Messy Eater

Here, in one simple photo, is the answer to the question, "Why should you not turn your back on a young child eating a bowl of cereal?":

Oh no!

I love the look of innocence on her face, as if to say, "No Daddy, I have no idea who spilt that milk."

Lesson learned; don't turn your back, or - better still - glue the bowl to the table.

Bimbadaboum!

Bimbadaboum - The 100% Family Festival

Earlier this year, whilst searching for activities to do with Lydia, Chris came across something called the "Bimbadaboum Festival". This is basically an event put on specifically for young children, with shows and activities to keep them interested. So, Chris booked us some tickets for the festival on Saturday 18th August. Under-2s get in free, so we only had to pay for 2 tickets (costing 66.- CHF).

I hadn't really read much into the event prior to going there, just the basic information shown on their website (www.bimbadaboum.ch), so didn't have any huge expectations. I knew that this was the 5th year of the festival and that there would be children's entertainers and some stuff for the kids to do, like little workshops for various crafts. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by what we found there.

Happy 30th Birthday to ME!

The 14th July 1982 was the 193rd anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution. It was also 201 years to the day since Billy the Kid was shot and killed. It was also, and perhaps most importantly, the day I was born in Hertford, England.

The Birthday Boys

Now, 30 years later, I'm married to the love of my life and we have a beautiful daughter, living together in a foreign country and speaking a different language. 10 years ago if you'd told me that would be my future I would have laughed in your face. I really hadn't ever planned to move outside of England, and had no interest in learning French. Just goes to show how much true love can really change your life.

To celebrate the big 3-0 this year, I wanted to have a party. A friend of mine in England, Dave, was born on the same day, and so we decided to have a joint 30th birthday bash. We rented a pub in a village local to where Dave lives (and pretty close to where all our family and friends live), and waited patiently for the big day to arrive.

Holiday in Cornwall

At the beginning of June we headed out for our much anticipated holiday in Cornwall with my family. Unfortunately, Cornwall is in England, and so we were greeted with traditional English weather for most of the week we were there.

Lydia with her bucket of seawater

I wasn't looking forward to the flight over to Bristol (see the article Travelling with Babies for my reasons why). I fully expected Lydia to be fidgety and restless, generally screaming us into insanity. To my surprise and delight, she was (almost) as good as gold. Apart from a mini-whinge, she slept on Chris, and so our flight passed without too much drama.

We landed in Bristol on time, then picked up our rental car and started the 3 hour drive down to St. Ives in Cornwall. Well, normally it would have been a 3 hour drive, if it wasn't for ridiculous amounts of traffic on the M5. We were crawling along bumper to bumper in 3 lanes of queuing traffic for what seemed like forever - after about an hour of driving we had managed to move approximately 20 miles away from the airport. With Lydia showing clear signs of boredom, we pulled off at the service station and had a coffee, giving Lydia her evening bottle of milk.

Having rested for around half an hour, we plucked up the courage to head back to the car. Fortunately, whatever was causing the traffic jam on the motorway seemed to have cleared, and we set off at normal speeds to finally kick-start the journey to Cornwall.

C'MON ENGLAND!

With the kick off approaching for the Euro 2012 football championship, I've been coaching Lydia to support her English heritage.

Lydia getting behind the boys from England!

Fortunately there hasn't been any conflict of interest with her Swiss family, as the Swiss national team won't be involved in the tournament (partly thanks to England beating them in qualification). I've therefore been free to drape Lydia in the St. George flag as much as I wanted to!

My little England supporter

We might have a weakened squad, and I can't really see us beating any of the big teams (Spain, Germany, Italy and Portugal, maybe not even France!) but Lydia and I are ready to give our full support to the English team.

C'MON ENGLAND!!

Now there's no stopping her!

On Saturday 19th May, Lydia took her first real solo steps.

We'd gotten used to her taking a few steps between objects or people, but this never lasted more than maybe 10 steps or so. We were constantly encouraging her to do this, getting her to practise at home and elsewhere. We had also gotten a bit tired of wondering when she would actually start walking on her own, given that we had been waiting for the day for so long.

All of a sudden, it happened.

A week in Nax

The Canton of Valais in Switzerland is a very nice place indeed. It's incredibly scenic, given that - as it's name implies - it is a valley running between mountain ranges. Rivers, lakes, quaint little towns and villages, and of course mountains, it is a photographer's dream come true.

It's also a very nice place to spend a week's holiday, which is exactly what we did in May.

Together with Chris' parents, we stayed in a chalet in a small village called Nax, approximately 15km or so from the Canton of Valais' capital, Sion. Nax has a population of around 400, and an area of roughly 25 square km (thanks Wikipedia!). What drew us to spend a week there was the setting.

Lydia's 1st Birthday

A child's 1st birthday is generally a pretty big milestone.

For the parents, it signifies the end of the first full year of being parents. A time to reflect on all the highs and lows they've been through together with their child since the birth. The screams, the laughs, the messy bits and the intriguing process of getting to know your child. A process which, although ultimately rewarding, can also be incredibly frustrating.

Lydia in her birthday
dress

It is only when I look back on the last 12 months of being a father that I truly appreciate the wonder of how quickly a child develops. The tiny, wriggly pink thing that the nurse placed in my arms on the 21st April last year somehow managed to learn how to eat solid food, roll over, sit up and crawl, not to mention smile, laugh, frown and cry in frustration, all by herself. It's amazing to think just how much a baby develops in their first year outside the womb, learning through copying his or her parents or simply by trying things out themselves.

For the child, it's just another day. At this age they do not understand the concept of birthdays or presents, or why people would suddenly fuss over them. They would wake up in the morning and expect to do whatever they would normally do - go to the park, play with their toys, make a mess with their lunch, and so on.

Unbeknownst to the child, the parents often have other ideas, and this was the case for Lydia.

Travelling with babies

For Easter this year we headed over to England to spend a long weekend with my family. It was fantastic - lots of fun and good food, and it was great to spend some quality time with the family I don't get to see very often.

Unfortunately, it also meant sitting on a plane for one-and-a-half hours each way with a restless, fidgeting baby.

My little globetrotter

This wasn't the first time Lydia had been on a plane. In fact, it was her fourth trip to England in less than a year. I first took her to England in June last year, when she was a tiny baby of just seven weeks. On the flight to England on that occasion, she slept for the entire journey. On the way back she was awake, but calmly laid on my lap without making a fuss.

Her second trip, for my brother James' wedding to Kelly (see this blog entry), was at the end of July 2011. By this time, she was three months old, and had obviously developed a lot since the June trip. Once again she stayed calm on both flights, although we had to work hard to keep her entertained by playing with her and reading her the in-flight easyJet magazine.

The world through Lydia's eyes: Waking Up

It's dark. Very dark.

They must have closed those metal things over the window again.

I can see pretty well though. Over the last few months, my eyes have adapted well to being in the dark. Wonder if that's down to all those carrots I've been eating?

[big stretch, cough, small burp]

Ok, quick status report: I'm in my bed, lying on my side. For some reason my head is at the wrong end of the bed, again. Who keeps moving me during the night? I'm tucked up warm in my sleeping bag. I'm hungry.

Right, let's have a look around-- AAARGH!! What the hell is that??!?