Happy birthday to me and various updates

It's my birthday! 39!! Can you believe it? I feel 25 inside though, long may it last. This year Mike not only remembered promptly my birthday but he had a fabulous present ready, a Nespresso Coffee Machine which I opened this morning and fits perfectly on our kitchen counter!

I really like it and was often looking at them in the shop. I liked them even better when I learnt that the coffee capsules are fully recycled and some of the machine are even made with them, so my Eco-side was satisfied it was ok to own one and Mike remembered and got it for me! It will take some time now to explore all the flavours and decide which to get and stock up, it will be fun!

The day was good and uneventful, and we managed to have the children in bed and asleep reasonably early to enjoy some cake and wine. To many more years!

Only 5 weeks till I'm going back to work.....tick tock....tick tock...not a nice feeling I'm afraid, but at least it seems we have the nanny sorted out, so that is a relief. Unfortunately with my kind of work it's not like I can just show up and do something, so I have already to submit exam questions for the Winter examinations...deadline 4th of October and I have not even looked at the slides I'll be teaching yet. This weekend I promise.

Martina is 21 weeks old today and she is comfortably wearing 6-9 month clothing. How is that even possible? My little baby is growing so fast I'm afraid to look the other way and she's walking. Or talking. On a few occasions I actually thought she said "ma ma". Scary! But she is working with me into establishing some sort of routine. We are probably 10 days into Tracy Hogg EASY routine and I am happy to report day time naps are pretty much sorted, she sleeps in her cot, takes only minutes to settle and even though the first morning nap is short (40 minutes) she can sleep for 1.5 hours after lunch (although she still wakes after 45 minutes but I have managed to re-settle her for the last two days very easily. Nights are still a hit and miss, but I am positive we will see an improvement soon. I believe her main problem is that she has a very very light sleep (or a bionic ear) and the minimal noise will make her stir and subsequently wake. I'll have to help her on that too, but one thing at the time. She is my super cutie and cuddly baby, I love her intense look. She gets easily bored with toys unless she is looking at Oliver playing, she loves listening to a conversation, I seriously think she is going to be a challenge as she grows up, and a heartbreaker!!