Sunday, August 31, 2008

The best boy ever....

Andy has been away this weekend and we really miss him but it has to be said that Eoin (so far and touch wood) has been an absolute star this weekend!

Yesterday after Andy left we walked to the local shopping center and pottered about followed by lunch when Eoin had egg for the first time (he loved it!). He was so cheerful and chatty and was enthralled by the little birds that came begging for bread. Then last night he went down to sleep no problem around 6.30 pm and I didn't hear him again till around 3am when I feed him and then he slept (or at least was quite) until 8am! This is the latest he has ever slept or just hung out in his crib.

And then today in the city he was so welled behaved considering he was in a car seat or a stroller for a lot of the day.

Eoin is so much fun at the moment, talking up a storm and exploring everything he can possible get into and the best is he is so sociable and chatty that everyone ends up talking and smiling with him.

Day out in SF

Today we had a fun day out in San Francisco. Andy is away this weekend for a wedding (which is a huge shame cause it's his birthday today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!) so Eoin and I went up to the city to spend the day with Auntie Katie.

Our neighbor and good friend John drove us up there as he was going anyway and we all had lunch at the Beach Chalet. Afterward John went off to Union Square and the three of us walked through the Golden Gate Park to the Butterfly Display at the conservatory.

Eoin had tons of fun looking at everything in the park including bison and waterfalls. He loved the plant conservatory and could have ended up in the water a few times but for watchful eyes (Eoin really does love water and swimming!).

The butterflies where fun but Eoin was getting tired at that point so off we went for some milk and a nap before heading down Haight Street for some ice-cream and to meet John who drove us home - thanks John you are a STAR and a huge thank you to Aunite Katie for such a fun day!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Almost walking



Eoin is almost walking - well he can cruise along the furniture and stand for a few seconds independently. His biggest achievement this week has been the use of his little duck walker. He toddles all over the house with this and then if he is in the park he uses any stroller he can get his hands on to totter about.

Friday, August 29, 2008

It's so hot....


It has hit 103 degrees in the last couple of days so we've been having all sorts of cool watery fun at our friends Max and Liz's place. The boys love playing in the water and splashing each other and Eoin was super funny trying to drink the water from the squirty mat.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Funny sleeping position

Eoin has taken to sleeping with his bottom in the air. I think I used to sleep like this too when I was little.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Pacifier thief

Eoin's little friend Jackson has a great little pacifier on a colorful tie and Eoin has taken to pinching it! He makes a bee line for Jackson and eventually ends up with it in his mouth. Makes for a cute picture but also demonstrates the trouble we are in when it comes to weaning Eoin off of his pacifier (which he only gets now to sleep).

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Fun day at the beach

Today we had a fun day at the beach! Amy (Eoin's birthmother) spent the day with us and we had a greast time just hanging out together. We started with lunch at Alice's (again!) and then headed over to Bean Hollow Beach just south of Pescadero. It is normally a lovely calm beach with gentle waves but not today it had huge waves which Eoin loved shouting at.

We were brave and dipped our toes in the cold Pacific but mostly we just played in the sand. We were a little mean and dug a hole and put Eoin in it (he couldn't crawl anywhere) which he didn't mind too much but once he started to try and get out of the hole he kept getting mouthfuls of sand so that put an end to that game.

Eoin was fascinated by the seagulls and the many dogs on the beach. He can kind of say woof but just without the 'f '
We also went for a short walk and watched the seals watch us.

It was a fun day and so great to see Eoin playing with Amy and climbing up on her and smiling at her!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Stroller exercise

Like many boys, Eoin is fascinated by wheels and things that move. Lately this has translated into a fascination with strollers and Eoin will happily spend ages playing with the strollers of his buddies. Hope you enjoy these two short clips.




10 months old today

Wow where has the time got too? Eoin is 10 months old today and continues to be a happy relaxed baby (most of the time).

We got Eoin's feet measured the other day as I was having the hardest time finding shoes to fit. Well we found out why - at 10 months old Eoin has a size 5 almost 6 foot! Put it this way the pre-walking shoes stop at size 4. But Pedipeds have become our new favorite shoe as they do have an 18-24 month size that fit and they have the cutest designs.

Eoin is showing interest in becoming upright. He can now stand on his own with no support for a few seconds and is cruising along the furniture.

He is more or less sleeping through the night but his two top teeth are coming in at the moment so sleep is a little hit and miss.

Eoin put on a growing spurt this month and has grown another inch but hasn't put any weight on so is holding steady around 25lbs and is about 31.5 inches tall.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Camp bed


We're getting ready to go on vacation in a couple of weeks and so got Eoin's little camp bed out so that he can used to it. Yesterday he won't go near it but today he has lived in it so we're hoping that by the time we get to Mendocino he will sleep very well in his little red camp bed/tent.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

New Trick



Eoin has over the last couple of weeks learned to blow his recorder so today I got all four of mine out and he had tons of fun learning that each one makes a different noise.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Radio Interview


We recently had the opportunity to take part in a radio interview for NPR (National Public Radio). Nancy Mullane interviewed Amy (Eoin's birthmother) and I about open adoption. It was a very emotional time and sometimes hard to hear and witness Amy's pain but she blew us away with her strength and openness. It was kind of nice to be given an opportunity to share our story and let everyone know how great open adoption is.

My favourite part of the interview (though not featured in the final cut) was being able to remind Amy about something a nurse told her just before she gave birth to Eoin and that is that she is the true definition of a Hero. Choosing to give Eoin an amazing start in life was the most courageous and heroic thing she could do. And we totally agree!!!

So if you would like to listen to the interview you can hear it at:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93697457

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Lunch out


Today we went out for a family trip up into the hills to one of our favorite haunts - Alice's Restaurant. I'm sure I've blogged about this place before but we love it! They do amazing burgers and they are all named after different makes of motorbikes.

Well Eoin loves it there. They treat him like he is king and he sits for ages talking to everyone and watching the bikers. The other thing Eoin loves about this place is the pickles. He munches them down. He ate three slices of pickle today along with some French fries and a grilled cheese sandwich (well not all of that but half!).

Oh yeah the funny picture below is Eoin while I was applying sunscreen. For some reason he reminds me of a New Zealand rugby player.


Friday, August 15, 2008

Teeth cleaning

Eoin has always been interested in watching me clean my teeth and has even come to the dentist with me a couple of times. So this morning he managed to get his hands on my toothbrush (well ok I gave it to him so that I could grab a shower!). He loves chomping on it and although he has his own toothbrush Mommy's is way more fun.

Fun at the Park

Eoin and Max love having fun at the park. We are so lucky to live within a block of our local park. Max and Eoin meet nearly every afternoon and play together for over an hour. Lately they are into balls and climbing on their strollers. Eoin even managed to get into the basket of another friends stroller the other day!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Fridge

Eoin has discovered the fridge! He now knows that that is where most of his food comes from and from time to time when we forget to close the gate into the kitchen he comes in and makes a b-line for the fridge. Today he decided he wanted to chomp on some cucumber which kept him happy for a good ten minutes.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Bath time

Eoin has taken to pulling everything he can get his hands on into the bath. It kind of ends up being more toys and stuff than water!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Double Trouble


We had Max and his Mom Liz round for dinner tonight. The two boys were trying their hardest to get into the kitchen. When Eoin and Max get together we really do get to see some mischief but they are also so sweet together hugging and kissing each other. They always greet each other with such smiles and squeals of delight.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Bay Area Discovery Museum

We went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sasualito. It was fantastic! It has a whole section devoted to toddlers and nearly all the other stuff is accessible to mobile babies.

We started off in the 'Tots House' where Eoin explored the world of frogs and then later we moved onto ants. In the frog room there were huge water beds made to look like ponds with water lilly pads. Eoin spent ages crawling on the water beds and pressing buttons to make the frogs croak.

But probably his favorite were the tubes with frogs in and when you stood on a button lots of big bubbles came out of the frog's mouth.

We were there at the right time for storytime and it's the first time Eoin has sat through a half hour of stories and music. After this we explored the 'Discovery Cove' with the shipwreck and climbing area.

Then we truly tested Andy's fear of spiders by putting Eoin in the center of a spiders web followed by a quick chomp on the plastic spiders.

All in all a great day - highly recommended for kids from crawling to about 10.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Learning to be gentle


So today we bought Eoin a little baby doll to help him learn to be gentle. Eoin is so much bigger and stronger than kids his age we are trying to teach him the concept of gentle. So we went to one of our favorite baby toy stores and Eoin picked out his doll but when we got home he was less than impressed with his Mommy hugging and being gentle to another 'baby'. Poor guy started to cry and tried to throw the doll away. After a little while he warmed up and started to play with the doll but eventually it turned into eating the doll - well he is only nine months and teething after all.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Robot Toy



Eoin loves his little robot toy - it has really encouraged him to crawl. But in this video he more or less lunges for it!

Monday, August 4, 2008

Friday, August 1, 2008

Food update

So after Eoin's food strike we have now gone full steam ahead again with food. It turns out he really didn't want smooth baby food anymore he wanted texture. He worked out how to chew and that was it for the purees and smooth foods (unless it's yogurt).

Now he is eating spaghetti bolognese and lamb ragu; chicken and potatoes and he loves broccoli. French fries and cheesey bread are a hit too.

The other food development is that Eoin insists on having his own spoon and has on occasion managed to get food into his mouth but mainly it just ends up all over the floor!

Story Time

Eoin has taken to sitting in his chair and reading now. He feels so grown up in his chair; he even climbs into it on the odd occasion he gets to watch TV. Teletubbies, Pingu and the Wonder Pets are the ones that get the squeals of delight.

Funny crawling



So in the last couple of days Eoin has started a new style of crawling. He commando crawled first then last weekend started the all fours crawling but now when he gets to the wooden floor he starts the 'V" crawl. His bottom goes high in the air and he moves on his feet and hands - so funny.