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| 12 months old |
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| 13 months old |
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| 49 months ( 4 years and 1 month) |
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| 50 months (4 years and 2 months) old |
Fireworks
Finn loves fireworks, so Bonfire Night (5th November) was great for him. Whenever he heard a bang or an unusual noise he would run to the window in the hope of seeing fireworks, for weeks afterwards.
During the nights of fireworks themselves, we had a very good view of various shows across London, so we could sit them both on the windowsill, turn out the lights and watch this for 30 minutes and more quite happily:
Since it gives a good idea of what the children-on-windowsill looks like, here is the two of them on the windowsill again for the freak 10 minutes one early Saturday morning when it started to snow:
With the snow, Finn was convinced that it meant that it must be Christmas. He was very upset when I told him that it wasn't so. We agreed on the bargain that if it stayed, it would be Christmas. He was resigned when it melted before Cori got up from the usual weekend catching up on sleep.
Teeth
Orry has a million of them. Or, to be slightly more reasoned about it, he now has 14 teeth: the four central ones top and bottom, and now four more on the top, and now a couple on the bottom. The only picture we can get with Orry's mouth open, inevitably, is when he is crying - sorry!
Toilet skills
Cori drew a line with the wonky old one that was cracking and bought a new toilet seat. The new one has a slow non-clatter close and even an in between seat for small bums, such as Finn's. Finn was very pleased about the new seat; he was excited to show me when I returned from work, and then again the next morning, and at intermittent times across the next few days!
Inspired, Finn then showed us that he could just edge himself up onto the toilet "all by my own." So, for the first time in over four years, we now find ourselves in a position where we do not need to be involved in every toilet episode in Finn's life. The delight in Finn's going to the loo by himself has not worn off yet!
Things don't always go perfectly though. Having learnt from the remnants of half-hearted cleansing from when he's at nursery (you can imagine what that means in the context!), we are still involved in poo trips to the loo, but at least we can be sure that we won't have dubious underpants to sort out later on... But enough of such dubious conversation! Here is a picture of when Finn's underpant-putting-on "by his own" goes wrong:
We didn't notice anything amiss with his pants when he emerged from the toilet, until we saw his underpants emerging from the top of his trousers. Upon closer inspection we found that he'd put both legs through the one hole, and that the thing had then ridden up. Silly!
Orry also has something like toilet skills. However, his are more just a strange obsession with the room. One of his greatest loves for a while was sitting on the toilet - not doing anything, but just sitting there and smiling at everyone. Once he's bored of that, he'll grab the toilet paper and start to eat it until someone stops him.
All of this, of course, requires a grown-up to be there; to lift him onto the seat, to make sure he doesn't fall off, to halt the consumption of toilet paper etc. Very annoying for us, especially when he will dart off out of the lounge just to get in there, at which point he will cry terribly until we come, at which point he makes it known that he wants to get up onto the seat, etc.
Another of Orry's favourite joys of the bathroom is raiding the closet under the sink, much like this:
We now have a string tying the doors shut, much to Orry's annoyance.
Boxes
A part of Orry's love of the bathroom cabinet is his current love of putting things into boxes, and taking them out again, etc. One of his favourite go-to toys is an empty plastic bottle with some wooden pegs in; he will sit there in complete concentration for minutes putting the pegs in before shaking them out and starting again.
Perhaps related to this, Orry also likes to get into boxes himself, such as the rather small train box:
Note his legs crossed/pressed up to make him fit. He is quite happy like that, and will fiddle with the trains and spin their wheels before crying to have us extract him from the box.
As you will see from the second of the two pictures above, Orry loves his older brother, which means that one thing even better than squeezing into a box by himself with toys is squeezing into a box with toys with Finn!
Mates
Finn and Orry are becoming really good friends these days. Of course, there are still tears when objects get involved - Finn protecting his toys from any touching from Orry, or Orry trying to grab whatever Finn has etc. But things are always getting better. For instance, Finn is now quite good at, after an initial appeal to us to stop Orry getting something, letting Orry take it briefly (as he pouts), and then just picking up where he left off moments later when Orry has cast it aside. Great!
But what is really worth mentioning is how they are really actually becoming friends. We were staggered when Finn began to call to Orry to actually involve him in his games. There was a particular and memorable time when Cori picked Orry up and Finn called for her to put him back down so that he could play with him - we were staggered! This same sort of thing is shown when Finn will show toys to Orry, or give them to him. Another good case is when Finn will show off in front of Orry - rolling about or something physical like that - and then laugh in sheer joy as Orry smiles and tries to replicate whatever it is that he's doing. This is often a parental nightmare as we try and control Orry's likely physical contortion and self-harm, but it is still a pleasure to see.
Here are some of the pictures of this sibling love and enjoyment...
One that we particularly liked was Finn pushing Orry around in the cart. What pleased us so about it was how careful and slow Finn did it so that Orry didn't get hurt, and how much Orry laughed and enjoyed doing it.
Another great thing they found to play together with was the little chair, which got knocked over and then became a climbing frame. The final picture, incidentally, also shows how good Orry is these days with his (assisted) standing - once he gets the idea to stand/walk on his own, we shouldn't be too far away from the real thing - we're hoping that the cousins at Christmas might inspire it...
Finally, here are the silly two being silly with the shoe closet as we get ready to leave the house... and it is also a good demonstration of why we're generally never on time - you leave them on their own for a moment as you try to get yourself ready and they are off raiding something or other to make a mess of!
Haircut
One of the big stories of November was the haircut. Firstly, it is probably worthwhile illustrating why there was a pressing need for a haircut:
Also, before getting all of his daytime clothes on:
Since Cori had taken Finn in to a couple of places close by, one which was awful, one great, we thought that it would be a good idea for me to take him in and get my hair cut at the same time. Finn was very positive about it, until we got in, when he clammed up completely and sat quietly on his seat without speaking. This even though the three male barbers hailed his entrance with bright "Hi!"s and compliments on his balance bike that he pushed in and lent up against the wall.
With a quiet chat and reasoning he wasn't budging, so I thought that I'd lead by example and get my haircut first. But only a couple of minutes into my own cut, one of the other barbers finished his person and went and sat by Finn to chat. They got chatting soon enough and then he offered Finn the chance to watch cartoons. To Finn's "yes!" they then turn every TV in the place to Chuggington and Finn gleefully runs to climb up into the chair to stare avidly at the TV as they set to cutting. Not another word out of him. Brilliant!
It was like that when Cori came in with Orry, to be greeted merrily by everyone in there, but for Finn, who had a TV to concentrate on. We felt so thankful for everyone in there, as it was a great experience: Finn got a haircut, we felt inspired by the kindness of strangers, and Finn made a heap of new best friends.
This is what he emerged as - very boyish!
Orry & bed
The first thing about Orry and bed was that he fell off it in November. We're still not sure how he managed it, but we were outside clearing up after they had gone to bed and then we heard a thump followed by a wail. Upon darting in we found Orry on the floor, obviously having fallen off the bed onto his head. It is a mystery as his cot is connected to the bed, and so he must have rolled out of his cot area, then turned to roll away horizontally across the bed, and then turned 90 degrees again to get off the bed where he did. Odd. No lasting damage though - just a rather surprised and a very upset baby, and two guilty-feeling parents.
The other Orry-bed update is that for the space of a week or so, Orry wanted to be on Cori at night. This was not a case of wanting to have a bit of him on top of Cori; but to actually to be fully body-lain-out on top of her. Indeed, for the most intensive few days, he was even waking up so that he could clamber back on top of her to go on sleeping. - "Very cute in the description, but not when it's actually happening," as Cori so accurately reported.
Orry & books
Orry's avid interest in drums has waned a little recently. He still enjoys a good drum, but is won't come darting in for it, and he won't stay it at for 30 minutes and more any more. This is sad, but it does relieve our ears from ringing!
Orry's big love in November was books. He will grab a book and come crawling over to you, thrusting to book into your hand and then clambering round to sit in your lap - ready to read!
His favourite book is still the "Baby boo" book with pictures of real babies, where one apparently hides and then leaps back with a "Boo!" But he's also now into some flap books.
He doesn't have the patience for them that Finn used to have. It is sometimes hard to keep him to get to the end of a book, as short as they are, before he's thrown it aside and lunging for the next one. But perhaps he will grow in patience and reading soon.
Finn and Orry often mesh nicely with their books, both sitting close as we launch into something that they know and like. But often Orry's books are too young for Finn to be interested, and Orry doesn't have the patience for anything Finn's level. So the times of cohesion of generally short-lived before one or the other of them wander off for something more entertaining.
Orry is also unlike Finn in his gleeful indifference to respect for books and bookshelves. Orry will quite happily tear books from the shelves, and he has his own favourite section to tear out. This section now has some of the less precious books in, and the Manx collectable stuff is far away and out of reach, but it is still hard to watch when you know that there is nothing that you can really do to stop it. If nothing else, at least it is good for me to stop being so precious about books:
Dad's Club
We still go to Dad's Club every fortnight. Recently some of the families with older children have started to come less frequently, or not at all. With the Club's cut-off being five years old (unless merely tagging along with younger siblings), Finn is now emerging as the oldest, and certainly the longest-serving child there.
Having watched an entirely new generation of children join Dad's Club, and seen all those I started with drop off, I have a strong idea of how Finn is growing up, and how old he is.
He will even now do that thing which I never thought he would do there - go off and play with others, or even by himself, as I sit with Orry in the baby area chatting to other dads. Amazing! Part of how he is comfortable enough to do this is that he knows the staff there really well, and likes them all a lot. Indeed, one of his great pleasures at Dad's Club is now helping Simon put the toys away in the great container thing in the yard.
It is lovely to see him flourish so in the environment - a good repayment for the sense of loss at how he is no longer the young child he was when I first started coming three or so years ago... Now he looks more like a young hoodlum than a baby!
"Cheese!"
Orry has learnt that when you raise a phone or camera to him, you stop what you are doing and say "Cheese!" It is rather frustrating if you are trying to film him doing whatever it is that he's into, but is is very cute...
Talented boys
Orry can now get off a chair properly - phew! He does, however, still have trouble getting out of his little chair, but at least now he will whine/shout for us to get him out, rather than leaping out head first... And here is a picture of Orry being The Master of the Chair:
Orry is now also The Master of the Spoon. We were probably rather slovenly about getting Orry to use cutlery, but his allergies have steered us away from foods where spoons are really necessary, so he's never really been interested in anything other than his hands. But in November, probably with the influence of nursery, he has converted into being a happy spoon-eater at home. The hands still come into action, but he is getting better at the spoon and he now will eat with the spoon initially and will return to it between using his hands - all good by us!
... But I now see that that is a breadstick, not a spoon. Sorry! A good picture, nonetheless. But even with a spoon, of course, he's still not becoming a clean eater!
One of the most impressive things that Orry is now capable of us actually a new height in block-stacking. Having reported last time that he was up to three blocks, in November he managed a five-block stack on his own. Amazing! ...It might not sound that amazing from the outside, but it really is quite something. Probably the sort of thing we'd keep quiet about in front of other parents, for fear of sounding like show-offs!
We have no pictures of the stack, but instead you can have a picture of Orry clearly in disbelief at his own brilliance:
Finn also is highly talented. November's new achievements include now being quite happy to get the collapsible stool to put up under a light switch in order to turn it on or off. He learnt this trick on day and was delighted about it, but then reverted immediately to having us do such things for him!
Finn also continues to be remarkably good at puzzles. Cori wasn't paying attention to him - occupied with Orry - for a few minutes as he sat with a puzzle, and she turned back around to find that he'd done it all by himself without any help at all. Very impressive:
When we are around, he does rely on us to help him, so this sort of puzzle-talent is easy to miss normally.
Finn received his first Lego present (as opposed to the generic blocks that we have in a tub and which we've had out for a year or so, off and on). He loved it, and really got a lot from it. It was great to sit down with him after Orry was taken to bed and to open up the box. Laying out the pieces, reading the instructions, finding the pieces and putting them all together. He really enjoyed it, and it was a great thing to do together, especially was it was actually quite tricky. The thing itself was not played with much after it was constructed, but it was worth it completely for the build.
Here it is, mid-build (Finn clutches the treasure chest that the shark, pirate and skeleton - bottom right - are involved in some tale to get):
It perhaps doesn't really count, but these pictures show how great Orry is at knitting... or perhaps it is more a case of him picking up brilliant from his mother how to "do knitting":
And, while we're at it, here is the hat that Cori made for Orry:
We are all a little sorry that it's not a bit bigger, because when viewed at the right angle (which is not this one!) it looks like it could almost be a rather impressive Anglican Bishop's hat!
Fruit-flies
We had a fruit-fly in the house a few weeks ago and Finn got it into his head that these were friends who wanted us to provide fruit for them to live on and eat. "There you go, fruit-fly," he said, presenting his banana skin etc. He's not lost the idea of them and he will sometimes stare intently at dots on the wall or elsewhere, suspicious that they are fruit-flies not moving much.
One such dormant "fruit-fly" was found by Finn on the doorstep to the flat itself. He went out to get the groceries from the delivery person and returned to find Finn lain out across the door. "What are you doing, Finn?", "Look!" he said, pointing at a speck of dirt on the floor, "a fruit-fly! Don't step on him, please." So he scooted back against the wall and watched over this "fruit-fly" as we dutifully stepped excessively over the speck of dirt as we came in and out for the bags of groceries...!
Hampstead adventure
We're big fans of Hampstead and Hampstead Heath, not least because we used to live there and got engaged there. It would be one of our favourite places to take a walk in, had we the leisure. Unfortunately, beautiful urban and park-natural places are not really places that Finn (or Orry) would really enjoy. However, with the winter closing in, we suddenly got the idea to go and had inspiration of how to make it fun.
The fun rested on calling it a "Nature Adventure" to Finn, and in creating this:
As you should, just about, be able to make out, this is Finn holding out a tick-list of the following items: tree; squirrel; bird (x3); bench (x2); running person; kite. It is, indeed, a tick-sheet park spotting activity sheet. Tied to the exciting word/concept "Nature," this was a great winner as Finn had great fun the whole time. Highlights included: packing his "backpack" with all the essential stuff he would need; taking a train; using his binoculars to spot the things on his list (generally after he had already seen them without the binoculars!); clambering over fallen trees; being on a big hill from which he could see "all of London"; watching kites flying; getting a cake for the journey home.
What pictures we took (on our phones) includes the follow... setting off and then waiting at the overground train station:
Metres into the park, Finn spots his first tree and the first tick is on the sheet (and I question the consistency of the difficulty of Cori's sheet!)
Enjoying "Kite Hill" and showing great bravery on the daring tree-walk:
Taking in the views over the lake before coming home:
Pictures...
There are some hanging pictures which don't have a home, so they go here without excuse or explanation (other than to say that the crying one of Orry is in as a realist counterpoint to the beautiful one-year-old pics of a post or two ago - this is how Orry will look at least a few times daily - he's not always the cutest thing on earth!)
The Show!
Finn got a couple of craft/activity magazines for his birthday, which we've been dropping in and out of ever since. One of this had the materials and instructions to make these rather nice creatures:
Once they were created - with some enjoyable Finn time, and some less enjoyable Orry distraction - it was then decided that they should be used as puppets to put on a show. We each did one, with Finn's here following on from mine (and garbling something of the narrative whilst he's at it). It is a 4-minute video and some might consider the watching of it torture, but others might like to experience what it is like to hang out and play with Finn:
Great! - blog post over! At this point the children fade into darkness again, until the next update...
