. Little Maz was here for a short while aswell.

Saturday we went over to see Mark, Janine, Forbes and the precious new Oscar. We had a great day hanging out with them and then went out to a nice restaurant for dinner. Oscar was awesome and slept the whole way through dinner - surprise surprise. He really is lovely and I must admit it made Casey and I both become even more excited about our own baby.

Sunday was pretty relaxing - Casey did some more work in the nursery and we both did some jobs around the house. Another week has already started to go by - cannot believe April is almost here!!

Have attached some photos from our weekend.

Uncle Casey and Oscar - just before Oscar had a two hour sleep on Casey

Little Oscar has just been fed.

Casey and Sam - watching some TV after dinner

Maz and Sam playing outside with Casey and our neighbour Blake

Picnic time!! Hotdogs went down well with everyone!

Our new nephew Oscar Henry Hellyer!!!

2009-03-25T19:11:00.003+13:00

We are so stoked to announce the arrival of our new nephew Oscar!! He arrived yesterday at 4-30am after only two hours labour so Janine was really happy with that!! He weighed 8 pounds and 7 ounces and all is well with both mother and baby. We are headed over there on Saturday to meet him so are excited for that. Please see some photos of the new arrival and his family below.

Proud Nana and Grandad with Oscar.

Oscar all dressed up in his first outfit.

The Hellyer Family

Oscar sleeping - life is tough!

Week 29 has come and gone!!

2009-03-22T20:11:00.007+13:00

Sorry for the delay in the update!!

All is going well and the last two weeks have flown by. I have been very busy with work and have had to travel out of town on two occassions which makes for a very tiring week!!

Casey also has been very busy with work and had a couple days out of town as well.

Last weekend we got some more work done on the windows in the nursery to the point now where we are ready to sand and paint the room, which is awesome!!!

This weekend Mum and Dad came over and we had (I supervised) a massive clean out in the garden. With winter approaching it is time to clean out and prune back all the trees and at the end of it all it looks awesome. I haven't taken any photos of it yet but will do so this week and post them.

My belly is starting to get big now and getting up from laying down is not the easiest!! Am counting down my work weeks left - 8 to go!!! I had some blood work done this past week - testing for iron levels, pregnancy diabetes and also antibodies as my blood type is negative. Should have the results when I go for my check up with the midwife this week.

Tomorrow I have a day off work as I have some leave to use up before I finish so have a few days off scattered over the next 8 weeks which is nice.

Casey and I went to the cricket here in Hamilton yesterday which was really awesome - India playing NZ. We lost but the atmosphere was great - lots of Indians at the ground. We took a picinc and spent about 5 hours there so it was really enjoying.

I have included a couple picture on Caseys work in one of our smaller gardens aswell as his celebratory Tequila he had afterwards. I have also included a picture of me at 28 weeks so am sure I am bigger now but wanted to post that one anyway.

Take Care xx

Week 27 - Nursery Preperation

2009-03-08T19:18:00.004+13:00

Another week has gone by- time goes by too fast!! We are now approaching week 28 of pregnancy and I feel like the countdown is upon us. I officially have 10 weeks of work left which am sure will go fast as there are a few short work weeks in there with Easter break and some time off I have taken.

Mostly we are doing really well - only complaints are some sleepless nights which I cannot really explain but am trying to embrace the fact that perhaps its all part of the preparation for the arrival of our baby. Unfortunately Casey has been included in these sleepless nights so we had a pretty low key weekend trying to catch up on some rest.

Casey has been working on the baby's room for the past couple weekends and has been touching up all the windows and making sure they have new hinges and all shut properly etc. After this is done we will refinish them all with a new paint job. Its not a fast job unfortunately but Casey has done a great job of "gettin it done".

We have just sat down for dinner and had some yummy lamb wraps that Casey made with some cous cous. Now we are looking for a good movie to watch on TV as we relax before another busy workweek.

Have attached a photo of Casey working on the windows of the nursery.

Saturday February 28th

2009-02-28T17:47:00.009+13:00

Today is definitely a stay at home day!! The weather is shocking and it hasn't stopped raining or being super windy all day! Casey and I went out to the grocery store but other than that our day has been filled with watching movies and playing on the computer. No complaints in this household!!

We are getting ready to have chilli and cornbread for dinner before we head to the Rugby. We contemplated not going but my brother has come over for the game so we will go with him.

I am now 26 weeks pregnant and am really starting to feel it. Moving around is a little more difficult and new aches and pains seem to come about each day. My back is hurting and so is the top of my ribs. Not to worry - as we approach the last three months am sure it is all worth it.

We came home one night this week to find Nana Hellyer had dropped off our official first piece of furniture which was pretty exciting!! It is a bouncinette (well that is what we call them in NZ) and it is really cute!! Although we have all the rest of the furniture pretty much sorted it is not in the room yet so it was exciting to see something sit in there. Have attached a photo.

Baby Update - Week 25

2009-02-19T20:22:00.002+13:00

I just had my February check up with the midwife at 25 weeks and all is going well. Blood pressure is normal, weight is average and the baby is measuring about a week ahead of schedule which doesn't really mean anything at the moment but thought I would throw that stat in there.

I am not taking medication anymore for the sickness and overall feel pretty good. Was having some severe stitch when walking and midwife established that my pelvis is softening so the pressure of the baby is causing the pain - the joys of pregnancy.

Heartburn has set in but not too bad so hopefully it stays that way and just comes on at the odd occassion.

As my blood type is negative I have a series of blood tests I have to take starting in a couple weeks so not looking forward to those as I am not too good with the old needles!!

So there is the update on my recent appointment - next one is late March.

Casey and I are sitting watching the Tour of California (cycling) and relaxing. Looking forward to the weekend and spending some time with Mum as it was her birthday this week and she has been away.

Until next time - good night.

Baby Update - Week 24

2009-02-14T18:15:00.000+13:00

Here I am today (24 weeks). Note that the nursery will be the room behind me...

Only 16 weeks to go - how time flies! Below is our new bubb-to-be at 20 weeks.

Valentines Day 2009

2009-02-14T17:47:00.000+13:00

This is our official first post!

Happy Valentines Day to everyone. I hope it treated you well.

Casey and I have had a very relaxing day, went for coffee, did a spot of shopping and then have come home to relax and enjoy a nice home cooked carbonara! Yum!!

Above is our house for those of you who have not seen it yet. We have been living here for almost two years and really love it. It was built in the 1940's and has a lot of character with plenty of windows and polished wooden floors throughout. We have put in a new kitchen since we have been here and look to do the bathroom next (after the nursery).

As you may or may not know I am officially five and a half months pregnant and definitely feeling it and looking it now! I experienced a pretty rough first four months with some pretty severe morning or should I say all day sickness and am happy to report life is becoming more normal again and food is something I look forward to rather than having to run in the other direction.

We are starting to plan out our nursery and have picked a paint colour and are working on getting the furniture sorted. The colour of the room will be an eggshell green and it looks like we will go with white furniture so nice and neutral since we have decided to not find out the sex of the baby until the day it arrives.

Work for both of us is going well with Casey having been in the Phillipines for the month of December and then we had three weeks off which we spent over at the beach house with the rest of my family.

We have had a couple long weekends recently which we also spent at the beach house which was lovely due to the hot summer we have been having so lots of swimming and boating going on there.

We look forward to updating you with photos of the nursery progress.