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Thursday 30 April 2009
You really couldn't make it up
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Wednesday 29 April 2009
You can't leave him hanging
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I’ve been teaching Jamie how to do high fives in recent days and he’s coming on well, even progressing to the stage of doing high tens in a cafĂ© on Sunday afternoon.
However, four o’clock in the morning is not the optimum time to show off your new trick. Or so you might think.
Once again last night, he was up at around 2am, shouting the place down. Vanessa dealt with him and he was back down again about half an hour later.
However, as in previous nights for as long as I can now remember, he began to shout for a second time at 4am. Both Vanessa and I went in, administered teething granules, Bonjela (the baby one which hasn’t been banned) and Calpol before I gave him some water and attempted to put him back in his cot. But he wasn’t having that.
So I held him for a few more minutes hoping that he would drift back off. He began to smile manically at me. I tried to ignore him. He began to gurgle. I ignored him. He stuck his arm in the air, looking for me to lay some skin on him. Man.
I explained that I would give him one high five and no more. He smiled. I gave him a high five. He stuck his arm back in the air. I gave him two more and drew the line. I then tried to put him down. However, rather than immediately shriek and wriggle as has been the norm, he lay there motionless for a few seconds. Brilliant. For the first time in ages, I thought I was winning and sat down on the floor next to his cot ready to watch him go to sleep.
But as soon as I was comfortable, he began to move. He rolled a bit, grabbed hold of the side of the cot, pulled a bit, grunted a lot, pulled a bit more. And slowly but very determinedly, he began to rise – still in his sleeping bag. A few seconds later, he was standing.
As I wrote a couple of days ago, he has been doing this in his cot for a little while but I’d only previously seen him once he was on his feet – not actually going through the process of getting there. But here’s the thing.
Just as he reached his full height, his left arm came up, his hand opened and he smiled at me triumphantly, demanding a high five for his remarkable achievement.
A more responsible father might, at this point, have put him straight back down and told him to go to sleep. But, come on – what a trick. And what a cheeky finale. I loved it, couldn’t help but laugh and quickly surrendered – giving him a huge high five.
Two minutes later, he was out of his sleeping bag and in the spare bed with me. Five minutes after that, he was fast asleep until a little before 7am.
I might have caused even greater problems for Vanessa and myself tonight but, when all is said and done, you don’t leave your little boy hanging.
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Preparing to greet Fluffy and Dwarfy
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Louise (captured above) went to university with Vanessa in Newcastle and, a couple of years later, they shared a flat in London.
On the downside, she's Welsh, has crazy dark hair which gets everywhere and is unbelievably dippy.
But, more positively, she has a heart the size of Australia where she now lives. Coincidentally, her tummy and bum will soon be just as large as yesterday she phoned to say she is expecting her first child.
Whilst this is obviously terrific news for Louise and her partner Tim, it is an untimely development with regard to the weekend ahead as the sight of Louise falling over after three glasses of wine remains one of nature's greatest sights. Indeed, I've always been surprised Sir David Attenborough has never bothered to film it.
Purely by chance, Wee John (pictured right) who has featured on this blog several times before, is also travelling up from Wales. But fortunately he is a Coleraine man and will definitely be on the drink.
Everyone calls him "Wee" John but, in truth, he's much smaller than that. He's tiny, minuscule, barely visible and is sadly destined to just fade away as the years tick by.
They'll both be very welcome and, as I say, it should be a fun few days.
Monday 27 April 2009
Difficult to stand
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Sunday 26 April 2009
You have to laugh
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Saturday 25 April 2009
Freebie fun
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Friday 24 April 2009
Respect to Yorkshire Man
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Thursday 23 April 2009
St George's Day
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Wednesday 22 April 2009
Telly wars
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Tuesday 21 April 2009
Following an impossible act
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Monday 20 April 2009
Welly strange
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Sunday 19 April 2009
Healy on his way to Pudsey
Saturday 18 April 2009
Tagged
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Friday 17 April 2009
No, we can't! (sleep)
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Thursday 16 April 2009
Ulster ingenuity
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Wednesday 15 April 2009
Getting the brush off
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Tuesday 14 April 2009
Easter Tuesday
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Monday 13 April 2009
Whisky on a Sunday
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Sunday 12 April 2009
Early risers
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Saturday 11 April 2009
The sights and sounds of Sesame Tree
Friday 10 April 2009
Devil boy
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Thursday 9 April 2009
A brief encounter with Royalty
Wednesday 8 April 2009
Pyjamaman
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Tuesday 7 April 2009
Push off, Parky
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Monday 6 April 2009
Hole in my Sox
Sunday 5 April 2009
Family fun in Blackpool
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Saturday 4 April 2009
Preparing for thrills and inevitable spills
Friday 3 April 2009
Jamie goes Commando
Probably only for the baby connoisseur or close relative this one, but I am proud to formally announce that Jamie has learnt to crawl.
He isn't blessed with the slickest of techniques at this stage. Instead, it's a mixture of leg kicking, tummy waddling and brute force - like a mini-Action Man trying to carve his way through mud.
Nonetheless, he is able to get from A to D, knocking B over and spilling something messy on C as he goes.
His new found mobility does, of course, cause fresh problems for his parents. Our house is old and not the most child-friendly you'll ever stumble into. But moves are currently afoot to make the environment much safer for him, never mind us and any visitors who come our way.
Last night was the first time I'd seen him do his stuff so, if you have a spare 32 seconds, click on the play button above, turn your speakers on and watch him journey, slowly but determinedly. Sorry it's a bit dark.
Thursday 2 April 2009
Gotcha?!
Wednesday 1 April 2009
Milky Bars are on him
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