Over and out

There are various milestones that health professionals like to use to measure a child's development. For example, smiling, holding objects, recognising mum and dad's voice, passing objects from one hand to another, sitting up, rolling over. Rolling over usually occurs around 3 to 6 months, but Katie has never been able to do this, or so we thought until 4.30am this morning!

We have 3 lovely lads staying with us this weekend and so Katie is sharing our room. Some parents may think this is great, but not us. She is a beautiful, funny, lovely baby during the hours of 7am-7pm, but the gurgles and babbles are not quite so cute at 4am! Now, we didn't think it right to just put her on the floor, so we moved her mattress into our room. She awoke around 4am and sounded particularly playful, but because of the time, we tried our best to ignore her. I had a sneaky peak to make sure she was ok, and noticed that not only was she out of her covers, but that she was also on her side very close to the edge of the bed. I did what all normal people would do at that time of the morning, ignored her, rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. That was until we heard a muffled thud followed by a slight wimper. Yes not only had she rolled over but she had rolled completely out of bed onto the floor. Fortunately she had taken her cuddly toy 'Mungo' with her and he softened the fall- what a hero!

Eats, poos and sleeps

At first Katie wasn't too impressed at having her photo taken while eating


But she soon cheered up


And a couple of weeks later


Letting it all out


A real deep sleep


With a close friend


What is she dreaming about?

Enjoying the simple things...

Debbie and I decided recently that we should make an effort to enjoy the simple things in life. One of our ideas was that we should go for walks more often - maybe one saturday a month. We thought that sometimes we should go just as a family and sometimes it would be good to go with other people. That way we get to enjoy God's creation and have a good chat too, (so if you fancy a walk sometime - let us know!!!)

We've been on 2 walks so far - both to the same place (more or less). On my dad's recommendation we went to Styal country park - near Wilmslow - south of Manchester. After the first walk we had lunch in Starbucks and my brother Richard came and had a natter with us (he lives in wilmslow now) which was an added bonus. The second walk was a bit of an epic - we were getting a little bit lost so we asked a man for some help (Debbie's idea). I think he came from the "Kevin Vane school of directions" - he was well versed in the "oh yeah its just round the next corner" approach. So about 2 hours later (45 mins according to long socks and woolly hat man), after 2 dual carriageways, a long walk round the edge of Manchester airport and a Holiday Inn, we arrived back at the car. We had a lovely time - just a bit more than we bargained for. As you can see - Katie had a lovely time and didn't seem to be quite as worn out with all steep hills and boggy river banks.

7 months

Sorry we haven't blogged for a while. Katie has been up to all sorts, so we thought we'd fill you in.

She has now progressed to 3 meals a day, usually fruit or weetabix for breakfast, followed by vegetables for lunch and more vegetables for tea. Debbie has been busy boiling and blending various combinations and we now have a freezer full of colourful ice cubes. Meal times are interesting, challenging and funny (but funny in the same way as when I came home to find the dog had eaten the budgie!)

It's been a month of consonants. She's been good at vowels for a while, but we now have da, ba, ra, but still no ma.

Swimming has been great. The first thing she learnt was to hold her breath when Debbie says 'Katie, ready, go'. This is to prepare her for her underwater swims (which she is loving!). The problem is that everytime we say 'Go', she screws her face up and closes her eyes.

New game. Katie's latest bit of fun, is reaching her toes and pulling off her socks. This is great when she's in bed, but not so great in Asda.

Giggles galore. Katie seems to be a naturally happy baby and loves laughing. She isn't particularly ticklish, but if you build up enough anticipation she bursts with squeals and giggles. It's very special and guaranteed to make your day.