First Real Conversation

Jamie had a very busy bank holiday weekend. He saw his daddy play in his band for the very first time. It was also mummy's first time she had seen daddy play with the new band. See: http://thewarbirds.co.uk/ After the band had finished playing at Alford Festival, Nanna took Jamie and mummy to see Auntie Julie who lives nearby.

When Jamie saw daddy later on that evening, daddy was able to find out that Jamie had met Auntie Julie and he had fed a horse that lived at the back of her garden. Without any help from mummy, Jamie told daddy that the horse dropped the carrot on the floor and so didn't get to eat it.

It is amazing how much Jamie has developed in the last few months. And not only his talking but he also seems to have shot up in size (and weight).

"Tea Ready"

Since we bought Jamie the little kitchen last week, this has been something that we hear quite often. He also has a tea set with cups and a teapot, and a cake that cuts into slices. He seems to constantly want to play in his 'kitchen' or the one at Nursery. And luckily most things are ready in about "10 minutes".

Jamie had a fantastic weekend last week with his cousin Lucy. Lots of chattering and playing and now whenever the phone rings, Jamie asks if it is "Lucy." There was lots of dancing, running around and playing cooking.

We met Nicola and Will at Hartsholme Park Family Fun Day. Jamie and Will loved the bouncy castle and the 'hook a duck' game and Lucy had her face painted. Then we all went to see Nanna Grace and played with the bean bags and bubbles in her garden.

It really is lovely when Lucy comes for the weekend - with her mum and dad obviously - and he loves playing with Will and other friends. It makes me wonder whether Jamie really should be an only child....

First Trip to A&E

I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. Sunday afternoon we went to see cousin Noah and unfortunately while me and daddy were in the front room with my brother, Jamie fell off something. Nanna had been watching him but didn't really know what happened either. All we could see was that Jamie's lip was bleeding heavily from where his teeth (we assume) had cut into his lip. I am afraid mummy was a bit of a wet fish as she didn't like all that blood, but Auntie Hannah helped mop up the blood!!

Daddy decided straight away to take him up to the hospital as he thought the cut was quite deep. Once at A&E we were seen quite quickly. The nurse gave Jamie some Neurophen and said that they don't stitch cuts but suggested we waited to see a Doctor. Unfortunately this, she estimated, would be between one and two hours..... As it was past Jamie's bed time and he seemed quite happy in himself, we decided to take him home. We did have him in bed with us all night but after his milk he just wanted to have a cuddle and go to sleep - as we all did!

Monday morning, daddy took him to the Doctors just to be sure. They rang A&E who also told them that they don't stitch children of Jamie's age. They said just to keep an eye on its progress and to take him back if it looks as if it isn't healing. Today he just looks like a boxer but he does say its "Better!".

As he was such a brave boy, daddy treated Jamie to a Peppa Pig Kitchen Set and he loves it!!

Talk To Your Baby Pledge

Another thing that arrived while we were on holiday was a note from the Post Office saying they had a parcel that was too large to fit through the letterbox. I had no idea what it was but when it arrived I was glad I had sent Granddad to go and get it!! It was, and is, a fantastic fun to learn, lift the flaps book - Maisy's Year- that Jamie loves!! (www.maisyfun.com)

Checking my emails I found one that said:
Thank you so much for your wonderful pledge that you made on www.talktoyourbaby.org.uk/

We hope it has gone well and that you have enjoyed the extra communication time with your baby. We are very pleased to be able to let you know that you made one of the winning pledges and have won a baby book. You should receive this in about a month.

We are in the process of developing an exciting new site, www.wordsforlife.org.uk/ and look forward to telling you more about it as work progresses. In the meantime, we want Talk To Your Baby to be as helpful to you as possible so let us know if you would like any specific content featured or discussed.

I am afraid I can't remember my pledge. I think it was something along the lines of reading to and talking to Jamie more - and it must have worked as he is galloping along with his speech at the moment!

Lyme Regis and Charmouth - Family Friendly?

Lyme Regis is a very family orientated 'resort'. There are toilets with changing facilities on every corner, all the pubs (I think) accept children and the beach is full of families just like ours. Children of every age group and lots of toddlers for Jamie to run after. Phoebe and Isabel were two of the little girls Jamie chased after on the beach!! This may have been because we chose the week before the schools broke up. Perhaps the age groups may be totally different during the school holidays, but it was great to see so many toddlers running around together. It was great we were able to hire deck chairs at £2 a day (50p deposit) and a parasol or windbreak if we had wanted.

Prams are everywhere on the beach and we did contemplate abandoning ours a few times as it is nearly on its last legs, but it was great for transporting all the 'stuff' you need to take to the beach with a toddler! The 3-wheelers seem to cope best with the sand. A few of the mums and dads brought little tents; some of who had got the hang of putting them up better than others. These seemed mainly for use by babies to shelter from the sun and a place to keep away from the seagulls who seemed to constantly be swooping down and pinching sandwiches from peoples hands!

There is a nicely sized amusement arcade with slots and 2 penny games, as well as a few more child-friendly games. Jamie however, got very scared of a 'Sooty' amusement; where for £1 Sooty and his band played a tune and then you got a prize. Not sure why it frightened him so much but he loves the teddy he got and calls him Sooty Bear!

10 years ago we would have truly hated Lyme Regis!!

Charmouth is less family friendly; mostly being populated by fossil hunters. The children that are on the beach usually seem a bit bored unless young Indiana Jones' types just getting into the dinosaur bug. Jamie loves the "Dinosaur" connection but that's Peppa Pig - or rather George Pig - excitement induced!

Talking Fun

On arrival back from our holiday we were greeted with a copy of the leaflet we had been promised at Jamie's 2 year check; 'Talking Fun'. I am glad to report that he does not really need any help at all with his talking now. The week away seems to have done wonders for his speaking and its beautiful listening to him trying to find the words and / or repeating what we say. He comes out with words and phrases that we did not know he knew! "Man Doing?" was a question he said on holiday when he did not know who the owner of the cottage was. "Again, Again" he shouted when we went paddling in the sea. "Tunnels" as we went under the trees between Charmouth and Lyme. "Muddy Puddles" was a phrase from Peppa Pig he said at Abbotsbury Children's Farm, and we found he loves "Birdies". He began shouting "Sea side" as soon as the sea came into view and daddy showed Jamie a "Magic Trick" which Jamie demanded every night on holiday (involving a coin and a small jewellery box). Worryingly he kept saying "oh no" and also "Help!". And when we were in Somerset he shouted "Tea Ready James" when playing in their wooden play house with the kitchen (must get one!). It is a truly amazing time at the moment....

What did the leaflet say?
T Talk about everyday things
A Add another word when your child says only one word
L Listen to your child and give him time to talk
K Keep playing with toys and picture books

The Concept of Sorry

While on the Jurassic coast, one day Jamie decided it would be fun to throw one of the Jurassic rocks at mummy. It bloody hurt I can tell you! We tried to get him to say 'Sorry' - or rather daddy did - as I was crying and rubbing the large lump on my head. He refused to say 'Sorry' and just wanted to get back to playing on the beach. Neither of us really knew how to handle it, but once we were back had a look at a few pages on the interest. We were relieved that he isn't some kind of psychopath but in fact quite normal...... and it seems it will be a few months yet before he really understands the concept of 'Sorry'.

Your two year old does not yet have a hard-wired, internalized conscience. Nor is he intellectually at an age of reason (which usually begins at around two-and-a-half). Therefore, making him say "I'm sorry," will have no long-term effect. A punitive approach really doesn't discipline a two year-old. It just teaches them the words that they have to say to get back to playing.

At this age, toddlers usually do not have highly developed social or language skills. Given their lack of verbal ability and interpersonal skills, they often turn to hitting and other forms of aggression (e.g. biting) to express their frustration and anger etc. Removing your child from the scene of the aggression and redirecting his attention to something else is a productive response with this age group. Try being firm and telling him that his hitting hurts and is not allowed. Then leave the room, and leave him to connect your departure with his misbehavior. Over time, this response will result in behavioral changes. Actions such as these have much more of an impact than lecturing, scolding, time-outs and insisting upon an apology.

http://life.familyeducation.com/emotional-development/discipline/41780.html