Poo encore

Just when you thought we'd escaped the poo stories, something escaped from my nappy.

Since I've been a bit sick, my poos have been making everyone around me a bit sick. Dad, grandma and mum have all had 'emergency' nappy changes lately.

These days we measure my poos by how many wipes are needed to clean them up. Usually one wipe will do the job. Lately I've been breaking all the records!

Today, for the first time since I was a small baby, I did a poo, while eating my lunch in my high chair, that escaped from my huggies and shot right up my back.

Ewwwww!

And for the uninitiated, there's a world of difference between the shoot-up-the-back poo of a breastfed newborn and that of a solid-food eating one year old!

Hippie

My hair is getting longer.

Mum and dad were discussing what to do about it today. The theory is kids look better with a good head of hair. We've had friends with little kids who have had longer hair and they looked cool. Then when they cut it off they looked a little less cool. So the plan for moment is to let it keep growing for a bit longer. The cold weather is another reason to not cut it off just yet...

We've had a couple of fringe trims - but the rest has been let to grow wild since I was born.

Last night, after my bath, mum blow dried my hair so it wouldn't still be wet when I went to bed.

It looked a bit fluffy then but this morning, it was crazy hair! And it stayed sticking up at all angles, all day.

Snorer

Apparently I snore. I cannot confirm or deny it since when it 'happens' I'm always asleep. How convenient!

For a little guy I can get really loud. When I was sick mum and dad let me sleep in their bed. At about midnight I let out such a snore that it kept them awake, they looked at each other and laughed and laughed.

Today mum and I went to the shops. We were waiting in line to buy some curtain rods. It was around the time I should have been having my sleep, and so I fell asleep on mum's shoulder. Which is actually quite a good thing, a lot better than getting tired and cranky. But I started snoring. Loudly. The lady behind mum in the line thought it was a bit funny and a bit cute. Mum explained that I don't normally snore. Well, not in the curtain rod buying aisles, at least! I usually keep it for home.

Foodie

I've been a bit less than impressed by the food choices that have been presented to me lately.

As you know, I'm a bit off bananas at the moment. I still love my yoghurt but other foods, like cheesesticks and rice crackers, have become a bit boring.

So today mum gave me some new finger foods. Like a big slice of 'tasty' cheese. Yum!

And pieces of fruit finger buns. Yum!

Like all Aussie babies, I've also started eating vegemite. And I love it. Mum gives it to me on toast fingers. I like to scrape it off my toast with my fingernails and eat it straight off my fingers. This technique means lots of vegemite all over my hands and face. The way it's meant to be.

When I'm finished with the finger food on my tray, I send it over the edge and watch it drop to the floor. This serves the dual purposes of letting mum know I've had enough, and feeding grandma's dog!

I am officially unwell

Mum got a call to go to work this morning, but as she was putting her make-up on I woke up in a bit of a sad/sick mood - and spewed some yucky green stuff onto her.

Dad worried. Mum worried. She called work to say she better not come in. I perked up a few minutes later! But a doctor's appointment was made anyway...

Turns out I've got a virus. Thanks to my new teeth. Mum can't remember what it's called (I'll get her t call the doctor and confirm - for the sake of accurate reporting!) but let me asure you it's not very pleasant.

Our GP is quite kid-friendly. He's always playing, and I enjoyed the examination until he took out the stethescope and put it on my back. I did not like that. I did not like it on my tummy either. I squirmed.

He says I'll be back to my happy-go-lucky self by the weekend.

Sore head

I slept for half of the night with mum and dad, and when I woke up my temperature was still there.

Ow!

Mum gave me some baby panadol - and after about half an hour I perked up a lot. We had to do some work at the new house and I was pretty good until about lunchtime. I wore down when the panadol wore off. In the afternoon I had another dose and perked up again.

Mum let me stay in my jammies all day. she said when you're sick you're allowed to stay in your pjs.

Hot stuff

I've got a temperature.

Mum's been keeping a watchful eye on me all day to make sure it doesn't develop into anything too nasty.

I've been my normal happy self - but with a little extra snorting.

We don't know if I caught what dad had yesterday - he was hot and cold and had a headache, but then it cleared up overnight - so hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow, if that's what it was. Or maybe it's a bit of fever because of new teeth coming through. It's quite common to get a fever with teeth, I haven't had one so far, but I've got some molars on the way...

The great escape

I made a run for it today.

I got about a metre.

Let me set the scene; I was home with grandma and uncle Michael, she was babysitting both of us, and in the brief moment they were talking I made my move out the back door.

I often stand up at the door and 'talk' to the dog. but today the door wasn't locked, and I slid it open!

Unfortunately for him, but not for me (or should it be vice-versa?) dad was home sick - and lying on the couch. He was half asleep, but his ears pricked when my usual chatter and clatter stopped...He got up, looked around, and saw me waddling towards the dog's dish. "Holy cow, Noah" he said - grabbed me - shut the door - plonked me on the safe side of the door - and flopped back on the couch.

Sideboard

My favourite part of grandma and grandad's place is at the sideboard in the dining room.

I spent ages playing there today. And yesterday. And probably will tomorrow.

When we came to stay Grandma moved all the precious things living in the sideboard. That left lots of room for my things.

My sideboard inventory;

28 clothes pegs
7 Baby Eienstein animal cards
2 plastic green thingies
2 woven baskets
2 dominoes
2 books (Larry Boy story & Fox in Sox)
1 mini dustpan
1 ball
1 plastic puzzle piece
1 soft mobile toy

As you can see there's enough there to keep me entertained for ages.

Hitting the shops

It was dad's birthday yesterday, and he said to mum he'd like to go to the coast this weekend and do a few things we used to do when we lived there.

First stop was the shops. I was in fine form. When there's lots of things to look at (and touch!) I am fine to stay shopping for a good while. Just as well, because dad kept finding things to look at. But one happened to be a new pair of shoes for me! Some old-school Nike sneakers. Very cool. He and mum debated over which size to get; the ones that fitted me now, or maybe the next size up, or maybe both?! We ended up with the next size up - my little Converse shoes srill fit, so when I grow out of them, I can step into the Nikes. They've got proper rubber soles, so they'll be great for when I start walking. Mum and dad both reckon baby shoes are the coolest things around. Much cheaper than grown up shoes too!

We went to a pasta shop and we all shared spirally bits of pasta for tea.

Bananas

Grandma looked after me for a bit yesterday.

She gave me a banana.

Mum looked after me for a bit yesterday.

She gave me a banana.

Dad looked after me for a bit yesterday.

He gave me a banana.

That's three bananas.

Today I did not feel like eating any banana.

The pieces I was offered were all sent over the edge of my highchair.

New toys

Dad and I went up to the new house today, and since all the floors are clean it was the first time I could have a good explore. Dad put me down and said 'be free'.

I waddled down the hallway, into my room and made a beeline to a toy dog I'd been given for my birthday. It was still in the box. Dad was very impressed that I'd found a toy, and not a spanner or some sharp building equipment. He started to unwrap it, but in the mean time I forgot about the dog and found a doorstop with a large, and pointy, screw attached to it. Dad thinks baby toys come with too much tricky packaging.

Me and Anita

Mum and dad had to go to a funeral today, so I spent the afternoon with Anita. She is a good friend of mum and dad, and they were a little anxious, hoping I'd be on my best behaviour.

Fortunately I was.

We played in the loungeroom and watched a Jane Austen movie. Yeah, not the usual thing I watch. The only thing I usually end up watching on telly is the footy with dad.

When mum and dad got back me and Anita were having a nice big cuddle.

We had one rule when I was at Anita's. No nappy changes! A few noises came from my butt during the afternoon, so by the time mum and dad got home there was a good chance there was a surprise in my pants. But it was all a load of hot air! I've been doing a few farts lately. We might need to take a look at my diet.

Unpacking

Mum and I started unpacking at the new house today. It's a job I've been preparing for. Taking things out of boxes is old hat for me.

Mum said it was a very special moment to be both sitting on the floor doing the same thing, pulling paper out of cartons.

She did have to keep a very close eye on my, because sometimes I'd grab a piece of paper that still had a cup wrapped up in it, and she'd have to rescue it before I flung it into space.

I got a bit sleepy at the new house, and my cot is still in a few pieces, so mum grabbed the cushions from the lounge, arranged them on the floor, and laid me down in the middle of the loungeroom. I slept for an hour.

Where's Manny?

I'm starting to show I understand a few words. If you say 'peek-a-boo' to me, I'll play a game of the same - how accurate my aim is is quite dependant on how tired I am!

When mum comes to get me in the morning I'm often having a chat to my teddy bear Manny. She's gotten into the habit of saying 'Where's Manny' when she walks into the room at the start of the day. I will turn around and grab him, if I'm not already holding him.

She's quite impressed that I know his name, and happy that I like him.

She's started on body parts now - the first is 'where's my nose - it involves lots of pointing and prodding. I haven't quite figured it out yet...But I will.

Custard vs Cheese

Today it was a battle of entres and desserts in my highchair. And the desserts won!

It all started with me not eating much of my lunch. Avocado sandwiches were on the menu. Then they were on my tray. And then they were on the floor. They never got to my tummy.

Mum later discovered a really big ulcer on the tip of my tongue. Ow! We don't know how it got there, but it's pretty big. So mum decided some cold food would be best for a sore tongue.

We started with one tub of baby yoghurt. When it was finished I put on my sad face. So I polished off another one. Then mum grabbed a cold cheese stick from the fridge. Yum. While I was appily eating the cheese mum was tucking into a 'bee sting' bun. She thought I might like a bit of cold custard. She was right. After the first taste I smiled. After the second taste I forgot all about the cheese stick. Mum went back to her bun, but I had not finished. She picked up my half eaten bit of cheese and offered it to me. I pointed at the bee sting! Laughs all round. I had one more mouthful of custard, but then it was cheese or nothing.

One button to rule them all

Pressing buttons is great fun.

My latest discovery is the power button on grandma's computer. I'm already a fan of the 'open door' button on grandma's DVD player. And of course any button on the TV remote control is pretty cool.

But I hit the jackpot at our new house. We have an old fashioned automatic garage opener with a really big remote control, with an equally big button in the middle of it. Mum was holding it while she was holding me, and I managed to reach over with my index finger poised in pressing mode.

WHOOSH!

What a great rumbling sound! And the door sprang to life! I was mightily impressed. The garage remote is the best button of them all!

Is it a bird, is it a plane?

No, it's a crane!

We had a visit from a crane at our new house today. It was there to lift our new water tank over the house into the backyard. I thought it was very interesting. I have an 'interested' look, it's more of a stare, and I pull it out when I'm concentrating. And I concentrated on the crane.

I also played in the cupboard again. It's my default go-to place during the renovation...But today I had some toys to play with, which made it a bit more exciting.

Of funerals and personal space

We went to Mum's Nana's funeral today.

Unfortunately there weren't any seats allocated for extended family, so dad was relegated outside...But it turned out to be a good thing because I was in a loud mood, and was quickly whisked outside to spend the service with him.

We did walk over to the church hall, and found a good quiet spot to set up a couple of toys and have some morning tea. All was fine until a lady with a baby decided our spot, and our toys, were perfect for her baby. My quiet playing was no more. I got a little hyper, the other baby clawed at me and my toys, and my food! So dad grabbed me, packed everything up, and we waited for the service to finish out in the church yard. I did enjoy watching the big trucks drive past on the highway.

We had a lunch in the hall afterwards and it was a great time to meet lots of relatives. They all said I was cute, and that I reminded them of mum when she was little.

Sleeping out

We went out for tea tonight, and I slept. And it was good.

In the past I've stayed up talking with the adults, and while it's been a load of fun, it's usually a bit much for me and I'll end up having a really hard time sleeping once we're home.

Tonight I had no such problem. Tim and Yaana had a portacot, and after playing with their kids in the loungeroom (they had an Ernie toy which I was quite partial to - I must have recognised him from my bath boat) when they went to bed I went to bed too. When it was time to go home I stayed asleep while being carried to the car and stayed asleep during the car to bed transfer, and slept till morning.

After the success of the night, I think mum and dad will employ the 'put baby to bed at the usual time' tactic, no matter where we have tea...

New PJs

I got some new pyjamas.

When you are prone to spilling food and milk and dribble on your clothes, and having the occasional leaky night time nappy, it's a good idea to have a spare pair of night wear.

So mum got me some new ones. They've got cars on them. Disney Cars. You know, Lightning McQueen!

Dad says it's ok to have licenced pjs, but he's still not a fan of licenced clothes. Well, certain types of licenced clothes. I'm sure he'd be ok with me wearing a Star Wars t-shirt! He's working through it. I'm sure by the time I ask to wear a Thomas t-shirt, he'll be totally fine with it!

All by myself

I spent a good deal of the day happily playing on my own. Mum says she's read somewhere that it's a good thing for me to play on my own, because if I always need an adult entertaining me, it's not very good for me, or the adult!

A couple of times today mum and dad sneaked peaks at me playing. Firstly it was with a toothpaste box. I like to shove pegs inside it and then reach in and grab them. Then I threw a ball and crawled after it...

I played for ages like this.

But it wasn't like this all day. Dad and I played with the tennis ball, perfecting my (sort of new) throwing technique. We also read a bit of Fox in Socks. But I'm a bit too enthusiastic with books lately. I get ahead of the story and grab at the pages. Dad ends up holding the book at full arms length!

Backwards

I took a bit of a tumble this morning.

I was helping wake up mum in the big bed, and played a quick game of peek-a-boo with the bedsheet. I'd hold it over mum's head and then rip it backwards over my head...I got a little too excited and ended up going head over heels and onto the floor.

Ow!

I forgot about it pretty quickly. Big hugs and breakfast will do that.

We went out for tea to a restaurant tonight. They had a high chair, and I was quite well behaved. The trick is to keep the food coming, before I can get too whingy. I did get a little loud from time to time, and just like in church dad says it feels like everyone is watching us when I start to get vocal. For what it's worth, I got a lot more smiles than frowns. I did my best to charm all the people sitting around us.

I can throw!

I threw a ball!

It's been dad's mission to get me to throw a ball again after I seemed to forget how for a few weeks.

It's obviously not like riding a bike. Not that I can ride a bike yet.

Dad and grandad sat on the floor of the loungeroom and rolled the ball back and forth. I was still keen to hand it over, but after a while got the idea of the throw.

Lots of cheers and claps.

Copycat

I had a lovely day today. Only a short daytime sleep (it's a pattern mum is hoping isn't turning into a habit).

We visited dad for lunch at the shopping centre and while we waited for our sandwiches dad overheard two ladies behind us commenting on the 'cute baby' - he decided to show them the range of my cuteness, so he did a peek-a-boo - and I responded with one of my own, and then he tickled my legs and I laughed and laughed - the ladies were very impressed.

At tea time I entertained everyone with my copy-cat moves.

At first it was the open mouthed 'ahhhs' mum taught me yesterday, and then we did some raspberry blowing, and then grandma shut her eyes tight, and I did the same. I scored a huge round of applause for that one. So loud that it gave me a fright and I burst into tears! But after a few days of wondering why I ditched some of my previous skills, mum and dad thought it qas quite clever of me to be such a good copy-cat.

The carpet, the painter, and the cupboard

Dad and I hung out at the new house this morning.

I was very taken watching the painter paint the cupboard doors.

We noticed some paint had been spilled on the good carpet in the loungeroom, so dad thought it would be good to make a make-shift mat out of the old carpet we are geting rid of, to save the rest of it...So he put me down, grabbed a knife and got to work.

I was in an exploring mood, and every time he plonked me down I shot off to have a good look around. The floor is still a bit dirty, and there's little carpet nails everywhere. Not the most baby-friendly place in the world. So dad had to keep picking me up and putting me in a safe spot, grabbing the knife, cutting a few centimetres of carpet, and repeating the whole process when I ventured a bit too close to the danger areas.

Oh for a safe place to sit still.

Then dad remembered my recent aversion to climbing down steps.

We've got recently painted cupboards, all clean and ready for clothes and stuff. They've got a drop about 5 cms off the floor. Would that be enough?

Yes it would be! He plonked me down inside the cupboard. With the doors open, of course! But I stayed put for as long as it took dad to do the job...

Sharing

I might have forgotten to do a couple of things (still having trouble climbing down the stairs, and seem to have no interest in the throwing tennis ball) but I have been practicing my fire truck driving and my bottle drinking.

Today I added a twist to my drinking. I offered mum some. She didn't really want to drink formula from my bottle, but I was quite insistent. So she pretended to have a bit, I laughed, had myself a drink, and then offered her another swig. This game went on for a while.

When dad got home I offered him some too.

Let them eat cake

We went to playgroup today and I got to eat some cake. thanks to a little girl a few months older than me.

She had a proper piece of chocolate cake, and dropped a few crumbs onto the floor. I hadn't had chocolate cake since my birthday, and hot footed it over to where she was standing and scavanged a few crumbs.

Mum thought it wasn't very fair for me to be eating crumbs, so she gave me my very own piece of cake.

Later on dad tried to encourage me to throw the tennis ball, but I was more interested in handing it to him, and then him handing it back to me.

Forget me not

I have a lot of new skills to practice. So many, that I seem to have forgotten how to do a couple of things I was pretty good at.

Like rolling a ball. Dad came home at lunchtime today, and I was playing with a ball, but never threw it or rolled it, I jsut handed it to him, and when he rolled it to me I crawled over to him to deliver it. It has been a while since we played with the tennis ball, but no one thought I'd forget how to roll it. Maybe I haven't forgotten at all - maybe I'm just trying new things, but grandad says my little brain is probably focused on so many other things, some of the things I've been into have just fallen by the wayside.

I had a bit of trouble climbing down the stairs today too.

So tennis ball rolling and stair descending is on the menu this week! Dad says we better hot foot it to the pool, to make sure I haven't forgotten I'm not scared of the water!

First gear, and reverse

I figured out how to drive my little red fire engine today.

I'm a lot better at going backwards, but when I crash into the wall behind me I give a few forward pushes and I'm off. By the reaction I got from dad riding a bike is obviously a big deal.

The fire engine has two buttons, one has a few sound effects and the other one plays a little song. It's supposed to sound like this; "I see a fire truck, a big red shiny fire truck, I see a fire truck coming round the bend". But because the song starts afresh each time the button is pressed, when I'm in control this is how it sounds, "I see a, I see a, I see a fire, I see a fire truck, I see a, I see a..." And if you think it's annoying to read that sentence, wait until you hear it!

But that wasn't the only thing I discovered. I was doing my usual 'grab the remote' routine when I picked it up, pressed a button, and a video tape poppoed out of the VCR. Wow. I obviusly didn't expect that, and was quite intrigued. Mum caught me before I could explore the little letter box shaped window...They are all on video duty now - they've heard one too many stories of kids and peanut butter sandwiches and video players...Not that I eat peanut butter sandwiches...