winter update

Its winter, yes even here in Spain. Its keepinh to a manageable 18 or 19 degrees most of the time in the afternoon but the nigths and morning sare colder and everyone has got sore throats and colds. Its funy really because in England such temperatures would be welcomed in August but as its such a change here - well, everyone feels it and gets ill. Poor old Olivia has suffered with it too and didn't eat for ages. She's back to her old self now though and is eating ridculous amounts to make up for it .......so much so that she did four poos today !!!!

My latest out of the ordinary experience is that in October in went over to San Francisco, for all of 2 nights, for Jo's wedding clebration (aka Juanita Banana). I had to go and get back quickly because i left Olivia behind with my Mum and so I didn't want to be away from her for too long. What with travelling to London and spending a night there to get the virgin flight, well, I was away five days.......and by all accounts, five hours was too long for Olivia. She did not like it at all that I had left her. Poor thing. I had to go though. Jo means a lot to me and I really wanted to be there on her big night.

It was a pleasure to be able to meet Jo's husband, Matt, in the flesh. I iediately loved him. He is fantastic. So friendly, genuine, natural, fun loving, caring. Just like Jo really. He is her other half of her orange as they say here in Spain.

Olivia is now one year old! Wow. She is walking, when she can be bothered, which is funny to see. We are throwing her a birthday party tomorrow here in the flat. I ahve ivited all the other mum's and babaies that i know here inValencia - it ill be bedlam. I spent this afternoon decorating the lounge and dining room with coloured spiral things and disney princess banners and streamers. She and I also practised wearing a dusney princess crown - which she seemed to like wearing actually. So, hopefully lots of photos with that on her head tomorrow!

S xx

My Water Baby

Today I cried my first tears of pride for my daughter. I have been taking her to a water babies class for the last two or three weeks and today she floated on her back without any help for nearly a minute. It was amazing to see. The speed of the progress has been mind blowing. Last week she floated alone for just a few seconds and today she looked like she could stay there for ever but the teacher got hld of her because she didn't want her to get too tired. She's only tne months old for God's sake. I can't even float!!

Its a hard going class because the teacher ducks her right under water and when she fights to get to the top, after a few seconds, the teacher spins her over on herself and under the water again ...to make her keep learning the instinct to come to the top and float no mater what happens. You have to see it to belive it. In such a short time she is floating. I think by the time she is about 2 she will be diving in!

She is presently sleeping it off in her cot. It really tires them out. All the mum's say that their kids sleep for ages after. Another bonus of taking them! Joking apart though, I take her because my parent's in law have an uncovered outdoor pool and it frightens me to think what could happen if for a second someone takes their eyes off her. When I am there then I will be watching her all the time but I am going to be scared to go inside or leave her there alone if she can't swim.

I have been looking into schools here in Valencia. Yes, already. Generally I am appalled at how bad the system is re enquiring about schools. Basically, there isn't a system. I ahve been over to a few of the private schools in walking distance and they have no open day, no prospectus, no nothing. Apparently I am just supposed to know which school I want Olivia to go to without being allowed to go inside and have a look! Mental. I suppose, like everything else in Spain, it works via word of mouth. However, when you are English and Catalan and living in Valencia then you don't have many words coming to you from local mouths. Hmm.

Thankfully our prefered school (only because it is the brother school of where Jose went - The brothers of La Salle) has a website which includes lots of photos.......and they show exactly the sort of things I want to see. Not much grass but then this is Valencia and not Yorkshire and that is something I just have to accept. I've got their phone number and I shall ring them later and see what I can get out of them re fees, school buses, places left etc. Its a drive out of the city so a school bus is something I am hoping for. As you'll know from previous blogs, we already have the classic school run luxury 4x4, but I don't actually want to put it to that use. If I have got another baby at home then I am not planning on getting up and driving across the city. Of course, I will do it if it is either that or send Olivia to one of the more centrally based good schools where they don't even have one tree, not one!! (can you imagine how horrible - I grew up surrounded by grass and trees and its the way to be if you ask me).

I am starting to teach English to the sister of a friend this afternoon. Hopefully Olivia will let me as she will obviously be crawling around the place as the class takes place. Fingers crossed.

S xx

Freedom!

Hola blogers,

Hope you have all had a good summer. Its still summer in my head as its still 30 odd degrees here in Valencia, although technically, it being September, I know summer has kind of ended. We had a great time introducing Olivia to the sea and the swimming pool. My God does she love water. She crawls along the beach straight into the sea and when a wave comes she laughs her head off. Obvious danger obviously not apparent to her. People were stopping their sea shore walks to come and stare and laugh at her (which happens a lot actually as she is forever doing daft stuff and laughing her head of).

At the swimming pool she managed to manipulate a seven year old boy into draggin her round in her ring all day. The poor boy was getting tired but she had him round her little finger. Her communication, without words, is very effective. She is actually forming words now. I'm really pleased about that as we were expecting her to be late with speech due to being trilingual. However, I have got her to say,"book", "peg", "clap" and "splash" and she says "mama" "dad" and "yes" pretty perfectly and at the appropriate moments. The other words were obvious attempts but I'm by no way claiming that she will hve remembered and will say them again at the right time. You never know though, I'm convinced she has called "peg" a few times upon seeing one.

I have called this blog "freedom" because Olivia has a new founf freedom and I am longing for some! Olivia now crawls and so its irrelevant to her where I put her, she goes where she wants. At the famr this weekend she must have covered a fair old distance. She was chasing cats. The cats were fully aware of her desire to achieve contact with them and they teased her, as only cats would and could, by letting her nearly touch and then jogging off again. She nearly had one of them at one point but her excitement ruined it for her. A cat was sunning itself and had forgotten about her for a second. It rolled on to its back and put its legs in the air. Perfect distance and position for Olivia to ahve touched it at that moment, but Olivia, upon realising her luck, squealed with delight and the cat jumped up in the air with fright and shot off.

My need for freedom may be met this week, and each week from now on, all being well. I have joined at a spa/gym/salon / general ponce around gorgeous place ......which has a creche!!!!! I am not so interested in the keep fit bit, I'm as fit as a bloody fiddle due to Olivia and her antics. I am more interested in letting Olivia play in the creche for an hour while I just sit and close my eyes in the turkish bath! Sounds like a plan, no?! Its frightfully expensive ......buy what price can you put on sanity? I love Olivia and love being with her every day.....and won't put her in a nursery because I don't agree with nurseries for children so young .....however, her desire to be walked around the house for hours on end is breaking my back. She moves her little legs really well and loves walking - but obvioulsy can't do it yet - so I have to bend over double and hold her under her armpits. Its agony. If I try to coak her into sitting down then she screams blue murder. She is so head strong! Hmm, wonder where that comes from. She is a real handful now as she insits on doing what she wants to do. Obviously I don't let her get her own way all the time but she is only 9 months old so a no involves lots of screaming. She is not easily tricked like some other babies are. Oh well, I'm hoping its intelligence rather than innate naughtiness. Although some say the two come hand in hand.

The other tow girls on the photo are my nieces by the way. My sister's children.

S xx

al fresco

Hola, I have just packed my suitcases for England. We are going tomorrow and I really don't know why when it is only about 17 degrees there and over 35 here! Oh well, at least we should sleep well. Actually it shouldbe nice to get out of this oven that is my flat. I can face the cold for a while as I know that I come back to Spain. I don't have to live with it forever. We actually fly direct to my apartment in the south of Spain when we come back from England so thats a week on the beach for certain. hooray!

Tonight will be our last night with Miriam - Jose's cousin. She has been staying with us for 6 weeks as she has worked the summer for Jose. If Olivia doesn't crawl tonight Miriam will be annoyed. She has spent the last few weeks watching her look as though she is off but then never quite make it. Its obvious that she is so close and Miriam wanted to be here to see her first steps. Hopefully Mum will see it instead though.

It has been a pleasure to have Miriam stay here. She has been our adopted daughter and we have had fun introducing her to life with a baby and life with an English veggie! She has been freaking out looking in my kitchen cupboards as she hasn't had a clue what anything is. However she is now fully initiated into the world of soya and quinoa. She has lost about 4 pounds and looks great and feels great - so thats another person converted to the benefits of my diet. I know she won't keep it up, but at least she won't knock it.

S xx

Randoms

Just realised that I never posted a photo of the new car - so here that is .....then there is a photosof Olivia in her christening outfit. I put her in it again the other day and took some photos - because on teh day of the christening we were all rally ill and it was absolutely peeing it down and we never really got any photos of her in the dress close up.

The last one is Olivia's first try out of the paddling pool we have bought for the farm. That was taken yesterday. It was between 35 and 38 degrees yesterday -ridiculously hot. We only had her in there for about five minutes. The water was lovely and warm but it was just too hot to risk having her out in the sun. When we got home to valencia it seem sit had been the same here as well because it was 30 degrees in livia's room at 11pm at night. Needless to say she doesn't have nay form of covers on her here to sleep. She has a little thin shorts and tahirt all in one pyjama thing and thats it - and she only has that because she has taken to ripping her nappy to shreds if she can get hold of it - so I need it to be covered up. She's a nutter.

S xx

wedding season

Well wedding season has started. We were at one last weekend and will be at another this weekend. The one just gone was Jose's youngest brother, David, and Marta. I had been worrying how we would cope with Olivia because it was typical Spanish timetable - cermenoy at 6 and meal not until about 10 at night. Anyway, I needn't have worried because she was so good. We didn't leave until about 2.30 am and Olivia caused us no problems at all. I changed her out of her dress at about 9 and managed to get her to sleep at about 11 and then she slept in the corner of the room in her bugaboo bed. I put her behind the top table so that my mother in law could listen out for her if she woken up. I thought it would be better there than at the side of my table where waiters would be knocking past her etc. I hadn't thought about the numerous LOUD well wishers coming up to the top table to see David and Marta - but she didn't stir once. Amazing erally as it was really loud. There were lads dressed up as bulls running round the room and getting David to "Torear" them etc etc.

Olivia and Leire (her cousin) went dressed identically (as you can see) and they were the stars of the show really. Everyone wanted to "have a go" and hold one or both of them. They were both laughing and giggling and having baby language conversations all day long. Olivia even enjoyed the fire works! I thought she'd be scared, but no. I covered her ears up a bit and she just stared into the sky watching them. She was an angel all day.

S xx

Pipe and Slippers

As mentioned in the previous blog, we have just got a new car. Well our fist outing in it this weekend really made me realise that we are getting old now. Firstly, the trip out was to the hypermarket to stock up on nappies and other family related goods. This in istself is enough to throw the towel in! I can remember when new cars, or borrowed cars, or any cars one could get one's hands on would be imediately taken for a "spin" up the m606 to see how fast they could go. For those of you not from West Yorkshire, the M606 is a short spurt of motorway (just a couple of junctions worth) with a slight gradient to it. It is the said gradient, known to all local youths, which makes the achievment of hitting 90 by the time you have merged into the main stretch all the more gratifying.

In days gone by, another ritual act upon entering a new car would be to test out the stereo. Well, I had to laugh this saturday in Carrefour's carpark when I realised we had driven to the supermarket without even looking at the stereo, never mind turning it on. Instead, Jose had been singing the joys of the little button that automatically folded in the wing mirrors and I was going on about the automatic rain sensor (which really is great by the way). I mentioned the lack of stereo action to Jose and we looked at each other knowingly. We gracefully accepted that isofix is now more important than wattage ...... and stuck in a Norah Jones easy listening cd on the way back.

On arrival at our car park the smell of the new leather seats was suddenyl masked by a suspicious smell coming from the back. Olivia was playing with a material elephant and ready as ever with her gummy smile upon recognition of my face but undeniably sitting in poo! However, what would normally have been an awkward job is truly a delight (relatively) in the new car! Open up the boot door and there you have a newly carpeted, perfect height changing station! With it being a 4X4, the boot is massive and flat and perfect for changing nappies. Who would have thought that woud have been something I would have loved a vehicle for?!

So, other than the slight gash on my right eye that the car gave me, I love it. I suppose it was my fault about my eye. I opened the passenger door with some force and was probably not watching and assuming the low door of the Audi but ......no.....bang, smack, wallop - the bloody TALL HEAVY door caught me in my eye. It still hurts but surprisingly hasn't come out all blue coloured, or is that just that you can tell any way due to the constant tired look I have due to Olivia's teething episode.

I will get a photo of the car once we actually go somewhere real, as apposed to the Carrefour car park.

S xx

sitting and sea lions

This week's new trick is sitting up by herself. My God she looks grown up. Its scary how fast she is developping now. I feel like Iam loosing my baby!

She is supposed to be in bed now but she is flinging herself around on a mat on the floor. Its amazing to watch her - I don't how a baby can be so strong - she literally flings herself around from front to back then back to front. She was placed on the mat leaning back on a cushion and she is now miles away from there with the cushions around her and on top of her. She is a bit of a nutter (as my sister confirmed when she saw her the other week).

I hope you like the lovely hand knitted duck that Nena sent her. We love it! Thats me and Jose by the way. I think Olivia likes it too - which I suppose is who it was meant for.

The sea lions are residents at the Oceanographico here in Valencia. Its a good day out teaching you all about all things sea related. I never new that sea lions could be so violent. Thos macho ones were having a right old scrap! They are very cute (I thought) in an ugly sort of way.

Olivia is now off the mat by the way. She can't crawl yetbut she can certainly get about!!

We have taken delivery of our new car. Photos will follow - perhaps this weekend if we go for a day out. Good job we got it when we did because Jose is now really worried about the economic crisis that is coming (has come to a certain exent) and has put a ban on all luxuries from now on. Boo hoo.

Right, I shall now try and coax this hyper baby into bed.......although I have a feeling she has the pilas puesto (batteries put in) and that we wont see lights out for a good hour or so. She is now having a pillow fight with her self.

S xx