Looby simply does not stop!

I say again, Looby simply does not stop. She races around at a hundred miles an hour all day. She is a right chatterbox too, sometimes it is hard to get a word in edge ways or difficult to know exactly where she is coming from as she is so busy. For example, I was in the yard and Lucy dashed out breakfast in hand, smiled sheepishly and simply said 'smell my yogurt daddy.' Why? I ask myself. There is a real bond between Lucy and her sister developing which is lovely to see. Today whilst we were out for lunch she was very protective of Anna's buggy when another toddler came near it.I think she would have taken on six year olds to make sure the children looked but did not touch. I wish she could take a leaf out of her own book, when she goes anywhere near Anna, let's just say she is a little over enthusiastic and not quite gentle enough. Despite this she clearly loves her baby sister and is keen to show it too!

Silly dad is back!

Anna is smiling and reacting to people and noises. I know she is only two months old and I will still argue it's not wind. I can now slide into the parental role I was made for, being a complete prat and fooling around! She finds me just a little bit funny! I witnessed a lovely piece of interaction between the girls on the couch this evening and Anna had a real sparkle in her eye as Lucy played with her. She also managed to poo all over a friend of ours yesterday without the poo touching her clothes or going on her at all! All I could hear was alot of giggling from the ladies toilet as it even managed to go on the top of the door. That's my girl. What an aim! We went out to lunch yesterday with two friends who have just got married, after this and Anna throwing up her milk everywhere, let's just say they may not be planning to start a family just yet. We showed them the true delights of parenthood! It hasn't been all fun as Anna continues not to settle despite trying everything in the evening. For the second night in a row it has been hours and she will not go to sleep. Amy and I are simply not getting any time to relax. She is screaming as I write......Who said it was going to be easy?

A few days of severe parenting contrasts....

The last few days have had their ups and downs to say the least! Anna has gone from being severely unsettled to a calm and relaxed baby in a matter of days. There have been evenings this week where we have been exhausted trying to find the right buttons to press simply to just get her to go to sleep. Days went by and we did not sit down to relax or unwind. This weekend she has chilled, spent time awake and has been calm and let us both have some sleep. Forgive me Anna for the scrunched up face picture to the left, my only defense is that I did not take it! Lucy has turned into a potty goddess - we have had multiple wees and even poos. I still can't get over how proud of her I am for this. I am odd on many levels. She has been like the 'Duracell bunny' this weekend and has run, and run, and run, and run.. Today she has discovered a passion for cooking and made pizza and pudding with her mummy. Both the tasting and the mess were the highlight for her. I have to say she makes a bloody good pizza, even if it was unnecessary to literally pummel the ingredients into the dough!

Which came first the chicken or the egg?

Lucy continues to be a very energetic young lady and the naughty corner was an effective strategy in us teaching her how to behave properly and do the right things. Or so we thought! We decided that the time she spent on the naughty corner was not consistent so Amy bought an egg timer that would sound when she was allowed to leave. Just so happened the egg timer was a chicken. This morning Lucy got the chicken, gently hit Amy with it, said 'naughty chicken, you must go in the naughty corner' and put it in the naughty corner! So that blows that idea way open. Potty training continues to get better by the day and Lucy is doing really well. We now have multiple wee-wees on the toilet or potty daily. I am so proud....

Anna is doing grand and continues to live life in 'F word' way. Feed, sleep, scream, time on play mat, time in sling, sleep, feed, burp, fart, poo, bath, scream, feed, sleep and done. Added in between much screaming is lovely periods of time in which she has what Lucy calls 'wakey eyes'. Got to say though, as lovely as Anna is we are seven weeks into her life and we are both completely shattered. Really shattered and I have to say my parenting patience with both Lucy and Anna has been stretched this week, simply because I am shattered.

Time flys by and I've missed a few things....

It's been a busy week at work and I really have not seen much of my wife or the girls. Days have gone by and all of a sudden Lucy is coming up with phrases I simply did not know she had in her such as 'my tummy is grumbling' 'Hello my darling' (complete with broad Norfolk accent), 'you must share daddy, you must' and the best one of all, we now just reply 'why? why?' with a large smirk on her face. The slippery slope begins - soon she will be asking me for cash. Funny story - I was very tired after a late night at work and was helping change Lucy's nappy at 10pm. Unbeknown to Amy and I the poo had rolled out of the nappy onto the floor and I am afraid in the dark my wife felt something warm and squidgy between her toes! I am still trying to convince her to see the funny side. Anna has found herself a warm cosy place next to her mummy's chest in which to reside away from the noise and mayhem of modern life. She is a wise young lady....

And the flood gates opened...

Potty training in our house has taken a massive leap forward. In my usual obsessive enthusiasm, I think this is fantastic. This evening I counted eight wees and even created a silly rap to congratulate Lucy. I am so proud of her. She gave me a fabulous hi-five in celebration. Funniest moment - I was sitting outside, Lucy came out without her potty in her hand to show me and excitedly jumped down the step, promptly covering herself in her own urine!

Meet the cousins! Pictured here are two of Lucy and Anna's cousins. This is Evie and Matilda. Lucy was very excited this evening as she is going to their house to play. 'I tell Evie I had a wee wee on the potty' she proudly stated. I am sure they will have a lovely day, I say with real envy as I have to go to work.......

Anna tried a dummy today and it would be safe to say they don't suit her. She promptly threw up everywhere. We won't be using a dummy again then and will continue our pursuit of the ultimate Anna soother....

An eventful weekend capped off by a floater!

Having children is hard. Any parent who says differently is either very lucky or blatantly exaggerating the truth! Both good and bad times are knackering. We have had both this weekend. Lucy has simply been very busy all weekend. We have had a great time, but she never stops. Anna has also had a good weekend, coping much better at being awake during the day and even seems to be slightly reacting to noise and people around her. Smile or wind - that's a very contentious parental debate. I'm going for the possibility she smiled. Anna did have an appalling three hours on Saturday evening when she just screamed and screamed, and screamed and screamed. We just could not settle her down, then she slept for seven hours! From the sublime to the ridiculous!

Team hammond's comunal bathtime was not the serene picture as it was above the other day, tonight young Anna gave us her first somewhat undignified floater that prompted much giggling and mass evacuation!

Now I have seen it all....

Whilst trying to read Lucy a story last night she proceeded to attempt to breast feed her baby doll and mimic her mummy. 'Quiet daddy, I am feeding the baby from my blueberries'. I have to say my world becomes more bizarre by the day. If I think I am capable of handling life with three women in a calm fashion without being constantly perplexed then I must think again!

Anna - chilled out little muffin that she is ACTUALLY SLEPT ALL NIGHT. I REPEAT ACTUALLY SLEPT ALL NIGHT! Twelve hours at five weeks old! I know it probably won't happen again for a while, but bravo to my wife. Gestapo mummy strikes again. Amy's hard work is beginning to pay off. I have been on 10pm bottle feed duty and I am really beginning to enjoy it and look forward to it as the day progresses. This week the health visitor dissed Gina Ford's contented little Gestapo book, you know what, she gets my vote!

Weight update - 10 lb 13 oz

It actually works!!!

So far this week, the naughty corner has worked it's magic. Lucy detests it and is learning a little day by day that there are socially acceptable ways of behaving. It really is having a positive affect. In several days, the system of warning her three times has had an impact. Previously Lucy would look at me with a 'do you want to dance with the devil' look and at the moment you can really see that she is thinking twice before she does something she shouldn't. The power dynamic has shifted and I am winning the war. I have to say this appears to only be my battle. As Amy pointed out calmly over dinner this evening, it's only me that has to use the naughty corner. Lucy and I have that kind of relationship and previously I have reacted in a way that probably left Lucy hungry for more attention. She is a bright little one and knows exactly which buttons to press and I stupidly take the bait.

This morning I popped her in the car seat, she patted me on the head and simply said 'Good boy daddy, close the door, have you got your bag for work?' and another gem this evening she told me that she would 'be back in a jiffy'. Where does she get these phrases from!! Amy and I picked her up from nursery today and it was lovely to see that she looked so calm and relaxed. I do worry about how her days go without either Amy or myself. Listen to me, what will I be like when she goes to school....that's a little way off yet though, so no need for immediate panic.

I'm on the brink and then she woke me up!

The adult section of family Hammond is bloody knackered today. Mainly due to a pint size person named Anna Hammond who simply would not go to sleep! This week since my last post has not been good. I have busy at work, Amy has put her back out and is really struggling to lift the girls and when Anna has been awake she has screamed for three days solid. At times she has been inconsolable. She has been doing her bright red faced angry thing. Nothing has helped and it has been very frustrating. Mother nature certainly knew what she was doing when she invented the cry, it certainly does the job! She didn't bargain on the individual baby simply overusing it. I find myself boiling up inside, because I hate situations that I can't change or control. This I think is my weakest element of my parenting skills. Who said parenting was going to be easy! I know with a bit of perseverance we will get there. It is hard to be positive at 3am when you have been awake for hours. I want to help Amy, but when all Anna wants is the breast. I am afraid that's when I get a bit stuck there! Today is my birthday, so we will see what the day brings. Lesson in life - never take holiday from your job during the same week as me and pray you don't share a birthday with me, it always rains and rains and rains.

Anna has been very calm all day. I simply do not get it! Aah! She has relaxed on her play mat awake and barley uttered a whimper. I am at a loss and cannot explain it. Never mind. As you can see the girls have been bonding. I think now is a perfect opportunity to issue a public apology to both of them that they look like me....