De Silva Family Blog

Andy and Fiona celebrated their 40th birthday on The Golden Hinde , Sir Francis Drake's warship, near London Bridge. Leaving the munchkins with my parents, we booked a hotel and prepared for a wild night out. However, after a few beers and some daddy dancing I was happy to exchange my dancing shoes for some slippers! Hopefully when I reach 40, I'll have as much energy as Andy and Fiona. Happy Birthday guys!

From all your boys. Love Ni, Leo & Ollie xxx

Following her maternity leave, Mary returned to work this week. We'd been wondering what to do about childcare and whether we should put Ollie in a nursery when Kelly, our cleaner, mentioned that she'd trained as a nursery teacher! Dropping her apron and rubber gloves and we were suddenly looking at Super Nanny! Not only does she have two children of her own (including Abbie, who Leo's got a crush on), but she cooks, cleans and decorates the most fantastic cakes as you can see with this chocolate orange flavoured "Christmas Muffin" cake! Most importantly the kids adore her, much to Mary's chagrin as they promptly run/crawl to meet her the moment she comes in the door!

At 3am we rushed Mary to hospital with some bleeding. Six hours later, it was agreed to have an elective C-section and things moved so quickly that before we knew it we were in theatre. The operation was conducted by two of Mum's ex-colleagues, so Mary and Ollie were in great hands. It fascinating to watch and remarkably quick. Within five minutes, at 11:58am, the operating theatre was filled with the beautiful sound of Ollie's cries, shortly followed by Mary's sobs of joy. Weighing in at a very respectable 7lb 3.5oz, the little lad was remarkable calm despite all the pricking and poking he was subjected to. Both mum and baby are now recuperating well. I'll be adding some photos to our online album over the next few days so please check back periodically for the latest pics. Thanks to all for the lovely messages we've received. Nigel, Mary, Leo and Oliver xxxx

Unfortunately, Mary's been diagnosed with Major Placenta Praevia (low lying placenta). Whilst she and the baby are fine, there is a risk of major bleeding and she was expected to stay in hospital for the next month. Thankfully, my parents live opposite the hospital and they've allowed Mary to stay there. So we've all moved in together! Leo loves it, thinking he's on holiday and Mary hasn't had to lift a finger since she got here. There's no pool, but staff are very friendly and the excellent childcare is available 24 hours a day. We lie in most mornings and when it's finally time to get up, a fully fed and dressed Leo is delivered to us with a cup of tea and some books to read in bed! If Mum and Dad aren't careful, we may end up staying!

It has taken a while, but Mary's green fingers have worked their magic on our garden and hasn't she done a good job?  Whilst Paul Graves (an old classmate of mine) did the hard landscaping, all the design and planting was Mary's hard work (with a lot of parental support thrown in).  Well done Mares!   Incidentally Leo seems to have inherited the gardening gene... Anyone remember that school-yard song... What do you do when you can't find the loo  in an English Country Garden?  Pull down your pants and water all the ants  in the English Country Garden!  Get a little spade and bury what you made  in the English Country Garden!

Mary was practising her yoga this morning in the conservatory whilst Leo looked on in fascination. After a while he thought he'd show mummy how to do it properly and here you see him teaching her to do "Down Dog". We were surprised at his prowess, but then remembered that he'd been practising since he was a foetus!

Mary had a wonderful start to her birthday - a great big hug and a wet sloppy kiss from Leo! It was a gorgeous morning so we all went for a walk in the woods before having a quick rest in her new swing seat (a birthday present from me). After lunch we celebrated Sophie Smith's first birthday, followed by a lovely romantic dinner at Sazio in Hapenden (probably our first since last year!)

Mary loved her sledging experience so much that she decided to try again - this time on the blood wagon! She took a nasty fall on some slushy snow and smashed her knee on the bindings of her ski. She refused to look at the injury until we reached the restaurant for lunch half an hour later as she was afraid of fainting! It turned out that she'd lacerated her knee and our waitress called the emergency services to carry her down the mountain. Four stitches later and she resembled the Bride of Frankenstein (or at least her knee did)! Luckily it was our last afternoon so all we missed out on was a boozy fondue. Can't wait until next year!

Since becoming mobile, Leo has been getting more and more clingy. Whenever Mummy is nearby, he can't bear to be separated from her. He tracks her down and surprises her in the kitchen, in the shower and even on the loo! This little menace was finally captured by Hatfield police in a pushchair he had taken for a joyride around the Galleria. He has been given an ASBO but, in a final twist to his long suffering mother, his puppy dog eyes won over the judge. Now he is not allowed to be further than five paces away from her at all times.

Taking her inspiration from little Leo, who can't sit still, Mary decided to take part in Cancer Research's Race For Life . Two thousand women from Stevenage and the surrounding area ran. Mary was running for Marge (Nana) Payne and Grampa William Heppenstall. Every other person there had someone in their life who had been touched by cancer. It was quite emotional - Mary was crying before the race had even started! Nevertheless, she managed to pull herself together and here you see her powering her way to the finish line in her record time of 27 minutes exactly (beating her p.b. by 38 seconds)! She finished well within the first 50 runners! Leo and I were hoarse from cheering her on. Well done love - I'm proud of you! Thank you to all who sponsored Mary - she raised a grand total of £360 for a wonderful cause.

Congratulations Mares! She graduated from her PhD today (she should have received it last year, but we were attending my brother's wedding). We all got dressed up and it was a lovely day out for the whole family to Senate House in London. Leo wasn't sure what to make of mummy in funny clothes but when he saw the certificate, he had to get his hands on it! So it looks like we have two doctors in the family.

It was Mary's 30th birthday today. She received lots of cards, but she couldn't quite match Leo's record. I'd spent a few weeks getting a diamond necklace made for her in Hatton Gardens. She's always wanted one and I thought that a 30th birthday and having just given birth to our first child would be as good a reason as any. She loved it! We went to lunch with her friend Helen, from Geneva, at the nearby Tewin Bury Farm . In the evening, grandma and grandpa (my parents) came over to babysit whilst Mary and I went out for a lovely meal at the Auberge Du Lac (see picture). It was our first time away from Leo, so we were a little nervous and conversation kept returning to him. Nevertheless, it all went well and my parents had a lovely time with their grandson. All in all, a very good day!