babysitting

We had a real treat in la casa de Moeckel last weekend.  Nick and I were invited out to dinner with 26 other people welcoming the new post-docs at Cambridge.  Since we're new to the area, we didn't know any babysitters (or anyone with kids) and thought we wouldn't be able to go.  Then Aunty Mary came to the rescue!  She took a 5 hour train from Wales just to spend the weekend with Calvin.  This boy (and his parents) are certainly very lucky to have her.  She and Cal spent a lot of time together while Nick and I enjoyed our dinner out and then went to the movies the next day (finally saw "Up"!).  Unfortunately we haven't had the nicest weather so we didn't get to spend much time showing off Cambridge but we did get in some walks around Grantchester.

Already asleep in the babysitter's arms

 

On a muddy walk in Grantchester

 

Close-up of Cal bundled up for the walk (and starting to fall asleep)

In other news, Cal is becoming more active and he looks like he could start crawling soon.  Last night he made it across the floor to get to a toy but not in the most graceful or efficient way.  He is getting there though which means I better get ready to be on the move.  Also, I've started going to some baby groups in the area and have met some other mums too.  As usual, Cal beams his biggest smile while we're out and is always very charming.  Looks like we have a social boy on our hands!  His favorite thing to do right now is blow raspberries which means 20 times the drool.  I think he can soak a bib in 10 seconds flat now.

Drooly MacCalvin

And Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving with some other Americans on Thursday AND Saturday but we don't know if there will actually be any turkey at either of these parties.  So eat some extra turkey and pumpkin pie for us!

rugby in the homeland

This last weekend was Cal's first trip to Wales, where my parents were born and raised.  Cal and I drove out to Swansea mid-week and he slept for most of the 5 hour trip with a stop outside of London to see my mom's cousin, Judith, and my second cousin, Rachel.  Calvin was a real charmer with them and he even got to celebrate Christmas early with some awesome new toys.  We then spent a few days with Aunty Mary and Uncle Ken before Nick joined us on Friday.  On Saturday, Christmas came early for Nick and I as well as we got to go to a Wales rugby game while Aunty Mary babysat Cal.  Wales was playing New Zealand and we got to see the famous haka performed by the NZ team (the All Blacks) while the entire stadium chanted "Wales, Wales!".  It was an amazing atmosphere and an exciting game, despite Wales losing 12 to 19.  Even though Cal wasn't at the game, he was showing his Welsh pride by wearing the red jersey.  Here are a few pics from Saturday:

Cal showing his game face

 

Cal and Aunty Kath

The Babysitter (Aunty Mary) and Cal

Go Wales!

(Nick is not in this picture because he doesn't have a Welsh rugby jersey, poor guy)

The flower of Wales is the daffodil, for those of you who are wondering why we have a giant inflatable one at the game

The All Blacks performing the haka to the Welsh team

In other news, Cal had his first doctor's appointment in Cambridge.  The doctor is very pleased with Calvin's progress and he weighs a whopping 17 lb 14 oz!  That is still considered average for his adjusted age of 6 months (his actual age is 8 months).  He is also still a tall boy at 70 cm (27.5 in).  The doctor and nurse we met were all really nice so I'm happy about that too.  Way to go NHS!

some trees, a ceiling, and eating

We have a bit of catching up to do, I guess.  Fall is in full effect now, and we've had a nice time poking around the city.  Each week that passes brings some new skills to Cal's set- he's happy to help out with his feeding by smashing his fist into the spoon or bottle, he rolls over in several directions, and he has an amazing variety of shrieks at his disposal.

Autumn is probably my favorite time of year (really unique, I know).  I find myself listening to music and thinking 'yeah, this is a good fall song', crisp air is the best kind of air, and biking home in the dark is still enough of a novelty that it's interesting instead of the grind it's going to be in January*.  Two years ago at this time we were carefree and on vacation in Paris; last year we were getting used to the idea of being parents, and to living in another country; now we've got a mildly crazy little human dominating our lives.    It's been an interesting progression.  Anyway, autumn is the king of all seasons- here are some pictures from the last few weeks, featuring dying leaves, King's college chapel's roof, and Calvin's adventures in eating.  Sam will have a more exciting post in the next few days involving Welsh rugby.

*The dark colored (coloured) cows that loom out of the shadows and randomly loiter on the bike path make it like a terrifying game, so maybe the novelty won't wear off until February. 

 

 

lazy weekend

We didn't do a whole lot this weekend. Calvin worked on his breakdancing for a little while:

Bam!

Then we wandered over the Orchard to have lunch and tea. Calvin was rocking a new pumpkin hat, so he was looking pretty good.

He's been kind of smirky lately.

From some angles, he looks giant.

Sam calms him down so we can all enjoy a really beautiful fall day.

Sometimes he likes this, sometimes he just pulls hair.

poetry

This last weekend we spent one day in Cambridge and the other day exploring the paths of Grantchester.  In Cambridge, we walked around St. John's College, enjoyed some fish & chips, and watched a punter fall into the water.  A pretty exciting day!

Punters navigating the Bridge of Sighs at St. John's College

On Sunday we walked along the River Cam through Grantchester and found this extremely quaint place called The Orchard.  It's a beautiful outdoor area that serves tea all year long (there is also a small indoor area too) and is famous for attracting celebrity patrons.  One patron that made it famous is the poet Rupert Brooke.  As my Aunt Mary pointed out to me, we went from one city that is known for it's bad poet to another place known for it's good poet.  Poor Dundee.

In other news, Calvin is eating his toes and sitting up unaided for a minute or so.  He is also sleeping better now that we've settled in a bit more and adapted more of a routine.  Nick is very busy with work and I'm keeping busy entertaining Calvin. As for where we are living, I promise to post pics of our new place soon.  I'm attempting to clean up all of our stuff before I take pictures and at least give the illusion that we keep a tidy house.

Cal's favorite facial expression of late

UPDATE: Oops, I forgot to link to more pictures that Nick took here.  Enjoy!

a few shots of grantchester

We've spent the week settling in, mostly. Sam and Calvin did some exploring with Uncle Alex who was visiting, I went to work, and then just in time for the weekend we all caught colds. So nothing really adventurous went down. Here are a few pictures of the village we're living in, though, where Cal will be taking most of his walks in the magical sleep inducing stroller.

Cows in the early morning mist in the field across the street.

Thatched roof action on the main street through town.

Ivy on some building.

Holly in the churchyard- it's like they start decorating for Christmas earlier and earlier every year.

Calvin along the Cam near Grantchester meadows, which is idyllic in a sort of 'Lord Byron chasing his cousins around' kind of way.

Back in England

Well, we're back in the UK after our trip to visit our families. Math lesson: Calvin + Eastbound jet-lag = infinity screaming for a couple of horrible days and nights. Even in light of that, we had a great time. All we really did was spend time visiting with friends and family, so not the most exciting story to tell. Here are a few pictures, the full set is here.




So now we're back and it's time to start exploring our new home. If you're in the area, we're in the village of Grantchester- look for the reddish door next to the Blue Ball Inn.