Friday 30 January 2009

Badminton and Visit

Last Saturday we finished painting the kitchen and then went to Salisbury. On the way there we stopped for a geocache and found another travel bug, enjoying a nice countryside walk.

On Sunday, we decided to try again my physical abilities, after the disaster on the first badminton practice last Thursday and we invited our friends Priscilla and Richard to play some games. We had fun and enjoyed the games. Hopefully I will get back in shape soon. Maria and Sam joined their parents on the badminton court and my mum was watching them while we played.

After the games, we went to Priscilla, Richard and Sam's. We had a nice dinner and enjoyed playing with the little ones. Here are some pictures of Maria and Sam. Sam is one week older than Maria.
"How comfy it is!"
"Thank you, Sam for letting me sit in your seat!"
"Where is Sam?"
"Here I am, Sam I am!"
Impressively strong neck muscles

Saturday 24 January 2009

2 months since Maria Emma's arrival

Year 2009 started well for us. Both Maria and I had our 6 weeks check and all was ok. Therefore, I started trying to get rid of the kilograms I gained while I was pregnant and went swimming, played badminton and walked. I also started the post natal clinics and I enjoy meeting other babies at the same age as Maria.

Maria Emma is now almost 2 months old and she is 4.1kg (9.03lb) and 59cm. Although she is fed a lot, she has not gained too much, but she is still on the graph. We are gradually getting rid of the awful colics that have made most of our evenings very noisy. In the last week, we had the privilege to see Maria smiling and playing with her hands, as she discovered her fingers and hands. And another great achievement was that we finally managed to persuade her to sleep in the Moses basket and not only in mummy's arms. She still enjoys sleeping in our arms or falling asleep in our arms, but this happens only during the day.

My mum and Maria in the garden

There she is sleeping in daddy's arms...

Daddy's girl

As we are planning our first trip out of the country at the end of March, we needed to apply for Maria's passport. Here is the "winning picture". Doesn't she look like a 3-4 years old child?

She recently started enjoying her bouncy chair and she often falls asleep in it.


But sometimes she is awake and likes to listen to us singing songs for her or reading books or just chatting with her.

curly hair after bath


As Will finally received his much desired Christmas present, a GPS for geocaching, we have introduced Maria to some geocaching trips around Romsey and Salisbury, looking for the travel bugs. We quite enjoy this activity and it is a good excuse to go out and about.

Sunday 4 January 2009

Christmas and New Year


Christmas was very nice and special for us, as it was Maria Emma's first Christmas. We decorated the Christmas tree a few days before Christmas, despite the Romanian tradition of decorating it on Christmas Eve. In preparation for Christmas, my mum and I tried to make Gingerbread.

The results were:


some dark (or burnt), some ok...

On Christmas Eve, Santa came around and left some presents for all of us. Maria received many presents from family and friends from all over the world. Thank you very much for all the beautiful presents and cards!

Maria waiting for Santa ...

Mama Lili playing with her granddaughter

La pomul de Craciun (in front of the Christmas Tree)

Christmas Day was a relaxing day. We took advantage of a nice sunny day and took Maria and my mum to New Forest for a walk. We hiked along the Tall Trees Trail and remembered of our trips to Sequoia and Redwoods in the US. Here are some pictures from Christmas Day.

Sunny Christmas Day in New Forest

Enjoying the walk

Between Christmas and New Year, our house was full of visitors. Uncle Ed and Aunt Valerie from France, Grannie Mary and Grandpa Peter and Auntie Katie came over and we had a very nice Christmas dinner together, with lots of goodies and a delicious Christmas pudding, all cooked by Will, Ed and Peter. After dinner we opened some crackers and played our favourite game, Taboo, while Maria was very happy asleep in Katie's arms.

Maria and uncle Ed (doesn't he look like daddy?)

Maria at 1 month

New Year's Eve came very quick and our friends from Wales (Eric, Corina and Jamie) came over to celebrate the New Year with us. My mum and Corina cooked a very delicious traditional Romanian meal, while Jamie and Will emptied the beer cans. We were really happy for having them over.


On the 1st of January, a very cold, but another sunny day, we took our friends for a train ride in a nearby lakeside park.
First train ride for Maria

Will didn't take the train, so that he could take pictures of us and as usual, he reached the destination before the train did... speedy gonzales...
choo-choo...
"Hi Will" cheered and waved our carriage

After the train ride, we went for a nice walk around the partially frozen lake. Will spotted a nice landscape and showed us again his talent in taking very beautiful pictures:
seagulls on ice

Maria and a little duck