My first haircut

Josh:  Mommy and daddy decided my hair was getting a little too long and decided, after realising the hairdresser was going to charge us a bomb, to have a go at cutting it themselves.  Mommy quickly handed the task on to daddy who is great with doing practical things!  So here is how it went...

Me all cheery after my bath in my smart pj's and funky slippers.

Now not so cheery any more after mommy put the art apron on me and daddy started the weird business with my hair.  Not cool.

 A little cheerier after realising daddy seems to know what he is doing (hoping that quick hairdressing lesson online a few minutes ago is working)... mommy, give me that camera!

 Still not sure... but daddy is snipping away.

Posh? Or pouting?

How much longer is this going to take?  Daddy looking like a pro.

 Ah finally.  All done and now I can go to bed.  What do you think?

Just like daddy?

Josh:  I already love banging on the piano like mommy (yes, mommy bangs the piano) so now I have decided to branch out my skills and try for another instrument... so I can be like daddy too!  Of course you can see I am a natural.  Britain's Got Talent here I come!!

 

We have a climber.

Josh:  I've picked up a new hobby.  Daddy thinks it is very cool.  Mommy, well, not so much.  Generally crawling just gets me places (I am pretty speedy now so I can get there fast though).  What I really like to do is climb.  The first place I shoot off to is the bathroom, where I like to hang over the bath and reach for knock my toys into the bath which makes a nice big noise.  Not quite able to swing my leg up yet and I am working on turning on the taps.... Sometimes I eat soap.  Yum. 

I like to try climbing up the drawers, but they're a bit wobbly.  The oven door doesn't let me hang on it either... And neither does the washing line.  But I do give it a good shake and help mommy take the washing off, especially when it is still wet. 

I like to climb up over mommy and daddy onto the couch and reach for the door handle which swings nicely.  Fortunately for me, they haven't baby-proofed the flat too well, as hard as they have tried, but they do follow me around everywhere (especially mommy).

I am super speedy up stairs!  Amazing really!  We don't have any in our flat.  Well, besides a whole lot out the front door.  But I had a good go at them at the B&B the other day.  Mommy could hardly keep up!  Daddy was very proud of me.

But my latest trick is climbing onto the chair in my room.  I got mommy to take a video of me in action, but I was a little slower than normal last night - a lot of effort was involved.  It was just after my rather large dinner hmmm.  

So there you go....  I am finally off to sleep and now right through the night too.  By now you may be understanding why!

A man on a mission

Josh: So I have this new plan, right.  If I want to go somewhere, I just have to wriggle along sneakily on my tummy and perhaps mommy and daddy won't notice me.  If they do though, not a problem, cos I'll just try again.  I'll get there eventually mwah ha ha.  I thought I was being original in my style but other babies have told me they do this too.  Seems a pretty good plan to me.

On daddy's shoulders

Cath: Josh's new favourite activity - adventures on daddy's shoulders.  In particular he shrieks with excitement when daddy runs down the stairs!

Bathtimes are fun - Part 2

Cath: Thought you might like to see Josh in his bath now (compare to post in October)!  He is sitting up all on his own now, and yes, bathtimes are still fun.  He likes splashing and playing with Mr Quack and Derek the ducks.  Oo and funky hairstyles.

My new wellies

Josh:  A friend gave me my first pair of wellies, so now I am all prepared for rain.  Just in time for Spring.  Well I have some growing to do, so probably a good thing that it is currently all sunny outside!  I'm modelling them for you in my cool superhero suit:

Ah the joys of solids.

Cath:  Josh is just getting smarter.  These days we often end up having a friendly tug of war at mealtimes when Josh keeps grabbing the spoon (yet at the same time this is good that he wants to grab the spoon)... And to the point that I just have to laugh and accept that there will be no escape from messy mealtimes!  There seems to be no getting away from food smeared all over my hands, up my arms, sprayed on my face and on my clothes, food on the walls, floor, chair, table, Bumbo and as for Josh, well, Josh in a nice shade of butternut orange or beetroot pink is the general end product.... There is no doubt about it though - he looks so cute covered in all that goo I can't help but smile!

So far he has had baby rice, potato, sweet potato, butternut, baby marrow, lentils, carrot, parsnip, peas, beetroot, pear, apple, peach, banana (though not a lot much to Dave's relief), yoghurt, cream cheese, chicken, chopped tomatoes with onion, and even small pieces of avo, melon, strawberries, toast and one whole piece of tuna pasta.  Oh and Rooibos tea.  He especially loves pureed pear.  Mmm.

Here is Josh disguised in shades of butternut (note the soggy pieces of carrot in the bib's pouch - a back-fired attempt at finger food):

Yummm Cornflakes box. The video.

Josh:  I went exploring via back-wiggle today and look what I found!  Daddy's Cornflakes box!  Tastes pretty good I think.

Hello solids.

Cath:  Exciting times!  Josh has been having a go at solids for about a week now.  He isn't quite big enough for a highchair yet so we decided to get him a Bumbo.  They're quite pricey so we were blessed to find one on Gumtree, second hand but half the price.  An interesting lilac colour hmm... But suitable for potential future female sibling(s) too :)  He looks so cute with his little feet sticking out and his hands resting on the arms, like he own little armchair!  Love it.  He seems pretty happy in there.  He has been sitting in it on the counter in the kitchen while I do the washing up, enjoying handling the kitchen utensils.  Especially liking spatulas.

So we started with some baby rice.  It is really just like thick formula, so not very exciting.  He is sometimes more interested in the blue plastic bowl and the spoon which he keeps trying to hold, meaning it goes everywhere.  Yes, everywhere.  But some of it does seem to get down and he eats it quite happily.  We think he is becoming more vocal - he certainly lets us know when he has had enough!!

Then we stocked on some more interesting veg and we got going with making some exciting purees with helpful ideas from the Baby Sense food book (thanks Granzy!).  Sweet potatoes, baby marrows and butternut is recipe 1, then carrots, parsnips and butternut is recipe 2.  They're yum!  Packed them into ice cube trays, then into zip lock bags - a fortnight of meals?  He seems to really like the veg - chows it down.  And attempts at the blue bowl too.

So with about 4 milk feeds, 1 baby rice and 2 veg meals, we really are feeding him all day!  He is getting 2 or 3 naps in there, plus play time in between - his toys are very interesting now (taste good too) and just about anything else he can get his hands on!  Bath is around 7:30 and he asleep usually before 8:30.  He is sleeping well most of the time - since starting solids last week he has had another 11 hour stretch at night (haven't had that in a while), but then also a 2am, 3am and 6am waking one night too hmm....  In summary we are loving him to bits, our bright, energetic, smiley, giggly and oh-so-cute little man!

 

Joshy language, yummy hands and giggles... Live!

Cath: We caught Josh on film full of pre-bath excitement last night!  Enjoy....

I was born last year

Josh:  So I can now say I was born last year!  Happy happy Christmas and New Year to you all.  Well it has been a while since I last wrote, but I have been so busy spending time with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Ruth in Cornwall, and then with Granzy in Bathgate.... What fun we have had.  Daddy and mommy really appreciated having their family around to help play with me, and they even got to hang out together, including a Michelin-starred dinner - Christmas treat from daddy! - and snowboarding!  I got sooo many lovely gifts too.  Thank you to all my very generous family and friends! 

So there is quite a lot to tell you about the things I have learnt and been doing over the last month or so.  Here are some of them...

- Right now I am busy babbling away in my cot.  I talk Joshy-language.  It is quite advanced and consists of many differents expressions and noises.  I don't really like sleeping during the day.  There is just so much going on!  I don't want to miss anything!  But if I don't sleep I get a little grumpy at night time, so mommy puts me in my cot and I lie there talking to myself and watching my mobile.  I usually do go to sleep eventually, even if it sounds like I don't want to.  Talking about not wanting to miss anything, I've been promoted to big-boy position in the pushchair - sitting up more and facing forwards so I can see what's going on.  I also like to face outwards in the sling now, mostly so I can see what mommy is cooking for dinner.  Very important stuff.

- I get to have baths every night now.  Bath times really are fun.  Usually I have had a yummy milk bottle, then I bounce around in my bouncer for a while, which warms me up for kicking and splashing in the bath!  Kick kick kick.  I like kicking.  They also make me feel nice and relaxed for sleep time.  I also like having my nappy changed.  It's a sure way to get me giggling!  Good thing that happens a lot.  I am working on my backstroke in the bath.  Since I like the water so much now, mommy is going to take me to swimming lessons soon.  We can go to some at our local swimming pool.

- I can now push up for a while on my tummy.  It's kind of frustrating though.  My legs wave around behind me.  I have figured out how to roll over onto my back, so if I have had enough of being on my tummy, that is handy!  I'm hoping to get a Bumbo which will help me sit up, and also will help when I start my first solids - baby rice and a special veg mix...  next week??  I can't sit on my own yet, but can with the help of some pillows.

- I have discovered my hands!  Yum yum.  They always taste so nice and I have them in my mouth most of the time.  I am also starting to like the taste of other things, like blankie, Tigger and my cloth books.  They feel nice too.  I like to pull Tigger's tail and give him hugs and eat his nose.

- I learnt how to blow raspberries!  Not sure who taught me that hmmm...?  Blowing bubbles, making funny noises and everything wet!  Well it was so much fun I decided to do it continuously for about 3 days.  I haven't done it in a while though.  Since discovering my hands which are keeping me well entertained these days.

Well I am off to play.  Will leave you with a shot of me in my bear suit, demonstrating my "concerned" look.  Big hugs.