It's been a long time....

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted. We've been busy at work, and had two trips away so I just haven't made the time to get on here.

Alex is now almost 9 and a half months old! I can't believe that I'm starting to think about his first birthday party. Bizarre!

He has got another two bottom teeth so now has a grand total of 8.

We had a holiday in Ireland for Liz's wedding ... pics to follow and I went to Malta for a conference. Duncan and Alex came along for a holiday.

Alex went to the Consultatie Bureau. He hadn't put on that much weight ... he now weighs 9.2kg, but because he'd been teething the week before so hadn't eaten much, plus he's so active, the Dr didn't seem too concerned.

Alex continues to love to stand and in the last few days has really started to "walk". He will hold Duncan's finger and walk along beside him or push his trolley with blocks. It looks like he really will be rivalling his father in the early walking stakes. I can't wait, but ... it's scary how grown up he's getting and how fast it's happening.

Standing

Over the past week, Alex has mastered standing "hands-free". On Monday evening I noticed that he was holding onto my shirt without putting any pressure on it, so tested him in the middle of the room. He managed to stand for about 5 secs. As the week has passed, it's just got longer and longer. He's a pro now!

My First Swing

Today we went on the bikes to the "sand park". It was sunny, but cold, so I still had to wear my Hat and Jacket. I had fun on the swing, but was most interested in the girl on the swing beside me. She was having lots of fun.

Welcome to Motherhood

On Saturday afternoon we went for a bike ride. It was just a short ride - we went to a toy shop to get Alex a swing. After our shopping we decided to sit in the sun and have some late lunch. I ordered soup (yummy) which came with some rye bread. I broke off the crust because it was covered in seeds and Alex scoffed it down. I pointed out to Duncan that I was left with the crust and his response?

Welcome to Motherhood.

7 and a half months Consultatie Bureau Visit

Last Thursday 27th, we went for our 7.5 month check-up. Alex has put on about 800 grams - he's now 8.91 kg or 19.6 lbs. The weird thing is that he has shrunk (in terms of length) - although that might have just been because there was a different nurse measuring him. In the end, they write down that he's grown half a centimetre.

The nurse was very happy with his progress, developmentally, he's doing fine. She was surprised to see how well he crawls and that he's already pulling himself up. Yay Alex!!

Leaving Drinks at Duncan's Work

Alex is always the life and soul of the party and steals the show. Apparently there were more pics taken of Alex than the rest of the party!

Playing in the bath

The "Daddy" Chair

Watching the Rugby together.

Enjoying Eating

These pictures really say it all.

Alex's first bike ride

We joked that Alex's Christmas present was a bike seat and helmet so that he could start going to daycare with Dad on the bike. Well - he got the seat in February, and we finally found a helmet small enough for him to wear. Then we had to wait about three weeks until the weather was fine enough to try them out.

The weather was very changeable over Easter (bright blue sky to snow showers in a matter of minutes), but we managed to find enough sun to go for a ride. Alex took it all in his stride and seemed to enjoy himself.

Since then, he's been to daycare on the bike several times, and in the evening, is so relaxed (and tired) that he often falls asleep on the way home. I guess he's happy on the bike.