Sept 08: last year they were cute little bundles that smelt of milk and vanilla, but now they've been replaced with a babyzilla!

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

A new thread for us as the last one was running low.

Thank you ILTMIMI and hello and Happy New Year to you all, only read a bit of the last thread so CONGRATULATIONS Hopefully, and anyone else!

Hi Jenpet, hope you are all well

Meant to say earlier, hurrah for Ponymums muffins. I'm going to be making them this afternoon as I've got friends coming round in the morning.

Thank you! My babyzilla of yesterday has been replaced by a fairly content small person - nursery was cancelled so I went to work early, wangled my laptop, and returned, so MrNC can 'enjoy' 6 hours of phone meetings without said small person trying to steal the phone every 30 seconds!

Introduced A to snow - he's too nervous to walk in it and a bit scared to poke it, but loved watching me throw it about and fail to make a snowman.

Aw, that sounds really sweet NC! T, thanks to his lack of walking skills, has not really played in the snow that much, but seems suitably impressed when I leap around in it and encourage him to applaud me .

Thanks Jenpet!

OK, I'd like the snow to go now - DP is under my feet (T at childminders) and I would like him to go back to work. He keeps loitering.

Hi guy nice new thread

I went to morrisons to do a shop today. No falefeals nothing near the hummous at all. So i asked a couple of workers there and they have never heard of them. TBH i was worried I was saying it wrong in my liverpool accent. They looked at me as if I was mad. I got a bit embarrased and spelt it out to them and said I needed them for a receipe. One suggested quorn to be a suitable alternative. I am worried I am missing out on something here. I may have to make them as they do sound lovely.

oh Yes and snow to go here too please its a nightmare. School open today though. Is anyones little one not talking yet? E was saying mama a few weeks ago but thats gone now A few gogggga and gagaa but thats it, he is mostly silent.

Love the thread title.

mama I'd blame Morrisons not your accent. I asked for polenta in their once and they looked at me like I was talking a different language.
DS2 saying a few words but not many.

digi I meant to also say don't be too hard on yourself. Before I was a mum I said I wouldn't give my kids unhealthy food, chocolate, crisps, tv, fruitshoots, lots of toys etc etc etc. But I do. Sometimes its ok to give in for an easier life.

DH came home last night! He said that the weather means they can't get as much work done so has left a skeleton crew on site. What he does can be done from home. (psst! he fell asleep in the living room in front of daytime tv after lunch!)

So now he's gone to pick up dd1 from school - phoned me from the school playground with the shouts of squeals in the background as he had taken the sledge and dd and a bunch of other kids were having a grand time in the snow.

Then off to retrieve dd2! EXcellent.

School closed for me today. Don't know what tomorrow brings yet. Back at work???

ON the food front: DD2 will eat your arm off to try whatever is on your fork plate.

DD1 looks at everything and says 'no'. When I ask why not she says she 'doesn't like the way it looks'.

I am seriously considering a star chart to get her to try new foods. I have never ever used them before. Has anyone tried this with toddlers or older children before?

good thread title ILTMIMI

I've just got back from a funeral for a young lad I used to work with . He was only 26 and killed by a hit and run driver. Such a nice person, his family carried his coffin into the church to the Star Wars theme . Church was packed too, but it was unbearably sad. A few of us that used to work with him just went out for a drink in his memory, so I'm doing tea-time and bath night fuelled with a Mojito .

foxy I tried DS on start charts for potty training but after a couple of stickers the novelty wore off and he was a bit 'meh' about them. Doesn't hurt to try though.

debi we had polenta for lunch today. yum.

Oh thats so sad meg you desreve a few more mojitos.

Blimey, I cant keep up polenta??? Is it a fish??

I had to re read your post foxy I was panicking that you wanted to use a star chart with dd2 now that would be clever. However they have been really effective with my ds1 5.

No words here yet - the occasional 'mamamamamamamamama' if I ask him to say mummy, but nothing more. He babbles a reasonable amount, but not loads, and definitely no attempt to link certain sounds with objects/pictures or anything. Am not too worried, might begin to vaguely investigate if he still hasn't walked/talked/learned to drive in a few months

Well, we get lots (relatively) of words - "no" "yes" "gone" "cat-per" (as in hungry) "dada" "babeee" etc, but to even things out he's only JUST taken a few odd steps in the last few weeks and it's by no means certain he'll walk alone. DS1 was the same & I htink it's walking or talking.....

book-marking - I definitely have a babyzilla!

No TV has worked really well. DS very active this morning and then napped earlier than usual. However, this afternoon we walked to the library and by the time we got back he had commenced meltdown. Slept on my chest for 45 mins, then woke up in an equally shite mood. So...no TV has helped but is clearly not the only thing to keep in check.

sorry to hear about your friend meglet

bookmarking!

So sorry to hear about your friend Meglet, such a waste.

digi - without sounding patronising, well done. You've tackled something you want to change and that is never easy. Two steps forward, one step back.

words - what seems to work with ds is hothouse learning He loves books so if you read the same one over and over (which he loves to do) and point out the same thing/picture everytime you read it (even better if it's repeated throughout the book) he picks up on the word quite quickly and starts to repeat it back. The majority of words he uses can only be identified by dh and I and he has started to do animal noises as well. He's obsessed with mooing at the moment.

mama - you crack me up! I was saying falafel to myself in a scouse accent a la Jackie Corkhill from Brookside . Next time you're in there see if it's in the vegetarian chiller section.

I know polenta as a type of ground grain -but it may be a fish as well

mamamuffin ! I fear you are going to be so disappointed once you do actually track down the elusive felafels! They are not that amazing. I think that DD likes them more because they are easy to pick up and a good texture. I know they sell them at Sainsbury's and M&S but I'm not familiar enough with other supermarkets to advise further.

DD "talks" but I think you need to be one of her parents to interpret the words. e.g. since we have been pointing out the snow to her every morning when we open the curtains, she has started looking out of the window and saaying "buuu, no" which of course means "Brr, snow".

DS2 also has a range of very slightly different sounds that only us can interpret.
Some are: Cat, car & cat-per. Hophop & snapsnap (rabbit & crocodiles) Train & ooman (snowman), hi and eye (you know which is which as 1 is accompanied by a finger poke in the face!)
Then there's nana which is any train with a face and all babies!

bookmarking

Well we've discovered today that M can say .... scooby doooby doo - that has to be a record (guess what her sister's favourite programme is!)

She also says 'dirty' (what I say when she tries to put her hands in the toilet )

mummy,
daddy,
Jasper (the cat),
eye,
nose,
dinner (ninner),
up (ie pick me up),
little (when she wants me to sing see the little bunnies sleeping til it's nearly noon ...),
hi and bye bye,
book maybe?

I love falafel, but I buy the boxes which you mix with water and fry yourself. Great with houmous and pitta

Carrie Yes i did brave hull-leeds, the satnav tried to take us the York way and it was getting unpassable. Hope you managed the journey in the end.

mama I have 3 dc's 13, 11 and 1

DC 1 and 2 are 2.10 apart and I found it ok. The pregnancy was fine but I was so tired aftrer dc2 was born and had to give up bf after a few weeks as i couldn't cope with the insane tiredness.
THey kept each other occupied and DC1 was a great 'sitter' when i was cooking dinner. they did that annoying he's crying so i will but on the whole 2 is easy and loads of fun.

Words

Batman DP is so proud
Da da
Ma ma
Billy sounds like bewee
Jade sounds like jad
Andi jades friend
Hiya darl when we see a cat or dog
drink sometimes with the sign
again sounds like en when reading books
yes
no
love when having a hug

Current words:
cat
car
clock
woof woof (dog)
daddy
more
gone
zic (music)
down
mot (milk)
dadada (that that that)
mess

Lost words:
teddy
bo (no)
diddy (mummy)
dis (this)

Today he woke up from his nap upstairs, climbed off the bed and stood at the top of the stairs crying for me. Bit of a shock as it's the first time he's done this. Usually he's too fuzzyheaded to get off bed/sofa after a nap. Wonder if this means he's nearly ready for his own bed?

Oh yes Foxy we've used sticker charts for everything - I love 'em. Now DD1 is 6 they usually have to have a reward at the end, but if you ask her to suggest the reward it's usually something tiny!