Thursday, May 31, 2007
Hello daddy!
I had a lovely welcome home tonight - when he saw me, Leon jumped up and down in Christine's arms with a big smile saying "heeh! heeeh!". I picked him up and gave him a hug and bounced him in the air, which he loved. I'm still all warm and glowey :)
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Caged Leon
Tob managed to find a break in the rain to get the playpen out of the garage (and tidy the garage I might add:)) He's not yet mobile but it makes sense to get him used to it. I can't really leave him and go out of the room for more than a minute because he still manages to get himself into some very strange positions in the name of curiosity.
The picture of Leon in the car we took at a services on the M25 on Sunday, and the rest are Canterbury including the aforementioned Silver Cross pram. As you can see, the rain cover is much cleverer than most pushchair rain covers.
Routine wise, Leon didn't go to sleep until about 9pm, after 2 hours of screaming when I left the room, I think it was partly the routine upset from Sunday - he didn't go to sleep until we left Ali and Si's at 9pm and partly the 6 month extra clingy separation anxiety. Oh and possibly a bit of teething. He is cutting his first tooth, bottom right as I predicted. There is a white spot there about 1mm in diameter slowly growing. He's doing really well so far. He didn't want to go down for his morning nap this morning either. Eventually after half an hour of winging, and moaning I left him to it. He was quiet within 5 minutes so leaving was probably the best thing.
Today for lunch he will be having his first red meat; Ostrich mince in a pasta bolognese with garlic (also a first) tomato, cheese and onion. He liked the last lot of cheese and tomato pasta so I'm curious what he makes of this.
Time to get them floors cleaned and stop messing about on the PC.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Did someone say we were getting a new bank holiday in October?
It would sure get better weather than the ones in May. I must be one of the many poor souls who got really really cold yesterday in my Birkenstock's and summer jacket. At least I had the sense to dress Leon sensibly. In his GAP dustbin man's mack (it's bright yellow and has reflective bits) from the car boot sale a while back (no I don't buy baby clothes if I can avoid it, let alone in GAP).
Yesterday we went on a long journey...down the M11, round the M25 and the M2 all the way to Herne Bay in the yucky rain, so not great driving conditions either. It was for a fabulous new second hand Silver Cross pram - I think it's a 1990's breed, still with the old fashioned under bit with huge shopping basket but the upper bit is completely adjustable from lying flat to sitting up, forward or rear facing. The whole thing folds down and even gets in the back of the Jazz which I thought was a miracle. I was expecting we would have to put the seats down. It was good for me, and unfortunate for the sellers. Their starting bid on Ebay was 9.99, no one else bid but me so I got a pristine - even the wheels are clean and new, with all it's bits, raincover etc Silver Cross for £9.99. The catch being pick up only so that makes it £40 including petrol. I'm going to sell the Jane pushchair as this one would replace that and I should get at least £40 for that, either on Ebay or at the next car boot/nct sale.
We had lunch in Herne Bay but it was a bit of a depressing place, especially with the fabulous Bank Holiday special weather. We took the new wheels for a spin round Canterbury - I managed to work out how to set it up for Leon, rain cover and all, he seemed to really like it as he's got plenty of room, he's facing me and the hood and rain cover meant that he didn't get wet but the massive opening could stay open and he could see normally rather than from behind plastic. It pushes really well, the suspension is a dream and we got all round Canterbury Cathedral, steps and all in a dignified manner. I must admit, when I should have been admiring the magnificent seat of the English Church for the past 1000 years (don't quote me on that, dates wise) I was admiring the pristine condition of the pram quite a bit.
We only had an hour or so in Canterbury which was a shame but now I know how beautiful it is there, once Michelle moves there for her double Masters at the uni there after the summer, we will be down there like a shot. We got fed by Ali and Si, our next and final stop in Kent, in Paddock Wood. Si cooked us a delicious meal and we sat and chatted until we left about 9pm. Leon was really good, he'd been asleep probably more than usual as we'd been in the car quite a bit during the day, so he was bright as a button. His meals were a bit out of sync too but he handled it beautifully. I wouldn't do it too much, but it's nice to think that with a bit of forward planning and playing to his needs (we did have to stop once on the duel carriage way and feed him) he is really flexible when needs must. He slept all the way home, I fed him when we got back about 11pm and put him into a real nappy (disposables all day, of course) before putting him down for the night. He woke about 6am for a feed, then went back to sleep until gone 8am giving us a partial lie in. I let Toby sleep in while I did the usual breakfast. He was out of sync for his morning feed, and didn't sleep all morning making lunch a right drama, he was more interested than sleep than mango pudding so we gave up after a couple of mouth fulls and he's been asleep since (couple of hours ago now). With any luck he'll wake mid afternoon and then go to bed at his normal 7pm. This will be the interesting bit where we see if he can slot back into his routine in a day or if it takes longer. We will have more long day trips over the summer as well as a few holidays/long visits to friends and relatives and I want to get the right balance between not messing him about sleep and food wise too much but at the same time not going all Gina Ford. I think by anticipating how hungry or tired he's likely to be we can create the right conditions wherever we might be. That's the plan anyway.
I spoke to Janet on the phone today, had a nice long chat, told her about the umteenth pram we are acquiring 2nd hand - this is our 4th including the £7 back baby carrier with wheels and she admitted she went through 3, 2 in the first year and she said this is not uncommon for first time mums to find their pram needs not being met. It is the advantage of going for 2nd hand ones. I would imagine spending £200 - £600 on a new one, you might not get any sympathy with your husband when you turn round and say, this pram isn't doing it's job! Talking of £600 prams I saw someone with a bugaboo (wash yer 'ands! - this is a reference to a Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse sketch where a chav couple spend a fortune on baby stuff and insist on everyone washing their hands with that gel stuff every 30 seconds). An Appleton sister lookalike with a 4x4 was returning to her car and we wanted their parking space in Canterbury. I watched with interest to see how this £600 monstrosity of a pram doesn't even fold without taking the seat bit off! So for £600 you get a funky looking pram that you even have problems getting into a 4x4. I was actually very happy, not for her but that middle class satisfaction when the working classes who actually have more money (or debt) than the middle class, buy stuff we sensible folk balk at. Money eh, doesn't make yer clever.
Yep it's still raining at a 45 degree angle. Tob is making Steak and Ale pie bought on the farmers market, followed by cherry pie also bought on the farmers market on Saturday. We have discovered a couple more amazing stalls selling local lamb and beef at prices that beat Waitrose better quality - so not as cheap as Iceland but not really more than you'd pay for a good joint in a supermarket. If anyone's got enough time on their hands to still be reading my idol ramblings, go make yourself a cuppa.
Yesterday we went on a long journey...down the M11, round the M25 and the M2 all the way to Herne Bay in the yucky rain, so not great driving conditions either. It was for a fabulous new second hand Silver Cross pram - I think it's a 1990's breed, still with the old fashioned under bit with huge shopping basket but the upper bit is completely adjustable from lying flat to sitting up, forward or rear facing. The whole thing folds down and even gets in the back of the Jazz which I thought was a miracle. I was expecting we would have to put the seats down. It was good for me, and unfortunate for the sellers. Their starting bid on Ebay was 9.99, no one else bid but me so I got a pristine - even the wheels are clean and new, with all it's bits, raincover etc Silver Cross for £9.99. The catch being pick up only so that makes it £40 including petrol. I'm going to sell the Jane pushchair as this one would replace that and I should get at least £40 for that, either on Ebay or at the next car boot/nct sale.
We had lunch in Herne Bay but it was a bit of a depressing place, especially with the fabulous Bank Holiday special weather. We took the new wheels for a spin round Canterbury - I managed to work out how to set it up for Leon, rain cover and all, he seemed to really like it as he's got plenty of room, he's facing me and the hood and rain cover meant that he didn't get wet but the massive opening could stay open and he could see normally rather than from behind plastic. It pushes really well, the suspension is a dream and we got all round Canterbury Cathedral, steps and all in a dignified manner. I must admit, when I should have been admiring the magnificent seat of the English Church for the past 1000 years (don't quote me on that, dates wise) I was admiring the pristine condition of the pram quite a bit.
We only had an hour or so in Canterbury which was a shame but now I know how beautiful it is there, once Michelle moves there for her double Masters at the uni there after the summer, we will be down there like a shot. We got fed by Ali and Si, our next and final stop in Kent, in Paddock Wood. Si cooked us a delicious meal and we sat and chatted until we left about 9pm. Leon was really good, he'd been asleep probably more than usual as we'd been in the car quite a bit during the day, so he was bright as a button. His meals were a bit out of sync too but he handled it beautifully. I wouldn't do it too much, but it's nice to think that with a bit of forward planning and playing to his needs (we did have to stop once on the duel carriage way and feed him) he is really flexible when needs must. He slept all the way home, I fed him when we got back about 11pm and put him into a real nappy (disposables all day, of course) before putting him down for the night. He woke about 6am for a feed, then went back to sleep until gone 8am giving us a partial lie in. I let Toby sleep in while I did the usual breakfast. He was out of sync for his morning feed, and didn't sleep all morning making lunch a right drama, he was more interested than sleep than mango pudding so we gave up after a couple of mouth fulls and he's been asleep since (couple of hours ago now). With any luck he'll wake mid afternoon and then go to bed at his normal 7pm. This will be the interesting bit where we see if he can slot back into his routine in a day or if it takes longer. We will have more long day trips over the summer as well as a few holidays/long visits to friends and relatives and I want to get the right balance between not messing him about sleep and food wise too much but at the same time not going all Gina Ford. I think by anticipating how hungry or tired he's likely to be we can create the right conditions wherever we might be. That's the plan anyway.
I spoke to Janet on the phone today, had a nice long chat, told her about the umteenth pram we are acquiring 2nd hand - this is our 4th including the £7 back baby carrier with wheels and she admitted she went through 3, 2 in the first year and she said this is not uncommon for first time mums to find their pram needs not being met. It is the advantage of going for 2nd hand ones. I would imagine spending £200 - £600 on a new one, you might not get any sympathy with your husband when you turn round and say, this pram isn't doing it's job! Talking of £600 prams I saw someone with a bugaboo (wash yer 'ands! - this is a reference to a Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse sketch where a chav couple spend a fortune on baby stuff and insist on everyone washing their hands with that gel stuff every 30 seconds). An Appleton sister lookalike with a 4x4 was returning to her car and we wanted their parking space in Canterbury. I watched with interest to see how this £600 monstrosity of a pram doesn't even fold without taking the seat bit off! So for £600 you get a funky looking pram that you even have problems getting into a 4x4. I was actually very happy, not for her but that middle class satisfaction when the working classes who actually have more money (or debt) than the middle class, buy stuff we sensible folk balk at. Money eh, doesn't make yer clever.
Yep it's still raining at a 45 degree angle. Tob is making Steak and Ale pie bought on the farmers market, followed by cherry pie also bought on the farmers market on Saturday. We have discovered a couple more amazing stalls selling local lamb and beef at prices that beat Waitrose better quality - so not as cheap as Iceland but not really more than you'd pay for a good joint in a supermarket. If anyone's got enough time on their hands to still be reading my idol ramblings, go make yourself a cuppa.
Friday, May 25, 2007
New things Leon is doing
I just thought I'd write down some of the unique and interesting things Leon is doing lately. He likes patting/slapping things very hard; my back as I carry him upstairs, the cot mattress, my face. He's found a way of travelling; on his back, he bananas which takes him headwards forwards. He can stand for prolonged periods of time holding my hand and today he stood in front of the Winnie the Pooh tree and twiddled the stuff on the top for a good 10 minutes or so.
Every day he seems stronger, he can hold his own weight with his arms bent if I pull him up by his hands (he grips my thumb as I have his forearms). He's really into chewing paper and card preferably and likes books (they taste nice!).
He can completely roll over and back and is capable of being found anywhere in his cot facing any direction at any one time! He can eat his feet, even with a real nappy on (before only naked). He eats fish now, mackerel and tuna so far.
We went to a talk up at the hospital on babies teeth done by a dental nurse. She showed us lots of horrific pictures of rotting kiddie teeth down to allowing kids to drink pure juice from a magic cup, the worst was frightening and was a kid who had been given a bottle of juice or milk to fall asleep with every night until she was 4 when she literally had abscesses in her back teeth, it was horrible, her top row were black stumps and the gums were all bowed up like a shark. Apparently she's 15 now and had to have all her teeth out and because the big teeth are guided by the the baby teeth they came out all higglypiggly so she needed loads of orthodontic work.
Points of note were, never use a magic cup with anything other than water. Give them only diluted juices and preferably from a doidy cup, which we have. When they start to get teeth, brush 2 x a day for 2 mins (that will be a challenge) and you don't need special baby toothpaste - use whatever you use so long as it's not whitening - we use Paradontax which is dutch, tastes funny as it isn't made of sweeteners like the usual suspects here but it's supposed to be good for gum health as well as a fluoride toothpaste. We shall see what he makes of it.
The biggest surprise was that mouth wash can give you cancer! apparently it kills all the good bacteria in your mouth if you use it every day leaving you vulnerable to nasties in your mouth. Apparently mouth cancer has sky rocketed with the use of mouth wash. Especially, chillingly in children.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
98th Centile?
I've just measured Leon out of curiosity and he's 73cm heel to top of head - I lay him on a tape measure and did as best I could so I don't know how different it will be at his 8 month check. According to the chart that puts him on the 98th Centile which puts him well over 6 foot when he grows up if the projections mean anything. I have just shortened the doorbouncer strap as his feet were flat on the floor again. He's bouncing away for to his hearts content.
Tob's in Utrecht until Friday :(
All on my tod, well with Leon so it's not so bad. I do miss him though. Last night I directed him to one of my favorite restaurants in Utrecht, De Oude Pothuis near where I used to live - no that's not a coffee shop and not that kind of pot either.
On Tuesday, having expected to have a full day discovered I'd got the wrong day for my post natal talk on real nappies, that's wednesday and the Post Natal Ladies cancelled lunch due to an out break of German Measles. There I was, I didn't feel like going into town, Sue, Sarah and Sarah were otherwise engaged, M&D are on holiday so what shall I do? So I went for a walk, down to the river, but instead of going into town when I hit the river, I turned left towards Littleport. It was beautiful, absolutley lovely. A good long walk for a couple of hours round trip, Leon slept most of the way. I did manage to burn my forearms pushing the buggy but hey.
On the way back, I stopped at an icecream van on High Barns for an ice lolly - lager and lime! it looked more like radioactive green ice from the planet Krypton but hey again.
Yesterday was the post natal talk on Nappies. There were at least 4 women there seriously considering real nappies so the uptake was good. They appreciated my info leaflet I made, to get to touch and feel the nappies and to see Leon in one. When I changed Leon I even did a demo for them on how they go on him, something I would have loved to have seen before I started using them. I won't say after lunch because I didn't get any lunch and Leon got his at the Little Crawlers thing at the Library. I was down to help set up and clear up at the end. There was a good turn out, the aircon was working in the room which we were all thankfull for. Saying that, the plan was to go to starbucks after but the aircon was too cold in there and we all left before our babies froze.
Today I'm off to M&D's to water the garden as it's pretty hot and has been for a couple of days now. Leon is still napping but will wake soon - I keep hearing the odd grumble but not much more than that. His rooms a consistent 24 degrees now and has been for 2 days, I didn't even bother putting him in his bag last night, just nappy and nightshirt.
One more thing, I got him weighed yesterday, he's just over 18lbs taking him over the 50th Centile, he doesn't look fat though, still lean and wriggly.
Tickle me Emo
I just found this on Phll Joopey's comments page and thought I'd share it with you
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/347380/tickle_me_emo/
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/347380/tickle_me_emo/
Monday, May 21, 2007
Pictures from the lunch with post natal group on friday
Friday morning, after putting Leon in his cot for his morning sleep, I proceeded to rush about like a mad mum mowing the lawn, tidying up and generally straightening the place up. As you can see from the pictures, it was all worth it.
Catch up on behalf of a busy Toby
Toby took some pictures while Adam and Lorna were up here - Adam is now Leon's Godfather - Michelle is Godmother, we are looking for one more bloke...
It was really nice to be able to talk to Lorna about what being a parent is like and answer her questions, she's a bit younger than yours trully but is starting to get the biological clock ticking as far as a possible family might be concerned. She too likes the idea of real nappies so it was good for her, as it was when Melissa and Sue both showed me their reusables so to speak, to see a mum using them. Reusables are dead easy, shove in washing machine and hang up to dry, not exactly hard really and saves money and the environment too.
On Stevie's birthday (Toby's god son), we went up to Twycross Zoo for the day, it was great fun, the gibbons were the star attraction. I didn't realise they had so many primates there, as much if not more than the place I went to near Apeldoorn, De Apenheul which has the largest collection of Primates, alot running wild among the visitors in the NL if not further afield. We left Stevie's birthday present at home in the rush to get everything for Leon for the day which was a Duh moment about 3/4 of the way there. I went into the shop at the Zoo and bought a Penguin card, don't ask why a penguin, I thought Stevie might like penguins. Afterwards we went back to the shop with stevie to pick out a present for him and he picked a penguin soft toy! This now goes to bed with Stevie. I will dig out the picture Teri sent us of him in his cot with his mate the penguin and post it.
First pictures of Adam and Lorna's visit on the 22 April, then Stevie on the 24th April.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Friday, Saturday, Sunday whoosh
Well they went quick. Friday I mowed the lawn, tidied and cleaned everywhere in readiness for my post natal group to ascend on the back garden again. It was a smaller group this time but with 5 mums and 5 babies around 6 months, it was still fun fun fun. We were out in the garden mostly but the wind picked up and sent the balls in the paddling pool into the borders so we packed up and came inside.
Saturday was the usual shopping but not before a trip to Wicken for a Baby Booty Sale, we got some nice clothes for next autumn winter for Leon including a nice winter coat, some shirts and some books. I'm kicking myself for not buying an extra 1 tog 12-18month grobag there on sale for a fiver. At the time I was thinking I have enough, but I was including the 2.5 tog ones. Oh well. maybe next time. I made a magnificent batch of quinoa, courgette and parsnip baby mush for Leon, which, much to my surprise and delight, he loves! lucky, when I then put it in containers for freezing, I made enough for 10 meals including the one last night. Phew.
Sunday I painted the garage door which was a boring and necessary job involving cleaning off all the spider muck and bird poo before painting it a nice blue again. Then, feeling confident in my DIY skills I made a mess of painting the fence - Ellen kindly bought us the paint and a spray thing to share with them but neither of us checked it was the right paint for the spray thing and having had a good go at spraying blobby stuff at the fence and using a whole tin on about 3 panels, realised this wasn't quite right. Turns out the paint isn't suitable for spray thingys. An easy mistake to make thanks to Wilkinsons putting both in the same display implying they were for use with each other. I will attempt the other half of the fence in the week using an old fashioned brush so as to use up the paint for colour consistency.
Having been to Bury St Edmunds with Dad on Tuesday, we rather like the place. House prices are similar to Ely, we won't look properly until we have this place on the market/have an offer on it, but will add it to our places to consider. I also considered a village believe it or not, in Suffolk called Woolpit, it's very charming and also about the same price - this is a very nice village so pretty expensive considering. It would involve getting to the next village where there are trains between Bury and Ipswich and/or learning to drive :( but I like the look of the place for some reason.
Leon is as charming as ever, not a day goes by without plenty of laughter, being puked on and/or weed on and he's growing like mad thanks to weening. His high chair padding has come out now as it was getting quite a squeeze and he is well capable of sitting up with out sliding around now. Still no teeth yet, not much teething pain recently either. I'm dying to see a tooth I don't mind admitting.
One of my post natal group sent an email round saying her little boy has had German Measles very mildly. Judging by the symptoms - little spots on back and tummy, coughing and waking in the night, Leon might have had it very mildly too. He had little spots, tiny ones on his back for a day or so, I thought they were a heat rash. He woke up a couple of times in the night a week or so around the same time. As for coughing, he coughs when he screams too hard, usually for attention so I don't know if it's that or a real cough, nothing that would keep him up. It would have been mild, if at all. I have immunity and he's breast fed so if he got it at all it would have been mild. According to Natasha's Doctor, it's common for babies to get it very mildly and not even to really notice it. In a way I hope so because he should have built up some immunity without having to get it really bad which can't be a bad thing. I'm going to sneak off to bed now, Tob will feed Leon and hopefully also get to bed before 11pm.
Saturday was the usual shopping but not before a trip to Wicken for a Baby Booty Sale, we got some nice clothes for next autumn winter for Leon including a nice winter coat, some shirts and some books. I'm kicking myself for not buying an extra 1 tog 12-18month grobag there on sale for a fiver. At the time I was thinking I have enough, but I was including the 2.5 tog ones. Oh well. maybe next time. I made a magnificent batch of quinoa, courgette and parsnip baby mush for Leon, which, much to my surprise and delight, he loves! lucky, when I then put it in containers for freezing, I made enough for 10 meals including the one last night. Phew.
Sunday I painted the garage door which was a boring and necessary job involving cleaning off all the spider muck and bird poo before painting it a nice blue again. Then, feeling confident in my DIY skills I made a mess of painting the fence - Ellen kindly bought us the paint and a spray thing to share with them but neither of us checked it was the right paint for the spray thing and having had a good go at spraying blobby stuff at the fence and using a whole tin on about 3 panels, realised this wasn't quite right. Turns out the paint isn't suitable for spray thingys. An easy mistake to make thanks to Wilkinsons putting both in the same display implying they were for use with each other. I will attempt the other half of the fence in the week using an old fashioned brush so as to use up the paint for colour consistency.
Having been to Bury St Edmunds with Dad on Tuesday, we rather like the place. House prices are similar to Ely, we won't look properly until we have this place on the market/have an offer on it, but will add it to our places to consider. I also considered a village believe it or not, in Suffolk called Woolpit, it's very charming and also about the same price - this is a very nice village so pretty expensive considering. It would involve getting to the next village where there are trains between Bury and Ipswich and/or learning to drive :( but I like the look of the place for some reason.
Leon is as charming as ever, not a day goes by without plenty of laughter, being puked on and/or weed on and he's growing like mad thanks to weening. His high chair padding has come out now as it was getting quite a squeeze and he is well capable of sitting up with out sliding around now. Still no teeth yet, not much teething pain recently either. I'm dying to see a tooth I don't mind admitting.
One of my post natal group sent an email round saying her little boy has had German Measles very mildly. Judging by the symptoms - little spots on back and tummy, coughing and waking in the night, Leon might have had it very mildly too. He had little spots, tiny ones on his back for a day or so, I thought they were a heat rash. He woke up a couple of times in the night a week or so around the same time. As for coughing, he coughs when he screams too hard, usually for attention so I don't know if it's that or a real cough, nothing that would keep him up. It would have been mild, if at all. I have immunity and he's breast fed so if he got it at all it would have been mild. According to Natasha's Doctor, it's common for babies to get it very mildly and not even to really notice it. In a way I hope so because he should have built up some immunity without having to get it really bad which can't be a bad thing. I'm going to sneak off to bed now, Tob will feed Leon and hopefully also get to bed before 11pm.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Goodbye Nanny
Yesterday was a good day, a chance to pay our respects to the recently departed Nanny (John's Mum) after a long battle with cancer. There were a few, a fair few people I'd not seen since Mum and John's wedding 25 years ago - Vicky, Nick and Richard were all, like me, pre-adolescent. Now Vicky has a couple of kids, so does Richard and I have Leon - who was a happy destraction at such a sad occaison. Once the goodbye had been done - the funeral and tears were shed, there was a get together at a pub nearby, then the immediate family, us included went back to Den's place (John's Dad). The get together was a chear up and a chance to be family for everyone. It was lovely to see Michelle and Nicola. Everyone made a fuss of Leon, who was for the most part very chearful and well behaved apart from crabby hour about 3pm. Once he'd had a nap he was happy again. We left about 7.30pm, much later than planned. Leon had his tea there and we put him in is bed stuff including sleeping bag so when we got home about 10.30pm, I just changed him, fed him and he slept through as normal until 6.30 this morning.
Leon likes his grandad
On Monday, Dad came up to visit. Ellen had the day off coming swimming and Dad came with us instead. This was Leon's third time and he's getting more and more confident each time. It will be a while but It wouldn't surprise me if eventually he will just swim naturally, he knows to kick already.
Dad loved it, seeing how happy Leon was in the water.
On the Tuesday, we went to Bury St Edmunds for the day, it was really lunch, a wander round the Abbey ruins and a sniff around. Bury is really nice. I'm going to look at house prices round there as there's alot more to do in Bury and it's a really pretty place too. In the evening, Tob mad a curry, we had the Sticky Toffee Pud we bought in Bury from this amazing Deli we found and watched North by Northwest (well I slept through the 2nd half).
Wednesday we had to leave by mid morning to get to Reading for Nanny's funeral - this is John's Mum so not my Grandma. I still have a past with her and thought it right to go there and pay my respects.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
It's a 30 gigger!
My ipod arrived this morning, in a neat little envelope, in a neat little box no bigger than a double CD box. It's beautiful, and it's not a nano or a mini but a flippin full on 30gb ipod, it can even play films! the wheel thingy is so easy to use, I wasn't sure if I'd find it hard but it's incredibly intuitive. Loading itunes and getting music on there is proving more complicated. Toby had over 70gb of music on his pc and I haven't even started on which CDs I want to upload or found any pod casts - you can get woman's hour as a pod cast! among other things.
The week went quickly, last post was Tuesday and suddenly it's Saturday night. Major things of note being Leon enjoyed swimming for the 2nd time, he still has his underwater swimming instinct and is getting quite excitable and splashy in the water. Friday Becky from my post natal group and I went to Cambridge in her enormous 4x4. I was surprised/impressed at how easy she could park the thing, especially in the Grafton Centre car park. It was a really nice day, we got a few things not findable in Ely in the new Toys R Us with Baby section, Mothercare and John Lewis - namely a really clever cloth thing that fits on any chair and acts as a booster seat for Leon. It works from 8 months but we tried Leon today and he's fine in it. As it fits into a little pouch, it's alot more portable than a plastic one. It was really nice to do a day with Becky and Sophie, it was good to hang out with her.
Today, of course the highlight was the arrival of the ipod but we had a pleasant day in Ely shopping - the usual farmers market and Waitrose. I got to the ostrich stall just in time for the last couple of burgers. I picked up some chili plants for 75p each, some raspberries and some asparagus as it's in season (well the raspberries too). Leon was in his car seat quinny combi and in a pretty good mood, I ended up carrying him round Waitrose, over my shoulder, up side down etc much to his amusement as he was bored by then of just sitting in his seat. He's not getting any lighter. He's having a bit of a scream, Tob has just gone to see to him but I think he might need me... Back again, took about 10 minutes a bit of teething gel, a 5 minute feed to calm him back down. Judging by the screaming, his gums must really be hurting to wake him up and cause screaming like that a 9.30pm.
I'm sitting in my glider chair, laptop on Lap catching up on Season 5 of Angel. I hope Leon doesn't have too much problems cutting his first teeth, from the feel of his gums it probably won't be much longer for tooth number one, bottom right I'm guessing. We shall see. Apart from that, Leon is very jovial, he bounces in his bouncer with enormous vigor, enjoys peekaboo like it's absolutely hilarious and if you sit him on your lap and pull him to standing then let him flop down on his bum then pull him back up again, he shrieks with laughter.
Now, can I be bothered to find out the results of Eurovision after a really scary episode of Angel, I've certainly never seen shown during the day on Sky, this one is far too scary for before the watershed. Ohhheerr.
The week went quickly, last post was Tuesday and suddenly it's Saturday night. Major things of note being Leon enjoyed swimming for the 2nd time, he still has his underwater swimming instinct and is getting quite excitable and splashy in the water. Friday Becky from my post natal group and I went to Cambridge in her enormous 4x4. I was surprised/impressed at how easy she could park the thing, especially in the Grafton Centre car park. It was a really nice day, we got a few things not findable in Ely in the new Toys R Us with Baby section, Mothercare and John Lewis - namely a really clever cloth thing that fits on any chair and acts as a booster seat for Leon. It works from 8 months but we tried Leon today and he's fine in it. As it fits into a little pouch, it's alot more portable than a plastic one. It was really nice to do a day with Becky and Sophie, it was good to hang out with her.
Today, of course the highlight was the arrival of the ipod but we had a pleasant day in Ely shopping - the usual farmers market and Waitrose. I got to the ostrich stall just in time for the last couple of burgers. I picked up some chili plants for 75p each, some raspberries and some asparagus as it's in season (well the raspberries too). Leon was in his car seat quinny combi and in a pretty good mood, I ended up carrying him round Waitrose, over my shoulder, up side down etc much to his amusement as he was bored by then of just sitting in his seat. He's not getting any lighter. He's having a bit of a scream, Tob has just gone to see to him but I think he might need me... Back again, took about 10 minutes a bit of teething gel, a 5 minute feed to calm him back down. Judging by the screaming, his gums must really be hurting to wake him up and cause screaming like that a 9.30pm.
I'm sitting in my glider chair, laptop on Lap catching up on Season 5 of Angel. I hope Leon doesn't have too much problems cutting his first teeth, from the feel of his gums it probably won't be much longer for tooth number one, bottom right I'm guessing. We shall see. Apart from that, Leon is very jovial, he bounces in his bouncer with enormous vigor, enjoys peekaboo like it's absolutely hilarious and if you sit him on your lap and pull him to standing then let him flop down on his bum then pull him back up again, he shrieks with laughter.
Now, can I be bothered to find out the results of Eurovision after a really scary episode of Angel, I've certainly never seen shown during the day on Sky, this one is far too scary for before the watershed. Ohhheerr.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Time to take the mobile down
This post is about a week or so late, I found this telling picture in one of Tob's pictures. I took the mobile down a week or so ago, I've left just the music box as this is a useful tool of destraction - Leon love's music boxes, I've descovered.
This was also the first time Tob descovered him turned over on his front in the morning. He is most mornings now although he tends to sleep more on his side.
I've also just found in this folder the pictures of Adam and Lorna's visit as well as our trip to the zoo with Stevie, Terri and Sean so more pictures to follow.
Child free moment
We went to London yesterday for Stef's birthday picnic in Hyde Park. Great weather for it as you can imagine, it was really issing it down until just after we set up camp in the union bar at Imperial. Then the sun came out allowing us to decamp, do the photo on the steps of the Albert Hall (tradition) and get a couple of hours intermittent sun in a very windy Hyde park. The pollen count must have gone through the roof, even I could feel it. Leon was mostly contented, especially with the journey into London and a late lunch time. He lost his sense of humour about 4pm and I couldn't work out what I could do to console him, tried nappy, teething gel, food, drink, cuddles, and so on. In the end we gave up, put him in the pram and left by about 5pm. He was asleep by the time we were out of the park. He had his tea in the O2 centre carpark on Finchley Road and slept just about until we got to Soham, the last 5 miles we sung Old Mcdonald and any other nursery rhymes we could think of which worked until we were home.
I felt really vunerable in London, we had so much stuff with us, both for Leon and picnic stuff, it wasn't too bad but I do get worried Leon's eating enough on day trips, he gets so destracted, it's impossible to breast feed him, far too much going on unless I find a quiet spot.
This was the first weekend where we did long days out with food for Leon. His routine took a bashing both meal times and sleep times, I wanted to see how we all coped and what things I can do with the absence of the usual daily routine. Rusks (organix, not Farleys) are good to keep him happy, so long as I keep an eye on him as he could choke. At the end of the day, when he's had enough, he's had enough and the best thing is to get him home. We must have been there all of 4 hours.
I felt really vunerable in London, we had so much stuff with us, both for Leon and picnic stuff, it wasn't too bad but I do get worried Leon's eating enough on day trips, he gets so destracted, it's impossible to breast feed him, far too much going on unless I find a quiet spot.
This was the first weekend where we did long days out with food for Leon. His routine took a bashing both meal times and sleep times, I wanted to see how we all coped and what things I can do with the absence of the usual daily routine. Rusks (organix, not Farleys) are good to keep him happy, so long as I keep an eye on him as he could choke. At the end of the day, when he's had enough, he's had enough and the best thing is to get him home. We must have been there all of 4 hours.
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