This week started with the painter and electrician arriving on Monday morning and the house still hasn’t recovered! We’ve had new spotlights put in the hall and living room and are redecorating the living room at the moment. On Thursday and Friday we also had the back door replaced as the old one was falling apart. So everything has moved into the dining room and we have been holed up in the bedrooms all week! Luca has a cold which is getting worse, but Massimo seems to be very well.
On Monday Jemma’s mum came up to London to meet Massimo and Luca (and possibly to see her daughter!) and Massimo flirted as usual and had her wrapped around his little finger within seconds! On Tuesday we went off to Christopher’s where Massimo decided to be in a grump all day. We are coming to the conclusion that Max can’t cope with the level of heat that Christopher’s has but maybe he was just tired. He had a long nap when we got there and was a little better after that. Luca, on the other hand, was fought over by all the staff and I only got to hold him when he needed a feed. Massimo had great fun in the afternoon with Fiona, the occupational therapist, in the soft playroom, but I was given time off for a very welcome nap!
On Wednesday morning Annette came to look after Max and Jemma and I ran out of the house, away from the noise and mess, and met Maz and Maddy on the Northcote Road. Unfortunately we had to be back for midday as we were meeting a rep about a swivel car seat. The car seat was lovely (albeit expensive) however it didn’t fit in my car! A car seat that can swivel would make it much easier to get Max in and out of the car, but we are back to the drawing board with this particular model. In the afternoon, we were restricted to staying upstairs again and we did feel really rather restricted and bored. On Thursday, in an effort to avoid the mess and the boredom, we all went off to Ikea, of all places!
Friday was a big day for Maddy and her baby sister Olivia as they were officially being named in a ceremony at the Chelsea Town Hall. As godmother (or more precisely Responsible Adult) for Maddy, we got dressed up to the nines and made our way there (late as usual!). It was a lovely ceremony and afterwards we had a lovely meal at a Spanish tapas bar. Max was beautifully behaved all day (Luca slept) and Justin and I managed to have fun and maybe a little too much wine. Today has been dedicated to reclaiming the house just for the weekend as the painter is back on Monday and the dog-flap still needs to be fitted to the back door. Also if we can bear it, the hall could do with a coat of paint too! It will all be worth it in the end but the process is painful!
Whilst taking the picture of Massimo and Luca on Massimo’s bed, we discovered that Massimo is very aware of the camera and has learnt to pose! All we wanted was a picture of the two of them looking at each other, but Massimo’s fixation with the camera did make it quite difficult to achieve!