Wednesday 30th July 2008

After catching up with Granny Judy and the Howell clan on Saturday for Granny Jackie's 80th birthday, we went to my friend Amy's baptism on Sunday. It was great fun, and we even had cream teas in the garden afterwards. Amy had some water poured over her head by her grandfather George who is a vicar. I don't think I'm looking forward to that bit of my baptism, although I'm told that it is rather an important part of the service. I got a bit jealous when mummy held Amy during the service though! I also got to meet Amy's grandmother, who I know has been a keen follower of my progress on the blog, so it was lovely to meet her face to face. I'm crawling a lot now, and trying to pull myself up onto things. All daddy's hard work in the kitchen has paid off, and try as I might I just can't open any of the cupboards! The drawers seem like a better prospect, so I think I'll give them a go tomorrow! It's Grandpa's birthday on Sunday, so he's coming down for lunch with Granny, and cousin Daniel and the twins are also coming over with Auntie Emma and Uncle Philip. I'm very excited to see them all, and I'm looking forward to being ableto try out our new awning, to protect us all from the sun. I'll be going to Saturday sing-along with mummy on Saturday morning, before heading off to see mummy's and daddy's friends Mel and Simon for a barbeque in Crick. Fingers crossed for good weather, although Grandpa Meikle may want it to rain over the weekend, based on England's performance in the cricket today! Enjoy your day at Edgbaston tomrrow Grandpa. Let's hope for a few early wickets, otherwise only the rain can save us!

Thursday 24th July 2008

I haven’t been writing in my diary for ages. It’s because I’m out at nursery all day, and when I get home I’ve just about got enough time for a snack, some milk, a bit of a play, bath and then bed. I had my MMR and pneumococcal jabs last week. They hurt a lot, and I had a big bruise on my leg from one of the injections. I was supposed to go to see my cousin Daniel for his birthday on Saturday, but poor Daniel broke his arm on Thursday, when he was out on his birthday outing, so no party on Sunday. Instead mummy took me out in my buggy to Ardington in the morning, and we went for a swift walk, interspersed with the odd burst of running. I slept most of the way, but enjoyed looking at the countryside as well, especially the cows in the fields. Mummy and I met up with daddy in the café at Ardington and we all had brunch together, which was very nice. I feel very at home in Ardington, because I know that the last lady of the manor was also called Harriet! Mummy went off to see cousin Daniel in the afternoon, and I stayed with daddy. In fact I stayed with Daddy by myself all afternoon, all evening and all night, as mummy stayed up in Birmingham with her friends Jenny and Helen. I didn’t really miss mummy at all to be honest, especially as I don’t get my milk from mummy anymore. I have special milk in a cup now. I have goat’s milk rather than cow’s milk, as it’s milder for my tummy. I don’t like to drink too much of it, but I make up for that by having lots of yoghurt and cheese. In fact I prefer chucking my milk on the floor rather than drinking it! On Sunday when mummy got back, she took me to my friend Christopher’s birthday party. I had a lovely time playing with my NCT pals, and ate lots of cheese crackers! What fun I had. I can eat crackers easily as I now have 6 teeth, 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom, and I think I may be getting a few more. Exciting news today is that I have finally started crawling! I had been on the cusp for a good few weeks, and mummy and daddy thought the day would never arrive. This morning I sort of did it, but not quite, and then tonight I really crawled properly across the playroom. I am very proud of myself, and I think once I’ve had a good bit of practice I’ll get very good at it. It opens up a whole new world, and I heard mummy and daddy talking about baby gates – so I suspect that there’ll be a few barriers appearing round the house to stop me from going wherever I want to! Oh well. I’ve got a hectic weekend ahead. It’s great granny Jackie’s 80th birthday celebration on Saturday, so I’ll be able to show everyone my crawling exploits, and see my cousin Isabelle again. Then my friend Amy is being baptised on Sunday down in Wellow near Southampton, and Mummy is being godmother. My baptism will be very soon too – only a few weeks away. I’m having a great big party, so I’m very excited. Hurrah.

Sunday 6th July 2008

I went to visit my new cousin Isabelle Grace yesterday (I now have 4 cousins, 2 boys and 2 girls). She is very beautiful with lots of lovely dark hair - infact she has more hair than I do. I think we're going to have lots of fun playing together when she's a bit bigger. I got a bit jealous of mummy and daddy when they were holding her though, I don't like it when I don't get all the attention!Anyway, today was a big day for mummy, as it was her race day. It was raining very hard, so daddy and I had to consider whether we would go and cheer her on or not, as we didn't like the idea of going out into the cold. We had a bit of a chat, and decided that mummy probably needed our support after all, so off we all went down to Newbury bright and early. We met up with my friend Imogen and her parents John and Diana, as Diana was running with mummy and the other ladies from Buggyfit. Mummy and Diana did really well, and ran round the course in no time, despite the heavy rain. Imogen and I stayed nice and dry in our buggies, whilst the daddies got very wet. Mummy was running for her uncle Michael, and also for her friend Melanie's daddy, and she made it round the 5km course in 27 minutes and 51 seconds. She was aiming for 30 minutes, so she was very pleased. Imogen and I were very proud of our mummies, so after we had finally made it out of the car park, we took them for a pub lunch with our daddies. Well, after a tiring weekend, I'm back at nursery tomorrow. My goal this week is to finally get this crawling lark sorted out. Maybe now that I've got 4 teeth, it'll make it a bit easier!

Thursday 3rd July 2008

What's been happening since I last updated my diary? Well I've been to a birthday party. My friend Harry was 1 on 27th June, so me and my pal Isobel went along to celebrate with him last Saturday. What else? Well, I've got my top 2 teeth coming through finally. After weeks of a spotty face, a sore bottom, a runny nose and copious amounts of bonjela they have finally put in an appearance. Thank goodness for that. I'm still not quite crawling. I'm trying really hard, but I just can't quite muster the strength to get my legs doing what they're supposed to. Lots of my friends are doing it already, and my friends Amelia and Poppy are even walking - wow. They are clever. But I'm rolling around a lot and managing to cover a lot of ground! I have a new cousin as from today, which is the most exciting news. She is called Isabelle Grace and was born this morning at 9.09am weighing 8lb 6oz (that's 6lb 1oz more than I did!). Congratulations Auntie Shellie & Uncle Chris. I'm looking forward to meeting cousin Isabelle soon, and telling her all the tricks to keep her mummy and daddy on their toes! I've set a date for my baptism by the way - Sunday 24th August - around the time when I should have been having my first birthday. I'm looking forward to seeing all my pals there, and my neighbour Father Keith is going to baptise me, which will be nice. Mummy says she's got a tier of her and daddy's wedding cake in the freezer to have as my baptism cake. Not sure I like the idea of a 5 year old cake, but mummy assures me it will taster yummy. Mummy is running her 5km race for life on Sunday, so don't forget to sponsor her. Run, mummy run!

Sunday 22nd June 2008

I've spent a smashing weekend with Granny Judy and great Uncle Steve this weekend. Mummy and daddy went off to their friends Andrea and Mike's wedding in Marple near Manchester, so they left me for the very first time overnight. We drove up to Sutton Coldfield on Friday night, and then mummy and daddy went off up North on Saturday morning. I had a lovely time with Granny. We went visiting the family, we went to the park and the supermarket, and I played a lot in the living room. I've got my own special buggy and high chair to use when I come to stay, and Granny Judy had even made me some special food to eat, which was yummy. I was very well behaved and was a model baby all the time. I slept through from 8.30pm to 7.30am, and I didn't cry once, apart from when I had my bath. My bottom was a bit sore you see, so I didn't like the feel of the water on it! I was a bit confused when mummy and daddy arrived back this afternoon. So many people, and I didn't know who I should cuddle, but after a snooze and some yummy dinner I felt much better, and ready for another fun packed week at nursery. It's my friend Harry's birthday party next Saturday, so I'm excited about going to that, as I'll see him and also my friend Isobel. But in the meantime I'm going to keep practising my crawling - I'm not quite there yet, but I'm sure it won't be long now. I've just got to learn to swing my leg round a little bit more, and I'll be off!

Friday 13th June 2008

Well they say that Friday 13th is unlucky for some, and it defintely was for me, as mummy took me to the doctors to have my booster immunisation. I was very brave though, and only cried a little bit, before mummy took me back to nursery, so that she could go back to work. Anyway, I bet you're dying to know how my party went. Well, I had a lovely time, and I think all my guests did too. Mummy and Aunty Jenny spent ages preparing lots of lovely food for the barbeque, and mummy even made a cake for me. We had lovely weather, and I played a lot with my friends Isobel and Harry. Gene and Oscar were there too, and had a great time playing in my playroom. Check out their cool dude hairstyles. I got to spend lots of time with Granny Judy, Aunty Shellie and my godmothers Jenny and Becky.


Granny and Grandpa Meikle bought me a particularly lovely Thomas the Tank Engine blackboard with all sorts of excting accessories. I tried to eat it, but it didn't taste very nice! I was given so many presents - you wouldn't believe it, everyone was very generous. I've even got a copy of the 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' in German. It's called ' Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt' , and was sent to me from Tante Susanne in Austria. Mummy has hidden most of my presents under my cot until she can work out where to put them, but I've been allowed to play with some plastic fruit and vegetables, which my NCT pals bought for me, together with my very own play kitchen! On Sunday mummy and daddy took me on a birthday outing to the Cotswold Wildlife Park. We had a super time, and I even met some goats close up, which was fab. I saw some lions, zebras, rhino and even some lemurs and meercats. We then went over to Cheltenham to drop off some things with Aunty Emma, as she and Uncle Philip has left some of their stuff at our house after the party. It's my friend Isobel's birthday today. She's just 4 days younger than me, although her due date was a whole month before me. Happy Birthday Isobel. Mummy has been back at work this week, so I've been keeping my fingers crossed that it all goes well. She seems to have had a good week, although she is very tired, and the fact that I'm tired too in the evenings, which makes me very fractious, doesn't help. I'm also waking up quite early in the morning, and I've started rotating myself round in my cot, so that I get myself stuck, and in a bit of a pickle, so mummy and daddy have to come and rescue me, which at 5.30am in the morning isn't something that they're very keen on. Oops. Maybe I'll try and have a lie in tomorrow morning.....By the way, my friend Ava moved into her new house in America today. Hope the move went well Ava.

Tuesday 3rd June 2008

The countdown begins. Only a week to go until my birthday. That's right, I'm going to be 1 on Monday - the day mummy goes back to work infact. I can't believe she's going back to work on my birthday, can you? But I don't mind really, as I get to celebrate a whole 2 days early on Saturday. There'll be cake and balloons and a sausage or 2 on the barbeque. The weather forecast looks good, so hopefully daddy won't have to stand under the umbrella inhaling smoke from the barbeque. It'll be the first time my cousins Georgie and Joseph have seen my house, so I'm looking forward to showing them round. My godmothers Jenny and Becky will also be there. I've decided that mummy needs some time at home to arrange my party, so I'm leaving her to her own devices this week. After a lovely week at home with both mummy and daddy, I'm getting to go to nursery every day this week. I'm going to have to get used to it, as this is the way it's going to be from now on. But I don't mind. Infact I love nursery. Yesterday I ate everything that I was given. I had some yummy chicken curry for lunch and some tomato soup and jam roly poly for tea. Carla, one of my carers said that I was excellent with eating lumps, and everyone told mummy how good I'd been and what a happy, smiley baby I am. Gold star for me I think, I'd better keep up the good work! On Saturday last week mummy and daddy took me over to Cheltenham for a party. We were celebrating the 70th birthday of my cousins' other granny Mary. You see they've got 2 grannies just like me, except I've got a granny Judy and they've got a granny Mary! It was great fun, and I showed everyone just how good I've been getting with my food recently, eating every mouthful, and even holding my mouth open for mummy to put the next spoonful in. I realised while we were in Austria, and I was being given baby food from the supermarket, that mummy's cooking isn't really that bad, and that I'd better eat it up quick incase she decides not to make any more! I impressed Granny and Grandpa Meikle with my chatting and my newfound mobility. Even though I can't quite crawl yet, I'm teetering on the brink, and I'm making a big effort to try and do it in time for my birthday. I've been teething loads, but still no more teeth. The 2 teeth that I have got are well and truly through now though, and I can crucn hmy way through all sorts of yummy food now. Mummy has even bought me some chocolate biscotti, which are specially for babies. They are my favourite. Why has nobody told me about chocolate up to now? I have a feeling I'm going to like it. I hope I get some for my birthday - but even if I do I think mummy and daddy may confiscate it! Only a month to go until mummy does her 5km run, and she's already raised over £400 for Cancer Research. This is especially important as my Great Uncle Michael has cancer at the moment, and mummy's friend Melanie's daddy too. Mummy had her picture taken yesterday for the newspaper with the other 'Buggyfit' mums who are also taking part. I missed the photoshoot, because of being in nusery though. My first chance of real fame thwarted. But I'm sure I'll get another chance. I was watching' Britain's got Talent' last week, and I think my rolling over would impress Simon Cowell, Maybe I'll audition next year! I want to say a special hello to my friend Ava in America. Ava has been out enjoying the California sunshine for nearly a month now. Enjoy the lovely wearther Ava - it's raining here! By the way - contrary to what you might think from the photos, I have been smiling a lot recently - I just don't like doing it for the camera!

Monday 26th May 2008

Well, I'm finally back in good old Blighty after my 2 week break to Austria. I had a lovely time and met lots of new people, but I must admit that it was all a bit unsettling for me, so I am very pleased to be back at home with all my things around me. Daddy completed his bike ride in 4 hours, 44 minutes and 28 seconds, so I was very proud of him. He's raised a whole lot of money for research into premature birth, so well done to him. You can still sponsor him by clicking on the link to the left. After he got back from Scotland, daddy flew out to be with us for a few days in Austria. We had a nice few days, and the weather got very nice and hot towards the end of our stay. On Thursday we went on the bus over to mummy's friend Susanne in Hörbranz. We went for a lovely long walk and I met some Austrian cows and horses face to face. Mummy tells me we saw some goats too, but I managed to sleep through that part! On Friday we went with Karin, Alissa and Aaron on a boat over to Lindau in Germany, as little medieval town just over the border. It was great fun. We sat and had 'Kaffee und Kuchen' on the harbour before getting the train back over to Austria. I must have gone back and forth across the borders with Switzerland and Germany at least 10 times during my stay - what a well travelled baby I am already! Whilst I was in Austria, I noticed on my boyfriend Oscar's blog that his mummy had started putting him on a potty, so I decided to try one as well. I didn’t do anything in it, but it was great fun to sit in it, and pretend to be a big girl. We flew back to England from Zurich yesterday evening. Alissa and Aaron's daddy drove us to Zurich airport and our flight left at 19.20. I was very good on the plane and slept on daddy's lap the whole way back. I enjoyed the airport. I even went down an escalator in my buggy. It was an extremely tall one, and it was very exciting. Daddy thinks I'm a thrillseeking baby! We got home late, but I was good and went to sleep in my cot straightaway. It was great to be back in my own bed, and to see all my cot pals again. I woke up at 6am this morning, but I can be forgiven, as it was 7am Austrian time! I miss Austria already, so I'm watching the Sound of Music on the TV this afternoon so I don't feel so bad. I taught my friend Alissa the song 'Edelweiss' when I was in Austria, as it was a song that mummy used to sing to me when I was in hospital, so I'm looking forward to hearing that one. Mummy has decided that she really needs to start talking to me in German now, as it's the best time for me to learn more languages. I heard a lot of German when I was in Austria, and I've started to try and make lots of new noises with my mouth. Maybe my first word will be a German one! Anyway, I've got daddy at home all week this week. He'll be babyproofing everything for me for when I start crawling, which I don't think will be far away now. I start nursery full time next week. Can you believe it? And then a week on Saturday I've got my first birthday party. I'm so excited. My friends Oscar, Gene, Harry and Isobel will be there, as well as my cousins Daniel, Georgie and Joseph. I can't wait. Lets keep our fingers crossed for good weather.

Friday 16th May 2008

Well hello from sunny Austria. Mummy and I arrived here on Saturday. Terminal 5 was very nice and new, and everything went very smoothly. It was my first time on a plane and I was very well behaved. Everyone thought I was very sweet and even the pilots came out to meet me. I was a bit of a flirt with them, I must admit! Mummy's friend Veronika came all the way to Zurich to pick us up from the airport and take us over the border into Austria to Bregenz. Bregenz is the main town in the province of Vorarlberg in Austria, and mummy lived there for 8 months during her degree, teaching English. We've spent the last week catching up with old friends, and meeting new ones too. My new best friends are Alissa and Aaron, who are the children of mummy's friends Emanuel and Diane. Emanuel is Veronika's brother.You can see Alissa with me in all the photos. You can also see a photo of Karin who is Emanuel and Veronika's mummy. Mummy lived in a flat in Karin's house when she lived in Austria. Whilst we are here, we're staying in a flat in the house next to their's, but we can go to Karin's to have our breakfast every morning, which is lovely. I can tuck into some freshly baked bread with my morning porridge, which is yummy. True to form though, I've become ill since I've arrived here. I've had an eye infection, diarrhoea, and now I've got a new cough, plus to top it all off I've now got nappy rash! I guess it's taken me a while to get used to being somewhere new, but I'm sure I'll be okay by the time daddy gets here. Talking of daddy, he's gone off to Scotland today with his bike ready for the big ride on Sunday. He's raised over £500 already, but wouldn't it be great if he could get to £1000? We'll see, but anyway we wish him lots of luck. Mummy and I are very much looking forward to seeing him on Tuesday, when he comes out to join us in Austria for a few days. Wir wünschen Dir eine gute Reise daddy. Bis bald. xxxxx

Wednesday 7th May 2008

Well I am all better finally. I was ill for a long time. I had a nasty virus, and then I got a tummy bug and to top it all off I then got an ear infection so had to have antibiotics last week. They did the trick though, and I feel loads better now. That’s more than I can say for mummy and daddy though, they are both still coughing away - I do feel sorry for them. Whilst I was ill I was sick all over the laptop, which means that some of the keys don’t work properly. This means that it takes ages to type, which is why I haven't updated my diary for such a long time. I ended up not seeing my friend Amy or going to see my cousins last week because of mummy and I being ill, but we did make it to Oscar's birthday bash on Saturday, which was great fun. I caught up with my mates and met a nice doggy in the pub too. I did think he was funny, but I don’t think he liked it when I poked him in the eye! I was feeling fit as a fiddle on Sunday, so I went over to my friend Nia's house for the day to help her daddy in the garden, or rather my daddy helped her daddy, and Nia and I had a jolly good time playing together. Yesterday I enjoyed a visit from granny and grandpa Meikle, my mate Isobel and her mummy Jayne, and today my good friend Poppy came to visit. I'll be thinking of my friend Ava tomorrow as she jet sets off to California. She'll be there for 3 years with her daddy's work. Good luck Ava - we'll miss you. Talking of jetsetting, we're off to Austria on Saturday. It will be my first time on an aeroplane outside of mummy's tummy. How exciting! By the way Daddy has raised £100 sponsorship so far, but needs more people to sponsor him to raise money for premature babies. There's still time to sponsor him by clicking on the link on the left. Go on, you know you want to!

Tuesday 29th April 2008

Well, I've been poorly for over a week now with a nasty virus. It started off disguised as a cold, but developed into something horrid that included sickness and diarrhoea - yuck. Mummy and daddy and I thought I'd got over it at the end of last week, so I went to nursery on Friday, and all seemed well, but then I started being sick over the weekend. I'm feeling a bit better today, but I missed my visit to Granny Judy's so I feel sad about that. My friend Amy is coming to see me tomorrow though, so that will cheer me up a bit. Daddy's bike ride is less than 3 weeks away, so he needs some sponsors quick. If you click on the link on the left, you'll be able to donate online and help him raise money for 'Action Medical Research', which is a charity who pioneer research into premature birth, to find out why babies like me, Oscar and Gene were born early. A worthy cause, I think you'll agree. Talking of Oscar - it's his first birthday tomorrow - can you believe it? HAPPY BIRTHDAY OSCAR! I'll see you at the weekend for celebrations down the pub!

Tuesday 22nd April 2008

I've got another cold. It's becoming quite a normal thing now that I get a new cold every week! This one is the worst yet I think, and I've nearly lost my voice, so I can only croak now! Anyway, enough of me feeling sorry for myself, what have I been up to? Well, I went to see my cousins last Thursday, and we went to play in the park. I went on the swings and on some rocking animals, and had great fun. When I'm a bit bigger I'll be able to go on the slide and the climbing frame with my cousin Daniel. Then yesterday after buggyfitting in the rain, mummy took me over to my friend Nia's house so that I could have my photo taken with all my NCT pals. Nia's mummy Lisa took some super photos of us all, so I'll put one on my blog for you to see soon. Today Granny and Grandpa Meikle came to see me. They think that I've come on a lot in 2 weeks, and were impressed with my clapping and chatting (or should I say croaking). I'm off to Cheltenham to stay with my cousins again tonight for a couple of days, so I'll really miss daddy, but I'll see him again on Thursday. I hope I feel better soon, and that this is the last cold of the winter - fingers crossed!