Our Life Galleries

September 2006 : We decided to stop separating out our photos into different galleries etc... too much like hard work! Here are all the pictures of our life from September 2006. We're back from our holiday in Ireland, we had a fantastic time with our families. Jack is now settling in with his nounou (childminder) Cathy as I go back to work next week *sniff*. Jack is 8 months old & just started to crawl today!! We find him standing up in his cot in the mornings delighted with himself! He's finally discovered consonants so his babbling is more amusing now. His eyes seem to have settling into a real mix, blue/grey on the outside & brown/green on the inside, they're gorgeous!

September 2006

We decided to stop separating out our photos into different galleries ...

Updated: Sep 30, 2006 7:58am PST

October 2006 : October is all change: Jack is crawling around, he's weaned & I'm back to work; I'm sure I'll get used to it soon! He loves his nounou (childminder) Cathy and her two daughers Michelina (5) & Sonia (8) who absolutely dote on him. It's also been a tough month for Jack healthwise: he got 3 new teeth up top, had a skin infection on his face, has an ear infection that won't go away & fell and knocked a tooth loose! To be honest, it takes me a lot longer to recover from these things than it does Jack! The weather has been gorgeous this month & we spent a lot of time in the park. We also had a lovely weekend in London with Jimbo, Judith, Emily & Isabelle.

October 2006

October is all change: Jack is crawling around, he's weaned & I'm back ...

Updated: Oct 31, 2006 10:11am PST

November 2006 : November started like all of October with Jack a bit sick; he had a bad 24-hour fever and now has a bit of eczema on his face. However, his ear is finally better so we can go swimming again - yay! Lots of action of the rugby club this month plus quite a busy social life for us all! Cullen Joshua Dillier arrived safely on Thursday November 9th at 19:15. We're thrilled.

November 2006

November started like all of October with Jack a bit sick; he had a ba ...

Updated: Dec 04, 2006 1:39am PST

December 2006 : Jack is really lucky in that he got a lot of family time in December. We spent a few days in Rugeley with most of the Copleys and Grammy & PawPaw visited here. We had a wonderful time & miss everyone very much! December was full of parties. We had a lovely time in Chamonix over Christmas and a quiet few days in Basel over New Year (quiet except for our New Year's Eve party that is). Jack's 6th tooth popped through in the middle of the month, so he's symmetrical again. Gabriel Hannon was born on Sunday December 17th and we are all delighted to expand our social circle yet again. He's the 5th boy born in a row in Basel in 2006; Jack was the first and Sam Kerby, Joshua Crittell & Cullen Dillier came inbetween.

December 2006

Jack is really lucky in that he got a lot of family time in December. ...

Updated: Jan 05, 2007 2:17am PST

January 2007 : Jack is one year old! He's ~10.3kg (almost 23lbs) and 76cm (30"). We tried to have a quiet start to the year which worked quite well. We went to watch Bourgoin v. Munster in the Heineken Cup which was great; some photos in this gallery & a few more at: http://mcnamara.smugmug.com/gallery/2351809. The end of the month has been parties, parties, parties with Robin & Sophia's wedding, Jack's birthday and Des' birthday/house-warming surprise party organized by Tricia. We've had a great time, but are all pretty tired! We can make MPEG files from our video camera now and put them here on SmugMug. We managed to get Jack's first steps on video!

January 2007

Jack is one year old! He's ~10.3kg (almost 23lbs) and 76cm (30"). W ...

Updated: Jan 29, 2007 4:21am PST

February 2007 : We've had a couple of trips to Chamonix this month and hopefully we have found a place down there which is more appropriate for our little family than the mazot (http://mcnamara.smugmug.com/gallery/2521895). Jack loves learning to walk, it's his favourite thing right now and it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. He's getting better and more confident every day. The only thing stopping him toddling everywhere is that he can't get from the floor to standing without something to pull up on. Against my better judgement I took Jack to the kiddies parade part of Fasnacht, it was actually quite bearable (Bah! Humbug! Says the Scrooge of Fasnacht!) :-) His 7th tooth popped through middle of the month. So far, so good, none of them have really given him any trouble.

February 2007

We've had a couple of trips to Chamonix this month and hopefully we ha ...

Updated: Mar 09, 2007 2:54am PST

March 2007 : The weather has been gorgeous all month, apart from a couple of days of snow, it's springtime! We spent a weekend in Chamonix with Kate, Paula, Andy & Elaine which was fantastic. Rugby season has kicked-off so we'll be busy for a while. Jack is running around everywhere like a nutter, he's too cute! His first word was "cake" - he may look just like his Daddy but sometimes he's his Mother's son :-)

March 2007

The weather has been gorgeous all month, apart from a couple of days o ...

Updated: Mar 26, 2007 12:40pm PST

April 2007 : Jack is desperately trying to talk with mixed success :-) He says "Yeah", "No", "Mommy", "Daddy" & his favourite word is "Kaili". The weather has been absolutely fantastic! We had a brilliant Easter weekend working & playing in the garden and hanging out in the park. We've also spent a lot of time at the rugby club. Auntie Kate & Auntie Paula visited and taught Jack how to play football.

April 2007

Jack is desperately trying to talk with mixed success :-) He says "Yea ...

Updated: May 08, 2007 12:04am PST

May 2007 : The weather has been a strange, mixed bag during May. We very much enjoyed all the public holidays (May 1st, Ascension & Pentecost) that May brings in Switzerland. Jack had 4 new teeth arrive in the space of one week with no fuss at all, he's a trooper! He has also managed to chip the tooth which is next to his wonky tooth, he's a bit of a clutz! Mike & Jack had a nice boys weekend including Findlay's 2nd birthday party whilst I represented Switzerland in the European Rugby 7's in Croatia. We did incredibly well beating Croatia, Czech, Belgium, Romania & Lithuania, eventually losing to France U20's in the final. More pictures at http://lamar.nswebhost.com/~womens7s/photogallery/main.php

May 2007

The weather has been a strange, mixed bag during May. We very much enj ...

Updated: Jun 01, 2007 1:49am PST

June 2007 : The weather this month is CRAZY! It is hot, hot, hot & wet, wet, wet! The rugby season finished-up with the St. Gallen 10's which was good fun, although I got a stress fracture in my foot which is a bummer :-( We have our new place in Chamonix and the mazot has been sold to Karen - very exciting!! Time to handover a pay-check to IKEA! Jack is spurting forth with new words all the time, we don't understand all of them. His favourite at the moment is thank-you (or rather da-doo) which he says when he wants to give you something!

June 2007

The weather this month is CRAZY! It is hot, hot, hot & wet, wet, wet! ...

Updated: Jul 07, 2007 8:11am PST

July 2007 : If June was hot & wet, so far July has been cold & wet! I'm also back at work 100% finally which is a little gloomy. We had an amazing holiday in the US. It was wonderful to see so many friends & family. The Frickes and the Bryants were fantastic hosts and we were really sad to leave. Jack is coming out with new words in French & in English every day which is a lot of fun. His favourites at the moment are "boire" and "encore" & "doggy" and "airplane" and "hot". We are also loving our new place in Chamonix.

July 2007

If June was hot & wet, so far July has been cold & wet! I'm also back ...

Updated: Jul 31, 2007 6:40am PST

August 2007 : Jack has become a proper little parrot, which is great fun; although we have to mind our language somewhat! What with work & weekends away & holidays we haven't been seeing much of our friends in Basel recently. We spent the first week of August catching up with as many of them as possible. Then we spent 2 weeks on holiday in Chamonix & Coutures meeting up with the Copley clan which was just wonderful! We wish we lived closer to England and Hong Kong and Texas and Maine And Illinois ... ... ... Back to Basel now & I was really sick with tonsilitis, so no chance for a few last meetings with our friends before back to work; c'est la vie :-(

August 2007

Jack has become a proper little parrot, which is great fun; although w ...

Updated: Sep 20, 2007 11:33pm PST

Movie Clips 2007 : We have finally figured out how to get movie clips from Mike's phone & our camera uploaded to SmugMug - not an easy task! Here is everything from 2007!

Movie Clips 2007

We have finally figured out how to get movie clips from Mike's phone & ...

Updated: Dec 28, 2007 6:10am PST

September 2007 : September started, as always, with Kaili's birthday; it's hard to believe she is three years old already. Andy & Elaine paid us a visit for a few days at the beginning of the month also which was lovely. Now we're settling into real life: Mike is working a lot, I'm working 100% and our weekends are busy as always. Jack is in great form. He is very happy with his childminder. He is coming out with new words in English, French and, of course, 'Jack-a-nese' all the time. He's obsessed with crocodiles (croc-o-no-no's) and helicopters (ock-a-na-na's) at the moment.

September 2007

September started, as always, with Kaili's birthday; it's hard to beli ...

Updated: Oct 29, 2007 2:36am PST

October 2007 : What with working full-time, refereeing rugby almost every weekend, trying to sort out our place in Chamonix etc... I've been somewhat remiss in my SmugMug updating duties - sorry! However, this October gallery is going up on October 29th so technically I'm not late :-) There are also tonnes of new movie clips up at: http://mcnamara.smugmug.com/gallery/3389375 The weather is decidedly autumnal & some days downright wintery. Jack is a funny little man chattering away all the time. He's completely happy with his childminder Isa(belle) and her family which is wonderful. Basel Rugby Club is a great place to be for a toddler these days - lots of friends to get up to lots of mischief with!

October 2007

What with working full-time, refereeing rugby almost every weekend, tr ...

Updated: Nov 02, 2007 7:10am PST

November 2007 : November has been cold & wintry. We spent a weekend in Chamonix getting ready for ski season, now we have a couple of weekends in Basel catching-up with friends including days at the rugby club, a few visits to the Herbstmesse & Cullens first birthday party. We're also sharing the news of our expanding family: http://mcnamara.smugmug.com/gallery/3783843 Jack continues to come out with new words in all three of his languages (English, French & Jackanese) all the time. His latest words (& latest loves) are Choc-o-la-la (which is chocolate) and Loppipops. He tells us that everything he does "c'est rigolo" (that's funny), mostly when he's being naughty. He really enjoys going to the zoo, going swimming & playing with drills, screwdrivers etc... His obsession with crocodiles and with trucks & tractors is also undiminished. Jack had a tough week in the middle of the month scalding his leg and two days later smacking his mouth on the coffee table. As with all kids though he bounces back pretty quickly; certainly more quickly than Mommy! We had a wonderful weekend in London at the end of the month. Jimbo & Judith arranged a weekend surprise for my Dad's 70th birthday (& belated celebration of my Mum's also). A bunch of us met-up including Mike's Mum & Dad - it was fantastic!

November 2007

November has been cold & wintry. We spent a weekend in Chamonix gettin ...

Updated: Nov 30, 2007 12:02am PST

December 2007 : December was a pretty hectic month overall; lots of Xmas parties, Gabriel's birthday party, a really nice visit from Andy & Elaine. We're currently spending a week in Chamonix for Xmas where we can all catch-up on a little sleep. We had a fantastic Xmas day and are only half-way through opening Jack's presents. He loves everything so much that he plays with it for an hour after opening it, so we'll probably be opening gifts for days to come. Jack is great fun at the moment, stringing lots of words together in both English & French and starting to sing songs. We've got a couple of videos of his current favourites up at http://mcnamara.smugmug.com/gallery/3389375 along with a few of him playing with some Xmas gifts.

December 2007

December was a pretty hectic month overall; lots of Xmas parties, Gabr ...

Updated: Jan 07, 2008 6:13am PST

January 2008 : Jack is two years old! He's a very lucky boy as he had THREE birthday parties. We had a big party with his pals Jamie & Elysia who are both 4 weeks older with lots of friends (not many pictures here, but several of three little people really enjoying cake), on his birthday the Dilliers & Karen came over to celebrate here and the day after his birthday his chlidminder (Isabelle) & family threw a party for him at their house!! We are all doing really well after a rough start to the year with Mike & I both pretty sick. Thankfully Jack was mostly unaffected. The pregnancy is going great and Jack keeps us busy & amused. His favourite thing at the moment is playing the harmonica (harkimomma); he's a proper little showman! He is also talking & singing a lot.

January 2008

Jack is two years old! He's a very lucky boy as he had THREE birthday ...

Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:15pm PST

February 2008 : Jack was ill again at the beginning of the month, but just about fit enough to travel to the UK where we spent a long weekend with Grandma & Grandpa and had lots of lovely visitors too. Mike is working really hard on the house; we're hoping to add another little bedroom to better accommodate our growing family. Jack had his 2-year check at the doctor and is just great. He's ~30lbs and 3 feet tall.

February 2008

Jack was ill again at the beginning of the month, but just about fit e ...

Updated: Feb 25, 2008 1:43am PST

March 2008 : We had our last weekend in Chamonix as a family of 3 and Jack went skiing for the first time which was great fun. Easter weekend was rainy & snowy which was a bit of a disappointment. I am now counting down the days I have left to work - sproglet #2 will be here before we know it!! Jack is great fun at the moment (I think I might always say that?). He's a real little chatterbox. He likes to pretend to lose things and say "Where's the X? I can't find it!" and also to say "That's not a cow, that's a horse" (sometimes correctly, sometimes incorrectly for comic effect) although it comes out "Ca, c'est pas cow, c'est horse". He also corrected my French pronunciation for the first time a few days ago.

March 2008

We had our last weekend in Chamonix as a family of 3 and Jack went ski ...

Updated: Apr 07, 2008 7:59am PST

April 2008 : I spent the first weekend of April at a posh spa hotal in Adelboden with my friends Sonia & Sophia; some much needed R&R - it was fabulous! Rugby season has kicked-off again so we are spending some time at the pitch which Jack really enjoys; particularly right now as there is a giant pile of sand there which is as good as any babysitter! The weather has been generally really rubbish but April finished with one lovely sunny weekend that we spent in the park. Long may it last! I am rapidly expanding & looking forward to finishing work at the end of the month(ish). Tough to believe we'll soon be four!

April 2008

I spent the first weekend of April at a posh spa hotal in Adelboden wi ...

Updated: May 02, 2008 6:55pm PST

May 2008 : Summer is finally here - hooray!! May starts off with lots of bank holidays which is always nice, especially in the sunshine! I've finished work & am enjoying a few days with Jack & our friends before life changes completely again!

May 2008

Summer is finally here - hooray!! May starts off with lots of bank hol ...

Updated: May 16, 2008 12:03pm PST