mummy is a little too delighted and excited today for her toadling has FINALLY learned to clap his hands! This is praised highly and results in huge grins - fantabulous!!

I realise that most children do this a lot earlier on in their life but Harrington has always refused, preferring to work on something else. I wonder what his next trick will be...?

it would appear that Sir Harrington of Piddlepants has a penchant for strong Earl Grey tea (with milk, even though most think it's an abomination). Or should we say, mummy's Earl Grey Tea that she was rather enjoying this morning, when the toad decided that he would rather like to try some Thank You Very Much. It was no longer hers :(

a true, British gentleman, that one ;)

in other news, Harrington, mummy et al went swimming for the first time on Friday...more about that later!

this morning, when mummy went to get her stunning toad out of bed, she found him sitting up. Now, she knows he wasn't in that particular position when she tucked him in last night and they blew kisses at eachother (after playing the Tegglepeg Toad game, of course*).

this is very interesting as Harrington has been trying a lot recently to sit up from laying down but hasn't been able to manage it. Now this has happened, mummy's running a little scared. Something to be proud and happy about after the demise of the pole that holds all his clothes and some toys yesterday :(

oh, and a certain someone has just had their first proper non-baby cereal (Oatibix) with proper minski!

* mummy discovered yesterday that throwing Tegglepeg Toad (the toy that she bought to celebrate the arrival of his first tooth) in the air to the tune of a song she had made up, making the 'toad' part get higher as said item is thrown skywards, makes a boy laugh Very Much Indeed :)

Harrington and mummy have just been laughing profusely at the term 'banana burp'. Just saying...

Harry and mummy are Very Excited Indeed as they are going to the zoo today with Emma and Neil. Banham Zoo in fact...and it will be Sir Harrington's first time. Hopefully he will be old enough to enjoy it!

mummy has decided that she is going to bring one of these home:-

fabulous! More details later...

as the title says, this week, the family of mooses are not at all well...

...mummy has still been going to work despite her head feeling like it is going to explode (mainly to prove a point to her evil boss), granddad was made to eat mummy's vegetable, sprouting bean and chickpea curry last night and felt too ill to see Harrington today (not as a result of her curry though...), and my gorgeous boy is coughing and sneezing like a trooper. Plus not wanting to eat his lunch, wanting many cuddles and calling mummy often so that she can tell him she loves him and that everything will be alright.

horrible :(

however, a gorgeous and fabulous picture was taken of the mooseling today, by his Auntie Ls...

...splendid!!

mummy has decided to take thursday off sick as she feels worse and her poor boy is not at all a happy bunny :(

I awoke this morning (for the millionth time as mummy is not sleeping well at the moment - far too much going on in that vacuous head of hers) to find a certain Harrington miaowing into the baby monitor. And, might I say, he was doing a very fantastic job of it, too! It must be as a result of the pussycats doing it constantly and mummy sometimes joining in.

and no, we don't at all live in a madhouse. No siree.

in other news, no teeth can be seen this morning as I predicted, but that doesn't mean that there isn't one in there for as soon as the mooseling sees that you are trying to look in his mouth, he clamps it shut immediately. Bless!

my gorgeous Harrington is eight months old today and yes, I still wake up around the time he was born (2:01am) which is rather strange but quite nice, really :)

however, my poor little boy has really not been happy today and has been crying, fretful, ridiculously tired and refusing food. Plus much dribbling and big noises when he sucks it back in. On the rare occasions one can get to see in his mouth, it looks once again like the tegglepegs are coming. This seems to be happening in fits and starts so am not at all convinced that one will magically appear overnight. No one prepares you for just how terrible you feel when your wonderful child is in pain and there's nothing you can do to take it away (despite cuddles, medicines, etc.). And the worse thing was that I had to go back to work where I could not at all concentrate, wanting to be home with my boy, loving it out of him. But he's asleep now and looks very peaceful so hope muchly that it all feels better in the morning.

anyway...there haven't been many more changes this month as I wrote the last one only a couple of weeks ago (due to lack of facilities). But, over the last month, Sir Harrington of Piddlepants:-

* still continues to eat/try everything but has now developed tastes more, much preferring some things rather than others and is more changeable with this. Basically, it means that mummy shouldn't get complacent and have a hundred different things on hand to try. It would be easier in a way if he had teeth as she could produce an array of healthy finger foods (bread, cheese, fruit, vegetables, etc.) instead of the usual cold meal that he doesn't really care for warmed up thank you very much. Mummy spends much time cooking very nutritional and yummy meals but they are of course spurned when water or a nabana is spotted

* has now moved on to follow-on milk. Strangely enough, he seemed to know when it was time to move on and really went off the infant milk. He must have seen the other stuff in the kitchen. This child has a beak on him the size of the Empire State Building

* loves his muslin more and more every day (and don't worry, there isn't just one that gets grubbier and grubbier by the day - mummy is CONSTANTLY washing. None of her clothes, mind, oh no...) and is often found chomping it, playing peek-a-boo with it, cuddling it, stroking it, rubbing his face on it like a comfort blanket and more importantly, sleeping under it. In fact, it's a ridiculous rarity if he falls asleep without it. And when I say he sleeps under it, he really does as he is this evening. I can't even see any of his beautiful face :(

* now has the playpen actually in the house (despite it being bought several months ago and it having a short holiday in granddad's abode) as the mooseling likes to go a-moving and can NOT be left for any amount of time at all. Trust me. We're not entirely sure about it at all but don't mind it, or will rather tolerate it, if we are sitting up in it with a cushion behind our back just in case we fall

* is now Very Good at sitting up indeed but only when he can be bothered for he is a teenager trapped in a Small English Toad's body. Oh yes

* can also pull himself to a sitting position from laying down but more often when laying on mummy (as she is a vantage point and springboard only)

* still likes to try and pull the leaves off mummy's extensive range of plants and tassels from the cushions

* love, love, looooooooves mummy's mobile phone more and more each day as well as remote controls. Mummy often finds the freeview box in her bedroom doing strange things as a result

* has decided that he rather likes the pussycats and is always looking at them, talking to them, laughing at them and trying to pull their fur/whiskers out. Not very helpful when mummy is trying to feed him before bed as he is more interested in them than the minski but then gets grouchy when he realises that he isn't drinking. Typical

* seems to have started to understand certain words. Examples being minski and pussycats and a few others, but only when he wants to of course

* chunters more and more and the latest thing is opening and closing his mouth, sometimes saying "mama", "bwer bwer" and many more.

* has learnt how to lock his limbs so that mummy can't get him dressed in the mornings. Fun

* likes mummy reading to him in bed some nights (even though she likes to do this every night) but tells her to shut up when he's had enough

* really enjoys it when he has had his bedtime minski and mummy cuddles him when they are both on the rocking chair and sings to him. A perfect opportunity to put his fingers in her mouth and have a poke around

* has gone up to the next size nappy - will this boy ever stop growing, I wonder

* smiles even quicker when mummy picks him up after work and seems to have got to the point where only she can comfort him when he is really upset

* that mummy continues to love him more and more each day...

...she can hardly believe how many months it has been since he arrived. But is so happy to have him in her life. Cornily, he is her world and will continue to be, as granddad says, for the rest of his life and beyond.

poor child.

Harrington and I have had a lovely day together today :) There are some days that just seem fantastic, even when not much happens...

...it started with a lie-in until about 8, when I awoke and went to get my recently slumbering boy from the MooseRoom. I was greeted with beaming smiles and arms reaching out to get me. After many cuddles and a bit of playing, we had breakfast where the Harrington for once preferred to eat his porridge rather than slather it all over himself and everything else in the vicinity. Then he went for a snooze; after finally giving in to sleep (and after rotating himself like the hands of a clock again!) for TWO WHOLE HOURS!!! This is unheard of at the moment and he was all the better for it, I can tell you.

we then had lunch without fuss too - and he would have eaten a lot more lentils given half the chance. However, his New Favourite Thing is to chomp his socks whilst they are on his toes and he is in the middle of the meal. This results in what is known as 'lentil sock'

and appears to be a growing phenomenon when it comes to the HarryMoose...anyway, he then helped me prepare mine (have you any idea how hard it is to prepare a jacket potato, un-messily open a can of tuna and chop salad vegetables whilst holding a small english toad?) and tried some tuna (yum) and some spinach (yuk - it must die by being thrown to the floor. But it is okay cooked, apparently). A bit more playing (particularly with a straw and mummy's phone) and posing ensued when the eyelids began to turn purple, indicating that a small snooze was required.

however, the HarryMoose had other ideas and I had to go and get him ten minutes later as he seemed to have found a second wind and beamed at me and the pussycats (he has been looking for them a lot today and when the target has been located, much talking, grinning and laughing has been hurled their way).

so, off we went to visit Auntie Mavis for a lovely cup of Earl Grey for mummy and a bickiepeg for the toad as well as some more playing! Then to town on a fashion mission we did go.

Harry is in another clothes transition stage, still fitting tops but not bottoms as I don't particularly wish to squish his tummy. 9-12 months trousers are too big and lesser ones too small. But, I am determined to not be beaten so I managed to find him some new fabulous trousers and a Very Stylish jumper and tee-shirt combination. After a few more purchases, my boy and I stopped off at a Coffee Emporium for refreshments. He was more interested in my small frappucino and when I put the straw to my lips, he then proceeded to grab it and put it to his. Cheeky.

whilst I was feeding him his afternoon baby rice (he still loves it and opens his mouth widely for more), he stopped many times, whilst sitting next to me, to shove his sock-covered toadie toes in his mouth

which resulted in 'rice sock'.

How on earth does he bend like that? Determination, I guess! After some charming of the women, we departed home, with Harrington talking to me for the entire journey.

later, when granddad was getting him ready for his bath, he was doing his usual thing of kicking his doting grandfather to which he replied by moving out of the way as if pushed and laughing in a Santa-type fashion. Harry thought this was the Best Thing Ever and chuckled away for absolutely ages and was utterly insatiable. That laughter is magical and spurned us on, of course :)

so, all in all, a fabulous day has been had not really doing very much at all. But they are often the best days, even if I have probably bored you all by writing all about it...

today, Harrington is most obsessed with his hands and how the fingers can curl around one another. Fabulous.

oh, and he has been grinning and speaking to Pteppic the pussy-kitten (the top one) this morning, also,

but, being a cat, he is not very interested at all. I'm sure Harry will 'reward' him in future with a chasing round the house and a pull of the tail!

yesterday, whilst Harry and I were out shopping, Harry decided to shout "mama" at the top of his voice after having been quiet and contemplative for a time. Stunning. Plus, it made the other people in the shop smile and giggle.

my son always knows how to cheer me up :)

in other weekend news, Harrington really has not been himself and has cried more and slept less, even fussing when eating his Very Favourite baby rice. I have a strong feeling that this is all to do with new routines of sleeping through the night, still adjusting after Christmas visitations and teething like a beast (there are now fleshy bits on top of some of the teeth so surely it can't be that long now???). Plus, he is very good at picking up what is going on around him...hmmm. Extra cuddles, kisses, songs and mummy time seem to be helping a lot. That, and playing with many different toys all at once (including some that he, of course, shouldn't)!! Bless him...