Here we go again...

We are very proud to present our latest addition to the family, Anton Edgar Noel Leuchowius! Born on August 10th, at 1:55 in the morning, weighing 3420 g and being 52 cm long.

Anton made a somewhat dramatic entrance after a quick drive through the Melbourne night and an even quicker birth process (why sit around and wait for hours at the hospital when things can be done in minutes?). He was a caul birth (sv "segerhuva"), which means that he will now be 1) very lucky 2) destined for greatness (other notable caul births include Napoleon, Charlemagne, Lord Byron, and Sigmund Freud, but not Donald Trump), or possibly 3) become a vampire, depending on which folklore you believe in. Anyway, it looked pretty cool that he was born with a hat on his head.

All's going well, and we're now slowly readjusting to having a baby in the house again (hello sleepless nights!). We're looking forward to introducing him to y'all at some point in the hopefully not-too-distant future.

/K

Proud mother, happy that the whole thing is over...

Everyone's in need of a bit of a rest...

Baby's first spa treatment...

Emily is quite happy to be a big sister, even though it turned out to be a little brother rather than a little sister...

Proud father with the little fella, happy that he didn't have to deliver a baby in the car
(where do you find boiling water and clean towels between Thornbury and Parkville in the middle of the night?)

Christmas in New Zealand

We went to the North Island of New Zealand for a couple of week during the Christmas break. 

Here are a few photos from the trip!

/K

A Cuban cafe in Coromandel Peninsula. We assumed the 1950s wooden high chair was part of the theme,
but apparently lots of restaurants had the exact same type of chair...

Cathedral Cove, Coromandel Peninsula. Apparently they filmed Narnia here.

Emily looking at fishes in a glass bottom boat

Emily is enjoying walking around in a giant bird park
(although getting chased by hungry birds when holding onto a bag of bird food was less fun!)

The Pohutu Geyser and boiling water in Whakarewarewa

Emily and Anna in front of a Maori sculpture at Te Puia

The Pohutu Geyser in Whakarewarewa

Walking through the forest, we found a couple of cool lakes with really clear water.

More geysers!

Christmas Day at Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland! The smell of rotten eggs was in the air...

Wai-O-Tapu

Steam and bubbles rising from the boiling water

A yellow sulphur lake

Start of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Emily is looking a bit sceptical and the fog was rather thick...

Beneath Mount Doom!
Luckily the morning fog had disappeared by now, or the view would have been somewhat boring...

Looking over the volcanic landscape - not much growing here!

Sun shade up! The sun was really strong in NZ...

Lunch beneath Mt Doom

More spectacular volcanic landscape

Emily managed to find some soft grass to sit on among all the rocks

Blue Lake from a distance

Emerald Lake

Emerald Lake

A long walk...

Walking past Blue Lake

Nice view of the valley below! Still a long way to go...

Steam erupting from the volcano that last erupted in 2012

Hiking is hard work...
There were signs saying we weren't allowed to stay too long in the area since it was dangerous
because of the volcanic activity, but some of us needed a bit of rest...

Hot springs! Apparently a bit too hot as somebody died here from being scalded in the water... hence the closed track.

A bit of Maori grimaces towards the end of the walk (note the change of scenery - now we're in a rainforest!)

Our car was quite cramped... good thing we got our "medium size" car in the end,
and not the tiny Toyota Yaris they wanted to give us...

Driving around NZ was spectacular! Looks like there could be Hobbits living here...

Where are the sheep? Plenty of nice lush green grass...

Seeing the glow worms at Waitomo was cool!
We went on a boat ride in the dark with the glow worms above us shining like stars...

The art gallery in Auckland. Emily and I enjoyed playing with Lego, building houses.

Fiji holiday

To escape the Australian winter, we decided to go to Fiji for a week. Here are some photos from the trip!

In summary, it was awesome, the Fijians were super nice and friendly, the food was ok but not Melbourne standard, we had a really good time, and we'd love to go back soon.

/K

Emily is playing with the traditional Fijian lali drum @ our resort on the mainland

On the boat to Mana Island

The staff welcomed us to Mana Island with music and singing

"Our" beach, 10 meters from our room

"Our" beach as seen from above.
White sandy beach (not too crowded), palm trees and a coral reef, what more can you ask for?

Anna exploring the coral reef

Snorkelling from the beach was awesome!

From up the hill, showing approximately half of Mana Island

Mmm, cold beer. 

The backpackers hostel where we had most of our dinners.

Emily and Anna playing in one of the pools at the resort

It's hard work being on holiday...

Fijian mud crab for us, a can of Heinz baby food for Emily

Emily enjoying a quiet moment in the shade

Anna enjoying a dip in the ocean

The obligatory selfie

Enjoying the sunset at Sunset beach with mum...

... and dad.

Fetch, Emily!

Where's my cocktail??

Us enjoying the adult pool and the fact the babysitting was included for free...

The little one watching the ocean

The weather was warm, so it was important to keep hydrated

Emily picking cherries

The girls on the beach enjoying the sunset