Cousins

It's been a while

Monday 31st August 2009Sunday 1st January 2017Baggie

Apologies to all the regular readers for the lack of update over the last 3 weeks or so. I have been a tad busy. IMG has won a couple of major contracts, namely Studio and live operations for the newly launched ESPN channel in the UK and the Football League show for the BBC. Two prestigious clients but a lot of work to get them on the air and devise systems to integrate them into our current operations. A lot of hard work but something that I really enjoy. However, with my shift opposite on holiday, it has meant that more of the onus has been on me and in order to fully define the technical solution I have been doing long hours and extra days. Hence the lack of time for updates (on this website anyway, myself and a colleague Jay Versluis have created one to impart information to our freelance staff. If you are at all interested you will find it here).

Unfortunately this means that I have not seen that much of Lucinda or Éowyn either, in fact on some days neither of them were awake while I was in the house!

The month started with Éowyn’s nine month check up at the Health Centre. Just a general check up to ensure that she is developing both physically and mentally. The health visitor seemed quite happy with her development, her weight is in the 50th centile and her height in just above the 98th centile. She can do all the things that they would expect a 9-month old should do: grasp small objects, pass them from one hand to the other, clap, crawl, etc. Without appearing to be boastful parents we did not have too much worries regarding her development, she appears to be quite precocious.

The next stage in her development is the fact that she has outgrown her first car seat. After some consideration we opted for the Maxi Cosi Axiss due to the fact that it rotates on its base. It will save our backs lifting her in at an angle, especially as she gets heavier. She was unsure of it at first because it faces forward, she has always travelled backwards, and it is a different experience looking out the windscreen. No doubt she will get used to it rather quickly.

To add to the lack of contact I have had with my wife and child this month, they left me for a week. Not in that sense. Lucinda’s parents took their grandchildren (and Lucinda) on holiday with their friends Mike and Sue (and their grand-daughter). Mike and Sue have a holiday home, made from a 2 converted train carriages, in Selsey, the most southerly point in West Sussex. Éowyn had a fantastic time, as did her cousins. Éowyn is now of an age that she can play with the older children. Obviously she can not do all the things that they can but she can interact with them and they enjoy teaching her things.

Éowyn also played in the sea for the first time. It was not the first time that she had seen the sea. When we stayed in Devon in May we had a day trip to Padstow and introduced her to the sea then, but as she was dressed in one of her posh dresses that day she didn’t get her feet wet. Down at Selsey it was a different matter as the holiday home was just a short walk from the beach. So Lucinda dressed Éowyn in her swimming costume and took her down to the sea. She loved being in the sea, crawling on the sand after the outgoing tide and when she reached the sea, splashing and giggling. She was enjoying herself so much that when Lucinda thought that she should take her in, the tantrums started and she hit Lucinda so hard that it made her nose bleed.

That wasn’t her first tantrum that happened a couple of days before the trip to Selsey. Lucinda was tecting on her mobile phone when Éowyn decided that she wanted it. Obviously, Lucinda didn’t let her have it and waterworks and lungs were turned on full effect. We just looked at her in shock and little disbelief, which in a way was the right thing to do as we did not react to it and it soon stopped. However, I think that it is only the precursor to another stage of development. How we are looking forward to that one… not!

There has probably been a lot more incidences that I should retell but I think after a month of silence the only things that you are interested in are the new photos. So who am I to carry on…

Peace and love

Baggie!

The sea’s brilliant

This is so fun!

Me and my girls!

Bagnall generations

Me and nanny!

The cousins!

Cheeky!

Look! I’m walking

mwah!

I’ve got the drink, you get the food!

What does the label say?

A flower for mommy!

Stand Up!

Monday 8th June 2009Friday 11th May 2012Baggie

It has been quite a busy and emotional week and a bit since the last update. The week started quite brightly with fine weather as befits the start of June. Éowyn took full advantage of this in her new paddling pool. Each morning we took her into the garden to have a splash, which is a very easy way to give her (and us) a wash! She thoroughly enjoys being in the water and it is something that we want to encourage.

Our friends Neil, Emma and Kerry met us in Chertsey for a walk along the Thames on Thursday. As with all good walks a meal at a pub was in order and we incorporated this tradition with Thames Court being the goal for the half-way stage of the stroll. We were also introduced to the hobby of geocaching by the guys. It adds an added interest to a walk and it is quite nice to be part of a secret club where muggles walk by geocaches unaware of the hidden treasures lurking in the undergrowth.

The weekend started with an invite to the evening-do of the wedding of friends of ours Stuart and Sharon Hellyer. This was Éowyn’s first wedding and she did very well considering she was in a new place, with new people and long past her bedtime. However by 10pm she was getting really grumpy and we had to say goodbye while the night was still young. We wish Stuart and Sharon all the best for their future lives together.

Monday we took full advantage of the fine weather and headed to Windsor to meet up with Lee and Caroline and their daughter Georgia. Caroline and Lucinda meet up quite regularly so the girls know each other, as well as 7 ½ month olds can. They don’t really play with each other (as yet) and Éowyn took full advantage of her advanced manoeuvrability and went in for Georgia’s dummy while she unsuspectedly sat in the sun. I suppose she has a long memory from the time that Georgia punched her in the face while they lay on our lounge floor.

Nan and Granddad took us to the Harvester in Windsor Tuesday evening where Éowyn was on her best behaviour once again, until she swallowed a large chunk of the bun that she was chewing and began to choke. Fortunately the first aid training kicked in and a swift slap to the back dislodged the offending lump but unfortunately brought up a quantity of vomit too. Not the nicest thing to happen in the middle of dinner. Éowyn was nonplussed by it all and was none the worse for her incident. This was the second time in a week that she had bitten a large chunk of food (the first was a baby ricecake last Thursday) and choked, fortunately I have been on hand both times and have not panicked but it is quite upsetting and Lucinda finds it especially so. We are being extremely careful now with the kind of foodstuffs that she is being given.

As you may recall from the last entry Éowyn’s Great-Great Auntie Iris passed away and Thursday was her funeral. So although it was nice to see the family and Éowyn got to see her Nanny Fran, it was a shame that it was under such circumstances. We were a little concerned taking Éowyn to the funeral service as she is a little young to persuade her to behave but we had needn’t fretted. She slept through the service at the crematorium, which was a little embarrassing since she takes after her dad and snores. So when the minister asked all to take a minute to reflect on Auntie Iris and pray silently, all that could be heard was the dulcet tones of Éowyn‘s snoring. I think that Auntie Iris would have found it amusing as a number of people suppressed their sniggering.

She was a good tonic for the people there and a nice distraction. During the memorial service she was as good as gold, except for continually tapping her Auntie Liz on the back causing her to turn around. Then at the wake, she crawled around the hall, trying to escape from her daddy and hoping for people to drop crumbs off their plates. She also begun to say the two words that we have longed to hear: ‘Momomomomomom’ and ‘Dadadadadadadadadadad’. Well not quite the words but definitely the sounds. She also got to meet some of the relatives that she hadn’t as yet had the opportunity to meet, including her first cousin once removed Mark and her first cousin twice removed, my first cousin once removed Ray and his wife Pat (that is if I have followed this table correctly). She also received a couple of presents a nursery rhyme book from her Great Uncle Michael and Great Auntie Yvonne and a hand-knitted doll from her first cousin twice removed Pat. She is a very lucky little girl to have such generous relatives. Thank you!

We stayed the night at Nanny Fran’s so that they could have an extended play time, which I am not sure who enjoyed the most. We also visited her Great-Grandma and for the first time took her to place some flowers on my dad’s grave, her Granddad Vic, for what would have been his 63rd birthday; not that it means anything to her at the moment but more for Lucinda and me.

To complete the triumvirate our next door neighbours, Cliff and Vicky had a baby boy in the early hours of Thursday morning. Congratulations to them and welcome to the world little one.

In this hectic week of births, deaths and marriages Éowyn has also begun to pull herself up on furniture. The first time was just before the last update on the 27th May and then nothing for a couple of days, but now she is constantly pulling herself upon and standing for quite a while. She has taken a tentative step or two but it has, so far, always thrown her off balance but nappies are great shock absorbers for little bottoms. I don’t think it will be too long before she is walking. We are not ready! Keep an eye on this space.

Peace and Love

Baggie!

In my paddling pool

Splash!

Naughty children

Georgia

I’ll have that!

Too much fun!

With my nanny!

On granddad’s lap!

Do I look intelligent?

I can hear the sea!

Can I have one?

Cheeky!

Happy New Year!

Wednesday 7th January 2009Friday 11th May 2012Baggie

OK, a little belated but as you can see, I have been working on the website. It was getting a little cumbersome so I have tried to streamline it a little, and I will probably be tinkering with it over the next couple of weeks, until I am happy. There are also some new photos on our Flickr site, so feel free to have a little look there too.

So how was Éowyn’s first Christmas? As you can appreciate she was only 10 weeks old and so had no understanding of what was going on. As long she gets fed, is entertained and has her nappy changed she is happy. However, we have kept all her Christmas cards so that when she can appreciate them she can read all the messages that you have all sent. Again we have to say a big thank you to all of you that sent cards and pressies, she is one lucky lady.

We were invited around our friends, Danny and Andrea’s for a Christmas Eve party, which was great to catch up with our friends, as since Éowyn has been born we have not met up with them as often as we used to. In fact I have not, as yet, arranged a night out with the lads to wet Éowyn’s head, apologies all around, I will pull my finger out I promise.

Christmas Day was spent around Lucinda’s parents along with Lucinda’s immediate family, so John and Jenny had all their descendants, quite a houseful, but really enjoyable and relaxing, as Lucinda’s parents looked after us all very well. Éowyn was very well behaved, waking only for some food and a cuddle from Nan and Granddad (see photos below) after we had all eaten to bursting point.

Working in sports related TV means that Boxing day is not a day off, in fact it is one of our busiest days and so my Christmas holiday was over before it started. However, it means that I don’t suffer from the back to work blues that is possibly affecting many of you this week, and at least I am back at work which is more than can be said for a great deal of people in these economic climes.

We paid a visit to Nanny Fran on the Monday and Tuesday after Christmas. Mom was supposed to have been at work on those days but on Christmas Eve she had passed out in the kitchen, cutting her forehead quite badly and knocking herself out. She was taken to hospital and after a barrage of tests was released that evening with 5 days worth of antibiotics. She spent most of the Christmas period convalescing being looked after by my sisters. I think Éowyn’s visit cheered her up, but it was evident that mom was ill as she was not putting up a fight when we waited on her, not like her.

New Year’s Eve was a quiet affair, again I was working on the 31st and then the 1st so even if we had wanted to we could not have had a heavy day. So we stayed up drinking champagne and went to sleep just after midnight, my how things have changed!

Over the last fortnight Éowyn has started not only to roll on to her side, but straight over on to her belly. Unfortunately, she then gets a little frustrated. She understands the mechanism behind crawling, but has neither the strength or the technique to actually move. Which we are thankful for but I don’t think that it will be too long. She also enjoys pulling herself up to a sitting position. (In truth you are doing most of the work, but she is definitely helping). However, the biggest step she has made in the last week, was made last weekend. She has started to sleep in her own room at night. She has slept through the night for quite a number of weeks now and as she is rapidly outgrowing her moses basket, we thought it was time that she got used to her own room. For the time being we put her to sleep in her moses basket in the cot, but as you can see from some of the photos below, we are trying to acclimatise her to the cot as that stage will soon be here.

The health visitor is very happy with Éowyn’s progress, she is following the weight gain curve very accurately now tipping the scales at 12lb 15oz (5.86kgs). We have just got to book her next set of immunisations in the next couple of weeks. Poor girl.

We would just like to thank everyone for their love and support of the last year and would like to wish you all the very best for 2009 and we look forward to sharing the adventure with you all.

Peace and love

Baggie, Lucinda and Éowyn xxx