Another update in July

Well, what to tell you all first.... David had a fun weekend. We stayed at the Sebel on the Pier in the Rocks area of Sydney for the weekend, to celebrate Dad's birthday. We had a marvelous time and could have been thousands of kilometres away. David really enjoyed Sydney and celebrated himself by clapping his hands for the first time on Saturday 22 July - and has continued to do so, so it wasn't a fluke. He also climbed down stairs for the first time - 5 shallow wide steps in the hotel foyer, so he could make a break for the street. David went front / face first (after all the times I have told him to go down backwards, he completely ignored me) and did it beautifully and safely. There is of course no guarantee that he will be able to do it again, but it is a start.

David also went to his first Sydney Biennale exhibition, at the Pier in Walsh Bay. Interesting - some more accessible than others. We liked the one that was aboriginal art, with sand, totem poles and bark paintings about the crocodile and her nest. The stand out though was the installation called "Asian Field" by Antony Gormley (2003) consisting of 180,000 hand made hand-sized clay figurines. The figurines were made by 350 people of all ages from Xianshan village in China (their photos were all on the wall next to the installation) and the installation took (I think) a week to set up. Truly stunning to see all the figurines, arranged in waves of different colours of clay and in the pier confines - it really gives you a true idea of numbers, and just how many 180k is - let alone the massive population of 2 billion or more in China.

A dreadful photo is attached, which doesn't do it justice.

We also went to the Rocks markets, and the Aroma coffee festival - which wasn't very big, but was enjoyable in the sunshine at Circular Quay.

Monday was wet and we kept David very quiet - but he still didn't go to sleep until 10.30pm. Tuesday I had hime weighed and measured. Despite the fact he wasn't eating, he has gained weight and is now 10.56kgs, head circ 47.5cms and length of 74cms.

Gran arrived for a visit on Tuesday and David was very glad to see her. Gran will sort him out! She already thinks that he is a very messy eater. I have attached a photo of the first time David ate Weetbix to support her opinion, but in David's defence, he doesn't often look like this.

More to follow!

another update

Nothing too startling - I haven't been takeing many photos lately for tow reasons. the first is that I have been feeling very average, due to the cold and David going to bed so very late. the second is that David now understands the camera somewhat, and crawls towards me very rapidly when I have it, so I can't take his photo. Either that, or the camera strap is just the most amazing thing in the world.

Mind you, toys are just not what they used to be a couple of months ago. Now it is all about cupboards, drawers, frying pans, caps, bottles and anything else real you can name. Remote controls and mobile phones are probably the high point, but he doesn't really get to experience them much. Chasie is the best game in the world at the moment - with either Dad or me, round and round the play pen.


This is a photo of David's new rocking snail - which is still a little big for him, but proving to be a bit exciting.

Aargh - Still no teeth!

Hello. Sorry that there has been no update for a while, but there are only so many hours in the day. I have had a cold - in fact, after almost 2 weeks, I still have it. Daddy has also had a cold. David has not caught the cold, but has been off-colour. Mostly teeth we think. He went through a period of having a lot of dirty nappies - every two or three hours at one point. His bottom suffered accordingly. His mouth was obviously bothering him and he was eating very little. Bedtime varied between 5.30pm on one evening (nearly 14 hours sleep!), and 10.30 to 11.30 on other occasions. However, he seems a lot better, his bottom is almost back to normal and his routine is getting back to normal. Yesterday and today he has almost eaten normally. Just no teeth yet! After all this mucking about you couldn't blame us for wanting to actually have a result. Oh well, I guess they will come through in their own time.

Otherwise, things are great. We have done a deal more baby-proofing and have installed gates at both the bottom of the stairs and top of the stairs. With the furniture rearranged downstairs, it is looking pretty good, and is reasonably baby safe - at least until he gets taller.

David loves getting into cupboards and drawers. Unfortunately this also coincided with his jamming his fingers - he puts them over the top of the drawer and then closes it! However, after some trial and error he is getting a little more switched on about how they work - he opens and closes cupboard doors again and again, and now only occasionally puts his hand in the way.

He is now a very fast crawler and very confident in standing to hold onto things such as the gates, furniture, Mum or Dad's leg etc. No signs of walking yet (thank goodness). I think that as he is so efficient at crawling, he doesn't need to start walking yet.

We have been going to Playgroup on Fridays for three weeks now. Absolutely marvelous. Lots of toys and lots of other children. Most are older, but some are in the 12 to 14 month age range, which will be close enough in a few more months. Some of the other babies from Mother's Group are also attending on a fairly regular basis. The Playgroup is only a short pram push away so it is very convenient. No photos as when ever I bring out the camera, David crawls towards me. I have photos where he is not even in the frame. I don't seem able to attach photos at the moment, so more photos later.

I have also been trying to take him to the playground (mentioned previously) at least once a week, weather permitting. It is a great playground, with children there everytime we visit. David loves looking at the older children and will grow into the equipment. He still loves the swing.

We have also been interviewing nanny applicants to take care of David when I return to work part-time in August. Not as simple as it appeared at first. Will update you when we have a result.

We are expecting Gran for a visit later this month - David is excited when he speaks to either Gran or Nanna on the phone, so I know he will be excited to see Granny and have her stay.