Audrey gets a Birth Certificate

Trevor went to register Audrey at the the Town Hall, and get a birth certificate for her. It was an exercise in extreme bureaucracy (something that the Poles are World Champions at). It took about an hour to fill in all the forms - at one point they thought Trevor was from Norway as they had misread 'Newbury'! Still at least she's now got a Birth Certificate - she now just needs to register with the Australian and British Embassy, but hopefully that'll be a bit less onerous!

We've grown a couple of cherry tomato bushes on our balcony and they're really bearing fruit now. Ok, not exactly staggering examples of horticulture but they're nice in salads.

Kim and Mark come to visit

Kim and Mark came to Warsaw to visit us for a few days. Amy and Kim work together at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and Kim is currently posted to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was lovely to catch up with them and show them some of the sights of Warsaw.

Trevor gave them the "Hickman Old Town Tour" (albeit a little rushed as he was in a hurry to get home to resume fatherly duties) on their first day and then all five of us went together by bus (Audrey's first bus trip!) to Wilanow Palace.

The (mostly older lady) guards in the palace had stoney faced expressions that looked as though they had remained un-thawed since the end of the cold war. They were distinctly unimpressed that we had dragged two and a half week Audrey out to see this part of historic Warsaw, Audrey meanwhile was unperturbed by it all and slept throughout.

Mark, Audrey, Amy and Kim

Amy, Kim and Mark in Wilanow's gardens

Audrey snoozes by the palace

We also discovered a useful ruse that the washing machine seems to helps soothe Audrey to sleep when we place her in her basket alongside it. We are running out of things to wash as a result, and choosing the shorter 'eco' cycle is no longer an option as far as I can see!

The car's the star

Warsaw's roads are full of the usual Fords, Toyotas, BMWs, Opels etc. Amongst all the dull run-of-the mill cars though, you can often spot tiny cars, (usually in a poor state of repair), being driven at breakneck speeds along Warsaw's pot-holed ridden streets.

The Fiat 126p is a hangover from Poland's communist past and was Poland's most popular car in the 1980s. It is nicknamed the Maluch (the small one). There were over 3.3 million of these cars manufactured in Poland between 1973-2000 and the place must have been full of them.

Production of the car sat uneasily in Communist Poland, (where cars were considered a luxury item), and so the vehicles were distributed via a 2 year waiting list or via a coupon given by authorities for merits.

Most of the cars you see on the road in capitalist Warsaw 2007 are suffering from old age, but I do like spotting the odd Maluch careering round the city and weaving in and out of traffic - they often seem to travel far faster than their tiny engine should allow.

Audrey's first two weeks

Audrey was 2 weeks old on Friday and we are still amazed that we haven't managed to drop or break her! Having said that it's not been easy either. We're worried at the moment that she might have a spot of colic as she spent a lot of last night screaming/crying leaving all 3 of us feeling frazzled today. It still amazes us how lovely she is though, and like proud parents we've taken a lot of pics of her (probably too many). If you want to see some click here.

Amy, Trevor and Audrey go shopping!

Ok, before I start I promise that I won't fill this blog with details of every single shopping trip we ever go on, together with a list of things we bought. Today's outing was special though as it was our first real trip out together as a family.

We went up the road to Galleria Mokotow a large shopping centre near our apartment where we spent an hour picking up a few things we needed. Audrey slept throughout. No doubt as she grows, being a female she'll find it harder and harder to go past shoe shops, but as she was asleep in her pram this afternoon, today wasn't a problem. All went well (me and Amy even found time to have a hot-chocolate) and it was nice to get out of the apartment for a short while.

When we got home we were visited by our friends Emma and Jon from the British Embassy. Emma is expecting a baby soon, and so she got some hands-on practice with Audrey. It was nice to see them, and it's a real shame that they'll both soon be returning to the UK soon.

Uncle Ralph comes to visit

Audrey received her first overseas visitor this weekend when Trevor's brother, Ralph came to Warsaw to visit.

Ralph declined the invitation to stay with us, preferring instead the somewhat more salubrious (and quieter) confines of the Marriot Hotel (he was here with a conference).

It was lovely to catch up. As well as meeting Audrey, Ralph received the guided tour of Warsaw Old Town from Trevor on Saturday, and on Sunday the two of them visited the Uprising Museum (one of the best museums in Poland).

Audrey is doing really well. She is feeding regularly (we are still feeding every 3 hours day and night) and she is starting to have 'alert' times which we are attempting to encourage during daylight hours! It's still hard work but we both know it'll be worth it.

Ralph feeling broody (even though he'll deny it)

Audrey admires her new toys

Whoops!

There are major roadworks going on across the road from our apartment (Pulawska Street). One of the workmen had got a bit carried away with a digger and sliced a water pipe! The resulting fountain attracted numerous kids and onlookers...