Thirty-Three Weeks Old

As expected, Seb's grandparents have already started teaching him things. Next visit they will move on to differential calculus, basic Afrikaans, etc; but this week they've been soft on him, starting with WAVING.

It is, frankly, the cutest thing you have ever seen.



He's had several occasions to practice his wave, because he's been a busy wee chap this weekend. On Friday he came out for dinner. It was a bit of a challenge finding somewhere to eat in Richmond on a winter Friday night, and we eventually resorted to a Thai restaurant with large chandeliers and plastic flowers festooning the walls. Seb started the evening as a grumpy wretch, but quickly regained his normal cheer when given a rib to chew on and then a bowl of rice to scatter around the place. A fair bit of it went in his mouth, even.

Yesterday he came for a long walk with me. It gets cold, you know, so I wrap him up warm and toasty. He was not impressed.



I, on the other hand, think he is the handsomest beast I have ever seen. Daddy excepted, of course.

The Seb Dragon

This amazingly cool illustration comes courtesy of Ms Zoe Forbes, an imaginative and talented artist of our acquaintance. We hereby present on her behalf: The Seb Dragon!



You will note that the Seb dragon loves water (also true of the baby version), eats flowers (ditto, in fact eats EVERYTHING including fellow humans), slips around in mud (just wait till he's toddling), and lives in the snow-capped mountains (well, within view of 'em, anyway).

Zoe, we think this is just fab. Thank you for your beautiful, creative work!

Thirty-Two Weeks Old

Hurray! Visitors are here!

Seb was bemused. If you speak Baby you will know what he is saying here: Who are these people?



Which is better than what he had been saying ten minutes before, which was more along the lines of AAAAAAAAARGH JESUS WHAT THE ---! HELP! HELP! HEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPPPPP MEEEEEEEEE!

But he quickly got himself together and remembered that he liked these guys.



Of course, nothing buys juvenile affection like a PRESENT, and Mutti and Bunce are past masters of this stuff, so they came well armed. Seb seriously enjoyed the unwrapping!



And the toy too. Heh.



And since Mutti and Bunce had robbed Seb of all dignity, we thought it only right to return the favour after dinner, when we played "Celebrity Head". You have to guess who you are. Buncie was Clarke Kent, heehee, and even better, Mutti was Dirty Harry Callaghan.

Benny "Daddy" Hill won though.



We're so pleased to have you here, Mutti and Buncie!

Sitting Around in the Sunshine

Even though it's the middle of winter and we're having some good hard frosts, there are still plenty of gorgeous cloudless Nelson days to enjoy. Today Daddy took Seb down to Rabbit Island for some fresh air and sunshine.



After their walk, the boys had a bit of a lounge about in the sunshine. Seb practiced his new favourite face, the one with the sticky-outy tongue. He's got plenty to play with in that mouth of his -- tooth number two emerged yesterday!



With two teeth on the go it's no wonder he's doing so great with food. On Monday he ate half a (half a) muffin! The toasted sort. With marmite.

And the other thing he's learned to do this week? Well, he's not what you'd call reliable, and I wouldn't sit him on a hard surface or anything, but... look! No hands, and the boy can balance!



Such a clever chappie.

Sunday Morning with Sebby

The World Cup has begun! Daddy is very excited by it and taping many many games. So far he has managed to resist getting up in the middle of the night to watch them, but there is a definite bright side to them; he doesn't mind getting up in the morning and bringing our little bunny upstairs before scuttling back down to the sofa and settling in with last night's game. Seb and I get cuddles and a nice sleepy feed in the half-dark, and then Daddy brings up tea and toast.



Seb stares at the food in my hand until I give him a crust, which he then happily stuffs into his gob for some serious fanging and slobbering. Oh my god I look about a bazillion years old. But maybe by the time he's ten and I look back at these archives I'll be all, oh, look how young I was!



After some more cuddles and love we go down for some real brekkie (aka apples, pears and baby rice) and then Big Sis comes down and makes Little Bro laugh.



And now Daddy's making dates scones for our afternoon tea, Molls is watching Black Books, Sebby is fast asleep, and when he wakes up we're going to head down to the Sprig and Fern for coffee and brunch with our vouchers from the other week. Ahhh, Sunday mornings are good times.

Thirty-One Weeks Old

The weeks are flying by, still... this is my last week of being a forty-two-year-old mother! How scary is that. I am trying not to think of just how much too old I am for this lark. Anyway, it's been another busy week for Seb. He helped his Daddy buy a new car!



Oh, that boy and his papa are so very good together, such a happy team. It's so great to watch and I feel so incredibly grateful to Liam for being such a wonderful daddy to this wee angel. Some people are just made to be parents, and I don't think I'm really one of them, even though I love being a mummy to my two darlings; but that husband of mine surely is a father deep, deep down, right in the marrow of his bones.



This is Sebby, flying high and happy in his Daddy's big strong hands. He's a lucky little man.

Seven Months Old

Dearest Seb,

today you are seven months old. Time is going way too fast. I can't believe that we're closer to your first birthday than the day you were born. Crazy.

Still, you are -- for now, for this little short time of your babyhood that's left to us -- the dearest wee baby I could've imagined. Take today for example. You had such a busy one, and yet you were so incredibly good!

Today we left your dear exhaustipated sister at home and your Daddy and I took you on the long drive over the Whangamoas to meet up with Nancy and Cameron and Zoe and Zac and Gillian and some of her friends at the Pelorus Cafe. After that big ol' drive we plonked you in the backpack and set off into the wild wet woods in search of waterfalls. And did we ever find them! It's been raining and pouring for the last couple of days and the rivers were raging, the trickles were torrents, and the waterfalls were gloriously excessive. We had to ford a rushing stream on the way, and you in your little backpack got passed from Daddy, teetering on the soggy bank, to Cameron, balanced on a log midstream, to Graham on the other side. I stood there watching, having quiet conniptions. Urrrr! But you were brave as houses.

Back at the cafe, you had your lunch, and got cuddles. You're everyone's favourite baby to hug, and it's easy to see why. So even tempered, so easily cheered up when you get grumpy. Here you are with Cameron and Zac, who is a great Superman and a great baby-helper too. "Liz, I will do anything you ask me to," he declared mid-hike, "as long as it's for Sebby."



I feel the same, Zac. I'd do anything for Sebby, too. Love you, little man.

XXX
Mummy

Thirty Weeks Old

Seb's thirty already! Doesn't time fly... hope he doesn't have the traditional Jinks midlife crisis at thirty and come back from coffee group with a tattoo next week.

I have missed him terribly this week, been hanging out for three whole days with my funny little bunny. He's done so many cool things this week, expanding his eating (last night he did marmite on vogels!!!) and rolling and squirming all over the place and chawing on things with his dear little Fang.



And on Tuesday he tried jolly jumping. It was love at first bounce for all concerned. Disclaimer: this isn't the REAL first vid of his jumping, but in the real first one there was a giant pile of washing strewn all over the floor behind him and Daddy declared it was too shameful to post.

Watch out for the deep-concentration-poking-out-tongue, it's too adorable and is his latest habit. Seriously: MiniLiam.



Roll on the long weekend! We're off to the famous Founders' Book Fair today. Hopefully a good chance to pick up some books for our little man, and you just KNOW that Miss M is going to come back laden!