Some other highlights of the trip for N:
Flying
We went to the airport a total of 6 times on this trip and by the end Nathan really got the hang of it. He has special respect for air hostesses now. Air NZ does this thing of giving out candy when the plane starts landing, so he patiently waits for those. The other day he was saying "I want to be an air hostess when I grow up... to give out food and candy".
Sky Tower
One of Auckland's landmarks is the Sky Tower and Nathan really enjoyed going up to the observation deck. It was really cool how instead of having the glass windows being vertical to the floor, they were at an angle, so we could see down as much as out. It was actually scary for me, but both Nathan and Evan didn't seem to be bothered by it. (I guess they didn't inherit my fear of heights genes). Nathan was also enjoyed looking down the glass floor of the elevator as it went down something like 80 stories. Now every time he sees something resembling a tower he calls it the "Sky Tower".
Family
We stayed at Nana and Pops' house during the 2 weeks in Auckland. Nathan remembers them well from their previous visits, and very quickly made himself at home there. Nana took him to play school a couple of times and he really enjoyed it, especially the sing song segment which Nana led. He participated more than I've ever seen him before in "music together" class.
Nathan also met his great grandparents Nana Tui, Poppa Bill, and Gran Jean. He's starting to put pieces together in the his head now and here's one bedtime conversation we had:
N: "Where did daddy come from?"
me: "Nana's tummy."
N: "Where did Nana come from?"
me: "Nana Tui's tummy."
N: "Where did Nana Tui come from?"
me: "Her mommy's tummy."
N: "What's her name?"
me: (surrendering) "I don't know."
It took a while for Nathan to get used to hanging out with his cousins, but towards the end of the trip they really bonded and he was calling the girls "his sisters". He was learning a lot from Adam (2 years older). Nathan's jaw literally dropped when he first saw Adam with his batman costume where the bat wings come out at the press of a button). Nathan got along with Annabelle particularly well, maybe cuz they're closest in age (only 1 week apart). Aleisha was younger and more interested in Evan.
Another 2 important members of the family are Jesse the cat and Spud the dog. Poor Nathan loved Jesse so much and was doing such a job feeding him as well. But on the last day of our trip he got scratched by him, so he's a little wary of cats now. I've noticed that he really likes furry little animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs.
In Australia was when the real vacation started. James would take Nathan for a swim at the resort every morning. There were 4 different kid friendly pool and hot tubs. Nathan loved getting in and out of them, especially pressing the button for turning on the jets in the hot tub. We also went to a couple of amusement parks and to our surprise Nathan was willing to go on many of the "scary" rides.
Because we stayed in separate units at the resort. Every morning the first thing Nathan wanted to do was to "go to Nana's". At Pop's 60th birthday celebration dinner, he managed to stick himself in a seat right between Nana and Pops. It was quite cute. Even though he only sees his grandparents once a year, but he's so comfortable being near them. He also bonded with uncle Phil who let him play with his iphone charger, and carried him around on his shoulders. Even today when Nathan was riding on daddy's shoulders when we were out. He remembered and said "just like uncle Phil".
Nathan was introduced to several new foods on this trip. His favorite being: Nutella on toast, potato chips before dinner, fries (called chips there), salami sticks, fluffy (foamy milk with sprinkles on top in an espresso cup), pizza bread from bakery, and of course Hokey Pokey ice-cream!
Grown up on the this trip. Better at sharing. Less tantrums. At school new classroom and so far so good.
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