New Zealand- Sweet As

**Before I get started on the main post about NZ I feel like my "Sweet As" needs explaining. "Sweet As" is a very popular saying in NZ.  It means something along the lines of "I hear what you are saying and I agree" or also heard in the context of "cool".


Micah and I headed to New Zealand mid February for what we started terming our "baby moon".  We landed on the north island in Auckland around 12.  That afternoon we just walked around the city, shopped, and explored while trying to beat jet-lag.  The next morning we picked up our rental car and started making our way south.  Our first stop was in Waitomo for some black water rafting in glow worm caves.  Inside these caves little worms (actually maggots) live on the ceiling and put off a light blue glow kinda like stars.  There are a lot of more gross details to go with these worms but if you are interested, look it up.  Inside the cave we hiked through water, looked at the worms, and occasionally got to float on a river.  NZ calls it black water rafting because you are on a raft in the dark (very dark) caves. It was a fun experience.


From there we continued driving south to Tongariro National Park. During our trip we did A LOT of driving. In total we drove around 2,000 Kilometers which is around 1,300 miles.  In order to keep this interesting we had several scenic destinations along our routes.  Plus, NZ roads are anything but boring. The scenery is just beautiful and the roads are never straight or flat.  The driving was an adventure in itself.

23 week baby bump

On our way to Wellington, we drove through Tongariro National Park.  There is supposed to be a great hike through this park but it takes about 8 hours and sounded a little too intense for this pregnant woman so we settled for a drive through.  This park has some volcanoes with very differing terrain.  After driving through the park we headed to Wellington.

Wellington is the capital of NZ and supposedly one of the best cities in NZ. We were there on a Sunday night so it was hard to get a real feel of the city. Plus our main goal of NZ was outdoorsy adventure stuff not city stuff so we didn't spend much time here.  From Wellington we took the Interislander ferry to get to the South Island.  This is about a 3 hour ferry ride.

In line for the ferry

City of Wellington

Scenery on the ferry

City of Picton- South Island

Once on the south island we drove to Abel Tasman National Park. This park is known for beautiful beaches and great nature hikes.  I have always wanted to swim with dolphins or seals so I signed us up for the "Seal Swim".   We were taken to an island in the park that is known as the seal hang out.  From there we jumped in the water and swam with the wild seals.  One seal was really interested in Micah and swam up to take a look.  About 5 or so decided to swim around us and check us out for while.  They were all Moms with their babies.  I bought a cheap underwater camera for this experience but it lived up to being cheap and didn't work.

After swimming with the seals our guides brought us by boat to some other areas of the park. Plus they found a great place to climb up and jump into the water.  Micah was able to do it but being pregnant I thought maybe I should skip this one.  This of course is not something I would typically miss out on so I was a little jealous.

From jumping they dropped us off at a beach where we just spend time exploring and soaking up what little sun we could find. After our long day we got cleaned up for dinner and were able to get some cute pictures on the beach.

The next morning we were on the road again headed for Fox Glacier. This is when the serious rain began. It rained on us the whole trip to Fox Glacier and continued raining non-stop for the next 3 days. At Fox Glacier we had originally planned a Helicopter ride then hike but due to the rain they canceled the helicopter portion.  This changed our day into about 4 hours of hiking on a glacier in the rain.  Luckily the company we used supplied us with all the necessary clothing and accessories for completing this journey.  Although it was still fun hiking in the rain, we didn't get quite the pictures we were hoping for.

Micah ended up having to carry my backpack for me. What a great guy!

It rained our entire time at Fox Glacier and even on our drive out of town. We were bummed to not get the great picturesque views but it was time to move on. From Fox Glacier we headed way south to Fiordland National Park.  We spent our first 2 days kayaking in Fiordland on asection called "Doubtful Sound."  Sadly it was still cold and rainy but we still headed out on our adventure.  Pretty early into the kayaking we were lucky enough to see a big male seal and dolphins swimming by. 

Our kayaking adventure including a camping night in the wild.  We spent most of our time in the group shelter escaping the massive amount of sand-flies but Micah did take some time to take a swim. 

Our suite for the night

The next morning we continued kayaking through Doubtful sound and of course, the rain continued as well.  However, we did get to see some Fiordland Crested Penguins!  I was very excited that we were able to see all 3 of the big feature animals on our trip.

At last we returned to civilization, running toilets, and warm showers.  The next day we wanted to see another section of Fiordland but decided to do it in the more pampered way.  We rode a bus out to Milford Sound and took a boat cruise along the sound.  This was our only day to not see any rain!  On the way out of Milford, Micah and I decided on a last minute helicopter ride.  It was the first time for either of us to ride in a helicopter. 

By the way, have I mentioned that New Zealand has A TON of sheep?  Twice as many sheep as people...literally. 

For the final days in NZ we spent our time exploring Queenstown.  This was definitely my favorite city that we had been to on our trip.  However, I would have enjoyed it even more if I hadn't been pregnant.  Most of the cool things to do there I wasn't allowed to do. Ohh well!  Micah was able to live out his dream of bungy jumping in the first ever location for commercialized bungy jumping.  

He also went again in a different location. 

To sum up... New Zealand is fabulous :)

21 Weeks!

On Friday my little Jacob turned 21 weeks!  It's hard to believe it has been that long while at the same time it feels like it is taking forever (at least for my body to obviously look pregnant).  I'm finally getting to the noticeable phase. Here is my 21 week picture.

*lighting in our apartment is terrible


It's pretty interesting to notice how people treat you differently when you are pregnant.  Some people don't want to pick up anything, get into the back seat of the car, etc. Of course everyones first question is "how are you feeling?"  I guess it makes me smile since I feel so completely normal except for the little kicks Jacob likes to give me.

Today I had a doctors appointment before we leave for our trip.  Dr. says he likes to have his face smashed up against my stomach.  It took a little movement to get a good picture. Micah had to work today during the appointment (since we are leaving for 2 weeks) so I had Heather come with me.  Also, it turns out they had double booked my appointment with Lindsey so during the ultra-sound he let Heather, Lindsey, Brooklyn, and Lindsey's Mom watch.  Jacob had a little cheering section just for him. It was really sweet and fun!

 

Now Micah, Jacob, and I are headed off for New Zealand for 2 weeks! 

Brooklyn Kay Perry

A few months ago Lindsey asked me if I would want to be in the delivery room for the birth of their 3rd child.  I didn't answer right away and took some time to really think about this opportunity.  In the end I decided it was way too amazing of an opportunity to pass up.  It's not too often we would have this kind of experience in Saudi Arabia. Plus, what an awesome "friend" story we can have for the rest of our lives! 


On January 28, Lindsey was scheduled to be induced at SAAD hospital in Khobar.  She goes to the same doctor that I do so it was great to see how everything will work when it comes my turn.  We left Murjan (Jubail) around 3:00 am and made the 1.5 hour drive to Khobar.  Once we arrived at the hospital we had to wind our way around to this little tiny office that was essentially "check-in" for patients being induced. Finally we were checked in and escorted by a nurse to the delivery room around 5:15 am.  


The nurses came in to get Lindsey started on an IV and eventually the anesthesiologist came in for the epidural.  After that everything happened very quickly. I feel like most of the details of the day are not really mine to share so if you want more details you can go to Lindsey's blog.  Lets just say that they started the pitosin drip at 8:50 am and little Brooklyn was here by 9:44 am! I'm sure I won't get that lucky...

Now a part of the story that is mine to tell has to do with this picture:

About 2 minutes or so after Brooklyn was officially born, I almost passed out.  I have no idea what triggered this feeling. Maybe all the intense feelings and emotions in the room??? Maybe the realization that I'm going to have to do this myself in 20 weeks?! I'm just praying I don't do this during my own delivery.  I did recover pretty quickly and went back to watching Brooklyn and snapping pictures. 

I feel really blessed that Lindsey and Brooks allowed me to be a part of this very special day. It's a day that will never be forgotten!  I can't wait to get to tell Brooklyn that I saw her the moment she was born :)

Big Brother comes to visit 

proud Grandparents

What a doll!

Bows!!

*Micah came to visit later that night.

He Has a Name!

Our precious baby boy officially has a name.  Get ready to welcome into the world:

Jacob Asher Sperling

Also, along with finally agreeing on a name, today I am 20 weeks!  Officially halfway done with pregnancy.  I can't believe we are halfway to having our baby boy.  I'm still not showing that much and get looks when I say I'm pregnant. But those who do know are able to see the difference. I have a feeling the second half of this pregnancy is going to go by way faster than the first.  Wish us luck in getting ready.