Afternoon all!
Mum has asked if she can borrow my blog to ask my lovely readers for a favour. I hope you don't mind, and sorry if you have already heard from Mum but she's spreading the message far and wide!
Ladies and gentleman,
In less than 2 weeks (!) am running the London Marathon for charity.
I am running for a charity very close to my heart - Bliss.
Bliss aims to ensure that all babies born too soon, too small or too
sick in the UK have the best possible chance of survival and of reaching
their full potential.
My own son, Arthur, was born at 26 weeks and despite a very bumpy start
in life, is now thriving. Bliss was there to provide us and other
families with support and information both during Arthur's 13 weeks in
hospital and following his discharge home. We
have been very lucky not to need much in the way of help but other
families and babies aren't so lucky.
Any donations would be very gratefully received and can made via the following link:
http://www.justgiving.com/Amy-Eccles1
Thanks in advance for your support and a big thank you to those lovely people who have already dug deep and donated!
Amy
Thursday, 3 April 2014
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Birthday celebrations and update
Hello everybody - long time no blog!
I've been very busy being 2 and not having to go to hospital; physio; occupational health; speech and language appointments so here is a little update of what I've been up to over the past 9 months or so.
Having started mastering the art of walking I have now perfected the art of running away from Mum and Dad. I'm quite good at this although I often give the game away by squealing with excitement as I get up speed.
Of course, I'm not stupid, I have remained a fan of being carried on demand. This requires me to look supercute and say "carry me" whilst holding my arms up and sometimes even trying to climb up Mummy's leg when she resists my usual puppy dog eyes. Guaranteed results everytime!!
Along with the running comes jumping and climbing. Mum always has a certain look on her face when I try to jump from the top step of the flight of stairs and insists on holding my hands. I have managed to jump off the sofa or the bottom step without her help and survived. I think she needs to relax - but I'm sure all mums are protective of their little ones!
Mum bought me a little scooter to increase my different transport media. So far I've managed to scoot up and down the living room and at the park near the house. Next step is to take it nursery but I think M+D need a bit more practice keeping up with me.
I now go to Nursery four whole days a week as Mum had to work more hours so she could apply for 'grown up' Consultant jobs. This paid off and Mum had a very good interview and her new job starts in the next few months. It did mean that I stopped going to Gymboree as trying to fit swimming and Gymboree and shopping and stuff into one day a week was too much for me and Mum.
We have been visiting people and people have visited us! We went all the way (5 hours in the car) to Hebden Bridge for a lovely wedding. I had a new baby sitter so M+D could have some time to themselves. When they came back after the party, Alice said she had read the same story to me 10 times! It worked though, I was fast asleep and slept the whole night through in my sofa bed.
There have new arrivals since the last blog. Florrie, Ella, Matilda, Sebastian and Raef to name but a few. Some of them have older brothers or sisters to teach them the ropes but I'm here to provide sage advice for parental manipulation as required!
I made my annual trip to Norway (with M+D) and managed to avoid swimming in the fjord but still enjoyed boats and clean air and relaxation.
We made another trip to the Caribbean; back to St. Lucia and Cotton Bay. This time my godparents joined us. Another set of grown ups to give me attention! We all spent time on the beach close to the hotel with Dad and Fred competing at sand castle building (Fred won), exploring new beaches close by (Mum losing her sense of humour carrying me there) and finding yummy restaurants. Before we set off, Mum and Dad had had a conversation with my Nursery about potty training. We all gave it a go whilst on holiday (fewer clothes) and 24 hour parent access seemed like a good idea. However, whilst I could sit on the potty and occasionally do a wee when asked, I would only let people know AFTER the event not before so there was a lot of washing! Thank goodness there was a washing machine in our accommodation and my godparents are sympathetic.
On the potty training front, things didn't really improve when we got back from holiday. Cue weeks of going through 4 pairs of trousers and pants a day, and me becoming very frustrated and quite anxious. I didn't really know what to do about this but I found some relief by biting myself. Mum and Dad hated it though. I also found I didn't want to sleep through the night and really didn't want to let go of Mum and Dad, even at nursery! For regular Arthur followers, you will know this is quite out of character for me. Dad had a discussion with the lovely Nursery manager and one of my Nursery nurses and we have now put potty training on hold for now. I am now a much happier bunny. I can sleep through the night, I'm not biting myself or anyone else and I have gone back to running into nursery in the morning with a smile on my face rather than clinging onto Mum or Dad's leg.
Milestones - well grown ups seem obsessed with them so here goes:
Walking, running - nailed it. Stairs - yep. Jumping - sorted.
Playing and problem solving - love it. I've even got the hang of sharing sometimes.
Counting - love it. Objects up to 9, just numbers up to 20. Reading - starting, I adore the Alphablocks and can read 3 letter words. Writing - no. Drawing - um... um... I can do circles!
iPad - I'm a apple-master. I can do things to an iPad or iPhone that even the genius nerds can't understand.
Christmas was spent at Grandpa and Granny Es; Granny W came too, so I was truly spoiled. We took a slightly unusual route to get there due to huge floods and for Christmas Eve the normal power was out. But I come from a resourceful bunch so we used Grandpa's generator! However, the electricity board had clearly worked solidly overnight and normal service was resumed for Christmas Day which was lucky given Mum was cooking Christmas dinner. Dad cooked Christmas Day brunch and it turns out I like smoked salmon and scrambled egg. The muffins were my favourite bit though - Mum says I'm a carb fiend!
Dad and Grandpa put my wooden kitchen together - power tools and ignoring the instructions. I helped as much as I could but it turns out hiding screws around the room and not returning them to Daddy is not that helpful! I like dogs. We all went for a walk in the garden with Cobber the dog. I learnt to throw his ball and sticks for him and he really enjoyed bounding around bringing them back to me.
So here we are, 2014, 3 years after my birth in Brent and stay in Chelsea. I still catch Mum and Dad being soppy and saying how much they love me and how glad they are that the doctors and nurses did their job so well and that I didn't know how I was expected to turn out!
Mum will be starting her new job soon, and gaining another set of colleagues and friends south of the River. We will revisit the potty training and then I will be moving up into the pre-school class at Nursery and then there will be new challenges ahead. Counting beyond 30 and reading and maybe even writing a little. Watch this space.
 |
| Peekabo! |
Having started mastering the art of walking I have now perfected the art of running away from Mum and Dad. I'm quite good at this although I often give the game away by squealing with excitement as I get up speed.
 |
| Here I come ready or not.. |
Of course, I'm not stupid, I have remained a fan of being carried on demand. This requires me to look supercute and say "carry me" whilst holding my arms up and sometimes even trying to climb up Mummy's leg when she resists my usual puppy dog eyes. Guaranteed results everytime!!
 |
| On the Little Lights Walk for Bliss. |
Along with the running comes jumping and climbing. Mum always has a certain look on her face when I try to jump from the top step of the flight of stairs and insists on holding my hands. I have managed to jump off the sofa or the bottom step without her help and survived. I think she needs to relax - but I'm sure all mums are protective of their little ones!
 |
| Arty shot! |
Mum bought me a little scooter to increase my different transport media. So far I've managed to scoot up and down the living room and at the park near the house. Next step is to take it nursery but I think M+D need a bit more practice keeping up with me.
I now go to Nursery four whole days a week as Mum had to work more hours so she could apply for 'grown up' Consultant jobs. This paid off and Mum had a very good interview and her new job starts in the next few months. It did mean that I stopped going to Gymboree as trying to fit swimming and Gymboree and shopping and stuff into one day a week was too much for me and Mum.
 |
| Come on; I'm ready to go. |
We have been visiting people and people have visited us! We went all the way (5 hours in the car) to Hebden Bridge for a lovely wedding. I had a new baby sitter so M+D could have some time to themselves. When they came back after the party, Alice said she had read the same story to me 10 times! It worked though, I was fast asleep and slept the whole night through in my sofa bed.
 |
| Gimmee the keys Grandad and no one gets hurt! |
There have new arrivals since the last blog. Florrie, Ella, Matilda, Sebastian and Raef to name but a few. Some of them have older brothers or sisters to teach them the ropes but I'm here to provide sage advice for parental manipulation as required!
I made my annual trip to Norway (with M+D) and managed to avoid swimming in the fjord but still enjoyed boats and clean air and relaxation.
 |
| Boats and fjords |
We made another trip to the Caribbean; back to St. Lucia and Cotton Bay. This time my godparents joined us. Another set of grown ups to give me attention! We all spent time on the beach close to the hotel with Dad and Fred competing at sand castle building (Fred won), exploring new beaches close by (Mum losing her sense of humour carrying me there) and finding yummy restaurants. Before we set off, Mum and Dad had had a conversation with my Nursery about potty training. We all gave it a go whilst on holiday (fewer clothes) and 24 hour parent access seemed like a good idea. However, whilst I could sit on the potty and occasionally do a wee when asked, I would only let people know AFTER the event not before so there was a lot of washing! Thank goodness there was a washing machine in our accommodation and my godparents are sympathetic.
 |
| The exits are here, here and here |
On the potty training front, things didn't really improve when we got back from holiday. Cue weeks of going through 4 pairs of trousers and pants a day, and me becoming very frustrated and quite anxious. I didn't really know what to do about this but I found some relief by biting myself. Mum and Dad hated it though. I also found I didn't want to sleep through the night and really didn't want to let go of Mum and Dad, even at nursery! For regular Arthur followers, you will know this is quite out of character for me. Dad had a discussion with the lovely Nursery manager and one of my Nursery nurses and we have now put potty training on hold for now. I am now a much happier bunny. I can sleep through the night, I'm not biting myself or anyone else and I have gone back to running into nursery in the morning with a smile on my face rather than clinging onto Mum or Dad's leg.
 |
| Hip hip hooray |
Milestones - well grown ups seem obsessed with them so here goes:
Walking, running - nailed it. Stairs - yep. Jumping - sorted.
Playing and problem solving - love it. I've even got the hang of sharing sometimes.
Counting - love it. Objects up to 9, just numbers up to 20. Reading - starting, I adore the Alphablocks and can read 3 letter words. Writing - no. Drawing - um... um... I can do circles!
iPad - I'm a apple-master. I can do things to an iPad or iPhone that even the genius nerds can't understand.
 |
| Light reading at the Tate |
 |
| Bearded dragons |
Christmas was spent at Grandpa and Granny Es; Granny W came too, so I was truly spoiled. We took a slightly unusual route to get there due to huge floods and for Christmas Eve the normal power was out. But I come from a resourceful bunch so we used Grandpa's generator! However, the electricity board had clearly worked solidly overnight and normal service was resumed for Christmas Day which was lucky given Mum was cooking Christmas dinner. Dad cooked Christmas Day brunch and it turns out I like smoked salmon and scrambled egg. The muffins were my favourite bit though - Mum says I'm a carb fiend!
Dad and Grandpa put my wooden kitchen together - power tools and ignoring the instructions. I helped as much as I could but it turns out hiding screws around the room and not returning them to Daddy is not that helpful! I like dogs. We all went for a walk in the garden with Cobber the dog. I learnt to throw his ball and sticks for him and he really enjoyed bounding around bringing them back to me.
So here we are, 2014, 3 years after my birth in Brent and stay in Chelsea. I still catch Mum and Dad being soppy and saying how much they love me and how glad they are that the doctors and nurses did their job so well and that I didn't know how I was expected to turn out!
Mum will be starting her new job soon, and gaining another set of colleagues and friends south of the River. We will revisit the potty training and then I will be moving up into the pre-school class at Nursery and then there will be new challenges ahead. Counting beyond 30 and reading and maybe even writing a little. Watch this space.
Old habits die hard!
Love to you all and continued thanks and hugs to all of my Wellwishers.
xxx
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