TITLE: old age grizzle
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 9/08/2005 07:43:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo is 5 months old today!
she may be putting miles on the clock, but she's still too small for her high chair and we're about 3 weeks from starting solids.
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TITLE: cricket invasion
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 9/07/2005 07:47:00 PM
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BODY:
london has gone cricket crazy. not the chirpy insect version, the sporting event that takes 4 days to complete a single match and makes mummy v want to stop paying the tv license. mummy v has made plans to avoid the cricket by having auntie v, nana h and cousin adam over for a visit tomorrow. cleo has made plans to eat, sleep, and maybe throw up a little bit.
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TITLE: beddy byes
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 9/06/2005 09:48:00 PM
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BODY:
when cleo is grizzly, she's ... well, she's grizzly. but when she's good she is an absolutely gorgeous perfect chubba bubba. she hasn't been napping well lately, but her night sleep is going to win her the baby of the year 2005 prize.
bedtime is at 7:30, and cleo is out for the count, not getting up to start her day before 6 or 7 o'clock.
mummy V has gone so long with interrupted sleep she still wakes up three or four times in the night; strangely daddy S is unaffected and continues to sleep like a hibernating bear.
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TITLE: milestone city, population 1
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 9/03/2005 09:45:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo's been a very busy girl lately ...
on thursday, she learned how to put her toes in her mouth.
on friday, she started crying if she couldn't reach a toy she wanted, or if mummy v took a toy away.
and today she sat up all by herself!
mummy V and daddy S were both on hand to witness this and are still beaming with pride at our lovely little cheerio and her advanced physical abilities. we think she'll be ready to compete in the london olympics in 2012 and are submitting her application asap.
nana and grandad H came to visit, and cleo was a standing in your lap-babbling-wide open mouth smiling-cuteness machine.
we're soooo loved up on the bubba today.
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TITLE: my name is... pt iii
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 9/01/2005 01:55:00 PM
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BODY:
some new nicknames for cleo to add to our ever-growing list:
curious-georgina
sensitivemo
beee-utiful
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TITLE: mmmmm plastic
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/31/2005 05:01:00 PM
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BODY:
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TITLE: tipping the scales
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/31/2005 10:07:00 AM
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BODY:
cleo now weighs 12 pounds 5 ounces!
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TITLE: where's grizzly?
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/30/2005 03:28:00 PM
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BODY:
mummy v is working on a deadline, and hasn't much time to post a cleo update today. getting any work done is proving rather difficult as the bubba is so cute lately and distracting or, crazy and not taking naps.
as auntie m (mee mee) said, "but to do all those edits with a grizzle? how are you going to do it?"
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TITLE: change table selections
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/26/2005 10:43:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo's latest change table favs:
anthony hamilton's since i seen't you and charlene, from his comin' from where i'm from album.
her current lullaby before naptimes is journey's faithfully, with the line, "i'm forever yours, faithfully" changed to "i'm forever yours, grizzly"
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TITLE: baby wide awakey + naps = negative fun
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/26/2005 06:06:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo has decided she doesn't want to take naps anymore.
and that she wants to break mummy v with mental/physical exhaustion, and by never letting her get anything done without having cleo attached at the hip. mummy v is aware that cleo's little baby brain is probably not out to destroy her, but it's difficult to think straight when your bubba is a non-sleeping jedi grizzle, able to function with zero naps. baby books recommend that babies cleo's age have three 1.5-2 hour naps a day. as soon as cleo learns how to read, mummy v will be showing her this book.
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TITLE: he's sooo pretty
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/25/2005 09:40:00 PM
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BODY:
what is the deal with people automatically assuming a baby is a boy? if mummy v had a pound for every time an idiotic meddling stranger came up to her and cleo and said, "what a cute little boy" or "awww he's so sweet", she would be a very wealthy woman.
since cleo's wardrobe is basically pink and lavender, this pisses mummy v off. baby cleo is about to get her little earlobes pierced to declare her femininity across the land.
it would make alot more sense if people thought she looked like a senior citizen; she is bald, has jowls and wears a diaper.
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TITLE: a sleepytime fairy tale
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/24/2005 03:15:00 PM
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BODY:
Once upon a time there was a baby named Cleo, and she slept through the night. Sure, she might sometimes wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning, but it was only for a quick re-fuelling, and she’d go straight back to sleep.
But one day, Cleo was taken to an evil village called Immunizations, and she just couldn’t get back to sleep the same way again. As soon as she got over her fever and fussiness that came from getting from the shots, a teething villan rode into town, and poor little Cleo could no longer sleep without waking up distressed and crying in pain.
After several sleepless nights, her teething pain calmed down and she was a much happier baby. Alas, she was paid a visit late one night by the developmental fairy, who told her instead of sleeping, she must practice rolling over whist in bed. mummy v then discovered her precious baby screaming blue murder with a mouthful of mattress and a leg caught in her crib slats.
How will this sleepy-time fable end? Will Cleo learn to stay sleeping on her back? Will mummy v's ability to function without sleep get her a place in the guiness book of records? Will daddy s continue to snore through it all? Stay tuned to find out.
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TITLE: the grizzle
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/21/2005 10:20:00 PM
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BODY:
we use the nickname 'grizzle' so often for cleo we are in danger of people thinking that is her actual name.
for example, daddy s: "don't bring the grizzle to primark, it's a zoo and she'll have a meltdown."; mummy v: "look how cute grizzly is in her new jammies."
our relatives (okay, our mums) hate us calling her 'the grizzle', but it truly has become a term of endearment.
many moons ago when cleo was first born, and blessed our home with projectile vomit, diarrhea, and 30 minutes of crying every time she woke up, we felt justified in calling her grizzly... now she wakes up smiley and happy and only occasionally has projectile anything, but the name has stuck.
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TITLE: anger management
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/19/2005 10:05:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo is a pretty good natured baby (when she's not teething), but get on the wrong side of her at your peril. she likes people, but has serious preferences for stuffed animals. for example, the parrot on her baby gym gets attacked with a violence that is quite disturbing. the elephant and monkey don't cause the same reaction.
adding to the list of animals she doesn't like is her gund rattle bear. mummy v made the mistake of resting the bear on cleo's chest and as you can see by the photos...
hmmm... an intruder...
you must respect the grizzle's crib space!
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TITLE: the cankles
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/18/2005 12:39:00 PM
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BODY:
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TITLE: mmwaaah!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/16/2005 09:42:00 PM
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BODY:
she may be cute, but she sure is grizzly... today was a very rough day for little cleo. her teeth (or lack of) are driving her crazy. her normal good night behaviour has gone out the window and she is now waking up every two hours, and in the day time she is an inconsolable crying feverish vomit monster.
we still love her and her vomit monster ways, but we sure hope those teeth appear soon.
for those that play the stock market, invest in calpol (the makers of cleo's teething gel) - the stock is definitely on the rise!
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TITLE: baby grapes
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/15/2005 11:07:00 PM
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BODY:
as requested by auntie m in toronto, here is a picture of cleo's "baby grapes"
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TITLE: sunday lunch
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/15/2005 12:41:00 PM
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BODY:
here's a photo of daddy s, cousin adam and baby cleo at the jolly farmer pub on sunday. cleo chose not to have anything from the menu and instead dined a la carte. adam was kind enough to share his last chip with cleo, but refused point blank to let her get anywhere near his snuggly yellow blanket.
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TITLE: bye bye belly
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/13/2005 09:54:00 PM
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BODY:
baby cleo with a big fat belly = cute
mummy v and daddy s with a big fat belly = not so cute
two weeks ago we started working with a personal fitness trainer named donovan at livingwell. donovan takes great pleasure in causing much suffering and agony. we'll be training with him for another 5 weeks, twice a week.
we are in constant pain.
we are told this is a good thing.
getting to the gym is one thing, we've paid for it, so we have to go. but sticking to the diet is proving very difficult.
today donovan took pity on us and allowed us to have a west indian takeaway for lunch - yum - when he came over to watch the football (liverpool / middlesborough). although unimpressed by the footy, cleo spent a good part of the afternoon flirting with donovan and trying to show off her new half roll on the play mat.
where does she get it from?
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TITLE: baby book club
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/11/2005 06:03:00 PM
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BODY:
not that mummy v is trying to push her interests on her daughter or anything, but we can proudly report the following:
- when mummy v plays the piano cleo loves it and sings/babbles in accompaniment
- when reading her favourite book (currently "Baby's Play Book", given to her by nana and grandad h), cleo turns the pages herself! Sometimes she just eats the pages, but that still counts as expressing interest.
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TITLE: hi-yah!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/10/2005 02:55:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo's got a new trick:
using crazy flying baby limbs, hit yourself in the head with a rattle really hard and then cry until you choke.
she's so talented!
by the way, we call this photo 'uncle L in his party dress'
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TITLE: cleo the indoor cat
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/08/2005 05:23:00 PM
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BODY:
grandma c took cleo out in the garden today. daddy s has christened her our indoor cat because whenever we take her outside she acts a little bewildered and confused by fresh air. we blame mummy v and her reclusive writer's mentality/lifestyle.
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TITLE: surprise!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/04/2005 11:50:00 PM
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BODY:
this morning grandma c flew in from toronto on a surprise visit to cleo. over three weeks ago, daddy s co-ordinated a sophisticated secret plan with grandma - mummy v was none the wiser.
later in the afternoon, nana h came over and helped babysit cleo while mummy v went to work. cleo had a long nap and then, fully energised, refused to eat from the bottle and cried for 45 minutes until mummy v came home to feed her.
cleo: 1, grandmothers: 0
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TITLE: super-size cleo
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/02/2005 01:18:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo went to the doctors to get weighed. she clocks in at a whopping 11 pounds, 10 ounces!
Considering she is nearly 4 months old, and her that her cousin adam was practically this size at birth, cleo's got a long way to go before she'll be showing off her cellulite at the baby swimmers clique.
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TITLE: more presents!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/01/2005 07:48:00 PM
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BODY:
yesterday nana and grandad h came to visit and brought cleo a present - peek 'n play eeyore! cleo likes eeyore, but only from a distance of about 5 feet.
even though she's teething and dribbling like michael jordon, cleo maintained a happy demeanour and entertained all with lots of smiles and big baby eye stares until around 7pm when she had a meltdown and needed a nap.
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TITLE: zzzzz
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/01/2005 02:53:00 PM
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BODY:
last night cleo slept from 10pm until 7 am!
can we get a 'yee haaaaw'?
obviously mummy v was so paranoid of something being wrong that from 3am until 7am she was up every half an hour checking on the bubba, and is sleep walking today.
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TITLE: ...my name is... pt II
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/30/2005 04:50:00 AM
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BODY:
other nicknames commonly used for cleo
Mary Poppins (due to her stretch technique, legs straight, feed pointed out)
Grizzle-don (auntie m / uncle l)
fo' shizzle my grizzle (auntie m / uncle l)
My lovely
Bubbalicious
Banana (when in her yellow snuggly)
bum-bum
Bubba-loo
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TITLE: billion dollar babes
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/30/2005 12:02:00 AM
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BODY:
auntie wendy came to visit cleo yesterday and in return, she received many smiles, some vomit, and a baby fist of fury. auntie w has the honour of being the first of mummy v's friends to see cleo when she was born and was eensy weenie.
lovely auntie w came bearing gifts: cleo and mummy v were given pink and black billion dollar babes t-shirts that they will wear together in sickening 'we're so loved up/happy family/think we're cute and want the world to know it' fashion.
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TITLE: perfect imperfections
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/29/2005 02:44:00 PM
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BODY:
The fact that Cleo has a hair-do that is more a hair-don't (a cross between a monk and yul brenner) only makes her more perfect, no? mummy v wonders if it's ethical to give a 16 week old baby a weave...
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TITLE: bad hair days
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/28/2005 12:09:00 AM
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BODY:
interesting how photos like these - which must seem silly and cheesy to most people - are incredibly cute when it's your child... what's so amazing about a baby with her shirt on her head like a floppy hat? who knows, but it's cute!
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TITLE: rolling over... not
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/27/2005 11:45:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo has mastered going from back to front, but once she gets to her front, she has no skills and flip flops around snuffing her nose and complaining until rescued... to get over she flings her legs in the air and uses their weight to get her body onto her side, then she buries her face into the carpet and goes from there... since mummy v gets no sleep as it is and is now even more paranoid of the baby's safety at night, we've bought two anti-roll pillows for her crib until she can learn to complete the roll.
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TITLE: music to change a nappy by
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/27/2005 02:25:00 PM
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BODY:
Cleo's current change table CD favourite is Usher - Confessions Pt II, and Burn. She particularly likes to sing along to Burn.
Mummy V thinks Cleo was harmonizing to it this morning, but she could just be projecting greatness onto the grizzle.
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TITLE: presents!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/26/2005 11:46:00 PM
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BODY:
fairy godmother s in boston sent cleo the girliest present she's ever received: a pink tiara, beaded tutu and a pink beaded wand, all addressed to "a little princess"... so so cute. here's to all things girly and politically incorrect!
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TITLE: shiny happy baby
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/25/2005 12:25:00 AM
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BODY:
today cleo laughed for the first time!
we love our baby even more than before.
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TITLE: my name is...
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/24/2005 08:33:00 PM
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BODY:
nicknames regularly used for cleo:
grizzly
baby wide-awakey (or, BWA)
groucho
cheerio
funny face
bubba
grizzlor
bubba-loo
fuss pot
the grizzle
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TITLE: oink
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/24/2005 03:45:00 PM
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BODY:
I've never been a fan of the whole children dressed as animals thing that so many people find cute - "awwww a little monkey person" or "awwww a little dog boy" just seems kind of weird - like animals wearing clothes. So when daddy S brought home a piglet outfit from mothercare, I was skeptical. But, like most things i've discovered since becoming a parent, all the stuff I thought was cheesy and stupid I now love. So here is a picture of" little piglet Cleo... all together now: "awwwww
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TITLE: ack
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/20/2005 03:28:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo started frantically (one might even say, spastically) chewing on her fists about 3 weeks ago.
is she teething early? is she starving because mommy has fallen asleep standing up and forgotten to feed her? is she just plain crazy? probably all of the above.
her latest activity is to chew so voraciously on her fingers that she gags herself because she's stuck them so far down her throat. so the pattern of behaviour is this: she chews on fist, chews on fingers, gags, chokes, then cries and drools. repeat.
you would think she would learn she is the cause of her gagging misery, but no, her goldfish level memory forgets. advanced in this instance the bubba is not.
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TITLE: ouch
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/18/2005 11:50:00 PM
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BODY:
took cleo for her shots today... look how sad the bubba looks....
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TITLE: baby fists of fury
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/16/2005 07:32:00 PM
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BODY:
the latest:
cleo has graduated from hitting herself in the face with crazy baby fists of fury. Now she lifts her arm up in front of her face (with a side arm, right hook approach) and examines her fist, turning it from side to side, staring intently at it, like she's just discovered she has a fist... she's so proud of it she tries to show it off... she does this at least 10 times a day.
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TITLE: watch out beyonce
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/14/2005 07:17:00 PM
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BODY:
Today we learned the back arch. You know the one you see older children pulling in the supermarket when they're buzzed out on sugar and mom says no to a new power ranger? the one where they learn to arch their backs like the letter C so you can't pick them up? Why is our Cleo doing this trick at this age? Try to take her out of her swing - back arch. Try to change her diaper - back arch. It's almost as if she's trying to learn something! Sheesh. Not too sure about this new-found independent thought process of hers. Sure, mummy V was preaching about Independent Women 10 years before Beyonce got her first weave, but that doesn't mean we want to see it coming out just yet.
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TITLE: happy birthday!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/03/2005 11:03:00 PM
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BODY:
today cleo went to cousin adam's birthday bbq. adam turned three on the 30th of june and he hosted a fabulous shindig in his backyard with burgers, chicken, cake and a bubble machine.
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TITLE:
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 6/28/2005 04:52:00 PM
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BODY:
Cleo's current change table CD favourites:
From the Alicia Keys' album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, If I Ain't Got You, and Diary.
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TITLE: would the real cleo please spit up
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 6/20/2005 01:07:00 PM
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BODY:
How can these photos be of the same baby? Mummy C the Elder is convinced this is neither an H or a C baby, but we beg to differ. The birth identity of Miss CCH can be found in her flat-rabbit-feet-one-wonky-baby-toe (C genes) and her one-sticky-outie-will-require-pinning-back-much-to-grandparents-chagrin-English-ear (H genes).
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TITLE:
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 6/03/2005 05:01:00 PM
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BODY:
yay! auntie lisa came all the way from new york city to meet baby cleo
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london has gone cricket crazy. not the chirpy insect version, the sporting event that takes 4 days to complete a single match and makes mummy v want to stop paying the tv license. mummy v has made plans to avoid the cricket by having auntie v, nana h and cousin adam over for a visit tomorrow. cleo has made plans to eat, sleep, and maybe throw up a little bit.
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TITLE: beddy byes
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 9/06/2005 09:48:00 PM
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BODY:
when cleo is grizzly, she's ... well, she's grizzly. but when she's good she is an absolutely gorgeous perfect chubba bubba. she hasn't been napping well lately, but her night sleep is going to win her the baby of the year 2005 prize.
bedtime is at 7:30, and cleo is out for the count, not getting up to start her day before 6 or 7 o'clock.
mummy V has gone so long with interrupted sleep she still wakes up three or four times in the night; strangely daddy S is unaffected and continues to sleep like a hibernating bear.
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TITLE: milestone city, population 1
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 9/03/2005 09:45:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo's been a very busy girl lately ...
on thursday, she learned how to put her toes in her mouth.
on friday, she started crying if she couldn't reach a toy she wanted, or if mummy v took a toy away.
and today she sat up all by herself!
mummy V and daddy S were both on hand to witness this and are still beaming with pride at our lovely little cheerio and her advanced physical abilities. we think she'll be ready to compete in the london olympics in 2012 and are submitting her application asap.
nana and grandad H came to visit, and cleo was a standing in your lap-babbling-wide open mouth smiling-cuteness machine.
we're soooo loved up on the bubba today.
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TITLE: my name is... pt iii
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 9/01/2005 01:55:00 PM
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BODY:
some new nicknames for cleo to add to our ever-growing list:
curious-georgina
sensitivemo
beee-utiful
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TITLE: mmmmm plastic
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/31/2005 05:01:00 PM
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BODY:
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TITLE: tipping the scales
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/31/2005 10:07:00 AM
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BODY:
cleo now weighs 12 pounds 5 ounces!
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TITLE: where's grizzly?
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/30/2005 03:28:00 PM
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BODY:
mummy v is working on a deadline, and hasn't much time to post a cleo update today. getting any work done is proving rather difficult as the bubba is so cute lately and distracting or, crazy and not taking naps.
as auntie m (mee mee) said, "but to do all those edits with a grizzle? how are you going to do it?"
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TITLE: change table selections
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/26/2005 10:43:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo's latest change table favs:
anthony hamilton's since i seen't you and charlene, from his comin' from where i'm from album.
her current lullaby before naptimes is journey's faithfully, with the line, "i'm forever yours, faithfully" changed to "i'm forever yours, grizzly"
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TITLE: baby wide awakey + naps = negative fun
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/26/2005 06:06:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo has decided she doesn't want to take naps anymore.
and that she wants to break mummy v with mental/physical exhaustion, and by never letting her get anything done without having cleo attached at the hip. mummy v is aware that cleo's little baby brain is probably not out to destroy her, but it's difficult to think straight when your bubba is a non-sleeping jedi grizzle, able to function with zero naps. baby books recommend that babies cleo's age have three 1.5-2 hour naps a day. as soon as cleo learns how to read, mummy v will be showing her this book.
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TITLE: he's sooo pretty
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/25/2005 09:40:00 PM
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BODY:
what is the deal with people automatically assuming a baby is a boy? if mummy v had a pound for every time an idiotic meddling stranger came up to her and cleo and said, "what a cute little boy" or "awww he's so sweet", she would be a very wealthy woman.
since cleo's wardrobe is basically pink and lavender, this pisses mummy v off. baby cleo is about to get her little earlobes pierced to declare her femininity across the land.
it would make alot more sense if people thought she looked like a senior citizen; she is bald, has jowls and wears a diaper.
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TITLE: a sleepytime fairy tale
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/24/2005 03:15:00 PM
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BODY:
Once upon a time there was a baby named Cleo, and she slept through the night. Sure, she might sometimes wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning, but it was only for a quick re-fuelling, and she’d go straight back to sleep. 
we use the nickname 'grizzle' so often for cleo we are in danger of people thinking that is her actual name.
for example, daddy s: "don't bring the grizzle to primark, it's a zoo and she'll have a meltdown."; mummy v: "look how cute grizzly is in her new jammies."
our relatives (okay, our mums) hate us calling her 'the grizzle', but it truly has become a term of endearment.
many moons ago when cleo was first born, and blessed our home with projectile vomit, diarrhea, and 30 minutes of crying every time she woke up, we felt justified in calling her grizzly... now she wakes up smiley and happy and only occasionally has projectile anything, but the name has stuck.
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TITLE: anger management
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/19/2005 10:05:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo is a pretty good natured baby (when she's not teething), but get on the wrong side of her at your peril. she likes people, but has serious preferences for stuffed animals. for example, the parrot on her baby gym gets attacked with a violence that is quite disturbing. the elephant and monkey don't cause the same reaction.
adding to the list of animals she doesn't like is her gund rattle bear. mummy v made the mistake of resting the bear on cleo's chest and as you can see by the photos...
hmmm... an intruder...
you must respect the grizzle's crib space!
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TITLE: the cankles
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/18/2005 12:39:00 PM
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BODY:
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TITLE: mmwaaah!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/16/2005 09:42:00 PM
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BODY:
she may be cute, but she sure is grizzly... today was a very rough day for little cleo. her teeth (or lack of) are driving her crazy. her normal good night behaviour has gone out the window and she is now waking up every two hours, and in the day time she is an inconsolable crying feverish vomit monster.
we still love her and her vomit monster ways, but we sure hope those teeth appear soon.
for those that play the stock market, invest in calpol (the makers of cleo's teething gel) - the stock is definitely on the rise!
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TITLE: baby grapes
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/15/2005 11:07:00 PM
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BODY:
as requested by auntie m in toronto, here is a picture of cleo's "baby grapes"
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TITLE: sunday lunch
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/15/2005 12:41:00 PM
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BODY:
here's a photo of daddy s, cousin adam and baby cleo at the jolly farmer pub on sunday. cleo chose not to have anything from the menu and instead dined a la carte. adam was kind enough to share his last chip with cleo, but refused point blank to let her get anywhere near his snuggly yellow blanket.
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TITLE: bye bye belly
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/13/2005 09:54:00 PM
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BODY:
baby cleo with a big fat belly = cute
mummy v and daddy s with a big fat belly = not so cute
two weeks ago we started working with a personal fitness trainer named donovan at livingwell. donovan takes great pleasure in causing much suffering and agony. we'll be training with him for another 5 weeks, twice a week.
we are in constant pain.
we are told this is a good thing.
getting to the gym is one thing, we've paid for it, so we have to go. but sticking to the diet is proving very difficult.
today donovan took pity on us and allowed us to have a west indian takeaway for lunch - yum - when he came over to watch the football (liverpool / middlesborough). although unimpressed by the footy, cleo spent a good part of the afternoon flirting with donovan and trying to show off her new half roll on the play mat.
where does she get it from?
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TITLE: baby book club
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/11/2005 06:03:00 PM
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BODY:
not that mummy v is trying to push her interests on her daughter or anything, but we can proudly report the following:
- when mummy v plays the piano cleo loves it and sings/babbles in accompaniment
- when reading her favourite book (currently "Baby's Play Book", given to her by nana and grandad h), cleo turns the pages herself! Sometimes she just eats the pages, but that still counts as expressing interest.
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TITLE: hi-yah!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/10/2005 02:55:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo's got a new trick:
using crazy flying baby limbs, hit yourself in the head with a rattle really hard and then cry until you choke.
she's so talented!
by the way, we call this photo 'uncle L in his party dress'
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TITLE: cleo the indoor cat
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/08/2005 05:23:00 PM
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BODY:
grandma c took cleo out in the garden today. daddy s has christened her our indoor cat because whenever we take her outside she acts a little bewildered and confused by fresh air. we blame mummy v and her reclusive writer's mentality/lifestyle.
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TITLE: surprise!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/04/2005 11:50:00 PM
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BODY:
this morning grandma c flew in from toronto on a surprise visit to cleo. over three weeks ago, daddy s co-ordinated a sophisticated secret plan with grandma - mummy v was none the wiser.
later in the afternoon, nana h came over and helped babysit cleo while mummy v went to work. cleo had a long nap and then, fully energised, refused to eat from the bottle and cried for 45 minutes until mummy v came home to feed her.
cleo: 1, grandmothers: 0
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TITLE: super-size cleo
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/02/2005 01:18:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo went to the doctors to get weighed. she clocks in at a whopping 11 pounds, 10 ounces!
Considering she is nearly 4 months old, and her that her cousin adam was practically this size at birth, cleo's got a long way to go before she'll be showing off her cellulite at the baby swimmers clique.
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TITLE: more presents!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/01/2005 07:48:00 PM
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BODY:
yesterday nana and grandad h came to visit and brought cleo a present - peek 'n play eeyore! cleo likes eeyore, but only from a distance of about 5 feet.
even though she's teething and dribbling like michael jordon, cleo maintained a happy demeanour and entertained all with lots of smiles and big baby eye stares until around 7pm when she had a meltdown and needed a nap.
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TITLE: zzzzz
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 8/01/2005 02:53:00 PM
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BODY:
last night cleo slept from 10pm until 7 am!
can we get a 'yee haaaaw'?
obviously mummy v was so paranoid of something being wrong that from 3am until 7am she was up every half an hour checking on the bubba, and is sleep walking today.
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TITLE: ...my name is... pt II
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/30/2005 04:50:00 AM
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BODY:
other nicknames commonly used for cleo
Mary Poppins (due to her stretch technique, legs straight, feed pointed out)
Grizzle-don (auntie m / uncle l)
fo' shizzle my grizzle (auntie m / uncle l)
My lovely
Bubbalicious
Banana (when in her yellow snuggly)
bum-bum
Bubba-loo
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TITLE: billion dollar babes
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/30/2005 12:02:00 AM
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BODY:
auntie wendy came to visit cleo yesterday and in return, she received many smiles, some vomit, and a baby fist of fury. auntie w has the honour of being the first of mummy v's friends to see cleo when she was born and was eensy weenie.
lovely auntie w came bearing gifts: cleo and mummy v were given pink and black billion dollar babes t-shirts that they will wear together in sickening 'we're so loved up/happy family/think we're cute and want the world to know it' fashion.
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TITLE: perfect imperfections
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/29/2005 02:44:00 PM
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BODY:
The fact that Cleo has a hair-do that is more a hair-don't (a cross between a monk and yul brenner) only makes her more perfect, no? mummy v wonders if it's ethical to give a 16 week old baby a weave...
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TITLE: bad hair days
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/28/2005 12:09:00 AM
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BODY:
interesting how photos like these - which must seem silly and cheesy to most people - are incredibly cute when it's your child... what's so amazing about a baby with her shirt on her head like a floppy hat? who knows, but it's cute!
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TITLE: rolling over... not
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/27/2005 11:45:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo has mastered going from back to front, but once she gets to her front, she has no skills and flip flops around snuffing her nose and complaining until rescued... to get over she flings her legs in the air and uses their weight to get her body onto her side, then she buries her face into the carpet and goes from there... since mummy v gets no sleep as it is and is now even more paranoid of the baby's safety at night, we've bought two anti-roll pillows for her crib until she can learn to complete the roll.
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TITLE: music to change a nappy by
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/27/2005 02:25:00 PM
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BODY:
Cleo's current change table CD favourite is Usher - Confessions Pt II, and Burn. She particularly likes to sing along to Burn.
Mummy V thinks Cleo was harmonizing to it this morning, but she could just be projecting greatness onto the grizzle.
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TITLE: presents!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/26/2005 11:46:00 PM
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BODY:
fairy godmother s in boston sent cleo the girliest present she's ever received: a pink tiara, beaded tutu and a pink beaded wand, all addressed to "a little princess"... so so cute. here's to all things girly and politically incorrect!
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TITLE: shiny happy baby
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/25/2005 12:25:00 AM
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BODY:
today cleo laughed for the first time!
we love our baby even more than before.
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TITLE: my name is...
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/24/2005 08:33:00 PM
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BODY:
nicknames regularly used for cleo:
grizzly
baby wide-awakey (or, BWA)
groucho
cheerio
funny face
bubba
grizzlor
bubba-loo
fuss pot
the grizzle
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TITLE: oink
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/24/2005 03:45:00 PM
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BODY:
I've never been a fan of the whole children dressed as animals thing that so many people find cute - "awwww a little monkey person" or "awwww a little dog boy" just seems kind of weird - like animals wearing clothes. So when daddy S brought home a piglet outfit from mothercare, I was skeptical. But, like most things i've discovered since becoming a parent, all the stuff I thought was cheesy and stupid I now love. So here is a picture of" little piglet Cleo... all together now: "awwwww
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TITLE: ack
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/20/2005 03:28:00 PM
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BODY:
cleo started frantically (one might even say, spastically) chewing on her fists about 3 weeks ago.
is she teething early? is she starving because mommy has fallen asleep standing up and forgotten to feed her? is she just plain crazy? probably all of the above.
her latest activity is to chew so voraciously on her fingers that she gags herself because she's stuck them so far down her throat. so the pattern of behaviour is this: she chews on fist, chews on fingers, gags, chokes, then cries and drools. repeat.
you would think she would learn she is the cause of her gagging misery, but no, her goldfish level memory forgets. advanced in this instance the bubba is not.
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TITLE: ouch
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/18/2005 11:50:00 PM
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BODY:
took cleo for her shots today... look how sad the bubba looks....
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TITLE: baby fists of fury
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/16/2005 07:32:00 PM
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BODY:
the latest:
cleo has graduated from hitting herself in the face with crazy baby fists of fury. Now she lifts her arm up in front of her face (with a side arm, right hook approach) and examines her fist, turning it from side to side, staring intently at it, like she's just discovered she has a fist... she's so proud of it she tries to show it off... she does this at least 10 times a day.
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TITLE: watch out beyonce
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/14/2005 07:17:00 PM
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BODY:
Today we learned the back arch. You know the one you see older children pulling in the supermarket when they're buzzed out on sugar and mom says no to a new power ranger? the one where they learn to arch their backs like the letter C so you can't pick them up? Why is our Cleo doing this trick at this age? Try to take her out of her swing - back arch. Try to change her diaper - back arch. It's almost as if she's trying to learn something! Sheesh. Not too sure about this new-found independent thought process of hers. Sure, mummy V was preaching about Independent Women 10 years before Beyonce got her first weave, but that doesn't mean we want to see it coming out just yet.
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TITLE: happy birthday!
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 7/03/2005 11:03:00 PM
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BODY:
today cleo went to cousin adam's birthday bbq. adam turned three on the 30th of june and he hosted a fabulous shindig in his backyard with burgers, chicken, cake and a bubble machine.
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TITLE:
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 6/28/2005 04:52:00 PM
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BODY:
Cleo's current change table CD favourites:
From the Alicia Keys' album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, If I Ain't Got You, and Diary.
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TITLE: would the real cleo please spit up
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 6/20/2005 01:07:00 PM
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BODY:
How can these photos be of the same baby? Mummy C the Elder is convinced this is neither an H or a C baby, but we beg to differ. The birth identity of Miss CCH can be found in her flat-rabbit-feet-one-wonky-baby-toe (C genes) and her one-sticky-outie-will-require-pinning-back-much-to-grandparents-chagrin-English-ear (H genes).
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TITLE:
AUTHOR: mummy v
DATE: 6/03/2005 05:01:00 PM
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BODY:
yay! auntie lisa came all the way from new york city to meet baby cleo
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