Come on, Mummy

Said in exactly the same tone I use with him whilst getting frustrated trying to get ready for leaving the house. He's usually running about avoiding having his shoes put on, and generally messing about when I say it.

Now he's using it on me.

This morning whilst trying to grab just a few extra minutes in bed, he tugged my hands from under the covers, Come on, Mummy! Yesterday evening whilst his favourite show was on and I was trying to cook dinner, Come on, Mummy! and he tried to drag me towards the TV. Whilst waiting for his Weet-a-bix for breakfast, Come on, Mummy! as I tried to check my emails.....All day long, Come on, Mummy!

And he's shouting it right now.....

Little Man

He's been wearing his new silver trainers. He knows he looks cool.
He wore them to visit the penguins. He had attitude as he ran up and down the exhibit, barely able to breathe with excitement.

He's his own little person, and he know what he wants. After his sleep today, still in his cot, we had a little conversation that went like this:

Lets go and have some lunch!
No
Well lets change your nappy then...
No
Do you want to stay in your cot?
Yes
Why?
Cosy!

And then he grabbed his quilt and snuggled under with Gaw-Gaw, and we played a little game, where I had to pretend to put him back to sleep, all cosy and warm and turn the light out. We played it for ages, and didn't go up to have lunch until 3pm.


His delicious mood continued, as we made pictures in his scrapbook. He insisted on drawing 'Nemo' all afternoon, after yesterday's visit to the aquarium. I can't tell you how many times he shouted Nemo! at the clownfish.
For dinner, I got out his special plate.


I gave him lentil hair and a mashed potato beard. Toby thought it was hilarious and gobbled up his dinner with rare ease. With each mouthful he was joyfully shouting Hair!, killing himself laughing.
After dinner, he insisted on being walked around the kitchen upside down. Luckily he wasn't sick. But he is a crazy boy.

Good Boy

He's making me laugh this afternoon.

After falling asleep unexpectedly at 10.30am (and kind of annoyingly, I was planning on going out...) he woke up this afternoon full of joy and laughter.
I could tell he was in a happy mood, as we we sat down for our lunch, he kept making this face at me, as he ate his avocado and ham:


I love it when he makes this face. He only does it when he is in an exceptional mood. I'm not entirely sure what it quite means, but I think he does it to try and make me laugh. And laugh I did.
Afterwards, we got out his scrapbook, and he is now busily putting in stickers of Thomas the Tank Engine and then taking them out again, putting them in his hair and laughing. And every so often, he praises himself, "Good Boy!" he shouts, in his sweet, clear, high little voice.
And he is.

Toby playing with his new wooden Thomas railway, we bought for him last weekend,
he wasn't very well and we thought this would make him feel better.

Cute Is...

Toby seeing a picture of a lion in a book at the library yesterday, then grabbing hold of Gaw-Gaw and pushing his face into the page whilst excitedly shouting, "Look, Gaw-Gaw, Look!"

I found him doing a similar thing last week with a picture of a panda, and his panda toy.
Too cute.
Also cute, is Toby's love of our homemade play dough. We made more cakes for Gaw-Gaw, and a wristwatch for Toby.

He starting shouting "Tick-tock!" and held it up to his ear to see if he could hear it. (He loves watches, just like his Daddy)


It suddenly got cold here today. We went for a walk this afternoon, just to post a letter. Toby got all rugged up in his winter clothes and new boots. He seemed to know he looked cute, when I asked him to pose for me so I could take a photo, he happily obliged. A rarity these days.

What's This...?

...One of his new favourite questions. Even when he knows the answer, he just likes to ask the question, because he can.

He is changing so much everyday, I can hardly keep up with it. Its impossible to remember it all for this blog. These are some of his latest things:

• The word eyelash. He loves it, and he loves softly poking me in the eye as he says it.

• Counting one, two, three and then flinging his arms in the air, joyfully shouting Yeah! (too much time spent watching Waybuloo...)

• Singing the Family Song (the one I made up for him with the names of everyone in his family to the tune I learnt the alphabet to as a child) He can hold a tune quite well, and remember the words, only mixing them up a little.
  
  

• Dressing up. Sometimes he opens up the wash basket and drags out his Daddy's shirts, he drapes them over his little shoulders and runs towards the mirror, killing himself with laughter as he looks at his reflection. He dressed up yesterday in Daddy's scarf and his sun hat. He thought he looked brilliant.
  
  
• Trying on my shoes. And then trying to walk in them....which always ends in tears as he constantly stumbles over. Luis's big shoes proving the most frustrating....
  
  

• Helping around the house. He sweeps the floor, dusts, and absolutely loves filling up the wash basket to take downstairs to the laundry. At some point nearly every morning I think, he empties my scarf drawer into the basket and drags it to the top of the stairs for me.
  
  

• Cooking. He insisted on wearing one of my aprons (i will have to make him his own I think) and with his little table set up in the kitchen, we made anzac biscuits together, and a couple of days ago, we made playdough. We turned the playdough into pretend cupcakes in little paper cases, and Toby fed them to Gaw-Gaw with a cup of tea, shouting Yummy! on Gaw-Gaw's behalf.
  
  
• In the mornings, when Daddy leaves for work, he watches out the windows and waves goodbye. A few days ago, it crossed his mind that Gaw-Gaw should probably say goodbye too, so now Gaw-Gaw waves goodbye with his empty paw (all the little beans that used to fill it have mysteriously disappeared, with no visible hole to explain the absence) and even blows kisses. Gaw-Gaw grows more important to Toby everyday, he gets stinkier too....
  

Eating

I haven't been doing as many posts lately, and I think its because my little monster is getting harder to photograph! Now that he runs, he just won't stay still for the camera, and more often than not as soon as I get the camera out, he purposely turns his head away to avoid it....

Yesterday morning though, there was an irresistible moment, that I just managed to capture in time.

My little man has been really ill for the past week, and yesterday was the first day that he got his appetite back. But I think even regardless of him being unwell, his eating is a constant source of stress for me. Some days he is like an eating machine, others he is so picky and fussy, and refuses to eat everything for the smallest reason. If there is pumpkin/potato/courgette on the plate, if there is a sauce, if the pieces are not cut into tiny, tiny sections, if I don't sit down with him, if the television is not on, if there isn't a toy car for him to play with while he eats...these are all reasons for him to refuse to eat a thing.
However, I have come to realise that if he finds the food himself,(normally while I am having a shower, he goes rummaging through my bag...)he will happily eat it, no matter what it is.
Yesterday, he found a plum and just started eating it (it would normally take a fair amount of coaxing to get him to eat a plum!)



and also sharing it with his best friend, Gaw-Gaw. Delicious!

A birthday weekend

A special birthday for Luis, we packed up the car and headed for the beach, for a weekend filled with food, family and relaxation.




And there certainly was a lot of food.....black forest gateau, pastel de choclo (Luis favourite Chilean dish) frankfurters, chorizo, hams and salamis, velveted prawns, pancakes, pavlova, chocolate, ice cream, and nearly a whole cow...





We did nothing too strenuous, we strolled along the beach, dipped our toes in the water, went into the town centre for yet more food (Sorrento is famous for it's vanilla slices, and I ate 2 of them...) and coffee, and ambled around Red Hill market on Sunday morning. Other than that we just sat about eating and reading.




Toby was in heaven, with all the people and all the attention.





He found some fish (all fish are now "Nemo" to him) in the pond in the garden, and terrorized them whenever he could, poking them with sticks, feeding them dirt, usual boy things i guess.



We all built sandcastles and he took great pleasure in knocking them down the minute the bucket was removed. He splashed in the sea, and he ate plenty of things I normally don't allow him to. It was Easter after all.

Moments of delicious-ness

"Ma-Da!" being one of them. Mine and Luis's names confused, mixed together in a moment of excitement, the one word referring to both of us at the same time.

The gathering together of his favourite toys, Gaw-Gaw, Biba (the Bilby)and Woof-Woof just before his afternoon nap, he hugs them tightly to his chest, buries his face into them, and rolls around on the floor, kissing them.

He starts shouting "Gaw-Gaw!" and looking around for his beloved Lion, when he is ready for his afternoon (actually it's more like mid-morning) nap.



A couple of weeks ago now, he spilt something on the hallway floor outside my bedroom. He came running in to find me as I was drying my hair, his voice full of concern, "Mama! Mama! Oh dear, oh dear!" and pointing into the hallway, eager to show me where he had had his little accident.

He shakes his head vigorously from side to side when asked any question, even when he means yes.

When we leave any shop or home, he always shouts out "bye-bye!" in the sweetest voice I have ever heard, his arm waving in his own flappy style.

When I sit on the floor, he creeps up behind me and throws his arms around my neck, cuddling me and saying "aaahhh!". I could die of love for him at that moment.

He loves his shoes, and sits on the bottom step, his little legs dangling down, trying to put them on his feet himself.

He still remembers and loves his Gra-Gra and Gra-Pa. I made these little things for him awhile ago, and whenever he finds them, he snatches them up and walks around whispering "Gra-gra, Gra-Pa" to his own little tune.



When he is super excited (and often the smallest thing will do it, like being allowed to open my lip balm and put his finger in it) he bounces up and down on his bottom, his eyes wide with wonder,laughing,his face filled with pleasure.

Whenever I mention Uncle Phil to him, Toby pulls his own hair whilst making squeaking sounds, copying the thing he remembers most about him.




A few days ago now, I was super cross with him after he refused to eat any of his lunch. I pulled him out of his high chair and told him to go away from me. He knew he was in the bad books, and he kept away from me for an hour or so (which he never ever does) while I tidied up. He then came into the kitchen, with a bag in each hand and a teddy under his arm and shouted "bye-bye" to me and headed for the stairs, as if he intended to leave home. All was forgiven instantly. Too cute.

Busy Saturday

Toby had a fun packed day today.
A swim at the local pool first thing this morning, followed by a visit to the toy library. After a nap, we went out for lunch in Albert Park, where Toby enjoyed some sushi...


Then he walked to the beach, mucking around in the dirt on the way, picking up and throwing down sticks


It's the first time he's been to the beach since he's been walking (its always been to hot, or the sun to strong to go) and it was a bit of a sensory overload for him. He loved splashing about in the water, pointing at the helicopters flying overhead, picking up handfuls of sand...







He wasn't too keen on the sand on his feet afterwards though. He was so tired by the end of the day, he was crying out for Gaw-Gaw in the car.

The Moomba Festival

We spent the morning at the Children's Garden, part of the Moomba festival, with Fiona and Lily.
Toby had a great time.
He got given balloons, he walked everywhere,
we made some paper flower decorations together out of recycled stuff






and he visited the farmyard animals.




He got himself completely over excited with the animals, and could barely concentrate for more than a few seconds at a time. Running back and forth between the ducks,the rabbits, the fancy chickens, goats, sheep, geese, copying all their sounds, pointing and laughing. So when one of the staff picked up a tiny piglet for him pat and it started squealing, Toby absolutely lost it, sobbing and barely able to breathe. And he had been in love with them before that incident. Laughing as I pointed out their bottoms and curly tails, shouting out "Pig!" at them and trying to make snorting sounds.



After the pig incident we had to leave, but we had a great morning.