Happy New Year

So, nearly ten weeks after the birth of Guillaume, I finally have some time to sit down and write something in the blog..oh hang on what was that noise..oh no don't wake up yet...d'oh too late.

OK one step at a time then. So its been a hectic first two months as parents - Guillaume and Vero left hospital 6 days after the birth and are both doing fine. He has settled in to life at home and is growing really fast, already catching up on his small birth weight (for the statisticians in 9 and a half weeks he has gained 2.4kg and is now double his birth weight, and grown some 8-9 cm in height). I dunno what's in Vero's milk but it must be good...(and no I am not going to try, that's just, well, err, wrong. Anyway here's a montage of his progress:

At 11 days old

At 3 weeks

At 4 weeks

At 6 weeks

Merry Christmas (8 weeks)

(bored yet?)

Visits have come thick and fast, grand parents and uncles in almost procession, which for us is fantastic as he has met them all so early on in life. The visitors, especially those from abroad also gave me an excuse to indulge in a bit of local sightseeing. Winter has been cold here, not freezing but consistently low single figures on the thermometer (or lcd colour weather station as it is now - thanks Neil).



We have had a few sprinklings of snow in Annemasse and plenty up in the mountains and some of the lower countryside nearby. While Neil and my Dad were here, we took a couple of excursions in the snow, one back to Plaines Joux (where Vero and I visited this June), and one around the Swiss countryside a stone's throw away just across the border.





On 6 December I also took part in the 31st Course de l'Escalade, a 7.6km race around Geneva's cobbled and steep old town. There are races all day, including the much loved 'Marmite' fancy dress run for those who aren't serious about running but want to look silly. As for me, I took part in the main race for my age group and well, the less said the better, it was not a pretty sight.



Christmas was nice and relaxed.. just the 3 of us for the day itself and then a week down in Ruy with the grandparents taking care of us. We did not do much, the weather was cold and grey mostly, however the sun shone on my birthday (29th December for those who want to send a card this year), enough for a stroll around the village. Plenty of celebrating was done, with fois gras, christmas log, wine and champagne all regular occurences.





As for today, its Epiphany in France, so yet another excuse to eat and drink..this time the 'Galette des Rois' (tart of kings) and 'Cidre doux' to wash it down. A good way to end the festive season, and to kick of 2009. Now its time to think about a diet..