Marie's Web Log

I just watched Doctor Who: The Christmas Invasion (I'd taped it from Christmas Day). Has it been on in Canada yet? It was good, though I'm not sure about the new Doctor. I liked Christopher Eccleston.

Christmas was good. Amelia got quite a few gifts, though not from us! From us she had a stocking, a "tabletop art centre" and some paints. I didn't think she was excited too much by the gifts under the tree - she didn't seem to pay too much attention to them in the days before Christmas. But on Christmas day she eventually ran out of patience. We follow Ian's family's tradition of not opening the gifts until after Christmas lunch, which we had at 2. (Stuffed acorn squash, since you ask, with delicious date pudding after. All homemade by Ian.) We were still eating and Amelia wandered over to the tree and said she wanted to open some presents. She would open one, look at it a bit, and then say, "I want 'nother present." Not in a demanding or annoying way, so it was quite funny.

Thank you so much to those who sent her gifts. I will try to get proper thank you notes out this time. On Boxing Day we drove up to the house of Ian's sister and brother-in-law and family, outside Birmingham (about two hours away). There we were treated to another lovely lunch and even more presents for Amelia. She loved it, not least because her 15-year-old cousin Sophie spent most of that day and the next playing with her. Amelia was walking around asking, "Where's my Sophie gone?" We also got to catch up with Ian's parents and his brother and sister-in-law. A full house.

Now back here and not much happening. Amelia is teething yet again. (Don't let them tell you it stops when they're two!) We hope it's for the last time. Last night she woke up once every hour or so from 10:30 onwards. The only way to get her back to sleep is to distract her by reading to her. (Well, apart from giving her Calpol, but even that doesn't always help.)

Oh one last thing - an update on the fork poll (see previous entries). I know, you're all sick of it, but I couldn't help but notice that on the day after Boxing Day, of ten of us sitting down eating, only three where using the formal pushing-on-to-the-back-of-the-fork method: my teenaged niece and nephew, and Ian's brother's wife, Anita. The rest of us, all being righthanded, were using our forks only, in our right hands.

Posted by marie at 05:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

On Tuesday we got five Christmas cards in the post. Unfortunately, only one of them was for us. The other four were for two sets of previous occupants - the Smiths and the Dornans. We had another one for the Smiths today. In total, I think the Smiths are beating the Dornans four to two.

The same thing happened last year. We had about eight or nine for them, about the same as we got ourselves! And not one of them with a return address. When we first moved in I asked the estate agents if they had any forwarding address and they said no. So the cards go into the recycling bin. Let this be a lesson to you - only send cards to people to whom you are close enough to know where they live. Or, failing that, at least put a return address on the envelope.

Amelia finished daycare on Monday. It was her last day in the "toddler unit" – in January she will be moving up the the nursery, which is for three- and four-year-olds. There will be about 20 children, as opposed to eight or nine, so I hope she will cope OK. They've been taking her group up to the nursery for visits for quite a while. Also they kindly took some photos of Amelia in the nursery for us to show her during the break, which we hope will help lessen the adjustment.

We have our tree up and some gifts underneath it. Amelia says "Happy Birthday Kisskiss," because she thinks the cards are birthday cards. Though she has changed the pronounciation to "Kamismus" in the last few days. She isn't overly excited - I think she's still a little too young, and she never has been one to go into raptures at the thought of getting new toys.

She has certainly increased her energy level in the past month or so, and wants to run and jump all the time. Last week she walked almost all the way back from the Leisure Centre, more than a mile! And the other day when I asked her what she wanted to do, she said, "I want to jump and play." Today we went down to Teignmouth (on the coast). It was a beautiful sunny day and there is quite an impressive play park down there which she had fun running around in. She wasn't even bothered by the crowds of other children.

All for now.

Posted by marie at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So here they are. These are from Amelia's birthday.

At the zoo with friends Abi and Asher.

Opening gifts.

New cooker.

Cake.

Posted by marie at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Thanks for the answers on the poll (see below). I will tell you why I was asking - because Amelia's daycare group leaders are teaching her to eat the first way (!) Yes folks, our three-year-old is being taught to eat peas and other unwieldy things by pushing them onto the back of her fork with her knife.

I find this hilarious, mostly because it is a very inefficient way for a small child to eat. In her latest report book, her group leader had written: "Amelia tends to use her fork only, holding it in the wrong hand, upside down." Well, maybe because that's how I eat! And though Ian insists that the first way is the "proper" way, I caught him eating the second way at home. I say it's a cultural thing, and shouldn't be subject to a value judgement - after all, there are plenty of cultures in which people don't use forks at all.

Dale, you're right about the potty training regression - or more accurately, lack of further progress. No more successes yet, though she does succeed in staying dry most of the day at daycare.

Posted by marie at 03:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Nonparents, you might want to look away now. Amelia did a bowel movement (otherwise known as a "poopie") on the potty tonight. I may have posted something like this once before, quite a while ago, but that time it was accidental and I practically had to hold her down while she did it. This time it was deliberate, and she did it when I wasn't even in the room. She also did a "wee" on the potty at daycare on Friday.

The parents among you will understand what a big step this is - one we've been waiting for for quite a while. All the same, it makes me feel sad in a way. My baby is growing up!

So, no one is interested in my fork poll? (See below - I've left the comments field open specially.)

Posted by marie at 05:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Here's a question for you. Assuming you are righthanded, which of the following would be your usual way of eating at home, in casual situations?

1. Holding the fork in your left hand, rounded side up, and pushing the food on to the back of the fork with the knife you are holding in your right hand.

2. Holding the fork in your right hand, rounded side down, and scooping or spearing the food as necessary, only switching the fork to your left hand and picking up a knife in your right when there is something you need to cut.

Bonus question: How many of you have eaten the first way, but only in posh restaurants or at a state function with visiting royalty?

Please also indicate the following: Where did you spend most of your childhood: (a) Britain (b) Canada (c) other.

Answers on a postcard please. Well, actually, you can put them in in the comments section below.

Posted by marie at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)