Merry Christmas!

Well, it's been a busy two days, lots of people, more food and even more presents! We are over full, over tired and over excited... but we are alive! :)

Lots of exciting gifts, the number one being my gorgeous camera! There will be LOTS more pics to share from now on!

Here's one to keep you going while I learn how to use my new 'toy'!

Because my Internet is capped...

and uploading anything will take like an hour, this is a text-only update, seeing as it's also been over a month since I did anything! Not that I have a camera, but there are some webcam shots I should try and post in the morning.

Zeke had his 18mo check today, it was our first with the new nurse since we moved. What is it with women named Cheryl being nurses? Anyway, Cheryl is lovely, and approved of the way I spoke to Zeke when he was having a tantrum. ("Yes, I can hear you yelling, but I need to finish writing this first, then I'll play with you again")

Zeke weighs in at 12.55kgs (27.5 lbs) - that's a 1.2 Kg gain in 3 months! Good to know all that food is going somewhere! That boy can EAT! The other day for lunch he had 3/4 of a seaweed roll with cooked tuna & rice (he even ate the seaweed), 1 scoop of penne pasta in sauce, 250mls of juice, a churro with dipping chocolate (Spanish fried doughnuts, only not doughnut shaped) and a babycino! (frothed milk & chocolate dust.) He then had spaghetti for dinner, and half an hour later stole half a potato and 3 bites of steak from my dinner! My boy can eat!

He's 79cms tall, I've already forgotten the conversion for that... 31 inches I think... *checks FB status* yes, 31 and a bit inches. About what I guessed he'd be.

Chickenpox Vax today as well... no big deal. He shouted pretty loud though! He got over it when he met a cute little girl who gave him one of her biscuits :) My boy is such a flirt!

He's now 75th Percentile for weight (just above average) and 25% for height (just under average) and his head circumference (51cm) is slowly coming back onto the charts. We are closer than last time! We were supposed to have a check up for his head at the hospital at the end of October, (boy was that a freaking saga... remind me to tell you about that later!) He's now completely in Size 1 clothing, although the arms and legs are still a little long, size 0's are just too tight!

We've not had heaps of new words recently. He's started to use the same words to mean a lot of different things. All birds are now "Duh" (duck) and he sometimes actually SAYS "duck" I've only heard it a couple of times though. He's still really good at the non-verbal communication, showing you what he wants, or leading you to something he can't reach.

Actually I lie, we have had a few new words, new sentences actually. He's only said them once, and I'm not 100% convinced my ears weren't playing tricks on me, but at the same time it was very clear! He has said "I want my brrm brrm" (brrm is his word for anything with wheels) while reaching up to his train that was on the table, and also "Come back Daddy!" when Ryan came out of the kitchen and headed towards the back of the house instead of the lounge where we were sitting. Unfortunately Ryan didn't hear either of them, so I think he just thinks I'm crazy.

Oh, you might have noticed I wrote "Daddy"... that's because Zeke calls us Mummy and Daddy now! He still says Mama a bit, and Dada most of the time, but unlike 'Mama' which he uses to refer to any older female, and 'Dada' which can be anyone at all, Mummy and Daddy are very specifically referring to Ryan and I! How totally cool! :D

We are almost done with teething for a while, he is just cutting his top right canine, and then we are done till 2-year molars! They came in so quickly and all at once, plus he didn't like me checking on them so I'm not really sure WHEN they came in other than sometime during Sept-Oct.

There's a whole bunch of stuff I want to update about the wedding too, but I'll leave this post all about my gorgeous boy!

Miranda xoxox

It's about time I blogged it...

If Astrid's already onto it LOL. (By the way, thank you so much for your excitement and congrats A - love ya!)

I'M GETTING MARRIED!

That's right, my wonderful, beloved Fungus finally got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I'm cheating and copying the story from my JM board, but I told it best there.

"Okay, so it turns out Ryan has been planning this for some time. It turns out practically everyone knew before I did. My parents and siblings, his family, and most of our closest friends. He kept it a really good secret though, I even SIGNED FOR THE PACKAGE THAT HAD THE RING IN IT TWO WEEKS AGO, without even thinking about it and just gave it straight to him, because it had his name on it!

My dad was interstate though, and only came back this week, so he asked him this afternoon. Second time in Dad's life he's been speechless. The first time was when we told him I was pregnant LMAO!

I've been nagging Ryan for months now about asking me to marry him, and he's always been "I'll do it sometime. When you least expect it... muhahahah!" (evil laugh) He actually asked my ring size a couple of weeks ago, and I thought nothing of it because he can go months with a specific detail before acting on it. Turns out he'd already bought the ring and wanted to make sure he had guessed right!

Tonight we'd had our usual weekly dinner with some friends of ours, and their friends had come too with the ittiest, bittiest little doll of a daughter. Naturally of course she makes me very clucky, and as soon as we are home I am telling Ryan I want another baby.

He tells me, "I'd rather wait until we're married for that," and me being a total smartass (and walking straight into it) goes "Oh yeah, when's that going to happen?"

The next thing I know, Ryan says "How about now?" and he's got a ring from his pocket and is down on one knee! He did in fact ask me, but I'd already gone into adrenaline shock (and squealed LOL!) so I don't remember hearing the question properly. Once he stood up I said "Are you serious?" and he said yes, and then I hugged him and squealed some more before trying on my very pretty new ring!

It's two little diamonds in a two white gold bands that run paralell and have a little kink where the stones are set. Very simple and delicate. (I've been telling him for months about the type of ring I want LOL, and he definitely listened!)"

And here's a picture or two:






Anyway, Zeke's changed his mind about bedtime, so I'd better go change his mind for him again! I'll update more as I know more :D

Disappearing tooth...

Well Cathryn warned me it would happen, and it did. Zeke cut his lower left eye tooth yesterday there was a good 3-4mm above the gum line, but today? GONE! There is a little rough edge at the gum, but that is it.

Please don't tell me I have to deal with him cutting that tooth all over again! ALL 4 eye teeth are on their way as we speak, and there's still one molar missing so he can be a VERY cranky little boy.

My camera is broken, I need to take it to get repaired or exchanged or something, but with everything else doing, it's one of those things that gets put aside. However I feel extremely lost without it with all the cute things Zeke's up to lately, and a blog just isn't a blog without some cool pics. Maybe I'll follow Angie's doing and throw in a totally random pic like a spider monkey for you!

Actually, no, this is the most recent photo I have on photobucket, I'll have to get some more of Zeke on my *NEW* webcam to share with you till I have a working camera again!

Zeke's Personality

One of my online friends asked what our babies personalities were like, so I described my boy and Erin suggested I make it a blog post - so here it is!

My boy is social. He loves to talk and play with everyone, has a smile for you almost all the time. He HAS to be a part in everything, from sitting up at the table during a meal, playing games, cooking dinner, everything. On the flip side though, he can have days where he is very clingy (for him) and takes a long time to warm up to the environment. He will stay by me or circle the outside of the room very slowly, and back away when he feels overwhelmed.

He plays well above his supposed developmental age with other children, and is very good. If they do something he doesn't like, he will shout, but has never bitten, hit or pinched another child, even when they have done just that to him! He and his friend will play interactively, and without adult participation for half an hour or so.

He has a great sense of humour, and will laugh when everyone else does, or babble something and then crack up. He will also deliberately eat funny, make a silly noise, or do something else that makes people laugh, and will repeat it to keep you laughing.

He is very smart, and understands a lot of what is said to him, but has a short fuse when it is something he doesn't like, and will throw a tantrum till he gets what he wants. He is stubborn and determined about getting what he wants, and although he is not overly verbal just yet, he is extremely expressive and communicative, and understands how to use his body language and tone of voice to get his point across, almost anyone can understand him, even if they don't see a lot of him. I think he will end up in a job with a lot of face-to-face interaction.

He also needs to know *WHY* already. He doesn't ask why yet, but when he is told not to do something, (like touch the heater) he will do it just once to see what happens. He has never touched the heater again! I think we will have to use a lot of logic and rational explanations, "because I said so" will not go with this boy!

Most of the time during the day he is not a very cuddly boy, he prefers to be active at all times, but he will run to me at random for a quick kiss or cuddle and then go off again, however he is very physical in his games with you, and is always wrestling, jumping on or otherwise 'conquering' someone. When he's just woken up, he is very affectionate, and will smother Ryan and I in big wet kisses, and snuggles, but as soon as he has woken up fully, he's on the move!

He is very independent about a number of things and will not accept help with them. He has to feed himself, and cannot be rocked to sleep, he must be in his bed with the door shut, otherwise no sleep! Despite this, he is very flexible, and copes with with a change in routine, or having his nap time moved around. He rarely gets upset when a change happens that pushes him too far, he just becomes very quiet and wants to stay close to me until we go home for sleep.

However he is very co-dependant physically, he will not try many new things, and always looks to Ryan or I to hold his hand for a long time when he does. He is getting more sure of himself, and slowly breaking this cycle for simple things like playing on baby bikes or climbing onto his chair. He will never attempt steps without assistance, he will wait at the top/bottom with his hand in the air, waiting for someone to hold his hand and help him.

He also has an excellent memory, and will remember a game he plays with a specific person, or a toy at someone's house, even after weeks!

All in all he is my bright, beautiful wonderful little man!

Some Numbers For You All..

While I continue the search for my camera cable.

Zeke is now:

11.3kgs (not quite 25 pounds)
76 cm (2foot 6.5in)


Has:

7 teeth completely through (4x top incisors 3x bottom incisors)
3 teeth almost through (2x top molars 1x bottom incisor)
and
3 teeth on the way. (2x bottom molars 1x top canine)

Wears size:

0 tops
1 tops with the sleeves rolled up
1 onesies and sleep suits
1 pants with the legs rolled up.
5 shoes - but is on his way out of those

Size 0 is about 9 months in US sizing and Size 1 is about 12 months

Says:

Mama
Dada
Nana (banana)
Nada (another)
Duh (duck)
Duhduh (dummy)
Ba (book)
Baba (baby)
Moh (more)
No
Ah (yes, combined with a head nod)

Has said once only:

Tractor
Rabbit
Olivia
Love You
Hi

Can make these sounds:

Woof
Brrrm (car noise)
ZZZZ (bees)
SSSS (snake)
Beep Beep
Elephant trumpet
Rrrrr Rrrrr (bicycle bell)

Eats:

Almost everything.

Doesn't eat:

Raw Onion
Leafy vegetables (he just can't chew them)

Hopefully I'll find either the cable for my camera or the card reader so I can upload some pics ASAP!

Allergies - or not!

I can't remember if I mentioned before, but at Zeke's 1-year shots we were approached by some people from the Children's Hossy who were being funded for a research trial regarding food allergies and they offered us a skin-prick test for Zeke.

Naturally with all of Ryan's allergies to basically the world and my allergies to peanuts (more on that later!) we said yes, and Zeke was tested for peanuts, egg, sesame and shellfish. On the shellfish one he had the tiniest bump ever, so little they said it was more likely that he wriggled when they poked him, and it was irritated because of that, but to be safe they would refer us to the hospital for more tests.

And that is where we went on Monday. Of course I lost the letter telling us where to go, and upon asking at reception, we were sent to the bowels of the hospital where the allergy clinic is hidden. I think we walked past every utility room! Anyway, we make it there and wait for 10 minutes to be told that we'd been sent to the wrong place. Because it's a research trial and not actually part of the allergy/immunology clinic they're upstairs. Good thing too, the allergy clinic was tiny and crowded!

Another trek back to the right place again, where Zeke is given a broader test. More skin pricks, they don't hurt much, but it's no fun to have cold liquid dropped on your back and then a tiny little point shoved into your skin. After discussing our assorted allergies with us, including the vicious itchy rash I have been known to break out in after consuming peanuts, she offered me a prick test as well.

Why the heck not? At least I'll know if there's anything else I should avoid. I presented my arm and had the two control drops (one is pure histamine, one is water, you react to the first, but not the second, thus letting them know the test worked properly) then drops of oil for cashew, almond, sesame, hazelnut, and peanuts dropped on and pricked accordingly.

Well... it looks as though my days of telling people I can't eat peanuts are over! Not a single lump, bump or itch! I am not not NOT allergic to peanuts anymore! The lady testing said what was likely to have happened is that when I noticed the reaction to peanuts, my body was generally very stressed and unwell (massive allergic reaction to a bee sting, and two bouts of glandular fever - mono to some - all within a few months of each other, so yeah stressed is a good word) and was producing a lot of histamine anyway, histamine is the stuff produced when you have an allergic reaction that makes the prick tests swell up, and any allergen I came in contact with was likely to have a response.

She also said it's likely that being pregnant and breastfeeding changed things too, as the last two years I have been far less sensitive to the usual array of pollens I am treated to in spring time. She recommended I get a referral to an adult allergist from my GP to find out what is going on, especially as I still have the itchy skin, regardless of the lack of peanuts.

But the lack of peanuts is not anymore. I have feasted on several slices of peanut butter on toast and the special limited edition 10% more nuts Snickers bar Ryan lovingly bought me, and I am no worse for wear. And let me tell you, after years of being denied the peanuts to which I have always been so addicted, it has been WONDERFUL!

Now, all I need is a good chicken satay (I wonder if I can convince Ryan to buy the stuff for that for dinner tonight?) and my life will be complete.

Hooray for no allergies!