Audrey on her way to Mums and Tots

I took this picture of Audrey as we were about to head off to Mums and Tots this morning. Her Great Grandma knitted the cardigan and Audrey seems chuffed to bits with it!

As yesterday was valentines day the centre of Warsaw was awash with flower sellers on every corner. It's getting (gradually) warmer day-by-day although I don't want to speak too soon as it can still snow in February and March....

5 second science courtesey of Dr Karl

Got this from a Triple J podcast this morning - thought it was good - perhaps not as good as weighing your own head, but certainly less messy...

1. Stand on your left foot with your right foot raised a few inches off the ground
2. Move your right foot in a circular motion (clockwise)
3. (While continuing to circle your foot) with a pen in your right hand try drawing the figure '6' on a piece of paper

Good isn't it!

A New Bowl and Spoon

You'd imagine buying a bowl and a spoon would be easy? If you ever try buying one for a baby though, the process is more likely to bring you out in a cold sweat.

On Saturday we went to our local shops to buy said spoon and bowl for Audrey. We are hoping to move her onto solids in the next week or two, and even though she's had the odd sneaky bit of food off mum or dad's finger we didn't believe she possessed the right equipment to make a continued effort of solids that straightforward.

We only visited a couple of shops. Mothercare and Smyk (the Polish equivalent) and yet in both stores we were confronted with a baffling array of styles and choices. But (and as with all baby product decisions) which piece of crockery and utensil was the most likely to make our offspring a genius?

First the spoon: Obviously you had to make the pink/blue decision (easy) but then you had to decide whether you wanted the spoon ergonomically designed to help with feeding or whether you wanted the bowl of the spoon to be deep, shallow or change colour with the temperature of the food (I'm not joking). Then there was the option of cushioned head (to protect tiny gums) or bendable handle.

Next the bowl: Again the pink/blue decision (no problem again) but.....should it have suckers to stick it to the surface, be small, deep, round or oval. Should it match the spoon to make a set, and how do you REALLY feel about Disney characters?

In the end we grabbed a bowl which had a cute picture on it and ran (ok, I admit we went for the cushioned spoon as well). I just hope Audrey likes them, and our choices don't negatively affect her IQ - she'll probably just cast them aside and use her fingers anyway...

Amy's Birthday!

Yesterday was Amy's birthday (21 again). We had a really nice day as she took the day off work and the three of us spent the day together.

In the evening we had a few friends round for dinner which was great and we all ate and drank well.

Before our guests arrived we had managed to kid Audrey that the time was later than it actually was, and packed her off to bed an hour earlier than usual. As a result she slept through the meal, only joining us after the dessert. I'm not sure if it was my out of tune singing of 'Happy Birthday' that woke her, but she enjoyed a nice 30 minutes in everyone's company at the end of the night.

Audrey gets into the party spirit

Amy blows out her candles

Mug Shots

On Sunday the three of us went to a photography exhibition called Mug Shots, City Of Shadows – Early 20th Century Police Photography, Sydney, Australia.

In the late 1970's four tonnes of negatives were recovered from a flooded police warehouse in Western Sydney. The hundreds of thousands of photos of Sydney's theives, prostitutes, fraudsters, muderers and gamblers were categorised and the stories of the characters were researched and told. Some of the tales of the early-Australian underworld are both extraordinary and eerie.

The photos span the period 1912 to 1948 with many of them giving no clue to the photographer's identity. The exhibition was first shown in Sydney in November 2005. The exhibition has just opened at the Yours Gallery on Krakowskie Przedmieście and was really well attended when we were there. If you're in the centre of Warsaw before the 16th March we'd really recommend taking a look (admission is free) and there are some fantastic photos (and stories) on view, (they do nice hot chocolate in the cafe next door as well!)

Monday's Joke

Englishman, Scotsman, Albi*n Fan in a pub.

Englishman says, "I gave my baby the name 'George' as he was born on St.George's Day". "That's a coincidence," says the Scotsman, "my baby's called 'Andrew' as he was born on St.Andrew's Day". "Well I never!", exclaims the Albi*n fan, "It's my son, Pancake's birthday tomorrow."

Bully on Soccer AM

Wolves and England Great, Steve Bull appeared as the main guest on Soccer AM on Saturday morning. Steve Bull was probably one of the finest players ever to wear an England football shirt and notched up 306 goals for Wolves during a career that spanned 13 years. It was great to see him on tele. Wolves could have done with his skills later on the same day as they got thrashed 3-0 at Watford (against a team they had beaten 4-1 just the week before). I'm choosing to not even mention the rugby.