Birthday Plus
Well what can I say about a baby that has come from passing through the pearly gates to passing food into his own dewy lips?
February 9th was a wonderful occasion with a quiet celebration of his first year of life. Guests of honour were his First Responders whom helped him survive those first minutes of life and never gave up trying. No presents and sorry if you did not get invited - we wanted a quiet first birthday he has had the greatest gift of all from you already!
He is a wonderful child to behold - interested, smiley, thoughtful and I'd even say quick to learn. Today he officially started feeding himself with his spoon. A little bit messy, but his whole dinner got from plate to mouth primarily by his efforts. Not easy either as he was given pasta with sauce then mashed potato then fromage and to finish off he had some of ours...
I was especially impressed with the way he now deals with peas. We used to get a whole meals worth of distraction just by placing a few peas on his tray in front of him. He would use ever improving dexterity over the course of our meal to manouvre a pea to a corner and get it between thumb and forefinger. Raised in the air to his lower lip only to let go and have it fall back on the tray. Hours of simple development exercise with nothing costly involved and little or no encouragement from us. We could eat and keep him amused simply.
Today he has taken that leap of lateral thinking and immediately he was given a couple of peas he gently patted them on the tray so slightly squished. Then he picked them up easily - put them both straight into his mouth - job done in 5 seconds! Masterclass in parental bemusement and frustration all in one as he demanded more peas... and attention... and...
It is time I gave Emily a mention because it is she who has had the tough time recently; all of our own making she is going through the stressful and scary process of changing school. Not due to strong objections to her old school on our part nor upset on hers. We discussed at length the pros and cons of moving school some time ago but settled for sticking with where we are because we did not know any better options. In September last year we discovered Millais in Horsham and seriously considered for and against her moving there. Undoubted excellent education was not the only consideration - the move had to be right for Emily and in February we concluded: even if the difference is marginal it might make the difference between Emily achieving being a Vet or not.
The thing we did not fully appreciate is just how stressful changing schools is for all of us - not just Emily. Having her cry with fear in the mornings is a stomach churning experience. This is when she is already happy with the school, has made new friends and enjoys her subjects. Incredible is the anguish and bodily reaction to such a challenge at 12 years old. Today I have had a torrid day worrying she is coping only to find when I get home she has a big smile and says "It was Fun!". Sometimes when you make the right choice of path and for all the right reasons you find getting there is challenging in an unexpected way and that is what happened here. Fortunately it is actually going well now, but that is down to Emily being strong-willed not our good judgement so we are very relieved.
Coming back to Charles I am impressed by his control - a gift from his grandparents is a wooden hammer plate and balls to hammer through it. He mastered this within a day and his accuracy with the hammer appeared almost natural - like his dad he just jas a problem keeping the head at the right angle to hit them through straight.
Another toy he has shows his cheekiness - it involves pushing a ball in the mouth at the top of a helter-skelter style toy. This causes the toy to play music. When he was first given this and was shown repeatedly how to do it he pretended not to be interested and simply played with the balls. The next day I gave him the toy and balls and popped out of the room to get something when I came back he was merrily putting the balls in the hole and dancing to the music. When he saw me he went back to throwing the balls around. I can't think were he gets his cheek from, but he was highly amused through it all and only weeks later would he 'perform' for us.
Last Friday we took him to see my mother (80) performing in her WI Play - the second one she has been in and very good it was too. Her character was Petra Fied - a Russian student studying IT in evening classes. Now you would think Charles would be bored in seconds wouldn't you. he would by wriggling and crying through the whole first five minutes and get taken out or his parents shot. he loved it - gazed open mouthed at the performers and danced a jig on my lap to the music. I even think he recognised his Grandmother. Ok he did fall asleep at the end, but that was well past his bed-time anyway.
Already we can see a great deal is going on that is normal in his head and for the first time since his birth when I hold him I let myself believe I have a son. I have a son and a daughter a great feeling.
That brings me to a story I was sent today and all I have to say about it is I love it!
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24
hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the
2 glasses of wine...
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in
front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very
large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into
the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open
areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if
the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the
jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else He asked once
more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous
'yes.'
The professor then produced two glasses of wine from under the table
and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the
empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.
'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life.. The golf balls are
the important things; your family, your children, your health, your
friends, and your favourite passions; things that if everything else
was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.'
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your
house, and your car. The sand is everything else; the small stuff.
'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no
room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If
you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will
never have room for the things that are important to you.'
'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take
your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. Do one more run down
the ski slope. There will always be time to clean the house and fix
the waste disposal. Take care of the golf balls first; the things
that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the wine
represented.
The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you
that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for
a couple of glasses of wine with a friend.' |