Amazing April

Good evening everyone!

It's been another busy month; not least because I turned 2 again! To celebrate my 'due date' birthday we went to our local - The Black Dog.  This seemed especially appropriate as it was where we went the day after I came home from Tommies 2 whole years ago.  This time I had my own sweet potato fries and my own chocolate brownie. Yummy

This month has been mainly one of visits:
One of Mum's friends from university came to stay whilst her flat was being sorted.  Jo is also a doctor and has changed jobs and houses, though the job change seemed to have been easier than the home thing.  She was very friendly and gave me hugs and even baby sat so Mum and Dad could go out for an evening - thank you!

Then Aunty Lizzie came to stay for 2 days.  She was very impressed with my walking and talking and my iPad skills.  M+D have found me even more Apps. I can now do jigsaws, pelmanism - matching numbers, colours, vegetables. I can also Skype, FaceTime and rearrange or delete Apps. Lend me your phone at your peril!!

I'm not a complete techno geek.  I like reading with people too.  I sit quietly next to Mum, Dad, Granny etc and listen as they read my favourite books to me.  It is important to be read the right book, so I always may sure I ask for books by name and then go and get them from my collection to show the grown ups which one I meant.

Combining literature with technology

I went to see my friend, Artie and his Mum.  We had yummy food and I played football in the garden and in his sandpit.  It seemed to inspire Mum - so now I have a little sand table of my own. This is huge fun and allows me to spread sand everywhere - which is surely what it was for.

We've had more dinners with my Godparents- more yummy company and food.  We've had friends round for dinner and gone round to both our next door neighbours too.  I met Cleo the cat. Cats are strange. She ran away when I kissed her then hid under things and stared at me. You can't please everyone I suppose.  M+D seem very impressed by my kisses.  I have perfected toddling over, hugging their legs and then putting my arms up for a hug and leaning forward for a kiss.  I am the master of Super Cute...

And then my cousins came round for lunch (phew I'm popular!)  We played together and got lots of my toys out and ate cake.  Mum and Dad are now allowing me to have bits of my own cake.  I can run off my energy now I guess.

I'm armed and dangerous...

The biggest new of this month is that I've been discharged from Physiotherapy.  This is one of the last specialists related to my prematurity so being discharged is a big deal.  It was said to say goodbye to Amy but it means I'm doing well and that the number of appointments I have to go to has reduced again!  Whoopee.  A massive thank you to all the staff at Sunshine House. You've been a huge help to me and Mum and Dad.

Whilst Mum was busy on call, Dad and I popped up to Leicester to see friends. We borrowed an XKR from The Classic Car Club and Dad had some fun.  It was a bit quick for me but I only had to voice my disapproval a couple of times.  Mum joined us on the Sunday and we had a lovely time in the countryside.  It is nice for us townfolk to get out of the City sometimes.

Now I'm walking with confidence, I've been moved up into Toddlers at Nursery.  To celebrate, I ran down the slope at Nursery and promptly fell over.  I grazed the side of my face but was otherwise unharmed and sat nice and still to be cleaned up.  M+D say I will get a few bumps and bruises as I run around and play.  Mum told me how many scars and broken bones she had and so did Aunty Lizzie!  Wow...they really need to learn to be more careful!

Mummy bought me a very odd shaped ball, but she seemed very happy to see me running around with it:

Granny W came to stay so Mum and Dad could go on management courses.  We went to the park, we played in the garden and did LOTS of reading.  Thank you Granny.

So now I am 2 whichever 'birth date' you go by.  I'm planning to step down my blogging activity.  It's been lovely that so many of you have been interested in my ramblings.  I will still update when something happens but it's going to be a little less often. I hope you don't mind too much.

Love to you all and bye for now

xxx

March

Happy Easter!

No big news this month but lots of happy little things: moving, talking, playing and friends.

Moving:
I've been walking more and more and am now confident both indoors and out.  I tested my wellies with Dad and Grandpa E and only tripped over a couple of times.  Wellies and my all-in-one snow suit make it quite difficult to stand up and toddle but Mummy was there to help.

I'm also mastering stairs.  Going up has not really been a problem, but coming down them is a bit more challenging. After some encouragement from M+D, I can now shuffle down on my bottom.  Very satisfying although I prefer to have a hand to hold whilst doing this just in case I miss my footing/shuffle.

All this means that my Physiotherapist is seeing me less and less with a view to discharging me provided I continue to progress with the walking like other toddlers (less waddling and less hands out to the sides etc).  I'm gaining confidence on a daily basis so I reckon this shouldn't be a problem.

Talking:
I've also been discharged from Speech and Language therapy as I can talk and copy and string words together so well.  I'm particularly good at animals and the noises they make: M+D seem to really like it when I say "owl" and "Tee-woo" as the noise it makes.

I can also recognise shapes (my favourite is a triangle), some colours (especially purple and pink) and I can count the numbers up to 20 (well nearly all of them).  I'm now learning the days of the week and lots of bits of the body, singing "head, shoulder, knees and toes". I've also got the hang of 'under' and 'on top', so you can't hide things from me anymore!

Me showing how to do a 'diamond'.

Playing:
I've now discovered Duplo and can now build all sorts of things.  M+D say that when they were little the bricks were just squares or rectangles but now I have curvy bits and wiggly bits and I can build animals and insects and things.  They even come with a book to help me build things and tell a story too.  How things have changed!

Seeing friends:
This month has been mainly about eating in and out with friends and family...

So I've been out to a tea house for my friend Leo's birthday party and we had sandwiches and cake.  We played with balloons and wooden cars and trains and I chatted with everyone.  Then it was Mothers' Day and Daddy's birthday so I got to see my babysitter, Diana, because M+D went out for dinner like grown-ups.  I think they had a nice time - I had a lovely time with Diana.  She gives me lots of hugs and lets me watch You've Been Framed.  It makes me giggle a lot!

Aunty Lizzie came to say hello whilst she was in town.  We had a delicious brunch at Village East.  I had pancakes and fruit salad.  I've decided that fruit isn't evil anymore and enjoy grapes, blueberries, banana and strawberries.  I'm still not sure about apples or pears though.  Pancakes have always been yummy.

We all went for Sunday lunch at our local pub; The Black Dog with another friend of mine, Isabella, and her parents.  I just ate bits off M+D's plate and sweet potato fries.  I finished off with cake and ice cream.  Isabella is a girl after my own heart and disregarded most of the savoury stuff and went straight for the sweet treats and snacks brought along by her Mum.  She was very kind and let me share some of them too.  Thank you Isabella!

Next weekend we all got into the car and travelled out of  London into the countryside (well Zone 6 anyway) to see my friend Robin and his parents.  His Mummy cooked food for me and Robin, then it was time for bed whilst his Daddy cooked for the grown ups. But Robin and I decided that it wasn't time for sleep even though it was way past out bedtimes. Eventually we got bored of the grown-up conversations and went back to bed!

Easter has been a mix of Dad doing DIY (wiring, tiling and floor stripping) which has meant lots of things I'm not allowed to touch, even if I look super cute. And then a trip down to see my grandparents which is where I started this blog.

"R is for Rfur". Me doing letters with Grandpa

So another month has flown by and it's April - the month I should have been born in.  I have a feeling M+D will have a little party again to celebrate but apparently once you turn two no one really uses the 'corrected' age anymore so I think this year will be the last of double birthdays.  Humph. I better get extra cake next time!

Bye for now,
love
Arthur
xxx

Toddling along

Hello everybody!

Let me start with my big news - I can walk!! They said I wouldn't manage it (actually, the exact phrase was "I'm not saying he'll never walk but...") and, to be honest I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. Having turned 2 'officially' at the end of January, I decided that it was time to try my hand at walking without something to hold on to.  I needed a little persuasion and a trip to St. Lucia to do it but now I'm up and off all on my own!

At the beginning of the month Mum, Dad and I packed up a lot of nappies, Weetabix, raisins, seemingly all the clothes I own, and the odd bit of swimwear and headed off to St. Lucia for a couple of weeks of relaxation and sunshine.  I even got my own seat on the plane as I didn't enjoy the last trip back from Italy on Dad's lap quite so much and this was much more satisfactory.  I had my little iPad and M+D either side of me to keep me safe and sound.  I practiced my charm offensive with passengers and cabin crew.

We spent the first week in a big resort with lots of swimming pools and steep hills.  M+D didn't seem to like having to push my buggy up and down the slopes especially as own room was on the other side of the resort from the Kids' Club and pool.  (Morgan Bay - seriously not recommended) Still, we met some other families and spent most of the time by the Kids' pool and that's where M+D began encouraging to walk on my own.  They started by helping me walk in a pool where the water wasn't too deep but could support some of my weight and off I went.  I was a bit wobbly at first but soon got the hang of it.

Splish splash

We went to the Drive thru' volcano in the south of the island at Soufriere and I splashed about in the warm, volcanic mud pools there. 

Mud, mud glorious mud...

Our first resort was on the Caribbean side of the island and I swam with Daddy in the sea there.
But since it didn't really work for families, we moved to a second resort for the next week and this is where I perfected my skills - on the beach.  The sand meant it didn't hurt if I fell over.  This resort was on the Atlantic side of the island. So I've now swum in the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean - how cool is that!

Atlantic ocean waves

I learnt a new trick from David one of the bar men.  He taught me to say 'yeah man!' and to make a fist to bounce against someone else's fist.  This makes M&D giggle a lot so they keep doing it with me now we're home too!  Even the Nursery staff are doing it.  Honestly!

Pitons

We had a fabulous second week (at Cotton Bay), met some lovely other families, met up with M&D's friends Cat and James - I got a babysitter, they got giggly on rum! All to soon it was time to come back. This time I got my own bed - and found it had little switches which made it whizz back and forth. Huge fun for me, slightly annoying for Dad as he tried to sleep, oops!

So now I can toddle along on my own, getting up from sitting without needing someone or something to help me.  It means I'm playing more with the other children at nursery and that I've graduated from the fabulous charity Small Steps, who were such a help to M&D - I got a certificate signed by all the staff!  They have helped me get going and I know M&D are very grateful!

My words have come on leaps and bounds.  I can ask for things by name rather than just pointing.  This mainly refers to the iPad - or Ipider as I like to call it.  Mum thinks this is because I have an App of The Incy Wincy Spider on it and I've muddled the words.   She still knows what I'm asking for though. I can also say some phrases too - 'how are you?'; 'I am fine' and I know my name is Arthur Eccles.  Granny W taught me this last one when she came to baby sit when Nursery was closed.  We had lots of fun and I showed her how to use my iPad and she read me lots of books and watched me walk all over the house including up the stairs.  I need to be watched closely when I do stairs as I'm still not great at going down them and can be a little unsteady.

And did I mention I can count - all the way to seventeen, which is more numbers than I'll ever need I reckon.

Back in dear old London and boy is it chilly.  I've been busy socialising - with Isabella at Gymboree, Artie,  my Godparents and their daughters and with Jill at M&D's favourite gallery: the New Academy and Curwen.  Her space is brilliant for walking practice although M+D did keep stopping me touching things.  Spoil sports!

Bye for now,

Arthur xxx

Birthday greetings

 Hello everyone,

I started the year a troubled soul. We went to my Godparents’ for New Year’s Eve and the three of us were meant to be sleeping in their spare bed. Well I just couldn’t get comfortable, so I had to wake Mummy, then Daddy, then Mummy, then both, then anyone and everyone to explain that I was unhappy. I was perfectly fine the next day. M&D looked tired poor things.

I’m continuing to learn new tricks every week. It’s very satisfying and certainly seems to keep M&D happy. They keep saying well done – and I give myself a round of applause. Mum says I get this from Dad!

New stuff I can do:

Cruising – I can get anywhere in a room if you just give me the odd thing to cling on to.

Standing – I can now stand up on my own. This becomes a bit of a surprise if I do it in the middle of the room as there’s nothing to grab, so I have to sit down again!

I’ve tried walking but you get all wobbly and fall over. M&D and my lovely physiotherapist keep pushing me. I’ll walk when I want to, thank you!

I can climb stairs though. This is new and great fun. I did shock Mum by showing her that I didn’t know how to come down again. I may have bumped my way down but no injuries.

Did I mention I can count? Well I can. Let me show you: Won, too, free, for, fife, seax, nine, ten; bap, bap, bap. That last bit is me clapping ‘cos I’ve done so well. Seven and eight are overrated!

As a result of my obvious genius I’ve been moved up in Gymboree, which means I get to explore a bit more and have more toddlers around me who are walking.  It also means I get to spend time with my friend Isabella who has also moved class too.  She is encouraging me to walk on my own too but I’m quite happy bum shuffling for the time being.

Other things this month – it snowed! In London! I hadn’t played in snow before so M&D took me outside and we built a snowman, then a snow family of three, just like us. It turns out that snow is quite cold and doesn’t taste nearly as good as it looks. Still, it gets M&D very excited.

And Dad went away again for week but I wasn’t ill this time. It did mean he was away for my actual birthday but Mummy gave me extra kisses and I threw my food around slightly less than usual to say thank you.

Helping build our snow family

So M&D held my birthday party on the Saturday. All my godparents came and so did Sophie and Marcus, Robin’s parents who I met in C&W Hospital when he and I were both tiny. Godmummy Sherifa and Goddaddy Fred had made me a cake in the shape of the dinosaur from my favourite book: Dinosaur sleepover. It was quite the best cake ever. So what did they all do. No go on, guess.

Super cool cake and book!

They put me to bed. To bed! To sleep! They then ate lots of food, stinky cheese and drank Daddy’s special grape juice and then they ATE MY CAKE. Without me. Humph.  I did get some the next day though.  It was yummy!

I tell you something; I’m not standing for this next year. I did get super pressies though so a huge thanks to everyone for the presents and the cards.  I feel very special indeed and have lots of new toys to play with.

Lots of love to all,

Arthur xxx

Very Merry Christmas

Hello everyone and I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.

December has been a very busy month not just for Mum and Dad preparing for Christmas but for me too.

Peekaboo

At the beginning of the month I had a Speech and Language appointment.  Another new therapist but not a locum this time.  She was very impressed by my development in my pretend play, word use and understanding as well my bum shuffling! She's going to see me in March but said that I would probably be discharged at that appointment if I continue to do so well.  Since then I've been mimicking nearly all the words I hear.  I can now say 'clap' and 'grandpa', 'highchair' and 'juice'.  All very satisfying for M + D and grandpa E.  I'm working on 'granny' and still filtering out the rude ones. I also say "uh-oh" whenever anything goes wrong. Apparently this is very cute.

More technology with Grandpa

I've also learned the actions to 'Wind the Bobbin up' and 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.  I look a little bit like a mini Usain Bolt when I 'point to the door'. Well, sort of.

Point to the door

I've been concentrating on my Physio and can now cruise along the sofa and cross the 90 degrees to the other sofa without stumbling.  Along with this little development I then surpassed myself at Christmas in front of the grandparents by walking with the help of my walker (a belated thank you to Alicja) and pulling myself to standing at the sofa and stairs without help.  This has led to much excitement and rapid baby proofing.

We had an early Christmas at Granny and Grandpa E's with my Uncle Toby, Aunt Julia and my cousins, before they went to Sweden.  Yummy food, lovely times reading and watching Pingu with Lydia and Siri and saying hello to the dog, Cobber.  Mum had to leave a bit early as she had a Carol Concert to rehearse for.  Dad and I joined her later for the actual performance.  I loved it and clapped and cheered every time Mum finished singing whether it was the end of the piece or not!

Watching Pingu

We went to listen to the annual open air tuba carol concert at St. Paul's Cathedral with my friend Robin and his parents.  We took tea and they brought mince pies. The tubas were raising money for The Evelina Children's Hospital (where I spent the last couple of weeks in hospital after I was born).  They played lots of Christmas tunes and the conductor told us lots of interesting facts about the tuba and its various friends like the sousaphone.

Then it was time for more Christmas preparations at our house.  We tidied, rearranged furniture, eliminated drafts with chimney balloons and bought a Christmas tree. Mum baked biscuits to decorate the tree. Most of the biscuits made it to the tree. I like biscuits. Mum took me shopping for last minute purchases and we had a yummy lunch in Giraffe.  I discovered tomato ketchup and how to dip chips into it.  Delicious.


We had our Nativity play at Nursery.  All the children in my room had to dress as animals, so Mum and Dad were very industrious and made me a costume.  Everyone has heard of the tiger who came to the birth of baby Jesus?  Haven't they?

Grrr

Mum has been taking me swimming as my lessons have been on hold over the Christmas period.  Dad and Granny W came to watch.  I had lots of fun diving off the side and splashing around and a little boy raced me and encouraged me to kick after balls floating in the pool. 

Christmas itself was spent at home and Granny and Grandpa E and Granny W came to stay.  Mum cooked, Dad helped and I entertained the Grandparents with all my new tricks.  I got LOTS of presents - thank you to everyone. I played with my new bath drums, xylophone and flutes, my skittles, trains, Jack in the Box, tea set, telephone and many more besides.  Phew.

After the Grandparents had gone home, Mum, Dad and I prepared for a day off.  The BBC had other ideas and Dad spent the whole day doing interviews on radio and TV.  He looked very smart.

Dad's on the TV

Now it's nearly the end of of this post and the end of 2012.  What a year it's been.  Here's to 2013 - may it be exciting and full of good things for everyone.  Happy New Year!

Finishing touches...

Bye for now,

Arthur xxx

November

Hello everyone,

Once again, I'm sorry for the late arrival of my post - you'd think I'd be early rather than late given my precocious start but never mind!

More progress at my end to report...
I'm using more words.  This was demonstrated nicely when my friend Artie came to visit.  I called him Ardhee, called myself Ardhur and played peedabooooo (peek-a-boo).  I've also started asking for bordher (water).  I can copy sounds too so M+D have been having fun  helping me say other things like pull, push, cup, dog etc.  I can still say banana, hello, bye bye and potato and blueberry.  The babbling has also increased.  M+D still need more lessons in my language but they are improving slowly.

As well as copying words, I can copy actions.  This has led to Mum teaching me 'If you're happy and you know it'.  I clap my hands, pat my head, pat the floor and stamp my feet in all the right places.  I like stamping my feet the most and sometimes get a bit carried away and forget the rest of the verses.  

The bum shuffling has also been stepped up (see what I did there?) with a vengeance.  I'm super speedy, determined and silent.  I'm quicker at getting from lying flat to sitting upright and I've started rocking onto all fours.  This is a big deal according to my physio as it means my shoulders are getting stronger and I'll be able to start getting from sitting to standing via a kneeling position once I decide I'm ready.  Well, you know me, I take my time!  This new improved mobility has got Mum all excited and she's now taking me swimming, to Gymboree and also to a new group for children with additional physical needs called Small Steps.  I've been on a waiting list and now my name has come up so I've been assessed and they think I will benefit from a 'short but sweet' term of intensive help to get me up on 2 feet.  They are brilliant and help young children, and their families.  I had my first session last week and found it really good, if a little tiring but the physiotherapist and teacher there said I did well for my first session and that my stamina would improve as time goes on.

Cutlery is over rated.

It was Mum's birthday this month and I gave her the best present ever.  I had a Movement assessment and the Developmental Paediatrician said I was hitting all my milestones appropriately for my corrected age of 18 months and that if she didn't know my history (being so premature and having the brain bleeds etc) then she wouldn't be able to tell by looking at me.  This is fantastic news; as I'm sure you know all the negative predictions M+D had been given by my doctors early on in my life.  So far, though, it looks like they've been proved wrong.  If they are anything like Mum or Dad in their jobs, they will be super pleased they have been proved wrong in such a positive way.  It also, shows what a good job all my doctors and nurses did whilst I was in hospital to ensure I really did do the very best I could despite all that I've been through.  It's still early days but so much more positive than before.

Now it's getting colder, Mum insists on wrapping me up nice a warm in my buggy.  This is fine but I don't like wearing hats very much (summer or winter) and gloves are a bit of an inconvenience too.  I don't seem to have much of a choice though.

Snug as a bug and high visability.

Another month has flown by.  Next month is Christmas and then it's my SECOND birthday. Yes folks, it will be a whole 2 years since I took Mum and Dad (and everyone else) by surprise.  Who knows what mischief I can get up to in 2013?

Love to all and bye for now,

Arthur xxx

October-fest

Very sorry we're running late this month. I've been a bit under the weather lately - nothing too serious: snuffles and industrial quantities of snot; but I passed it on to Mummy (it's good to share, and all that) and so things slowed down a bit.

Anyway - here's a round up of the October news.
Running:
Mum ran her half marathon round the parks of London. She'd told Daddy she'd take about 2 and a half hours and did it in 2hrs 30mins and 9 secs which is rather impressive if you knew she'd done no training! And she only needed to walk for a teeny bit (hardly at all) - so that's good. Daddy and I were in support mode; walking all over Hyde park to make sure we saw Mummy in three different places. I clapped and looked extra-cute to help. Thanks to you lovely people Mummy raised a total of £600 for Bliss. Big big thank you to all of you!!! I think Mummy may be planning to run the London Marathon when I am 3 years old - she may need your help!

Walking:
I can walk. I don't, obviously. But if someone holds onto my hands, and I like them, and I'm in the right mood then I can walk. This seems to make M&D very excited so they keep standing me up. And I keep sitting back down - one doesn't want to rush these things.

Transitions:
I've learned to sit up from lying and roll over whenever I want. This means I can now get from flat to mobile. Whilst this is clearly brilliant, it does have its downside - I have fallen off the bed. I seem to bounce though.

Talking:
I can count to two. Strictly speaking I can count "two" as I'm not really interested in single things. I can also say 'purple, bubble, tato (potato), nana (banana), nigh nigh and blueberry'. I also continue to talk constantly but my parents just can't work out what I'm saying. This is really stupid of them as I keep repeating myself to make it easier.

Teeth:
I have 16 (yes 16) teeth now and still seem to get new ones. They're really sore to make. but they do make toast easier. I like toast. I also like Nutella. You can make a fantastic mess with nutella. I have also realised that some foods taste yummy (nutella, toast, yogurt, banana, peas and smoothies) and others don't (everything else). Why on earth does anyone eat the non-yummy foods? I am trying to make my preferences known - spitting food out, hurling it to the floor and generally shouting, but they still keep giving me the wrong things. They really are hopeless, still persistence should win this game.

Drawing:
I can draw. Well to be fair, I can make marks with pens or crayons. Now I don't know if you've ever tried drawing when you're 2 foot nothing and sat on the floor - but it's much easier to draw on vertical surfaces than on paper on the floor. Oh, and the pens taste delicious. This tends to lead to Mummy chasing after me to clear up and me with pen all over my face.

God parent dinners:
My god-parents are super. Both sets had me to dinner this month. I have a sneaky feeling that they all stay up after I've gone to bed, but it was lovely to see them all and be generally fussed over.

Um.. That's about it for this month, it's been a bit of a quiet one. So here's a list of my favorite things to keep us going:
Bath time - I love splashing around
Books. At the moment I'm reading "That's not my puppy/Lion/Elephant/Tiger"
Pens - especially to eat
Cables. These are brilliant, and every time you pull or chew on one you get an imediate reaction from M&D
Glasses. I don't know about you, but I think glasses look cool. Every time I see them I want to pull them off whoever's face they're on, and wear them myself!
Planes. I like flying - so naturally I keep spotting planes overhead. And since we're on the way to Heathrow I can see lots of them!
Hugs and chat. Hugs with people I know, and chats with people I don't know well enough to hug.

I'll try and make sure we get the next one out on time
Love and hugs,
Arthur x