The Speckled Goat

Being the cricket fan that I am, the recent Ashes series filled me with excitement and despair in equal measure. I have watched as much of the series as a 7 month old newly mobile baby would allow and relished in the wonderful victory that was Freddie Flintoff's Test swansong. At times brilliant, at times truly dreadful, it was always difficult to call, particularly if you think back to the humiliating defeat at Headingly or the nail-biting draw of the first test. As a cricket fan you invest a lot of time into watching a test series. Your life is almost on temporary hold as you dare not miss a ball. So it feels like a personal reward when it all comes together. At the climax of the series, there was much elation and jubilation here and I revelled in such a superb victory over Ponting's men. It did not quite reach the dizzy heights of the 2005 Ashes win but I was truly joyous all the same.

Whilst I danced about the room, cheering, punching the air and believing that England had won as a personal thank-you to me for my commitment, Nick held Ruby at a safe distance and suddenly declared 'She has a tooth!' I rushed over had a look and sure enough, there in the bottom of her mouth was a small white lump. Ruby simply looked confused as Mummy and Daddy jumped up and down, laughing and hugging her and telephoning the respective grandmothers.

It was almost too much excitement for me to take! In amongst all the excitement of the cricket, Ruby had been quietly and with minimal fuss, growing her first tooth. Again she amazes me. She had not been grouchy or fussy. Like everything else she has done, she just quietly got on with it, preferring to relish the surprise on our faces when she presented the finished article. She is a truly fabulous baby and we are truly lucky parents.

Posted by Kary at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ruby is now mobile. It is official. She is now off and going. Gone is the bottom up/face plant method in favour of a far more efficient commando style crawl. No longer can I put her down, pop to the kitchen and come back to find her where I left her. I spend half my day picking her up and putting her back to the start, having removed her from bookshelves, fireplaces, DVD players (and yes - ooh if I press this bit it moves!), sofas, toy boxes etc. She smiles, laughs and chatters away at everything she discovers. She learnt to commando crawl within the space of about ten minutes and it was fabulous to watch. She used her hands to get to her toys and within minutes her legs joined in and she was jolly chuffed with herself as she made her way further than she had ever done before. (The video is just her second attempt) Now, four days later she has it sorted. She is also up on her knees from time to time and rocking too - she knows it will help; she just isn't sure what needs to move first. Her intent to discover coupled with increased speed of crawling will be a very exciting, if tiring time for us all!

She is very excited by new foods too. She sits patiently in her high-chair and loves to play with the food on the tray. She loves strong cheese, spinach, yam, papaya, sweet potato, apple and cinnamon, cauliflower, yoghurt; everything we give her is met with interest and investigation. She feeds herself finger foods - rice cakes, pasta, fruit, vegetables and is able to sip from her Doidy Cup.

Another thing causing excitement is the discovery that she is able to make noise. She can press the button on the musical dog's nose, she can make the octopus sing, she can shake her maracas and bells and nudge the musical ball just enough to elicit a rendition of her favourite songs. She bangs various items on the wooden floor to see what sound they make and appears to make comparisons, opting for the loudest to continue playing with. She sings, and coos and gurgles. She coughs and hums and blows raspberries. She says Mama and Dada which makes my heart melt every time (even though I know she is not really saying Mama) and chatters constantly. She chuckles but also laughs, proper belly laughs that make her whole body shake with happiness. It is my favourite sound in the world.

It amazes me how much love she has to give. She loves to cuddle and be cuddled. She rolls the entire length of her playmat, puts her little arms around my neck and kisses me, (well, gums me but you know what I mean), she tucks herself under my chin and snuggles. Of all her toys, and she has many, her mum and dad are by far her favourite and she loves nothing more than laying on her mat looking into our eyes, touching our faces or having her tummy kissed.

...and she is of course, very much looking forward to the new football season, she has her Arsenal blanket at the ready and has practiced using her rattle! Let's hope for a better season at The Emirates!

Posted by Kary at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ruby seems to be making new advances every day at the moment. Yesterday she accidentally ended up on her hands and knees; the look of shock on her face was fantastic. She has since been trying very hard to repeat it with limited success. Through this she has discovered how to move her legs as if to crawl. She face-plants regularly as she is yet to work out what to do with her arms, but nonetheless, she perseveres. She can now make her way across a room with this new limping foot projection/face-plant method or by repeatedly rolling and nothing is safe! Today she has found the TV table and all the joy that small silver, white and black boxes can bring. Yesterday it was underneath the sofa. The other day it was the plants by the fireplace and the bookcase. It must be amazing to have seen all these things from a distance for six months and then finally be able to discover them, touch them and find out what they are all about. The world must be such a fascinating place for her at the moment.

Posted by Kary at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)