Aimee vids

Some recent vids of Aimee antics to raise a smile:

The devil wears a pin striped suit

We found a house. We made an offer. Offer accepted. Bribe money, sorry, er deposit money paid. Got gazumped (Grrrrrrr!), New offer accepted, who knows what next. A shifty profession estate agencing. Anyway, here are some pics of the place. Cross fingers, we may move in come August...

Bumbo

The only cure for bad nappy rash is a bare bottom. But having to run around chasing her in case she did a wee or poo (she did both) with a bunch of tissues is hard work!
Still, I think it seems a natural and liberating experience for Aimee, I guess in most parts of the world, a semi or totally naked toddler running around the home is quite normal.

Any old iron...

Wowee Zowee what a day! My head is still spinning with all the events of today.
First off, I have to prepare for my BJJ seminar but get everyone out the flat by 10am since the agent is showing 11 people around one after another. Then after my BJJ seminar we all have to shoot off to Borehamwood to view 6 properties. In the midst of all this, my agent calls me to say I've had three offers, the best one being a good deal higher than asking price. Then we have Aimee, who has been brilliant all day, destroy the last place we visit. She took a fancy to all this chap's remote controls on the coffee table and starts using them as hammers, to her amusement and his thinly disguised horror.
So anyway, we finally end up home with the strange dual emotions of feeling elated that we have a buyer for our flat, but huge despondence that the 6 houses we visit are not really inspiring - a couple bordering on delapidation. My mind races to a worst case scenario of me Cat and Aimee, standing by a roadside with suitcases stuffed with the proceeds of our flat sale, but no home to go to!
But then, I came across this: http://www.bryant.co.uk/grandunionvillage/index.htm
Northolt is kind of like the west-side version of Hackney. Maybe less bohemian. But the Grand Union Canal goes from east to west, we could take a barge and float to our old home if we moved to GUV. I originally did not like the idea of a new-build. But having seen a lot of rubbish 'old-build', it is very quickly becoming an attractive proposition. We shall see tomorrow.
For now...sleep.

Baby No.2 - 12 week scan

Bambino No2 not so shy today. He/she is lying on their back, enjoying the fine weather obviously. The scan shows that nuchal fold appears normal and everything else they test for at this stage seems AOK. Say hello.

Well, the our flat hit the market today and already we have shown 4 people around. The agents say there are a dozen waiting so this week could be quite manic. Here is the property as listed on the estate agent.
Let's hope everything goes to plan!

Aimee in the park

Nice summer weather in April, time to unleash the Aimee in the park. She loves to approach all the sunbathers and smile at them. Purely of course to get an Ahhhh reaction.

Uh-oh

The pending new arrival and a time to think things over the Easter break has given Cat and I a new drive to sell up and move to a bigger home. We like Borehamwood, but of course it is very pricey, as is a lot of NW London-M25 borders. The estate agent estimate on our humble Hackney flat has given us hope that our family house is within reach so we’ve decided to go for it. If we can’t find a buyer or a new home by summer, we’ll put the plans on hold until after the birth. I hate moving, but our flat is now just too small.
Easter was also a great time for Aimee. We went to visit my Mum’s old pal Esther and her family – daughter Audrey and granddaughters Alyssa (7) and Emily (3). It was almost like looking at an imagined future for us – seeing how much fun (and hard work still) It is to be with slightly older children. Aimee loved it. She followed the older children around the house and garden like a hyperactive duckling. I of course played at being children’s entertainer and nearly broke my back whizzing the two older kids around in the air playing ‘flying’ games. One thing I noticed with older kids – you need earplugs, because they are VERY VERY loud.
This morning I half sleepily offered Aimee her rice crispies and I dropped the entire bowl and milk on the kitchen floor. Aimee stood there staring at the mess. Then, with perfect timing, exclaimed: uh-oh!
It made me smile and stopped me getting into a strop over spilt milk.

Looke-Likey Part2

Aimee and Mummy both taking 40 winks at the same time.

Aimee likes Marmite. She took a piece from Cat and tried it. I hate Marmite, but
Aimee has obviously inherited her Mum's fondness for the black stuff. Yuk!

Driving miss Aimee

There is something wrong in this picture. Can you spot it? Yes, Aimee is not wearing her seatbelt, thereby breaking the law. Honestly, kids these days.

Speaking of which, a news report out today claims that toddlers who spend 35 hours or more in nurseries end up aggressive and poorly behaved.

Immediately my mind confjures up a future where my hoodie daughter stands around on street corners, gobbing spit and menacing passers by. Well, it is a sad fact of life that for parents like me and Cat, we can’t afford to not work. So Aimee ends up four days a week (35 hours exactly) in the nursery. But the headlines don’t mention the little reported add-on – that a well run nursery that has a structured day and enough room for the kids will generally have far less behavioural problems, regardless of the hours. And we think that our nursery satisfies these criteria. Nursery kids are also more sociable and learn new skills faster than stay-at-homes.
Sure, there have been incidents. The cheek biting thing obviously stands out. But 99 percent of the time, Aimee is a happy, energetic, curious and playful. I think that is pretty good for a 15 month-old.

A new thing, Aimee has been voluntarily hugging me and cuddling me cheek to cheek as I lift her up. It's very cute. Maybe I can capture it on photo. She is also addicted to In the Night Garden, the new TV show from the makers of Tellytubbies. She will go up to the TV and demand very vocally that we put on the DVD. IT's a bit disconcerting and I wonder if Aimee's brains are turning to mush from excess TV exposure.