I DON’T think I’ll ever get used to Harry’s ability to go from being fast asleep to wide awake within seconds. Honestly, it’s as if someone flicks a switch and he’s off, causing mischief while we’re still trying to come round.
The other morning, Harry woke up about six and a sleepy Melissa carried him into our bed. I was still dozing – well, pretending to be asleep might be more accurate – but Harry was having none of it.
He grabbed my chin, put his face millimetres from mine and said book, meaning that he wanted me to read with him. Of course, I did the decent thing and turned over, mumbling something about his mum wanting to read. Melissa, by now pretending to have gone back to sleep, was also turned away from Harry which didn’t please him one bit.
After a few minutes of trying to get a response, though, Harry gave up with Melissa and clambered on to my head. “Dad-da, book,” was all I could hear. Eventually I gave in and leaned over to turn the light on, whereupon Harry dived out of bed and started fiddling with the alarm clock.
Within seconds we were listening to heavy metal – Harry, it seems, has a knack of tuning in to the loudest radio stations. Melissa, incidentally, tried to sleep through all of this. Harry responded by grabbing her feet to pull her out of bed.
I’d like to say these events are unusual; they’re not. I once had an alarm clock that had a ‘gentle wake’ setting – the idea was a buzzer that started off quietly and got progressively louder so it didn’t startle you. Unfortunately, the days of a ‘gentle wake’ are long gone now.
Wednesday 23 February 2011
Harry the chatterbox
HARRY is turning into a right little chatterbox. This is a big change because he was a pretty slow starter when it came to talking.
He did have a couple of essential words – apart from mummy and daddy – such as juice, dinner and no, but generally he preferred to grunt and point to get his message across.
However, a couple of months before Christmas, his vocabulary suddenly started to expand at a quite remarkable rate.
Having done a bit of research (well, using Google to look up ‘babies talking’), it seems that toddlers can learn up to 10 words a day by the time they’re two, and I can quite believe it.
Every day he’s using new words and new sounds, while his pronunciation is improving rapidly as well. He’s also starting to string one or two words together, which I find very exciting. It also makes car journeys much more interesting – when I pick him up from my mum and dad’s, he talks all the way home about what he’s been doing.
Although he still gets frustrated when I don’t understand him, having a conversation with Harry is definitely one of those ‘wow’ moments that you experience as a first time parent.
Of course, there are one or two downsides to Harry’s ever expanding vocabulary. While we were at the checkout in the supermarket last weekend, Harry kept saying ‘beer’ to the cashier, which was a little bit embarrassing.
The following day we took him to a restaurant which had a large mirror behind our table. When Harry spotted the mirror, he stood up, turned to face it, shouted ‘mirror’ at the top of his voice, and then kissed his reflection. He did make up for it though, saying ‘please’ when the waiter asked if he wanted ice cream. I was a very proud dad.
He did have a couple of essential words – apart from mummy and daddy – such as juice, dinner and no, but generally he preferred to grunt and point to get his message across.
However, a couple of months before Christmas, his vocabulary suddenly started to expand at a quite remarkable rate.
Having done a bit of research (well, using Google to look up ‘babies talking’), it seems that toddlers can learn up to 10 words a day by the time they’re two, and I can quite believe it.
Every day he’s using new words and new sounds, while his pronunciation is improving rapidly as well. He’s also starting to string one or two words together, which I find very exciting. It also makes car journeys much more interesting – when I pick him up from my mum and dad’s, he talks all the way home about what he’s been doing.
Although he still gets frustrated when I don’t understand him, having a conversation with Harry is definitely one of those ‘wow’ moments that you experience as a first time parent.
Of course, there are one or two downsides to Harry’s ever expanding vocabulary. While we were at the checkout in the supermarket last weekend, Harry kept saying ‘beer’ to the cashier, which was a little bit embarrassing.
The following day we took him to a restaurant which had a large mirror behind our table. When Harry spotted the mirror, he stood up, turned to face it, shouted ‘mirror’ at the top of his voice, and then kissed his reflection. He did make up for it though, saying ‘please’ when the waiter asked if he wanted ice cream. I was a very proud dad.
Monday 7 February 2011
Splash mats
When Harry was about eight or nine months old, a colleague asked me if we’d invested in a splash mat to sit underneath Harry’s high chair. At the time, there didn’t seem much point but now I can see the logic behind such an investment.
Harry has a very good appetite and is now quite happy to feed himself. However, as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, he will no longer sit in his high chair, preferring instead to sit at the kitchen table.
On the one hand, this is real progress and makes meal times much more relaxed for Melissa and myself. On the other, it also creates a fair bit of mess. Harry’s coordination is generally very good but – on occasion – he loses concentration while his fork or spoon is in transition from his plate to his mouth.
This can make things really messy – and it sometimes takes a fair amount of restraint on my part not to intervene. As you can imagine, some foods are better than others; soup is a particular problem, and about half of it normally ends up down Harry or on the floor.
The other frustrating habit Harry has developed at mealtimes is pushing his plate away when he’s finished eating. Most of the time, this is not a problem; occasionally, though, he pushes it a bit hard and it ends up on the floor.
We’re then left frantically trying to clean up the mess before it stains the walls, floor and so on. A splash mat might well be the way forward.
I shouldn’t complain though. Harry has a fantastic appetite and he certainly isn’t fussy when it comes to food, although he does have his favourites. At the moment, honey has replaced ham as his food of choice, although I’m pleased to say that from time to time he now asks for ‘mar mar’ (Marmite) on his toast. That’s my boy.
Harry has a very good appetite and is now quite happy to feed himself. However, as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, he will no longer sit in his high chair, preferring instead to sit at the kitchen table.
On the one hand, this is real progress and makes meal times much more relaxed for Melissa and myself. On the other, it also creates a fair bit of mess. Harry’s coordination is generally very good but – on occasion – he loses concentration while his fork or spoon is in transition from his plate to his mouth.
This can make things really messy – and it sometimes takes a fair amount of restraint on my part not to intervene. As you can imagine, some foods are better than others; soup is a particular problem, and about half of it normally ends up down Harry or on the floor.
The other frustrating habit Harry has developed at mealtimes is pushing his plate away when he’s finished eating. Most of the time, this is not a problem; occasionally, though, he pushes it a bit hard and it ends up on the floor.
We’re then left frantically trying to clean up the mess before it stains the walls, floor and so on. A splash mat might well be the way forward.
I shouldn’t complain though. Harry has a fantastic appetite and he certainly isn’t fussy when it comes to food, although he does have his favourites. At the moment, honey has replaced ham as his food of choice, although I’m pleased to say that from time to time he now asks for ‘mar mar’ (Marmite) on his toast. That’s my boy.
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