Latest update - John in USA, Julie in NZ

We were due to fly back to Houston on Sunday morning (18^th April) however John encouraged me to stay and support Blake for a little longer – I actually didn’t take much convincing as leaving little Jesse (and Blake of course) will be quite difficult – I’ll have to face it one day soon, but not just yet! I was able to change my flights easily and so the airport scene was much different to what I expected – it was sad saying goodbye to John but felt great still being with Blake & Jesse. Anyway John was very encouraging of me staying and Blake is over the moon so I'm feeling good about my decision. Team mates Sue & Kees were also at the airport to say goodbye which was really lovely.

Blake is a great mum and so placid and accepts every bump in the road with a smile including the fact that little Jesse suffers from colic or wind or something and is only sleeping an average of 2 hrs (sometimes 3hrs, sometimes 1hr and once he actually slept for 4hrs!) Anyway the Lactation Nurse suggested she get a nanny for 3 hrs a day for the next month so she can get some sleep. Currently Jonno is working days and nights (!?!!?) and also getting little sleep so it just seemed the right thing to do to stay another few weeks and help out. Jesse will be 3 months old by then and hopefully a little more settled and I will have spent that much more time with him – yay! We encourage her to get as much rest as possible .............

Blake & I decided to stay in Auckland for the night as Papamoa is at least 2½ hrs away from the airport which would have meant a 5 hr car ride for little Jesse.

We had the best time checking out the shops in Queen Street and then relaxing in our room ordering room service! The next day we visited Blake’s friends at her workplace, International Travel College of NZ, and showed Jesse off and then enjoyed lunch with Nannee M (Michelle, Jonno’s birth mum), in a lovely little café on the Viaduct.

I am now enjoying my time back at Blake’s house. Today Jesse is 8 weeks old and is just adorable (think I’ve said that before!).

We are taking him for daily walks and making the most of each beautiful sunny day and of course John is just a computer click away so he is still a big part of our daily highlights!