You are ONE!

Your amazing eyelashes that would
make any supermodel jealous.

Oh Baby Boy... you are not my little baby anymore! You'll always be MY baby, but not an actual baby. What I'm very ineloquently trying to say is - you are SO GROWN UP. Each and every day I stare at you in amazement as you do something new or better than you've done it before.

Outside - the place where you belong.

So, what have you been up to since my last update at (gasp) 9 months? Well, you began walking at 10 months (and running not long after that!) It has been so much fun seeing you so proud to be bipedal, being able to carry things in your hands while you motor around.

Straight for the lake... but it's getting too
cold to paddle - much to your displeasure!

You can say: Mama, baba, woof woof (for dog - or anything with 4 legs really), moooo (for cow), bbrrrrppp! (high pitched noise for birds) and lots and lots of babble. When you're angry, you HOLLER and when you're happy you chit chat. It's lovely to hear you find your voice. We're currently working on "Hello!" and "Ball"...

You love to mimic us! We cover our eyes for peekaboo, and you do the same. Mummy puts a hat on, so do you. We sweep, mop or vaccum the floor and you latch on and 'help' us. In fact, I've bought a new dustpan and brush for you to use yourself - you are ever so proud of yourself.

Eyes on the job Hamish!
You have mopping to do!

One of the things that I love about you most is your kind and gentle nature with other kids (apart from cousin Josie of course - family is different). You walk up to any kid on the street, a grin from ear to ear, ready to be pals. Sometimes the kids ignore you, some are just as happy to see you and others are a little less kind... but you persevere.

Hm.. what else? You have 8 teeth (4 top and 4 bottom), you weigh just a smidge over 10kgs and you've stretched to an impressive 75cm!

Oh! And you know sleep through the night (more or less)! We put you to bed at 7pm and you are all lovely and snuggly. You and I have a little ritual that we go through each night that leaves me smiling from ear to ear as I descend the stairs. First, we snuggle as I carry you up to your room - your little face in my neck - often blowing raspberries or humming in my ear. Then I pop you into your bed where you lay there and gargle your saliva (gross, weird, high pitched) and I get you into your sleeping bag. Next, you stick your hand through the gaps in the cot and I kiss your little fingers, then I stick my hand though and you open mouth kiss it. Finally, we wave to each other and I blow you kisses (which you've just started to try and copy). Each night, I leave you happy and chatty and you eventually fall asleep. 

Most mornings you are up at 6 or 6:30. It KILLS us each and every day. Your daddy and I are NOT morning people at ALL, so we take turns in getting up to you to feed you breakfast. Generally after you've eaten breakfast you are happy to play or watch Sesame Street until naptime which is around 8 or 8:30.

Ok - this update is much too overdue, so I won't go on, but I will post some pictures of your first birthday party soon :)
 

9 Months!!!

I had to put three exclamation points after that, because seriously? I'm the mother of a NINE month old?

First the business part of the evening:

Weight: 9.07kg

Length: 73cm

Teeth: Four on the top and 2 on the bottom.. and you now have the cutest cheesy grin in the world.

So what have you been up to?

Crawling and cruising, bumping and bruising.

You have now mastered the sounds "bababababa" and say them at varying decibels, including a whisper and a holler. We're trying hard to get you to say mama or dada... so far mama has slipped past your lips on queue... twice. And it was more like: "Hamish! Say Mama!" "Mamamabababababababa". Oh well. You're still the strong silent type. *********Stop the press... Mamamamamammamam is now your favourite thing to say! *************

Speaking of strong - I still watch you in amazement when I see you master more and more gross motor skills.

You are soooo close to giving walking a go. You'll happily cruise around furniture or take you pram for a walk, but you usually drop to your crawling position when you need to get from A to B. I'm happy for you to crawl as long as you like little boy - you're already to grown up! The teacher at Gymbaroo couldn't believe how big and strong you are at 9 months old. Today she thought you were closer to a year old. I'm always a little bit proud and smug when this happens. So sue me ;)

You love the water. Pools, the beach, the lake, your bath, a puddle of water on the ground, a fountain in the middle of Newcastle... you will lean in toward the liquid and grunt and point. You have mastered the fine art of splashing.

You've fallen asleep a number of time while eating your breakfast and lunch. It seems as though you think 5:30am is a great time to wake up for the day, but by the time we drag ourselves out of bed and bring you downstairs, you've conked out yourself!

You still love your music. Kids songs, top 40, mama's collection... any tune, and beat. You'll nod your head and bop up and down.. if you're standing, your little legs do an Elvis Priestly impersonation and thump to the beat. I still struggle to get you doing it on film! You catch me with my camera and give me your cheesiest smile and crawl over to me - ruining my shot!

Food - well, what we are eating at any given time is way better to you than what you've got. Sometimes you prefer finger food, sometimes purees with rice mixed in. You have started to hide things behind you so we think you've eaten loads.. and then we pick you up and find your stash. Your favourite food today, will be your most hated food tomorrow, but we seem to be on a winning streak with ravioli in tomato pasta sauce. You also love peas, corn and carrot in little pieces.. you love to pick each on up one by one and pop it in your little mouth. We spread out an old bed sheet underneath your high chair which catches all of your flotsam and jetsam, and we wash the sheet and your high chair cover every night. You are one messy eater! You often grab the spoon out of our hands when we are feeding you and try to feed yourself, even dipping the spoon into the bowl to get more. You don't get a whole lot down, but it's so great to see you try!

Sleep - we think we have you figured out, and then you go ahead and change your habits. So we'll mark this one as "In process".

And finally, your personality. I think the one word to describe you would be 'ham'. You love to make us laugh. If you do something and we laugh, you keep doing it, all the while flashing us your toothy grin. Things that come under this category: fart noises with your mouth (what monster have we created?), squarking loudly, poking your finger into our mouths, weird facial expressions. Even doing awkward or uncoordinated things - you take after your mother in this respect.

We love you little man. In fact, my love for you embodies all of the cliches: heart melting, life-changing, awe-inspiring LOVE.

You are 9 months old. You are amazing.

7 and 8 Month update

Yup. As I said in an earlier post - I'm way behind in your updates! And I still haven't told you about your christmas with Nanny and Poppy down in Jervis Bay OR Your very first NYE... It will come, I promise!

Today - your 7 and 8 month update.

Let's start with this little GEM:

Wow. I've said it every week.. but this is the FUNNEST age. I can only imagine it is going to get even more fun, but lately you have been a bright, shining star in our lives. Late at night, after you've gone to bed, your daddy and I lay next to each other and recount the funny and cute things you'd done earlier in the day. We lay there laughing and rolling our eyes  - you are such a character little boy.

I have no weight or height measurements at the moment - we'll be getting those on Tuesday, but here's what the last 8 weeks have looked like for you:

• You have officially got 4 teeth - bottom two (at 6 months) and top two (at 7 1/2 months). Now, when you smile, you don't really look like a little baby anymore :(
• Crawling, cruising, jumping up and down in your bed (tsk, tsk), falling backwards onto soft surfaces (your favourite - I will try to video that too!). You are a mobile little creature, and I'm still trying to find a baby gate that will withstand your determination.

• Pointing - you can point your index finger like it's your job. At Christmas Eve mass, I have you on my shoulder so you could look out behind me. I look over at Aunty Emma and she is cracking up at you - you were pointing directly into the faces of the people behind us. You point at people, at things you like the look of, at your food (it's common for you to point, poke and then grab whatever it is we are offering), at Chelsea-dog, at a Bird in the tree, at the radio... you just love to point.
• And that index finger comes in very handy when it comes to reading your favourite books - the one with textures in them. You have come to love each new page, knowing exactly where to touch to feel the different surfaces - fluffy, scratchy, rough...
• You have learned to play the kazoo...oh yes. It's all very monotone at the moment, but you play it like a boss.
• You more or less sleep through the night now. Most nights you wake up once for a quick feed, then back to bed. But then, you're up at 6 most mornings. Daddy and I take it in turns to get up with you and feed you breakfast.
• No official first words yet! I was sure you were to become the strong and silent type, but in the last few weeks you've become more vocal and your favourite things to say are "Wa-wa-wa" and "Bra-bra-bra". You also like yeeeellllll. You stand up against things and holler and hoot. It's hilarious, like you are saying "I am Hamish - hear me ROAR!"

Little boy, you are awake from your nap now and sitting on my lap trying to 'help' me type, so I'll sign off now...

I love you

I love you

I LOVE you

Retrospective months...

I wrote these up each month before I even started this little blog... I thought I may as well copy them here! They are long-winded and probably only interesting to me..  but here you go..

3 months

• Weight: 7kgs
• Length: 62cm
• I love the way you flail your arms in the air when you are fist put down on a flat surface - it’s as if you think the world is spinning too fast and you are trying to find something to hold on to.
• You also love to smoosh your face against me or your dad after you’ve had a big feed, wiping away any mess.
• You pee in the bath each and every time without fail.
• You intensely try and copy us blowing raspberries.
• You have well and truly found your hands hands (at about 9 weeks) and they reside permanently in your mouth. Your little face is constantly covered in saliva, which makes cheek kisseys very interesting.
• I got a nice laugh out of you at 12 weeks 4 days. It was amazing and I cried happy tears. Now it is my aim in life to get you to laugh again.
• You're a smiley little bugger. We just have to look at you and say “hi!” and you grin from ear to ear.
• Sometimes, the only thing that will calm you down if you is having a meltdown is for me to hold him in my arms and sing. Favourites: Twinkle twinkle, Baa Baa black sheep, Two Little Boys, Close to you, Yesterday.. quite a mixed bag!
• Your eyes are strikingly blue at this stage. Daddy has brown eyes and I have blue eyes so it’s anyone’s guess what colour they’ll turn out eventually. I’m gunning for blue, because you're a spitting image of your dad so I’d love you to have something attributed to me!
• Sleep is a challenge (see previous post).
• You LOVE bathtime. LOVE. You and daddy have a bath together every night and the only time you get cranky is when we’re trying to re-dress you.
• Related: you love to be naked. You're going to be a GREAT summer babe. Not so good in these cooler months!
• You light up my life.. god that is so cliche! But you do!

4 months

Baby Boy - today marks 4 whole months of your life outside! Can you believe it? I certainly can’t.

Let me tell you a bit about your 4 month self:

• You just found your toes! As in yesterday! You grab at them now and try and pull off your socks.
• My favourite time of the day is the mornings. You are your most vocal then - almost like stretching out your vocal chords. It starts out like a scratchy owl sound, building up to a teenage-boy-who’s-voice-is-about-to-break. Once you are put on your playmat, it turns to squeals and hoots of delight as you try and grab the different toys that I hang up for you each day.
• You roll around the floor with terrifying regularity. You started pretty early in your life - about 11.5 weeks - but it was kind of a one-trick wonder. Lately, it has been your favourite thing in the world. You sometimes prefer to be on your tummy to play!
• We sit you up and sometimes you stay sitting up without our help. Only for a few moments, but you can see your brain trying to work out the proper muscles to use. It’s magic.
• You love your Bumbo. Yellow, like your personality.
• You hate the Jolly Jumper. It may have something to do with the fact that our doorways are too narrow and you got a nice bump on the head the other day.
• You dribble like a champ. I change your bibs as often as your nappy.
• If your hands aren’t busy - they are in your mouth. You are not a thumb-sucker - you are a forefinger-sucker. It’s incredibly cute.
• Sleep. Well, sleep is overrated, right? But we’re working on it.
• You weigh around 7.5kgs and you’re wearing 00 and 0 clothes.
• When I lean down to kiss your face - you grab mine and try and suck on my nose.
• You are a real boy - a roughnut, a boof-head. I love it.

5 months

Hey Hamish! Can you believe how much I love you? It seems to balloon every single day. Sometimes the enormity of my love for you catches in my throat and I find myself choking back silly tears.

A few things about you and your little life that I never want to forget:

• You are still breastfeeding like a champion - and now you’re even beginning to bury your face into my shirt when you’re hungry - no whinging, just burying :)
• Sleep is still a work in progress…
• But you slept in your big cot all on your own for the first time last night!! I had very little sleep - my eyes on the monitor all night, but you seemed to sleep like a, well, baby! In the morning I came in to find you smiling and talking to yourself. Heart = warmed.
• I have started giving you rice cereal mixed with breast milk and some mashed sweet potato or pumpkin. Tonight we try carrots! I’m introducing each food separately and slip a new one in every few days. Perhaps peas next?
• You are in crawler nappies!
• You are trying to crawl on a daily basis and it frustrates you so much that you aren’t getting anywhere!
• You LOVE LOVE LOVE Gymbaroo.
• You stand up with a bit of assistance and beam your gorgeous big smile in such a proud way.
• And you can sit up all on your own… for a minute or so :)
• You easily roll onto your tummy from your back, but back to front seems to be a challenge for you.. you get it about once a day. Every other time you cry out for someone to flip you over… before you flip right back on to your belly. Sigh, little boy, sigh.
• Bath time is still your favourite part of the day.. no, it’s your favourite part of life.
• We took you to the beach for the first time two weeks ago -  you rocked those baby sunglasses and hat like a true beach bum. You spent the whole time in the nude, scraping sand towards you and grinding it into your, erm, private area. I’m assuming it felt good. It was still too cold for a swim, but daddy put your feet in the water and you kicked and kicked and squealed with joy.
• Laughing is more common now and once you get going you don’t stop! Words like “sushi” and “spit” make you cackle.
• Dribble should be your middle name.
• I think you might have some mouthy pegs moving around in that little mouth of yours - everything and anything is jammed into your gob at any opportunity. Sophie’s ears, horns and nose are your favourite.
• You still fall asleep so fast in your carseat, which is not very convenient when we are just headed 5 minutes down the road.
• You seem to be rather musical - and I may be seeing things, but I’m sure I saw you bopping along to Regina Spektor a few days ago - those little shoulders bumping up and down. Singing to you, any song, breaks your little mood swings immediately.
• You love toys - but you love things that are not toys more!
• You never stop moving. Even when you are chilled out and relaxed, a little foot is tapping or your little fingers are opening and closing.

You are going to keep mummy very busy, little boy. Very busy indeed.

I love you more than the air I breathe.

Love Mummy.

6 months!!

I’m writing this very late, you actually turned 6 months two weeks again, but because we were sunning ourselves on the beautiful beaches of Fiji on your actual day, I’ll update now.
Where the hell has the time gone? You are half a whole year! Sheesh! Stop growing little one!
Some cool things that you do now:

• You sleep in your own cot! Woot! We are still working on the sleep (and it’s going so so so well), but you don’t sleep in our room anymore. I find that exciting and sad. I miss you some nights, but all I have to do is hold the monitor up to my ear to hear your man-like snores.
• You sit up all on your own now. It means I can surround you with toys and I whizz around the house doing house work until you decide you’re bored and want to play with mummy. You are much happier upright, and reward us all with massive smiles.
• Also - you CRAWL! Yikes! You don’t move too fast though, so I’m not too worried yet - but next on our list of things to buy you is a baby gate or two and some child-proofing materials. A play pen  has been erected in the lounge room so I can pop you in there and know that you won’t be getting into mischief while I’m out of the room.
• Two toothy-pegs!
• You reach out to daddy and I when we are not holding you and you want us to be.
• You are a clingy little boy now and we can rarely leave you in a room with other people without you freaking out and crying. People are starting to get complexes. It’s getting better, but a weeks of undivided mummy and daddy attention while we were on holidays spoiled you a bit.
• You are eating three meals a day, plus snacks plus breast milk. You really don’t like food, which really surprises me. We’ve tried fresh fruit and veg, cooked, raw, mashed, pre-made baby food (all organic and 100%), but you still prefer mama’s milk. We have cut you down to 4 feeds a day, so you are sort of forced to eat other things. Because of all of the crazy dietary changes, you were terribly constipated for a few days (tears, straining, and sweating - very cute in a sad way), but that seems to have “worked it’s way out.”
• You still love Gymbaroo (and have graduated to the mobile babies class) and still like music class.

You are getting so freaking fun and challenging and you change every day. It’s a cliche, but it’s so true - you are growing before our very eyes!

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You're a 7 monther now! I'm working on a 7 month update for you and will post it as soon as we take your 7 month pictures :)