Play boy

Matt's main present to Oscar was a ball / water pool. There are 300 balls in there you know.
It's a great place to plonk the boy down and fill with mystery toys. Or for him to have a nice stretch.
And also brill for taking pictures of him. I particularly like the one below because it seems like Oscar's posing like a pin-up model, don't you think?

Happy Christmas!

We had a fab Christmas with tonnes of food and loads of great prezzies. Of course it's a bit surreal when it's 25 degrees outside and everyone else is working!

Many thanks to those who sent us gifts, especially for Oscar. Although I must say, that the law of diminishing returns has never been better demonstrated than when giving a number of presents in quick succession to a 1 year old toddler. So we've saved a few for next week!

Of course, Oscar's interest picked up with anything Thomas-related - I'll try and post a video sometime when blogger lets me.

Matt absolutely outdid himself with an awesome Christmas dinner based on the Waudby tradition of PLENTY of stuffings.

Oscar looked on in interest.
Then resumed drinking his milk.



One special present (which I personally think was an inspired idea) was from Oscar and me to Matt: a silver keyring with Oscar's pointing finger fingerprint. So cute!!

Oh Christmas Tree

Matt actually put the tree up a few weeks ago. It's now safely out of Oscar's way, waiting for the pillowcases of presents.

Of course, Matt will be doing his annual cooking stint. Can't wait to spend OJ's second Christmas!

Happy Christmas everybody!

Drummer boy

We're talking chicken here. Oscar very much likes the 'middle' of foods - the mango seed, the apple core, and of course, when he saw the chicken drumstick bone, he blinked his hand like a demon to get at it.

Can't wait to take the lad to KFC in Leicester Square...

Oscar kicks!

Some rare short footage of Oscar kicking a ball.

Yesterday, I was showing Oscar a range of pictures and asked him where the dog was. Very solemnly, he pointed to the dog. Of course I praised him up massively for this, then asked him where the apple was. He pointed to the apple. More massive praise! Then I asked him where the fish(y) was, and he decided he was tired of this game. I think 9 out of 10 times Oscar understands me perfectly when I ask him (to do) something: kick the ball, pick up the toy, give the block, be nice to Christopher (the 2 year old who lives downstairs). But he'll only actually respond positively when he feels like it - that's about 20% of the time. Or 0% when it comes to being nice to Christopher....

Taking Pumpkin for a walk

Oscar likes to carry things around with him when he walks around. It's very cute.

By the way, Oscar came up to me the other day and pointed at his nappy, then walked to his bathroom door. He'd done a poo poo! He has done this a few times (but not every time) since, just without the pointing. Still, poo-awareness should be one of the signs that potty training can start soon!

Clap! Clap! Clap!

At last Oscar can clap!

Having seen many babies half Oscar's age display clapping ability, I did begin wondering about Oscar's hand-to-hand co-ordination.

But after countless repetitions of Oscar's favourite Thomas the Tank Engine clip on YouTube, he has mastered clapping and now loves doing it to any Thomas song.

Watching Dylan

We think Oscar has a special bond with his cousin Dylan in the UK. There's only 6 weeks separating them and in terms of development - or mischievousness - they follow each other very quickly.

Oscar also loves watching videos of Dylan - here he is watching Dylan play 'fetch'.

Squeeze!

I think this pic deserves a blog entry all of its own!

The price of nappies

With the rapidly declining pound, Matt has gone on a penny-saving mission and realised that we spend about £450 a year on nappies.

His first suggestion - that we use terry nappies - I refused point blank. I know that's what you and I were probably brought up on, but quite frankly, Oscar's poo is squidgy enough (think of all that nice fruit in Thailand) without it soaking into something that has to be reused.

So we have compromised and Oscar's gone from the most expensive brand of nappies to the cheapest.

Can you tell which is which?

Bye bye grandpa Keith

Oscar said goodbye to his grandpa Keith on Monday.

The all-you-can-eat buffet seemed to be a big hit with grandpa.
Oscar had already eaten his dinner. It didn't stop him.
And afterwards, he showed off his big belly to all and sundry.

Hallowe'en fun

I guess with the commercialisation of everything, I shouldn't be surprised that Asia now celebrates Hallowe'en in earnest. Trying to fight other - mostly Japanese and Thai - mums at the local Hallowe'en costume stall was more than I could bear. So I took Oscar's stripey bodysuit and an old pair of my knickers and voila! In 10 minutes Oscar had a very very home-made costume.
We took Oscar to a Hallowe'en party where he did un-Hallowe'en-like things such as bouncing on an inflatable goat.


And after, Matt made a nice smiley-not-spooky pumpkin head.

Krabi

Last weekend we flew to Krabi in the south of Thailand for a short seaside break.

Oscar entered fully into the holiday spirit! He went hyper when we entered the hotel room (possibly the least child-friendly room ever), climbing on to the bed, running off the bed, climbing onto the bath, falling off the bath, running precariously around the room with it's extra sharp edges placed strategically at Oscar's eyeline.

On the other hand, we did find this directly opposite the hotel:
Talking of fashionable clothes, we dug out Oscar's Hawaiian shirt for that special sun'n'sand feel. Doesn't look too pleased about it, does he?But he did love the sea and feeling the waves lap around his feet. Hope you can see this video to the end - it's so cute.



Oscar was more sceptical about sand though. He didn't mind the compacted sand that he could walk on, but disliked the grainy sand where he couldn't balance properly and which stuck to him. He resolutely refused to help his daddy build a sandcastle.Every time we take a trip, Oscar seems to make a developmental jump. He's come back more vocal and (unfortunately) more mischievously agile than ever - cot-escaping being a case in point. Still, he had a great holiday and that's what counts!

By the way, if you want to see more pics of Oscar, I'm still putting them up on Oscar's photo website, so do keep looking.

Three generations of Waudby menfolk

Grandpa Keith has landed!

Oscar played shy and confused at first, but was soon larking around. I think he really appreciated having lots of blokes to play with. He's looking forward to seeing his grandpa again once he's back from Uncle Foz's.

On a separate note, the hot news is that Oscar can now climb out of his cot. We'd just come back from the seaside (to be covered in a separate post) after a much delayed flight. Oscar was a bit disorientated and cried when I put him into his cot to sleep. I thought I'd leave him a while, but his cries became very intense and very LOUD. Matt went into Oscar's room to find the little munchkin standing by the DOOR trying to get out!

He didn't seem to have hurt himself but was pleased with his accomplishment. We put lots of padding round his cot and tried to get him to sleep. But the cot antics happened again! Only after many many 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars' did he finally drop off.

Anyhow, I've found a solution to all this mischief. He's now ensconced in a sleeping bag, snug as a bug in a rug.

Where is Oscar?

Legend has it that when Matt was little, his mum & dad were looking for him but couldn't find him anywhere. Until they finally found him snoozing in a cupboard......

Looks like Oscar has inherited his daddy's liking for cupboards!


I like the way that just before he shuts the door completely, you see his little fingers twiddling at the top.

Noo shooz

Oscar has his first pair of shoes.They squeak when he walks. Will try and get a video up soon!

Oscar does Peking Opera

It seems that Oscar, like his grandpa Yang, has a penchant for Peking Opera.

(The louder voice is mine with Oscar yelping back).

Bye bye Petra

Uncle Foz and Aunty Pet came round on Saturday.

Oscar played shy but it was lovely to see them and very sad to say goodbye to Petra who should now be in Holland.

Best of luck to Petra in her life as a stooodent!
See you in December.

On a separate note, Oscar had his MMR jab last week. At 1 years old, he now weighs 10.98 kg and is 78.5 cm long (both in the 75th percentile for his age). His 50cm head circumference is off the scale!

Thomas Mania

Oscar received many Thomas presents on his birthday. He's thrilled with them all - many thanks!
There are too many videos to post, but this one is very cute.

Oscar is 1!!!

Happy Birthday Oscar!!

Many thanks to everyone for Oscar's cards and presents. There's a strong Thomas theme, much to Oscar's delight. He is so absorbed in his gifts that we haven't opened half of them yet! He'll have more fun unwrapping them over the weekend.

you mean it's not Thomas?

Oscar didn't have cake as he seems to be a bit allergic to egg whites. But I managed to make some apple crumble which he scoffed up very well.

In the afternoon, we took Oscar to Siam Ocean World - the largest aquarium in southeast Asia. Oscar had a great time looking at all the fishies, although the best part turned out to be the soft play area for kids and just being able to run around willy nilly.

It's behind you!

Hopefully, will be posting more videos and pics soon!

Barnet cropped!

On Sunday, Matt gave Oscar a haircut. I think Matt's missing his vocation in life because he ignored all my pleas to 'let me have a go' and took his time snipping here and there, proclaiming it as 'art'. Oscar squirmed and whinged rebelliously, but I think you'll agree that Matt did an excellent job.

Although I feel a bit sad because Oscar looks more like a little boy now, not a baby.

oi, where's me hair gone?

Walk like an orangutan

This video was taken one week ago, but it's so cute the way Oscar sticks his hands up in the air to help balance himself.



Actually, his confidence has grown tremendously and he can walk a fair distance without arms up. He loves it, zigzagging around the room from one stationary object / person to another.

I think he's overexcited himself so much with his newfound talent that it's affecting his sleep though! 4 o'clock call this morning and he wasn't going back to dreamland.

A new phrase

Oscar picked up a new phrase whilst in Hong Kong.

Oscar Fever

Literally.

Poor Oscar has had a fever and been very sleepy. The doc said it's a sore throat and given him antibiotics.

Here's a pic of Oscar doing his big fever-eyes.He's much better today, but not eating much. Suspect another tooth is coming through. He's also LOST weight. Two weeks ago he was 10.5 kg. Yesterday, he was 10.1 kg!

Oscar in Hong Kong

Oscar took his second trip to the bright lights of Hong Kong over the weekend.

The journey started with us being accosted at the airport by this Nepalese woman. "Stop! Stop!" she screeched. "I must look at your baby!" She then called her whole family round and with her husband doing the videoing, fussed over Oscar as "cute like a doll". Then her friends followed us into a shop where a little girl gave Oscar two kisses!

In Hong Kong, Matt and I ate soooooooo much food. We had Shanghainese food the first night. I have a feeling that Hong Kong restaurants are not so forgiving of kiddies screaming and tearing around. Anyway, this resto gave us our private room and Oscar happily chomped away on small pieces of camphor-smoked duck and little broad beans.

We also had a huge dim sum meal, courtesy of Oscar's (grand) aunty Mary - who looks younger every time we see her. The 'orange glow' effect here comes courtesy of intense humidity on my camera and a nearby lighted advert.
It was great to catch up with an old friend whom I hadn't seen in 18 years. Auny Ethna seemed quite taken by young Oscar.And of course, no trip to Hong Kong would be complete without Oscar seeing his good friend Sasha. Last time he saw her, he went quite beserk with excitement - a reaction that I haven't seen since. Sasha waved at Oscar as soon as she saw him and displayed impeccable table manners throughout our meal. Oscar got to see some sites, though was not overly impressed.
But he was very happy to say hello to Thomas as we made our way back home.

Glee!

Boy oh boy, do I have a fantastic video for you!



What is particularly cute is seeing the absolute delight in his face as he yelps, builds up momentum, then totters at top speed into our arms. Also, in this instance, he looks up at daddy as if to say 'did I do well?'

Bad genes

I can completely objectively say that Oscar is the cutest baby in the whole world.

But I don't think Oscar will ever have perfect skin. Let's recap on Oscar's skin woes:

Firstly, as a newborn, he was remarkably tanned, i.e. jaundiced. At just a week old, he had to go back into hospital for phototherapy. He looked so small and vulnerable, crouched under these special lights with a big blindfold covering half his face:

Secondly, there was his pretty severe case of cradle cap, leading to an almost reptilian-looking scalp. It was strangely addictive gently peeling off the scabby flakes. (Actually, you're not supposed to do this, but I promise I only peeled off what was coming off anyway!) The cradle cap went hand in hand with eczema on his face and chest.

Thirdly, his skin is very dry. This is bearable in humid Thailand, but when we went back home, poor Oscar's skin became very wrinkled and chapped, no matter how much aqueous cream was slathered on.

And now this: for a few weeks now, a few bumpy pimples have appeared on the back of Oscar's lower legs. Yesterday, hundreds of them erupted on his right upper arm. As far as I can tell, they don't itch, they don't hurt, Oscar couldn't give two hoots about them. I took him to the doc who said it was a 'non-itchy form of eczema', i.e. best apply steroid cream.

Having every respect for the medical profession, I didn't tell him that I disagreed with his prognosis, but politely declined the cream. Because actually, I'd already done a little research. I think Oscar suffers from something called keratosis pilaris (KP) - where keratin production goes into overdrive.

Why do I think it's KP? Because the symptoms match and I think Matt has it a little and it's an inherited condition. Actually, it's me who has KP pretty badly. Unfortunately there is no miracle cure, so cross fingers it'll clear up as Oscar grows up. I feel sorry for passing on these bad genes!

Look away now if you're squeamish - it's not a pretty sight!

At the end of the day, Oscar is a healthy, robust, bubbly little boy so after such a long post, I'm not going to make a big deal about this. Oscar is still the cutest baby in the world.

Oscar is 11 months old

Where did all the time go? Just to remind everyone, his first birthday will be on 26th September ;)

To celebrate his 11-month-oldness, we had a quadruple bill of Thomas the Tank Engines. Whereas before TV would barely hold his attention for a minute, now he is truly captivated by Thomas. Watch him jigging away to the theme tune!

Snot!

Poor Oscar has a cold. His nose is a leaky faucet with a continual trail of snot snaking down into his mouth. He turns away from approaching tissues, preferring to use my trousers as his handkerchief. And as for aspirators! He screams and squirms when I try to use a bulb aspirator to suck the goo from his nose.

Still, besides his snotty nose, he is full of beans and continues his busy exploration of all the dangerous items of the flat.

An expression of interest

When something catches Oscar's eye, he makes a very high-pitched up and down 'mmmmmmmm' sound. It's very cute. And after all the 'dadada' and 'mumumum'-ing, it was inevitable that his third word would be 'door'.

As some of you know, Oscar learnt how to wave quite some time ago. On reflection though, I'm not sure if it was waving or pointing. But now, he definitely waves at appropriate times (hello/goodbye). When he wants something he will raise his arm and then open and close his hand. Again, extremely cute!

All this mmmmmmmm-ing and waving can be witnessed in this video of Oscar's reaction to seeing his cousin Dylan's fine standing ability.

Toothy

I thought it would be fitting to talk about teeth as I've just had 2 fillings done at the dentists. Thankfully it wasn't too uncomfortable and Matt couldn't even see where they were.

Anyway, this photo is funny cos it makes Oscar look like he has a full set of teeth.

Actually, he only has 5 teeth and one more on the way. We've been very lucky so far cos besides some irritability, there have been no sleepless nights / endless crying due to teething (touch wood). He's a tough lad, our Oscar. But still has the sweetest smile.

Speedy Oscarlas 3

Still haven't risked Oscar taking a step by himself yet. But here he is walking with me holding one hand. Usually he smiles very proudly at his own achievement, but he was a bit tired when this was taken.

You'll also be privileged with a good view of Oscar's belly.

Bouncing

Yesterday, Uncle Foz came round to amuse Oscar.

We don't have one of those bouncy strap things which hang from doorways and allow a baby to spring up and down like a jack-in-a-box. But Oscar has discovered a new use for his out-grown rocker chair - bouncing wildly on it. I'm not sure how much weight the material can hold. I have a feeling that Oscar is stretching it to the limit. But he's having a lot of fun, although as can be seen, needs to be carefully supervised.

Thanks to Uncle Foz for visiting - Oscar had a great time.

Oscar kisses

A couple of days ago, just before bedtime, Oscar crawled over to the mirror and gave his reflection a big smacker.

He won't kiss me though!

Speedy Oscarlas 2

First, a newsflash: Oscar took a step by himself yesterday. He was standing by the playpen and let go of the railings, smiling at me and then tottered one foot towards me before collapsing into my arms. He was rather bemused by my excitement. Will try and get a video up asap.

Anyhow, here are some other speedy Oscarlas clips. I found it difficult to choose between them, so I'm posting both up.

1. Oscar rams



I like the way, he keeps ramming away at the baby-chair.

2. Cover your ears!



No, I don't know why he's screaming like that - but trust me, he's not in pain! Just expressing himself (I think!)

On a separate note, five years ago today, on an exceedingly hot day in Islington, Matt and I tied the knot! We'll be celebrating tomorrow but hard to believe that five years have flown by so quickly and of course now, we'll be celebrating as a family, not a couple.

Bigger

This is Oscar at his mid-morning nap. I don't know why he put himself in this perfect 90 degree angle - or rather, how did he do it? He just about slots in with his feet wedged between the mattress and the cot side.

Anyway, he looks absolutely huge here. For a while, I thought he was slimming down, what with all the crawling and fussy eating. But 2 weeks ago, he had a few snacks with some other babies at playgroup and since then, he's been scoffing all his food and watching us like a hawk when we eat - so much so that I daren't have a snack in front of him or he'll start whining.

This weekend, Matt commented on the largeness of Oscar's hands and on Monday, one of the mothers at playgroup said Oscar had gotten bigger since oooh, Wednesday, when she'd last seen him. Yesterday I carried Oscar to the cornershop and I could barely bring him back, my arms were aching so. Here's to the return of Oscar's chubby thighs!

Speedy Oscarlas 1

Boy, Oscar sure is speedy now. Turn your back for a second, and he's already changed rooms. If you listen carefully to the video, you can hear the slap-slap-slap of his palms hitting the parquet floor and the squeak-squeak-squeak of his knees sliding along.

This video also shows Oscar's affection for 'Spikey', the cuddly hedgehog that Granny Simone bought him (and Grandpa Keith so kindly brought over from England). Witness how he pats Spikey rather than make an outright grab and snatch.

Mum mum mum mum

Hurray! Oscar has at last said 'Mum'! It came out of the blue this morning and he's been mumbling 'mum mum mum mum' with minimum (well, ok, quite a lot of) prompting ever since.

He can also say 'ba ba ba' and 'wah wah wah' and has been babbling a fair bit. At one point in the video, I'm sure he copies me saying 'Good Boy!' to him.

Towards the end, there's also a snippet of Oscar re-enacting his famous snarl. He'd stopped doing it for a while, but now he's teething again so the snarls are back on his repertoire of expressions. Altogether now: Pfffffffffffff!

squash

Caption: what do you mean there's something on my face?

Oscar had butternut squash yesterday and as can be seen, most of it did not end up in his mouth.

Actually, this pic was taken after the maid had already taken a baby-wipe to his face. I had to yell at her to stop cos I wanted to take the photo. Who cares if Oscar's eyelashes get stuck together from orange squishy goo? Must get the shot!!

Through the washing machine glass

Oscar's latest obsession is the washing machine. He will crawl with lightning speed and yelps of excitement from one end of the flat, through the kitchen and into the not-so-very-clean utility room in order to play with - yes, you guessed it - the washing machine door.

If he can't get to the washing machine, he'll stare mournfully at his object of desire, face pressed to the utility room glass door.

Anyhow, my mum has told me to keep the washing machine door shut. I guess she thinks he might lock himself inside?