the week that was: captured

I like trying to get a little record in of how I spent my week because I know I'll appreciate it latest on when I look back on my early days with Oliver. I didn't quite realize how much spit-up and pee and exhaustion these weeks would include. But that is vastly outweighed by Oliver's smiles and silly baby reflexes, like watching him shake his fists in the air or try to balance on his chubby legs or give me skeptical baby looks, raised eyebrows and wrinkled forehead included. I forgot to post this last week, though, so this will cover the past two weeks.

Last week, I visited the museum of Russian icons with my aunt, uncle and cousins on Tuesday. We had a tour, learned a lot about icons and their history and how they're made, as well as a bit about Russia. Oliver was charming and happy, like always. We brought turkey sandwiches to eat and then bought chocolate gingerbread from the Russian tea room. The museum was fascinating, and we all decided we would highly recommend it. So if you're ever in the area, go!

On Thursday we celebrated my mother's birthday with sushi, cookies and caramel ice cream. I also attended an awkward church activity that involved speed-dating to make friends. On Friday we got some more snow! It was technically the second snowfall of the season and it was beautiful. I love seeing roofs and streets and pavement all dusted with white. Later in the day our boxes from England finally arrived so we did some unpacking. We were particularly excited to see all our books again and put them out on the shelves.

Last Saturday, Oliver and I met my mother and aunts in the city for another birthday celebration. We ate delicious Vietnamese food and Oliver was so well-behaved in the restaurant.  As long as he is held, he is happy. (Well, held and fed.) On Sunday we had lunch with Sam's parents and stayed for a while, so they could have some time with Oliver (who was hungry and a bit fussy).

This week was pretty slow, and really I can barely remember what I did most days.  I did many more loads of laundry, sorted out some bills, took Oliver on several walks, and did some shopping.  There's a little cafe in town that closed just as I moved back, but a new one is opening in its place, so I went by to check on its progress.  I'd love to have somewhere so close where Oliver and I can go sit.  A friend from England called, and it was nice to get caught up on everything in her life, and hear about things we've missed since we left.  This week was so cold, I definitely started to miss English winters.

Sam had three days of training at work, so he worked a different schedule to usual, and on Saturday, he and I began a week of house-sitting.  The family have chickens, fish, a guinea pig, and a cat, so really it is more like pet-sitting, but we get to use their huge house while they are away, so we're enjoying that.  As long as we don't get any snow or ice for the next week, that is, because their driveway is impossible - long and curvy and uphill.  Today we visited Sam's parents again for a little Thanksgiving meal, since Oliver and I will be spending Thanksgiving with my family (and Sam will be working).