Holidays are over time to get the woolies on

The Wedding Party

 Summer has come and gone and it was a good thing that we managed to get out of Ireland or we might not have seen much of the sun.  Last I wrote was early August before our trip to Canada to visit the Berry's and attend Gord and Kara's wedding.

The wedding went off really well, good time had by all.  Had a good few days catching up with "The Boys" and their families.  Really enjoyed being part of the wedding and it is always nice to be asked to play a role in someones big day.

Gord and new father inlaw with pig roast

The rehearsal and barbecue before the wedding were a good laugh with Kara's father putting on a great spread with a pig roast and all the fixings.  The wedding day turned out to be a sunny and enjoyable day that resulted in some pictures, ceremony, laughing and even some dancing.

On route to wedding

 After the wedding day dad and I drove back to Brandon to see the ladies as Niamh, Amelia and Mom did not make the big day.  By the time we arrived Janelle and Krystal were also in town; in fact the whole family was in Brandon by this point as Jared we attending his own wedding. So that was that the Berry's together again for the better part of a week.  As it was a Manitoba summer we were able to get out and about which allowed little Amelia to run around outside and burn off some of that youthful energy she has.

Daddy can I have some?

Part of the first few days were spent out at Oak Lake where Mom and Dad have their camper set up for the summer season.  They spend a lot of time out there with family and friends and so we all headed out there for a few days by the lake.  For those who don't know what happens at the lake there is a playground, swimming, eating and a lot of visiting around the bomb fire.  Oh an Ice cream as a treat if everyone is well behaved.

When we got back to Brandon we were able to spend some more time with some other friends.  Scotty Dickson was spending some time at Clear Lake and came down to visit for a few days.  He was one of the boys who didn't make Gord's wedding I attended so it was great to see Dix and the rest of his family.

Scotty with his boys

Here are some pictures of the family having some fun with the the great grandchild, grand daughter, neice, etc...

Amelia with Great Grandma Atchison

Grandpa Berry giving swings

Grandma Berry, Aunt Janelle and Amelia

Aunty Krystal and little monster

Amelia checking out Uncle Jared

Left to right: Nash, James, Jared, Garnet, Jeff, Bill, Scott, Brian 

Bottom:Kyra, Kris, Porter, Drew

Next up on the agenda following the trip to Canada was a short break and then another airplane ride to Italy. We landed in Naples and drove south down the east coast past the Amalfi coast to a small village by the name of Santa Maria di Castellabate. A classic Italian village along the coast that had great views and tasty food.  One of the reasons for selecting this location was because we were meeting Mr Grant Moyle who I spent so much time with in London and who now lives back in Australia.  Grant, Donna and little Eliot had made the trip for a wedding near by and stayed on another week to holiday and catch up with us.

 

The weather in Italy was sunny and warm every day we were there and so we did a lot of laying around visiting.  We managed to fit in a few day trips one to Pompeii which was just an hour and a half drive away.  I had been to Pomepeii before on a school trip when I was teaching in London.  both times were enjoyable but I am not sure which was easier 50 teenagers or 2 toddlers with baby prams.  One thing I learned is that you don't take baby prams to travel around on 2000 year old roads.

Niamh and Pram in Pompeii

Pompeii theater

Amelia, Grant, Eliot and Me

Before the end of the trip back to Naples airport we drove the Amalfi Coastline which is a well know tourist destination in Italy.  We stopped for lunch in one of the villages Positano.  We then stayed the night near Sorrento on our last night.  We were hoping this was going to be a nice way to end a fantastic break away, however the apartment we rented was attached to a cafe which decided to set up some speakers outside our door and do a karaoke night.

Amelia and I in Positano

Summer Excitment

Irish summer is upon us and today has been slightly sunny, windy, bright, dark and of course a bit rainy. I actually think summer was here for a week in May and then left beyond the odd day of sunshine here and there.  Beside the uncontrollable weather things here are great, little Amelia isn't so little as she has just turned 1 year old.  This in turn means that I am yet another year older as our birth days are only one day apart.  Remembering back to a year ago at this time we were just waiting for her to join us and she nearly did on my birthday but it wasn't meant to be.  Two days later she decided to say hello and changed our lives forever.

In a short while we will be traveling back to Canada to visit the family and I will be attending my old buddy Gord and Kara's wedding.  This will be our second trip this year after visiting at Christmas and this will be Amelia's second flight.  Hopefully the flight goes well,  regardless it will be great to be reunited with everyone back in Canada and to spend some quality time.

Amelia seems to be learning new things every day, last weekend she started clapping her hands and before that pointing and waving.  She has been walking for a while now but only within the last week has had the confidence to walk off on her own.  With the Olympics starting and in the spirit of the games she starting walking on her own around the house today doing laps, not just a few like 20 in a row. Check out the video of her in action.

We have an Aupair minding Amelia and they get on really well.  It has been great to find someone we can trust and rely on.  So much so that Niamh surprised me for a night away at a fantastic hotel just outside of Dublin for my birthday.  Jana and her boyfriend Bruno came over to mind Amelia so we could have the first night on our own since she was born.  It was a nice treat, although we were both glad to get back to her this morning to a happy toddler.  We also try and get out once a week for "Date Night" which is great, recently we went to see Snow Patrol and Florence and the Machine in concert.

Jana and Amelia

Niamh, Garnet and Stephen at Snow Patrol concert

We  recently had our first joint birthday party.  The Higgings/Gallagher's came along with a few friends over to the house.  A bit of lunch and cake for all and Amelia seemed to enjoy the company and attention.

Night out with Johnny

Playing a bit of touch rugby

Some other things going on over the summer, I have been to Edinburgh a few times for work and on one trip managed to catch up with Johnny my old Sanjuro training bud.

We had a good catch up over a few drinks and some fantastic conversation about life in London.  Later in the evening we managed to call a few people in far away lands who we don't get to see as much anymore.  Managed to get a photo of the night but the camera wouldn't focus.  The thing is I am not sure if it is the camera or us who is having troubles focusing.

I have also been trying to keep reasonably fit over the summer and played some touch rugby.  I have been playing for the past 3 summers and each year feel I am getting a little bit more aware of the game and how it is played.  I usually play basketball through the year and will go back to that once touch is over but it is nice to get for a run around outside when the weather is decent.

Lastly I am just in the process of purchasing a new bike.  I managed to sell my old Habana Custom Scooter which did me well over the years but just wasn't getting any use recently.  I bought a Merida Speeder T3 through a bike to work scheme so I should only pay 50% of the bike in the end.  Looking forward to getting it out on the road as I still haven't got the paper work sorted just yet.

That is all from me, hope to post another update in a month or two once holidays are over.

Much love.
G

Head Above Water

I see you!

Needless to say I have been thinking about updating this blog for some time now but every time I think to do so either my hands are full or I need some sleep.  Little Amelia is definitely keeping both Niamh and I busy and we believe that is becoming a bit more manageable or at least it seems to be.

Many months have past since I last wrote a post and somehow it is already nearly March 2012 and Amelia is 7 months old.  She doesn't really look it or act like it, she is definitely comes across much older than she is.  Much of the reason for this is her long flowing locks of black/brown hair which she has had since she was born but has never lost and continues to grow out of control.  We often get strange looks from people while walking down the street as she really does stand out.

Since my last post a lot has happened, most notably a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Berry and Christmas in Canada.

I am not letting go of this Grandchild

Happy Days

Obviously the Gallagher/ Higgins family time with Amelia is important and shouldn't go unrecognised, but their visits are more regular because of the distance between us.  Having my parents commit to the big trip over was inevitable given that they were waiting for their first grandchild for more than a couple of years.  A simple bit of ocean was not going to stop them from meeting her.  All in all they spent about a week with little Amelia.  We did a trip down the south coast in Howth and also did a day trip to Powerscourt gardens with a rented car.  The car trips were somewhat successful with a few Amelia melt downs along the way.

Have a Berry Christmas

Christmas back in Canada and an introduction to the Berry clan.  Although traveling with a 4 month old was interesting to say the least the trip back was well worth it and it was so important for everyone from my family and friends to finally meeting her in person.  Most of them had already been introduced via Skype, which is amazing and does really help us keep in touch.  However meeting everyone in person had to be done and Christmas 2011 was one to remember.

We were back in Canada for 2 weeks and managed to spread our visits over that time.  In the first few days it was pretty relaxed as not everyone was back in Brandon until later in the week as Christmas landed on a Sunday this year.  The big events were meeting the Atchison's (Moms side) on Christmas eve and then the Berry's (Dads side) on Boxing day.   Although this was intense for the little one it was nice that we were able to see pretty much all the family in those two days.

The rest of the time was hanging out with the new aunts, uncles and grandparents who all did their best to spoil there new relation.  It felt really great to have everyone home back in Canada and being able to spend some time with us.  Most of all I appreciate the extra effort Niamh had to put in to try and manage a new born on a over seas flight with jet lag and then not getting a lot of sleep for most of the time we were over there.  (Major brownie points were earned)

In the latter part of 2011 Niamh and I bought a car (2008 VW Golf TDI), this might not be significant for some but for me it was approximately 10 years since I had a vehicle.  We simply needed a bit of flexibility in getting around as you inevitably have twice as many things to travel with having a baby.  Since we got it we have been able to do a lot of short trips around Dublin and it has already been well worth getting.  We have also made a trip over to Galway to visit Grandma Higgins and a trip up to Belfast to catch up with Adam, Aine and wee Oscar. Next step is getting Niamh some lessons and her full license.  I volunteered to take her out for practice but we soon decided that it would be best for our marriage if that didn't happen.

We have another 6 weeks before Niamh goes back to work which gives us time to prepare for the change.  Not 100% sure what we are going to do but we are currently looking at the Au Pair option.  A lot to think about as we need to make sure Amelia is well taken care of and we can get someone who will support us in our busy lives.

That is about it from me for now, will try not to have such a gap in time before the next entry.  Like I mentioned at the beginning the adjustment of becoming a dad is getting better with time, but it sure is fantastic.

Laters.

G