wow ... am i back?

after much encouragement to scribble and much life that has happened, it is finally finally time for a post. a gap of 3 months is unacceptable without a really good excuse, so let me invent one for you ... hmm ... errr ... yep, yep ... here it comes ... oooh ... ah ... oops ... there it went again. oh come on, you'd have thought with a brain the size of mine (and yes it really is immense), i could at least invent a good excuse for lethargy.

well anyway, every good blog has a hole in it somewhere, right? it shows that there is life beyond the virtuality of cyberspace, and sometimes it's important for people to neglect the mouse and screen in favour of living it up in the great outdoor reality.

so here i am. actually i'm keeping dad company, cos he drank too much coffee this evening. it was good coffee - beans sourced by starbucks from columbia, ground in a starbucks grinder and "espressed" in a very nice little italian stove top espresso maker (sort of like this) bought for dad by uncle will in tuscany. timbo and lissa were round for really pleasant evening of chat, good food, mutual appreciation of the new series of west wing. so dad couldn't resist a second cup .. silly boy.

in training

so yesterday we got back from a couple of days at Camp Stillwood. i got to sleep in my travel cot which wasn't so bad, since mom remembered to bring my sleeping bag, night light, monitor and Hey Hey as well as my stroller, several changes of clothes and lots of wipes, diapers and of course my pyjamas. there was even space in the car for dad which was just as well because he had lots of meetings to go to.

these sectional pastors of the BC and Yukon district of the PAOC were truly an inspiration: breakfast (cooked, of course, with cereal, bagels, fresh fruit and yoghurt to follow) at 8.30am, a mid-morning snack at 10.30am, lunch at 12 ( anyone for roast beef and yorkshire pudding?) with dessert, afternon tea at 3.15pm, dinner (3 courses) at 5pm, and then cinnamon rolls and cookies later in the evening because 5pm is a bit early to be eating really.

personally i can still only manage eating every three hours, but maybe when i'm a bit older i'll be able to eat enough to be a PAOC pastor

made to walk ..

.. so obviously i'm not walking yet, although in talking with a bunch of my friends on thursday, it appears many of them are rolling over. i tend to roll off things - pillow, dad, and maybe the sofa if someone left me to my own devices for a while. however generally rolling over is not possible - arms get in the way and stuff. also i'm heavier than you're average bear, so it's quite an effort.

standing: OK when supported by exersaucer, sitting: OK when mom holds my arms, crawling: no idea. enjoying been "thrown around" by dad a bit, sometimes i chuckle which is loads of fun. i'm actually pretty strong.

but of course my speciality is drooling and dribbling. do they make funky skater bibs? my fashionable clothing is rather lost under ASDA's own plain ones. here's a photo to make you smile .. maybe a caption competition again? the last pic was a difficult one to caption, although you all did really well. dad couldn't think of a single one last time. pah.

what a hero!

so it's 2.30am and mom's got a migraine and is half paralyzed. hero number one is dad - he found the drugs :) and held a cold wet cloth on mom's head whilst hero number two - Joel - managed to latch on and feed himself in the pitch dark in a somewhat unusual position. hero number three is mom who managed not to be sick on Joel's head in the process!

February 29th

so today should have been my four month birthday. did i get a cake and candles? no. did we have a party? no. and why not? because february only has 28 days. that's not fair. why can't january and march both have 30 days and give february the extra two? that way i could have had my birthday cake and a party, instead of which mom took me to IKEA and the doctor.

the doctor started off OK. she said "wow, those six months have gone quickly". mom gently corrected her that actually i was only four months old, or at least i would have been if it wasn't for the february thing. she didn't have to explain the whole missing the party thing to the doctor though, so maybe it's just one of the unfair things in life that grownups have come to accept?

we did the weigh-in: i'm 8kg (17lbs 12) and 27 inches tall (69cm). that would explain why some of my clothes are supposed to be for a one year old. my head is now a massive 48.5cm around, catching up with dad fast who's 58cm.

i was kind of wondering why dad had come to the doctor too. it turns out mom didn't want to have to hold me down this time while i had my vaccinations. wise woman, my mom.

fridge poetry

dad got disproportionately excited as he finally unloaded all the fridge poetry into it's proper destination this afternoon. a worthy activity to accompany a nice cup of tea. being a canadian fridge, the blank canvas is truly magnificent.

anyhow, thought i should have a go at my first fridge poem ... enjoy

"drunk on milk, enormous smelly pants
playful moment, purple scream
I lie gorgeous, love-ing you mad"

JAS Feb 2005

toys

There are some definite advantages to being born Canadian. For example, mom and dad had to learn french at school in order to be understood (or not!) when they left the little island they were born on. Being Canadian, i was born bilingual. This week mom and i went to the library, and i choose 'Bebe Mozart' as my video of the week. This is Baby Einstein in french - guaranteed to blow my mind, or was that grown my brain?

i have plenty of other educational toys, mostly made by Lamaze: a cube with handles that i'm getting really good at passing from hand to hand, a twisted knot i can tug and chew, and an octopus that is actually a bit scary. my favorite toy though is a family size packet of chips (crisps - granny). preferably Lays ready salted: bright red, crinkly without sharp corners, and the Klippit mom uses to keep my fingers out is excellent for chewing on. who needs these fancy educational toys anyway?

obeying my father

Life's been pretty busy recently. The builders have come back to finish my playroom - i hope mom lets me make as much noise and mess in there as they are, we've been to see a financial advisor, done some shopping and had at least half a dozen of my friends round every Thursday afternoon for a few weeks now. All in all, i've been so tired i decided to make the ultimate sacrifice. For a few nights i decided to skip my midnight feast. It was a tough choice to make, only eating once between midnight and 6am, but i managed it for a while. The only real problem is mom and dad. They were SO pleased with me and SO happy when i did finally wake up that i've realised i was depriving them not only of my company in the night but also of giving mom the opportunity to feed me and dad the opportunity to change my diaper.

Regretfully then i've decided to put their needs before my own, and have reverted to my three times a night habit. anything to make mom happy, that's what dad told me to do.