Mummy and I in Geneva

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Wednesday 9 August
I know what toys I want and I'm getting much better at moving to get them, but I have to pull the mat toward me or spin around or push myself back on my back by arching back. I love rolling from side to side and exploring! But it's so frustrating I can't crawl or walk yet! I keep kicking my legs but I can't move yet unless I push my feet against mummy!

I'm also able to make a lot more sounds and squeals and I'm practicing the bababab sound. Mummy sometimes copies me so I must be doing it right! In the bathtub I also try to move around and grab the big shiny silver cord but mummy tries to stop me! My favourite thing is to pull myself up using mummy's fingers and to bounce up and down! 😊

Daddy and Mamie decided to paint the windows in the Menorca apartment so mummy came up with the idea of going back to Geneva with for a week to see Grandma and Grandpa and some more of her friends from when she lived there. I don't know how long a week is but I hope it's not too long or I will miss daddy! We left Mamie and daddy caught the bus to the airport with Mummy and I. I couldn't sleep at all on the plane because there were so many things to look at! The nice air hostess suggested we take the three empty seats so I finally had my own seat! It was fun! Mummy even had enough room to change my nappy on the seat but the air hostess didn't look too happy.

I finally fell asleep just before the plane landed. Mummy said I was super heavy to carry to the luggage collection because the pram was not waiting outside the plane like usual. Luckily the nice woman across the aisle helped her with her baggage. I woke up just after mummy put me in my pram and stayed awake all the way to the apartment. We stayed with mummy's friend Leanne, who has an apartment in the old town. By the time we got there, it was about midnight! I finally fell asleep after mummy and Leanne chatted for a while.. what a long day!

Thursday 10 August
The next morning we went to see grandma and grandpa who had arrived the night before also. But when we got to the place they were staying, the gate was locked! Mummy tried calling but no one answered! Then mummy had an idea. We went to the Crown Plaza hotel at the end of the road and told them we were trying to contact mummy's parents, so they gave us the wifi code and we found out grandma and grandpa were still at the house! It was fun to see them again. Grandma looked very happy to see me and even had a new twisty caterpillar toy for me!

We all caught the bus into town and went to Starbucks for a coffee and wifi! Then we went to lunch on the top floor of Manor, a big department store. They had a massive smorgasbord of everything !! You chose what you wanted to eat and paid at the end. Mummy got lots of vegetables for me to try while grandma found a table on the balcony overlooking Geneva. After lunch we went back to Starbucks so we could phone people and work out the rest of our program. Gabrielle who I met at Sixt-fer-à-cheval and who came with us to Brienz came to meet us there! Then we all walked across the lake through park des Bastions to meet the couple who had taken us all to dinner when we were here with Daddy. This time, their daughter Solynka was there and she was lovely. She had a big smile and played lots with me. Ly also gave me lots of cuddles while grandpa talked with Frédéric.

Later that afternoon we caught the bus back to where grandma and grandpa were staying and Frédéric Villard came and picked us up. We returned to their house in Archamps where we had been with Daddy. This time the weather was colder and rainy though, so it wasn't as fun. But on Thursday there was a big dinner to celebrate their daughter Charlotte's birthday. Frédéric's mother and both daughters Charlotte and Anne-Sophie with their girlfriends where there. I liked Charlotte as she was fun to play with, a bit like daddy!

Charlotte dropped grandma and grandma back to where they were staying but mummy thought it was easier for us to stay there the night but we stayed in a different room this time with only a small bed. It was very snuggly!

Friday 11 August
We had breakfast with Marie-Claire on Friday and then Frédéric, grandma & grandpa, Charlotte and her girlfriend joined us for lunch which was a typical Swiss tartiflette. I only got to try potatoes and fruit salad though.

It was raining and cold, so we didn't go to Avoriaz as planned but instead we decided to go to Geneva lake later that afternoon. We all ended up in a Lebanese restaurant and I ate some weird flat bread and cucumber.

Mummy was worried because her phone died and she wouldn't be able to contact anyone, but she managed to get it working again. Lucky, because I want to talk to daddy! I miss playing with him!

Saturday 12 August
On Saturday morning we caught a bus early to the airport to say goodbye to grandpa and grandma. Then we met Gabrielle again at a bustling market at Rive. Mummy bought lots of fruit and vegetables and we went back to Gabrielle's apartment for lunch. Gabrielle has lots of nice things to look at in her apartment! In the afternoon we went for a stroll around Parc des Eaux-Vives and le théâtre de l'orangerie where there was an exhibition on famous female figures in the garden.

After the park, we returned to Gabrielle's place and she made mummy a nice big bowl of pasta, while Gabrielle fed me a compote of fruits. It was yummy. Then we called another of mummy's friends, Galia, whose house we had been at when I got a fever following my vaccinations. Mummy had arranged for us to meet her family to see the fireworks for the Fête de Genève. So we all walked to Baby Plage, then Gabrielle left us to go to a friend's place to watch the fireworks from their balcony. There were lots of people, but not so many on Baby Plage as it was not facing the fireworks. Mummy had to get a man to help her carry my pram onto the beach! Galia, Julian and their 6 year old son Aliosha were on a blanket on the beach playing cards. Aliosha had more energy than me and was running up and down the beach! I fell asleep after mummy fed me but when I woke up for another feed there were people huddled all around us and looking up at big flowers of colour in the sky that made big popping noises! It was super crowded with lots of smells coming from people with white smoking sticks in their hands. Mummy was trying to keep me seated away from the smoke, but I fell straight back off to sleep again, and before I knew it we had left the crowds behind and I was in bed with mummy again!

Sunday 13 August
Today we met Gabrielle and spent the afternoon at Parc des Bastions where we had a picnic lunch. I like playing on my play mat under the trees.

Leanne had to stay home and work, but we joined her later that evening and we all went to a stall at the Fête de Genève for a Thai dinner on the way to Cinélac, a cinema by the lake. The film, Dr Jack, was about an English man who had studied to become a doctor in his late 30s after his wife left him and went to work in the slums of India to offer free medical assistance to those who couldn't afford it. Even the director was there to introduce the film. I was hungry and mummy took me off to the side to give me a feed then I fell asleep!

Monday 14 August
In the morning we went to a clothes shop where everything was my size! The clothes were all very beautiful and mummy brought back the box of clothes Ly and Frédéric had given me. Apparently they were for a girl so mummy asked if we could change it for boys clothes. I now have some very smart trousers, shirts and cardigans for next winter - I can't wait to wear them... I think I will look very grown up! Mummy has some very generous friends in Geneva!

For our next outing we walked up the road to Place Bourg de Four and met another of mummy's friends, Corine, who she had worked with at the Association for the Prevention of Torture. They had lots to talk about and sat in a park overlooking Geneva for a long time then went for lunch. After lunch, Corine showed us a nice spot to sit on a chaise longue by the river Rhône. Mummy read a bit of her book while I looked over the river but then I got bored!

So off we went to do some shopping at Manor, mummy's favourite store, before heading home and preparing dinner. Mummy had to occupy me so it took her a few hours to cook dinner. She said to daddy later she remembered what it was like trying to entertain me all day and cook dinner and do housework waiting for daddy to get home before we left on our travels. I think Mummy appreciates daddy's help more after this week on our own in Geneva!

Tuesday 15 August
Today we did some more shopping. We looked for a book at some bookstores and I found a nice book for daddy in the Mr Men series - "Mon Papa". I love when daddy reads to me!

In the afternoon we went up to place Bourg de Four to meet mummy's didgeridoo playing friend, Fred. Someone he knew also came along and joined us and they were talking about yoga and Qi gong and music. Fred gave mummy some CDs of his music before he left but we can't listen to them yet as we have no CD player.

Mummy had dinner with Leanne (she is playing with me more and more and said she would miss me when I go - I like Leanne) after which we set off for a jazz concert at l'Orangerie. I fell asleep but apparently mummy got a bit lost on the way to the park so she didn't arrive until 10pm, though she was supposed to meet her friend Audrey at 9.30! It didn't matter because Audrey was talking to a nice Italian who was also on his own.

When I awoke for a feed there was a very nice jazz band playing with mummy's favourite instrument (the saxophone), a double base and a guitar. Gabrielle had also joined us. Audrey gave me a gorgeous little Petit Bateau blue and white striped jumpsuit - I'm looking so smart in all my new clothes!!

Wednesday 16 August
This morning Galia asked us for breakfast and Gabrielle joined us! I had a great time playing with Aliosha. He has lots of fun toys but mummy and Galia wouldn't let me play with most of them!!

At midday we met Leanne for lunch to say goodbye (she said if she could have a baby as good as me she might have had children 😊 ) before going with Gabrielle to a swimming spot on the Rhone. Mummy went in for a swim while Gabrielle played with me. Then Gabrielle came back to help mummy pack for the flight back to Menorca to see daddy!!

I'm dribbling a lot and hungry all the time. Mummy says there is a little hole on my top gum. Apparently I didn't sleep in the airport or the flight back to Mahon, but I must have in the end because we were in a taxi back to our Menorcan home before I realised that daddy was back! He gave me lots of cuddles.

Even though we got back pretty late, apparently Mamie had prepared a beautiful dinner of tomato and chicken, so I think Mummy got to bed super late!

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