April 2009

A week away

Sunday 26th April 2009Sunday 1st January 2017Baggie

As avid readers will have noticed it has been nearly two weeks since my last update, this has been mainly due to the fact that I have been out of the country for the last week but more of that later.

As you will recall, Lucinda’s cousin, Alex and his wife, Sally and daughter, Isobel were over from Australia; they have now returned back to ‘Down Under’. However the night before they returned, there was a big family send off at one of Windsor’s finest Chinese restaurants. It was a good turn out from the family but unfortunately, since I had been working during the day, I arrived late. It seems that Éowyn had been a little agitated before I arrived, however being the daddy’s girl that she is, she soon cheered up when I walked through the door. It is amazing how quickly one learns to eat food, and perform other tasks, with one hand when you have a child in the other, but the beauty of chop-sticks is that is makes it significantly easier. Éowyn was in one of her clingy moods where she didn’t really want to go to anyone but her mommy and daddy however she did have a cheeky smile for the waiters, perhaps she thought that if she smiled they would bring her food. We took Alex, Sally and Isobel for a walk along the Thames and a spot of lunch before they were due to fly back on the night. It was good seeing them and now it is our turn to take Éowyn to visit the relatives in Australia, although I do not think that will be very soon and definitely not as Éowyn’s first flight. We need to see how she behaves first on a much shorter flight; for our sanity as much as the other passengers on the plane.

It was then my turn to travel: to Las Vegas for NAB2009 the annual broadcast convention. It is interesting to note that there are two such shows a year, NAB in Las Vegas and IBC in Amsterdam, not sure what that tells you about the TV industry. Las Vegas is a unique place, I do not particularly like it but neither do I dislike it. The money that has been spent there is phenomenal, if not vulgar but it is a spectacle; it is a Disneyland for adults!

I had feared that Éowyn would forget me or perhaps sulk or be wary of me on my return but there were no such fears, she is still her daddy’s girl. She has grown so much in the past week, it is really noticeable but thankfully I have not missed any major developments, she is not crawling forwards, or walking or talking. She is getting stronger though and is readily in the crawl position as soon as you put her on the ground. Daddy did buy her some presents from his first trip away, which will no doubt feature in photos in the weeks to come, including a couple of pairs of Robeez soft leather shoes, elasticated making them difficult for little fingers to pull off. I don’t think that Éowyn was too bothered by her presents though, more interested by her daddy, and that’s the way I like it, although how much longer does that last?

Love and peace

Baggie!

Alex, Sally and Isobel

Megan pushing Isobel

Ready to go out

I like my food

And I’l eat anywhere

I never did it

Our hotel in Vegas

Caesar’s Palace

Fountain display

Éowyn's first Easter

Monday 13th April 2009Baggie

It seems with each passing day that Éowyn changes, develops or learns some new trick and this week has been no different, but more of that later.

I was working over last weekend, Thursday through to the Sunday but this week has been my short week, working only Wednesday and Thursday. However with Éowyn’s latest regime it means that I don’t actually get to see her on the days that I work. Yes, Éowyn’s sleeping regime is still working. She goes to bed about 1900-1930, takes her dream feed of hungry baby milk at about 2230 and has been sleeping through the night until at least 0600 and sometimes later. There has been a couple of days where she has woken earlier, but on the whole that is the routine. As you can imagine we are delighted, for a disturbed night to be the exception and not the rule, means that we can go to bed relaxed in the knowledge that, in theory, we should get a good night’s sleep.

Good Friday saw a visit from Nanny Fran, Auntie Liz and Auntie Mary. Apart from Nanny Fran’s brief cuddle at work last Wednesday they hadn’t seen Éowyn for over a month, so they saw some big changes in her appearance and demeanor. Obviously she has grown quite a bit, but also she is mobile and far more aware of her surroundings. Her crawling is still in a reverse direction, although she now lifts herself into the classic crawl stance, with legs tucked under her body; but still hasn’t worked out how this translates itself into forward motion.

Unfortunately, and why we still are not too sure, she wasn’t happy sitting on either Nanny Fran’s or her Auntie’s laps. Perhaps her growing yet under-developed cognisance could not reconcile the fact that Nanny Fran and her Aunties were in her house, usually she goes to them; perhaps she just didn’t want to be cuddled, there were more interesting things on the floor to play with. It is possible that it is because she hadn’t seen them for a month but we don’t think that it is because the next day she did the same thing to her Granddad when he and Nanny came to visit and she sees them quite regularly. Then again, perhaps she is just going through one of those phases. Obviously it is something that we will have to keep an eye on because it is a little upsetting to see her crying when she is being held by her grandparents.

Easter weekend has also seen her take a couple of steps forward. She has begun to eat three solid meals a day, and eats whatever we give her with gusto, including her newest meal: Cauliflower Cheese. She eats from her new feeding chair that Nanny Fran bought her for Easter, so she sits a little more upright and you don’t get into quite the same mess as when you have her sitting on your lap. We have also given her some ‘finger food’: a little bit of Easter Chocolate, a little bit of cheese and most importantly, the finger food that no baby around town should ever be with out: a Farleys Rusk. She thoroughly enjoyed sitting, chewing her rusk, taking after her dad who even now would quite readily eat one.

One last trick that she has learnt this weekend, started out of the blue on Friday and was mastered by Saturday is the crawl-to-sitting manoeuvre. She begun to tuck her legs in front of her on Friday and by Saturday morning she was in full sitting stance, as you can see from the photos below and on the Flickr page. She is so precocious that sometimes we have a job to remember that she is only just 6 months old. We are wondering whether this latest manoeuvre is a precursor to bum-shuffling. Stay tuned to find out.

Please enjoy the photos

Love and Peace

Baggie!

Sleeping angel

Me and Dad

Pleased with my new trick

I want my toys

Smash the place up

Get off Mum!

I ain’t done nuffink

My First Rusk

That’s as much rusk as I can eat

Family Time

Monday 6th April 2009Baggie

We have had a week of catching up with friends and family. Friday night was my first night out on the town since Éowyn came along. Getting into bed at 0100 in a morning to be woken up by a crying baby at 0530 is not conducive to assisting in hangover recovery. Quite rightly sympathy was in short supply and you just have to get on with it. I think Éowyn could sense there was something not quite right and therefore was in one of her fiesty moods especially when Daddy was on his own, and I was on my own for most of the morning. An NCT organised ‘Nearly New’ sale had Lucinda sharpening her elbows for the mêlée that ensues at these events, while I took primary care responsibilities. Her foraging proved fruitful as she came back with armfuls of toys for a fraction of the price of their retail value and Éowyn no longer looks like a deprived child.

Saturday afternoon we met up with good friends of mine, Andy and Máire and their daughter Éabha. We haven’t seen Andy and Máire for well over a year and it was the first time that we had met Éabha, who was born a couple of weeks after Éowyn. We met for lunch near Sheen Gate, Richmond Park in a nice pub called the Plough. While the weather continued its display of extremes we took advantage of the catering facilities, but managed to squeeze in a walk in the park between showers. It was good to catch up and reassuring that all new parents go through the same problems and insecurities. We will not leave it as long to meet up, next time. You have read it here and so shall it be.

As avid readers will recall Lucinda’s cousin Alex and his wife Sally and daughter Isabel are currently over from Australia and we were hoping to meet up with them on Saturday night before the big family meeting on Sunday. However due, in part to Éowyn’s fiestiness but also our own exhaustion we shamefully cancelled and took them for a walk around Savill Garden in Virginia Water on the Sunday morning instead. Then it was back to Lucinda’s parents for a big family get together. Éowyn was on her best behaviour which was nice and entertained everyone by blowing raspberries at each in turn. It is nice being part of such a close family and it will be excellent for Éowyn as she grows up.

Wednesday saw a flying visit to West Bromwich (my only day off this week, so we couldn’t stay overnight) to visit our solicitors (nothing bad, just a re-mortgage!) with the added bonus of seeing Nanny Fran. We also popped in to see Éowyn‘s Great-Grandma, as it was her birthday. I don’t think that we could have given her a better birthday present, as although Éowyn was tired and due a feed she kept her Great-Grandma entertained. It is a shame that we don’t life closer so that we could see more of my family, but hopefully they will pop over during the Easter break.

The dream feed of hungry baby milk is doing its job. We have had 5 nights of uninterrupted sleep this week, and Éowyn is waking up in a much better mood too. She also is taking her morning naps easier too, however she still fights sleep if she thinks that there is something interesting going on. At least I and especially Lucinda can feel a little more human again now that our sleep is not being disturbed. We will see how long this lasts before the routine is altered again. Perhaps we should try some of these albums to help her to sleep.

Hope that you all have a good week, or so and plenty of Easter eggs.

Love and Peace

Baggie!