Brothers

When I was pregnant the first time we thought that it would be a girl. Conor was a big surprise.

When I was pregnant the second time we thought it would be a girl. (Actually, Conor convinced us that there was “a little girl in Mammy’s tummy”.) Cormac was a big surprise.

Two big surprises.

Two wonderful surprises.

Two little brothers. They love each other. Conor is very affectionate towards Cormac and closes the door “in case Cormac might get cold”. Cormac twists himself around whenever he hears Conor’s voice and smiles whenever he sees Conor.

I love surprises!

Sophie the Giraffe

“Once upon a time, a simple story...

The little giraffe was born on the 25th of May in the year 1961... Saint Sophie's day! In those days, the only animal toys available were farm animals or pet figures. That is why one day in France, a certain Monsieur Rampeau, who was an expert in transforming sap from the hevea tree using the rotational molding of rubber as a toy-making concept, came up with the idea of designing a giraffe.
Such an exotic wildlife figure would be a first on the market, and its size and shape would be ideal for a baby's small hands to grasp. Sophie the Giraffe, who looked exactly the same then as she does today, went into production on a Thursday, May 25th, whence her name. She was an immediate success.” (from www.sophiegiraffeusa.com)

And over 50 years later, Cormac has just become a proud owner of Sophie the Giraffe. Does he like it...?

Hello Soother!

We had a major milestone this week. While not the big fan that Conor was, Cormac enjoys his soother and smiles in anticipation when he sees it coming towards him. In recent weeks he has spent a lot of time pulling it out of his mouth, swinging it in front of his face and examining it carefully. He tried pushing it towards his face on many occasions but never quite got the soother into his mouth. That is, until Wednesday, his great-aunt’s birthday. He was sitting on her knee and he put his soother in his mouth! We were all so proud!

Perhaps Cormac was just waiting until he had an audience!

New Sandals

At the first sign of warm weather this year we brought Conor to get new sandals... much to his excitement. He loved having his feet measured in the ‘special machine’. He is now size 8.5, two sizes bigger than last summer. He figured out a few weeks ago how to take the sandals off by pulling the Velcro apart. Then one morning this week he put his feet into the sandals and spent a long time carefully threading the straps through the loops, bending the straps back and pressing down on the Velcro. Finally, he proudly announced ‘Mammy, I put my sandals on myself!'

Ooops!

Tractors

Conor's first tractor

I couldn’t write a blog about Conor and not include a post on tractors! He was given his first tractor for Christmas by his grandparents when he was 1 and ¾ and he was hooked. His tractor collection now includes four Massey Fergusons, a John Deere and a wide selection of “accessories”! He is soooo happy playing with them! His favourite "Tractor Ted" DVDs (www.tractorland.co.uk) are like mini documentaries about farm life... They’ve taught me a lot!

Houdini Stop

Conor got to the stage recently where he could wriggle his arms free of his car seat straps. I saw a little gadget called a Houdini Stop advertised on television. It was invented by Bianca Richardson, a mother in New Zealand who had experienced the same problem. I ordered it from her website (www.houdinistop.com) and it arrived a week later... all the way from New Zealand!

It works really well and Conor loves it, not realising that its purpose is his safety!

Passport Photo

Getting Cormac’s first passport has been on my to-do list for some time. I knew that it would be difficult to take a photo of a baby which would meet Passport Photograph Guidelines. After taking a lot of unsuitable photos I remembered the burst mode on the camera (which takes a series of shots in rapid succession) ..... and look at the wonderful result!

All I have to do now is get around to posting the passport application!

Big Bed

Over the last few months, we had been gently suggesting to Conor the idea of moving out of his cot and into a bed. He firmly refused saying that he wanted to sleep in ‘my cot’. Then suddenly one morning he announced that he would like to have a ‘big boy’s bed’. We bought the bed that day! A few days later we brought him to Ikea (www.ikea.com/ie/en/) to buy his new sheets, mattress and duvet. He was very excited! That evening he disappeared upstairs ‘to see his new bed’! And that night he (and Teddy) happily slept in his ‘big boy’s bed’ for the first time… after lots of photos had been taken to mark the occasion!

Weaning 2

So, Cormac had his first taste of solid food this week... apple purée. It was a big event in our house! His reaction was one of confusion. As the week has gone on, he has dutifully eaten the apple but with no sign of pleasure. Maybe it’ll be an acquired taste for him!

I’ll try him with pear next week...fingers crossed!

Weaning 1

Cormac is five months old today! He is such a good baby. I’ll be starting him on solid food this week so I’ve got my old Annabel Karmel book out (www.annabelkarmel.com) and soon I’ll be busy making and freezing fruit and vegetable purées for him.

It seems like only yesterday that I did the same for Conor...and tonight he had Nasi Goreng for dinner!

Bye Bye Soother!

We lost a friend this week. A companion of Conor’s for the last 3 years and two months (to the day!). His soother...or as Conor would say “sooder”! Though his daily use had diminished over the last year, he always wanted it for his nap and at night to help him sleep. Lately however he had damaged a succession of soothers by biting holes in them. We told him the other night that all his soothers were now broken and suggested that perhaps he wouldn’t need one any more as he was a big boy. He agreed! And that was the end of that! 

Thanks for everything “sooder”...you were a great friend!

Starting Preschool

Conor had his first afternoon of preschool this week...a big milestone! We decided that he was ready for one afternoon a week until the summer holidays. In September, he will be going five afternoons a week. He was so excited for days beforehand. When the day arrived, he wanted to go after breakfast and didn’t want to wait until after lunch! At preschool he dived onto the toy cars and tractors and didn’t mind me leaving at all! Laura, the owner, offered me a tissue when she saw that I was a bit emotional and assured me that it was a normal reaction for parents, although usually in September!

When I collected him later he was tired, happy and looking forward to returning next week. My little baby is all grown up!