Spring has finally arrived

Over the last few days we have finally had the feeling that spring has arrived. The sun has been shining, it has been warm, and there are flowers and new leaves on the trees.

Last weekend our German friends Silke and Stefan stayed with us with their almost six month old son Niklas. Yana and Anya were really excited about the "bebe" (as Anya called him). We had a great day in Windsor with a picnic alongside the Long Walk, with views of Windsor Castle. The weather was great and we thought it was appropriate to have our first outdoor-ice cream of the year.

Our picnic in front of Windsor Castle.

Yana and Anya having fun playing around after our picnic.

Today we spontaneously decided to go for a bike ride to Hurley. Yana was in nursery, so we only had Anya. She was really good and enjoyed the hour and a half in her little bike seat.

Lindsay and Anya are having a look at the boats in Hurley.

Kerstin and Anya are enjoying the sunshine.

Christmas time

The entire December felt quite Christmas-y to us this year. In early December Kerstin and the girls went to Germany for a week. They met up with friends and family and went to our nephew Oscar's birthday party. There was lots of snow around and they went to a Christmas market in Koblenz, where Kerstin got to have a mulled wine and the girls got to ride on a carousel.

Our two little angels waiting patiently at the airport.

Sledge-ride with Oma in snowy Kehlbach.

Oscar is very excited about his awesome plane-birthday-cake

Anya is practising her fork handling skills with birthday cake.

Cards, gingerbread house and Christmas tree

A week before Christmas it started to snow heavily here in Maidenhead. There was chaos on the roads, airports, etc., but we had a great time. We went for walks in the snow and Lindsay built a huge igloo outside our house (with great help from our friend Clare and from Yana). Our friends Nick and Clare came for a pre-Christmas dinner the weekend before Christmas and, because of their flight to Germany being delayed, also spent Christmas day with us.

Anya was not so sure about the snow...

...whereas Yana loved it.

Our backyard was covered in snow.

Inspecting the igloo.

Lindsay's masterpiece.

We had a very social Christmas this year: with Drinks at our friends Emma and Mark's house for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day with Nick and Clare and a Raklette Dinner with our friends Natalia and John on Boxing Day.

Yana hanging up all the Christmas cards she got from her friends at Pre-School and Anya "helping out"

Unwrapping the Christmas presents

Santa was busy...

Pancakes on Christmas Morning (with Nick and Clare)

A chilly Christmas Day.

Lindsay walking on (frozen) water.

Boxing Day stroll through the snow.