Nursery

James has been going to nursery. He's gone 10 days over 5 weeks and he is a real star at the nursery. Today he had a particularly great day. He smiled and laughed and ate lots of food. He has picked up a few colds and a bad tummy bug, but at least he's building up his immune system!

He has been eating lots of new foods: chicken, lentils, mango and more. He likes to use the spoon all by himself. And he's not too bad at it! In the morning he eats a creamy porridge made of rice and corn (maize). He also gnaws on some toast. We've bought him Greek full fat yoghurt and Andrew and I are jealous that only James gets to eat it. It's too rich for us grown-ups.

James is also very close to sitting up, he has a new 'nest' to sit in and enjoys playing with all the exciting toys around the sides (Password: sentado)

Sitting and hiccups from Andrew Charlton-Perez on Vimeo.

Tia Helen and Grandad visit James

Here is a fun slide show of the photos we took when Tia Helen and Grandad visited James. There are a few other more recent photos included. The password is helendad.

Helen and Dad's visit from Andrew Charlton-Perez on Vimeo.

Almost 6 months old

Hello! James will be 6 months old on the 28th of February and we can hardly believe it!

He is starting to eat real food and enjoys it very much. We have been spoon feeding him, but are going to let him play more and self feed if he feels like playing. He is very interested in what we eat and he spends mealtimes in his highchair with us.

this week he started nursery 2 days per week while cristina started back to work. it is hard to leave him, and pick up time is the best part of our day. the staff says that he does well there and we think that the earlier he starts, the happier he will be eventually.

Happy New Year!



James' first Christmas has been remarkably cold and snowy here in England. He is enjoying looking out of the window at the large snowflakes, or perhaps it is our running commentary that entertains hims so?! Today James met his other Great Grandmother, Great Nanna Charlton. We're looking forward to another longer visit with her on our next trip.

New Year's Eve was very cozy here at Granny and Jish's house in front of the fire and the telly. Tia Helen made sure that we each had 12 grapes to eat as Big Ben struck midnight. New Year's Day was spent with Great Nanna and Great Grandad. We played Trivial Pursuit and Great Nanna and Andrew's team won after some stiff competition.

James is enjoying bathtime more and more. We think that it is because the bathtub here is so big and the light fixtures in the bathroom are beautiful and distract James. He is also learning to eat rice cereal from a spoon. Today Granny fed him and with her experience was much better at it than Mummy or Daddy! Tia Helen walked around with him making sure that he has lots of time to look at the Christmas Tree and in the mirror which James loves. We will be sad to leave tomorrow to go back to Reading.

New Year's Eve

Here we are at the end of 2009. It is New Year's Eve and we're reflecting on the many important events which took place this year. The biggest events were buying our house, Cristina's happy pregnancy and her unfortunate maternity leave battle at work, being burgled in our old rented house back in January 2009, being visited by Cristina's parents Rafael and Conchita and the most important and wonderful event being James' arrival.

Just to catch you up on December...earlier in December we had quite alot of snow in Reading. James saw his first snowflakes!

On the 19th Ed came to pick the three of us up in Reading and brought us to Wisbech to spend 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year's celebrations. The roads were a little scary, but Ed/Jish was a champion driver and we had a safe and pleasant journey. This was James' longest car journey so far.

Once in Wisbech, Cristina still had to take a test called the "Life in the UK Test" in order to apply for permanent settlement in the UK. The test was to prove that I can read English!! However, you have to learn a lot of trivial facts as well as more important ones about the UK and so, it is a stressful test. It is quite hard to pass (you must get 75% correct) unless you study the materials closely. David/Grandad drove me to Norwich (2 hours away!) to take the test. I had to stay away form James for 8 hours which was very hard. Plus, holding off on breastfeeding him for that long was actually painful. The good news is that I passed the test and have sent off my application for settlement to the Home Office. Grandad had to navigate some treacherous roads. On the bright side, we spent the drive admiring the beautiful landscape of frosted trees, perfectly white snowy fields and the gorgeous skies with low winter sun shining on.

We have had a wonderful first Christmas with James. James was a very good boy this year and so he was visited by Father Christmas in person! You have to watch the slide show to see:



James has received many gifts, cards and good wishes from friends here in the UK and all over the world. He is a lucky little chap. We were able to Skype with family in Knoxville on Christmas day. We spent Christmas day at Granny and Jish's house with Tia Helen, Great Nanna and Great Grandad. We all had a terrific Christmas meal topped off with a delicious Christmas pudding. Then on Boxing Day we went to Grandad and Anne's for another meal and more fabulous presents!

James is fascinated with the Christmas tree, lights and ornaments. He has had a growth spurt while we have been here, demanding alot of milk and even growing too long for some of his clothes. He is even more alert now and plays with a toy with you. He interacts more, smiling lots and laughing from time to time. He "talks" every day experimenting with noises. Now that he is 4 months old we have started giving him a few spoonfuls of rice cereal after his milk once a day to get him used to the idea of eating from a spoon. So far he likes this new game, although he doesn't manage to actually eat very much of the cereal.

Tonight we will ring in the New Year. We wish you all a very happy 2010!

He's a Bonnie Boy

James had his second series of vaccinations today. Poor little man was so unhappy. He was sleepier than usual all afternoon, but had no adverse reaction. He is happier now, this evening. The nurse who administered the vaccines called him a bonnie boy, and that he is. (i double checked and bonnie does mean hearty, healthy or handsome).

Andrew has edited some older footage to make this latest film of James and his favorite toy, Jorge la Girafa (George the Giraffe). We hope that you enjoy it.

James' Favourite Toy from Andrew Charlton-Perez on Vimeo.

We glow in the dark

We have had some fun with James and his new glow-in-the-dark outfit. We think that he looks like a little wizard. We didn't take him trick-or-treating this year, but it is only a matter of time.

Last week James laughed out loud, an unmistakable chuckle. Of course, he was laughing at his giraffe Jorge and not at any of our clever jokes. We can't wait for him to giggle all the time, but he is making us wait. Andrew says that it is like fishing in that you can't want it too much or it won't happen.

James is also grabbing his toys. He appears to cuddle his bunny rabbit Nat when he sits in his vibrating chair. He grabs the jungle animals which hang above him on his playmat. He loves to be under there and he seems to want to talk with the animals. He is starting to make noises other than crying noises that is.