I thought I should get an entry in before the mayhem ensues with Peanut's arrival...due in less than 2 weeks! Yikes.
Jude has developed a lot in the past few weeks. He now understands and interacts with toys more, has discovered how to open drawers and cupboards, communicates better and is fast on his feet!
He now has 10 teeth, his feet are already a size 6 and I won't comment on his soaring height. :-) He is happiest when outside and is loving our front and back gardens and the sand pit.
His favourite word is 'nah' at the moment which he says emphatically whilst shaking his head to things he doesn't like. And he is developing an extremely bossy side...he points to everything that he wants to look at and orders us to carry him to each object (despite the fact that he can walk!) - getting very cranky if we don't. His morning routine consists of waking up, me picking him up from the cot, him pointing at all the objects in his room that he wants me to take him to, then walking into bathroom to get his toothbrush (he likes to brush his teeth about 6 times a day!), then the living room where he proceeds to point outside, then down the balcony stairs and towards the sand pit. He loves picking the sand up and distributing it everywhere with his hands and then points at the broom and orders you to sweep it all up for him again. Until he realises he is hungry and then orders me to the kitchen to make cereal and toast. I try not to indulge his orders all of the time but then I remember how bossy I was as a child...I'm fighting a losing battle!
As you can see from the pictures, he uses Peanut as a rest and clambers over me, not realising what is soon to come and turn our lives upside down. I can't wait to see his face the first time he is sat side by side in the back of the car with Peanut...if it's anything like the expression he wore whilst side glancing Henry and Jasper last week, it will say "er...why do I have people next to me?"
He gets VERY excited if he thinks someone is chasing him or he gets tickles. He approaches new things with caution and weighs them up before making his decision to proceed or not. His latest amusement is to dip his dummy in and out of my cup of tea or flicking the liquid across the table and floor. 'Cheeky monkey' does not cover it! He's pretty good when I say 'no' to things and obeys most of the time. We now eat our dinner together in the evenings - I've given up on giving Jude his own plate as he likes to take the food from ours most of the time. He loves popcorn and hot chips...poor thing...I hide the chips until he has eaten the meat and veg and then they magically appear. Otherwise he would just stuff himself full of chips and nothing else. I also make James set the example and I have caught him sneaking an early chip from the kitchen once or twice as a result.
He has become very comfortable in his own room and sleeps well through the night - hoping that will continue when the baby comes! He is a people person and is most happy playing in the company of someone else. He doesn't mind groups of people but becomes unsettled after a period of time and likes to withdraw to a quiet place to play one on one. He certainly does the majority of his talking when there are less people around and likes you to join in with the conversation.
He's a methodical organiser, moving objects from one box to another container and sometimes back again. And traverses invisible track lines - as if I have drawn chalk lines in the ground for him to pace back and forth on. All the while babbling away.
Now the cot, car seat and pram are set up and the hospital bag packed. Concurrently exciting and daunting for both James and I. James is hoping to take a week or so out of work once Peanut arrives and will no doubt find it even harder to get on a plane to Sydney each week after. Mum arrives a week today to lend a helping hand and Barbs has been popping in the past few weeks to give me a rest when she can. It's times like these that you really appreciate the support of family and friends.
Well I hope the next communication we send will contain some exciting arrival news! Due on the 6th March and if Peanut hasn't arrived by the 11th then the plan is to induce me. Peanut has certainly become more active over the past 2 weeks with less and less manoeuvre room to enjoy...may come earlier than we think!
Speak soon.
Love Nic x
