What a month!

OK, ok so this blog is meant to be all about Curtis...but here's our excuse for not uploading photos for the past few weeks. We've been busy selling our beloved Southside flat, Steph has also worked her notice in her job at the uni and we have very almost nearly bought a new house in Dunfermline as part of our next big adventure. New jobs, new home and a new life further North begins for us in about 6 weeks! We will be so sad to leave everything and everyone here in Glasgow but feel overall its the best move. For Curtis (and us) it will mean the terrible wrench of taking him away from his precious childminder Tracey and her family who he has grown to love and adore so much, as we have too. Its with a sad heart that I venture to find a new childminder this week. We have a nursery place booked but I really feel he has benefitted so much from the loving family environment at Traceys that we'd like to try and replicate this if we can. Not only we will be leaving Tracey and her family behind, but also Curtis's little daytime pals Daniel and Georgia who he gets on so well with. I just have to be thankful that Curtis (and I) had the good fortune to meet Tracey at all and that Curtis had the best childcare I could have ever hoped for. I'm sure the benefits of these past 11 months with Tracey have given Curtis a very strong grounding for a happy and confident future, and having been such good buddies with Daniel, Georgia, Katie, Maddie and others he'll take with him the skills of making pals and sharing giggles. I know we'll be very busy in the next few weeks so I just wanted now to acknowledge our appreciation of Traceys support and to thank her looking after Curtis so well and for all the fun, energy, love and kindness. Big thanks are also due to Catherine, Sean and Wilma for treating Curtis as one of the family and showing him such love and affection. You will all be missed so much :-(

Present from Nanna

video to add...

Trip to Loch Lomond

Pollokshields 'Ready Steady Grow'

Did you know that the area I live in is the biggest and best planned garden suburb in the UK? Well, nor did I till mum starting tell me all about it today. Appparently, Pollokshields was created in the late 19th century by the Stirling Maxwell family as a unified garden suburb, with wide streets and tree lined routes and lots of open spaces. The Maxwell family also donated the 361 acre Pollok estate which is now Pollok country park. Well, today, many of the green spaces were

part of the ready steady grow event and mum and I trundled down to explore The New Victoria Gardens, this hectare of allotments is in the heart of busy Pollokshields, you'd never know these community gardens were hidden away behind the wee green door....they are not that new either...having been a community allotment for over 130 years. Anyway, whats far more exciting is that when there we saw frogs and tadpoles and I even touched the frog and made him (and mummy!) jump!

Like many days at home now we spent the rest of our time in the garden; this morning we played with Alisha, Chloe and Mark and this afternoon we did some gardeing with George and Anne. I bounced on the trampoline too and shouted and pointed at all the birds and helicopters flying over the garden.

It's only taken me 3 months but I can now...

...play the harmonica! video to follow...

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Where is your oesophagus?

Tracey our childminder is as daft as us when it comes to enjoying having fun with Curtis so this week when we quickly taught him to point to his oesophagus when asked to, she, like us couldn't wait to show off his new skills to friends. Its so funny to see him pointing straight at the middle of his neck and then sticking his finger up his nose when asked to show his nostril.  He also does eyebrow, chin and the usual hair, eyes and ears etc...but oesophagus is our current favourite! Poor boy. Or should I say....poo boy. These past few weeks when I've seen that familiar strained look on Curtis's face I've asked 'Have you done a poo?' and within a day of doing this his was nodding and saying yes when he had. He now calls me, points to his nappy and says 'poo?' ...what a clever boy. Sure he'll be delighted when he's older that I told you all aboug that! In general, he's taken a huge leap in repeating words and having little conversations with us and is becoming quite the comedian. Sorry for lack fo photos...lack of time Im afraid...will try to add some soon.

Conversations with Curtis

Apologies for lack of photos lately, we just havent had the time to upload any. It's not just us being busy...Curtis has been busy too...busy saying new words and starting to have conversations. This week we've heard 'cat', 'Wilma', cheese, yes, Tracey, Daniel, more, dave, bo-bo and duck. He also starts to say 'yes' which as every parent of a young child will know is a welcome relief after months of 'no' or 'non' in Curtis's case.

This morning I had my 1st conversation with Curtis. He climbed and sat across me when he woke up and I sang him a few lines of 'heads and shoulders, knees and toes', clearly impressed by my effort he gave me a round of applause then put his fingers together to sign for 'more', but also very clearly said more. When I replied 'oh, do you want mummy to sing again', he nodded and said yes. Ha ha - our 1st two way verbal conversation, very sweet :-)

My 1st sentence

Curtis has been saying a few words for some months now but recently started using them more constructively. 'Go-go' is used to mean start (e.g. the DVD player, or run the tap), move (e.g drive at green lights, mummy to run once curtis has climbed on her back) etc and 2 days ago he made his first very small sentence: 'Go Mumma' as he directed Gareth who was holding him in the direction he was pointing; towards the bedroom where Steph was sleeping.  

Some of my favourite things...

1. My mums hair

2. My mum and dad

3. Breakfast, afternoon and bedtime Milk

4. Breadsticks

5. Cars - especially sitting in real cars playing Brmmmm Brmmmm at the wheel

6. Noisey things that clang, tinkle, jingle or sing 

7. Playing peek-a-boo behind almost anything - a tissue, a napy, a towel, a door and especially the big curtains in mum and dads bedroom

8. Fruit - mainly strawberries, blueberries and grapes

9. My DVDs, firstly Makaton nursery rhymes with Dave Benson Philips which I try to sign and dance along too especially the dingle dangle scarecrow, 5 fat sausages and the farmers in his den, my 2nd favourite is Baby Einstein Old Macdonalds Farm, I squeal at all the funny bits.

10. Splashing about in water, putting my hands in a pot full of yoghurt

11. Riding about on my mummys back

12. Playing with stones on the floor and giving them to people and saying 'ta'

Pollok Country Park & Tollcross Children's Farm and Park

This bank holiday weekend while Gareth was working, Curtis and Steph made the most of some sunny weather and got out to a couple of nearby parks. Each within 10 minutes drive from our door, we really are spoilt in Glasgow for leafy green spaces, it really lives up to its name 'the dear green place'.... in fact, it has 90 parks and formal gardens, and we just happen to live near 2 of it's best. On Saturday we met with Jamie, his dog Milly and his mum Pat (a.k.a Curtis's Fairy Grandmother) for a sun filled stroll around Pollok Country House gardens. Despite being Glasgow largest country park (and voted Europes best park last year) it never feels over-crowded here. We had such a sunny, chilled out time wandering through the maze, along the paths and tulip beds, findings secret garden areas here and there and sitting down beside a huge wooded slope of bluebells. Curtis had a great time. He walked about for almost 3 hours (usually in the opposite direction to us!), climbed lots of stone steps, peeked over walls, pointed and 'ooohed' at the things he saw, fell into a bed of red tulips whilst trying to touch them, got very excited when he and Milly found a cat sitting in one of the gardens, squeeled with excitement watching a young boy (aged 6-7?) climbing walls and riding his bike but froze with fear when a 14 month old girl walked boldy over to hug him!

Curtis loved having Jamie, Pat and Milly for company and showed them many of his new skills....he spun round in circles and fell over with dizziness a few times, he jumped on mummys back and shouted 'go-go-go' to make her run, he showed Jamie how he 'talks' on the telephone, he even said Milly a few times and gave out a few kisses before we all went home. What a lovely day we had.

On Sunday Steph and Curtis took a trip to a park they hadn't been to before;Tollcross Park and Childrens Farm, and were very impressed. The childrens farm had horses, ponies, goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits, chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits and lots of birds including a pair of peacocks. When Curtis stumbled (almost literally) upon Mrs Peacock taking a nap behind a small wall he seemed to think she was hiding there to play peek-a-boo, so he jumped back and forth from the other side of the wall roaring 'aaahhhhh' every time he appeared before her...luckily she was very chilled out and just let him get on with it. He probably spent as much time spinning in circles over the round drain covers, wobbling the wobbly bin, putting his hands in the hand washer to make the water start and pointing at the grouting in the brickwork as he did looking at the animals - but he thoroughly enjoyed it all. We then ventured out into the park now knowing what was his and found that there were also large paddocks of highland cattle, sheep and goats as well as Glasgows resident baseball team (didnt even know we had one!). We found a good slope to pick daisies and have a game of football then went into the Victorian Winterv Gardens to find they had a great indoor play area for little ones with big connect four, little tikes slides and tunnels as well as a lovely outdoor play park. A great day was ended by Curtis coming home and eating a huge dinner of fishfingers, potatoes, peas, carrots, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, breadsticks (of course!), yoghurt, cranberries, sultanas, along with a few handfuls of cheerios and honey pops! For the boy who tends to focus on 1-2 foods only for a few days at a time this was some feast.

When I finally get around to buying a small compact camera which is less luggage than the SLR and it's bag, I'll be able to add some photos of Curtis from our trips out!