First Wedding Anniversary - what a difference a year makes.

Our first anniversary. Its difficult to remember its importance compared to our 10 week old baby.

I couldn't have imagined how our lives would change in just 12 months and how happy I would be as a husband and dad. I rush home after work to try and be there when we put Olive to bed. Lydia tells me what they've been upto, how she's been, then we put her in her sleeping bag and watch her drift off to sleep, bliss (hopefully).

Last thursday night Olive would inexplicably not stay asleep. This meant I got to watch her drift off 3 times and I enjoyed each time enormously. The first time I had to do the Dutch Nun (curtsy, sidestep, curtsy, step back, while holding the baby) 300 times because I couldn't stick to the No.1 rule - don't look her in the eye. This was because she was staring right up at me with a slight smile in a way that said either 'I feel very contented and safe' or 'Who are you again?'. I tried to arrange my face in an expression that said 'I'm your dad!' ! Pure joy !

Lydia has been wonderful to watch these last 10 weeks. The immediate joy that appeared on her face the instant her new baby was handed to her has evolved into some kind of instinctive everyday care for her. I know she has read the books but it is so much more than just knowledge of what Olive needs. She is just so obviously her mother, you can see it on her face, hear it in her voice. It seems easy being dad when you know Olive has a brilliant mum.

Watching our little girl feed and sleep, feed and sleep is such an everyday joy. When she came home for the first time, less than 12 hours old, she looked so fragile and now she looks so strong, her skin no longer dry and wrinkly, her eyes now so bright as she begins to really look at the world around her.

As she smiles at us, its easier to feel proud that we made her, a fantastic credit to our first year of marriage.

I'm enormously looking forward to our holiday in France this Summer.

Wales Camping & Barn Trip

Just got back from our camping trip to Wales and have had a great time. We camped 2 nights in Port Eynon on the Gower, then stayed in the barn in Llanbedr with Gareth and all and finally had one night camping again in the excellently named Northleach in the Cotswolds.

This was Olive's 2nd camping trip. For a 7-week-old she is now a real pro!

Her 1st trip (aged just 5 weeks) to Norfolk had got us worried about temperature - she woke up every 2 hours at 2am, 4am & 6am and the van was just 13Celcius, about 10 degrees lower than our bedroom. This worried us and altho the always-positive-Mrs-Leach pointed out that she would wake up at 2am and 6am normally (good point) we took a few urgent measures. Firstly I bought a form of insulation for the van roof, secondly we upgraded her from swaddle to a 2.5 tog sleeping bag, and finally our friends Richard and Eleanor gave us some truly excellent Merino wool baby grows (Bambino Merino !!).

In Wales this combined to give Olive her best nights sleep yet !!! 5 hours followed by 4 hours. I woke at 7.55am (1hr 30 mins after Olive's normal awake time) and thought 'Oh my God, someone's stolen our baby' !?!

Things for us to remember

1) Always ignore weather forecasts - we had fantastic sun in Gower and Llanbedr

2) In the van all things have 2 uses - the car seat is also a baby bouncer, and the changing mat is also a baby gym !

Well done Olive. What a great 5 days.

Pics should be - Olive, I & Baby Bjorn on beach in Port Eynon

Mrs Leach cooking up a storm (she brought bay leaves & put a menu up inside the van!)

Our big saturday walk with the full Welsh gang, lunchstop with many many children, nice Team Leach team shot & the 3 of us in the valleys.

Finally a pretty raw quick video - apologies for wind noise.

TTFN