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Happy New Year!

Apparently there was something wrong with the old year so now we have a new one. It is now 2006, officially six years since the start of the future (according to Daddy anyway). When he was little Daddy used to read a comic called 2000AD, which featured stories from the near future about dodgy policemen with shoulder pads and big guns, magical space aliens who looked like they had had a rather nasty argument with giant squid and blue-skinned soldiers who had talking clothing. Since the year 2000 was six years ago and the comic has not changed its name, they must now be a historical magazine describing the antics of former Big Brother contestants and the Y2K bug.

Nonna returned to Italy on 8th January. I'll miss her singing and her horsey game.

Chomp!

I now have eight teeth (four top jaw, four on the bottom), plus another two on the bottom that have just started coming through. To say that I have been a bit grumpy would be an understatement.

 

My Teeth	A Piranha, Yesterday

Things That Annoy Me (2006 Version)

Welcome to Giulia's Whinge List 2006!

This time last year Daddy made a list of things that regularly upset me. A few of them were specifically related to my age (e.g. colic), but most still apply. Now I am thirteen months old, new things have been sent to try me and I react to them in my own particular way.

Over the past year I have developed two new scream settings - IDontWannaDoThat and ThatReallyHurtHonest.

IDontWannaDoThat is designed for all those things that my parents try to make me do but I have little or no interest in. Conversely it is also used to express my disgust that I am not allowed to touch or play with something that would definitely hurt me. This is a wild cat setting, designed for maximum effect at the most inopportune moments. I have been known to growl, shout, scratch and bite my parents while operating at this setting. Daddy is worried that this will soon develop into toddler tantrums. Well, Father dear, that's already happening.

ThatReallyHurtHonest is a special setting designed to maximise any emotional advantage I might have over my parents when I fall over or gently bump myself. If no-one is around, that gentle bump on the bum warrants nothing more than a squeak of surprise. If people are watching it is my opportunity to make them think that the Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse are crunching on the gravel on the drive and are about to ring the door bell. Unfortunately my parents may have rumbled this ruse.

Now the list... This year, these things can and do annoy me on a regular basis:

• Being hungry (on my terms!) My parents need to understand that I do get hungry, but teething makes eating less than enjoyable. Of course I love my Mamma's Beef and Sweet Potato Casserole, but right now I have a molar sticking red hot pins in my gums and the last thing I want to do is eat. Check my nappy - you'll see all the evidence you need.
• Food with lumps that need chewing. I'm sure those teeth have a use apart from piranha impersonations, but it's more fun to try to eat lumpy food whole and make retching noises instead.
• Being dressed. Especially when it's cold outside and I have just come out of a lovely warm bath.
• Having my teeth cleaned. Oh yes.
• Being tired. This usually coincides with being too busy playing to let someone lay me down for a sleep.
• Not being allowed to play with things that are forbidden to me. Why?
• Idiotic Parents. In particular seeing something I want but my parents are too dense to understand what it is. For example, for the past week I have been frantically pointing at the bottles sitting on the bathroom window sill during bath time. Daddy has ignored this request. I'm sure he is just playing dumb. Isn't he?
• Certain toys that scare the willies out of me. That crawling toy with the gyroscope was a good example of parents meaning well but getting it just a little bit wrong. And that spider glove puppet? What were they thinking?
• Medical professionals in general. God help the first dentist that tries to examine my teeth.
• My parents eating without consulting me first.

And my personal favourite - the catch-all caveat...

Anything happening - past, present and future - without my explicit permission, submitted in triplicate three weeks prior to execution.

On A Lighter Note...

Mind you, there are some things I do that are lots of fun. My parents also find them entertaining.

• Dancing. Sometimes even Daddy singing 'Old McDonald's Farm' is enough for a quick bop. Mind you, there are some songs that will get me really dancing. That 'JCB Song' by Nizlopi for example, especially if Daddy has put the video on too. My favourite thing is to grab any passing soft toy during the faster bit at the end and then, well, mosh along.
• Singing. Dancing is so much more fun if you are singing along.
• Walking. Walking is brilliant fun. If you walking around more things are immediately within your grasp and you can choose where you are going. You can even bring along a random object (soft toy, door key, doodad found in a cupboard) for company. This month I have taken and hidden the back door key three times, much to the annoyance of my parents. Mamma and Daddy have discovered that they can take me shopping if they let me walk around. I'm too busy examining everything and everyone around me to get bored.
• Cuddling. Of course I have always enjoyed a quick cuddle with Mamma and Daddy but recently something has changed. Before they would cuddle me - now I am cuddling back. My parents seem very pleased with this development.
• Talking. I am now taking the advanced classes in Giuliano. I can express many emotions running from slight annoyance to extreme dissatisfaction at great length and eloquence. I can also do happy - though I tend to sing then. Daddy likes it when I see something new and exciting and I make a 'OOOOOOH!' sound. Mamma and Daddy also like listening to me on the baby monitor when I wake up in the morning. Before I just used to scream my little heart out; this is now preceded by five minutes of sleepy, then excited and then angry babbling. I've also been learning new words in English. This month I have learnt 'Teddy' and 'Shoe'.

More Nursery Fun

I started nursery on Wednesday 11th January 2006. So far I have enjoyed it. I like Sarah, my keyworker, in particular. One thing that I will be doing at nursery is painting and drawing. I've had a little go with this with Mamma recently and it seemed fun.

Mamma And Daddy Have Bought Some Furniture (Whoop-de-do.)

The more observant amongst you might have noticed in the photos below that Mamma and Daddy have bought a new set of sofas. My parents are a law unto themselves but whatever keeps them out of mischief is fine by me.

I'm not so keen on the new furniture personally. On the old sofa it was possible for me grab the material on the seat and pull myself up onto it. I can't do this on the new one because the material is too tight and slippery.

Photos From January 2006

			This outfit was bought for me by Auntie Barbara and Uncle Ivor.

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