I know I've said this before, but the past month has been an incredible developmental stage for me ('mental' being the significant part of that word!). In looks and abilities, I have changed so much, so quickly, Mum and Dad can't quite believe it. Probably most significantly, my hair has grown and people are not calling me a boy as much any more. Lucky, as Mum had started to get a complex and began dressing me in pink! Thank goodness that didn't last!

OK, so I am not quite crawling, but I am certainly giving it a good shot. I still get quite frustrated on my tummy, especially when Dad is using the iPhone as bait (boy I love that iPhone!), but I can pivot around and sometimes even drag myself forwards.

What I can also do, is say "dad!". Dad is very pleased. Sometimes it sounds like "dead!" but perhaps I am channeling a NZ ancestor. Mostly my soliloquies go something like this: "Dad! Dadadadadad (raspberry), bubububub, dead! dead! Dad!, aaababababaaaaa, yyaaaaaaaay (squeal!!!!!!)" I am very eloquent. I also like to sing along with Mum when she sings songs to me. I bounce up and down and hum along to the music. Sometimes I even play my piano. Perhaps I am channeling Mozart?

I get to play music and sing when I go to Babies Into Books (BIBs) at the local library with my friends. Ellie comes too, as do most of my friends from mother's group. We have so much fun! Although people often come up to me a steal my bells when I am ringing them. I am being bullied because I can't crawl, but mark my words, there will be vengence. Just give me a few weeks!!

Happy days... and nights!!

Hello friends and family,

Hope you are all doing well. We are all fantastic here! I have discovered something called sleep! Mum says not to get too excited - things do change - but I think secretly she is celebrating the fact that I am sleeping from 7pm until 7am every night. It has been lovely for everyone. I am still managing about 3-4 hours of naps during the day too, so Mum is enjoying some time to do things other than hang out with me. I don't know why she would want that, personally, but hey, each to their own.

I have nothing else too exciting to tell you right now. Life is just a happy blur of swimming, eating, going to the beach and playing with Mum and Dad. Oh, and saying 'bababa'. That's my activity du jour. So instead of writing you a long blog, I thought I'd add a long video of me... just being me. If it doesn't play below, click this link to watch it on You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8l419ApZbk

(Yes, I know, I am only 8 months old, but I am very tech savvy!)

Lots of love,
Milly
xxx

PS: If you are wondering about the picture above, yes, it was that cold in Sydney a couple of weekends ago. We've had the full spectrum of weather this summer!

Water Baby!

With up to 40 degree temperatures here in Sydney, there really has been nothing worth doing except getting in the water. I have been loving it!! Mum first took me in the pool at my friend from mother's group Charlie's house. Mum wasn't sure if I would like it, but what's not to like? It was like a giant bath, plus all my friends were there. Fantastic! Since then, we have been to the pools at Colloroy and Dee Why nearly every day.

Of course, not all my water experiences have been fun. I was having a wash in the laundry sink a few nights ago (saves Mum and Dad's backs!) when I slipped under the water. Daddy grabbed my arm but it slipped and I was under for about two seconds. Mum said it felt like a lifetime, which seems a little dramatic to me. Anyway, Dad pulled me right out of the water and tipped me upside down while Mum whacked my back. I don't know what they thought they were doing!! I was fine! Cold and dizzy from being upside down of course, but otherwise fine. I got back in the sink, gave them both a reassuring smile and got back to the business of sucking on the flannel. My parents can be very strange sometimes. The next night when I got in the sink there was a rubber mat under my bum. A bit uncomfortable, but hey, as long as there is a flannel to suck on, I don't mind what I have to endure.

To calm nerves and build confidence (Mum and Dad's, not mine!), we started swimming lessons today at the Brooke Withers Swim School. There were lots of kids in the pool, most of them with their daddies. Mum thinks it's nice that it's a 'Dad' thing to do, and I think so too. Our instructor, Rosemary, was very nice and liked to have a cuddle, but she also liked to push me and my new friends under the water! It was a bit bewildering, but I didn't mind it too much. Dad was a bit scared and tried to only pretend to put me under when he thought Rosemary wasn't looking, but she saw him and made him do it properly. He is such a scaredy-cat, but Rosemary and I made him feel brave and we did it a few times. Mum just sat on the side of the pool, taking 106 photos when she wasn't covering her eyes during the scary bits.

I am off for lunch and a nap now. I am exhausted!! All this swimming really takes it out of you.

Happy New Year!!!

Well, there is really no excuse for not writing for so long, except that I have been particularly busy, what with growing and developing this past month. But with a new year upon us, I resolve to blog regularly! I have lots of pictures and videos to share with you, so I hope that makes up for my negligence.

(See? Look how cute I am in this picture. Doesn't that just make you want to forgive me immediately?)

A while ago now, I made the amazing discovery that I can control things! If I kicked my legs in my bassinet (my old bed - I'm in the big cot in my own room now!), I could make my mobile move. If I swipe at my turtle toy hard enough, it sings a song. And if I cough like I am choking, Mum and Dad will pay attention to me. I can forsee lots of fun with that! I am now able to grab things nearby and pull them towards me (like Dad's teacup) and pass objects from one hand to another. Life is becoming so much more interesting!

I have been having lots of fun with Mum and Dad lately. We like to tickle each other and slobber on each others faces. OK, well, they tickle me, and I do the slobbering, but it's all good fun. We lie on the floor and laugh and joke around. I love it! We also do some serious stuff, like rolling. I am very good at rolling from my front to my back. I can get from my back to my front, but somehow manage to get my arm trapped every time. Very frustrating!

Recently, I have learned to sit up on my own. Mum and Dad have to stay close to me, because sometimes I am still a bit unsteady but I am getting pretty good at it. Lucky, too, as Mum bought me a highchair, which is much more comfortable if I am able to sit up! When I am in the highchair, Mum and Dad, and even Grandma, have been giving me some weird stuff which goes in my mouth. They said it's called 'food'. I am not sure what to do with it, but it is not unpleasant. In fact, I quite like it. Mainly I just move it around my mouth and stick my fingers in it. It's messy but fun!

Last week, we went on a plane again, this time to see Aunty Jodie and Uncle Sam in Brisbane. They had a great surprise for me: a cousin!!! She is called Josie and she is much littler than me, but apparently we are the same age and everyone seems very happy about that. I thought she was beautiful, but she didn't do much. She seemed to just sleep all the time. I think maybe she was tired from working a lot, because I heard her mummy say something about long labour. Anyway, I think we will be the best of friends soon.


While we were in Brisbane, we stayed in an apartment with Grandma and Grandad all week. It was great to go for walks with them every morning. One day, we also went to see Mum's aunty and uncle, Chris and Dave. Everyone kept saying 'merry Christmas', and wearing silly hats, I think to keep me entertained. The best thing was I was given lots of pretty paper to grab, tear and chew. It was a fun day.



Hope you are all well. Mum and Dad and I wish you a happy 2009. Keep checking the blog - I promise there will be more regular updates from now on.

Love,
Milly. xxx

Let's talk about me.

OK, I know it seems like we're always talking about me, but usually it’s about what I've been doing, rather than how I am. I have changed so much already in the past four months (that's right, I'll be four months old in a few days!) and Mum says I still change every day.

So, at four months, I can:
- hold my head up steadily. I have been promoted to the 'big kid' stroller now, which is cool because I can see much more of the world.
- recognise Mum and Dad's faces. I am always very happy to see them, especially first thing in the morning when we all wake up.
- blow raspberries. We all blow them at each other as a form of communication. When I wake up in the night, instead of crying, I blow raspberries to wake Mum up. And all through 'Mums and Bubs' yoga last week, I used this sophisticated technique to get Mum out of downward dog and back to paying attention to me!
- chuckle at my parents' funny antics (see my video in last post).
- grab things: toys hanging on my playmat, teething rings (yes, teething rings! My gums seem to bug me, but more on that later), rattles, Mum's necklace, Dad's chest hair… When I grab my hanging toys I shake them and try to grab them with my feet as well.
- sleep for up to 5-6 hours at a time at night. I have been waking twice between 7.30pm and 6am, which Mum says is just fine, but last night I only woke once, at 2am, which she says is even better.

I am still exclusively breastfed and will be for at least two more months. I think I might decide to eat new food around December but until then Mum and I are happy with the way things are. I have been feeding often during the day – around every three hours - but this means that I sleep better at night, so all for the greater good.

I am not sure what I weigh exactly, but Dad weighed me on the home scales and it said I was just over 6kg. Some of my friends in Mothers' Group weigh up to 500gm-1kg more than me, so I must be around average. I am going to the doctors again next week (not sure what for, but it can't possibly be as terrifying as last time... or can it?) so I will be weighed then.

I am generally a content baby, happy to go wherever Mum takes me each day. I love going out for walks and get excited when I am put in the pram. We go for two walks every day: one morning walk in the pram to the beach, then another in the evening in the front pack as a bit of a wind down. Before I go to bed each night, we follow a little routine: walk, then nappy change, wrap, lights and noise down, and 'Calm Baby' music playing. Mum then feeds me to sleep and I usually pass right out. I do reserve my right to wake again and ask for another little cuddle, or a bit more food if I fell asleep too soon, but I try not to make too much fuss.

Lately I have started putting everything I can in my mouth. At first it was just to satisfy an overwhelming urge to suck, but now I have started needing to gnaw on everything too. I am salivating like Homer Simpson in a doughnut factory! I think I'm still a bit too little for teeth, and Mum says that my gums aren't swollen, but things can start moving around in there around two months before the teeth actually show, so it is possible that is what's happening. It is a pain in the ...well, mouth, I suppose, but it's amazing to think I will have teeth soon!



In my spare time, I enjoy hanging out with friends, watching the wind blow leaves on the tree outside, singing along with Baby Einstein and cuddling my favourite toy, the Whosit. I also like hanging out on my tummy. It's great fun! I'm not rolling yet, but I have been practising by putting my legs in the air and tipping on my side. Won't be long!

Lots of love,

Milly.

xx

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