Cabinet of Wonders

Watching for rare birds and sticks

panick315 — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 21:52:59 +0000

Maman and Daddy drove me to Rutland Water – the largest man-made reservoir in the UK in the smallest county in the UK. It is famous for bird watching and is the only place in England where you can see Osprey. See here. Maman was especially excited and spent a long time looking at the lake through long black tubes and making squeaking noises when she saw a tiny bird a million miles away.

I was a little bored and Daddy gave me a big stick to play with because he knows boys like sticks and he used to play with sticks when he was a boy and dinosaurs walked the earth and I liked the stick and waved it about and bit it and hit myself on the head and it was great! Also the wind was blowing through the trees which was very exciting.

A visit to Oma

panick315 — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 21:01:07 +0000

On Saturday I visited Oma today (my English / Viennese grandma) and we went to visit an art gallery. I liked the big colourful paintings and enjoyed drinking outside on the terrace. Later we went back to her house and I played on the floor and showed how good I am at moving about while Oma made funny faces at me.

I can walk…on my bottom

panick315 — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 21:22:27 +0000

I can sit up very well now and Maman and Daddy have been trying to teach me to crawl. I don’t understand why. Everyone I see is walking and I want to walk too.

They lie me on my tummy on the bed and encourage me by showing me how to crawl which is very funny and I laugh and laugh. Sometimes they put an orange tennis ball just out of my reach so that I have to crawl to it. But I have found that if I pull the bed sheet the tennis ball will come to me. This saves a lot of effort for more laughing.

I can roll over from back to front and front to back and I can stand up when I hold onto the bath but I still cannot crawl forwards. Sometimes I make a great effort, get onto my knees and push myself backwards. This is very frustrating and I complain loudly. I must see if I can put my knees on backwards!

Now I can also move about on my bottom. It is very clever.You cannot see me move but you put me on the floor over here and then I end up over there. This is how I get things that I want to play with. Daddy has taken a little film to show you how I chase the fridge magnets. So you can understand I have recorded a spoken commentary to explain what I am doing.

I can speak…my first words

panick315 — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 21:11:01 +0000

I love banana and always smile when given one. But when my doula (child minder) took me for a walk and starting to eat one, she didn’t give me any so I looked her straight in the eye and said “nanane” (nun-nun) and made eating noises. She understood and gave me some to eat. Sometimes you just have to teach them what you want.
My other word is “Daddeee!” which I use for Daddy and lots of other things too because when you find a good word you must use it at every possible opportunity!

I can eat…anything!

panick315 — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 20:58:46 +0000

I am practicing eating. Every day I need more food and I sit in my chair to try the new things that Maman and Daddy bring me. First I take the food and put it down in front of me on the tray just to check that I want to eat it. I always do!

Recently, I have eaten:

Breakfast – muesli, Wheatabix, bread and butter sometimes with Marmite
Meat – Pork, beef, chicken, lamb, salami, Ham
Main dishes – Pasta, rice, omelette, Apple chicken, pizza, chicken, potato and carrot casserole, Turkish carrots mixed with garlic, Thai chicken with vegetables, beef with tomato, courgette and garlic, spaghetti bolognaise, chicken livers
Fish – cod, tuna
Vegetables – potatos, asparagus, peas, sweet corn, beetroot, cabbage, tomatos, avocado, cauliflower, cucumber, brocolli, sweet pepper, sugar snap peas, broad beans, green beans, carrots, spinach (if with other food)
Herbs – Fresh basil, garlic, mixed herbs
Dairy – Yogurt with honey, fruit yogurt, goat cheese, cheddar cheese, mozarella
Snacks – Rice cakes, humous, liver pate on toast
Drinks – Water (mostly), milk, fruit juice
Sweets – Biscuits, ice cream, chocolate
Fruit – Apples, pear, cherries, apricots, melon, kiwi fruit, grapes, pineapple, mango, clementines, peaches

….and I especially love bananas. I started eating only a little bit but now I must eat a whole one or I am not satisfied.

Do you think i will get bigger if I eat all this food at one sitting?

Dragon Boat Races!

panick315 — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 18:11:00 +0000

On Sunday we went to St Ives to see the Dragon Boat races. The competition was between 18 teams and was held on the banks of the River Great Ouse. It was very hot and we sat in the shade of a tree to watch a set of three teams compete. Each boat was like a large canoe with a brightly coloured Chinese dragon’s head attached to the bow (front). A team of 8 to 10 people, mostly men, sat in the boat and paddled with a single oar each. A drummer sat at the front to encourage them and set the pace and this was often a woman or a child. Another person at the back of the boat steered with a long oar.

Three boats took part in each race. They lined up at a given place in the river and then, at the signal, paddled hell for leather along the 200 yard course. As they shot by we could hear the drum beats, the shouting of team mates and the splash of oars in the water.

Then all went quiet again as the judges decided who had won and would progress to the next round – and the teams slowly paddled back to the start, the drummers hanging silently over their instruments.

It took all day to decide a winner but it was much to hot to stay in the sun that long so we found some indian food to eat (I had some samosas and spring rolls) and then went home. We took a water taxi along the river back to the quay at St Ives. The calm, cool and quiet of the Summer river bank was a refreshing contrast to the heat and excitement of the races.

A wedding at the hall

panick315 — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 13:47:35 +0000

Last weekend we went to a wedding at Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire (North West England).

The grounds were beautiful and full of ~~roddadendrenns Rod A Dem Drums ruddy brum brumms…~~ pretty flowers

I had fun in the sun and made loads of new friends as usual.

Daddy took lots of pictures with his new ~~toy~~ camera and I even stayed awake for some of them!

The whole world turns upside down!

panick315 — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 22:29:16 +0000

Daddy is very silly. He sat me on his lap and fell over…10 times! I love it and never want him to stop.

Daddy says it is very important to see things from a new perspective and he held me upside down. This is brilliant too!

Stacking cups and the falling tower

panick315 — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 22:25:21 +0000

Pippa and Jon bought me these cups for Easter and I played with them today throwing them about.

It is very important to concentrate but it is still lots of fun although I do get distracted by Maman and Daddy and I have to start again.

And sometimes I fall over but that is fun too as long as someone picks me up again.

But the best game is when Maman makes a great big tower and then I knock it down again. Daddy says that this is a classic game for children for many years but it is such a larf!!!

Fun in the pool

panick315 — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 22:17:40 +0000

It was hot again today and we went back into the pool in the garden. Maman and Papa splashed about with me.

Then Maman tried to get me to swim. It was such fun and I love the water.