2013 : Moments

Well, that was 2013.   A quick year in our household, Amélie appears to grow a little more every day and in every imaginable way.   As I write this I’m battling a cold and have conjunctivitis.   So, not on the finest form, and pretty much feeling sorry for myself.    I thought however, that this was an ideal time to stop and look at the moments that shaped our 2013.   These simple moments that follow are in no specific order at all, except really the order in which they came to me as I thought of the past 365 days or so.

One of the great advantages of keeping a photo diary on great websites like Blipfoto mean its easy to look over your year(s) to see what you actually did and when you actually did it. .

• We decided to visit our favourite little log cabin in Canonbie near Dumfries for the holidays at Hogmanay and New Year 2012.

• We took Amélie to Edinburgh Zoo for her first birthday on the 6th January.
• My good friends Chris and Jennifer had a little baby girl on January 7th called Simone.

• I managed to get back to boxing training this year for a while.
• I took my Dad to our first ever experience of a 5 nations International Rugby game, we went to Murrayfield to see Scotland beat Italy.
• I had two whole weeks with Amélie in February as Joni had decided to work full-time for a month.
• I was involved in filming a piece for Vito Dance Theatre called Withdrawal.
• The Catholic Church has a new Pope, Pope Francis I.   Amélie and I watched the election on television live from the Vatican.
• I was involved in a 5 aside football tournament as a fundraiser for Callum’s Cabin and managed to really damage my left foot in a tackling incident.

• I finally had the opportunity to see Icelandic musicians: Sigur Ros and Ólafur Arnalds
• Our garage was broken into and two bicycles were stolen, thankfully the police retrieved one and managed to catch one of the people involved.
• I was lucky enough to have my first photograph placed in an exhibition in gallery.
• Attended some bicycle maintenance classes as part of the Glasgow Bike Station.
• Margaret Thatcher died.

• I attended two stag parties: we travelled to Bolton to enjoy a day of hospitality to watch them play Blackpool for my friend Paddy’s and then had a day at Auchentoshan Distillery (2nd visit) and greyhound racing for my brother in law Liams’.  
• We had a trip to Morecambe for Joni’s Grandmother’s 80th birthday party.
• I visited Glengoyne distillery (2nd visit) with my good friend Sace and we spent the night in his hut in Carbeth.
• I had my very first rides on a Brompton folding bike, a  Dahon folding bike and even a Penny Farthing on the Harris Tweed Ride.
• My Dad retired.

• I was asked to host the Refugee Week end of week showcase.
• My brother in law Liam was married to Lyndsey.

• My good friend Paddy was married to Nicola.

• My good friend Findlay’s had a daughter called Lucy.
• We had our first family cycling / camping trip to the outer Hebrides, to Barra.
• I toured Arran twice (by bicycle), once with my good friend Alasdair and once on my own.
• We had plenty of time in the garden, eating outside, playing with Amélie and enjoying whisky by the chiminea.
• I had a few experiences of up-cycling, I created a pallet bookcase, a pallet mirror, made a gate and also made some fencing around our plants.
• We enjoyed another Harris Tweed Ride.

• My good friend and I had a tour of the Glasgow Velodrome.
• The Clydebank Town Hall has a new exhibition space, so we enjoyed visiting the Jolomo exhibition and the Harry Papadopolis exhibition.

• I rode 110 miles for the Glasgow to Edinburgh Pedal For Scotland.  (3’350 miles this year)
• Amélie got her very first passport and we had our first fortnight trip abroad to Kefalos, Kos.  It was Amélie’s first time on an airplane and she had a great time.

• Attended our very first ‘drive-in’ film, we caught Ghostbusters.
• I replaced a grill in our oven.
• My Dads had his 60th birthday
• Finally had the chance to buy a bottle of Kilchoman Single Malt.  Among some other fabulous whisky. 

There will be many many things I’ve missed.   Until next year!

Birds

A trip to a park outside Glasgow today with Joni and Amélie, it was a great way to spend my second year as a father to my beautiful daughter.

Happy Feet

Little Amélie and Joan as we enjoy a family picnic. . .

Confessions of a “Stay at Home Dad”

Having just returned to work after two weeks of being a full time ‘Stay At Home Dad’, it felt like the natural time to post a blog or at least write something to mark this time that i was able to take off to spend with my daughter Amélie.   My wife had been offered a new,month long contract that would give her some freedom as a ‘Working Mum’ for a while and also earn us some more income.  We knew it would be difficult for both of us because it would mean a politely worded request to my boss for time off and also would mean time away from the family home for my wife, not to mention the fact that little Amélie would be missing her Mother every day.

Amélie’s busy little social life kept us both busy during this time, she has so many classes that she goes to: Bounce & Rhyme, Mama Luna (Spanish singing and dance), and a couple of different toddler’s groups.   We managed to get along to most of these classes and it was great for me to finally see how she interacts in these group settings and the person she is becoming, not just with family and with her parents but with her new friends and other small children.   She is a very social person and likes to entertain, so it was good to see this in public.   My intention was to head to places we had never been and to let her experience large open spaces, we had an unexpected fortnight of sunny and dry weather so I wanted to take advantage of this.   We had rides on buses over to see a farm, ferry rides over to the other side of the river, and walks in the park.   It was great fun and it was a fantastic way to spend a couple of weeks off.

The daily routine things i only get to experience on a weekend were now the main focus of my day, I would feed her, change her, clean her, feed her again, get her to nap, wake her up, change her, feed her again, play with her, sing to her, and get her to sleep.   All these things that my fantastic wife does every day was now my role – and as difficult as it was, it was the most rewarding role i have ever had.

During the first week, I had the unfortunate job of taking her to have her set of immunisations.   This was a really low point for me and as we trudged up the hill towards the health clinic I could feel the nerves creep in, not into Amélie, but into her father, in full knowledge of what was about to come.   We entered the room, lit as you would expect with strip lighting, and smelling of chemicals and leather.   Amélie sat with her father cradling her in his arms whilst the needle punctured her leg three times.   It was a loud cry, but after some playing and chasing her around the waiting room on the way out, it was almost forgotten.  Well, for her at least.  I’ll remember it forever.

One of my favourite times with Amélie is first thing in the morning, she greets each day as one brand new adventure.   Opening the curtains in her room you can just see the excitement in her eyes as she looks through the blinds into the garden, just wondering what today will hold.   Its an excitement I think any adult would love to have again – imagine looking out of the window at snow for the very first time, or feeling the sunshine on your face for the first time.    My second favourite is putting her to bed, just feeling her fall asleep in your arms, safe and warm, drifting off into a sleep full of the dreams and thoughts from the day and nothing to worry about, not a care.  Its beautiful.

So, now back at work and the mornings are now taken up with getting Amélie up, fed and ready for her Nana to pick her up to look after her for the next two weeks.   Its so sad hearing her cry and shout ‘Dad’ and I fasten her into the car seat and they drive off.  The first morning I could barely speak for fear that the sadness in my voice would be too much.    It seems completely mad, but i think i feel this way because I have no idea when or if i’ll ever get two weeks alone with my daughter again.   Having time with my wife and daughter is somehow different, in a way that i can’t explain.    I’ve always thought that the bond between and mother and child is stronger, and in my opinion it fully has the right to be, after all its the mother that carries the baby for nine months in her own body).  But I think its important as a father, its important to try to make this bond between father and child as strong as possible to be as close as possible and to be a positive example of a male in her life.

Papoose in the Hoose!

My daughter seems very happy with her new method of transport.

Amélie in her papoose