Birthday party photos

I totally forgot to post some of the birthday party photos so here they are.

The birthday girl, Marisa, with Phil. Isn't she cute?








Marisa and Michael, completely ignoring each other. Michael is very intently chewing on a bottle of bubble solution. I have no idea what Marisa is examining.






"Paulo! I've missed you!!!"











This was the first outfit that we put Michael in for the party. I think it is his cutest outfit so, naturally, he likes to cover it in poop at every available opportunity.






Marisa and Regina enjoying the afternoon sunshine on the balcony.

Fifth tooth

Michael's fifth tooth - to the right of the bottom front two - came through today. That is three new teeth in nine days! The tooth immediately above it should be through in the next few days too. He's been absolutely miserable with teething on and off for the past couple of weeks and I can't say that I'm surprised. There is no prize for getting all twenty baby teeth in the shortest amount of time but no-one has told Michael this! You haven't lived until you've seen a baby crawl across the room to you, whining and howling all the way ;o)

We're all going away to Texel on Sunday because it is our second wedding anniversary. We're staying overnight in a hotel suite with a steam room and whirlpool bath. I can't wait - although, I have some doubts about how much time I'll actually have to enjoy the luxurious surroundings. Michael seems to have a sixth sense - he knows when Mama is about to enjoy herself and, my goodness, she must be stopped for her own sake (apparently!)

This will be the first time that we've gone away since Michael was born. I don't think I would have dared attempt it before now. At eight months he is now old enough not to need half a baby superstore carted around with him. We have a travel cot, baby carrier, his clothes, nappies and toiletries and that should be about all he needs. Wish us luck!!!

Dada

Michael said 'Dada' for the first time today. He has been saying 'Mama' for some time now and Phil has been waiting patiently to hear 'Dada'. This evening, Michael was incredibly happy after polishing off a bowl of mashed banana. He was grinning from ear to ear and pumping his arms up and down in delight. He started making 'da da da da' sounds and I told Phil who sat in front of him and said 'Dada' to him. Michael looked at Phil and then in little more than a whisper said 'Dada' back. Phil definitely went a bit pink around the ears and we were both delighted. He hasn't stopped saying it since.

What a clever boy!!!

Orange boxes and Americans

Phil and I took the little 'un to the supermarket this afternoon. I had spotted a poster last week advertising the presence of a baby photographer in the store this week. I couldn't resist. The hook is one free photograph but I can't imagine that anyone turns down the full set of photos. So, today Michael was washed, bathed, clipped, brushed and dressed in his snazzy best and we trundled off to the supermarket.

The lady photographer sat Michael on a bench; in a little wicker chair; in a suitcase and - my very favourite - in a wooden orange box! He was completely placid for the whole experience and smiled on cue. I was convinced that he'd crawl off the table as soon as he was sat down but I guess the novelty of the situation kept him pinned for the duration of the shoot.

At one point he had a crowd of about 20 people. For some absurd reason I couldn't fathom, a C1000 (the supermarket name) employee was giving a tour to a large crowd of American tourists. They, in addition to a number of curious shoppers, were all standing behind the photographer and helpfully pulling faces and waving at Michael. The little lad soaked up the whole thing. I am incredibly proud of how he handles strangers. He never minds being picked up or admired. A stranger to him is just another leg to climb in his quest to become a toddler.

The photographs will be ready for collection on May 2nd and I can't wait to frame and hang them on the living room wall. My rational mind knows that traditional baby photography, i.e. posing them in flowerpots, is really cheesy but when it is your baby the rational mind never gets a look-in.

In other news, Michael is crawling really strongly now and we cannot wander off without the slap-slap sound of determined little hands propelling him after us. It is really enchanting and he is at an adorable age. All the frustrations he suffered at wanting to be off and not being able to move are now gone. In the last day or so he has also started cruising the furniture. This, on one hand, is great as it is such an amazing achievement but on the other hand it is alarming because he needs to be watched constantly in case he falls backwards.

He also got his fourth tooth today and, like with most babies, the top front teeth are initially set rather far apart so he is going to look like a miniature yokel for a while yet ;o)

B-b-b-b-baby

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Third tooth

One of Michael's top front teeth has finally broken through the skin, so this explains all the grumpiness yesterday. The second top front tooth is hot on it's heels but for now Michael is peaceful and went upstairs for his nap today without a murmur.

Nap time

For the third time in as many hours I have taken Michael upstairs for his nap. The mercury hit 25°C here today (it's only April for goodness sake!) and Michael is struggling with the heat. He's been crawling around in only shorts and a nappy. The temperature, along with these blasted top teeth have left him too irritable to nap. However, not napping only makes things worse. After a big feed he is finally peaceful upstairs and I hope it lasts. A neighbour has been cleaning the front of her house with a high-power water jet all weekend and the noise isn't helping anyone.

I have a little paddling pool with a sun shade for Michael so when he wakes up I think that a good ol' splash in the garden should cheer him up quite a bit.

Birthday party

A lot of the time being a parent feels like being flung out of a catapult at speed. You get up, hurtle through the day and before you know where you are - splat - you're exhausted and semi-conscious and somehow it is midnight when you are certain that it was only noon the last time you checked your watch a moment ago. Some days it is really hard work and other days it is a hell of a lot of fun. Today was the latter.

Today was our colleague, Paulo's, daughter Marisa's first birthday. Phil, Michael and I were invited to a little party that Paulo and his partner, Regina, threw for her. In total there were 9 adults and 4 children present. Paulo lives about an hour from our home by car so Michael napped all the way there and was ready for fun on arrival. He adored all the attention and was squeaking away like something out of Jurassic Park whilst simultaneously trying to climb the leg of whoever was closest. I must have had a premonition when packing the rucksack full of all his things this morning because I packed a second complete outfit for him 'just in case'. About an hour after we arrived he completely filled his nappy and then promptly weed all over himself as I was changing him. Great timing, kid!

The little ones seemed to have a great time and we were very happy that Marisa was enjoying the little Fisher Price telephone that I had chosen for her earlier in the week. This was my first opportunity to buy a present for a little girl because for the last few years I have only had little boys to buy for. There was lots of chatter and laughter and Marisa had 'Happy Birthday' sung to her in three different languages (English, Dutch and Portuguese) - how cool is that?!?

One adorable little lad, Milan (hope I spelled that right), zoned in on me soon after he arrived and I spent a lot of time playing with him and tickling him. I had so little contact with children before having Michael that it took me a while to work out how to play with a lad of his age (he is 2). Tickling and tossing him into the air seemed to work well.

We travelled home 6 (yes, 6!) hours after we arrived, exhausted but very happy. Naturally, Phil took an absurd number of photographs so I will post some of the best ones on here when he has uploaded and tweaked them.

Photo

I haven't included a photo of Michael in a while which is remiss of me. Here is my current favourite:

Forgot to mention

Despite the teething, the introduction of solids has gone much better this week than previously. I wouldn't say that Michael is incredibly excited about these strange blobs of gloop being proffered but he opens his mouth willingly now and is keen to grab the spoon and try feeding himself. He eats a good few spoonfuls before getting bored at being made to sit still. He has had a change of heart and now likes banana which is good news because it is a nice quick meal which does not involve steaming or using the food processor.

Gone deaf

We've finally put Michael to bed. He has screamed for the majority of the evening because three of his top teeth are coming through. He is in so much pain despite us medicating him and doing everything we can think of to distract him. Putting him in the Ergo carrier and pacing with him seems to be the only thing that works for any length of time.

I have just purchased a Rabbitts ~ Mat. It is a changing mat with a 4-point harness and is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY because Michael refuses to stay still on a normal changing mat. Even Phil has a really hard time changing him. Michael cries the minute we put him down and then he arches his back, throws his head back and turns sideways. It is like trying to change an eel. The best way for me to deal with this battle and stay sane is just to win it without a fight. The worst time for me is in the morning when in addition to changing him, I have to give him his vitamin D drops, moisturise his face, neck and torso and dress him. He howls the whole time. I know he wants his independence, and he wants it NOW but until he learns to dress himself and use the toilet then he's going to have to cut Mama some slack.

Phil had an incredibly hard time of it this evening when he gave Michael a wash and got him ready for bed. At one point he said we were at DEFCON 1 which made us both laugh - although we couldn't hear the sound over the howling.

We're going to the zoo tomorrow so hopefully the distraction will help everyone.