We’re still having lots of fun in Munich! Hannah is really enjoying playing with her mega blocks as you can see from the video above! We started off encouraging her to build by saying “Wow” everytime she put one block on top of each other. She still expects it and when we don’t do it she says it instead! Her construction skills are still at the novice stage as she thinks that making it as tall as possible as quickly as possible is the best tower design! I keep trying to educate her in the art of solid and slow construction but then it is early days! She is definitely displaying a creative flair so she might end up leaving the geeky construction calculations to some nerdy nerd and will become a “Building Conceptualiser” instead!!

He he he he! Who knows what she will end up doing when she’s older! The job she will do probably hasn’t even been invented yet!

Since we have moved over to Munich, Hannah has been ‘helping’ in the kitchen on a regular basis. The kitchen in our new house has a very deep work surface so that Hannah is able to sit up on the side quite safely and offer her assistance!

I have to say that its had a really positive impact on the foods that Hannah will try. As you all know, Hannah has always had a healthy appetite, but she is now eating what we eat all of the time which includes curries, sauerkraut and various other wierd and wonderful favourites. She loves to try all of the ingredients while I’m preparing them so where as she wouldn’t eat raw pepper if it was on her plate, she can’t get enough of it if she’s ‘helping’ mummy in the kitchen!

I do have to say though that our favourite recipe to make and to sample along the way is the chocolate cake that Hannah is enjoying in the photo!

Well, hello to all of our friends and family who are well and truely snowed in! We’ve been keeping up to date with the weather over in the UK and it sounds like you’ve had LOADS of snow! Much more than we have got here! We’ve got a good few inches and the sky is grey and threatening more, but so far we’ve been unaffected by all of the white stuff.

We’ve had a lovely 10 days exploring and getting used to our new surroundings - and the new culture! Food shopping is becoming more familiar (although still takes longer than Hannah would like!) and is very expensive, driving on the right almost seems normal and we’ve found a great swimming pool which is all automated so I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone if I went on my own with Hannah - a big bonus as a lot of people do not speak English in our area! And even some of those who speak German are leaving Dan stumped at times due to the Bavarian dialect!

Dan is back to work on Monday - I have loved him being off for 3 weeks, but part of me feels that it’s time for Hannah and I to find our own feet a bit more. I need to get used to doing things on my own rather than relying on Dan so am expecting a sharp learning curve over the next months as Hannah and I manage on our own a bit more. I am hoping to start German classesd in the next few weeks which will make a HUGE difference! We have also made contact with our neighbours who are English speaking and have just had a new baby - they are coming over for coffee on Sunday. And I’m hoping that some of the mums who I’ve met at the English speaking toddler groups will begin to become friends. It feels quite strange to start all over again - so many of you over in the UK are SUCH wonderful friends (and will continue to be!) but its quite exciting too! I just have to get on with it and make it happen!!

Hannah continues to be a sweetie - her favourite word at the moment is WOW!! She is learning at least one new word a day and although she continues to be close to walking, she’s still not there yet!!

Love to you all - keep us updated with your news xxx

IKEA!, originally uploaded by danlayphotos.

Been doing lots of building of Ikea flat pack.
Now have lots of Allen Keys.
Destined for the “man-draw” methinks!

Well these blogs are a bit like buses - we don’t write one for ages and then we write two in two days!

As Dan has already said, we had a wonderful time back in Oxford over Christmas - lots of good company, good food and good wine! We are now back in Munich and I have to say that it feels good to be back - still a bit wierd (well, quite a lot wierd really…), but this is where we’re meant to be at the moment and that in itself is exciting. Dan is off until 11th Jan so we have some time to play and explore. And it seems very fitting that we see in 2010 in our new home.

The house is starting to feel more cosy. Its quite a bit bigger than 112, but I’m not allowed to go mad with buying things and have to justify where any new purchase will live in 112 before I’m allowed to buy it!! Thankfully they have an Ikea here and we will be paying a visit early in the new year!

Today saw us take a trip down to Starnberg lake - very beautiful with the snow capped Alps in the background. We don’t have any snow at the moment but they are forecasting a heavy downpour from tonight onwards. Hannah was enchanted by all of the ‘ducks’ as you can see from the picture - in fact very few of them were actually ‘ducks’ but the comprehension on a 16 month old with regards to different varieties of species is not that great!

A new years resolution of mine (I have many…) is to blog at least weekly so we can keep you guys up to date with what we’re up to, but in return we’d also like to hear your news so please keep in touch and visit us if you can.

Happy New Year!

IMG_9687-16, originally uploaded by Graham Lay.

We’re back in Germany safe and sound after a wonderful Christmas break in Freeland with my folks, Mandy, Dave and with Becs’ Mum.

We did many wonderful family orientated things of which the most memorable for me was spending the day with my Dad (aka Grandad now!) and Hannah at Cotswold Wildlife Park…. in the Snow!

We went two days before Christmas day and contrary to our predictions the park was open and was deserted. It was like they had opened the park just for us. We walked around the snowscape for over an hour with the park entirely to ourselves. Even though most of the animals were tucked up warm in their cosy little homes we could still see them all the magnificent snowy landscape made up for it. It was like walking around Narnia but without the fear of meeting the dreaded Ice Queen. If you click on the photo above you will be taken to my Dad’s flickr site where you can see more of his photos. I have some photo of my own taken from the day and you can see those at www.flickr.com/photos/danlayphotos

Warning, don’t leave Hannah near your animals as she will want to tidy them away!!

Hi everyone! Well, if you didn’t already know, Becs, Hannah and I have moved to Germany (Munich) for a few years! I have been commuting over the last few weeks as Becs and Hannah weren’t able to join me until this week. But 10 days ago the packers arrived and shipped our stuff to our new house. We met them on Monday and they worked until late into the night to unpack and put our furniture back together. We carried on the work on Tuesday and by that evening we were beginning to feel settled. A few trips to the local supermarkets (which are wierd…) and a DIY store later and things are now positively cosy. I had to go back to work on Friday and while I was away Becs and Hannah were treated to a good down pour of snow which is still laying on the ground. This place is a real winter wonderland as you can see from this photo of the view from our bedroom window! Nice huh! Its absolutely beautiful! (Click on the photo for a few more photos…)

We have begun getting to know people. On Thursday, we all ventured into the city to “Munich Mommies and Munchkins” and met lots of lovely “Mommies” with their cute babies and toddlers. Its an English speaking toddler group specifically set up to help English speaking mums settle into the city. Perfect for Becs & Hannah! One lady invited us to a Mince Pies and Carols afternoon at her house and we had a lovely time there today getting to know even more people. We are hoping that these new contacts will grow into friendships over the next few months. Another rich source of friendships will undoubtedly come from our new Church. It is a lively and dynamic Church and we are sure that over the coming months we will get involved with house groups and family activities.

Hannah is settling in well too. We have changed her routine slightly so that she goes to be an hour or so later and hopefully wakes up an hour later! Its a bit hit and miss at the moment but we think that’s more to do with the fact we’re travelling here there and everywhere rather than her reluctance to adjust. She’s still her super confident self and we are sure will continue to adapt. In fact we’re not even 100% sure that she’s noticed we’ve moved…!!

We promise to keep our blog much more updated now that we’re here and look forward to seeing some of you while we’re back in the UK next week!!

Thank you for all of your messages, cards love and thoughts - we appreciate them all!

Now that Dan is working in Munich in the week, we are even more determined to have lots of nice family time at the weekend, so yesterday, despite the blustery weather, we took ourselves off to the park to play!

Hannah is changing daily and is getting more and more independent! She now likes to come down the slide on her own and go really quite high in the swings. She’s still not walking but has got speed crawling down to a fine art! Slightly alarming when she speed crawls towards the edge of the climbing frame!!

We’re looking forward to exploring the parks in Munich - I have a feeling that in the coming months you will be reading more posts from me as I become a full time mum in a country where I don’t yet speak the language! I may even write a book! Exciting times ahead!

I’m just on the airline bus on the way home to Oxford after finishing my first week in Munich. It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster first week as I find my feet with the content of my new job and people I shall be working with. So far, without exception, everyone I have met has been very kind and extremely professional, so much so that I’m looking forward to next week already. (not before a very nice relaxing weekend at home with Becs and Hannah though - missed them lots!). The strangest thing about my new work though is that I’m required to attend meetings in three different locations in Munich. I was used to this in BMW Oxford but the furthest I had to go was about a 10 minutes walk away. In Munich I am about a 50 minute walk away! It is a way of life here in Munich and in my project in particular and so I am going to have to get used to this jolly quickly!

Thankfully, with the wonder that is Skype, I have been able to see and chat with both Becs and Hannah this week. Hannah is very funny to watch on Skype as I think she thinks I now actually live in the computer screen! I am intrigued as to what she will think when she see me tomorrow! I will probably get a big hug and then get viciously assaulted as she tries to love me even more! Lets wait and see!

Well. nearly back in Oxford so best sign off!