Laughing, smiling and very vocal

Theo is approaching 7 weeks old now and went for a baby check up at the doctors today.  Despite being stripped off and poked and prodded a bit he was very very good and didn't protest or cry at all.

For a while now we have had little smiles from time to time but now, in the mornings especially, he is incredibly smiley and very vocal.  He really doesn't sleep much in the daytime now, except in the car or his pushchair, and just loves to look wide-eyed at the world around him.

We had a lovely meal and evening around Mum and Dad's last sunday, with a real fire!  It was especially nice because little man was very communicative and smiley to his grandparents.

All shots taken on the Nikon D80 with 35mm F1.8 lens and some bounce flash from a little SB400.

I love being held and given lots of attention

I can't talk but I make lots of little noises

I hope my big cousin James teaches me about Lego when I get a bit bigger

When Theo came downstairs with us for breakfast this morning he was super-smiley and vocal for ages, which was a lot of fun.  He seems really happy after a good sleep and feed and loves to have a lot of attention from us.

Little man has been on baby-gaviscon for about a week to stop him being a bit sicky.  It seems to be working well and he is incredibly good at taking it off a spoon.  Its actually about  6-8 spoons he has to take at a time and he does so without complaint, which is lucky for us.

It doesn't taste too great but I'm very good!

Moors Valley 23rd October 2010

To get a bit of air and light exercise we were a bit unimaginative and went to Moors valley again.  To be honest its so close and has such good paths and facilities its ideal if you don't have much time.  Theo was a bit unsettled and was having a few tummy pains so a short car ride and a stroll in the pushchair was a great idea....he goes to sleep almost instantly!  He did wake up toward the end of the walk but was fine.  A cool but lovely day between showers.

All shots taken on the Nikon D80 with a little fill flash dialled right down to control contrast.

Bathtime

Here are some shots I took on the D300 of Theo going through his bath routine on 13th October and had forgotten to download.

Our little man loves his bath every night.  He looks so relaxed and wriggles like crazy, splashing the water.  He does not mind having his eyes, ears and hair washed.  The only thing he dislikes is being taken out!

Theo at 6 weeks

Little man is 6 weeks old this sunday.  Here are a few recent shots all taken on the D700 in ambient light with the Carl Zeiss 100mm F2 Macro Planar.

Theo is putting on weight and getting more responsive to everything and everyone by the day.  He was copying Nana who pulled some faces at him and is usually very smiley with us in the morning especially.

He has been a bit sicky after feeds so is now on baby Gaviscon which seems to be helping a lot.

Sometimes I yawn during a hard day

I do lots of expressions and wriggling about

Its always nice to see Nana and Granddad because I won't be little forever

When Nana pulls faces at me I copy her now...well sometimes!

I went to Wimborne Market today and wore my polar bear suit

I do look cute most of the time

Autumn visit to Kingston Lacy

It was a fabulous Autumn day today and we went for a walk with Theo at Kingston Lacy.

We tried the baby harness for the first time but it didn't seem to work too well...either he's a bit small or the adjustments need tweaking.

I also grabbed a few more shots when he was in his little recliner chair at home.

Usual sleeping pose...hands above head!

We like the chair because we can see what's going on

Trying out the baby carrier

Trying out the coffee at the cafe

What a change of expression!  We are getting hungry...again

Smashing Pumpkins

We are nice and calm after a feed

The Autumn colours are starting to pop

One Month Old!

Theo was one month old on Sunday 10th October and has changed so much in that short time.  He actually gave us the first real smiles on that day and is now much more alert when he is awake, taking in his surroundings.  In fact he seems to get quite fixated on certain things for some minutes, like pictures on the wall or the aquarium.  He still enjoys his daily bath a great deal...so much that he can kick up a bit when taken out!  He has also become much more responsive to us, watching us and obviously enjoying or taking comfort from company.

He is putting on weight steadily and was about 5 ounces over birth weight when the health visitor came last week.  He seems very healthy and she commented that his responsiveness is certainly higher than usual.  He can be a bit of a monkey to settle sometimes before midnight or even 1 am and eats Gabi to death in the evenings, but often sleeps for 3 hours or so between feeds overnight.  Its a bit tiring of course but we have no cause for complaint at all.  its just so good to see him doing well.

For the camera geeks, all shots taken on my Nikon D700 with 50mm F1.4G lens and combining ambient light with directional bounced flash from SB800.

Bath time is great.  He even gets excited when he hears the taps running!

Coming out isn't so great but he usually calms down after he is dried off a bit

Sometimes we need to see grown-up hands to remind us how small he still is!

How about shaking hands with Dad?

I have been on planet Earth exactly one month and its quite nice as my Mum worships me!

I still pull some very funny faces though!

Visit to Cambridge to see Uncle and Auntie M, Oliver and Misa

Gabi and I took Theo to Cambridge to meet Mie, Oliver and Misa for the first time.   We had a record journey in complete carmageddon around the M25 on friday in torrential rain.  A record because it took 6 hours!  We did have a half hour break to feed and change the little man and have a stretch.  He was very good and didn't play up at all.  


We had a great time during our stay and Mie cooked us some lovely meals.
  
We went over to see Jenny, Terry, Jonanthan, Dee, Jacob and Victoria on saturday afternoon and had a very pleasant few hours chatting over a drink and lunch outside.

On Sunday we visited the Imperial War Museum at Duxford.

The trip home was a relative breeze.

Gabi and Theo in the huge USAF hall at Duxford

"Counting The Cost"  The USAAF glass engraving of every US aircraft lost over Europe in WW2

Lockheed's jaw-dropping SR-71