Happy Halloween!

Here, Halloween is viewed as a very American holiday and is just now starting to catch on among the kids. But of course what kind of new parents would we be if we didn't submit their infant to the humiliation of dressing up for his first Halloween?

So here's Richie as his namesake, All Black captain Richie McCaw. In the first picture, Richie is getting into character for the traditional pre-game Haka, which is the Maori version of a welcome/war dance that the All Blacks do before each game. If you ever have the chance to catch the beginning of an All Blacks game it's well worth watching just to see them do the Haka. Below is a link to one that created a stir a little while ago because it was particularly vicious.

In the second picture, Richie is showing off his fancy footwork, and in the last he's reveling in the post game victory. BTW, if you're wondering what that elastic band is doing on his head, well that's what they use to keep the opponents from pulling their ears off in the scrum. And why rugby players are often teased about having "cabbage ears."
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1263399859472240677

Reverse Suckology

It's been a big transition in our household lately as Richie has started to trade in his beloved pacifier (or dummy as they call it for some unknown reason here) for a few fingers. Yes, that's a few fingers not just his thumb. In fact, the more fingers he can fit in his mouth, the better. He gets both hands in on the action. Here I caught him finding a novel use for his trusty pacifier.

Going green

It's election time here in NZ too. With a general election scheduled for the first week of Nov., the Green party has launched a campaign with pictures of children enjoying nature with the words "Vote for me" above them. It's proving quite effective. While the two main political parties here are the National (conservative) and Labour (slightly more liberal and the party of Helen Clark who has been prime minister for the last 8 years), the leader of the Green party was recently voted the most trusted politician in NZ. The Greens has a very loyal following here and are key to the coalition-building process in parliament. It's a nice change from the dominant two-party system in the US.

Paul and I were surprised to find that as permanent residents of NZ we are also entitled to vote so that means we will be voting in two national elections next month. In fact, we've already voted and mailed off our US absentee ballots!

Meanwhile, spring is in the air here and we've discovered that green really is Richie's color. He looks quite handsome in his green and brown jumpsuit with adorable "Mommy's little guy" bib that Grandma sent. And no, I didn't plan us to have matching outfits. It just happened one day.


The garden is already producing lots of tasty greens, and here's Paul with his little helper picking some for lunch. Richie now has a collection of sun hats to protect him from the harsh NZ sun (we are the lucky ones who are under the hole in the ozone layer so the rays are much more intense here than in other parts of the world). Now how's that for many variations on a green theme?

All part of my evil plan

Richie has really taken to his swing lately (thanks Farfar and Farmore)! Now he is usually happy to sit there after his bath and relax while we have dinner. Sometimes it does look like he's cooking up an evil plan with his hands neatly folded across his chest. Here, for example, we found out about five minutes later that he was leaving us a special "code brown" present down below.

A flash of brilliance

Today, mommy saw flashes of brilliance in her boy. (yes, moan and roll your eyes as you will, but hey I'm a new mom, I'm allowed.)

First, Richie was playing on his back in his baby gym and reached over and grabbed the ear of the musical stuffed dog toy we were playing with and brought it closer to him. Sounds simple enough but according to the charts that's advanced skill for a four month old and he was only 10 weeks!

Then, as if that display of brilliance wasn't enough, he accidentally hit one of the supports that holds the toys dangling overhead. He was startled initially, but then I could literally see the synapses firing as kicked it again, saw the toys move and put two and two together and let out a squeal of delight. I tried to capture it on film, but by the time I got the camera out the thrill was pretty much over but you can see some of the residual action in the video below. You also hear a little bit of Richie "talking." Not only does he mimic facial expressions (a standard trait for babies this age) but he is already mimicking sounds (a much more advanced skill). So far his favorite sound is "you" as in when I say "I love YOU Richie." I sometimes get a "you"-like sound in response. Of course this has led me to say the word as well as the vowel "u" endlessly and work it into conversation as often as possible. Don't be surprised if you walk by my house and hear me saying "A E I O U" endlessly...

I mean it's my duty to foster the genius, isn't it?



p.s. Yes, I know the pants he's wearing in the video are a little big on him at the moment but he's in an in between sizes stage. Long and lean like his Dad!

Italian Baby Fashion Show

This one's for Aunty Grace. Here's Richie modeling the latest in Italian baby wear. That's him walking the vertical catwalk showing off the contrasting orange soles and flashing a smile for the mirror hanging down from his baby gym. Even he knows he looks good!

Word up

Despite our attempts to dress Richie up like any other baby, his personality is really starting to show through and he has a way of making each outfit his own. Take this Rumplestilskin-esque nightcap and gown for example, he manages to get the hat at just the right angle to give himself some street cred. "Word to your mother!" I imagine him saying.

OMG! What did I do?

Tonight Richie dropped a bomb. That's the most polite way I can think of saying Richie pooped in the bath. We heard a boom and thought it was just gas but soon the bits were floating to the surface. So we had to mount an emergency evacuation effort to get Richie out of the tub as quickly as possible and remove any traces of contamination from the area (ie dump the bath water out, clean the tub and start over again). Richie took it in stride and looked surprisingly calm during the calamity but I thought he did have a bit of a "Oh my, what did I do?!" look on his face while bundled up in his appropriately named Winnie the Pooh towel! Apparently babies do this all the time and Paul said he was lucky that we made it 9 weeks before the bombing.

Buckle up for adventure!

When I put Richie in his car seat, I always try to make a game of it and tell him to "buckle up and get ready for another adventure!" Mind you, that adventure usually ends up being a trip to the grocery store or out for coffee with my mother's group. But he plays along anyway. Here I thought he looked like he was riding a roller coaster! I don't think my driving is THAT bad though.