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| 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.
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| I am not letting go of this Grandchild |
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| 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.
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| 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
