Good old me

Just some pics to go with a little something I wanted to share with you; I'm doing super great ;-) This week I actually enjoyed myself in daycare and I sleep all night around the clock again. I work hard all day you know, pulling myself up on my feet and then trying to move somewhere without losing balance. Sometimes I even let go of both hands by accident and I find myself actually standing! Still very wobbly though... (There will be pictures soon, mom's just afraid I will fall if she doesn't keep her hands free to catch me ;-) ... anyhow, mom says I made a giant leap in my development and she's so proud of me!

Deven's diner

Look what mom got me; my very own diner! She found it in the street last week and took it all apart, cleaned it, made new upholstery and matching table top, et voila! I love it! Now I can have dinner in the living room and closer to Monkey level (he picks up my spills like a little dog). And it's also a cool play station for when I'm tired of all the working out I'm doing all day long.

Captain Ahoy!

Grandma and grandpa were playing around with me 'cause they wanted to make the same picture of me in grandpa's old captain hat as they did back in the 60's of mom when she was just standing. Looks like mom liked it better then me but then again, she had the view to go with the outfit ;-)
(we'll make a proper scan of mom's baby picture soon so you can see the similarities better)

DJ Deven in da house!

Gna gna I got it! I'm afraid this is the beginning of the end of mom's vintage stereo set but boy is this a great corner to hang out! Very interesting indeed .... ;-)

Novelty of the week

Look at me! Yep, 10 months and unstoppable; I decided to skip the crawling and start walking. I wanna get up on my feet as much as I can these days and try some steps or disco moves. I got lots of practice at the grandfolks last weekend and back in Amsterdam I decided to take it a step further and now I'm also staring to climb things. Mom sometimes seems a bit stressed out by my new hobby and follows me around with all kinds of pillows and stuff in case I make an unforeseen landing. But the truth is, I hardly ever loose my balance. It's just when I get real tired but still want more action that she decides it's time to strap me down in the wipper chair for some time out and a snack.
ps. sorry for the neck-breaking movies. Mom will get that pro-movie flick to rotate them as soon as she's settled in her new office!

10 months / Splash! the movie

Yeah I'm ten months old today! So another extra long bathtub session for me today, before heading down to riverland where I got to ride my very own car. I was so hyper the whole day I totally forgot to take a proper siesta, but then again, you only turn ten months once in your life right? Hey and have you noticed how great my skin looks lately? I'm so growing out of this itchy rash thing and into a little super handsome man ;-)

Splash!

Look grandma got us a new tub for me 'cause I'm not having that much fun in the tummy-tub anymore. Now I can do some serious splashing and play with my toys - good thing our livingroom floor is waterproof - and when I lay back, the tub is so small that I can't go under. This will work for the next couple of months ;-)

Wheels rock

Yeah, mom had a nice surprise for me yesterday when se picked me up from daycare: new -old school- toys! With wheels!!! I'm totally into wheels right now and anything that I can stack, take apart and reassemble again somehow (with a little help from mom ;-). The best wheels however are on my new buggy ride. Mom says that I'll have my first birthday soon and on this special day there will be more serious wheels... oh I can't wait!

Up & go!

See here my latest achievement! The sitting turns out to be real easy so I moved straight on to the next level; up on my feet. It's still tricky business but we practice a lot so I hope to make my first step soon. I still don't like to be left behind in daycare (buh huh!) but I must say I get lot's of inspiration from the other babies.

Look who's sitting

Not such a big deal after all he he ;-) I'm still a bit wobbly but this sitting thing is kind of fun. Mom's been training me a bit these last few days and today I finally got the hang of it. I can't go into sitting position by myself yet but if she puts me on my bum I can keep it up for quite some time without falling over. I'm kinda proud myself ;-)

No sweat

Look (grand)ma, I'm doing just fine in daycare! Today was my last daycare-training day and when mom picked me up at 15:00 I was just eating rice crackers with cheese, real chill with the other babes. Mom seemed more emotionally stressed then me. She was real proud of me and so were the daycare ladies ;-)

Home cooked chow

Mom got the message; I won't take food from a jar anymore, so today she cooked us both the same food, pasta with broccoli and fish. Yummie! The trick is I eat as much as I can myself, with my hands, while mom eats her dinner, and then she gets the blender out to mush it to baby food and she feeds me the rest while I lounge in my wipper chair. Oh and while we were eating auntie Ute brought by a super cool present for me; it's a baby plate that sucks to the table so I can't throw it on the floor. Mom was desperate to get one and Ute and Max bumped into it on the big baby fair today. We'll be testing it tomorrow ;-)
ps. I did a bit better in daycare today. I was still a bit moody but I played for a while with the other babies and then I fell asleep on top of one of the big breasted daycare ladies ;-)

Daycare drama

Now that I'm as good as recovered from my 'cold virus' my training schedule at daycare continues. So today mom left me behind for 2 hours, of which I spend the first hour crying and being moody, and the second hour I slept in the swing. The rest of the day I was all over mommy again, so much so that I only fell asleep just now at 21:00... But... mom also discovered I got yet another tooth, nr 7 is out! And, nr 8 is well on it's way so that throws a new light on my recent health situation as well. Poor mom, always feeling like she's 3 steps behind on baby science ;-)

Candid camera

Mom still needs to get a pro movie program to flip the little movies 90 degrees but untill that day you'll just have to watch sideways ;-)
Anyhow, I was snoring real bad during my afternoon nap -turns out to be the most boring baby movie ever- and afterwards we practiced me sitting, but by the time mom got the camera I decided it was enough for today ;-)

Food food food!

The grandfolks are still a bit weak from the virus they picked up from me so I didn't go to riverland this week. I'm pretty much getting back on track though, still snotty but better by the day and I can't seem to get enough food. Had a full extra bottle in the middle of the night and I'm devouring dark bread all day long. Mom had a babysitter over for a couple of hours this morning cause she had an important work meeting. He was real nice and skilled and all, took me for a walk in the sun and played with me all the while, but I was so happy to see mom back I was totally hyper the rest of the day. Let's keep her busy hey? ;-)

Kyle's pics

Kyle - Joff's ginger nr.1 - took some real nice pics of me and mom in our new office last friday. He's like a real photographer so there'll probably be more in the future ;-)

Making a comeback

Yep, today was definitely an improvement, thanks to the nose drops. I slept super well, mom made me a big warm bottle at 5.30 in the morning and then we slept again until 8.30 which was a real treat for mom. I had some fruit and after my bath I did another long nap. Then, while checking out the birth card puzzle of baby Milou (which is uncle Bert's step-granddaughter, yeah I know that sounds complicated) I had a bit of 'pap', just in time cause mom had to go and pick up the keys to our new office space, together with Joff & Kyle. (Poor Joff suddenly realized he's gonna be sharing the space with 3 gingers ;-) The place - it's just around the corner from our house and used to be a diamond factory - is real nice, light and warm, and although it needs some work in the coming week I can already see my birthday party happening there! Lot's of space to tiger around with my friends ;-) Anyhow, back home I had some pumpkin and chicken chow, took another nice long nap with mom and then I had even more chow and fruit and a big bottle of milk before bedtime. So my appetite is definitely picking up! Unfortunately, the bad news is that now also grandpa got the virus so back in riverland things aren't so swell. Sorry guys! I'll make it up to you with a big hug and tons of charming baby smiles soon ;-)

Up & down

;-( I'm still not well. Today maybe a little less diarrhea and a few up and playful moments in between all my naps, but when I lost my appetite for fluids as well mom decided to go see an emergency doctor. So we went in the car with auntie Esmee on our side and it turns out I got a mid-ear infection from that daycare-cold I had. Mom got special baby drops for my nose and they made me feel better instantly. I had a nice warm bottle of milk, played around a bit and after mom's dinner -the only food I find interesting strangely enough- I went off to bed and fell asleep immediately. So lets pray from now on it's upwards and back to good old crazy rascal me! ;-)

Poor little me

I'm still down with a nasty virus. Sleeping all day, watery poop, no appetite... grandma took me to a doctor but he said it's normal as long as I keep drinking water with special re-hydration salts, but it shouldn't last too long. I sure hope to be up and around again soon so I can go and play with the other babies at daycare again!

Sniff ;-(

Oh oh, what next? I'm having a cold, that's what's next. Mom took me to this daycare center this week, twice for one hour, only to get used to the place, and already those other babies with their running noses gave me a cold. I'm a bit stoned by it all but mom is worried sick 'cause I won't eat. It was a real nice day today though and mom did some gardening so I joined her for some fresh air in the door opening. We also went for a drive with auntie Nienke and little Jop to a place where the moms bought some bargain cashmere samples or something. Life goes on I guess. Anyhow, Jop and I enjoyed the ride in the back seat together ;-)

My first toothbrush

Turned out the fever I had last Sunday was because I had two more teeth peeping through! When grandma brought me back home to Amsterdam today mom spotted them immediately. So now I have 6 teeth already. Time to start brushing, mom said, and we went out and got my first baby toothbrush and special baby toothpaste with Nijntje on it. Weird stuff the teeth brushing ritual but it felt sort of good on my gums. Of course I wanted to do it myself ;-)

My first fever

Oh oh... mom was suspecting the worst when I slept until 8 this morning and then fell asleep again on my play blanket around 11:00 AM... and yes, by the time we arrived at the grandparents in Riverland my first fever was official. Mom had the flue the whole week and now it's my turn. Poor me. Anyhow, we still managed to make some pretty nice music today ;-)

9 months

Yeah! I'm nine months old today!!! Not hat we had a party or anything, I'm afraid mom wasn't feeling too hot today. Poor sniffing mom. But we did go to the childcare center for my check ups, and mom learned that she needn't be too concerned with my latest developments (refusing to sleep during the day, making a stampede every time she changes a diaper and me desperately clinging to her lap the whole day) so she felt a bit better afterwards. Apparently I'm in a phase typical for 9 month olds, another 'mommy-phase'. I've grown yet another 2 centimeters (76 cm now) but I'm a bit skinny (9.64 kg), probably because of that stomach flue I had the other day. I eat like a woodworker all day long so no worries there. I'm just real active; chasing Monkey, climbing mountain mom, slamming doors and banging stuff around the house the whole day ;-)

Spoil Deven Day ;-)

Mom really spoiled me today, sorry as she feels for my discomfort of yet more teeth coming through. After our cosy morning ritual we went on a nice long walk, and she bought me this snug vintage hand knit play-blanket. Then she got me some real pretty spoons and some stuff to baby proof the house. On we went to mom's favorite eco-baby store where I got to pick out this cool wooden box full of little wooden pieces that seem to fit through all the different holes in the box. Well, I'll figure it out. Oh and she also got me a cute little wooden car that goes 'tweet' as you press the top, and we bought a cute present for the new baby upstairs. Back home I had a huge portion of 'pap' and then she figured it was high time for my nap. But I didn't feel like it at all so after 2,5 hours she gave up trying to hush me and started cooking for me again. Just then auntie Ute & little Max payed us a surprise visit. Max is a bit ahead of me, he's already standing on his wobbly legs and his crawling also looks more advanced than mine, so that was interesting. Finally after a full portion of chicken, carrots and rice followed by a full bottle of milk I dozed off around 8PM. It was a great day, although mom didn't look too happy during the final part calling me a 'high maintenance little rascal'. But hey, I'm a baby! babies are supposed to be 'high maintenance' ;-)

Ladies in da house!

Just before mom wanted to put my pyjamas on tonight we got a surprise visit from our upstairs neighbor girl Anastasia and her two best friends who live right across the street. She's sleeping over there tonight because her mom's in the hospital right now giving birth to her little baby sister! More pretty ladies for me to play with yeah! All the girls wanted to take turns having me on their lap but I'm a bit cranky today -more teeth coming through I'm afraid- and I got real shy so they gave me back to mom from whose lap I couldn't stop and stare; they're so lovely!

Down and higher up

Wow, I had the meanest stomach flue this week and I'm afraid I also infected grandpa and mom, so we were a bit down and out. But we're all good again and I totally got my energy back. So much so that I decided it's time to start climbing! Mom took immediate measures lowering my bed after shooting this movie, afraid as she always is that I'll hurt myself. Oh well, all the more challenge!

Rise, Shine & Snooze

We worked out a way to accelerate our morning rituals. So from now I get to soak in my tummy tub in the shower right after mom so she can go about her grooming activities simultaneously, and it's rather cosy! Once we were all dressed and fed and ready for a beautiful day though, the three of us fell asleep on the floor (mom was in between Monkey and me before she took the picture). Perfect Sunday stuff; sun beaming through the windows, birds singing in the back ground, nothing but a walk in the park on our agenda'sszzzzzzzzzz....

Off line

I have to apologize on behalf of mom for seriously neglecting my blog, but the thing is, we've been starved for a decent illegal airport signal. So now mom's on the phone every day trying to fix our own full blown air port signal, but by the sound of it, it could last a while longer... poor mom. Anyhow, she made a bunch of little films... let's see if we can upload one on the late late night borrowed mini signal we have...

(ps. anyone know how to rotate a movie?)