HOT weather

Well, the cold smap has passed and now we have the usual Sydney hot and muggy summer weather. David is coping OK for now and we will see how it goes!

So, anything new? Well David is expanding his vocabulary. A recent new word is "flower" - we were having lunch with friends and Lydia recognised he was saying flower - I didn't know that he could! He points to flowers (and sometimes just plants) and says it. He also imitates Erin and says "no more" complete with hand movement! We can play "Where is David's hair/nose/ belly button" and also "ear" with less success - he sometimes confuses it with hair. He is also playing "up and down" where he bobs down and says "dow.." and then pops up and says 'up"! When I took him to have his photo taken last Friday the photographer said he was very advanced for his age, so perhaps he really is... As you probably know, it has been a running joke with us, his parents, since he was about 3 weeks old.

We do think David is working on more teeth. He has been waking on a number of nights- jsut not too late. Any time from 8.00pm to 11.30pm. We are getting progressively more tired, particularly as Paul has been travelling again. Hopefully after this week he will be back at home for a couple of weeks.

We have been having a few visitors - Marie from Perth, Lydia and Nadia (who is now 23 weeks pregnant - very exciting) and expecting cousin Julie from Perth for a short visit on the weekend. David and I also had coffee with Auntie Louise on Saturday morning before swimming classes, so all in all we have been very busy. We are still fitting in walks to the playground and the park.

David's naturaltendency is to be a vegetarian. We are still struggling a bit to get him to eat meat - generally disguising it with lots of vegies. But he has no trouble at all with lentils (daal), chickpeas or borlotti beans. Fruit is generally a winner - mango, banana, watermelon, and sometimes kiwi fruit are the current favourites. He is starting to broaden his tastes with couscous and perhaps a little spagetti. He is also drinking lots of water, which is marvelous in this hot weather.

We haven't had him weighed since he was one, and today was too hot for Erin to go to the chemist and see the nurse. However, he certainly hasn't lost weight! That's all for now.

More photos

Just a few more photos to catch up. These are recent, and just nice. No particular story to go with them, just in here because I like them.

On more thing - We saw a kookaburra yesterday, reasonably close and very clearly. It was in the park, early and he (or she) was sitting on the edge of a birdbath, contemplating the world. No birdcalls, and didn't respond to my very bad imitation, but he did turn around after being swooped by a Noisy Minor, so we saw his white chest and brown & blue back.

Hello - another update at last and less than 40 days to Christmas. So, what has been happening (everything! I hear you cry). I will keep it concise to cover the ground.

A recent development is that David is now using his table and chairs, and sitting down to read his books. He has been much more interested in the books for about a month now, and started sitting at the table to read them over the last fortnight. Importantly, he goes to it himself, and gets in his chair and turns over the pages in the books. He also gets out the books in his room to look at them.

The table & chairs set is a Christmas present from Nanna and Granddad, which is getting an early start. We still haven't painted or stained it, but David doesn't seem to mind. We bought the set a few months ago because the Pine Warehouse which stocked them closed down after being in business for approx 20 years. Well made, and will support an adult's weight easily.

David has also started swimming lessons. He had his third today. No photos yet, because I have taken him by myself the last two weeks, and no opportunity to take photos when I have my hands full keeping him under control. The first week of lessons it was cold and rained! The lesson went ahead, and the pool was warm(ish) but it was a short lesson because the babies started to shiver. There are probably another 6 or 7 babies in the class. They range from around 8 months to David at 13mths. Lots around games and getting used to water over their head & face - learing to stretch out and kick. The aim is water safety - flopping off the wall (like Humpty Dumpty) and then learing to turn, kick back and climb out. Well, David has already mastered climbing out when he gets to the edge. The climbing leg goes up and he is out - today he was aout 3 times, which meant I had to climb out and run after him. He climbs out when we do "monkey arms" supposedly along the edge of the pool, or when he gets too much water in his eyes or nose, and reaches out to the edge. He does love the water though. We are both exhausted after the half hour lesson. The last two weeks David is asleep by the time we get home and has slept for 3 hours.

David is definitely going to have curls - see attached bad photo of the back of his head. His hair is getting longer, and is curly when damp.

David has been to his first gallery showing - not counting popping into the Washhouse, or visiting Newspace gallery. The Degree Show for 2006 at the Sydney University School of Art, in nearby Callan Park. It was opening night, with all the guests and David had a wow of a time saying hello to lots of people. We dropped in on David's last walk before bed.

David also went to his first boardroom lunch last week - at a major law firm in Sydney, silver service and David was very impressed by the waiter offering him his own bread roll. He was able to wander around the (small) Boardroom, and rampage up the corridor when he slipped past the waiter. Much better than a restaurant, and David was the star attraction for my two (female) collegues who wanted to see how much he had grown.

Yesterday I took David for photos to mark his one year birthday, and they went well. More later when we see the prints.

We have been having weird weather in Sydney - as well as the cold and raining Saturday to start November, this week we had the coldest Sydney November day since 1905, with major bushfires in the Blue Mountains at the same time. We are expecting a warmer than usual summer - last summer was th hottest on record on the Eastern seaboard. Quite a bit of rain (and snow) about this week but not in the catchments - It is good to see that finally the politicians are starting to acknowledge that global warming is real and affecting the climate.

Lots happeingin internationally - the Nairobi conference on global warming, APEC in Vietnam, G20 in Melbourne, Iraq, Palestine, riots in Tonga, worries about the melting ice caps, enormous icebergs off NZ, Bono campaigning for an end to world poverty and U2 and Kylie touring. We are just trying to get enough rest and keep well and clean the house. It does all suggest that while there are many dangers, there is also hope for the world, which is excellent in the lead up to Christmas. Catch up with you later.

Quick, quick note

Sorry! I haven't been online for a while, because (amongst other things) I have had a cold & cough. However, a ten minute blog, before I go to bed. This is a surreal photo taken of David in the pram on Narrawallee Beach, near Ulladulla. Hope that you like it! It had been a beautiful day before, and after, but the Saturday was generally cold blustery and not good for swimming, so we went for a walk instead.

This is a couple of weeks ago - when we went to stay with Steve & Sue, David's godparents at their holiday home, and David went to his first concert. it was a Brother concert, at Milton Hall, with lots of kids and families. David loved it all - the bagpipes, digeridoos and all the drumming. It was loud, but he also loved that. He rocked so hard that he moved his whole pram (which was in the aisle, just out of the way, under the staircase). See earlier blog for a description of Brother. David's only complaint was when a man who was videotaping the performance came and stood in front of him! David complained, but the man couldn't hear his over the concert. We moved the pram so he could see the stage again. When they got up to dance in the aisle, you could see David wanted to join in, but in the interests of safety and sanity, we kept him in the pram. He did have a little walk around the crowded foyer at interval though!

The weekend away was wonderful - it was just a shame that we had colds. David spend some time with Steve & Sue's dogs and really enjoyed that too. More on that next time.

The next photo is David opening one of his birthday presents! He does love things that are new- he tends to strutt around with them. It is particularly amusing when it is clothes. Perhaps we should have got him involved in modelling!!!!

Anyway, we are all gradually getting over the cold - It has taken me over two weeks. Paul started a little later but it is lingering as long with him. Fortunately, he didn't get the cough. David had about two days of minor sniffles, which seemed to be fixed with Demazin. It is great that he seems to be good and healthy. We, his parents just seem to be very tired and (now) run down. I think we need a month at the seaside, being waited on hand & foot - but as the Rolling Stones say, you can't always get what you want! We will have a rest over Christmas.

That's all for now. I will try to do another, longer update in a few days.