She sits, she stands!

I really wish I had an infrared camera last night. Paige has suddenly become the sitting and standing queen, and her crib is an especially helpful environment.  Usually she goes to sleep almost instantaneously at night, but last night we had a bit of a mare, as she spilled milk all over, so I had to change her clothes just as she was nodding off. I *hoped* it wouldn't wake her too much -but no luck. She fussed and cried for a good 20 minutes after putting her back down. It was nothing too strenuous, however, so we just let her be, and eventually she was quiet.

However -- when I went in to check on her (and this is where that camera would've come in handy) -- she'd fallen asleep sitting up leaning against the bars, poor thing! She must've pulled herself up, but then was too tired (or just not interested) to get herself back down again... wonder if this will be a nightly occurrence! At least the travel cot doesn't have bars, so will be much harder to pull up in. I hope...

Dino-adventure

Yesterday saw me break routine and actually go out somewhere with Paige in the middle of the day. Amazing. And we even ventured onto public transport again without promise of assistance -- double amazing.

Our Thursday adventure was an outing to the Natural History Museum with friend Liz and her two kids, 4 and 1. The adventure was made even more adventurous by the fact neither of us had working mobiles... so we had to plan *in advance* where we'd meet... and then be there *at that time*. Or wait.

Funnily enough, both of us were indeed at the right place at the right time -- and yet we STILL missed each other. Luckily after about 15 minutes of hanging and wandering inside and out the main entrance, we did connect. Phew.

The main beneficiary of our outing was Amelia, the 4-year-old, who's a real dino-phile. I'm not sure how much Paige took in, but she seemed to have a smiley day, and even napped a bit after lunch, so I think more adventures are in store. We only saw the dinosaurs at the museum -- there's only so much museum-going two moms + 3 small children can do -- but it was impressive. Much nicer than I'd remembered, and a scarily realistic animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex thrown in for fun. (well, I say realistic -- it's not like anyone's ever *seen* a T-Rex, all I've got to go on is Jurassic Park and Walking with Dinosaurs...)

As for me, the most exciting part of the day came on the ride home -- when on the tube Paige started playing 'peekaboo' with the museum map. I'd been holding it in front of my face, and pulling it away, and then gave it to her to hold for a little while. I fully expected it to go straight into her mouth... but instead she just held it, turning it over and back a few times. I then noticed she started putting it in front of her face, and then pulled it above her head -- just like peekaboo. Yay Paige!! If only I'd had a video. And of course she's not repeated it since... Ah well -- more tricks to come, I'm sure...

Look Mom!

In the past couple of weeks, Paige has been getting increasingly mobile -- to the point where I can only leave her a few minutes, otherwise who knows where she might end up. For example, yesterday I was in the kitchen, and I left her sitting quietly on her playmat, babbling to herself. I'd look in every minute or two, and she'd still be in essentially the same place. Until... I looked once more, and she'd managed to roll 5 - 6 feet away, to tangle herself under the chair.

My guess is she aimed for the chair for another new favourite game -- pulling herself up to stand. She's allllmost got it, but not quite, unless the conditions are just right. Like in her crib -- the top rail and side bars, along with overall stability make it a perfect pull-me-up. I'm a bit scared at the number of things around this flat that are less than stable, however. We definitely need to do some child-proofing, and soon!

[but no, Mom, you won't need stair gates for our visit; she's not that quick -- yet!]

What is wrong with this picture?

 

Ok, look again. Look closely. Now check the date the sale happens, with the date the e-mail was sent to me.

Yep, thanks NFL UK -- way to build an audience. Not that I necessarily would've gone -- but as I'm not the time traveller's wife, nor a time traveller myself, receiving this e-mail nearly 24 hours late, meant I'm definitely not going to be able to purchase tickets.

Happy 9 months Paige

When do you stop quoting months for a child's age? Is it at about 2 years? I know plenty of people who say their child is '21 months', '19 months', etc... but not a lot of '27 months'. I can't seem to remember when I stopped with the weeks calculation -- maybe about 5 - 6 months. Saying she's '37 weeks' just sounds a bit odd.

Her most recent achievement is the faceplant. She's trying soooo hard to crawl but is just. not. quite. there.  She starts from a sitting position, leans incredibly far forward until she's perched on both hands, one knee, and the other leg splayed out to the side. Slowly, slowly, with great determination, she manages to pull that other leg in, and for a split second she's balanced on hands and knees. Unfortunately, this is where it all starts to go wrong... after wobbling in this position for a few seconds, she decides to make her move. Which is often both hands launching forward at the same time as her back legs slide flat. Which equals face plant. Which also equals frustrated Paige... I know I shouldn't laugh - but her determination is so cute.  I wish I had a video of it, but of course the second I get the camera out it's too late!

Will she be crawling properly by the time we get to Vermont in only THREE WEEKS??

Tea and races

Busy busy weekend for a change -- venturing into central London both Saturday and Sunday, amazing.

Saturday was a girlie afternoon outing -- helping friend Carmen indulge in some 'me' (well, 'us') time before the arrival of Carmenette later this month. Five of us descended on the Langham's Palm Court to enjoy an afternoon tea of deliciously wicked cakes and devilishly delectable sandwiches (salmon, cucumber, roast beef... hold the crusts, natch). And don't forget about the scones, and the Palm Court's special cupcakes. Er, and some tea to drink as well -- though a bit superflous really. Groan... And yet I was still able to eat dinner later that night. Fancy that.

An unexpected treat of the day was spying on what looked to be a gorgeous and glamorous wedding -- the cermony was held in All Soul's Church across the road from the hotel, and the reception in the hotel's Grand Ballroom, so we were able to see the whole fantastically dressed party make their way through the lobby. The bride had a lovely, close fitting ivory lace gown, and the bridesmaids were in dusty rose. In addition, a group of about 8 - 10 older women were in vibrant fuschia and gold raw silk African dress, lending an even more joyous air to the occasion. Ah... I love weddings!

Sunday was an altogether healthier affair, as I took place in my first post-Paige running event: the Adidas 5k Women's Challenge in Hyde Park. I've done this race almost every year since it started in 1998, so it's got plenty of sentimental import for me. And this year was no different, with the special treat of both husband and baby at the finish line. I actually got a bit choked up nearing the end, thinking of Paige waiting, and hoping to do her proud (not of course that she had a clue what was going on.) That -- and thinking of Ashley's encouragement as well -- spurred me to sprint when I saw the finish line, meaning I completed the race in 30:09. Not my best time, but pretty close. And considering my limited training, and the hordes of walkers who'd started in the wrong wave I had to pass, I was pretty happy.

Unfortunately, I was concentrating so hard on those last few hundred metres, I never saw aforementioned husband and baby... but knowing they were there was (almost) good enough. And there's always next year!

Still growing

Took Paige for her 8 - 10 month 'developmental' check up today. Although they'll weigh your baby at any time (well, any time the well baby clinic is open, so any of 3 1/2 hours of the week), they'll only measure said baby at prescribed intervals: 6 - 8 weeks, 8 - 10 months, and, er, I think 2 1/2 years. Other than that you're on your own.

I also thought they were supposed to check developmental milestones, but really didn't know what to expect. And after the weigh-in (19 1/2 pounds -- 75th percentile), and measure-in (72.5cm -- 98th!), all the Health Visitor did was ask 'So, how's she doing'? Well, she looks fine to me, but isn't that part of your job Ms H V to tell me how she's doing? What do I know, she's the only baby I have; I've got relatively little to compare her to!

To be fair, she did ask a few other questions: 'Is she standing with help, is she rolling, (er, do you mean off the bed? yep, she passed that milestone a while back!), is she saying da-da-da-da, ba-ba-ba-ba (yes on the da, no on the ba... does that make her a half-wit?)... but that was about it for the 'check-up'.

Ah well, as long as she keeps up the giggles I'm not worried!