Did you have a favourite toy when you were little? When I was a child I used to go everywhere with a hand-knitted rabbit called Funny Bunny who I had hugged so much that every last bit of the stuffing had fallen out of him. He is probably still slightly warm, damp and smelling of Farley's Rusks as a result of my fossilised baby drool to this day! Well, at the moment, Ceri and I have no idea who Alice's favourite toy is. And given that Alice, all of a sudden, has become prone to being a little grizzly of an evening (at a time that all parents seem to refer to - knowingly with a large sigh - as "The Witching Hour") it seems important to know who her best mate is to attempt to calm her down. To try and work it out, I decided to arrange a competition between two of the early front-runners to see which she preferred. So, step up to the plate Aunty Lara's entry: Sophie the Giraffe, and Daddy's entry: the as yet un-named pink rabbit. I want to make it clear that the test was fair and conducted in a controlled environment. No FIFA officials were present, no animals were harmed, and no money changed hands before conclusions were published. Here are the results:
Candidate 1: Sophie the Giraffe - Scared the living crap out of Alice!
Candidate 2: Pink Rabbit - made Alice cry for 30 minutes solid!
Hmmmm. Not an out-an-out winner yet then! My verdict is that, on this evidence, Sophie was fractionally less terrifying than my rabbit, so Sophie goes through to the semi-finals. I will continue to put Alice in the "New Best Friend" lab over the next few days to see who comes out on top. Next up: the Eeyore teddy that Nicole brought over vs the Glowing Seahorse that is Hannah's contender!
Speaking of Hannah and Nicole, you will have gathered by the fact that Alice has toys from them that they have been over for a visit to pay homage to our lovely daughter! Ceri was so excited about the girls arriving that she almost wore the floorboards out in the living room pacing by the window to see if they were coming up the street. It's also amazing to see the effort that women go to when dressing up to meet their mates....far more so than for boyfriends and husbands. Now, when I have been to visit friends who have a newborn, I fully expect to see them in their pyjamas at 6pm, with back-combed scruffy hair, bags under their eyes, and baby puke on their shoulders. By the time Hannah and Nicole came over, I think Alice and Ceri must have tried on at least six outfits each and ended up dressed as if the queen was coming for tea. Don't believe me, dear reader. OK, have it your way....seeing is believing:
Mummy gets ready to meet their royal majesties Hannah, Nicole and Simon
Alice dressed for Ladies Day
And here are the girls hanging out together.....
Alice meets Nicole (check out Alice's Jesus-style halo!!)
A hug with Hannah
The girls together...
As you will have gathered from the blog so far, Ceri and I have not taken the sedate, lie in bed with a cup of tea and a chocolate hob nob approach to parenting (although we did end up watching The Apprentice drinking Ovaltine last night). In fact, we picked up a voicemail from Ceri's uni mate Justine last night saying she was sorry she missed us - we must be down the pub! Good lord what a reputation poor Alice has!! Actually, for once, we weren't down the pub (that was the day before). We were being far more cultural:
Given that Alice has now been alive for over a week Ceri and I thought that it was high time we took her to see the sights and sounds of London (other than boozers). Here's a short review of the highlights:
First trip on the bus
Feeding the birds in Trafalgar Square
Sightseeing in Picadilly Circus (well, I can see the sights...Alice is covered with a muslin square)
A sing-a-long outside Hamley's
Ladies Who Lunch on Oxford Street
I know what you are thinking...that's all very good, but surely you haven't read the most up-to-date Lonely Planet Guide to London. Everyone knows that to truly experience the vibrancy, culture, spirit and buzz of London, a trip to the Smoke is not complete without a visit to............
PRIMARK PECKHAM!
Alice in the living hell that is "Primani" Peckham.....
Middle class readers please be assured that we followed government health warnings when visiting Primark Peckham - we were exposed for no more than 30 minutes (although it seemed like a lifetime) and we thoroughly doused in Dettol on our return home. We also atoned for our sins by having lunch in the infinitely more respectable John Lewis cafe on Oxford Street where we introduced Alice to her Great Uncle Paul, Great Aunt Gill and Second Cousin Sophie. Here are the snaps.....
A Welsh "Cuch" with Paul, Gill and Sophie.....
Great Uncle Paul thinks that Alice looks just like her Grandcha (or Gruncher) Dave. I am not sure I can see the resemblance myself. I think the only way to test the theory is either to get Alice to grow a beard (unlikely) or get Gruncher Dave to dress up in a babygrow. Looks like there is only one way to settle this one then (and remember, Dave, my folks dressed up as midgets for their grandchildren!!!)
The family line up in height order to form a human staircase in honour of Alice
Before I move on to my five plus one, I must offer an apology to visitors to Ceri's Facebook page. The observant among you who waded through the 500+ images that almost crashed the internet while being uploaded may have noticed a picture that looked like chicken korma spilled carelessly on a wooden floor. Now, I made a pledge to myself before starting this blog not to mention poo, wee or sick too often - and I promise to stick to this rule. I am compelled to note, however, that the first skill we can say with certainty that Alice has perfected is projectile poo-ing. To get a feel for what we are talking about here, take a look at an advert for the "Nerf Super Soaker" that I was playing with along with Ej and Roo with over the bank holiday. Imagine this filled with watered down English mustard and you could almost be changing her nappy yourself (although you won't have the stains on your favourite shirt to prove it!!):
Yup, I'm so proud to say that our first-born daughter can currently shit a distance of about 3 feet. We shall monitor her progress over the months, as one would monitor the build up of Jonathan Edwards in triple-jump distances in the run up to the Olympics, and let you know if any records are broken. Nice!
Anyway, you've been as patient and obliging as ever. I think it must be time for your five plus one....
Alice and her proud Daddy
Alice with her gorgeous mummy
Alice after feeding: the "Sunday Lunch" face
Looking cute
Alice "The Vegas Years" Shepherd. A loan of an Elvis white rhinestone jumpsuit would be very welcome.....
Friends after all
Well, that's just about it for another day team. You'll be pleased to hear that I go back to work next week so updates will probably be a little less frequent from then on. I am sure there are only so many pics even the proudest friends and family can stomach.
Before I go, here is your encoure photo. Ceri and I woke up this morning and found that Alice had got up in the middle of the night, crawled down to the kitchen, found a pen and some paper and written her first ever note. Imagine our surprise when we looked down into her cot first thing this morning and saw this.....
So, a very Happy Birthday to Nanny-by-the-Sea. Little Alice can't wait to see you again soon for a kiss and a hug!
until next time, then........Matt x
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