We've had a busy few weeks since the last update, even though it's only been about 3 weeks. After getting Ian home on the 11th, we've enjoying some time at home with him, introducing him to Ellen, Mia and his new surroundings, which needless to say is a lot quieter than his previous accommodation :)

On that first Wednesday we had him home, we took a stroll into Peckham Rye, grabbing a coffee on the green and then getting a few things from the high street. The following day I took Ellen swimming in the morning and we headed through with Ian to King's in the afternoon for a checkup which was all good. On the Friday we all walked down to Brimmington Park for a picnic lunch.

That weekend we had Greg, Kim and the boys up for lunch to ours to come and meet little Ian. And the following day we popped up to Nunhead Cemetery in the morning and then over to Ruskin Park in the afternoon for their 'Summer Music at the Bandstand' concerts. We had previously stopped by Ruskin Park while Ian was in King's and had promised him a visit to the park once he was out and could all enjoy the concert together.

On that Monday, which was my last day of paternity leave, we just stayed local to Peckham, with a walk down to Well & Fed for some coffee and the rest of the day around the house. After being off for 6 weeks from work, I headed back on the Tuesday but had organised to use my final 2 weeks as split weeks over the coming couple of months, so wasn't too bad going back to 3 day weeks.

On that Saturday, we were back to King's, except this time it was for Ellen who had gotten sick and couldn't keep liquids down and spiked a temperature, so landed up spending the day there with her until they were happy her blood sugar levels had returned to normal. As if we hadn't spent enough time back and forward at King's, had to return there within the week! But at least all was well in the end! On the Sunday we headed off to the O2 for a walk around there and lunch.

After the first few days the following week at work, that Thursday we all headed out to The Wood House pub in Dulwich for lunch and then afterwards to Crystal Palace Park and the playground which was good fun. On Friday, yesterday, we just staying in around the house. Today we took a drive out to Maryon Wilson Animal Park in Charlton, and then lunch at Frankie & Bennies before heading home in time for the Springboks vs Lions second test, which SA convincingly won by 27 points to 9.

So yet another eventful and good month, now that all of us are home :)

It's been quite the stressful and traumatic few weeks since my last update, but very happy to now be able to post this and announce the arrival of little baby Ian on the morning of 8th of June. With everything that happened over the past 5 weeks, I'll keep this update fairly brief and factual, but ends on a super happy and positive note :)

Ian was born around 8am that morning and unfortunately suffered meconium aspiration syndrome which meant he was immediately taken to ICU to try and stabilise him. After a few hours of waiting, Una and I got to individually pop up and see him and spend some time alongside him in his little incubator. That evening we got news that there was an available bed at Great Ormond Street so fortunately managed to transfer him there that evening.

The doctors and staff at GOSH were absolutely incredible and did the most amazing job to help Ian on his initial road to recover, keeping us constantly updated and informed on his improvement and treatment throughout. After 8 days there they let us know he was no longer critical and could be transferred back to King's to continue with his improvement.

So on Tuesday the 15th he returned to King's College Hospital and over the next 27 days he certainly got to know the staff there rather well, moving between ICU, the High Dependency Unit (HDU) ward, the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), the surgery ward for Pyloric Stenosis and then back to ICU and HDU again! Una and I managed to alternate our visits each day and evening heading through to spend time with the little guy. The COVID tests and masks and temperature checks didn't make things any easier, but most of the staff and other NICU parents were all lovely and supportive too.

On the first Sunday of this month we took Ellen through to Ruskin Park for the Summer Music Bandstand Concert where we tried to make a day of it with her, but also able to pop by to King's to check in on Ian. Eventually on the evening of Saturday 10th, Ian was moved to a private room with Una so managed to sneak Ellen in and she got to meet her new little brother :)

On Sunday 11th, this morning, we were given the all-clear that he could go home so after getting everything in order, we were discharged and eventually managed to show Ian the outside of King's, with both of us beaming with delight. It also happened to be the Euros final, so spent the car journey home changing "He's coming home..." :)

It's been a crazy and hell of a few weeks since that morning, but despite everything that's happened and gone through, we're just unbelievably happy to have him home now - a proper little fighter and a warrior!

The first few days of the month were rather quiet between work and Ellen at preschool, but did spend a good bit of time outside enjoying the garden.

Yesterday we decided to drive into town around Tower Bridge area and after a nice walk around there we landed up going for lunch at All Bar One Butlers Wharf. From there we headed back home and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon in the garden with Ellen.

Today we decided to head down to Brighton and Hove for the day and explore a couple of areas down there as well as some time on the beach.

A bit of a drive there and back in a single day, but nice to get out of London and always enjoyable having a bit of time on the beach and sea air before heading back to the big smoke :)

After getting back from Camber Sands at the start of the month, we arrived home to no boiler and an overflow leak from the roof dripping into the boiler room (most likely the reason for the boiler shutting off). So that was fun - trying to sort that and get the boiler area water tight as well as deal with the overflow leak.

The next weekend, however, was nice - with it being a rainy Saturday at home, we spent the morning indoors and then out in the log cabin in the afternoon with Ellen watching a movie on the projector. Plus I got the biltong box up and running again and started a new fresh batch :) On the Sunday we headed into town to Trafalgar Square, Victoria Embankment Gardens and then down to the Southbank to the funfare before heading home.

The following Saturday myself and Ellen headed down to Walton to see Greg, Kim and the boys and had lunch and the afternoon at their place. The Sunday was just a day spent at home around the house.

The following couple of weekends were fairly quiet, with us popping up to Nunhead Cemetery on both Saturdays for a walk around there and get pooch (and us) out the house for a bit.

The past few days from Thursday until this afternoon we've been away at Camber Sands having a really nice chilled out few days away. The days were spent enjoying a mixture of the beach, the playground, the mobile home and down at the entertainment center and venue.

Ellen had a great time there - definitely a holiday for the kids though :) But was good to get away from the house a bit and a have a few days away at the beach!

The start of this month was the Easter weekend. On the Friday we decided to have (another) little belated birthday cake celebration for Ellen as we were away for her actual birthday and had been rather busy the past two weekends, and since we were at home all day on the Friday, we decided to have a leisurely birthday celebration for her. The rest of the weekend we spent in the log cabin, a couple of trips up to Nunhead Cemetery as well as in and out of the house.

The following couple of weekends were just a mix of home, some braai, Telegraph Hill Park and meeting up with Kin Kay, Joanna and Ava both at their place and at ours.

Tomorrow we're off to Camber Sands until Monday which should be a nice break and a few days away :)

This month has been quite busy with a long weekend away as well as a few day trips out. We started off the first weekend of the month with me and Ellen heading up to Telegraph Hill Park for a few hours up there. And then on the Sunday we all headed out to Bushy Park and met up with Greg, Kim and the boys for a few hours which was great to see them all playing together!

The following weekend we all enjoyed a nice long weekend away down in Brighton and Hove - already posted about that separately :) On the Monday I had my first Covid vaccination shot, and thankfully no side-effects either, so hopefully this is the start to the end of Covid and the pandemic. Later that week we had belated birthday celebrations for Ellen - since her birthday was while we were away in Brighton, we decided to celebrate it properly with her at home which she thoroughly enjoyed :)

The next week we did another day trip down to Hove for a wander around and area scouting, and then on the Sunday we met up with Laura, Dennis, Theo and Jack over at Burgess Park playground for a few hours for the little ones to have a play.

The last few days of the month were mainly at home doing a good spring clean, sorting out the front of the house and fixing all those little things we've had on the list for ages, so the front is certainly looking a lot better now :)

This past weekend we decided to head down to Brighton for a few days to enjoy a long weekend away as well as check out the area as a potential destination for relocation.

On Thursday we left mid morning and drove down south and checked into our AirBnB early afternoon. We were very central, but it was super quiet due to lockdown which worked out quiet well for us. Once unpacked we walked down to the beach for sunset then back to the apartment for the evening.

On Friday we did a good bit of driving around, from Brighton through Hove and Portslade and out through to Worthing where we stopped up and walked out along the pier. After sometime along the pier in the wind, it was back in the car to King Alfred car park and a nice walk along the beach front there before heading back to the accommodation.

Yesterday was Ellen's birthday which we celebrated in the morning in the apartment with a fry up for breakfast and some presents, then a walk down to the beach and back in the afternoon for some birthday cake. Afterwards we took a drive around the neighbouring areas of Hove and Portslade to get a feel for the areas before heading back to the apartment for the evening.

This morning, after quickly packing up, we headed down to Brighton beachfront for a walk along there, followed by Five Guys for lunch and then the drive back home.

Was a good weekend away and think Ellen enjoyed her birthday and the couple of days away from home :)

Other than it being super cold at the moment, had a good month here with a mix of keeping busy (and warm) as well as in and around the house. The first Saturday this month we headed into the MyspacerSenspacerse office to go pick up a few things there. We decided to make an afternoon of it, with Ellen running around and enjoying herself there. Afterwards we took a brief walk along the river, grabbed a coffee and then headed home. On the Sunday it was meant to be a snow day, was super cold outside and landed up having a bit of sleet but that was about all. However, on the following couple of days we did in fact have some snow outside which made the walk to and from nursery a bit more interesting :)

Later that week was nursery inset day which I had decided to take off and spend the day with Ellen at home which was good fun. Then on Friday, we all popped through to the office again to grab some equipment from there to bring home. The weekend was really cold and we all just spent it at home and indoors - too cold to venture out! On the Saturday night we had the hot stone raclette as part of our at-home Valentines dinner.

The following weekend was slightly milder so made sure we got out the house, with Saturday being out at Nunhead Cemetery in the morning, following by an afternoon of me tinkering with the RC car and then followed by a braai for dinner. On the Sunday, Ellen enjoyed the afternoon running around the garden outside. Earlier in the month I had decided to get back into my biltong making, so after hanging it the previous week, I had been patiently waiting for it to dry and this week it was ready to slice and enjoy - even though it never lasts very long in this house :)

The last weekend we decided to head into town, started off with a walk by Tower Bridge, then along the river down to Borough Market which was incredibly busy, so turned around and headed back to Five Guys for lunch and then finally home. On the Sunday we stayed at home just around the house.

And that brings us to the end of February, hopefully also the end of the coldest month and next month is slightly milder :)

First of all, happy new year everyone and hopefull 2021 is good to everyone, and looking forward to an end to this pandemic at some point this year... fingers crossed! The majority of blog updates from last year were prefixed with "Coronavirus Lockdown" but decided to avoid that for this year, and hopefully if all goes well that'll be all behind us before the end of the year, so just naming these future posts by their month names from now on :)

This year we started off with the first few days around the house and in the log cabin. On that first weekend we drove over to Greenwich Park for a wander around there and some time playing in the bandstand, followed by a visit to Peckham Rye Park on the Sunday for a walk around the lake until the rain starting to come down pretty hard so decided to rush back to the car and head on home.

Towards the end of last year, we had decided if COVID cases in the area were super high at the start of January, we would keep Ellen at home for at least the first week. So I took the first two days of January off and Una took the Wednesday off. On the Tuesday, Lockdown 3 was announced which was a national lockdown (again), one step futher than the Tier 4 restrictions that London was already under. Thankfully, nurseries weren't affected by it, so they would stay open, but still pleased we kept her at home for the first week. At least my first day back to work on the Wednesday wasn't as much of a hassle with only a few steps commute to the "office" at home instead of the trek through in the chilly January weather :)

The next weekend we spent most of it at home, with a brief visit up to Telegraph Hill Park on the Sunday for a bit of a run around and some fresh outdoor air. We're pretty limited where we can go and what we can do, but good to get out when we can. That Friday was my birthday and we had originally planned to go away for the weekend, but when Lockdown was announced, we postponed it to later in the year when hopefully we do get to go. But we had a nice day at home, with hot stone raclette for dinner that night - as good as any restaurant meal :) That weekend was another one spent mostly at home, with it being pretty cold outside, but did mange a visit up to Telgraph Hill Park for a walk around and a bit of time on the playground.

Last weekend was fairly sunny on the Saturday morning, so not to waste a nice day, we headed over to Nunhead Cemetery for an easy walk around there, and on the Sunday we had our first bit of snow fall, more than I expected to fall, so after the first part of the morning at home watching it come down, we took a walk over to St. Mary's Frobisher Park for a bit of play in the snow and some very small snowman building, which Ellen really seemed to enjoy!

Yesterday was a miserable rainy day here, so had a lazy indoors day at home all day. Then today, with it being nice and sunny, we decided to head into Tower Bridge and walk over towards St Katharine Docks.

It was super windy and cold, so after our walk over the bridge and around the Marina, we decided to return to the car and head on back to a nice warm home :)