Still Raining....

Sienna and I are hibernating. Steve is off testing participants in our study on subliminal perception and ESP.....The weather is particularly grim and wet and not inspiring us to move beyond the house.
Sienna is almost (but not quite) sitting up by herself, and loves being pulled up to the sitting position by her hands. She is also still enjoying standing up (with a little help) and still loves bouncing. With her now weighing in at over a stone (doubled her birth weight - perfectly on track!) this is a little tiring on our arm muscles. Other favourites of the moment are The Plastic cups - a christmas gift from auntie Nicola - and our Nursery Rhyme cd (a gift from Granny Simmonds). The cd is a big hit, but is already slightly irritating the brains of poor mummy and daddy (especially daddy!).

Capital of culture in the rain

We are back in Liverpool, which is officially the European capital of culture for 2008. While we were down south we missed an amazing opening weekend in the city centre, but there are apparently lots of events lined up this year (including Klimt exhibition at the Tate). It feels almost like we have never been away. Raining and dark and cold!! Sienna and I started back at Baby Yoga on monday....and I went to Transpersonal Psychology yesterday. Miss Sienna and I went into Hope twice this week where she was much admired! We have decided that I should go back to work asap as maternity pay can only stretch so far. So, I am due to return at the beginning of April and will be doing flexible working hours for a while, which will aid the transition back into work. I cannot imagine being apart from Sienna every day, but I think it will be good to be back in terms of brain stimulation.
We are due to go to Portugal in March to the Bial conference in Porto - so more travelling for our little girl! We will probably travel before/after the conference too. The flip side is that Nicola Holt and I have to present our research in front of a zillion big names in psychology.

Bouncing and chilling in Hemel hempstead

Sienna is having a fantastic time in Hemel Hempstead - cousin Alfie has lots of toys, including The Bouncer, which puts a huge smile on her little face. She loves bouncing, and trying to stand up.
In general, she is a little grumpy through sore gums and little 'thrown' with all of the travelling, and different environments but doing pretty well. Sleep patterns are a little dooolllaaley which is not good, but not too bad...especially when compared to her cousins.
Steve and I are enjoying relaxing, but are looking forward to not living out of a suitcase and being back in our flat!

Wedding and a Happy new year!

We are all now back in England, as of last thursday! We had a fab time in USA, being totally spoiled by grandma and grandpa Moore. We have so much extra stuff that we had to bring 2 extra suitcases with us on the plane. Sienna was an absolute angel on the flight, and managed to sleep for the entire journey (unlike her EXHAUSTED parents). Very jetlagged for a few days. Gradually back in UK time now....We have been staying in Chipperfield in Granny's old house. It felt really quiet when we walked in, but we think she would have loved the fact that the house was full of family in the madness of wedding preparations.....
We went to my brother Mark's wedding to Caroline on saturday (we promise to post piccies asap!). It was a really lovely day and really good to catch up with the Simmonds clan under more happy circumstances.
Last night we spent new years eve with CP, Charmaine and Driver Dave, Bronwen, Deb and Matt. CP cooked a delicious three course dinner and we supped wine and saw the new year in.....all of us made wishes for 2008....we are now housesitting for Mark and Caroline while they are on their honeymoon.
Sienna is quite the little girl. Her latest favourite thing is to BOUNCE. We will have to install The Bouncer on return to Liverpool.
Happy new year to everyone!