Wow, hasn't it flown by fast...or not? Sometimes it feels quick, and then I think about how much I used to sleep six years prior! He's currently sitting in the lounge watching Mythbusters, and yesterday he was on the iPad with Donald Duck & Chip and Dale YouTube compilation on reruns and chuckling like a baby. Ah, yes, my baby boy - still a baby at times and moments of being an independent big kid. He can drive me insane with his incessant whining and complaining, but he can also be so charmingly adorable with his jokes and his made up stories and songs. His vocabulary is immense with phrases and words I didn't even know he had in him, and yet he still gets confused between a 'b' and a 'd', and the difference in sounds between an M and an N. On the beach at Motutapu he explored the rocks while Jef and I shaded under a pohutukawa tree. We knew where he was by the constant chattering as he gives a running commentary (to himself??).
We woke up on his birthday anchored at Motuihe. I made pancakes for a breakfast treat, and then we set sail to Motutapu. He opened his Kinder Surprise egg, and as always, saved the chocolate for later and played with the toy.
The wind pretty much blew us all the way to Station Bay on a single tack. Once anchored it was cake time. We had purchased a supermarket mud cake and had hidden it from him at the bottom of the fridge, so it was a surprise for him when we pulled it out.
I then decided it was time to go for a swim. The wind was still blowing quite heavily and it wasn't warm, but luckily we had the wetsuits all ready to go. Kien wanted to check out the beach so I towed him there on his boogie board.
Jef came after us on a kayak, bringing my much needed shoes so I didn't slice my poor feet on the very sharp rocks. Kien didn't want his shoes, but then again he's so light he can just run across the rocks like he was running on a cloud.
Kien loves to explore rock pools, looking for living organisms like crabs, shrimps, periwinkles and the like. Ever since he could crawl around he's been interested in what he could find (and back then stick in his mouth). Now he just runs around singing and chirping the entire time. When we can't hear him we'd call out and he'd call back. One time when he didn't respond we called louder and he came running down the hill/mountain. He really wanted to show me something, he said. It was at the top of the hill. So an unexpected excursion for me climbing to the top and all he wanted to show me was the view, and insisted I photograph him doing a martial arts stance of some description.
Then it was straight back down the hill again for some more exploration.
It was a fabulous day, and I reflected back to this day six years prior when I was lying in bed at Birthcare in Parnell staring at this little bundle in the cot beside me. He was wide eyed and very much awake for a really long time. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but he was not having any of that.
Little did I know that six years later not much changes when it comes to this kid. He's given us a run for our money, that's for sure.
