Nicolas is 3 years and almost 3 months and Eloïse is almost 13 months old.
Ellie got to add another stamp to her passport, bringing to 3 the number of countries she has been in - New Zealand, New Caledonia and Fiji. Nico has got Australia. Papa had to go to Suva for a week for work, and rather than having me left behind, all stressed up and grumpy, Jolyon kindly offered to pay for part of the ticket.
So barely a month after unpacking our suitcases, there we went again. Along with two suitcases (one was 3/4 full of the kids’ gear), one Trunki, one laptop bag (complete with my iPad full of the kids’ apps), one buggy, one backpack and one shoulder bag. Can’t say we travelled light.
At the Holiday Inn - we were treated like celebrities, the kids never had so much attention and kisses from so many people. Nico learnt to say Bula and Vinaka, and Elisio the porter taught him to give a cool handshake. He got way more confident talking to strangers, informing them that we were going up or down on the lifts. There were two pools at the hotel - the small kiddie paddle pool was ideal and we went there every single day. Nico loved it and it became a point of contention. And leverage. Elle learnt to be more confident around water and even got dunked under a few times. But I don’t think I could live in Fiji. I had a hellish time trying to find suitable food for the kids.
Friday - ELOISE WALKED! She did a very hesitant but definite step in the hotel room, then on Saturday Papa witnessed 3 more steps. I would rejoice, but the airplane trip back to Auckland gave me a preview of the wild child chases she’ll lead me to. She’s become so wilful, determined and stubborn.
She’s also sleeping downstairs tonight while Nico is at Oma’s. She’s being ousted out of the parental bedroom after refusing to settle down last night as soon as I stopped patting her back. Tomorrow night - Nico can sleep upstairs till Eloïse sleeps through the night for a whole week.
