Cognitive Overloading...

Hi there, my beautiful boy.

You enjoying the simple pleasures!

I'm feeling a bit torn at the moment, because I know that you are so overwhelmed with everything... my instinct is to just protect you. If you are happy inside, then I want to keep you inside, occasionally introducing you to the outside and all the crazy things that exist there for you: grass,
gravel, bricks, dark blue sky, the wind rustling in the gum trees, honky-nuts, ants, sunshine on your face, the sound of so many different birds - some scary sounding, some not. That plus a huge time change, plus the enormous difference in temperature... isn't that enough for you to deal with for a few days? I know it is!

BUT we have people to see, relatives to meet, friends to introduce you to. In my ideal world this would wait. Three or four weeks if it had to! But, possum, your daddy is a fan of getting you used to everything all at once instead of drawing out the process. So we jump in the car (!) We just got back

You and your cousin Ashleigh 'playing' haha.

from a long lunch at your Grandpa and Connie's house where you met your Aunty Jill, Uncle Ryan and your cousin Ashleigh. I wish that everyone could see what a giggly and happy boy you are when you aren't totally overloaded! Instead, you are so super sensitive... somebody laughs and you jump and then cry. Somebody coughs or drops something and you jump and then cry. Instead of being giggly with your cousin like you always are with other babies and kiddies now, you cried. I don't blame you, bubby, and I am so so so happy to be the one that you reach for when you are so overwhelmed. I just want you to be happy! But I know you are a gentle soul.

So we are searching for a happy medium... but in the meantime, we are going out tomorrow morning again (yikes...) to Cadi and Joe's house, with two other kiddies, a dog, a cat, two other adults and two other kids. Might have to rethink that at the moment...

I LOOOOOVE you, my baby. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE YOU! Sleep well, my beautiful beautiful beautiful boy. And I'll see you in the morning.

Love, (lovelovelovelovelove!) Mummy.

Welcome to Australia!

Good morning Daddy! I'm in Australia!

Well, my little boy, it has been a few days, hasn't it! SO much has happened in that time that I fear I will never be able to really catch you up on it all... so I'm going to just focus on the highlights. The biggest of which is that right now you are in your room and I am writing to you while we are in AUSTRALIA! Woah... I am pretty sure that we have repeatedly blown your mind over the last three days. No wonder your little meltdowns are occurring just a little bit more often at the moment. :)

Finally having a bit of sleep on the plane

You went on a plane, Bean! Two, in fact! And wasn't it fun? Hmm... actually... the first hour was fun, wasn't it. The rest really wasn't. And I am so so sorry about those last three hours or so of that enormous journey, where you just were completely beside yourself. I got so upset seeing you like that... I don't think I've ever seen you like that. You were just so incredibly upset. Covered in tears, crying and crying like you were in awful amounts of distress, your whole body tense and red, all hot and sweaty, throwing yourself backwards and being completely inconsolably. I know it was only a few hours, but it felt like the whole flight to me. And when you finally did manage to go to sleep, I just cried and cried after seeing you like that. It wasn't so much that you were being so loud in the plane, it was that you were so upset. I thought that I'd be more worried about disturbing everyone else, but being a mummy changes you. I don't care about anyone else sometimes, little one. Not when you are struggling like that.

What IS this 'grass' business? I haven't seen
it since I was ten weeks old!

But you know what? It's done. And here we are! The smell of Nanny's roast lamb, the sunshine on the back of your neck, the different greens of the leaves on the trees, the feel of grass under your little pudgy fingers, the squawk of the cockatoos... there are SO many new things! And the best thing of all? The chookies! You were so giggly and smiley at them, and later in the day when we went to see them again, you started laughing and kicking your feet in anticipation as we approached the chook pen.

You seem to be really getting used to your Nanny, which is so lovely to see. You pulled on her legs this evening while she was cooking dinner so that she would pick you up and show you the curry she was making, and even once this afternoon you leant towards her for a cuddle when you were upset. Which of course makes her so gooey! And you're so smiley with your Pop when he came home from work too, You've now briefly met your Grangran and Grandpa at the airport (but does that really count?) and your Grandma and Grandpa are coming over for lunch and play-time tomorrow. Can't wait! 

Sleep well, bubbaloo. Jeepers I love you!

Love, Mummy.

Your reaction to seeing the chooks :D

A Sunny Fun Day!

I've been having such a lovely day with you, little one. You make me so happy! It seems that we are all on the mend. Yay!

(Photos by Olga Bushkova: http://www.olgabushkova.com/)

We just had lots of fun dancing around to your special album of Vintage Children's Songs. I was thinking about deleting their crazy version of 'Old Macdonald', but I realised today that you go totally nuts over it! There are bells clanging, horns honking, pots and pans rattling, and while I was holding you, you were wiggling and kicking and squealing like mad during those parts. So... not deleting that one then! Also, we were dancing to 'The Lonely Goatherd' from The Sound of Music and you started kicking your little feet about when the tension continued to rise, so I started spinning you around and dancing faster and faster, and I have never seen or heard a happier boy in my life.

You discovered how much fun a bunch of grapes can be, and how gnawing off chunks of banana from the whole fruit is so much better than having me put bits of it in front of you. This sounds menial, but it isn't! You are starting to discover that fruits come from whole plants, and are beginning to get interested in discovering more about that. It's cool to watch! I could actually see your mind boggle today when I cut some corn off the cob in front of you... you mean it doesn't just automatically come in small yellow bits? I don't know why I haven't been doing this the whole time...

The suitcases are all open and slowly being filled with things to take to Australia... only four more sleeps until we get on that aeroplane, bubbaloo! Are you excited yet?

Love you, my gorgeous boy.

Love, Mummy.

Two Sick Parents

Hi Little One!

I just wanted to say a huge thank you for being such a kind and considerate baby. I truly believe that you knew that your daddy and I were both horrifically head-in-the-toilet sick on Wednesday night, and so you decided to leave it to us and to sleep better than you ever have in all memory. This means that you did not ONCE wake up until 2.30am! And the next day, while your daddy and I looked after you in one-hourly shifts while the other slept, you played almost totally independently. And then? The cherry on the sundae? You had a two hour sleep in the morning and a three hour sleep in the afternoon. Who are you?!

So a huge thank you, bubbaloo. I don't know how we would have made it through without your help.

Big squidgy hugs!

Love, Mummy.

ENOUGH already!

My poor little sausage! You are sick AGAIN! Mama mia, let's just get on that plane to Australia already, and leave all this bad luck behind!

Monday night was a doozey, that's for sure. I've never seen you sick like that... we stayed up together all night, as I was afraid that you were going to choke when you threw up every fifteen minutes or so. Each time, I needed to pick you up and hold you through it, talking to you about how brave you are and how this feeling won't last forever. I held you when you needed me, you crawled on top of me when you needed to, you lay your head on my pillow next to mine when you wanted to.  In a way, it was like you knew that I needed you close to me too. Little Bean, I never ever would wish you to be sick, but you can be mighty adorable when you are.

As usual, being sick doesn't stop you from being AMAZING!

You danced for the first time! You were standing and holding onto the back of the couch, and Emiliana Torrini's 'Jungle Drum' came on, and you started wiggling like crazy, rocking back and forth and smiling. I stopped the music and you had a little whinge, and when I started it again, you started again with the crazy dance moves. SUPER CUTE, little boy!

Another first was watching telly with your mummy. We have never before sat you in front of the television, but you really needed to just be still and relax (which we all know you aren't famous for), so we had adorable cuddles and watched some kids' TV. You were totally mesmerised.

Be well, little boy. Enough is enough now. It's time for my healthy muffin to come back to me.

I love you a bushell and a peck.

Love, Mummy.

Too Much Excitement for a Monday Morning!

Little Mister! You scared your Mamma this morning! Don't do it again!

My poor boy has had a tough ride lately!

Your lovely daddy was with you downstairs, and I was just getting out of bed. It was around 6.45am, I think. And then the crazy crying starts, and I hear your dad yell for me. Wowsers I've never run down the stairs that quickly! And do you know what greeted me? A little boy with what appeared to be masses of blood coming out of his mouth, blood all over his shirt and pants (though... okay... it wasn't that much... but at the time?). In hindsight, we now know that in such situations, your dad should say, 'It's okay, he fell over,' or something similar. Instead, I flash through all your crazy illnesses of the last month and think that there is something much more sinister going on that has been undiagnosed, and now you are coughing up blood. YIKES!

So, you fell over. We've had a talk, and you agreed that you will never again in your life fall over. Remember that, okay? :) You just slipped while you were doing your usual creeping antics, and by the looks of your mouth, it seems that your bottom teeth have cut open your top gums. You DO have teeth up the top as well, but there is a lot of gum too, and the teeth are actually a bit recessed, which is weird (though I'm sure normal for the minute). It looks really sore, little bub! You silly muffin!

Meanwhile, we had a lovely weekend of visiting the horses before lunch with Olga and Misha at Fork and Bottle (I thought you would be fascinated by them, but you were strangely non-plussed... people are MUCH more interesting!), and then visiting some friends and hanging out with their kiddies, trying not to get stepped on. I'm sorry I was a super grumpy mummy on Sunday morning... I hope you didn't notice too much. I tried to be grumpy only when you were asleep (is that weird?). But, my little one, we still wait for the night where we say 'see you in the morning' and it magically happens.

Olga just visited us and took at least five hundred photos of you, so I'm excited to see what gorgeous faces you were pulling! She brought two croissants and a cute little turtle-bun with raisin eyes for you. Maybe, as a treat, you can try a bit of that turtle this afternoon. Ooo aah!

Love you, bubbaloo.

Love, Mummy.

10 Months Today!

Dear Big Bean

We did a little photo shoot for your ten month day today, little boy! Perhaps having a magnificent lunch with our Russian photographer friends Olga and Misha inspired us... Or it could just be your general awesomeness of being...

I hope you enjoy your photos, bubbaloo. Your daddy and I love them.

Your Daddy capturing the magic of a
nappy-change on the run

Kissing your ten-month-old toes!

We tried for so long to take a cute photo of you,
but you wouldn't keep your tongue in! So Daddy gave
you some of your own medicine :) 

What a poser!

Perfecting your squats - you've been watching
Mummy doing her netball workouts!

My favourite, my happy boy. I started singing,
'I Love You, a Bushell and a Peck', and you started smiling.

Love you, my ten month old Bub!

Love, Mummy.