It’s springtime in the Wairarapa and we’re making the most of it. Yesterday we grabbed lunch and headed to the cherry orchard for a picnic.

One day I will look up Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) etiquette. I’m not sure if it includes sitting on the grass, eating and playing catch. We felt a little shy and were worried about being culturally insensitive when a Japanese tourist came and took some photos. However, it was a beautiful day and we’ll certainly be back next year.

Little E has been getting some quality time in dresses lately. I’m searching for the perfect summer outfit, that doesn’t get in the way of toilet training. I’ve lined up tutorials to work my way through.

The bow on this one proved too intriguing. E was found dress-less 20 minutes after putting it on and the dress was somewhere on the floor.

Yesterday, it lasted a little longer. Well, actually all day. The dress tutorial can be found here. It’s brilliantly simple and very fast. If you look closely you can even see E mutteringhte word “fast” as she speeds by. She has habit of putting on her best performance, and in this case her fastest, when the camera comes out.

As the weather has been getting better, we have been having a few more outdoor adventures. E has discovered the joys of bare feet. The shoes come off and she climbs into the garden bed to feel the dirt between her toes or takes off down the drive to scoot. The basin of warm water comes out for washing up before we go back inside. This part has become almost as exciting as the bare feet itself.


Last week, after washing up she took off to the bathroom and returned with her bath toys. Then she ran past with the bread. “I hope you weren’t planning to have sandwiches for lunch” my dearest quipped as he went to investigate.


Of course, even bath ducks need feeding sometimes.