Where are the fishies?

Wren is starting to understand us. When we ask "where are the fishies?" he looks up at the fish mobile. He also knows his name although it sometimes takes a few gos before he stops what he's doing to look at you. Unfortunately it seems he associates the whole question with the object so if you ask him "where is mummy?" he also looks at the fishies. As granny said (in the kind of hysteria that waking too early can promote) "mum has become a fishie!"

In further confusion.. Wren thinks the rubber covered Wii remote is a chew toy.

He woke up at 4.45am for the day and since it is raining (yes, those of you who wake in daylight hours may not see this gloomy fact) we can't go out for a walk yet.

Now, some pictures from the past few days. First, Wren bathing in the sink. He usually bathes in the bath in an inflatable tub but due to plumbing problems:

"uh oh, was that a shampoo bottle lid that just went down the drain?
Hrmm... yes. Oh, draino doesn't work.
Okay, Josh, I'll watch the kids while you try to open the P-trap.
Oh, you can't open the p-trap in that pipe without a bigger wrench.
Oh, the bigger wrench worked... but, what? The pipe seal is cracked, is leaking?
The plumber can't be here until tomorrow afternoon?...etc"



and here he is standing after pulling himself up on the high chair.



And finally, admiring Frost's habitat art show on the last day of his zoo-themed art camp. The habitat was for a turtle and wild cat and came with a cave and 2 trees. Actually, this picture shows his sea serpent. I am not sure how they saw one at the zoo.

The urge to travel

Wren's mobility continues to grow in leaps and bounds (or crawls and hops). He moves with increasing speed and has started to learn where things are in the house - following the same path a number of times to find things he likes. One common route is through the corridor to Frost's room. We have started keeping the door shut but it is often open and he crawls like a little steam train to get onto the Lego-strewn floor before we capture him.

He also likes to crawl through the kitchen, explore the heating vent in the floor, and to the cat food bowls. He picks up the cat food and drops the little "pebbles" on the floor.

We need to find somewhere to put it out of reach.

Even more exciting: today Wren learned to pull himself up from the ground. He pulled himself up to standing at the coffee table, in the bathtub, holding the legs of the high chair and at the couch. This is a new and dangerous endeavor because he can now fall from a greater height. He slipped while standing at the coffee table and hit the side of his eye on the table getting a bruise. He let go while holding the high chair and nearly fell.

Tomorrow, I will post the first standing shot of Wren - holding on with one hand.

This evening we went down to swim at Magnuson park. Mum took some photos of Frost swimming with an inflatable boat I bought at Bartells in spring. He had a grand time with it. He has started to become interested in swimming and didn't lament when I suggested swimming lessons in a few weeks time. He wants to pass the swim test so he can swim in the deep water. I am hoping this does not happen soon and its not likely but he is very keen to be released from the murky shallows of the non-swimmer zone. I really wish the lake swimming areas had a slightly deeper area for partial swimmers. Its not that fun wading around by the pebbly weedy duck feathered (poopy) shore and as I dragged Frost in the boat I too looked longingly at the deeper dark water where the serious lap swimmers and teenage girls with braces frollicked.

Crawling olympics

Wren is really crawling well. This evening he crawled out of the living room to see where Frost and Joshua went. He crawled through the kitchen, down the corridor to the bathroom then turned around and came back down the corridor to the bedroom where he watched a pillow-fight called "War" between the boys.

Granny found him there and took him to bathtime.

He crawls almost perfectly although his legs are a bit less co-ordinated than his arms. Sometimes his left (fat) leg drags a little and he sits up for a break.

The Pirates came to Dahl field - By Granny

Today was Frost's 6th Birthday Party - on a Pirate theme. We all survived the onslaught, some better than others. Shannon, as captain, is exhausted with the challenges of leading the pack and is now reclining on the sofa with a new book. Frost said it was "the best birthday, EVER!" He was a little concerned last night when Shannon and I had collapsed into demented laughter as we tried to put the sticky lurid frosting on his (non-pirate) LEGO-themed cake. His comment: "Don't worry, Mum, just DO your BEST. I still think its the best cake in the whole world!" How simple life is at 6.

For party activities, Shannon created a Treasure hunt with buried treasure (a tin of gold coins - some edible). This was quite a show and involved Shannon drawing a big Map of the park, with burnt edges and cut into 4. These map pieces were tied with gold ribbon and hidden around the park. Then the "treasure' was buried in a Plant bed. Our plan came undone when some other kids found 2 of the map pieces. The 4 year old 'robber' went off with it with his Mom and after being accosted by his friends, threw the map out of the car window. The Treasure hunt then went ahead with great excitement. The climax of the party was the beating of the Pirate-head Pinata. This is not the most relaxing event for parents as the kids get hyper-excited and finally descend in a feeding frenzy on the candy. Some get none, others hoard little piles. They learn to share - sort of.

Wren took it all in his stride. Just watching the big kids is enough entertainment for him and there is always the grass to eat. He even sported a tiny pirate tattoo on his left arm. He is crawling so well now that he covers ground at some speed. Wren is such a happy baby and easily amused: except perhaps at night as he continues to shriek in protest every few hours. But each morning he emerges with Shannon with the cutest of smiles and all is forgiven, even if it is only 5am.