Playtime

I must admit, I am not a big fan of modern baby toys. To my eyes, there is too much plastic, flashyness and cheesyness. I prefer old style wooden and fabric toys. However, I understand that babies are attracted by all the colours, sounds, and creatures that come with modern toys, and Emilia is no different. Our flat is literally inundated with Emilia's toys, of all kinds. 

Among the more conservative ones, some of my favourites are the wooden toy that Emilia recently received from Lyla and Eden while we were in Baltimore and the multi-fabric cube that Ilaria and Cristian gave her when they came to London a few months ago. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As far as plastic toys go, nothing is *worse* than the Jumperoo, a "sculpture" made of plastic. However, Emilia loves it. Following the success of the Baby Einstein in the States, Rob decided to buy something similar to have with us at home. We built it yesterday and so far the effects have been great. It stimulates Emilia like nothing else, and tires her out so much that last night she slept for more than twelve hours straight and this afternoon she napped for an hour and a half (her naps usually last no more than thirty minutes).  Viva le Jumperoo!

Your Olympic Games Tickets

This morning we were just about to sit down to have breakfast when the door bell rang. Delivery. There are several packages we expect to be delivered these days, mostly baby stuff (e.g. changing table and storage boxes, changing mat, baby clothes) and a few other things (e.g. gifts for upcoming friends' birthdays, shoes for me and some other stuff for the house) but we were definitely not expecting this! And you can imagine our excitement when we opened the package and saw what was inside:

A year ago when the first round of tickets went on sale, Rob and I applied to as many tickets we felt comfortable with. At the beginning you could just apply for tickets, hoping to get something. Millions of people frantically visited the London 2012 website that day and so did we and many of our friends. Naively, we thought we were going to get something but then with time we realised how hard that would be. A few months went by and one day I received an email with the notification that we had been allocated two tickets for the Women Volleyball Semifinals! I was so happy as this was one of my favourite events to attend. Having played volleyball when I was younger and being a big fan of the sport, this was a special event for me. Unfortunately, not all our friends have been lucky getting tickets, at least not at the first round. So we feel blessed.

Now the *problem* is the game will be on August 7th, just three weeks before my due date. Will I be able to go? How big will I be then? London will be a mess to get around those days and I will certainly be less tolerant than usual. However, as of right now I still plan to go, it doesn't happen every day to go to an Olympic game and I would hate to miss this experience. And who knows, perhaps baby O will get so excited, will let me enjoy the game, and then will try to come out a bit early! Everybody wins!