EV is trying out nursery

and I'm twiddling my thumbs.... nervously!

EV is affraid of balloons

Mostly when they are being blown up and looks as though they are some grotesque, brightly coloured cyst growing out of someones face (kind of understandable). But also when they inexplicably bounce off things, carried by a draft of air, and chase her.

Let's hope she never watched It: "They all float down here!"

EV is staging a sit in

As EV's skills grow, so does her independence. Her recently found ability get herself into a sitting position from any starting point is great news when she's playing. She is more mobile and needs my assistance far less.

However, this new found talent seems less to celebrate when I am trying to put her down for a nap, put her to bed at night or lie her down to change a dirty nappy. Playing in her cot, refusing to sleep until she is too tired to remember how to lie herself back down and struggling against me, rolling over to pull herself up on the side of a (by this stage quite messy) changing mat are just a couple of the ways she has found to assert her free will.

EV is on her feet

EV pulled herself to standing using the furniture for the first time! She has been using my hands to help her pull herself up for a while and she could do it in the bath a few days ago (I guess there's less weight to lift?) The buttons and lights on the CD player were enough to inspire her today - probably as she knew I'd never willingly help her up to reach them!

EV is helping me fit the stair gate

No, not helping, that's not quite what I meant. Erm...

Hindering. That's the word I was looking for: EV is hindering my attempt to fit a stair gate.

I'm sure a stair gate must me much easier to fit if you do not, in fact, have a toddler!


p.s. I will go back and fill in some July blanks sometime soon, I have them all scribbled on bits of paper.

EV is w-a-i-t-i-n-g (patiently)

Determined to prove that we could still do those things we used to do before EV, we went on an impromptu trip down to Bristol with EV, yesterday and today. Traffic was awful travelling down, but EV was so patient in the traffic jams for 5 hours. Stayed in a nice hotel and took EV to the restaurant in the hotel with us (since we couldn't go out anywhere without her). Despite it being almost 9pm when we sat down to eat, EV charmed the waitress and was on good form eating the fruit salad we ordered for her and sharing our bread whilst we ate.

After dinner we retired to our room, and EV retired to her cot in our (thankfully spacious) en-suite! Hey, it's dark, it's adjoining and the door makes the glow and noise from the TV much less distracting for her. Luckily she slept really well, despite my late night creep to use the loo - very quietly.

In fact, EV slept so well, that our plan to get straight up and out when she awoke in order to beat the queue for the Banksy exhibition was foiled. We didn't manage to check out until after 8am and by the time we joined the queue it was already well past the 3hr mark (and the museum wasn't even open yet!).

Never mind. EV was well entertained in the queue, as were we, by watching all the other people, children and babies (there were quite a number - many much tinier than EV, we even saw a couple of queue-locked nappy changes). She managed a brief mid-morning nap and we managed a couple of pick-me-up-and carry-me spells. A street musician playing a weird plastic mouth keyboard thing (looked a bit like a kids toy, any ideas?) provided timely distraction as we bounced and danced along. EV even felt roused to a quick round of applause.

Finally, 3 1/2 hours in, we had our hands stamped to cross into the final section of queue. Just time to give EV her dinner before the food was quickly stashed away and we entered the gallery. Hurrah! And not a tantrum in sight. Just the car journey home again now then...

EV is filthy!

Took EV to one of her friends' 1st birthday parties today. It was a lovely family BBQ, yummy food and a chance for Dads to meet all the mums and babies we all go on about!

The other babies have been crawling for a while now and the novelty has worn off, but EV is still in the can move: must explore stage. In spite of all the toys and other children to entertain her, EV was only interested in shuffling over to investigate between the cracks of the flagstones. This would have been fine, had it not been for the fact that it is obligitary for it to rain at any British Summer BBQ. Which would have been fine, had EV not been wearing a cream embroidered party dress. In spite of my early vigilance, I eventually gave her up to the elements and returned home with EV stripped to her nappy and a very soggy black dress.