And then there were four!

Well 9 weeks and a baby later and I have finally managed to sit down long enough to blog.

Last time I wrote I was 10 days overdue and playing the waiting game. After 12 days of going back and forth to the doctors for monitoring they decided to induce me as my fluid levels had dropped low enough that they didn't really want to leave me much longer and risk complications. So, at lunchtime on September 10 we went in to be induced. 8 hours later our little boy, Christopher James, was born. He weighed 9 and a half pounds and was perfect.

This birth was a very different experience to Steph's, not least because it was much easier. Also, for us, we were in a different country and under a different medical system.When we were admitted we were taken to our room, this room was to be mine until after baby was born, rather different from being wheeled down the corridor in the UK when you reach the appropriate stage of labour! It was rather like a large Premier Inn room with a bed in the centre, a sofa, big wardrobe/TV unit and a crib for the baby. Very subtly around the room was the medical equipment. Once in our room we were then introduced to our nurse, who would be with us right through until we had baby or shift change. During the afternoon we were fed, my diet became limited to liquids only once induction was started, and monitored in a very relaxed and unobtrusive way.
Once Christopher arrived we stayed in our room until we'd all been checked and washed and were then moved to another room, which was to be our home for two days. Two day stays post birth seem to be standard over here, that includes the father if they choose!

I had a lovely two days, I think Andy had a different story!

Some of you will have read about the floods we had in September. The rain that caused these started the morning Christopher was born and didn't stop. During those two days Andy drove back and forth between the hospital and home and Table Mesa where Steph was staying. I think each time he did a journey he had to take a different route due to the road closures and chaos that ensued.

(The view from my room, the mountains are there but you just can't see them for the mist)

During this time Steph went to stay with some friends who have a little boy her age, Caleb, where, it seems she had a wonderful time - thank you so much Megan and Brian.

After two rather restful days we all came home and started life together as a family of four.Since then, as you can imagine life has been rather busy.

Having a newborn again is lovely, however there are many things I had forgotten! We're slowly adjusting to life as four as we slot back into feeding routines, sleepless nights and the general neediness of a littly. Christopher is a delightful baby, very different from Steph. He's very placid and will happily just lie there and grin up at you.

Steph has been amazing. Considering she was expecting a sister she has unconditionally loved her brother since the moment she met him. Of course, we have moments but most of the time she is desperate to cuddle him, pick him up and comfort him when he's upset. She also loves 'borrowing' the toys that have been bought for him!

I have been amazed at the generosity of people over here. Instead of the traditional gift that you get in the UK the Americans give frozen meals. All I can say is "what a fantastic idea!" It was so nice in the first couple of weeks to delve into the freezer for dinner, it completely took the pressure off in an evening which was lovely. Thank you to those people that filled our freezer -it was wonderful.

Andy's parents came to visit the last two weeks in October - our first visitors from the UK. We had a great time with them, becoming tourists and visiting various places including the Peak to Peak Highway and Denver Zoo as well as a random farm! From my perspective, as well as just seeing them and having time to have a good catch up it was so lovely to have another couple of pairs of hands around the house to give Steph attention, help with Chris and just generally take the pressure off. Thank you Wendy and Tony.

Since Wendy and Tony left I have survived Andy going away for three days and leaving me with both children! Easier than I thought it was going to be, but still it was great when Andy got home. Life has generally started slotting into some kind of routine. We make it out the house most days now to meet up with various people or go swimming or to music class. I am thoroughly enjoying being a Mummy at home and having time to enjoy my gorgeous children. I love that Andy works 15 minutes away as he can be home early if needed and has the energy to spend time with the children in the evenings. Generally we are making the most of every moment and thoroughly enjoying our family of four.

Next on our horizon is a visit back to the UK :) A very last minute visit as we had to wait until Christopher's passport came through (my little boy is now officially an American citizen!) which it did and flights were still cheap enough so we booked some. We are coming home next week for just over a week. Andy is home for work and I am taking the children to see my family who have not yet had the opportunity to meet Christopher. I'm not sure I relish the thought of a flight with two monsters or the affect of the time change but it will be worth it to see my family again.

And then when we come home, before we know it, it will be Christmas and our next guests will be here......

For those that are interested, I mentioned earlier in this post the week of Christopher's birth it rained and rained and rained. Many of the creeks running through and around Boulder flooded. Devastation hit the roads running down from the mountains due to the sheer volume of water running down them, along with all the debris it picked up along the way. Living just outside of Boulder, the opposite side to the mountains, we were very lucky and not really affected by the floods. Many people in Boulder suffered some flood damage, mostly to their basements but it was the people living in the Canyons and to the North of Boulder that were really affected; whole houses were split in two or completely washed out and the roads into the mountains had sections that disappeared. We have been amazed at the generosity of the people out here as folk begin to rebuild their lives. The sense of community and support and help that has been offered is staggering. Where some people lost their homes, for others, their day to day lives were affected as roads were closed and what was a 40 minute commute down the mountains to work became a 2 hour commute as alternative routes were found. Boulder County worked remarkably quickly and reopened Boulder Canyon road within a month, however many other roads and footpaths remain closed as they continue to slowly rebuild. And in the background to everyday life, gradually, the people that were badly affected slowly begin to rebuild their lives.

And relax!! (Don't get excited, no baby yet!)

Nearly two more weeks into the new house and it's really starting to feel like home now - read that as Andy has taken over the kitchen work surfaces with bike bits and Steph has taken over the lounge, in much the same way they did when we were back in the UK :)

We've had a funny couple of weeks as we both fully expected baby to come at the end of August, we didn't for one minute think that baby would still be a bump well into September. Consequently we made very few plans and have kind of just been enjoying going from one day to the next and actually taking time to relax.

Following my last blog entry we've slowed down our rate of productiveness completely! We've had a good sort through the garage now and managed to open nearly all the boxes. It's amazing how differently things are viewed after 8 weeks without them. There's some things I am really appreciating having back. For example Steph's red box. Having spent 8 weeks with her standing on an IKEA stool / step every time she wanted to be up high to cook or do some crafting I am more than happy to wave goodbye to the stool / step. She wriggles and jiggles so much I lost count of the number of times she fell off the stool. I love the red box :)

Other things we've really appreciated are things like my kitchen bits, I always find cooking in someone else's kitchen really difficult and have loved having all my bits back and being able to find the exact thing I need rather than having to search through cupboards for something that will do. And my bed, I love having my bed back :)

There's been other items we've looked at and kind of thought 'hang on, why do we have that? Why did I even buy it?' Part of this is separation from the item and a realisation that it really wan't needed. But I think, to some extent, it's also to do with the lifestyle out here. We've had 8 weeks to experience the lifestyle and realised that actually said item just doesn't work with the lifestyle we seem to have developed out here. (As I sit here my brain has gone blank and I can't think of any examples for you!!)

The UK cables we have found so far............

Lastly there's various things we're unpacking and looking at knowing they're never going to be used as we pretty much can't use them; UK extension cables, (how many do we have?!!), radiator drying racks (there are no radiators here!!)

Suffice to say our unpacking has caused us great amusement :)

Unlike July 4th we pretty much ignored Labour Day, we didn't plan to but we fully expected to be in hospital or getting to grips with things at home and therefore didn't make any plans. I believe it is actually celebrated very well here, more so than July 4th, I shall have to share that experience next year. We played in the garage for the day, well Andy and Steph did while I made the most of being 40+ weeks and sat in my directors chair.

The rest of the week has been pretty quiet. Steph and I have had a bit of a routine of going out in the mornings and then spending our afternoons at home playing and reading books. Which has been really nice for both of us. I've found this week slightly easier than last week as I am actually relaxing and we've just thoroughly enjoyed each others company.

Being at home having a quiet week has also given me chance to reflect a little on the various groups I / we have joined over the last few weeks and the people we've met and where we go from here.............

Initially I followed the generic route of meeting people through meeting others and word of mouth and things seemed to get off to a good start. But meeting people with young children is very different here to the UK. In the UK there was always a local group that you could go to with your child. These groups are based in village halls or churches and run by organisations for all Mums / Dads and young children so even if you didn't know anyone you could find out about the groups and go along. Inevitably you would meet people but you were also introducing your child to an 'organised setting' where they sat together to sing songs, did an organised activity and learnt how to be civilised!

It's very different over here. There are, as far as I can work out, (if anyone reading this knows different please let me know!!) very few organised groups, apart from story time at the various libraries or paid for activity classes. There are groups out there, in as much as a group of Mum's will get together at the local park for a morning but you need to be in the know to know that these things are happening. So far I have joined 2 groups through the internet, one is a Meetup group called Boulder Area Moms. This group seems to count the library story times as the official meet-ups with very little else happening, despite having 400+ members. The only other thing that has happened through this group is a park meetup once a week at various parks, where I have met and am getting to know some really lovely people. I will be fascinated to know what happens to these general meetups when it is too cold to use the park though.........

The other group I have joined is something called Mod Moms, a group that I would never have found with out being told about. Initially this looks great. Within this group there are many subgroups, mainly one for each year and you join the sub group of the year your child was born. Then, within the sub group the Mum's take it in turns to 'host' an event on a weekly basis. Again another great group of people that I am slowly getting to know.

But that is as far as I have got. I'm hoping that through these groups I will gradually meet more and more people and start to make some good friends and continue to build the friendships I have already started. But, my head keeps saying BUT. As far as I can see this seems to be how it all works out here and everyone seems quite happy with it. It does mean you can lead quite an independent life, as groups don't always happen on a weekly basis and can change days from week to week depending on the host and you can pick and choose when you go. To some extent when you do go you invite yourself as it's a generic invitation for all groups members. I know it's a generic invitation in the UK but it's at a hall or something, here it could be at someone's house, which feels different. It's a whole different way of thinking and doing things that I hadn't anticipated, that will take a while to get used to. It's not a bad thing and I hope the above doesn't convey that, I'm just trying explain the differences as best I can.

My main BUT is for Steph as most of these groups just basically involve meeting people and playing, where at 2 she can be oblivious to the other children and play entirely on her own (is that being 2 or just inherited from Daddy!). I think I also hadn't anticipated that with a two year old you can take them to the park to play and at the end of the session they still won't know anyone as they have played on their own. They physically need to be put in close proximity to another and introduced several times. What I miss most is the structure of the groups at home where we sat together to sing songs, some groups did a craft time and the children were starting to learn routines, structures, the togetherness of all sitting down to sing and generally started to recognise that they were part of a group and not an individual. Possibly the teacher in me is finding this hard but I also feel as a Mum I want Steph to develop those skills and she's not. And frankly there's only so much nursery rhyme singing we can do together at home!!!

To some extent it's a strange situation I find myself in. I really hadn't expected Mum and toddler groups to be so different / hard to find. As with a lot of things that can happen within a culture everyone knows how it works and makes it work for them but can't really explain it clearly to as newcomer. The only thing I can do is live it and enjoy it and keep working through it until I understand the system. I suspect this may take a while and will be a very interesting experience. I can, at this moment in time, see myself writing about this again next year but from a very different viewpoint and understanding where the light suddenly dawns and what has been staring me in the face becomes much clearer!!

But (another but) I do just want to add that despite having to try to understand a new system and culture Steph and I have been kept very busy meeting the people we have and have had a great time exploring all the local parks. We have met some wonderful people and are really starting to make what I would call real friends, which is a fantastic feeling. I even added my first American friends to Facebook last week :)

Suitcases make fun beds!!

My treehouse!

Baby Update!
We're now sitting at 10 days late. Either we have a stubborn baby that doesn't want to come out or just a lazy baby that's quite happy where he / she is. I think Steph has lost interest as I keep saying the baby is going to come any day and it still hasn't appeared but she is being incredibly caring does have moments of referring to the baby - today she told me the baby was going climbing with her and Daddy tomorrow! On a medical front all seems to be fine, the hospital have been monitoring the baby's heartbeat, they've scanned me and we now have an induction booked for next Thursday. When we knew our baby was due at the end of August I didn't for one minute think we would ever get as far as September 12th, which seems to be looking more and more likely................

A home at last :-)

Well we've done it; we've managed to move to a new country, find a house, move in, be reunited with all our stuff and can now relax and live the dream :-)

It's been a very busy couple of weeks but we're now mostly settled and organized. We finally got the keys for the house a week ago on Friday and spent the best part of an hour walking round saying "Wow, it's ours, we're finally in!", and deciding, yet again, where everything was going!!

Despite having no container, and therefore what we thought as not a lot to do, until the Monday we managed to spend most of the weekend doing house related stuff; several car loads of things were moved across, a trip to Home Depot ( think American B & Q) was 'needed', and the new Dyson needed to be tested out on all the new carpets that needed defluffing.

Monday morning finally arrived, with Andy and I up and awake earlier than we had been since arriving in the US. We had to be at the new house before 8 and wanted to take the last few things across with us so we didn't have to worry about coming back for a while. Ugh, early mornings do not suit any of us!

Impressively for us we arrived at the house before 7:45! Typically then the container didn't arrive until gone 9:00! Having been in a state of excited anticipation I was slightly thrown by the container, when it did arrive, as it wasn't the one we waved goodbye to in the UK. Where we had put it in storage everything had been moved into big wooden crates. Initially, I was rather sceptical as to whether we would find our stuff in there or not and then I saw a little green face that reassured me it was all OK. (Steph's turtle sandpit had only been partially wrapped :-). )

It's quite hard to describe the feelings that we went through that Monday. We were excited but at the same time relieved, along with certain feelings of satisfaction and contentment as our home was brought back to us. The 'magic men' were excellent. All boxes came through the garage where they were ticked off a list and either opened or taken straight to where we wanted them. It was quite strange watching our lives unfurling in front of us.

We've always been gatherers and knew we had a lot of stuff and I was kind of expecting the boxes to overwhelm this house, particularly the garage. It was a nice surprise to find that actually we had space to spare and room to move in.

By mid afternoon the men had done their work and we were left with a house full of boxes. A tough week followed as we worked hard to empty boxes and get everything put away or at least in the right room. The kitchen was the hardest job as there must have been at least 20 boxes. Each box took forever to empty as everything was so well wrapped and when we got to the end of each box it was slightly disappointing as the pile of booty was not very large. I remember one particular box had  only twelve glasses and a picture in it!

A week later and the house is now mostly sorted, we still have piles and Andy's playroom and garage still need sorting but the house is now completely livable in and I can actually sit down and relax without feeling there is a job that has to be done NOW.

Steph is loving being in the house, she's working on gaining at least one bruise a day as she explores the treehouse, climbs anything that looks climbable and falls down unfamiliar steps. She's really enjoying being reunited with her toys and is playing with them on a whole different level. A definite advantage in taking her toys away for 2 months means we can really see the change in how she uses them. The imaginative play is fascinating to watch, I have no idea where that imagination comes from! Our priority when unpacking was to try and get Steph's room sorted so she felt she had her space. She has her new bedding, which she loves and yesterday she and I spent ages putting transfers on her walls that matched the bedding, so it was Stephie's special room.

The baby's room is now finally ready. It was the one room I was hoping to get sorted fairly quickly and ended up being the last to be done. Unfortunately the set of drawers for that room got damaged in the move and now need a fairly big repair job, rendering them useless for a while. After a few days of pondering various solutions we have moved the drawers from the spare room up. The other factor holding up this room was the cot. When it was packed by the men it was a cot bed and they carefully took it apart and packed all the screws and bits together and labelled them. When we moved it from a cot to a cot bed we also carefully bagged up the screws etc for that bit and put them somewhere safe in the garage, which meant that when we tried to put the cot together they were in a box 'somewhere' and not where we needed them!  The other things we needed to put the cot together were some basic tools; also in a box somewhere in the garage!!

Having worked rather manically last week in a bid to get sorted the aim for this week is to bimble away at what is left to do but also have a fairly gentle week and give our bodies a little down time. Steph and I are therefore spending the mornings at parks or with people and then the afternoons alternating between playing, sorting and reading books.

Saturday is 'sort the basement / playroom day'. Hopefully then we shall have some computers up and running and we can locate all the bits not yet found. We're assuming their all in the boxes that we hid down there.......

Then, on Sunday I've told the baby it's allowed to come :-)

( However best laid plans and all that, due date is 29th so we may find that it doesn't follow my plan, we shall keep you posted)

Bump!

Many of you have been asking how bump is going and how I have been so I thought I would focus the start of this entry on bump.
We've now hit 38 weeks and it's all going very well. Much to my surprise, when I fisrt went to the doctors over here they were very happy with everything that had been done in the UK and didn't want to repeat any of the tests or do a scan! For the last couple of weeks I have been having weekly check ups with the doctors and they seem very happy with my progress. As far as we can see this pregnancy is going very similarly to the last one apart from a lack of swollen feet :)

We still have no idea whether it's a boy or girl but I think deep down Andy and I suspect it will be another girl. Steph is convinced she is having a little sister, if you ask her she will say 'having little sister'. We keep saying that it might be a brother but she just repeats 'having little sister'. I think we could all be setting ourselves up for a big shock!
The only time Steph has contemplated having a brother was in the shops last week when she saw something she wanted that was blue and she tried to convince us that her little brother would need it!
We were highly entertained on one of my visits to the doctors. I asked about recommended vitamins as my UK supply had run out. She said she'd give me a couple of samples to try - below is a picture of the couple she gave me!

When I got them home Andy was highly amused over the size of some of these pills! He then proceeded to measure it and compare it to a fruit pastel!

Now we find ourselves feeling fairly settled and unable to quite believe that we're going to completely turn our lives upside down again in the next three weeks. We had confirmation this week that we get the keys to the house on Friday :-). So next weekend shall be spent moving what we have here across and shopping for the various things we will need like a hoover and a lawn mower. It's obviously a sign of age but I'm really looking forward to having a decent hoover, the one in this house is driving me mad, particularly with it's miniscule cable! Bending down to keep plugging and unplugging it is not one of my favourite jobs at the moment, particularly as the American sockets are also winding me up. It takes forever to get the plug in the socket and then the smallest tug pulls it right out!

We've been gathering bits for Steph's room over the last few weeks as all her old stuff will now become the baby's. Therefore she has got 'new' furniture and bedding etc. The request for bedding was pink giraffes! (I did succeed!!) Yesterday I bought her a new pillow, which I then added to the pile of stuff at the bottom of my wardrobe. This morning it got removed from my wardrobe, by a certain someone, and put at the bottom of Steph's :)

Once we've moved all the stuff we have here over we then need to prepare ourselves for the arrival of the container on Monday. I can't wait to have it all and I know I will be desperate to sort and organise everything. However, I suspect I may be best staying out of the way on Monday until the men have done their job - otherwise I may just cause chaos and confusion. I am thoroughly looking forward to spending the rest of the week on a journey of rediscovery and playing house - hopefully munchkin will be so distracted by the rediscovery of her toys that I may get at least a small amount of time to do this.

And then at some point in the next 4 weeks we will add to the chaos as bump will materialize :-)

In the meantime we've been carrying on with the exploring of the local area. We managed another walk at the weekend, where Steph was intent on climbing every bit of rock she could find :)

At one point she was moving faster than Andy could keep up with her!
Stephie and I have also been playing crafting this week. She managed to keep clothes on for this so we had much less body art this week. I've been teaching her to use scissors and she has also discovered glue. So our crafting mainly consisted of her gluing everything she could find...........

The adventures continue

It's Sunday afternoon and I find myself ensconced on the sofas at the climbing wall while one highly energetic toddler runs around on the pretext of climbing with Daddy. I fear Daddy may be in need of some serious rest after this session.

After huge thought and discussion we stopped Steph going to nursery last week and decided she would stay at home with me full time. I, consequently have gone into teacher mode and now plan my week out with a variety of activities to keep both of us entertained,  I live in fear of being at a loose end with an energetic toddler on my hands, particularly as there isn't much space to just be in this house. Hopefully we can have 'just be' moments in the new house, particularly with a large garden to play in and a reunion with all the toys. We have had a great week with this week, we've cooked, painted, explored, played and generally enjoyed every (well nearly every) minute together. You may notice from the pictures that someone seems to be into body art at the moment! (The butter that was supposed to go into the chocolate cake was used as tummy moisturiser) Hopefully when the weather cools down and I can keep clothes on her we can move on from the body art phase........

Steph has also started swimming lessons this week. Some of you will know that we have been doing lessons in the UK with her for the last 18 months and I was quite worried that we wouldn't find anything equivalent over here. I knew when we were back in the UK how fortunate we were with our lessons. We had a brilliant swimming teacher who knew and understood her pupils and consequently really made progress with them, giving them super confidence in the water and some brilliant water skills. Anyway, we've had a bit of a search over here to find something that teachers swimming to littl'uns in the same style and for a reasonable price - swimming lessons are so expensive here! We think we may have found it which makes me very happy as it is something Steph absolutely loves doing. Fingers crossed that it does work out :)

We find our biggest challenge at the moment is wearing said toddler out as there are some days when she just seems to have an excess of energy. Probably something to do with the age she is...........We have explored as many parks over here as we can. I am very impressed, all the parks seem to have great climbing frames with a multitude of slides attached at all different levels. The only problem we seem to have with these is it's too hot to go to the park in the afternoon. Therefore I have made it my mission to discover some indoor energy burning activities over the last couple of weeks. We've now become annual members of 'Wow', the children's discovery museum we discovered a couple of weeks ago. I suspect that this membership may be well used over the next four weeks as my manoeuvrability becomes limited; this is somewhere she can burn energy while I sit! We've also found Grandrabbits Play centre. Grandrabbits is an amazing toy shop over here and attached they have a big playroom with all manor of toys and a few floor mats with some soft play toys on. I am, however, gutted to discover that there is no soft play over here - or if there is we haven't discovered it. Much as we didn't use it that often in the UK it was a fantastic resource for a day when energy burning was needed. The hunt continues..........

In other aspects of our lives not a lot has changed in the last week. Our exploring of the local area continues. We visited Golden last weekend. Another local town with a very pretty river running through it. We had a good wonder up the river and tried out Andy / Steph's new toy. We managed to find a double bike trailer on Craigslist, which can also be used as a huge stroller / wheelbarrow! We hope to be able to cycle a lot once bikes are here and bump is baby and have great plans that the trailer will be well used. In particular, I am hoping to use it for local day to day movement from house to park etc. The roads over here are much better set up for cyclists and I feel much more comfortable cycling with a trailer on the back, particularly as this is what most people do so cars are more used to it. Currently though someone seems to enjoy using it as a stroller and having the whole space to herself!

We  went for another walk this morning. Back up to Gross reservoir but this time we walked down to the edge of the water for a picnic and then had a short walk some of the way round. Very pretty! We spent most of lunch time enjoying the realisation that we could have a Sunday morning lie-in and still be having a picnic in the middle of no-where by lunchtime. This is the life :) *contented sigh*

We went to have another look around our new house on Friday, just to check we'd remembered room sizes etc. so all that virtual planning we've done does actually work. It's even better than I remembered it was. I can't wait to be in it and to have a garden for us to play in. 2 weeks to go. In the meantime a certain husbands virtual planning seems to involve most things going into his playroom, so far I seem to have lost my sofa and the television and there's now talk of a beer fridge going down there. Maybe I should only let a beer fridge down there if it's accompanied by the children!!

          

Although we've only been here for six weeks I'm amazed at the number of people we've got to know and how friendly and helpful everyone is. Steph and I have joined various groups that meet every week or so and are starting to make some real friends through this now. Andy's met various people through work and we're starting to merge and meet each others friends as we bump into people at various places. Everyone is so helpful, either with info of places to go, things that are happening or offers of help. Many people have offered help with the move, looking after Steph when we have no. 2 or just if we need someone to call for help. I feel very fortunate to have met so many lovely people in such a short space of time.

I can't believe we've been here a month already!

Another week's gone by and now it's been a month. With every week that goes by we seem to taking more and more steps towards real life.

Our container was released today, into storage for three weeks! But, there's a certain relief in knowing that it's here and our stuff isn't stuck at the bottom of the ocean somewhere. This does mean that when we move into our rental house we shall have everything ready to move in and can therefore get sorted quite quickly. Hooray :-)

I can't wait to be in the proper rental house now. This one is lovely but it's not ours and the furniture etc. in it isn't ours and I'm now ready to have all my stuff around me again. I think I will really appreciate all our bits much more than I did before. I may even be forced to appreciate having my own computer back and not having to take it in turns with Andy!! We have three weeks before we move in..........not that I'm counting :) The other advantage of the rental is the space we will have, it's a fair bit bigger than the house back in the UK, which will be lovely - although I do predict a visit to IKEA looming!

Daily life now seems to be settling into some kind of routine. The last week has been pretty similar to the previous one. Steph and I now seem to have a bit of a pattern to our three days at home, with at least half the day out meeting people or at groups and then the other half getting things done or just playing around the house. As well as heading to the library we've been included in a group of local Mum's that have just started getting together every couple of weeks; a really nice group of ladies with similar age children to Steph. It will be interesting whether I keep getting invited to this one, as we will be moving out of this area to Louisville in three weeks! Last week we joined a new group on a Thursday. This is a group that have randomly formed and all seem to be fairly new to the Boulder area. It did feel good to go to that group and not feel like the only newcomer.

Strangely though all the people we have met so far seem to have mostly boys around Steph's age!

Steph seems to be settling into nursery too. When we picked her up on Friday she greeted us with a huge grin. Apparently they had made smores and Steph couldn't get enough of them. Today when I picked her up I was told that she hadn't stopped talking all day; a clear sign that she has settled. Apparently she entertained them greatly at lunch time. She finished eating, looked around and then said "This table's filthy!" I'm not sure she could have sounded more English if she had tried.

It's been great having Steph in nursery as it's meant I can do all the jobs that take time and discussion without having to worry about her. Last Friday I had to take the hire car back to Denver and then bus it back to Boulder. Today I caught up on emails and then visited the birthing centre at the hospital for a quick tour. Wow, perhaps I should say hotel. Each room is equipped with all the normal paraphernalia but also has a fridge, hairdryer.........a very different experience to the UK. During this visit I met an English nurse there who was so friendly. She lives round the corner from where we will be living and has offered lots of help and advice for when we move. She also has an 18 year old daughter that works with children and has been offered for babysitting, and potentially, for looking after Steph while I have t'other one :) She's going to come round and sit for us on Saturday so we can meet her and see how it goes.

It's just dawned on us that although we have baby stuff over here we do actually need to pack a bag or two and get ready just in case baby does come early. At 35 weeks I should really be prepared!! I think I now have my jobs sorted for Friday! ( this also included the car seat inspection we have to have before we're allowed to put baby in it!)

We have been learning about the "Boulder Bubble" these last few weeks. It's something that we have heard people talk about and seen reference to on posters. Now it's something we seem to be experiencing ourselves. It seems that Boulder is a little world of it's own. It's quite difficult to explain the how and why, it's more the experience of life than anything else I think. Life is very laid back, for example you could find yourself sitting at the traffic lights when they turn green and sometimes no-one moves for several seconds and no-one beeps horns or revs engines. Everyone just takes their time and moves when they're ready. I think peoples priorities in life here are to maximise quality of life and you can really feel that vibe. I certainly hadn't appreciated the Boulder Bubble effect until I went to Denver last Friday. I suddenly hit real roads again, with real traffic and then crowds of people at the airport. I felt like I needed a large glass of wine upon my return to our little sanctuary. It's a good thing there's a great wine shop next to Andy's office!

Another weekend of discovery was had last weekend. We found a small children's museum in Lafayette which Steph loved. It was a couple of huge rooms with lots of role play areas set out, including a bank, a train station, a theatre with costumes and a food store. There were also lots of interactive displays on basic Science concepts. I was very impressed with the display for the water cycle and the one for demonstrating how the planets orbit the sun - Linda you would have loved them :) There was also a slide and small sandpit which Steph spent ages playing on. I suspect this will become a rather frequented place, along with the climbing wall that was given a second visit last weekend.

We also managed another walk. We climbed a small peak and were able to eat lunch with some glorious views. I think the walking part of our weekends is still giving life very much a holiday feel for us as the only time we did any decent walking in the UK tended to be on holiday as proper hills were so far away. It will take us a good bit of time to adjust to being able to pop out for a mornings walk up a mountain and for it to feel part of our lives rather than just a holiday moment. It's at times like these I realise how lucky we are to be here.

Week 3

Wow, a very busy week but a week where lots of things have been achieved and we're really starting to feel as if we're living here and not just on holiday.

Monday was actually a very calm start to the week. Steph and I had a gentle day at home doing jobs interspersed with playing with toys. After a busy weekend we needed a quiet day but I'm also trying to start being ''more at home and less on holiday''. The first couple of weeks have had a very holiday type feel to them as we explore and just enjoy where we are but I feel now we need to start moving slightly back into reality. If for no other reason than Steph needs some calm days as well as holiday days. Also reality kind of hits when you realise that house work does actually need doing, even if it's with a hoover that's cable is only 4m long max!

Tuesday morning was story time in the library, which was based on a theme of music so lots of singing, during which time my daughter kept saying 'No mummy, no!''

We decided to brave the Boulder bus system during the afternoon! While Steph was having her nap I had a look on Google and discovered that the bus routes here aren't numbered but given names; Hop, Skip and Jump for the main three routes! I was entertained by this.

Our plan was to head to Boulder main library with Olivia and her three children as there was an author doing a performance / talk there that looked quite good. We had a lovely afternoon. The author was very entertaining and the library was a fantastic place to explore. They even had some clown fish in the fish tank so Steph was happy to see Nemo.

Our day was complete when we came home to find our Social Security Numbers had arrived in the post :) This meant we could sort a car, driving tests, finalise bank account details and click the button to go on the Health Insurance along with many other things. We could start living here properly :)

Wednesday was a big day for us as Steph was going to Nursery for a trial day. We'd chatted to her and prepared her as much as we could. She and I had been shopping earlier in the week to buy her a cool bag for her lunch, as they have to take their own, and that morning we packed it together. We were ready.

Andy and I dropped Steph off together, she seemed very happy to go in, slightly hesitant at the door but easily distracted until she was asked to put her lunch bag on the shelf! She didn't want to let her food go!I believe the lunch bag spent most of the morning in her hands.

Once Steph was happily playing at nursery Andy and I headed to another house viewing. Wow! Goldilocks moment - this one was just right :) It was a lovely detached house with a big garden. There were three bedrooms upstairs and a forth one in the basement, with a bathroom, which for us is ideal, as it means guests can come and stay and not be disturbed by the baby or Steph. The living space was fantastic too, wrap around lounge, dining and kitchen with a great big room in the basement for Andy. Rapid emails asking for referees were sent off following this visit so we could apply to rent this house. By Friday morning all checks had been done and references provided and we confirmed that the house would be ours come mid-August. So, for anyone planning to visit, we will have space for you and you're more than welcome :)

The rest of Wednesday passed in a blur. I kind of expected that without Steph I'd get loads of things done but I didn't. By the time I'd been to the few shops I needed to and chatted to Mum there wan't a lot of time left!

Steph had a great day a nursery, she needed some reassurance but generally joined in and played with everyone. When I got there she held her arm out to the room and said 'Steph's new friends!'' A success! It may be my imagination but I felt that Steph was also a little happier that evening, as if her world was slotting back into place. A successful trial day meant that I could now book her in for two days a week. We shall see how it goes and re-evaluate in a few weeks time. Another advantage for us is the nursery is 5 minutes from the new house.

Thursday saw me heading to the doctors. With the arrival of the SSN's we were on the way to sorting the medical insurance so I could finally see someone and get bump checked out. Wow! I had been recommended to go to Boulder Women's Care which specialises in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. It's run by 5 women doctors and a team of nurses and was a really lovely experience. The 5 doctors all take it in turns to be on call so one of them will definitely be with me at birth. Once there, I had to fill in lots of paperwork and then they gave me a quick check. I was really surprised as I thought they would want to re-do most things I'd had done just to make sure but they were very happy with my UK notes and felt there was nothing more they needed to do at this time. I was able to chat to them about where I go for the birth and all the other details and came away very impressed and happy that I now had everything sorted. The only thing I had to do was ring the hospital and book a tour - this I did and upon hearing that I was already 33 weeks the lady I spoke to offered to give Andy and I a private tour this week as the official ones are all booked up. I can't wait to see how it compares to the UK.

The rest of Thursday was taken up with Google's summer family BBQ. We drove out to another new place, Lyons, where we were fed and watered in a beautiful setting, surrounded by mountains with a river burbling next to us, that could be paddled in. Yet another opportunity for meeting new people. We had a great time and came home exhausted.

Friday was another busy day, Steph went back to nursery and I was on a mission to price up and sort out cars. Several hours of sitting in garages talking to salesmen later I had all the info I needed and headed to the Off Licence in search of wine! Wow, a very good off-licence, they didn't just have American wines, they had a very good selection of European wines too. I was very pleasantly surprised.

Saturday started with a walk. Again a very picturesque location. We walked up part of a canyon that has a river / stream running down it where paddling was a must. A very pleasant mornings walk and paddle was had by all.

The afternoon saw us head to the VW garage to buy ourselves a car :) After going over my collection of numbers from the previous day we had decided that we would like to get a VW Tiguan. It's not as uneconomical with fuel as some of the 4 x 4's but it's still a 4 x 4, which is needed during the winter and if we do much exploration of the mountains. A mostly sensible decision! ( We did have more sensible cars on the list and other, more fun cars on the list.......) All paperwork is now going through and hopefully we will have a car by the end of the week :) Something that entertained us was the disclaimer VW here in Boulder have had to add onto their current stock of cars; Apparently during the massive thunder storm the other week, when it hailed huge hailstones, most of their stock got dented by the hail! The dents are quite impressive.

And so we come to Sunday. We headed to The Butterfly Pavilion this morning and had a brilliant time wondering around looking at the various tarantulas, millipedes and other bugs they had there and looking at all the beautiful butterflies. Steph was very taken with Rosie, the tarantula, who was sitting with a member of staff waiting to be held by visitors. Unfortunately Steph was below their age limit for touching her but I suspect if allowed she would have done. 

The final part of Sunday was some Daddy / daughter bonding time. Andy took Steph to the local climbing wall where she was on great form apparently and thoroughly enjoyed herself, judging by the tantrum given when it came to taking the climbing shoes off at the end of the session. They have an area specially for smaller people where Steph was quite happy climbing 6ft walls. I suspect she will be doing lessons there once she hits 2.5 and is old enough.

So looking back over the week many steps have now been taken towards settling down and making a life for ourselves here and moving away from the holiday feel. It's all been quite exciting but emotional as we really are settling. Now we have a house we are very keen for our container to arrive and move in. Much as we have appreciated the use of the house we're in, it's not ours and it's not our stuff and I think we will feel much more at home once we are surrounded with our things again. In the meantime let the holiday continue.......