Everything's sooo exciting...

I've got a great family, not just Mummy and Daddy, but everyone as they're all so interested in me and how I'm getting on. I've got amazing friends too - Harriet and Gene and Justin and Ellie (Justin was early too but Ellie was born at 42 weeks 2 weeks before me and she's over 20lbs now!).

Everyone is so kind and they love to cuddle me, which I love as it makes me all warm and snuggly. Take last night for example, Daddy took me to the pub so that Mummy could get an early night because she's very tired... and if I remember correctly, he only held me for about an hour and then Sarah and Lisa the landlady's took over and so did their chef Louisa (who is a very special friend of mine). As Mummy wasn't there, she does maybe think that Daddy relinquished his duties to me, but I'm sure no one minded as they think I'm quite cute really.

Yesterday was also an exciting day because we got a new car... yes, Daddy made the leap of spending oodles of dosh and we've got a nice big car that fits all of us in... and more....

Also yesterday (I'll talk about other days in a minute), I saw Gt Grandma and Grandma Felicity. You see the car we got was in Newbury and as luck would have it so are some of my family... so we knocked on their door and got a warm welcome. Gt Grandma even phoned her friend Marion to come and have a look at me - what a celebrity!

OK, so other than yesterday (which was Friday 26th by the way), I've been doing bits and bobs and big splodges of proper poop in my nappy! Sorry, that sounded a bit naughty! You see, I've been having not just 1 meal a day, but now it's up to 2 meals a day. At 11am I have baby rice with milk and banana and at 7pm I have baby rice with milk and either butternut squash, broccoli or carrot and swede. It's all mashed up into small bits, not quite pureed so that it's smooth as the blender can't quite manage smooth. But I do chew properly and am learning quite fast I think. Mummy likes to tuck one hand under her arm and hold onto the other one, she's not keen on mess, she thinks I'm a real charlie (Daddy thinks I look like him)... but I'm not that messy really. Sometimes my arms get free and I put my hands in my mouth when there's food it in - that's her worst nightmare... never mind eh, I'm only a baby!

I've graduated from post natal group to 'first friends'. This means that I'm no longer a 'new baby', I'm a fully fledged 'baby', there's nothing new about me... after all I am 6 months old on Tuesday! I know that I had a very tough time at the start - but that's what's made me me and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I smile and giggle all of the time (apart from when 'real' hunger kicks in) and I'm enjoying home life very much.

Some other breaking news is that I've kicked the feed in the dark depths of the night. I go from 11pm feed to 6.30 am now... That means I'm sleeping for a whole 7 hours by the time I finish my night feed and go to bed. I'm sure it's something to do with the proper 11zies and dinner - I'm more satisfied and have more work to do inside my body to digest it all.

Today is an exciting day, I had an early morning conference with my new buddies (courtesy of Charlie - no, not Brown... Briggs, he's a buddy too). I had to let them know that it'll be a bit different round this place when Grandma Pat arrives. She's going to cuddle me later. I'd better have a bath and put a snazzy outfit on for her to see how grown up I am. She's having dinner at my house too, so I'll get her to feed me too - shall I put my hands in my mouth? Shhhh, don't tell her my trick!

Righty ho, must dash, Mummy's got my bath ready... bring on the bubbles!

This little piggy went wean wean wean all the way home...

...a bit unsure...

...let's give it a chew...

...I'll have some more!

Mummy's making me eat some mushy stuff. Baby rice it's called, it's all sloppy and it makes my face all dirty. It's quite nice though but doesn't taste of much. Today, she put some banana in it, mmmmm, yum!

I've been eating it for 11'zies for the last 4 days and I'm getting quite used to it. I'm given some milk afterwards to wash it down, so it's gentle on my stomach. Just look at what it does to my face though...

Mummy's going to put some butternut squash in my rice over the next couple of days so that I can have sweet and savoury (not together!). I'm even getting hungry between meals now too but I'm not allowed any snacks!

On Saturday it was Grandpa Barry's birthday. He had a good day until he watched the rugby; a bit like the rest of us, eh! I even wore the same Major Giggler outfit that I'd worn the Saturday before for good luck (washed in between Mummy says).

On Sunday Grandad Martin and Grandma Felicity visited for lunch. No, I didn't eat them... we all went to the pub and had a yummy lunch, I had plain rice again (a bit boring I must say). Look at Freddie, the big hairy grey doggy, he's trying to eat my Mummy!

I've been playing with my hanging teddies today, this makes me laugh a lot, just look at my dimples!

Countdown to Saturday when Grandma Pat can cuddle me!

The Three Musketeers

I had a lovely day today. Harriet, Gene and I had a great time, and so did our Mummies. They chatted and ate a nice lunch and we all smiled, giggled and ate about 2 lunches each! Don't we look great together! The time went so quickly... we had lots of fun, jokes all round!

How many people does it take to hold down a baby?

I had a very traumatic day yesterday. My eyes got tested again and they did awful things to me. They used fab technology that's state of the art.... but it still made me very very uncomfortable. They swaddled me in a blanket so that my arms would stay still and they put drops in my eyes that made my pupils get big and then they put some gel on my eye ball and then they put these paperclip type things in my eyes to hold them open and then they pressed this thing on my eye that took a picture of the back of my eye. Needless to say that I screamed a bit and tried wriggling with all of my might (so gave them a run for their money) and they had to pin me down with all of their combined brute force... My eyes are fine though, I might need glasses when I'm older but I might not and I might get other things but I might not... nothing is ever for sure!

We've been car searching... boring or what? Daddy's been looking on something called the 'internet' at cars that go fast and have enough room for me. Our favourite is an Audi A4 Avant SE 2.0 Diesel Automatic... what on earth is he on about, isn't a Robin the best car out there... there's lots of robin's in the garden, and I've got a Gt Unc called Robin...

I visited SCBU on Friday of last week. Lots of nurses came to see me at the stable door to the unit, I'm not allowed back inside really because of bringing in bugs - or more importantly taking one away with me. It was lovely to see familiar faces and I got a lovely cuddle from nurse Kathryn. It almost felt like home - but real home feels nicer, it's got Mummy and Daddy in it!

My bunny had a jab on Friday and will probably have to have other things done to him. I thing he's got sympathy problems. He had his myxy jab so that he doesn't get poorly and he's possibly got his abscess back which means another needle and a bit of a prod 'n' poke. Poor fluffy boy, Mummy's more worried about him than she is about me!

On Saturday we all went round to friends to see the rugby, what a good result - everyone shouted the house down and Mummy covered my ears so that I didn't get startled. We're all doing the same again this Saturday at the same place with the same friends, so that we keep it all the same and that we win the cup... wouldn't that be fab! (Picture courtesy of Mummy finding it on the web... she thinks it's rather nice... she says that she'll kiss Johny if he'd like her to - Daddy doesn't think he would!)

Tomorrow (Thursday's) going to be a good day. Mummy's taking me to see Gene and Harriet at Harriet's place in Wantage. Mummy's looking forward to it too. They'll have some lunch and so will I and we'll chatter and play games. Mummy wants to make sure that we see them regularly so that we keep good friends - that's very important to us. REMINDER - Mummy, you must take the camera...!

Daddy's home after a successful trip

Daddy's car came 2nd only to the big works team Audi. That's a fab result. The drivers (boys in blue) stood on the podium with their trophies...

Mummy's going to be on the radio. http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/ (select listen again or listen live depending when you do of course). She's on the radio because I was in the hospital so long and because we were in the John Radcliffe newsletter, so they had our details. She'll be talking about how wonderful the Special Care Baby Unit is and how having so much resource put into it that it has been of a huge benefit to not only me but many many other little babies too. She hopes that she doesn't say 'urm' a lot or that she doesn't fluff it up!

This week I have been mostly growing. I'm 9lbs 15oz's, so teetering on the edge of 10lbs, which is less than my girlfriend I must add, she's a tub thumping 10lbs 20z's - mega!

Mummy and Daddy say that I'm giggling a lot. Daddy bought me some clothes back from Atlanta that say 'Major Giggler' on them with a medal on it - I'm in the army and do all of the fighting by giggling at everyone - that's how to win! Not that they advocate violence, giggling is a non contact, non violent past time!

Guess what?! Grandma Pat's coming over from France at the end of this month. In fact it's in 2 weeks tomorrow! We've been chatting on Skype - everyone should have Skype. Grandpa Barry and Aunty Steph should get it and get a camera and then we can chat and I would be able to see them too.

Mummy's been doing a bit of reading lately. She's been reading all about weaning me onto solid food. When I'm 6 months old (taken from 30th April) then I'll be able to eat a bit of food rather than have to drink it. Mummy's got me some baby rice that she'll introduce to me during my late morning feed and then when I like it she'll put a tiny bit of banana it or some stewed apple or some mashed carrot - yum. I'm not getting bored of the milk stuff, I could drink pints of it (and it feels like it sometimes), but I'm looking forward to a bit of variety; after all... isn't that supposed to be the spice of life!

Whilst Daddy's away, Mummy and I play

Daddy's still in America. He's at the race right now. Mummy's got it on the telly and she's looking at the live timing on the internet so that she knows what's going on... nosy is my Mummy. Daddy's car's running 2nd in it's class, so let's hope there's a trophy in it at the end of the race and so that Daddy gets more people to want one of his cars so that he earns lots of money so that Mummy can buy handbags and shoes (Mummy told me to write that bit).

As was planned, this week has been another busy one. I think I told you what I was up to on Tuesday, hips and things... On Wednesday I did get weighed and I'm a whole 9lbs 13.5ozs, hopefully by Monday I'll have tipped the scales at 10lbs... we'll see!

Thursday was a lovely day. Mummy took me to meet up with buddy Gene and girlie Harriet. we had a great time. Gene's doing so well, he told me that he loves being at home with his Mummy, Daddy, fishy and henny. He's a lot happier and chuckles away to himself. He's still a diddy 5.5lbs, but boy oh boy does he polish off his milk quickly, he'll be a right chubber along with Harriet and I soon enough. Harriet was looking pretty in pink, she suits that colour - just as well really, she's got lots of it. She was nuzzling in to her Mummy's boobie for a good time, she'll be heavier than me the next time she's weighed.

Friday didn't turn out as it should have. Mummy was supposed to take me to a 'weaning session' where she was going to learn all about feeding me proper food. She fell asleep after feeding me my 7am breakfast and she woke up with only 1/2 hour to get ready to go out... not enough time to get me ready let alone her... Anyhow, she says that it's no real problem as she's not entirely sure when she's supposed to do it... 6 months from time of birth or 6 months from corrected age... she's sure that she's heard both... she'll check on Monday when she sees the health visitor... she'll know. I want to have baby rice, mashed up bananas, avocado, butternut squash and sweet potatoes... I've been told that they're all sooooo nice and Mummy can't wait to start cooking for me...

Instead I went for a little drink at my friend Ellie's. Mummy and her Mummy (Nicky) get on just mighty fine and I sat with them in the garden. Ellie's got teeth coming, she's got rosy cheeks!

More milk for now though. I've been a very hungry boy today. I've been to my Gt Aunty Janices today. I've seen Gt Unc Robin, Terry and Brian and Gt A's Janice, Andy, Vally and Chris... also Cousin Kirsty - there's been rellies all around me - poking, prodding but mostly cuddling, feeding, kissing, touching and cooing over me. What a life. Gt Aunty did lots of yummy food for them to eat, there were little fairy cakes with lemon icing and butterfly cakes and chocolate brownies; more healthy things like salad and salmon sandwiches, ooh and some cheese mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I'm looking forward to getting chocolate and icing all round my mouth - I think I'll find that quite easy.

Come on Daddy, win, win, win!

Hello Daddy

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-1229830095229632161&hl=en-GB

Daddy's gone away
He went away today
He's left me all alone
With Mummy and bunny at home


I miss him very much
His cuddles, smiles and touch
I thought I'd make his day
By recording me at play


I hope he likes my moves
I'm getting in the groove
I'm having lots of fun
Me, bunny and Mum

Easy peasy smelly cheesy

My 2nd cousins are lovely, we had lunch together on Saturday (at the pub again; but they do do a mean din-dinz). Daddy had a Hooky pie, yep, Hooky is a beer... as if he doesn't drink enough of it... he has to eat it as well!

Sunday was lovely... we travelled to Millets Farm, passing by Harriet's place to collect her and her Mummy and Daddy. (Their house is really nice!) This is Harriet with her Mummy and Daddy, and us with Harriet's Daddy. I've never seen so much cheese; rows and rows of it... and people, wow, I think everyone had congregated there (everyone in the world). Daddy held me in my 'chest seat', my Baby Bjorn carry thing, he looked great and I was sooo cosy (Mummy was a bit dippy and didn't take a piccie!). I snoozed for quite a lot of the time, but took in all of the grannies that stopped Daddy to look at me, one guy even patted him on the back and said congratulations! "Who's that" we all said, "dunno" said Daddy.

Here's me and my girl together, we chatted quite a lot and even touched each other... that means we're 'for ever'!

There's quite a lot going on this week too... Monday was at home, but Mummy left me with Daddy for a bit to go to pilates (a bit 'right on' for me). Tuesday meant an early start to get to Oxford for my hip check. I had a scan to see if my little hippies are OK... they're a bit stiff and Mummy and Daddy need to do exercises with me and my neck is a bit stiff too as I seem to only look to my right hand side, but Mummy and Daddy will sort that out too. Basically I'm fine but a bit stiff!

On Wednesday I'm going to a meeting in Chipping Norton with other babies and Mummies - a friend is going to be there - Ellie... she was born at 42 weeks, 2 weeks before me, she's huge and weighs in at about 17.5lbs... wowzers!

I'm really looking forward to Thursday... I'm going to see my mate Gene again. Harriet, Gene and myself are going to meet at Gene's house for the afternoon. Our Mummies can chat about nail varnish and shopping, we'll play together and chat about rugby and fishing... Harriet will join in I'm sure, once she's chatted about make-up and fashion with Mummy!

I could go on and let you know all about this coming on Friday and at the weekend too... but I'll leave that one 'til later this week as I'm getting a bit overwhelmed by stuff right now...

AND, Mummy's changed my feeding routine... all in the name of getting me to sleep through the night - I don't want to let on too much but hopefully it'll be quite soon - I need my beauty sleep too!