Julie's Boggle

I have to admit, even if I say so myself, that I’m very pleased with Jessica’s updated fringe (above right).  It’s been driving me a little crazy for ages now but cutting it is such a performance that I’ve been putting it off for weeks.  I strongly debated trying to get her to a hairdresser’s but I’ve yet to find one with the special gift of dealing with children in Durham (except for the barber who does Jonathan!) and without that, dealing with a wriggly under-2 is just too painful to watch!

In the end, I did my familiar trick of getting her into her high-chair with a pile of potential distractions nearby and attacked her thick fringe with my home-hairdresser scissors.  Jess was, as usual, unimpressed and despite my wetting the hair, soon had little bits all over her face and (somehow) stuck to her tongue.  At this stage she started to gripe and swat the scissors away and it was just luck that I’d managed to get enough off, and roughly feathered, and in a straight enough line, to leave it be.  Whew!

Jonathan (4y 5m) and Jessica (19m) in their second school portrait setting

Just eight months on, and we have another set of school photos, this time with Jonathan in Reception class.  For the record, I was far less impressed with this photographer than with the one who did Jon’s nursery portrait.  (The guy who took that photo made it look so easy, and I have twice as much respect for his easy manner with children – it’s a gift!)

The latest school photographer didn’t seem to have any flair for interacting with youngsters, she wasn’t particularly quick off the mark with capturing her shot, and she didn’t have a helper either which made it all a lot harder for both of us!

For the shot above, Jon was quite delighted with having Jess on his back, but he quickly started wriggling madly from side to side, laughing crazily.  Good from the perspective of making Jess giggle, but not at all useful for focussing.  He wouldn’t listen to my pleas for him to stop, and the photographer’s response was to look hopelessly at me!

We did try other poses too, but the annoyance factor was definitely rising.  Jon took his opportunity to crawl off amongst the lights, wires and umbrellas behind the photographer giggling like a lunatic, and once we had him back, Jessica kept crawling towards me whenever I called out to get her to look at the camera.  (The nursery school photographer had a fluffy toy on a long stick which achieved smiles and attention in one – this one had nothing!)  Sigh.

I came out feeling shattered – not to mention guilty about the long queue of parents and children behind us who we’d kept waiting during all the mucking about – but at least we managed to salvage a picture.  Jonathan’s solo portrait (right) taken later in the day is actually a much better shot of him, but the price for one set is extortionate, never mind two.  So we took our hard-won combination photo, and here’s hoping next year’s will be easier!

While I am forced more and more to put Jess in the rank of “toddler” lately, I do rather like to think of her as a baby still. This is aided by her lack of vocabulary and her petite stature (she only weighs a little more than 10kg) which generally has people thinking of her as younger than she is.

On the other hand, Jessica is becoming an ever more complicated little person, developing an understanding of all sorts of things.  This now begins to include a knowledge of our habits and daily rituals and also a firm belief that things should be done in the way she has come to expect.  This is not a new trait, but the level of detail is definitely increasing.

Jess has always been one for strong opinions, but some of her dislikes have been growing incrementally with her.  These include any sort of splashing in her face, long periods in her car-seat and – regrettably, because they occur most frequently – nappy changes.  So while she will chuckle heartily as she “runs” away from the would-be changer as fast as her little legs will carry her, once caught, the laughter quickly turns to howls of protest, real tears, and thrashing about on the change table like a cornered cat.

Jess has about 6 words at the moment, “Bye” being a fairly reliable one, with the occasional “Hello”, “Uppa” for anything relating to lifting her, and a good strong “Ah-men” at the end of grace when the mood suits her.  She’s quite familiar with the Dear Zoo story (a new favourite) and will say the appropriate “Woof-woof” when she gets to the final page.  The rest of her requirements are filled in with a language of her own devising.

Not being able to communicate better with us is definitely a cause for frustration, and the eloquently babbled request quickly develops an undertone of vexation if she perceives we’re not doing what she would like us to do.

The crosser sounds are then accompanied by the expressive lower lip, which protrudes further and further as irritation heightens (along with corresponding frown), and if one is not quick enough to figure it all out, little feet will be stamped in frustration.  The next step is to lay herself down on the floor (rather more carefully than she used to do – she’s not trying to hurt herself after all), and the full blown wail of anger will commence thenceforth.

Jess is definitely sturdier while walking now although this is very much relative.  She does like to use some sort of support, like her little pink stroller, which seems to help curb the rebellious traits of her legs.

Her love of climbing is undiminished (perhaps to make up for her lack of height?) and she’ll have a go at pulling herself up onto just about anything.  The less stable it appears, the more likely we are to find her doing some sort of little victory bounce on it!

Jessica has always been keen on having company when she’s playing and lately this has taken on the new aspect of wanting their participation in her games.  The current favourite is playing with little plastic pots that I used to use for freezing baby meals, and in this case she can put the lids on but not take them off.  So she’ll put something into one (or more) of them, put the lid(s) on and then bring it over to request that its lid be removed.   Have a guess who gets tired of this one more quickly.

She is very partial to her dinky size 3 shoes now that we’ve got some for her, and will loudly insist that they be put on for her if she sees them lying around.  She also has rather a fondness for other accessories like hats.  Together with the little handbag that she’s very fond of carrying (generally filled with all of the round sticklebrick pieces), our little miss looks as cute as they come.

Ever since Jess took her first few little steps back in August, I’ve been poised to write this article; just waiting for the day to arrive when I could say conclusively that she’s a toddler.

Jessica however, in fairly typical fashion, is refusing to be pigeon-holed on this one, and reserves the right to be a fully-crawling baby whenever she pleases.

When we left for South Africa at the end of July, we thought that proper walking was imminent, and were expecting some displays of it daily.  Jess was not to be rushed though, and aside from the occasional lurch across a small gap, she definitely preferred her “all-fours” approach.

Indications of Jess’s balance improving were shown more and more frequently over this period.  These were the times when she’d absent-mindedly let go of her support, and stand alone for several seconds before realisation, and gravity, brought her down!

Finally on our very last day in SA, Jessica decided that it was time to stand up and have a go at the walking thing.  She didn’t manage more than a step or two, but there was plenty of determination to get herself up from the floor on her wobbly little pins, and she tried over and over, beaming in delight at all the attention she was getting.

Jess was 16½ months then, and now at almost 18 months, she’s just about convinced herself that walking really is the best option.  We love to watch her little figure tottering all over the place, generally taking her minor crash-landings bravely and persevering with getting herself back onto her feet and going again.  There is still a great deal of wobbliness – the uneven or sloping surface is not her friend – but on the whole we can definitely say that Jess is mostly walking now!

In 15 months, Jess has become such a fun little person.  She’s full of personality and willing to hold forth in baby-babble on virtually any topic.  Passionate and feisty too – she is a lass who knows her own mind and is not shy about sharing her opinion. (Early weather warnings indicate tantrums ahead!)

We’ve been lucky in that Jessica has always enjoyed her sleep, but we’ve curbed her naps during the day to help push her later in the mornings.  For quite a while now she’s been having just one solid lunchtime nap of 1.5 – 2 hours, and then she goes down around 19h30 and will sleep for about 12 hours.  We’re officially encouraging the dummy habit at night (by providing it) but whip it away quickly when she wakes up.  Jess seems to have bought into our arrengement, and part of her waking up routine is handing her dummy and its chain to us. *So cute!*

We’re currently running the teeth gauntlet again – a process designed to test the parents’ as much as the baby’s threshold for pain and irritation!  Jess is cutting the top two of her four front molars, and the last of her front incisors has also just appeared (it’s been just 3 at the bottom for ages now) taking her up to a total of 12.

While Jess is a lot more of a trial to feed than Jon was, I feel we still have very little room for complaint.  She generally is happy with a wide variety of foods, lumps and all, and eats 3 full meals a day alongside 3 milk feeds. It’s only when we keep her waiting or when she’s feeling tired and irritable, that a spoon offered incautiously can be smacked out of the air with a fierce forehand sending it and its contents flying.

We haven’t had a lot of success with getting her to feed herself with a spoon, but give her a plate of pasta or finger food chunks and Jessica is quite happy to feed herself.  Once again, you just need to watch her carefully to gauge the mood… Warning signs of mushing food up in her hands (boredom?) are usually followed by frustrated wiping of food across face/table/hair (or all three) or simply sending the bowl flying.

Jessica enjoys company and is not often happy playing in a room by herself.  She loves to fiddle with all sorts of things but in the typical way of babies, anything that isn’t a toy takes preference!  She has nimble little fingers and very long arms, all the better for reaching things that we try to put out of her way!  (And she’s not above climbing onto/into whatever is available to reach inaccessible surfaces.)

Jess really enjoys the freedom that crawling gives her and loud yells of outrage will be heard if she feels she’s being denied access to somewhere she wants to go.  She’s lightning fast up the stairs, not pausing to lead with the dominant leg like Jon used to, and has perfected a fluid left-right movement that belies her non-athletic heritage.

She’s just recently started walking with the help of Mum/Dad’s hands and even more recently with a baby-walker.  Ever more confident, she’ll now walk hanging on to adult trousers as long as they don’t move too quickly!  But don’t ask her to stand alone just yet.

While Jess is very chatty, and capable of copying noises (usually Jon’s), the only truly recognisable words we’ve had out of her so far are “Bye-bye” and “Boo” (as in “peek-a-boo”, after uncovering random parts of her face).  Both very cute.

My favourite times are seeing her in the morning, in Daddy’s arms, rumpled from sleep but with a beautiful smile when she sees me.  Then there’s when I wake her from her nap – first there’s the outstretched hand seeking contact, then she’s quick to try to pull herself up in her sleeping bag assertively grabbing her dummy to hand over as the ultimate sign that nap time is over.

And best of all, there’s the post-bathtime playtime while we wait for Daddy to finish reading a story to Jonathan – then she’s all warm and cuddly but also full of laughs, hugging me while I try to dress her and later throwing herself down on the bed in her room over and over, and chuckling hugely when she gets tickled.

For the last few weeks, we’ve loved watching Jess show more and more interest in trying to straighten her wobbly legs and make them support her weight.  Not that we’re itching for her to walk (goodness, no!) but she takes so much joy in her achievements that it’s hard not to share her enthusiasm.

It’s been a slow progression so far.  Jessica didn’t do much in the way of kneeling, but from about 12 months, she quickly discovered how she could pull herself up onto low surfaces like crates, and the bottom step (eek!) and rest her torso on them while her legs learned some important muscle control.

(She got a bit distracted at that point when she found she could pull her whole body onto said low surface and have lots of fun like that too.  Before nose-diving off it head first.  Sigh.)

But from there her confidence has definitely been growing to the point where she’ll try her luck on just about anything where pulling up is concerned.

Nappy changing has become a new challenge now that Jess is no longer content just to stay on the change-mat but wants to actively engage with the person changing her — dragging herself up, gripping clothing / necklaces / stomach, er, muscle (she’s not fussy) until she’s upright.  It’s frustrating but also a great opportunity for a little hug and cuddle before lying her down again!

The best bit about this new skill is that it helps Jess to amuse herself: previously inaccessible toy crates are now available for fishing out fresh toys when she gets bored.  Hurrah!  And the flip side is that Jon can no longer put toys that he doesn’t want Jess to reach onto handy surfaces like the coffee table…

The next important lesson to learn, as far as Mum and Dad are concerned, is how to get down again.  This one’s taking a little longer but then our Jess is a hardy lass (she has an older brother after all), so for the most part, landing with a bit of a bump doesn’t faze her!

(And of course I can’t resist remembering how cute Jon looked when he got to this stage… )

For Jessica’s first birthday we weren’t looking for anything too complicated in the way of celebrations, so a little afternoon tea party seemed like the ideal setting to mark the occasion.

We invited all of our neighbour-friends from “the Thill” (our complex) along with other parents of little ones in the college community and it all worked out remarkably easily.

The main feature at the tea party were the birthday cupcakes made to order by one of our lovely friends.  (I’d had the idea for cupcakes after seeing a photo somewhere online and it struck me as an excellent and convenient alternative to the usual birthday cake. Especially given that Jess wasn’t going to be putting in requests for a specially-shaped cake this year! )

Jessica seemed to enjoy all the people and attention and was definitely very interested in the cupcake that came her way. Yum!  And then as an enjoyable ending to a lovely sunny day, we had an impromptu barbecue for whoever wanted to join in.

All in all, a lovely relaxing day with friends and our little family – not a bad way to celebrate being one!

(More first birthday-related photos can be found here.)

To our precious little girl.

Looking back over the past year, it’s amazing how easily you have slotted into our lives and our hearts. In that time we’ve watched you develop some very clear thoughts on likes and dislikes but for the most part your gift to us has been fitting in beautifully.

We love watching your responses to the world.  You seem to miss very little, and now that you’re moving yourself around we’re seeing that you’ve come with a supply of determination enough for a person ten times your size!

Your quiet joy in the fresh air and the outdoors, your giggles for Jonathan (especially when he’s doing loud and crazy things) and your deep interest in the minutest things you find on the floor, are subtle and wonderful reminders that there is so much more to simply being than what the adults want to focus on.

So on this day, which is far more of a special milestone to us than to you at this moment, I wish you a very Happy Birthday.  Whatever the next year brings, I’m sure you will add plenty of delight and surprises to it for all of us.

Jessica (11m) and Jonathan (3y 8m) in their first school portrait setting

I’d completely forgotten that the photographer was coming to Jonathan’s nursery school on the day this was taken but fortunately we were there early for a change, and in clean clothes – no breakfast / sick-up stains visible!   Jon’s hair was all over the show but he endured me trying to flatten it while we waited.  The friendly photographer was great at setting up the shot (Jon was delighted at being able to hold Jess on his lap) and getting them both smiling, and I think the result speaks for itself. 

On the 11th of January, Jessica was 39 weeks and 5 days old.   Just a few days over 9 months.  And now out in the world for the same time as her theoretical gestation period!

Those of you who have been reading for a while might recall the blog article I did for Jon when he passed this milestone.  After hunting down the entry I was surprised and amused to see how many similarities there are.  I suppose because the time feels like it’s all gone so much faster with Jess, it seems as if her developments have been quicker than Jon’s were, whereas in reality, they’re not very different.

Jess at 9 months is a bundle of curious energy.  She wants to see and touch EVERYTHING.

This broad curiosity is great when it comes to keeping her amused with toys. She’s keen to look at just about anything, and very good at manipulating stuff.  I love the look of concentration she gets when she’s investigating something new, but it’s really hard to photograph because she’s way too quick to spot the camera and wants to look at that instead!

We’re finding Jess’s little personality is coming through strongly too.  Always a girl who knew her mind, Jess is not slow to let you know if you’re doing something she’s not keen on.  Amusingly – for now at least – she’s fiercely possessive about whatever she’s engaged with. Much more so than most babies I’ve seen.  Take it away, whatever it may be (toy, paper, hair, glasses, person), and Jess will protest vigorously. Until provided with another distraction at least.

Oh, and everything just has to go into the mouth lately.  Sucking things is a major fad.

Jess became quite a rolly baby around the 8 month mark – nappy changes have become really hard work since then! – and while she hasn’t turned that into crawling yet, she’d clearly love to.  More recently, any encouraging pull upwards (even as gentle a tug as pulling a top off over her head), and she’s up onto her feet in a flash!

Also around the time she started rolling, Jess decided she didn’t mind sitting up too much.  (Before then we had to contend with her throwing herself backward the moment we tried it.)  Compared with the long phase of unreliable sitting we had with Jon, Jess mastered this one quickly and is now very comfortable on her little fundament.

Food-wise we’ve nothing to complain about.  Jessica is keeping up Jon’s tradition of being a great eater.  This time around, we followed the new vogue and started Jess on lumpy mush quite early, so she gums away with the best of them.  (Having a go with her two little teeth whenever she can.)  Jess is easily distracted (as ever) while she eats, but is usually happy for us to keep spooning it in, and bleats when it stops coming.

I’m pleased to report that Jess is pretty much back on track with her sleeping lately, although we did have more than our fair share of hiccups over the last few months.  She gets exposed to plenty of fresh germs with Jon going to nursery, and sleeping with heavy congestion is not something that anyone would find easy.  What may or may not have been the solution to our problems (and I feel somewhat ambivalent about this) is that we started pinning her dummy chain to her at night and she has been known to find it and put it back in…

Jess is great fun to interact with, showing her avid interest in toys, books and even facial expressions.  She’s full of smiles (much like Jon at this age), babbles a lot, and is so rewarding to pay attention to.  Jess is still very fond of Jon, and chuckles readily for him which he loves.

Overall our little Jess has been a delightful addition to the family.  She’s introduced her fair share of challenges, but I couldn’t imagine life without her!