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2005-08-17 - 11.52pm previous entry next entry
Swings, and Young Me (!!) and stuff.
Whoops, I just updated this diary with my entry for the other diary! What a shock to see it in my arthursmummy layout when I was done!!! I quickly deleted it but I know that will make my diary red on the buddy lists, so here's an entry to make up for that! ;)
Thank you for the nice comments on my lil Boo! He is a busy boy these days for sure!
While I am here I can tell you two new exciting things that Arthur did today! We went out for a walk this morning with the pushchair, and I took him to the nearest playground with baby swings. He had his first time in a swing at Jaya's party, but today was his first time in a proper sit-up swing in a playground!! I took a few photos but it was soooo bright and he kept blinking and squinting so they didn't come out to well. But here they are anyway:
He seemed to enjoy it, but I didn't let him swing for very long at all because it was so hot and sunny today and he would not keep his hat on for anything! He has very fair skin and I am taking no chances with the sun.
And the other new exciting thing today is that Arthur walked five very steady steps side-by-side with me as he held my finger in ONE hand, waaay above his head because I was standing up normally. I can't believe he is doing that when to me that is one of the images in my head of a real live toddler, and I can't believe that we are getting to that stage. After the five steps, he stopped, and Neil and I were so excited for him! We were praising him up no end, and Arthur got this huge smile on his face and started bouncing with his lil knees bending and straightening like crazy! I waited with him still standing holding my finger, to see if he wanted to walk any further, but he turned to face my leg and clung on with both hands, and looked up with that, "Please pick me up now" look! Another thing that makes me think "toddler" and not "little baby". I can't believe my tiny Boo is growing up. He's still so little to me.
One thing I forgot to mention with yesterday's entry was that his feet have made amazing improvements since he started cruising the furniture! Yay! They are almost straight again now. You can see it in the photo of him and Neil under the sheet from yesterday's entry. His big toes still curl in slightly and the shape of his sole slightly curves in, more so on his left foot than his right. But they are soooo much better than they were a month ago! I am so happy. I am absolutely sure now that he will not need plaster casts again. The physio did say that if he started walking early it would help his feet. He isn't "walking" walking yet, but already the supported walking he is doing is helping soooo much! Yay yay yay!!!! I know the physio is going to be so thrilled for us! I can't believe we have to wait till October to see her again. She left it that long because she thought that's how long it might take him to walk and see improvement in his feet, and here we are in August! Way to go Arthur!! :)
Arthur is sitting soooo much better today than previously too. It seems like all of a sudden he has totally cracked this sitting-from-standing thing. He never topples or falls backwards when he tries to sit from standing now. He just plonks down on his bottom, using very careful movements to get there. His sitting from-and-to crawling has improved greatly in the last week too. Before he would take his time making lots of effort to sit, and sometimes he wouldn't even try it, he'd just flop to his tummy and roll. Now he just power-crawls everywhere, soooo fast and co-ordinated!! He is across the room in seconds, literally, with three or four strong determined little slaps of the hands and knees on the floor! Then, the instant he reaches his destination, he gives a quick shove backwards while already reaching for the thing he had his eye on, and boom, he's sitting bolt upright playing with said object! The moment that gets dull, a quick lean forwards and he's into a full crawl movement before he's even fully off his bottom! It all seemed to come together suddenly, though he had been working on co-ordinating it better for some time.
Today he sat down from standing without holding onto anything. I don't know if he realised that though! ;) He needs to bend his knees more so that he doesn't bang down so hard on his bum, but that'll come, and he doesn't seem to mind the bump. At least he is no longer bumping so hard and uncontrolled that he then falls backwards and hits his head!
I am so excited to watch him learn things. It's just so wonderful to see. I am so proud of him! I love him so much.
No sign of his nearly-there teeth yet. Today's the day I said I might expect to see them, or tomorrow. I can see now that his left top one next to his new top middley will come through just before the right top middley. It's soooo nearly through! He is doing remarkably well today on the teething. No pain relief and no teethy symptoms, except for masses of heavy drooling and thumb/finger/fist/anything chewing.
Today and yesterday he has been soooo into his books. Books have become his favourite thing (besides the washing machine!) lately. I really love this! I so want to encourage him to love books and enjoy reading. I LOVED books as a child and read constantly. Mummy told me that when she took me shopping in town with her, she would have to steer me around sometimes because I walked everywhere with a book open in front of my nose, even in the shops! I was read to a LOT as a child, and I think those are some of my most treasured childhood memories. I don't remember a time when there weren't bedtime stories, special stories when I was unwell, stories just because it was rainy or cold outside and me and Mummy were being cosy inside, stories that Mummy bought me specially for every summer holiday we went on, for me to read there. And so on. Neil, on the other hand, doesn't remember being read to at all, hates books and reading, is ashamed to admit that he can't read very fluently (although he can read perfectly well, just slowly, and his reading out-loud is a bit stuttery), and has only EVER read comic books. He was obsessed with comics as a child. Which there is nothing wrong with. But I soooo don't want that for Arthur. Books are so special, and reading stories so wonderful in childhood. I think Neil missed out, and I don't want our children to do the same. So I'm thrilled that Arthur is already keen on his books!
Today he has a favourite story. It's one of the ones we got from Bookstart at his 8-month hearing test - "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" It's a hardboard book with cut out stars that have gold and silver shiny holographic backgrounds in, to the nursery rhyme. He got up with Neil at 6 this morning (having woken at 5.30) and when I got up a bit later, Neil said he had read every single one of Arthur's books (he has quite a lot now!) to him, one after the other, because that's what Arthur seemed to want him to do! Today I read him some of the books and he kept putting his hand on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, so I read him that one. When I finished the last page and closed the book, he made this annoyed whimpery sound, and then when I put the book down he started to cry!!! So I figured he hurt himself somehow or something, because he NEVER really cries all of a sudden like that unless he hurts himself. I cuddled him and then saw he was reaching for the book, so I picked it up and opened the first page, and he stopped crying right away and touched the star with his pointy finger! So I read the book through again to lots of pointing fingers and happy sounds. As soon as it was closed, he started to cry again! So I had to read it six times in a row before he was happy enough to finish and do something else! Later on he patted it again so we had to read it four times. Then just before Neil got home, I was on the phone to my mummy when I spotted Arthur wrestling with the pages of the book, trying to keep it open, and making very annoyed grunty sounds! So I read it to him twice while on the phone. Mummy didn't mind. While we were on the phone yesterday (we speak every day), I read Arthur "That's not my monster!" and "That's not my puppy!" between chatting to her! At the end of the call she said, "Thank you for the stories - I really enjoyed them!" Hehe! :)
Tomorrow is Arthur's late 8-month check at last. I am looking forward to it! It's at 10am though, so that will definitely clash with his nap. I hope not too badly though. He might have finished napping by 10 if we're lucky. I really want the Health Visitor to weigh and measure Arthur. He seems so much taller and heavier lately. His head comes up EXACTLY to the underside of his highchair tray when he is standing up underneath it (which he WILL keep doing!), so I should measure that distance and then I'll get some idea. But I'll ask her to do it tomorrow anyway.
Oh and I just booked an appt to have our 3rd (of four) photo session done with Olan Mills. The last photo we had done there is in the first entry (or second?) in this diary. It was done at 5 and a half months I think. Definitely time for the next one! We're having them done on Saturday 27th. That should be fun.
Today I had just put Arthur down for his afternoon nap and the doorbell rang. Fortunately he is well and truly out at that part of his sleep, right after he's settled, so he didn't wake. When I answered the door there was a lady promoting some catalogue thingy, and she looked up at me and said, "Are your parents home?" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This happened last year when I was pregnant (but not very pregnant) and I remember thinking how that would be the last time anyone would do that, since I would be sure to age like TEN years in the first year of motherhood, hehe! But nope. So I said, "Um, *I'm* the 29-year-old homeowner!" She flushed and said how sorry she was (over and over), and I said never mind, it was flattering, etc. I can't think why but I signed up for one of the stupid catalogues (why don't I just say NO?!) which thankfully doesn't have any junk mail or commitment to buy attached, and when she was taking my details she said, "It's Miss, right?" hovering with her pen over the name form. So I said, "Um, no. It's Mrs, and there's a baby asleep upstairs!" Ahhh that brightened my day! ;) She was so embarrassed for some reason, though I wasn't bothered by it at all. She said I could only sign up for the catalogue if I was over 18!!!!! Um. Hello? Last year I got asked for ID in the supermarket when I bought wine (it's over 18 here, not 21). I really do not think I look THAT young. But hey ho. I am quite happy about it really. It used to bug me like crazy but I know it is going to stand me in good stead as the years advance! Not that I care much about looking my age. My mummy has always looked really young for her age, and I look very like her.
Anyway.
I can't think what else. It's suddenly so late! I need to go to sleep. Arthur has been tired enough in the early evening to go to bed before 7pm this week. He has often been asleep by 6.30, which is lovely. He does wake early but it doesn't seem to make a difference if he has a later bedtime. I am just glad for him to get the extra sleep of an earlier bedtime. I'm sure he needs it. Yesterday evening he slept 7pm to 11.30 without waking! Yay Arthur! This evening he woke a few times though - once from a gaspy sobby dream, poor Boo, and the other time because he rolled right to the edge of the bed where we have stuff that he can't roll past, and woke up all upset and frustrated trying to roll over!
I love my little boy. He is the cutest Beanaboo. I have so many silly names for him these days. I just use them as they roll off my tongue. Boo-bannoo is the main favourite. Squifflet is another. Or squiffler. He is my little squiffler :) Or my lil squiffly boy :) I am silly. But I love my Arthur so so so so sooooooo much. Really. But you probably gathered that by now :)
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