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Wholestone Moor Torture Walk...
Posted by Webby at January 30, 2005 08:05 PM | Comments (1)
The entire population of Gingatopia joined the WASSOCKS, today, for a very pleasant and casual 'potter' [ahem!] over Scapegoat Hill.
Jim, Helen, Jo and Dominic drove to our house, then we all left in two cars to start the walk at the beginning of the public footpath off Rochdale Road, in Outlane.
Jim thought it would be amusing to take 'point' on the walk, and lead us - over the course of the walk - up onto Scapegoat Hill, before heading back down to Outlane golf course. At the golf course, we were practically back home...leaving the cars back at the beginning of the walk!
Jim and I each carried a baby [weighing between 8.5kg and 9.5kg] over the length of the 3-mile walk. It's obvious, now, that we need a rucksack type carrier for Evelyn as trying to find my footing, when negotiating rough ground with Evelyn suspended in front of my belly, can be really quite treacherous. Evelyn and Dom [er...and Kieran!] behaved impeccably; we hardly heard a peep out of them during the whole walk!
It was only when I brought to Jim's attention the fact that we had left the cars behind, that Helen explained that Jo had driven to our house too, and was able to drive Jim and I back to collect the cars...VERY AMUSING!
Pictures of my 'orribly blistered feet to follow...
Under Starter's Orders...
Posted by Webby at January 28, 2005 09:17 PM | Comments (0)At precisely 14:45 today, Jilly rang me - while I was at work - to tell me that Evelyn had, at 269 days, 1 hour and 09 minutes [or 38 weeks, 3 days and 1 hour] old, taken her first crawl...HUZZAH!
Admittedly, Evie's first 'crawl' was more of an actual spider as she began moving around the floor on the palm of her hands and her liddle tippy-toes! Fantastic!
Of course, that means that we're going to have to start finding places to store things currently at [near] ground level...D'Oh!
Come In Number Six, Your Time Is Up!
Posted by Webby at January 26, 2005 09:39 PM | Comments (0)Today, Jilly brought Evelyn home in substantially fewer clothes than she went to the nursery in! Why? I'll let the nursery's daily report explain...
"Evie had fun with the water tray today (sorry about wet clothes, we changed but she wanted to get in the water. You must take her to the swimming pool, we think!!). She had no fear of water."
Apparently, the children were allowed to play with the water tray today (under supervision, of course) and, while most of the babies were a little reluctant to have even a little splash about, Evie decided that she was getting straight in!
And... this evening, as we had finished dinner, Jilly and I were playing with Evelyn, helping her to stand [and generally wobble about!], when Evie started to take her first steps! Obviously aided by Jilly and I holding her, Evie started walking where, previously, she had made no efforts to move her legs at all. Tonights effort was, admittedly, in a rather comical Frankenstein's monster stylee, but thrilling for Jilly and I never-the-less.
Child Prodigy, or Cocky Little...
Posted by Webby at January 25, 2005 08:54 PM | Comments (0)Jilly and Kieran went to see Kieran's schoolteachers today for his annual Parents' Evening. I think Jilly and I were expecting the worst, as Kieran has had [only one, admittedly] detention in the last month, and worried that his academic work was slipping, but...
Fantastically, Jilly reports that the teachers she saw had nothing but positive things to say about Kieran. According to his science teacher, Kieran should be encouraged to take triple science in his options next year and is predicted to achieve three 'A' grades. Another teacher is encouraging him to take History, also predicting an 'A' grade, and his form tutor suggested that, with his continued hard work and application, he may be looking at potential Oxbridge applications after his 'A' levels! A little far in the future, admittedly, but very encouraging never-the-less.
Well done, Kieran. Mum and I are both very proud!
I told Kieran that, for fear of alienating his mates, he ought to keep his potential Oxbridge candidacy to himself. Perhaps our friends over at WASSOCKS may have a few words of helpful, Oxbridge related, advice for our scholarly junior gingatopian.
Daddy/Daughter Day III
Posted by Webby at January 24, 2005 09:41 PM | Comments (0)If I only manage to upload three images all week, I am desperate to make sure that these are the ones.
As I was on leave from work today, Evie and I had another lovely day together during which - besides a lot of singing, playing and rufty-tufty wrestling - we found time for a bit of a post-lunchtime walk. These are my three favourite images of Evelyn that I took today...Obviously, I think they are gorgeous.
Please ignore the calcified nasal mucus - snot, that is - as Evie seems to be developing a bit of a cold...little lamb!
So pleased am I with all the photo's, that I have produced a SnapGallery of them all to bore you lucky readers to death with...er...if I'm allowed more than twenty minutes in the loft, that is! Harrumph!
Eviening Snackette
And...as an indication of quite how much food Evie is capable of eating, at dinner time this evening, Evie ate:
- One [generous] baby bowl of beef casserole [lovingly home-made by Jilly] and,
- Half an
AvocadoEviecado.
...which would usually have been enough to satisfy Evie's hunger. But then she started shouting when I took the Eviecado bowl away, so I gave her... - A whole tangerine [lovingly - and painstakingly - peeling every section for her].
...but, as she continued shouting, I gave her... - Half a large banana, warmed in the microwave.
Only after giving her that, and returning to the kitchen to warm up... - The second half of the same large banana...
...did Evie finally stop demanding food.
Still, preparing the food and watching her eat every last mouthful was all my pleasure...the liddle glutton!
Daddy/Daughter Day II...Daddy/Baby Day I
Posted by Webby at January 19, 2005 08:51 PM | Comments (1)Evelyn and I had another beautiful Daddy/Daughter Day today, as Evie's nursery was closed for staff training [ahem!]. We weren't alone though...oh no! Our day was shared with Jim and Dominic [who also attends the nursery...when it's open!].
After the plumber had been this morning, to sort out our defective WC overflow, Evelyn and I drove Jilly to work before dropping the car off for it's M.O.T. Lorraine at Lightcliffe Motors kept Evelyn entertained as I moved the child seat between our car and the loan car, commenting [inevitably, I think you'll agree!] on how beautiful and smiley Evie was.
When she had woken from her morning nap, Evie and I went to see Jim and Dominic for the day, to share what became Daddy/Baby Day I. Evie and Dom played nicely until it was time for me to take Evelyn to the baby clinic after lunch.
At the baby clinic, Evelyn weighed in at a very respectable 8.56 kg or 18lb 14oz meaning that she remains consistently in the 50th percentile group of baby girls her age. Evie's height was also measured at 72.5 cm tall, remaining in the 91st percentile.
Evie and I returned to Jim and Dominics' so that we could all go on what Jim referred to as a get Webby fit campaign walk, crossing New Hey Road, descending past the outskirts of Quarmby and going through Longwood, before rising back up through a very muddy wood in Quarmby, back over New Hey Road and calling in to see Justine and Eloise for a well-deserved cup of tea. Jim took several photo's throughout the day...and a bit of video of Evelyn on Eloise's rocking horse...which I'm hoping Jim will give me copies of to put on the blog in the very near future.
Evelyn was a little angel all day for daddy, eating all her food, and drinking most of her milk, at meal times. She was - clearly - very pleased to see mummy and big brother, though, as they arrived home from work and school.
Only a matter of time...
Posted by Webby at January 17, 2005 07:30 AM | Comments (0)Over the weekend, as Jilly and I have been putting Evelyn in her cot for her mid morning/mid afternoon naps, Evelyn has began turning onto her [liddle pot] belly, kneeling and then standing up using the cot sides for support.
I'll be lowering the cot base this evening!
21:30
Tonight, as Jilly had finished giving Evie her final milk feed, before going to bed, Evie sat up as Jilly winded her. I started waving 'goodnight' to Evie, never expecting her to wave back...but she did! Grinning beautifully, Evie waved 'goodbye' for a minute or so! Only then, did Jilly mention that Evie had been waving to people on the TV earlier today...but, of course, they didn't reciprocate!
Upper Central Incisors - Tooth #3 and #4
Posted by Webby at January 16, 2005 07:42 PM | Comments (0)
Evie's teeth are coming along nicely now, as her middle teeth have finally broken through the skin at the top. That's tooth #3 and tooth #4.
Rather alarmingly for Jilly, this means that Evie now has something for her lower front teeth to bite against when she's feeding...OUCH!
A Stressful Week
Posted by Webby at January 14, 2005 08:54 PM | Comments (0)Today has seen the end of a quite traumatic week in Gingatopia, as Jilly has returned to work, and Evelyn has started her place at the work based nursery on Tuesday. Jilly was highly stressed about leaving Evie with comparative strangers, but is becoming increasingly relaxed about leaving Evie in the morning.
To keep them up-to-date with their child's progress, the nursery provides parents with daily reports on how baby has behaved and eaten, and the condition of each of their nappies [er...NICE!]. I thought I'd include an extract them each of the first days reports...
Tuesday, 11 Jan 2005 - Evie's first day
"Evie was a pleasure to have in our room. She only cried when all the other babies cried together for a few minutes. Evie likes to be with the older babies and enjoyed sitting at the table looking at them all at mealtimes."
Wednesday, 12 Jan 2005
"Evie was a bit unsettled this morning but she was a bit tired too. She did some painting, but wasn't over keen...we'll try another week. Lots of smiles too, especially when we sing, she bounces. She looks around all the time and doesn't like sudden noises, but she'll soon get used to the noise and she'll be making it too, :)"
Thursday, 13 Jan 2005
"Evie was a little upset first thing but soon was her happy self, she ate little breakfast and wanted to play. We went for a walk around the village today. Evie really enjoyed the fresh air."
Friday, 14 Jan 2005
"Evie did great this morning. A little tear to start, but was soon laughing and playing with the other babies. We had songtime - she rocks away and twists around. We went for a walk before lunch."
Another Moderately Unpleasant First
Posted by Webby at January 11, 2005 08:03 PM | Comments (2)Jilly returned to work today and, consequently, Evelyn started at the infirmary's work based nursery. The past eight months have been difficult enough for me - leaving Evelyn every morning to go to work - but Jilly has not only returned to work [boo-hoo!], but she has had to leave Evie at the nursery, with people who don't know her [and her little baby peculiarities!].
Evie has had a couple of hours 'practice' at the nursery over the last month or so, and seems to quite enjoy herself. The staff are very friendly and have already hinted that I may be asked to be next years Santa Claus at the nursery...what were they thinking of?
As it happens, Master Dominic Harris joined Evie at the nursery during the day [just for an hour or so], so Evie wasn't amongst strangers all day...the liddle kitten!
Jilly and I were both looking forward to 17:00 when we were be able to collect Evelyn, and go home to smother her with hugs and kisses...Jilly was unbearably gooey and actually started blubbing when she arrived at the nursery! Fortunately, the tears had stopped when I arrived to collect them both, and Evie was fast asleep after her exciting first day!
Evie's First Report
The nursery keeps reports of exactly how the babies behave throughout the day, and what they eat, to keep parents fully informed.
Today, Evie has eaten 'well' [though Jilly and I question what, exactly, they mean by 'well'; well, by what we'll call normal standards, may be half what Evie usually eats! Apparently, Evie especially likes being with the 'older' babies [i.e., those just under twelve-months-old!], watching them at the dinner table and smiling constantly. Evelyn was 'a pleasure to be with' [no surprise there then!] and only cried once during the day, when all the babies cried together for a short while [which must have been an absolute treat for the staff!]
I'm sure it will as no surprise to learn that I fully intend to archive Evie's first report [along with everything else in the world] for presentation to her at a suitably embarrassing moment, later in life.
After her hectic day, socialising at the nursery, Jilly and I thought it wise to make sure that Evie had a lovely relaxing bath to wind down. I realise it might seem a little bizarre, displaying photo's of Evie in the bath, but they're just so cute, I had to share them. Of the photo's, my particular favourite is the 'Arthur Scargill' lookalikee...or is it 'Still Hungry'...I dunno, they're all beaudeeful! What do you think?
A Post-Christmas Treat
Posted by Webby at January 9, 2005 10:30 PM | Comments (0)
As a special Christmas treat, Jim and Helen bought tickets for Kieran, Jilly and I to go with them to see a production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at The West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Andrew and Justine came along, and a Narnia chronicles related adventure was enjoyed by all!
Again, many thanks to Jim and Helen for the very thoughtful Christmas pressy...it was ace! Fortunately, I know that Kieran already owns the book, so it won't be long before Jilly, Kieran and I can share the story with liddle Evie!
Foul and Disgusting...
Posted by Webby at January 9, 2005 09:33 PM | Comments (0)...yet delightful and amusing!
That's how I'd describe Evie's latest habit. Clearly, my daughter is spending far too much time with that Harris boy as Evelyn has started blowing raspberries! In truth, until she starts doing it during meal-times [see Master Dominic Harris], it's an absolute delight to see her in action...Evelyn will even start 'raspberrying' on request, copying me as I do it! FANTASTIC!
Evie and Dominic, sitting in a tree...
Posted by Webby at January 6, 2005 09:04 PM | Comments (2)K... I... S... S... I... N... G...
I returned home from my late shift today for Jilly to tell me about Helen and Dominic's visit during the day.
Apparently, the children were playing together very nicely when Dominic leaned forward and [very delicately] kissed Evelyn on the mouth.
"Ahhhhh! How cute!", I hear you say!
Me? I'll be speaking to the boy's father to discuss his intentions and how honourable they are! Of course, I'm only joking [ahem!].
According to Jilly, it was really sweet. And, how did Evelyn react? By trying to give Dom a 'wedgy' by tugging at his kecks! Good lass!
