Memory

Dot writes: when I am plunged into gloom over the latest parenting blunder I’ve perpetrated against our firstborn, Ken is wont to console me with the thought that he won’t remember any of it. But it’s interesting to notice how he is starting to remember things, and not just where the chocolate lives when we [...]

natural parenting from xkcd

from xkcd

Zzzz

Dot writes: this is Hugh having his nap last Thursday:

Note that he has nodded off over a book: Baby Touch and Feel: Trucks (Dorling Kindersley), for those interested. As far as Hugh is concerned our sleep situation is really quite good these days. If only he hadn’t had a relapse to 5.50am this morning. And [...]

In which Hugh eats cake

Dot writes: now we’re back in Dublin, here are some of the pictures from our trip to England.
Mum took us to Thrigby Hall Wildlife Park, which specializes in large felines. Hugh was very taken with them and exclaimed “cat! cat!”, pronouncing the t very carefully. You wouldn’t want to offend this particular [...]

Testing

Dot writes: am I the only parent who gets desperately nervous before developmental tests? I know they’re meant as a help – an opportunity to pick up any problems so the nice HSE people can say “we see your child would benefit from the early intervention programme, but we’ve just cut the funding” – but [...]

Janus child

Dot writes: yesterday was awful, awful, awful. Hugh woke at 5.25 (not wet, no apparent reason) and was in a foul mood all day; every possible activity was served with a lavish garnish of crying, moaning and whinging. For example: he came in from a walk, played with a toy aeroplane for five seconds apparently [...]

Sir Hugh and the Field of the Burning Fowl

Dot writes:
[A mother (for example, the mother of two small boys when her husband is away) scales vast mountains and deep canyons of emotion, solves problems of fiendish complexity, and draws on profound wells of courage, endurance and baby-wipes. But somehow, when she tries to tell people the details of her intense, absorbing experiences, they [...]

Boy seeks Dad

Dot writes: Ken has been away since first thing yesterday and isn’t back until tomorrow afternoon. Hugh has been taking it surprisingly well considering the passionate attachment he has been showing towards his father ever since Mum got taken over by that boring baby. He does seem to understand that Ken is not around and [...]

Hugh is two!

Zero:

One:

Two:

Apology

Dot writes: this morning I misguidedly put my cup of tea on the floor (this was because I had to sit in the armchair not on the sofa, as Hugh was playing house with the sofa cushions). Of course within a few minutes Hugh had tripped over it and spilled the whole lot. So as [...]