We Moved to Malta

We came to Malta for a week this summer which I mentioned on here, but what I hadn't shared was that the purpose of that visit was to see if we wanted to move here.  We liked the country when we visited and acknowledged that it would be the best thing for Ed's business so we agreed to come and live in Malta for two years.  

Things then moved very quickly and we ended up with 3 weeks to pack up our lives, say goodbye to our friends and move across Europe.  We flew with 14 suitcases and arrived in Luqa airport just three days before the start of the school term here.

It has been a busy six weeks since we first arrived, we have found a house to live in and signed a contract, we have settled four children into school and now started Rex at nursery too and we are adjusting to a new pace of life here.  There are things I love about this country and things I already don't but we came into this agreement with open eyes and having spoken to lots of other expats living out here about the reality of this life.  

Malta is a very small country so I am trying to explore it slowly, taking my time exploring the villages and coastline. There is so much beauty here and I am loving the fact it is now November and I am still wearing t-shirts and shorts every day.

I am excited for this new adventure, missing my friends and family and slowly getting used to a new way of life.  Here are a few photos from our first couple of weeks in Malta.

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Two in The Morning

Somehow a whole year has passed since I wrote a birthday letter to you on the eve of your first birthday, and tonight I am preparing to wake up and celebrate you turning two.  It seems like no time has passed since last November, but when I look at the pictures I took of you then I see how much you have grown in this last year.

As a one year old you were funny, cheeky, cuddly and determined.  As you approached two you started practicing your tantrums and you know exactly what you do and don't want.  Your language is coming along so much now but I see the frustration in you when we don't understand the word you are saying yet.  All the important ones (chocolate, biscuit, ice cream, chips) are pretty clear, but there is so much you want to communicate that we still haven't mastered and I am looking forward to you being able to express yourself more so we can get to know more about the little boy you are turning in to.

You sleep in your own cot now for at least the first half of the night.  You are absolutely a Mummy's boy still and feel safest with me, but you go to nursery in the mornings and you are settling well.  So much has changed for you this year and you now live in a new house, in a new country without your familiar family and friends, but you have coped so well with the move and you are settling into this new life.  

As you turn two you can walk, run and climb.  You can sing the alphabet song (with some missing letters) and you are forever asking for another book.  I packed a selection to bring out here, but I am regretting not bringing more as I am bored of all the books we have now!  You love being outside, watching Cocomelon (especially the wheels on the bus song), cooking in your toy kitchen and anything to do with a football.  You could spend all day watching the traffic and pointing out every bus, lorry and bike and you get very excited by animals of all kinds.  You are the final piece of our family that we didn't know we needed and you are so loved by all your siblings.

It feels like you are so new still, and like you have always been here.  Sometimes I am excited for you to reach the next stages and other times I miss the baby days but most of the time I try and appreciate where we are now, because you are changing every day, turning from a baby into a toddler and I know it won't be long until you stop saying 'nimp' when you want a drink and those other funny words we love.  

You have nursery in the morning and the others leave so early for the school bus, but we are going to celebrate in the afternoon with a trip to your favourite park and a cake and presents at home in the evening.  Before the fun begins, I need to go and stroke your cheek as you sleep and kiss your head for the last time as a one year old, for when you wake you will be two.

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