Veronica and Sven’s Baby Diary

Hooray, we finally have an awning on Simon’s bedroom window!

And while I’m putting up photos, here’s one of Holly on the phone to Mummy during breakfast this morning

Simon and I were rejected by daycare!  I was just on my way out, after dropping Holly and Simon off on Tuesday morning, when the centre director came running out after me.  I’d mentioned that Simon was a bit off his bottle, and had supplied some Bonjela for an apparent “blister” on his tongue.  It turns out that another baby in Simon’s group had had hand-foot-and-mouth disease (not related to Foot and Mouth Disease, let me just say), so I took Simon off home and had Veronica book us in to the doctor.

It seems that our poor little Simon does indeed have a mild case of HFAMD, and has been off his bottle (though Veronica had success coating the teat with Bonjela first!), but more than happy to wolf down his solid foods.  Oh well, there’s no treatment other than Baby Panadol, local anaesthetics, and sympathy, so we’ll just have to wait for him to feel a bit better.

Fast asleep! Yes, it is possible to have Holly sit still for thirty seconds - just wait until she’s asleep

I’ve just asked Holly what I should write about Simon.  Our conversation follows:

Who is Simon?

Holly’s his sister, I’m his sister, Daddy! 

So if you’re his sister, what is he to you?

He’s my brother!

I see!  Can you tell me some more about Simon please?

He’s growing… he’s growing into a big boy.  Daddy, you are a big boy too, and Simon is a little boy.  Simon Jasper Abrahamsson.  Siiiimon.  Jass  Perr.  Ayyyyyy Braaaaaa Hammmm Sommmm. 

Abrahamsson?

AbrahamSSOM!

AbrahamSSON?

Abrahamsson! 

… some dinner discussion removed…

Would you like to say anything about Mummy?

She’s Jasper Abrahamsson!  That’s Simon’s name.

So, what’s Mummy’s name?

She’s Veronica Maree Abrahamsson! 

And what’s your name, Holly?

Holly Juniper Maree Abrahamsson!

As of this morning, Simon can crawl quickly!  Last night, it would still have taken him ten minutes to cross the room.  This morning, he was doing it in about ten seconds!  I would write more, but Holly needs more food, and my laptop battery is about dead - I’ll have to add some comments later!

Here’s a moment for you that is absolutely priceless. 

Sven and I were ushering Holly off to bed when she decided to pack away her books all by herself before bed.  So we watched and patiently waited while she gathered her three heaviest and largest books into a single pile, then somehow carried them over to the bookcase and stowed them away.  Sven was so impressed that he picked her up, cuddled her close and said something along the lines of “That was wonderful Holly! You’re such a sweet, sweet girl!”…. which was immediately followed by Holly doing a GIANT burp right into his ear.  Hahahaha!  :)  We both tried not to laugh and Sven handed Holly over to me after he finished his cuddle, at which point she said to me proudly “That was a big burp, wasn’t it?!”

She certainly takes after my side of the family.

Yes, miracles do occur: this week we’re finally finished with the bathroom!  Hooray!!!!!!! 

Just to remind you what it looked like before (the green-walled one was when we first moved in before I painted it):

And after:

We’re so very, very happy with the new bathroom.  It’s actually a little scary to look back at the original photos and think of the horrible tiles ripping at your knees.  The new one is lovely to be in, especially the shower.  While we didn’t do anything to change the layout it seems as though there’s so much more space.  The bath and vanity are both narrower and the shower is bigger.  Overall it’s become a happy place in the house.

Next on the agenda is to get the front sliding doors fixed/replaced, and to get an awning for the window in Simon’s room as his room is getting to 30 degrees with the curtains closed and fans on some afternoons. 

In other news, I’m back at work now.  Just part-time for the moment, with 4 days in the next few months after we find our groove.  Maybe some time later I’ll go back full-time but I don’t think there’s much hurry and I like having at least one day at home with the children.  Holly and Simon have taken to my return to work with no problems.  They’re both still going to daycare two days and Sven’s Mum, Sheila, looks after them on the other day.  Work has been really easy to get back in to.  In a lot of ways it’s like I haven’t been gone.  I’m digging a massive hole for myself by giving myself lots of work but I’d rather be busy and productive than bored with nothing to do there.  Most of the people that I used to chat to all day have moved on too, and I’m sitting away from the rest of my team but I’m really enjoying the company of my new colleagues.

On that note, here are some happy snaps from over the weekend when Holly and Simon’s great-grandparents (Marty’s parents) came to visit.