Hello, I'm Sam

If my son, Sam, could tell you about a week in his life, it would look a little bit like this. This was written in 2015 when Sam was only six months old. At the time I'm posting this he's nearly 4.

CHAPTER ONE

 

Monday

 

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Hello.  My name is Samuel Martin Kirk, but you can call me Sam.

I was born on Sunday the eighth of March 2015.  I don’t remember much about that day, so you’ll have to ask my Mommy and Daddy.  I’m sure they remember.  I live at home with Mommy and Daddy and our cat.  His name is Heathcliff, but Mommy and Daddy call him MiniMan.  I think that’s a funny name: MiniMan.  I think he’s still getting used to having me around, but he’s soft and fluffy so I like him.  Daddy says he gets confused sometimes because he calls the cat MiniMan and me little man.  He says that he sometimes calls the cat little man by mistake.  My Daddy’s silly and he makes me laugh.

I thought it might be fun to tell you about what I do in a week.  Mommy tells me that a week is seven days, and that the first day of the week is Monday.  Some people say it’s Sunday, but I’ll go with what Mommy says.  I’ve picked things from various days across the six months that I’ve been alive, as Daddy says that will give my story some variety.  He says that if I chose a week when I was first born the story would be the same for each day, as I didn’t do much back then.  I hope you enjoy reading about what I’ve chosen to talk about.

Daddy gets up for work early every day except Saturday and Sunday, which Mommy and Daddy tell me is called the weekend.  I like weekends because I get to spend more time with both Mommy and Daddy.  When Daddy’s at work I stay with Mommy and we have lots of fun.  Mommy has a job, too, just like Daddy, but Mommy’s work let her stay home with me, which I like.  When I’m a little older Mommy will go back to work and I’ll go to a place called a nursery.  I’ll get to play with other kids all day and have lots of fun.  I’ll miss Mommy and Daddy when I’m there, but they’ve told me that they’ll always come and get me when they’ve finished work.  Daddy says it’s part of growing up, so I’ll be okay.  I’m looking forward to making new friends.

At the moment, Mommy and I go to something called Baby Yoga on a Monday.  We get to go in the car, which is lots of fun.  I fall asleep a lot of the time when I’m in the car, and I always wake up somewhere different, which is really exciting.  Going out in the car with Mommy is like going on an adventure.  Mommy tells me that Baby Yoga is all about exercise, which she says is important for everyone.  I get to see other kids there, and Mommy gets to meet other Mommys, too.  The exercises are fun, and Mommy always makes me laugh with silly faces.  Mommy’s silly, like Daddy, and I like it.  After Baby Yoga, Mommy sometimes takes me shopping.  Sometimes Mommy will try and do what she calls the big shop on a Sunday because that means she can leave me at home to play with Daddy.  Shopping is fun, too, though.  There’s always lots to see and I get to ride around in a trolley, which is loads of fun.  When Daddy pushes me in the trolley he makes funny noises like I’m in a race car.  Maybe I’ll be a race car driver when I grow up.

When we go home Mommy puts my play mat on the floor in the living room.  I really like going on my mat: it has lots of bright colours and pictures, and parts of it feel different.  Some bits are soft and fluffy and other bits make funny crackling noises.  There’s also a shiny circle in it that I can see my face in.  Mommy says that it’s called a mirror.  We have more mirrors in the house that I also see my face in.  When Mommy or Daddy takes me upstairs they show me my reflection in the mirror.  It’s funny looking at myself in the mirror; it’s like I’m looking at someone else who looks just like me.  When I first saw myself in a mirror I didn’t realise it was me, but now I’m getting a bit older I know that it’s me.  Mommy and Daddy say that’s called learning.  Mommy and Daddy help me with my learning, but they also help other people.  Mommy and Daddy are teachers.  They tell me I’ll have lots of teachers when I’m older and I go to school.  I’m looking forward to that, too, as I’ll get to make even more friends and have even more fun.

When we’re at home, Mommy talks to me while she’s doing things around the house.  I like to hear Mommy’s voice because it helps me know where she is.  Sometimes I can see her but if she goes into another room I can’t.  I don’t like being left on my own, so Mommy makes sure that if I can’t see her that I can hear her.  When I get hungry Mommy feeds me my milk.  It’s very tasty, but sometimes I make a bit of a mess.  Mommy doesn’t seem to mind, and she always cleans me up.  After I’ve had my milk Mommy helps me make a funny noise out of my mouth.  It’s called a burp, and when it happens I can feel it coming up from my tummy.  Mommy says it’s important for me to burp after I eat.  I’ve seen Mommy and Daddy burp, but when they do it they say “excuse me”.  I think I’ll have to say that, too.  Daddy says it’s good manners.  Mommy and Daddy want me to have good manners.

Later in the day, Daddy comes home from work.  He always says hello to Mommy, me and MiniMan when he comes through the door.  I like it when Daddy comes home because he always gives me a big kiss and a cuddle.  He tells me that he’s missed me, which is funny because I’ve missed him, too.  I guess grown-ups can miss things, too.  While Mommy makes dinner for her and Daddy, he normally does his own exercise.  Sometimes he goes out for things called a jog or a bike ride, but other times he stays at home and exercises in the living room.  It’s funny watching him do that, and it makes me laugh.

Mommy and Daddy let me sit with them while they eat their dinner, which I like.  The stuff they eat doesn’t look like my milk, but they tell me that when I’m older I’ll eat food like them.  Daddy likes spicy food, though, and Mommy doesn’t, so I’ll have to see if I like spicy things when I grow up.  When Mommy and Daddy have eaten their dinner Mommy makes me more food for in the night, and Daddy takes me upstairs for story time.  I like it when Daddy reads to me, and he says he enjoys it, too.  He reads me books that he likes as well, so we both enjoy it.  Daddy says it’s important to like reading, as it helps people become clever.  I want to be clever when I grow up.

After story time, Mommy and Daddy come to bed.  I get to stay up with them until my last feed of the day.  Mommy and Daddy watch television in bed, and if I’m awake, I get to watch it with them, which is lots of fun.  The television, or TV as Mommy and Daddy call it, has lots of interesting things to look at and listen to.  When it’s time for my last feed Mommy normally does it during the week, as Daddy’s usually going to sleep so that he can get up for work in the morning.  After I’ve eaten, Mommy waits for me to fall asleep and then she puts me in my basket, which is next to Mommy and Daddy’s bed.  I have my own room, with my own bed in it, and Mommy and Daddy tell me that I’ll sleep in there when I’m old enough.  I’ll miss Mommy and Daddy when I’m sleeping in my room, but it’s part of growing up.

Goodnight, everybody.  Sleep tight.

 

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CHAPTER TWO

 

Tuesday

 

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Good morning, everybody.

Normally, one of the first things that I notice when it’s morning is Daddy giving me a kiss goodbye before he leaves for work.  He always gives me and Mommy a kiss before going to work.  Sometimes it wakes me up, and sometimes it doesn’t, but I normally need a nappy change at that time, so Mommy tends to get up as well.  When I’ve done a wee or a poo I need my nappy changed, and Mommy and Daddy do that for me.  We have a special table in my bedroom where Mommy and Daddy usually change me.  There is something called a mobile hanging above the changing table, and hanging from that are things called aeroplanes and a hot air balloon, and Daddy always makes them move for me.  He also sings a little song as he does it.  It goes:

 

Hairy planes and bubba-balloons.

It’s only a little song, but it’s silly and I like it.  Daddy says and does lots of silly things that I like.  After I’ve had my nappy changed I feel a lot better.  Mommy and Daddy tell me that when I’m older I’ll have to use something called a toilet.  It sounds to me like there are a lot of things you need to know to grow up.

Mommy likes to do things around the house while Daddy’s at work, and when she can’t put me on my play matt she puts me in my bouncy chair.  Its lots of fun going in my bouncy chair, because if I lean back or lean forward I can make it bounce, which feels funny.  It also shakes a little when Mommy flips a switch on it.  I like the way it feels.  It reminds me a little of being in the car, and I’ll often fall asleep in my bouncy chair.  Mommy tells me that babies need a lot of sleep so that they can develop.  Every now and then, a lady comes to the house who Mommy tells me is a Health Visitor.  It’s apparently her job to see how well I’m developing.  Mommy and Daddy seem pleased with what the Health Visitor tells them, so I hope I’m doing it right.  I want to be a good boy for Mommy and Daddy.  Sometimes, when I sleep, Mommy will sleep, too.  She lets me sleep on the big bed sometimes, and that’s great fun.  I like my basket and my own bed, but Mommy and Daddy’s bed is huge and soft, so I like sleeping on it.

Sometimes, when I wake up from sleeping I feel what Mommy and Daddy call grumpy.  I don’t like this feeling, and it sometimes makes me cry.  Mommy and Daddy always give me lots of kisses and cuddles when I cry, though, and they always make me feel better.  Mommy says that she often feels grumpy when she wakes up, so I guess it’s normal.  Daddy doesn’t seem to get grumpy when he wakes up.  He says that once he’s awake he’s awake.  Daddy’s lucky, I suppose.  Being grumpy doesn’t seem to last long though, and before too long I’m smiling again.  Mommy and Daddy seem to get very happy when I smile, and that makes me smile more.  When Mommy and Daddy do something funny or silly it makes me laugh, which makes them laugh.  I love laughing with Mommy and Daddy.  It’s loads of fun.

Mommy feeds me during the day whenever I need it, but sometimes I get sick.  When this happens, the food I’ve eaten comes back out of my mouth.  It feels strange and it makes a mess.  Mommy and Daddy seem to know that I’m not doing it on purpose, which is good, but they don’t seem to like it when I’m sick.  I think it’s because it makes such a mess.  I heard Daddy shouting at the MiniMan today because he was being sick.  Daddy tells me that the MiniMan isn’t allowed to be sick or do his wee or poo in the house.  That isn’t allowed.  When Daddy heard the MiniMan being sick he shouted and chased the MiniMan out of a small hole by the front door that Daddy says is called a cat-flap.  This lets the MiniMan in and out of the house without Mommy or Daddy having to open the doors for him.  I hope they don’t want me to use the cat-flap when I’m older, and I hope Daddy doesn’t start shouting at me and chasing me whenever I’m sick.  I don’t think he will, though.  Daddy says he loves both me and the MiniMan but there are different rules for the MiniMan because he’s what Mommy and Daddy call a pet.  I hope I can have a pet when I’m older.

Once Daddy had dealt with the MiniMan it was teatime for Mommy and Daddy.  Then it was story time for me and Daddy.  Then it was time for sleep.

Goodnight, everybody.  Sleep tight.

 

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CHAPTER THREE

 

Wednesday

 

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Good morning, everybody.

When the weather is nice and sunny, Mommy will sometimes take me out in my pushchair.  At the moment I face Mommy when I’m in the pushchair, but she tells me that when I get a little older I can face the other way and see where we’re going.  I like seeing Mommy as she pushes me along, but I am looking forward to being able to see where we’re going.  There’s always so much to look at when we’re outside; it’s very exciting.  Daddy also takes me out in the pushchair, but because he’s at work during the day it’s usually at weekends that this happens.

If it’s bright and sunny, Mommy puts a shade on to the pushchair so that the sun doesn’t hurt my eyes.  She tells me that it’s called a parasol.  Mommy says that my eyes are still getting used to things like sunlight, so it’s important to protect them.  Sometimes the parasol stops me from being able to see Mommy as we’re walking along, but she always talks to me, so I know she’s still there.

The pushchair also has space for things to go underneath it; it’s very clever, and Mommy and Daddy like to keep a big blanket in the pushchair for something called picnics.  The blanket is very big and it’s nice and soft, so it feels good to lie on.  Mommy and Daddy only put me on it when the weather’s warm enough, so picnics seem to only happen on sunny days.  I’m still drinking milk and starting on other things like baby rice, but when we have picnics, Mommy and Daddy often eat things called sandwiches.  They look very tasty, but Mommy and Daddy say that I need to be older before I can eat one of those.  There are lots of things that I can’t do until I’m older, so it must be a lot of fun to grow up.  I’m enjoying being a baby, though.  I get to play all day �" when I’m not sleeping �" and everybody wants to be nice to me.  I don’t know what I did to make everybody like me so much, but it’s definitely nice.  Mommy tells Daddy about people who she calls strangers who come up to her in the street and tell her things about me.  They call me handsome and gorgeous.  I don’t really know what those words mean yet, but Mommy seems pleased when they say them, so I guess they’re nice words.  If they make Mommy smile then they’re okay with me, because I love seeing Mommy smile.  Daddy, too; when they smile it makes me smile.

Every now and then I need something called a bath.  This is apparently how I stay clean.  Mommy usually asks Daddy to give me my baths, and it’s loads of fun.  You need to take all of your clothes off for a bath: me, not Daddy, and get in some warm water.  Daddy’s always there to hold me and make sure I’m safe, and he washes me all over.  I have my own bath with its own little seat in it, that’s in the shape of a teddy bear.  I like going in the bath because if I kick my legs I can splash the water.  Daddy uses my special pirate flannel to wash my body, and he puts something in my hair to wash that, too.  Now that I’m starting to eat things like baby rice and porridge, I’m making more of a mess at meal times.  Mommy and Daddy don’t seem to mind, but I do get food in my hair, and that needs to be washed out.  Mommy and Daddy say that if they didn’t wash the food out of my hair then it would go hard and it would hurt to get it out of my hair.  I don’t like things that hurt, so I’m glad I get my hair washed in the bath.

Bath time is fun, but getting out of the bath isn’t.  When Daddy takes me out of the warm water I get cold, and I don’t like that.  It sometimes makes me cry, but Daddy always wraps me in a towel as soon as he can.  I’m only cold for a little while, and Daddy tends to dry me off on my changing table, so I get to look at my aeroplanes and hot air balloon, which I like.  Mommy and Daddy always laugh at how curly my hair gets after I’ve had it washed.  It’s not my fault; it does it by itself.  Mommy and Daddy don’t have curly hair, so I probably won’t when I grow up, either.  Once I’ve been dried. I get a new nappy and some fresh clothes put on me, which always feels nice.  Mommy and Daddy have a special little case with things for me in it.  They say it’s my baby grooming kit.  Once I’m dry and dressed after my bath, Mommy or Daddy brushes my hair.  This feels really nice and it relaxes me, which is good, because bath time is often done just before bed time.  Sometimes, Mommy even cuts my hair, which I suppose is why Mommy has long hair and Daddy has short hair.  Daddy must get his hair cut more often than Mommy.  It makes me wonder what kind of hair I’ll have when I grow up.  I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

When bed time comes it’s time to go to sleep.

Goodnight, everybody.  Sleep tight.

 

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CHAPTER FOUR

 

Thursday

 

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Good morning, everybody.

I got a new toy today.

Getting new toys is very exciting.  This new toy isn’t really something I can play with, but it is something that I can play in, and it’s lots of fun.  It’s a thing that lets me stand up and bounce, which I really like.  Mommy and Daddy put the new toy in place �" normally in the living room doorway �" and then I get put into it, sort of like when I’m strapped into my car seat or pushchair.  When my new toy is set up and I’m all strapped in, I can stand and bounce and twirl around.  It makes Mommy and Daddy laugh to watch me standing up, and I like making Mommy and Daddy laugh.  This new toy is only until I can stand up on my own.  Mommy and Daddy keep saying that I’ll be crawling and walking in no time at all.  I don’t really know how long that is, but I’m looking forward to it all the same.

As well as my new toy, I have got lots of other toys, as well.  Mommy and Daddy say that I’m spoiled rotten.  I don’t really know what that means, but they’re always smiling when they say it, so I guess it can’t be a bad thing.  I don’t know when I got my other toys, but they seem to appear from nowhere.  Maybe it’s magic.  I hope it is, because magic sounds exciting.  I do know that some of my other toys get given to Mommy and Daddy to give to me.  Mommy and Daddy must know some very kind people, if they just give toys away like this.  Mommy’s family, especially my Nanny and Big Nan, often buy me new toys, which is very nice of them.  I have two rabbit toys that are called Captain Carrot and Benny Bunny.  Captain Carrot was given to me by Big Nan when I was only a week old.  Daddy named him and he seemed to really like the name.  He tells me it’s from the books that he reads to me at bedtime.  I’m sure I’ll understand more when I get a little older.  Benny Bunny was named by Mommy, and I think his name was an accident.  Mommy went to say “Bunny” but said “Benny” by mistake, so Mommy and Daddy decided that this toy’s name was going to be Benny Bunny.  I wonder if that’s how Mommy and Daddy named me.  I guess I’ll have to wait until I’m older to ask them.  When I’m older I can name my own toys, which will be fun.  I also sometimes get new toys from a family who are old friends of Daddy’s.  One of them is a Mommy and she has a little boy, too.  He’s four years old, which makes him a big kid to me.  They’ve given Daddy some of his old toys to give to me, which is very nice of them.  I’ll have to wait until I’m a little older to play with some of these new toys, so that’s going to be exciting.  I wonder who I’ll give my old toys to when I get too old for them.

Mommy took me out today in my pushchair, but this time it was different.  Up until now, I’ve been lying down in the pushchair and facing Mommy or Daddy when they push me along.  Now that I’m a little bigger, Mommy and Daddy have done something to the pushchair so that now I’m sitting up and facing forward.  This is really exciting, as I get to see where we’re going.  It does mean that I can’t see Mommy or Daddy as they push me, but they tend to talk to me, so I know that they’re there.  Mommy and Daddy tell me that I’ll only need the pushchair until I learn to walk by myself.  When that happens, Mommy and Daddy say that I’m going to walk as much as I can, to get used to it.  I’m looking forward to being able to walk.  Daddy says it’s another part of growing up.

I was asleep when Daddy came home from work today, but I woke up as he and Mommy were sitting down to dinner.  They joke that I seem to know when they’re going to eat, but I really don’t.  I just let them know when I’m awake and need feeding or changing.  Or if I just want some cuddles.  Mommy and Daddy either put me on my play mat or in my bouncy chair while they’re eating dinner, and they always give me cuddles when they’ve finished eating.  Mommy says that when I’m old enough we’ll all eat together at the dining room table as a family.  Mommy and Daddy say that it’s important to do things as a family.  I like being in a family.  The people in my family are all so nice to me, and I’m still meeting new people.  It seems that Mommy and Daddy each have a family, so I get to go to lots of exciting places and meet lots of nice people.  It makes me wonder what kind of family I’ll have when I’m grown up.

After dinner, Daddy read to me and Mommy gave me my last feed.

Then it was bed time.

Goodnight, everybody.  Sleep tight.

 

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CHAPTER FIVE

 

Friday

 

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Good morning, everybody.

I didn’t sleep very well last night.  When that happens, I get upset, and me not sleeping also keeps Mommy and Daddy awake, which they don’t like.  I don’t like it either; I don’t want to do anything to upset Mommy and Daddy, but I don’t do it on purpose.  Mommy and Daddy say that it could be the start of teething.  I don’t have any teeth at the moment, but I think they’re starting to get ready to come through, and it hurts.  I don’t like the way it feels, but Mommy and Daddy say that I need to have my teeth so that I can eat grown up food as I get older.  All of the grown-ups whom I’ve met so far all have teeth, so I guess it’s something I’ve got to do.  Luckily, Mommy and Daddy seem to know that me not sleeping well because of teething isn’t my fault, so they don’t get angry with me.  Also, they tell me the hurting won’t last forever, which I’m pleased about.

Teething might not be fun, but something that is fun is getting to see my big sister, Lucy, on Fridays.  She comes to stay with us on Fridays and goes home to her Mommy on Saturdays.  I think it’s great having a big sister, and Lucy’s really nice to me.  She talks to me and plays with me and makes me smile and laugh.  I love Lucy a lot, and she says that she loves me.  Daddy tells me that Lucy was very excited when she found out that she was going to have a little brother, and I really enjoy it when she comes to visit.  For one thing, it means I get to ride in the car when we go and pick her up from her Mommy’s house.  I like riding in the car, even though I do fall asleep in my car seat a lot.  I can’t see where we’re going at the moment, because my car seat has to face the back of the car.  Mommy says it’s a law and it’s important to follow laws.  She tells me that, when I’m older, I’ll be able to use a different car seat, one that will face forward.  Then I’ll be able to see where we’re going when we go out in the car.  I’m looking forward to that; I can pretend that I’m driving.  Mommy does all the driving in our family, because Daddy has bad eyesight and can’t drive.  He doesn’t seem upset by it, though, and he says it’s unlikely that I’ll have bad eyesight like he does.  Maybe when I’m older, and I can drive, I can take Mommy and Daddy places, like they do for me now.

On Friday nights, when Lucy comes over, we usually have a film night.  Daddy chooses a film to put on, and we all sit in the Living Room and watch it.  I either lie on my Matt, or sit in my bouncy chair, or cuddle with Mommy or Daddy.  I’m too young to understand what’s going on in the films that we watch, but the movement, colours and sounds coming from the TV are interesting to look at and to listen to.  Mommy and Daddy like watching films, so I’m sure I’ll get to watch lots of them as I grow up.  Normally, on film night, Mommy, Daddy, and Lucy will eat dinner in the living room while we all watch the film.  Daddy says that’s a treat, and isn’t for every day, but I get to eat in the living room all the time.  Maybe he means for everyone else except me.  I guess the rules are different for babies.  Daddy does say, though, that when I’m old enough to eat at the table with him and Mommy then that’s where we’ll normally eat.  I’m happy with that, as long as I get to be with Mommy and Daddy.

After the film has finished, Mommy and Daddy are usually pretty tired, so Daddy sends Lucy upstairs to brush her teeth and get ready for bed.  Mommy tends to sort out my night-time feeds while Daddy sorts Lucy out.  She sleeps in the spare room, and if she’s been good, Daddy lets her watch a film in bed.  He says this is another treat, and is allowed because it’s Friday, and Lucy doesn’t have to get up for school in the morning.  Daddy says I’ll get to have those kinds of treats when I’m old enough, so that will be fun.

When Daddy’s put Lucy to bed, he comes to me and Mommy and well all get ready for bed.  Friday is the end of the working week for Mommy and Daddy, so Daddy doesn’t have to get up as early on Saturday or Sunday mornings, but he does get up with me if I wake up early.  Mommy gets up with me during the week, as Daddy has work, so Mommy says it’s his turn on weekends.  Daddy will get up with me if I wake up early, so that Mommy can have a lie in.  This is something that grown-ups really seem to enjoy, so it’s nice of Daddy to let Mommy have her lie ins.  Daddy will change and feed me and take me downstairs so that Mommy can sleep.  He lets Lucy sleep, too, although she’s sometimes up as early as me.  Daddy says it depends on how many films Lucy watches when she goes to bed.  Daddy doesn’t mind her staying up, but he says he doesn’t want her watching films all night.  Daddy says it’s important to get a good Night’s sleep.  He certainly seems to enjoy them.

 

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CHAPTER SIX

 

Saturday

 

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Good morning, everybody.

On Saturday mornings, Daddy usually gets up with me so that Mommy can have a lie in.  As Daddy goes to work at the moment and Mommy doesn’t, she gets up with me if I need something during the week, and Daddy takes over on the weekends.  Mommy says that this is fair.  Both Mommy and Daddy say that’s important to be fair.  When Daddy gets up with me he’ll normally take me downstairs and get some things done while Mommy and Lucy sleep.  Lucy likes a lie in, too.  Daddy likes to tease Lucy that she’s lazy, but he’s only joking.  Daddy likes to say silly things like that.  Daddy makes me and Lucy laugh.

When we’re downstairs on a Saturday morning, Daddy likes to do something called exercise.  He straps me into my bouncy chair and does something called yoga in the living room.  It’s very funny watching Daddy doing yoga, because he rolls around into all sorts of strange positions, and he pulls some very silly faces.  I often laugh at Daddy when he’s doing his yoga, but Daddy seems to like that, so I don’t think he minds.  Daddy says it’s important to stay in shape, especially, he says, for when I’m a bit older and I can walk.  He says there’ll be no stopping me when that happens.  I like being carried, picked up, and cuddled, and all that, but I am looking forward to being able to walk by myself.

When Mommy and Lucy get up they all have breakfast.  Daddy has already fed me by this time, so I sit with them all while they eat.  I like breakfast at the weekends, because I get to sit with Daddy.  During the week, he’s already left for work by the time me and Mommy get up.  Once we’ve eaten breakfast we all get dressed so that we can do something.  Lucy’s always asking Daddy if we’re going to do something.  Sometimes, we’ll go into town to go to the park, but one of my favourite things to do at the weekend is get in the car and go to visit Nanny Paula and Granddad Ray.  It takes a long time to get to Nanny and Granddad’s in the car, but I normally sleep for most of the journey, so I don’t really notice.  Daddy likes to play his music in the car, but Mommy will always tell him to skip to the next song if she doesn’t like one.  I guess Mommy’s in charge in the car as well as at home.

I love seeing Nanny and Granddad; they’re loads of fun.  Mommy and Daddy tell me that Granddad Ray is a pirate, which sounds really exciting.  I hope, when I’m older, that I’ll get to see his pirate ship.  Nanny and Granddad have a dog called Dolly.  She’s very silly but really nice.  She likes to lick my feet when I’ve got no socks on.  It tickles.  I like Dolly.  I also get to see my Big Nan, who Mommy and Daddy tell me is Nanny Paula’s Mommy.  I get lots of cuddles when we go and see Nanny and Granddad, and everyone is always pleased to see me.  It makes me feel happy and nice.

When we go to visit Nanny and Granddad, we usually take a walk into the village to have a mooch around the shops.  I don’t really know what a mooch is, but Mommy, Nanny and Big Nan seem to enjoy it.  Sometimes, Granddad Ray comes with us, but quite often he’ll stay at home and look after Dolly.  Also, Granddad’s always got stuff to do.  He’s always building things and fixing things.  Daddy says that Granddad Ray is very good with his hands, and Daddy says he wishes he was good with his hands in that way, too.  I think my Daddy’s good at lots of things, so I give him a cuddle to let him know.  When I’m old enough to talk I’ll tell him.

We’ll normally stay with Nanny and Granddad for lunch, but when we have Lucy with us we usually go home at dinnertime so that Lucy can go home to her Mommy.  Lucy always gives me a kiss and a cuddle goodbye when she goes home, which I like.  I love my big sister, and I love seeing her.  After Mommy and Daddy have dropped Lucy off at home we go back to our home.  If we’ve been out all day, the MiniMan is normally waiting for us so that he can be fed.  If we come home late then he meows loudly until someone feeds him.  He makes funny noises, and he makes me laugh.

On Saturday nights, Mommy and Daddy like to watch a film together.  The films they watch on Friday nights are more for Lucy than them, so their Saturday night film is more grown up.  I’m only allowed to stay up and watch with them because I don’t really know what’s going on.  Daddy says that some of the films he and Mommy watch are too old for children, so when I’m a little older I’ll have to be in bed before Mommy and Daddy can watch their films.  I don’t really mind; most of what Mommy and Daddy watch looks pretty boring, anyway.

Goodnight everybody.  Sleep tight.

 

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CHAPTER SEVEN

 

Sunday

 

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Good morning, everybody.

Like Saturdays, Daddy tends to get up with me on a Sunday so that Mommy can have a lie in.  Mommy asks Daddy not to let her sleep in too long, but Daddy says that Mommy deserves her rest, so he waits for her to get up, rather than wake her up himself.  When Daddy gets up with me on a Sunday, he normally feeds and changes me, and then takes me into the spare room.  The spare room is where Lucy sleeps when she stays over, but it’s also where Mommy and Daddy keep their computer.  Mommy says it’s her computer, but she doesn’t use it very often.  Daddy uses it a lot, especially on Sunday mornings.  Daddy will take me into the spare room, put me on the bed, give me some toys, and he’ll talk to me while he works.

For the first few months of being at home with Mommy and Daddy, I’ve been sleeping in their bedroom in my Moses basket.  That was fine for a while, but I’ve been growing so much that I’m almost too big for it.  I have my own big boy bed in my own room, and now that I’m six months old, Mommy and Daddy let me sleep in there.  It feels great having more room to sleep, and whenever I need Mommy or Daddy they always seem to know, and come and see me.  I don’t know how they know that I need them, because they’re not in the room as me.  There is something with blinking lights on top of my wardrobe, but I think Mommy and Daddy are magic. Mommy and Daddy say that I can use my big boy bed for a few years yet, so that will be fun.

On Sundays, Daddy also does something called housework.  Mommy does the housework during the week, so Daddy gives her as much of a break as he can on Sundays.  Daddy jokes that I should be helping out with the housework, but he knows that I can’t do it at the moment.  When I’m old enough I hope Daddy will show me what to do so that I can help out.  Mommy and Daddy say that it’s important for kids to help out around their houses.  Lucy tells me that she helps out at her house, so I want to help out when I’m old enough.  One of the jobs that Daddy does on Sundays, but not every Sunday, is mowing the lawns.  It looks like a lot of fun, and I’d like to try it when I’m old enough.

While Daddy does the housework, I normally go in my travel cot, which Mommy has put in the living room, or I go in my new walker.  I really like my walker, because it lets me stand up.  I’m getting better at sitting up, but I can’t quite stand up on my own yet.  Mommy and Daddy say it won’t be long before I can, but, for now, I use my walker.  It has wheels on it, so as I get stronger I can move myself around the living room.  It also has a lot of coloured buttons at the front that I can press and make sounds.  They’re great fun.  The walker even has a steering wheel with a squeaky button in the middle.  I love making sounds, even if Mommy and Daddy do call me a noisy monkey.  They keep calling me a monkey, but I’ve seen pictures of monkeys and I don’t think I look like one.  I hope Mommy and Daddy are just joking with me.  I think they are, because they always seem to be smiling and laughing when they call me a monkey.

I like to smile and laugh with Mommy and Daddy, and Daddy even has a little song he likes to sing to me when he’s holding me.  It always makes me smile and laugh, and it goes like this:

 

Smiley, smiley, smiley, smiley, chuckly, chuckly bear.

 

So Daddy not only calls me a monkey, but a bear, as well.  I think Daddy’s confused, but he’s still very funny.  I think someone should tell him that I’m a baby.

On Sundays, Daddy needs to shave before he has to go back to work on Mondays.  He tells me that when boys grow up they grow hair on their faces, and they can either let it grow or shave it off.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I need to shave, but Daddy doesn’t let his grow more than a week.  My uncle Tim has let his grow into a beard, so maybe I’ll do that when I’m old enough.  We’ll see.  Mommy doesn’t have to shave, so I suppose girls don’t grow hair on their faces like boys do.  Every day I learn something new about how things work.  It’s a lot, but I’m definitely enjoying it.

Well, that’s my week.  It’s been fun telling you about what I get up to.  I’m looking forward to all of the other things that are going to happen to me as I grow up.

 

Goodnight, everybody.  Thank you for reading about me.  I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

 

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