Running
Well Alexander isn't running yet, but he is a lot better at walking. It has been a busy few weeks with not a lot of time to do anything more than play with Alexander, sort myself out for work, eat, sleep and go to and from the office. Tracy has also been working both weekends which has meant that I've not managed to do anything those days either as Alexander and I have been having fun and he has been having his sleeps when we've been out thus reducing the little time I get to use a computer (and by implication post to this blog). Anyway we're gearing up to go to Detling this weekend for the annual multi-period historical re-enactment event run by Kent County Council. It is one of the biggest going in the country, perhaps only the English Heritage Festival of History comes close to it in terms…
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Walking!
Alexander walked unassisted for the first time this afternoon!There is a short (13 second) video on the web of him taking not quite his first steps. Sadly I missed the very first time he did it because I was putting the cover back on his car seat - although he has recently taken two steps and then stopped when standing up so it could be said that he has walked already, but today is really the first day that he has properly walked. Anyway the afternoon has mostly been taken up with getting him to walk backwards and forwards between Tracy and me. The bit that wasn't doing that was getting the video into a usable format for the web and making sure the grandparents could watch it.
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Controlled Crying
That's what we're doing to poor little Alexander. He's now in his own room and that makes it a lot harder to get up in the middle of the night to see to him if he wakes up. So we're trying to teach him to go to sleep on his own in the cot in his bedroom instead of being nursed to sleep on our bed. It is definitely the right thing to do, but like so many right things it is very difficult. You just want to charge in and pick him up when he cries. However the drill is to let him be for a few minutes and then just to pop in and speak to him. No cuddles or picking up otherwise he'll think the crying is being rewarded. Very tough on the heart.
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Sunny Brighton
Worked at home this morning from 9 until about 11 before driving down to Brighton for a meeting in a hotel off the sea front. Tracy and Alexander took advantage of this to hitch a lift to the seaside. While I was locked in a basement meeting room they were paddling in the kiddy pool and enjoying ice cream (Alexander definitely likes ice cream because you can't have one without him making a dive for it!) After my meeting we had a nice walk along the pier in the sunshine (after I managed to get out of my work clothes into t-shirt and shorts). Very pleasant indeed and much cooler than it was at home (apparently it was about four degrees Centigrade cooler in Brighton). Unfortunately the fish restaurant on the pier was closed for sit in food when we went there for dinner. Dinner was a bit disappointing in…
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Colchester Army Day
Today was mostly spent in Colchester at the Army Day organised by none other than the British Army (with a little help from our friend Howard Giles in Eventplan). Apart from a late start here (because Alexander was a bit restless during the night and didn't properly get to sleep until after 01:00 and then we all slept a bit longer) and the hour spent going through the middle of Colchester to get into the event it wasn't a bad day. What was very good was catching up with a number of people and just hanging about in the shade under the trees. We didn't make it for the battle at noon because of the traffic, so all we had was the drill display in the mid afternoon and the finale where the massed bands (Army Air Corps, Parachute Regt,…