March 2005 part 6 - Toddling towards summer!

[leogaela]

And her it is!

Jo, WELL DONE I've just been watching the highlights looking for you - you did a similar time to Sir Steve Redgrave, so how cool is that.

Hope the muscles don't ache too much tomorrow.

WELL DONE JO!!! Proud of you. Putting all of us to shame!
Putting a few more pics of Lauren on photobucket. Can't believe how she's matured in the short time since her birthday.

Well done Jo - that's fantastic. Hope you're having a large glass of wine tonight to relax!

Jambot - will check out the new photos tomorrow. My laptop is broken so am using dh's at the moment, and don't have the photobucket address.

Hey Jo. FANTASTIC NEWS. Well done you. That's amazing. Hope you're having a nice easy time of it now and getting lots of pampering. I did 8 miles yesterday and it HURT, so I am truly in awe that you could do three times that AND more. Unbelievable.

Well done, Jo. I've donated £10 as for whatever reason the previous tenner didn't show up on your page.

Fantastic Jo!!! Well done :o!!!!!

was 5.15 your official time or your time? Have to say again, well done, be really proud of yourself :):):):):)!

...will catch up properly tomorrow, off to bed now!

Jo - Hope you are recovering and feeling well today. I guess you slept well last night!

Well done Iris :o!

Misdee, I know what you mean about looking too small to walk, I've got used to Niklas walking now and he's not so small anymore but in the beginning he really looked so tiny it was so funny.

Jambot - Niklas too falls over a lot, he fell down stairs in the garden and grazed his face, then fell at the nursery and had a cut under his eye, then he fell on a tree stump and cut all his lip, that's not to mention the bruises on his forehead and all up his legs. He is tough though and hardly complains anymore when he falls!

bonym - Ive given up on household chores! I cook very often with Niklas sitting on the work top and luckily we have a cleaner otherwise the place would be unlivable in. Its hardwork but a lot of fun and I get my 3 days of relaxation at work :o I would be even more of an exhausted wreck if I was a 100% SAHM!

We have just had a few days of really fantastic summer weather :o!

yesterday I took Niklas with friends to a place with an outdoor pool, my little darling spent hours in the water (in his nappy as I didn't think to take his swimming costume), climbing in and out, in and out. The other children were all avoiding it because the water was so cold. One stood in it and started crying another fell in and screeeeeamed! Only Niklas's best friend 'nana' played in the water as well, but she was more interested in putting her dolls buggy in than getting in herself! He is also fascinated with the hose pipe in the garden at the moment! He is water obsessed!!!!
I am wondering if we should try to 'control' Niklas a little bit more. I don't mind at home if he pulls everything out of cupboards and drawers and climbs inside the dishwasher, slams doors but I'm not so keen on him doing it in other people's homes which he did yesterday , distracting him gets tiring and I'm not keen on telling him off at all because I could spend my whole time doing it so he runs wild at home. Yesterday though I got really angry with him because I was so frightened that he was going to slam my friends dd's fingers in the door.
Hmm, am I going to end up with a badly behaved uncontrollable (but adorable of course little boy?

Leo - I've always gone for fairly minimal intervention with my two, on the grounds that I really want them to take notice when I say 'no'. So wherever possible I cut them some slack, and certainly with dd1 she is very reasonable about obeying when I do draw the line. I also think there's nothing like saying 'no' to get them really interested in something at this age! At home I let Iris into all the cupboards, except the one with dishwasher powder, bleach etc. She is let loose at the dishwasher - she hasn't broken anything yet! Though I pluck out any knives! And one of her favourite things is flinging the books off the bookshelves. I figure it keeps her happy, and it only actually takes me 2 minutes to stick them back on again.

When visiting, obviously it's a lot harder, but I don't think you can stop a kid this age getting stuck in without making them and you very miserable. You won't get to see your friends because you'll be spending the whole time trying to supervise Niklas. So, if they're the kind of friends who mind all their saucepans being pulled out of the cupboards, maybe try to meet them outside their home instead till Niklas is less enthusiastic! It all gets easier in summer when gardens and parks come into their own. The thing is at this age there's no such thing as 'naughty' they're just brilliant little people doing their best to explore and understand the world, which doesn't always fit in with adults' requirements of order and calm . Of course door-slamming counts as quite a bit more annoying, not to mention potentially damaging to other little people. My first approach is always distraction with some other tempting 'game' or object. But it's not always at all easy (hah, understatement). I was pretty lucky as dd1 was relatively restrained. Not sure Iris will follow suit!

JoPG - really looking forward to getting the full low-down on your marathon when you've recovered! So, .... are you going to do another!!!!

Leo - Lauren is very into doors at the moment. Opening/closing/pulling the key out/turning keys etc. All keys have been put on hooks high up on the doorframe so she can't get up to no good.
Pidge, meant to say the other day that I thought Iris had changed quite a lot from her earlier baby picx, but then I suppose they all are. She does look rather mischevious!
Lauren is into all our cupboards, except one or two that I have put one of those kiddie locks on. The nightmare for me is that our kitchen cupboards still don't have doors on, so all of this stuff is waiting for her to explore, including my crockery. But luckily she has learned which shelves she can play at and which she can't.
She is very niggly at the moment. For the first time yesterday she wouldn't go to my char, who she has grown up with and normally loves. Quite clingy actually, which she has never been before. Wingeing at the smallest thing, which isn't like her at all. She normally has such a sunny little nature. Also woken up crying the last 3 nights, which she NEVER does. Sort of a moany cry which only lasts for a minute or two and then she goes off again. Something's not quite right - wonder if her second molar is coming through?

..can't get up to no good???! That double negative must be the result of my East London ancestry. Traced my relatives back to 1840 so far and they were all born and bred Cockneys! No Lords or Ladies I'm afraid!
Busy - unless I missed the post, you didn't tell us about your weekend.

Thanks Pidge, that's how I feel about it as well, I think its good for his confidence and I think will help him learn responsibility himself if he can go off and explore everything for himself and learn from it. The friends are very easy, but he was going into cupboards with breakable things and the door slamming (despite me, friend and friends husband triying to distract him) became a bit of an obsession, I don't mind at home but was worried about friends dd's fingers.

Jambot, it sounds as if it could be teething. I hope she gives you some peace again soon. I discovered that Niklas has 2 big teeth at the top now as well! That's 12 teeth now!

By the way, I feel almost normal again now :o, Niklas is sleeping through until 6 almost every day now :o:o:o!

Well, the marathon was hard and I am still aching - but it was worth it.
Would I do it again, Leo. Probably - I am determined to beat 5 hours. Definitely not next year thought, it really does involve a big time commitment and I'm not sure I'm up to that next year.
\link{http://www.justgiving.com/JoanneGall\FLM Update and Photo}
Went on a school trip today to Framing World with Ethan. His teacher must realised I would not be on top form and she gave me the easiest group ever to look after - we all had a great day. Saw a Birs of Prey display and loads of cute lambs. Ethan came home and what was the one thing he remembered? - He remembered that falcons always do a poo before they fly - what a typical 4 year old boy he is!

Freya is toddling round now more and more, and is crawling less and less. She is a very determined little character and always makes sure everyone knows exactly what she wants! She is getting quite difficult to feed cos she insists on trying to do it herself - what a mess! I try and give her a spoon to use while I try and sneak food in her mouth with the spoon I am holding. Doesn't always work though and she will try and swat my spoon out of the way given half a chance.

That was supposed to be Farming World, not Framing World! lol!

Well, this is Lauren's fourth night in a row of wailing and crying. Note the time. Felt I had to go in to her as she just wouldn't stop. Managed to calm her down and put her back to bed after some Calpol and some protest.
Can't think what is going on. This is her fourth night in a row of waking up with much wailing. So unlike her. More frustrating when I can't think why it's started. Teething? She's never had a problem before but maybe it's these molars. Who knows.

jambot - poor Lauren. No brilliant ideas from here I'm afraid. When Iris has gone through phases like this it's been because she's had a cold, and then she's pretty easily resettled with calpol and a bit of a feed. Is Lauren ok the rest of the time?

Is she crying when you first put her down or is she waking and crying during the night? I think sometimes when they get in the habit of waking at a particular time their body clocks are so strong they then do it several nights in a row. On one memorable occasion when dd1 was about 18 months we woke her up at 1am to take her home after a new years party, and she was very tricky to resettle, but even worse, for a whole week after that she woke screaming at exactly 1am and refused to go back to sleep for an hour. Boy did we feel guilty for messing her about in the first place! Not that you did that to Lauren, I'm just wondering if something disturbed her one night and now she's programmed to wake.

I'm rambling now . Hope she sleeps better soon.

jopg - great to see the pic and hear about the run. I was talking with someone at my running club about doing a half marathon this autumn and have decided I'll definitely enter for London 2007, though I don't expect to get a place first time.

Hello Everybody!

Pidge congratulations on Iris walking!
Jambot-About Lauren's wailing.It did happen to Ksenia before. I went to Neurologist if I spell it correctly and she said sometimes it happens if the baby before got a very strong emotion. It can be anything from a nice cat to somebody scream or shout.She prescribed to Ksenia calming drops and if a dose for an adult is about 25 drops for the baby is about 2-3 just before she goes to bed. And you can buy peppermint or mint and lavander and brew it ,add to baby bath.or put a little bag with this herbs near baby's bed.It called natural remedy.And you know it all stoped.
JoPG -I am the last one to say well done!I really respect people who achieve their target.Me personallu i cant go back to gym.went there for a month then a very (-30)cold winter stoopped me from sport and know every monday me and my friend are going there but somehow still very close to the sofa!:-)

G

Hello everyone Been back from my fabbo weekend in London for a few days but have been really busy and was away with work last two days, hence no posting.

Pidge, what a lovely post about little ones being brilliant little poeple just trying to explore the world. Really made me smile.

I'm definately with you on this and am quite happy to let Harrison make mess if it's not dangerous to him or others and nobody else will be offended by the mess he's made I'm lucky in that his favourite place in the whole world is Hannah's bedroom and he'll sit on the floor for ages emptying her drawers, taking out her clothes and putting them all back in again (haven't I trained him well)

OK, my weekend away - IT WAS FAB Hotel was amazing, chilled champagne in the room when we arrived (which was also fab and made me very drunk) Billy Elliott was great, although DH fell asleep went to a wine tasting cellar on Saturday and had such a laugh with DH - we were completely drunk (again) when we left after drinking 5 glasses of wine, a gin cocktail and a shot of absinthe. Walked along the embankment on a beautiful sunny day and had a very posh dinner in the hotel in the evening. DH got a watch for doing 25 years service which cost £5,000

Oh so many excellent memories, which I'll cherish forever. And then we came home Sunday afternoon and Harrison was soooooo happy to see us - lots of big cuddles and smiles.

I'm still floating as you can probably tell and today is my wedding anniversary so I can kid myself that it was all to celebrate that

Jo, well done again and love the new name

Jambot, how is Lauren today

Oh, Just checked (dont know why) the Photobucket And guess what? our fotos but not all of them are there again and one is full one,the other again half.

Busy-congratulations on the wedding anniversary.Your weekend sounded so nice.I have little of white jealosy.. It is very nice when a man can organize a timeout and what is the most important is that he has time for it.the last splash of romance from my DH was on the 14th of Feb.
Ksenia is a sleep now.Had a grumpy day.It is rainy and cold here now so w spent all day home and she got used to be out now so she was not the happiest baby ever. We have not much news apart that this is an Easter week here now and that On sunday we went to see my grandparents who live in the other town and we got into such the rain! I was soaking like never before.And Same was Ksenia plus she got scared of an umbrella so the Easter Sunday Family Meeting turned into the fiasco!

Anyway, got to go.It is bedtime for me now coz Ksenia wakes up at 6 am and if I am reaaly lucky at 6.30

Take care, Alexandra

Aaah thanks busywizzy! Last night Iris was certainly not a "brilliant little person exploring the world" - she was a grumpy, fed up groucher intent on lying on the floor, arching her back and wailing! . Don't know what was wrong. I guess she was tired after a day at the childminder's and usually dp is there to help, but he was at a parents evening. Anyway Iris was inconsolable. Finally I put dd1 in front of a Tweenies video, whilst I tried to get Iris to bed and the minute Iris set eyes on the Tweenies she stopped crying, stood up and started dancing and clapping! Unfortunately after 20 seconds of this she decided to run towards the TV, at which point she tripped and brained herself on the sharp edge of the shelf on which it sits. So we were back to howling again, this time accompanied by much blood from her mouth where she must have cut herself!

Anyway, all is well, all teeth intact etc. And Iris was incredibly cheerful this morning. She decided 5.10am was a good time to start the day, which wasn't popular, but at least she was in good spirits again.

Pidge, glad to hear Iris was OK, what a shock it must have been when she fell and started bleeding. Hannah fell and stabbed herself in the face with a set of keys when she was 14 months old (sounds much worse than it was I promise) and the amount of blood was unbelievable.

Harrison too has started waking really early, although that's 6.15/6.30 in our household Just can't cope with getting up that early so I leave him in his cot chatting away to himself (bad mummy I know) and then go in at 7am. Cue big, big smiles, which melt my heart. I just love cuddling him first thing in the morning as he's all warm and snuggly

Right, off to get some lunch

Busy - happy wedding anniversary for yesterday!!! Will you tell how many years you have been married?

Alexandra - Niklas always wakes up crying so there is no leaving him in bed! Lucky you Busy! At the moment always between 5.45 and 6! I'm getting used to it!

Niklas had a really high temperature last night. He woke up around midnight and seemed to be delirious. He slept with us, but with him wriggling around and me worrying about him I didn't get much sleep.

Poor Niklas - hope he's perkier now. Iris always wakes up crying too. Mind you I'd cry if I woke between 5-6am too if I had half a chance! Dd1 who used to wake at 7am was always very cheery with her lot and would regularly lie in her cot gurgling and cooing to herself before demanding attention.

Busywizzy - Iris did look like an extra from some horror movie with blood running down her chin. Fortunately I know that mouth wounds bleed an extraordinary amount, without it necessarily being serious. So I was pretty sure she was ok.

Can't seem to get my brain focussed on anything today. Anything to do with that 5.10am start I wonder?!

Leo, how is Niklas doing now Poor little thing that's he's poorly again.

Dare I admit that DH and I have only been married 4 years. We've been together for ages, about 12 years I think but we bought a house, I fell pregnant with Hannah and we just never got around to making it all official. Then 4 years ago, we decided to take Hannah to Disney in America and on the spur of the moment, got married before we went so it was our honeymoon. People often think DH isn't Hannah's dad because she's older than our marriage

DH is out for the evening so I've put Harrison to bed, I'm off to do Hannah's homework and then it's bed for her and a large glass of wine for me Have a nice evening everyone.

Pidge, LOL at you crying at 5am. I'd be exactly the same if that was what time I had to start the day. I'm not in the best form at the moment having to wake at 6.30 Hannah was an 8-8 baby almost from day one and I never realised there were two 6.30's in the day - I'd certainly never seen the early one before Harrison came along

Well, two nights of sleeping through again - albeit with the help of some muti. Going for the no-drug option again tonight!
She's still sleeping at 7:45. What a pleasure. Was a bank holiday yesterday, which was a good thing as DH and I had been out the night before and only got home at 1:00am, a bit the worse for wear! Thank goodness Lauren was at my Mum's so I could have a bit of a lie-in.
Hope Niklas is better Leo. And happy belated wedding anniversary Busy.