making it better

I've had a very busy time at work lately - it's tricky enough juggling a full time job and looking after a little person and attempting to keep your house in a vaguely habitable if not exactly 'clean and tidy' state. But when full time work turns into working late into the night and going in on a weekend and things still going wrong then it's downright depressing.

I had one of those 'I've had enough' moments a few nights ago, feeling sorry for myself while slumped on the living room floor with my rushed dinner lying unappealing and uneaten on the plate next to me, and Alex on the other side - I said to Alex. "Mum's not feeling so good, can you give mum a kiss to make her feel better?"

I interrupt this story to provide some context. Haydn and I have been hugging and smooching Alex on a regular basis pretty much since he emerged from the womb, so these days he just about tolerates it or waves a vague disinterested hand in our general direction when ever we go in for another hug.

So there I am, not expecting much from my request and what does Alex do?

He turns from whatever he's doing - probably playing with the iPad or re-programming the cordless phone, gives me a big kiss on the cheek, acompanied by a loud 'mwah!' sound then turns back to what he was doing.

It was one of the loveliest moments of my life.

Bali loves bubba

Since arriving in Bali almost a week ago baby Alexander has been charming his way through the staff at the hotel. We can no longer go anywhere in the complex without some member of the reception, waiting or cleaning staff waving and saying 'hi Alex'. They have no idea who I am except that I'm usually in the background when that gorgeous blue eyed Alex baby enters the room... or pool... or restaurant.

This is normally followed by big smiles from all the staff and half the customers and the baby in question giving a big smile back. In fact if someone in the room doesn't look at him Alex just stares at them, sometimes for several minutes, until they smile back.

Another member of the Alexander Butler fan club recruited. Job done.

Babies don't keep

I saw this poem on a friend's facebook page and thought it was so lovely, as well as being an excellent excuse to avoid the cleaning and other chores for today!





Babies Don’t Keep

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Ode to Nanna B

Well, Nanna B left us this morning after 6 months in the UK so it seemed appropriate to create a tribute post to little Alexander's super nanna.

It's been such a pleasure having Carol here (yes she has a name other than nanna) she's been a huge help around the house and with Alex but more than anything else it's been wonderful to have someone who manages to love and adore our little man as much as we do - totally unconditionally. Personally I couldn't ask for a better mother-in-law type person.

So here's a little photographic tribute to Nanna B.

Alex loves Sophie

It's ok, we haven't found a girlfriend for Alex before he's even discovered what girl germs are. Sophie is a giraffe teething toy and they have been getting to know eachother for the past couple of weeks.

Initially it was a tentative affair, some awkward squeeking from Sophie some determined staring and concerned glances from Alex. This was followed by hand holding, well grasping of Sophie's neck and feet and some gentle squeezing of her tummy.

As you can see from the photos things have progressed and they are sleeping together now. And yesterday I discovered Alex with most of Sophie's head in his mouth! I guess it must be love...

Hammock Love

I have had a bit of an obsession with things than bounce and sway since I was a child, I've never been a fan of roller-coasters but those swingy chair rides that fly in the air were my favourite. Well having a bubby has just served to increase my obsession with baby bouncers of every shape and size, his gorgeous baby hammock bed and more I'm probably still to discover.

I've always been a fan of hammocks but when we visited some friends a few weeks ago and saw their lounge room with this amazing set-up I had to take lots of photos in the hope of one day re-creating it.



Keep in mind this is a central London apartment on a fairly busy road but the room was made so peaceful by the hammock and as you can see from the pictures Alex shares my love of all things bright and hammocky (is that a word?). I did suggest that Alex, Haydn and I could move into their lounge for a few months but with a baby of their own due at the end of the year they were less inclined to my suggestion. So I'm left to the photos and the dreams of finding a house with a bay window and a hammock of my own... I mean 'our' own of course :-)

with love from Zoe to Alex

Before we left Florida (see previous post) Zoe made a few gifts for Alex to remember her by. The first is this fab drawing, the second was a recording of the lullaby she sang to him over there, so now, whenever he gets fretful I can pull out my phone and play it to him. It's worked pretty well so far but whenever I play it Alex does look around for Zoe no it's clearly substitute for the real thing :-)

I'm not quite sure if the audio has exactly worked but at the bottom of this post you should be able to play the recording of the lovely Zoe singing her Icelandic lullaby for Alex. (Zoe - I hope you don't mind.) Snulla... I can't remember the words so in English so if anyone is interested I will need your help!

Baby Massage

As well as the obvious benefits of a visit from Amma (aka Grandma Eunice... I will explain soon I promise) we've also gained a grand master baby massage therapist. I've been making amateurish attempts at massaging the bub every evening since he was about 1 week old but it doesn't compare to the grand master... or is that mistress... actually mistress of massage doesn't sound right.

It turns out that Alex LOOOOVES his massage time, he smiles and giggles and laughs his way through every moment and is perfectly chilled out for the bath to follow. There are even some baby yoga moves added to the mix, including some positions that don't seem physically possible.

The result of all this massaging goodness seems to be a happier, more chilled out baby who always sleeps very well after his massage and bath. His neck is also getting much stronger as you can see from the video below.



Now the pressure is on me as Amma goes back to Australia to keep the massage quality up.