Don’t worry, this isn’t about to become a baby pics blog, but I just wanted to announce the arrival of our new baby daughter. One week ago Annabelle Rose Brown was born in Wellington Hospital and she is a cutie.

Baby Annabelle Rose

She is very small (3.04kg at birth), but is gaining weight nicely. She has a small amount of hair, wrinkly skin and really long fingers, which I think means she will be a surgeon or something ;)

Annabelle is still in the “sleep when you’re not eating” phase, which we are really making the most of as it will no doubt change all too soon.

With our family now expanding to four members, the existing three are coming to terms with having a baby around – and it’s actually going quite well for all of us. However I am not back at work yet, so the reduced sleep won’t really take full effect until then!

Candi’s Mum is arriving in NZ for her 6-month visit next Wednesday, so having her around will be a huge help and Sophie is really looking forward to seeing her Nanna.

I’ve really liked listening to Elbow’s music since I heard them on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge show a few years back (when they did a funny live cover version of Independent Woman).

Their latest album is fantastic and after ten years in the business they finally seem to be getting the commercial success to match the critical acclaim they’ve been accumulating over the years.

If you don’t know Elbow at all, watch them perform The Bones Of you live at Abbey Road and you’ll see what they’re all about. 

That track has been constantly rolling round my head for about a week now and I’m still not sick of it.

I was brought up in the UK, where Christmas is rarely white (in the Bing Crosby sense), but it’s usually cold and gloomy. I recently moved to New Zealand where the seasons are reversed (so December is summer) and I have to say I am having a bit of trouble adjusting to summer weather at Xmas time.

A lot of ‘traditional’ Christmas imagery is oriented towards Northern Hemisphere weather conditions – snowy fir trees, holly, even Santa with his welly boots and warm get-up are all a bit alien when it’s 25 degrees and sunny outside.

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