Our little princess was due to arrive on 7 March 2001 - but she showed no signs of making an early appearance! For me it had been quite a rough ride being pregnant during the middle of summer - which this year seemed to have been much hotter and more humid than normal!

Brent and I had been very busy over these few months getting the baby's nursery ready... As first-time parents-to-be we have probably gone a little overboard (!) but it has been a lot of fun, and I think I will enjoy the early morning wake-up sessions a little more, immersed in such pleasant surroundings! The fabric for the curtains, etc (barnyard animals theme) was found through a Sydney-based store on the internet, and imported from Australia as we couldn't find anything that we liked in New Zealand. The change table was made to match, and the rocking chair was also recovered. I had fun painting little picture frames, sewing matching bits and pieces etc. Brent has been showing off his impressive handyman skills - making a flash bookcase for the nursery from scratch! The final result looks stunning painted in lime green - and is a key feature of the room.

Me - ready to pop!

Our new house has unfortunately thrown us a few surprises since we moved in, such as a leaking roof (in the most inaccessable of places!), a bees nest high up an external wall, holes in the deck (hidden by previous owner with strategically placed wood piles!), etc which we've had to get sorted. We've also had to get insect screens installed on some of our windows to keep the bugs out in the evenings!

Over the past few months we've also been busy with various home improvement projects - such as:
* Adding a cupboard in the laundry (Brent built the cupboard himself!) where I can store all chemicals out of baby's reach
* Putting handrails up on the stairs (given my tendency to fall down them!)
* Removing a delapidated fence, and rebuilding it with retractable clothesline and access to new pathway to garage below
* Redoing trimmings around the house such as light and electrical fittings, door handles and door catches
* Removing huge piles of rubbish (kindly left to us by the previous owner - enough to fill two large bins!) from underneath the house
We've also started to attack the front gardens - but there's still much to be done there!
So Brent has been busy most weekends, fixing everything up! (My assistance with all this handywork has unfortunately dwindled to pathetic jobs like passing nails and drinks, as I've gotten bigger! Not a big help!)

Up goes the new fence to support the clothesline	Filling up the second bin (very tightly packed!)

Fun fishing times

We've continued to have fun away on Auric on holidays and long weekends, out in the outer Auckland Harbour and over at Great Barrier.

We've had all extremes of fishing experiences - from the very forgettable (!) days of only occasional tiny nibbles - to the highly exciting "all lines out" reeling in the big-uns one after the other thrills.

Here are a couple of pics from the good days!

Glyn likes the feel of
this one!

David's latest catch