we are family

well as the saying goes
the family that plays together stays together...
and gets sick together
since all of us are now grappling with a cold
it's an opportunity to lay low and head off down to nannup again
for some relaxation recuperation and rejuvenation
so see you monday next week!
(and no, we are not all one-legged creatures
although our footprints seem to indicate otherwise!)

you have been booed

one of my current
favourite things to do
is playing peek-a-boo
i love hiding behind
doors, couches, curtains
under doonas,
around corners
and leaping out at people
with a 'boo!' and a giggle
here i am
caught in the moment
under a rock-arch
at the beach
boo to you
for halloween!

under the weather

unfortunately this picture
doesn't match the way
i've been feeling
this past weekend
i have been struck down with
either a cold or hayfever
and the resultant
lack of sleep
due to my incessant
crying and whinging
is driving
everyone absolutely botty
errr... sorry i meant batty !

wheeeeeeeeeeeee...

i love
being
swung
about
around
and
around
until
everyone
falls
down
dizzy

sandy feet

we all
went down
to the beach
for a bit of
a play
this evening
after mama
came home
from work
the longer
days are just
marvellous !

verbal challenge aka dis-pronunciation

as you may already be aware i am fast developing speech skills
and rather enjoy mama and papa saying aloud names of things to me
so that i can repeat them at my own discretion
well they seem to find it awfully hilarious
when there is a picture of a rabbit and i try and say 'bunny'
i am sure you will understand why from watching this short snippet
(cue turn volume up on computer...)

toddler evel knievel

quite a bit of my time this weekend was spent
on this hit up and down roller coaster from the toy library
mama trained me to climb up the steps, clamber aboard then launch myself
finishing with a flourish (thankfully not flying over and landing on my head)
before pushing the roller coaster back atop its ramp
see for yourself my seemingly fearless thrill-seeking daredevil compulsion...

300 (yet nary a six-pack in sight...)

wow!
mama never imagined
she would get to
post my 300th blog
when she first started this
electronic journal of sorts
(her self-imposed
alternative therapy
for alleviating severe
post-natal depression)
to help her highlight
the exclamation points
of each day as she
journeys along
this wondrous path
of parenthood.
she especially likes this picture because it appeals to her vanity -
she feels that she looks more like my sister than my mother here
but if you look really, really closely
you should be able to spot a few nemesis grey hairs
of which papa and i are no doubt the cause..

toddler gym / outta my way

mama took me to
toddler gym today
and i basically
ran amuck and
could not pay attention
to what was actually
required of me
and yet i had
so much fun
running, hopping
climbing, jumping
stealing other's equipment
and being a right terror
so much so that
mama doesn't dare
go back for fear
of being recognised as o! that's james' poor mum...

vehicle-obssesed's paradise

here is my take-along car playmat which also
conveniently folds up into a box that can store the cars
i have always been obsessed with vehicles so mama thought i would enjoy this
and i have indeed been lying on it pushing my cars about
you may not believe this but i can differentiate and verbalise the following vehicles -
car, bus, tractor, mower, train, truck, ute, plane,
boat, go-kart, helicopter, plough and bike
behold the pointing at ice-cream van and exclamation of twuck!

my part for blog action day

in honour of blog action day
on 15 october
here is my little contribution/confession
for the environment -
i wear cloth nappies
for part of the day !!
mama likes them as they are
rather comfy, modern,
eco-friendly, practical
and as easy to use
as disposables
don't add to landfill
and are easily washed
with our everyday clothing

here is a selection of my all-in-ones (AIOs in nappy-speak)
mama particularly loves the BumGenius ones...

water roundabout

mama is feeling too lax to do a proper post today
so she is showing you my swim video from last weekend
i start my infant aquatics classes this weekend
so i am sure you will hear more about it
in the meantime you just have to be satisfied with this...

back to the future

grandma sheila took this picture of me when she was visiting in july
that was three months ago but for some reason
mama thinks i look older here than i actually do now
and it makes her wistful for my babyhood...
maybe this is a sneak preview of what i will look like in future

au contraire, aunti letti

dear aunti letti
i believe i need to clarify a couple of misconceptions/myths you have about me
firstly, that backpack of mine you think rather cute
is actually my bear 2-in-1 harness buddy
yes, you read right a harness which mama and papa finally caved in
and got for me for safety's sake since i do not walk sedately...
i just prefer to run and run and run...
and so when we go for walks around the block especially or in crowded places
they put it on me and loop bear's 'tail' in their hand
and we hold hands, well at least for as long as possible before i decide to bolt
so with this 'tail' they can keep me within arm's reach and off the roads
they are still in two minds about it but would rather have me safe and sound always.
secondly, about the spelling bee situation
you thought they spell inappropriate/taboo words so i cannot repeat them
when in actual fact, they spell words like
y.o.g.h.u.r.t. and f.r.u.i.t. and c.h.e.e.s.e. and b.i.s.c.u.i.t.
because i love eating them so much that if i had my own way all the time
i would only eat them before my main meal which mama does not approve of
so there you go - sorry to bust your myths...

leaving my teens behind

today i have officially left my teen months behind
and i go forth into my twentieth month of life
i guess one sure sign that i am getting more 'with it'
and definitely learning so much these days is mama and papa
s. p. e. l. l. i. n. g. w. o. r. d. s. o. u. t.
when i am within ear-shot as they know i can comprehend
whatever it is that they don't want me to know !

mama can't quite believe it has come down to this now
as she is still indignant about her own parents
spelling words out in front of her when she was a child!

baby i will drive that truck

also on exhibit
at the royal show
were these farm
equipment/vehicles
and of course
any budding farmer
worth his acreage
will surely be
needing one of these
studebaker traybacks
a little later
down the track
(so to speak)
thus let it be known
i'll have one of them
please !

give me a home among the gum trees

one of the exhibits
at the royal show
that rather took
papa's and my fancy
were the wooden
outdoor cubby houses
i so enjoyed
running about in them
peeking out and
sliding the perspex windows
to and fro that
darling papa has promised
he will build me one soon
so i can have a
fort/cubby/hideout
in the garden

talk to the animals : part 4

the final
instalment
of my
animal-series
goes to the
baby billy
goat gruff
or should
i say
little kid
look how
brave and
confident
i've become
by this stage

talk to the animals : part 3

this is
my attempt
to pat
gently the
little lamb
at the royal show's
old mcdonald's petting zoo i tell you what
it's fleece
was definitely
not
white as snow
but most certainly
lovely and soft
to touch!

splishin' and a splashin'

we went to the bold park pool today
as the weather was nice and gently warm
- our first swims for the summer season...
i had a good time kicking about in the adults' pool then later in the toddler pool
whilst mama and papa took turns doing some laps
also had a good long swing and played with my land rover (papa's dream car)
in the volleyball court sandpit followed by al fresco lunch with the magpies
and you know that lovely feeling you get when your belly is full
and your skin has been kissed by the sun
so much so that you are overwhelmed with desire for a nice afternoon kip?
ahhhh... all in all another brilliant sunday

gender differences : cooking

today we had our new-ish ritual of having breakfast with my godfamily
(we are trying to do this fortnightly saturdays)

and this time brekkie was made by godma gay
check out the perfect lady's touch

and how different is it compared to the gentleman's version -
this breakfast was godpa gerry's supreme effort a few weeks earlier

isn't it interesting how gender differences are evident even in meals cooked?!!

talk to the animals : part 2

the next
baby animal
to get a
good feeding
or rather
child-handling
from me
was the
cute little
piglet
(aunti letti
eat your
heart out!)

talk to the animals : part 1

mama and papa
took me to the
perth royal agricultural
show today

and one of our
first stops was
the old mcdonald
baby animals
petting farm
i was a tad nervous
at first and it
didn't help
when the baby lamb
head-butted me
but after a while
i warmed up

to the idea of feeding the animals
but instead of letting them nibble out of the cup
i poured all the feed out onto the ground and played with it !

uncle phil's tree

this is
the tree
and bench
to mark
the spot
on our block
where
uncle phil's
ashes lie
it has
really grown
what with
all that rain
nannup has
received this winter

and this shot
was taken
when i was
almost
four months old
which is
fifteen months
ago
have i grown
faster than
uncle phil's tree??

body parts

i am getting rather good at identifying body parts these days
i can point to a few bits and pieces such as my
head, hair, eyes, ears, mouth, teeth, tongue


nose, fingers, hands, belly button, knees, feet, and willy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!