Dear Madness,
thanks for keeping your tantrums to a minimum while Mummy shares your cold. I really appreciate it.
Your efforts of manipulation are also to be applauded! The fact that you've grasped the concept that if Mama says "no", there is a chance that Papa will say "yes" if he didn't hear the previous conversation has begun a lot earlier than either of your parents were expecting. Highly commendable.
You sure do know how to keep your parents on their toes!
Also, I would like to apologise for the last time I tried to cut your hair. I fear my attempts quite made you resemble a demented Beatle (of the John, Paul, Ringo and George variety) whose haridresser loves, loves him not.
You'll especially hate this -- and some frolicking naked photos we took in Oma's garden -- during the slide show I already have planned for your 21st birthday.
Much love,
Mama
Showing posts with label where there's a will there's a toddler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label where there's a will there's a toddler. Show all posts
September 15, 2008
April 27, 2008
Busy busy bear!
The thing about mothering a toddler is that they go from this precious little being completely reliant on you for all things, to this precious little being who wants nothing to do with you, thankyouverymuch, unless there is food to be eaten, or a back to climb on.
Madness says "busy busy bear". Or something that sounds like that. Big M and I are puzzled as to what it could actually mean, as he says it often in all contexts. It's dead cute, though. And English! YAY! With a little bit of an accent.
Maybe it's Madness' way of saying "Mummy, you are a busy, busy bear. You just had to go and join a gym, and you're learning Spanish until June, and you're getting your licence and having to have lessons. You work. You're in the middle of decluttering our house to get it spick and span forever, and when are you going to find time for me? Busy, busy bear."
Poor little neglected bunny. He's all right, really. We have lovely afternoons of doing something outside the house, so that's fun (and necessary, as a Banshee has come and replaced my son with itself, and screams the house down if I don't go out RIGHT THIS MINUTE!). I do try to make Mad-shee ask nicely, but its hard when it's pretending to be a 17-month old. Humans are so volatile at that age!
Apart from me being a busy, busy bear, there is not a lot to report. Madness is going to become quite the artiste and as soon as I can breathe again and cut down on my extracurricular activities, I will teach him all kinds of fun things.
Not that I can draw. I'm pretty much only capable of teaching him clever things like swear words, which is less fun when you're the mother, and not the cousin/aunty/babysitter.
Fun tip: Hand your Madness to a complete stranger on the street, mid-tantrum, and scream "It's your turn!"
Serious tip: Don't give in! You're the Mummy, that's why!
Madness says "busy busy bear". Or something that sounds like that. Big M and I are puzzled as to what it could actually mean, as he says it often in all contexts. It's dead cute, though. And English! YAY! With a little bit of an accent.
Maybe it's Madness' way of saying "Mummy, you are a busy, busy bear. You just had to go and join a gym, and you're learning Spanish until June, and you're getting your licence and having to have lessons. You work. You're in the middle of decluttering our house to get it spick and span forever, and when are you going to find time for me? Busy, busy bear."
Poor little neglected bunny. He's all right, really. We have lovely afternoons of doing something outside the house, so that's fun (and necessary, as a Banshee has come and replaced my son with itself, and screams the house down if I don't go out RIGHT THIS MINUTE!). I do try to make Mad-shee ask nicely, but its hard when it's pretending to be a 17-month old. Humans are so volatile at that age!
Apart from me being a busy, busy bear, there is not a lot to report. Madness is going to become quite the artiste and as soon as I can breathe again and cut down on my extracurricular activities, I will teach him all kinds of fun things.
Not that I can draw. I'm pretty much only capable of teaching him clever things like swear words, which is less fun when you're the mother, and not the cousin/aunty/babysitter.
Fun tip: Hand your Madness to a complete stranger on the street, mid-tantrum, and scream "It's your turn!"
Serious tip: Don't give in! You're the Mummy, that's why!
April 6, 2008
Advanced baby milestones!
I was just reading the milestones on babycentre.de (the German version of the UK/US site) and found out that Madness is advanced. I am one of those mothers who says her child's intelligent, I openly admit it. I do temper it, though, with saying I have to wait till he's a little bit older before I can really be sure.
Heh. That's why I check the milestones on Babycentre... suuuuure. (Well, really, it's because I don't want to clean, proofread, work on my novel or nap, but that is not the point here!). Anyway, all the three things in the "advanced" column of the 17-month babies Madness can do. He's been brushing his teeth for months (after we do, obviously) and has been dancing to music for months. He's been kicking a ball for months. He's not yet 17 months old. Again, heh.
Anyway, if I keep thinking like this, I'm going to convince myself that Madness is a genius and enrol him into University for his second birthday. So, time for a topic change.
Travelling on my own was challenging. Once I actually got to England, and home, everything was fine, but wowzer. Carrying my hand luggage, our coats, my laptop and my baby through an airport was quite the adventure.
I'm pleased to say that when I had to drop something, it was the luggage and the coats that copped it, rather than the baby. He walked everywhere but where I wanted him to walk, making me glad we had 50 billion hours to catch our connecting flight.
The 50 billion hours we had on the way back weren't as adventurous. In England, I got a wrist holder thing, kinda like a friendly, child-safe set of handcuffs. Okay, okay, I'll say it: I put my kid on a leash.
Turns out he didn't need it, because right on our gate was a child's play area. Pretty funky thing to have in an airport, actually. Only there was nowhere for the Mummys to sit down. Woe.
We met a two-year-old there that was a whole head shorter than Madness.
Also, whilst in England, not a day went by without the word "Papa" being mentioned at least a dozen times, making me feel horribly, horribly guilty for separating them for the week. Well, not really, but I did feel a bit bad.
Then I ate some Cadbury chocolate and knew the trip had been worth it.
Fun Tip: If you're travelling alone, make sure your carry on luggage is big enough to fit your baby in it. Kinda like Paris Hilton and her silly little accessory she tries to pass off as a dog. Only bigger and more whingey.
Serious Tip: If you're travelling alone, make sure your carry on luggage is big enough to fit your baby in it.
Heh. That's why I check the milestones on Babycentre... suuuuure. (Well, really, it's because I don't want to clean, proofread, work on my novel or nap, but that is not the point here!). Anyway, all the three things in the "advanced" column of the 17-month babies Madness can do. He's been brushing his teeth for months (after we do, obviously) and has been dancing to music for months. He's been kicking a ball for months. He's not yet 17 months old. Again, heh.
Anyway, if I keep thinking like this, I'm going to convince myself that Madness is a genius and enrol him into University for his second birthday. So, time for a topic change.
Travelling on my own was challenging. Once I actually got to England, and home, everything was fine, but wowzer. Carrying my hand luggage, our coats, my laptop and my baby through an airport was quite the adventure.
I'm pleased to say that when I had to drop something, it was the luggage and the coats that copped it, rather than the baby. He walked everywhere but where I wanted him to walk, making me glad we had 50 billion hours to catch our connecting flight.
The 50 billion hours we had on the way back weren't as adventurous. In England, I got a wrist holder thing, kinda like a friendly, child-safe set of handcuffs. Okay, okay, I'll say it: I put my kid on a leash.
Turns out he didn't need it, because right on our gate was a child's play area. Pretty funky thing to have in an airport, actually. Only there was nowhere for the Mummys to sit down. Woe.
We met a two-year-old there that was a whole head shorter than Madness.
Also, whilst in England, not a day went by without the word "Papa" being mentioned at least a dozen times, making me feel horribly, horribly guilty for separating them for the week. Well, not really, but I did feel a bit bad.
Then I ate some Cadbury chocolate and knew the trip had been worth it.
Fun Tip: If you're travelling alone, make sure your carry on luggage is big enough to fit your baby in it. Kinda like Paris Hilton and her silly little accessory she tries to pass off as a dog. Only bigger and more whingey.
Serious Tip: If you're travelling alone, make sure your carry on luggage is big enough to fit your baby in it.
January 26, 2008
I'm leeeeaving on a jet plane...
So, I am officially a world-travelled Mum. Madness did well on the way to Australia, and from driveway to driveway it was a whopping 38 hours. Wow, go little boy. We had a 7-hour layover in Seoul, and ended up napping in some chairs.
I did learn some things. If you’re going on a long trip, say longer than two hours, take enough to eat and drink, but also order baby food on your flight. Depending on what they give you (Madness got some jarred fruit and yoghurt, and sometimes cold pureed green beans… ew), you can stow some of it away for snack times.
TAKE LOTS OF TOYS. (This isn't a header for the next section, it's just really important).
This will increase your handluggage amount. It will probably mean sacrificing the final Harry Potter book you were going to read on the plane. However, once you’re there and your baby will start to get bored, you will not care that you had to unpack and scatter Fisher Price Little People all over airport security, while running for your flight because you know you should be boarding first, and they’ve already started calling people.
If you feel comfortable enough with it, let people touch and play with your baby. We flew Korean Air (which apart from mashed cold green beans is highly recommended) and they loved, loved, loved Madness. Of course, his nature helped – he didn’t cry once – but the attendants would come and visit and play, meaning we could shut our eyes for 10 minutes or so before they had to go again.
By the end of the flight, he was in the kitchen, messing with their cupboards.
Once we landed in Australia, things went a little awry. We had a morning landing, so we had to make Madness stay up in the middle of the night, his time. He had no problem falling asleep at the end of the day, but he did wake up at 5:30am for the first week, which ended up being a real downer on our holiday. Cause man, we were tired.
Having my family take the load off was brilliant, too. My in-laws, thank goodness, are wonderful people, but it’s completely different with your own family, your own flesh and blood, that lets you relax more around your family in terms of your child.
It was a marvellous holiday.
In less travel wary news, madness sprouted six – that’s right, six! – molars while we were away. Four are through so far and I am not looking forward to the other two. Also, I bought him a pair of shoes yesterday. Sniff My baby boy is all growing up.
Which also means he’s started to Know What He Wants and How To Get It. I’m sorry, sweety, but yelling at me is going to get you precisely nowhere. Luckily, for all the whingey cries etc, Madness is still a very sweet-natured person. It just makes everything that much easier.
I do cuddle him when I don’t let him touch the oven and stove dials, though. Poor thing doesn’t understand that burns are bad!
It’s good to be blogging again. I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and New Year, and that 2008 is healthy and fun.
Fun tip: The ear plugs you bought for your in-laws late last year? Keep them for when your child starts Knowing What They Want. And you have to tell them 'no'
Serious tip: Stay as relaxed as you can when travelling. Do breathing exercises if you have to. If you stay relaxed, chances are your baby will, too.
I did learn some things. If you’re going on a long trip, say longer than two hours, take enough to eat and drink, but also order baby food on your flight. Depending on what they give you (Madness got some jarred fruit and yoghurt, and sometimes cold pureed green beans… ew), you can stow some of it away for snack times.
TAKE LOTS OF TOYS. (This isn't a header for the next section, it's just really important).
This will increase your handluggage amount. It will probably mean sacrificing the final Harry Potter book you were going to read on the plane. However, once you’re there and your baby will start to get bored, you will not care that you had to unpack and scatter Fisher Price Little People all over airport security, while running for your flight because you know you should be boarding first, and they’ve already started calling people.
If you feel comfortable enough with it, let people touch and play with your baby. We flew Korean Air (which apart from mashed cold green beans is highly recommended) and they loved, loved, loved Madness. Of course, his nature helped – he didn’t cry once – but the attendants would come and visit and play, meaning we could shut our eyes for 10 minutes or so before they had to go again.
By the end of the flight, he was in the kitchen, messing with their cupboards.
Once we landed in Australia, things went a little awry. We had a morning landing, so we had to make Madness stay up in the middle of the night, his time. He had no problem falling asleep at the end of the day, but he did wake up at 5:30am for the first week, which ended up being a real downer on our holiday. Cause man, we were tired.
Having my family take the load off was brilliant, too. My in-laws, thank goodness, are wonderful people, but it’s completely different with your own family, your own flesh and blood, that lets you relax more around your family in terms of your child.
It was a marvellous holiday.
In less travel wary news, madness sprouted six – that’s right, six! – molars while we were away. Four are through so far and I am not looking forward to the other two. Also, I bought him a pair of shoes yesterday. Sniff My baby boy is all growing up.
Which also means he’s started to Know What He Wants and How To Get It. I’m sorry, sweety, but yelling at me is going to get you precisely nowhere. Luckily, for all the whingey cries etc, Madness is still a very sweet-natured person. It just makes everything that much easier.
I do cuddle him when I don’t let him touch the oven and stove dials, though. Poor thing doesn’t understand that burns are bad!
It’s good to be blogging again. I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and New Year, and that 2008 is healthy and fun.
Fun tip: The ear plugs you bought for your in-laws late last year? Keep them for when your child starts Knowing What They Want. And you have to tell them 'no'
Serious tip: Stay as relaxed as you can when travelling. Do breathing exercises if you have to. If you stay relaxed, chances are your baby will, too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
