Today was a day of discovery. I decided for a change of scenery to sit on the floor with Zachary and play with the rings. He amazed me by sitting up all on his own and playing with it. There was hardly any wobbling. When he did wobble a bit he righted himself straight away no problem at all. I have to admit this is the first chance I have given him to prove that he can sit alone so for all I knew he has been able to do this for a few days even a week or so I just didn't know. We have all been saying recently that he should be able to sit up soon and there you go. He was so confident that I realised I have probably missed the wobbly just starting stage partly because he hardly ever sits on the floor and plays like this. That's my fault I guess. Because of him being sick all the time I don't let him move about too much after he has eaten and then we are always doing things like reading, swimming etc.

First submersion in the swimming pool

While we are on the subject of swimming Zachary had his first submersion today. He came up a bit unsure and for a second or two thought about making a fuss until we gave him a rubber duck to chew on. Sometimes it is a really good job that babies have very short attention spans.

8 Month Old Photographs (6 months corrected age)

Taking photographs is harder now because he wants to be moving all the time. Lots of nice photographs get taken but they are all blurred. I guess you need one of those camera's with action shot shutter speed setting. As you can see he is getting bigger all the time. He is also investigating everything that he finds very closely at the moment and that includes, hands, hair, mouth, bra straps, clothes etc as well as toys. He now weighs almost 20lb and is 29 inches tall. He is also sitting up quite happily on his own on these photographs too - until the wobble got the better of him and teddy didn't help. It did make him laugh though !

4th August Playtime

Cute as a button sitting up now is getting easier now so he wants to do it all the time. His favourite toy to sit in the bedroom with is his weeble pirate. I have not actually bought him that many toys. He doesn't remember a toy if he has not seen it for a few days and the toys age with them so quickly that it is hardly worth spending too much. Toys that suit a baby of 6 months they won't want to play with when they are 12 or 18 months and that's not very long really. Besides at 12 or 18 months different toys help that stage of development. I am sticking to the few he likes at the moment and rotating them. I do buy him books because books can always be kept and read at a later stage. He still adores his ladybird playbook it is definitely the favourite despite the fact that the bee has lost its wing. Zachary ripped it out!

9th August Eating Rusks at dinner time (sugar free ones)

He has started to want to chew on something at mealtimes. A piece of toast is fine but his favourite is a farleys rusk. I buy the reduced or sugar free ones and he loves them. They quickly become nothing more than a soggy mess but he will happily sit and suck and chew bits off for ages. His face, hands, neck and sometimes hair ends up covered in rusk but it keeps him happy and I think it helps with his teeth as well as learning to chew food. He is such a good little boy and sits in his chair quite happily while we have our meal at dinner time. He talks the whole time even while he is eating. Definitely getting to know how our family meal times work and just getting on with whatever he has to say no matter what !

12th August Family coming to visit

Dad has gone to pick up Mel & Josh this morning so we are having breakfast on our own for the last time for a week as I expect the house will be really busy and noisy for the next week or so. I like nice calm and quiet and am trying to teach Zachary to be the same. I have no doubt he will be a rowdy noisy little boy and to be honest that's as it should be but there is no harm at all in me trying to teach him that certain times we try to have as calm and quiet like breakfast when mummy is knackered he he! I have been battling with the doctors a bit this week to get our appointment with the consultant about Zachary's sick problem. He is starting to want to spend more and more time trying to practice his crawling and basically being more mobile. The problem is when he is mobile for even a short period we end up mopping up sick. Poor baby it really isn't fair and at this stage I really want to know what the score is on the lactose intolerant front. I keep trying to introduce lactose to test it and he is simply badly sick. I really hope it is something he will grow out of otherwise it will always be a real nuisance.

13th August Asleep in the corner of his bed.

For some unknown reason Zachary prefers to roll onto his tummy, tuck his hands under him and wriggle up into the corner of his bed. He seems comfy enough and to stop him banging his head on the headboard then moaning we borrowed a cot bumper. I know they are frowned upon these days but he doesn't seem interested in pulling at it and can't crawl up it anyway so I am happy that he is safe enough. He also loves to cuddle up to something I think it is a habit he picked up in the incubator. Some people say you are notsupposed to put toys in babies cots but I think thats probably when they are very small. Now he can move about he will roll and pull himself down the cot until he can reach something he wants. His best cuddle pal is tigger. In the mornings he likes the chance to roll about on my bed. I think he likes exploring it plus its big enough for him to roll around and see how many rolls he can do. He also loves this musical ball - another award winning boots baby learning toy.

15th August - Visiting Uncle Bill

Mum took Mel & Josh to visit Uncle Bill today and we got this great snap of Zachary with Uncle Bill. We are so glad that Uncle Bill is still with us after two major heart attacks he is lucky to still be standing. The paramedics actually revived him after his second heart attack. Mum is trying very hard to get Bill to look after himself, loose some weight and not do too much. Uncle Bill clearly loves Zachary who was such a good boy and was quite happy to have Uncle Bill hold him for some photographs.

17th August Bouncing in the Jumperoo

Zachary still loves bouncing and playing in the Jumperoo. He laughs and screams if you come near him because he thinks you are going to tickle him. We are all a bit tired at the moment I am not sure why maybe it has been the weather. Its a little colder than it was last month but still very close. He looks so cute in those bunny slippers. The white body he has on is from Asda. We took a trip out to Asda in Gloucestershire to stock up the freezer for this week. While we were there I picked up some George baby clothes. Their baby basics value range are great. Plain white is fine for vests and bodies and they are £1.50 a pack of three. I also picked up some lovely sleep suits for him to grow into with spacemen and rockets on. Mum took Mel and Josh shopping today so we had a trip out too but it didn't really work out as planned so we were back much earlier than expected hence why I was sat keeping Zachary occupied in the lounge.

18th August Day off

Mum and Mel stood and posed for this picture with Zachary. The first few pics were really funny as Zachary wanted to look at Mel's hair more than the camera. At least when I did get him to look at me he was laughing so its a lovely pic of his happy grin.

Later on this afternoon we went over to see Uncle Bill who has his son Peter living with him (my cousin) and Peters Mum katalins staying too at the moment. A good opportunity for a nice family photo of us all together. My Mum comes from quite a big family so there are a fair few of us O'Donnell's and Smiths for Zachary to get to know as family. He loves his Great Uncle Bill and Bill loves him too. The photograph has from left to right:- Mum, Mel, Katalin, Me with Zachary and Joshua. Josh is wearing a surf shirt that I bought as a present for him to wear on holiday and over the summer while its hot and sunny. Zachary loves going out in the car these days and normally fall's asleep even if it is only a short journey. It means that he is often in a really chilled out mood whenever we go out on days out.

19th August

Chilled out day today which is just how we like it. Joshua's favourite game to play at the moment is Jenga. I have a truth and dare version which makes for an entertaining game especially when you see Joshua belly dancing. zachary is starting to eat more solid foods now and likes to have a good munch on a piece of toast or a bread stick or a biscuit before he starts his meal. It is good for him to start to learn to chew and break up food the only problem is that because he is sick so effortlessly if he thinks he has a piece of food in his throat and coughs or gags slightly the entire contents of his stomach come back up. I have learnt very quickly therefore that the only time to give him food to chew on is at the start of a meal when his stomach is more or less empty. Bless him. We are still waiting for an appointment with the consultant.

22nd August - On holiday in Swansea with Rachel and Imogen

As a bit of a summer holiday we went to stay in a house in Swansea with one of my best friends Rachel and her daughter Imogen. Imogen is 7 and the most gorgeous little girl. She is on the whole very well behaved and respectful which makes her very good company for a small child. I once went to Portugal with them and at the time said that I would never have chosen to go away with them if I did not know that Imogen was a well behaved child. Nothing is worse than badly behaved kids. Zachary take note !! Mummy hates naughty children! In this photo we are sitting on the little train that travels all the way down the seafront pretty much from the center of Swansea right to the Mumbles. We had a lovely walk the day before and lunch in a cafe on the front then agreed that when we could we would take the train. Zachary was ever so good. He slept in his buggy whenever we went for long walks and was really good in restaurants etc. He also slept wherever we went in the car despite sitting next to a complete chatterbox. No not me Imogen!

23rd August Walking and playing day today + special meal out.

Had a lovely day walking again. The weather has been superb. Swansea is a lovely area and the sea front is great for kids. As we walked along the sea front we discovered that every 10 minutes or so is a play park with climbing equipment, swings etc. Imogen was in her element. In one section they have an adult cross training equipment course. It spans probably 1/4 mile and has clear signs indicating what you have to do at each piece of equipment which Imogen completely ignored and made up her own way of tackling the apparatus. The paths are split into walkers and cyclist and are really well made so no problems for the buggy. We had to be careful where we stopped to go on the beach as dog's are not allowed on all of the beaches but in the end we did find a nice beachy area to stop and have a sit down.

We decided to treat ourselves to a special meal out. When we were in Portugal we had one very expensive Dinner out as a treat in a very expensive restaurant which ended up with Imogen being sick but was made memorable partly because it was so eventful. Tonight was no exception. The meal was absolutely amazing. It was a special fish and seafood restaurant. We all had our favourite starters and Imogen tried my onion rings - Calamari, declaring them devine. Rachel and I shared a lobster and a Monkfish main dish. Imogen had langoustine's (most of which Rachel and I ate). All were delicious. We had a bottle of Champagne and were settling into desert when Imogen started going to the bathroom. She had tummy ache and a bad case ending up in us fleeing the restaurant with one rather distraught crying Imogen. It was a pity really but also a little bit funny - the funny walk was what killed us in the end. Our special holiday meals seem fated to end in calamity.

24th August Another great day this time at an Adventure Farm - Folly Farm

We drove a long way today. Folly farm is quite close to Tenby which is about an hour from Swansea. Folly Farm is an adventure park / Farm with all sorts of animals that you can look at. As well as the usual Farm suspects there were also some more exotic animals like Zebra, Monkeys, Meerkats (photo below of Meerkats and Zachary, Imogen and I at the Meerkat manor sign), Flamingo etc. It was a little bit like being at Chester Zoo. There is also a huge play area that has a fort and a fake ship wreck both of which are huge and made into climbing apparatus etc. We sat and had lunch in the cafe and then later on Ice-cream while Imogen ran around on the play things. We stopped at the Sandpiper Pub for Dinner and lucky Imogen got to play in the play factory. A tiring day but both kids were so well behaved and everyone slept well !

Both Imogen and Zachary loved the animals. Zachary thought the Donkeys and pigs were great although I am sure he did not know what they were he seemed to enjoy the experience. The pet corner was nice too as you could touch some of the animals.

25th August Lazy day today

After all the driving and excitement yesterday another lazy walking by the sea day was needed today. We stopped for a lovely meal at the end of a nice day at a Restaurant we have found in the Mumbles called Salt. Imogen declared that Zachary is her best friend. When he grows up she is going to tell him that she remembers him as a baby and gave him lots of cuddles and kisses. Imogen has been so lovely with Zachary this week. She has helped look after him while we have been out in the car even offering to help give him his milk while she has been sat in the back with him. She has pushed the buggy quite a bit too which is fine as long as she watches where she is going and tries not to knock too many people over.

27th August Holiday over it is home time.

Home time all too quickly. Rachel and Imogen left on their own so they could go straight back on a more direct route. dad came to pick up Zachary and I bringing Cousin Peter with him so that Peter could clean out his room in the house. The house we stayed in is Peters old student Digz. Zachary and I went for one last walk along the seafront then stopped at the local shop for some things to make lunch for everyone. Zachary has been such a good boy this week but is absolutely shattered/ He fell asleep in his buggy while we were having a last clean up and tidy up. Dad packed all of Peter's things into his truck along with our holiday luggage. I must admit it is not as easy as it used to be going on holiday. I think the days of me and my backpack are quite finished for a few years. Travel cot, highchair, sterilizer, bottles, tins of milk, boxes of nappies, towels, food, toys etc etc etc. I can't imagine how people go abroad with all this stuff. Anyway glad to be home again. I always end up a wee bit stressed when I get home. maybe its because it is the end of a holiday, perhaps it is exhaustion, perhaps because I have to leave the sea behind. Whatever its is I always feel I need a few days tos ettle back into being at home back to normality.