Walking and other mischief

It's been a while since I last blogged and much has happen since then. I guess the most significant that Joshua can walk. He's been walking for a while, since I was in Australia. It was funny to watch him on Skype running around the bedroom, where he only been crawling before.
I remember people telling me that when he starts walking that's when you need to run after him more. I've found that it's not so much.

A Long Five Weeks

It's Friday night and Kelly and Joshua went back to Taiwan just three days ago. I am here in Australia. It's not that I am having a bad time, I am enjoying being in Australia, but I am lonely and miss Kelly and Joshua very much. I know it's only 5 weeks until I see them in person again, but it's going to be a long 5 weeks. And it looks like I will be busy for those 5 weeks.

Kelly and Joshua seemed to enjoy being in Australia

A Handful

I now know the meaning of this term. Joshua is very active at the moment. He doesn’t like to stay put for very long and he doesn’t like to play with his toys either. He is often crawling to some place and getting into things he shouldn’t be. Kelly tells me he is able to get off the bed by himself. He just goes to the edge, puts his feet down and grabs onto a sheet to lower himself down. Yesterday afternoon we went out to get a camera. This would please those who think there are not enough photos on this blog. Kelly and I both have devices to capture photos, but they don’t work quite as well as we would like. We picked up the Canon IXUS 115, although I liked the look of the Nikon Coolpix S3300. I didn’t do any research before we went, I didn’t even know we were going to buy a camera, so we just got the Canon. We don’t actually pick it up until today, so no pics yet. This is the four weekend where we have something to do that impinges on our freedom, so next weekend we will go and do something and put some pics up here. Last night we let Joshua lose in the living room. Up until now he had been in the high chair, the play seat and on the sofa, but not down on the floor. I was fun to watch him zoom around. He loves exploring and having four dogs to zoom around made it even more fun. The dogs’ reaction was interesting. Obviously they have interacted with Joshua for 10 months now, but not on the same level. Ting Ting has been in closer contact with him over the last ten months, and she quickly let it be know that she was not comfortable with this little thing that was as big as her. I think she thinks he does not move with the kind of grace and control she would like. Pan Pan kept licking him. I think she wants Joshua to be hers, no other dog can have him. When Joshua became a bit more adventurous and climbed the stairs, Lucky chaperoned him up the stairs, making sure he was OK. He then seem to follow him around to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble. I don’t worry about Lucky being left alone with Joshua. Lilly just kept out of Joshua’s way. He was way too excited to sleep and kept waking up during the night. We thought he might be hungry, as he didn’t eat his dinner and he didn’t take his bottle before bed. I think he might be teething, but I won’t say for sure until I see those teeth.

Fireworks and Fatigue

Blogging really shouldn't be that difficult, but finding the time to do it is. Last week I was completely knackered, so I didn't post anything. The next month is not looking any better, so I may as well write what I can when I can. Today will be a short post as I was woken at 4.30 when our little angle decided that was the time for him to wake up. I will try to get some rest on the bus before school. I normally take the dogs for a walk at 5.30, so I just took him with me. That way Kelly gets some rest and we spend some time together. I don't always know if this is a good thing because when I put him in his 'baby cage' (his playpen) he started crying. He stopped when Kelly put him on the bed but cried again when I walked out the door. He is very attached to his parents, which I find unusually for a boy who spends a lot of time in the care of others. A note from two days later - It looks like he is just attached to people as he often gives a little cry when he has to say good-bye, I don't know where he gets that from. Joshua had a very exciting weekend. It was the once every three years temple celebration in Kelly's hometown. Lots of family. Lots of fireworks. Lots of noise. He seem to enjoy every minute of it. The fireworks were very loud, but he didn't seem to mind at all. He seem to really enjoy them. He will be held by almost anyone, but seems especially comfortable with young women. Grandma still has the most problems, I still think she tries too hard. I've just had this thought, but maybe an extended period of looking after him will make her more relaxed. He still doesn't have any teeth. Everyone keeps saying, "That's OK," but I am still slightly concerned. He is not walking yet, which is a great relief, but he is very mobile and I am sure that will not be too far away.

Knocks, no scratches

As weekends go it was not the best. I have obviously realized that having a child means your time is not your own, but my darling wife does not always help the situation. I was busy for my birthday so we were going to do something on the weekend. Last weekend was virtually non-existent so it did not need to be anything special, just something more than the ordinary. Last weekend Kelly was in China until late Saturday night and I had to be at school on Sunday. So first thing Friday night Kelly called and said we were going to her mum's house. I had enough time to take Joshua and the dogs for a walk. He is getting more used to his grandma, at first he cried whenever she came near. I think she tries to hard and wants too much. Joshua had a great time. I didn't have time to feed him before we went, but grandma had apples and melon for him. Up until now we have puréed most things for him, but now he wants finger food. Like Maxine said, it's a double whammy. Not only does he get to touch the food and play with it, but he also gets to put it in his mouth, and it taste good. I, on the other hand, was tired, hungry and thirsty, and didn't have nearly as good a time. Getting food and drink at Kelly's mum's is not always easy. I can't just go and get what I want. Kelly and her mum think that I should have what's in the house rather than go get something, and if I do want to get something, her mum can go get it. It's a battle. Saturday night we had to go and help Monica pick out her wedding dresses. Monica lives with us and is our unpaid babysitter. Before you start thinking I have no morals, she wants to look after Joshua and calls herself his aunty. Kelly has great interpersonal skills, which is why she is in sales, and gets people what they want in situations like this. So it was a long night looking at a gazzillion dresses. Joshua was happy and playful as every and spent a lot of time crawling around. He is not interested in his toys and wants to play with things around him. Invariably they end up in his mouth. We went to one room that had a glass wall. Joshua was fascinated by this glass wall and spent a long time checking it out. I was with him the whole time, not surprising when the alternative was looking at dresses. He was checking out the wall by kneeling by the wall and touching it. Every now and again he would check it out using his mouth and his tongue, I guess he just wonders if it tastes as good as it looks. At one point I could tell he wasn't as energetic in his exploration as before and I could tell that he was unsteady. I put my hand on the corner of the wall, but he move his leg and his head hit the wall much lower, and picked up a little bruise on his forehead. Well, he let out a cry and everyone, all five of them looked at him and me with horror on their faces as if his injuries were far worse. That doesn't make me a bad dad. It's a statement, not a question. I think that all that he learned by playing with the glass and bumping his head was worth a little bruise. I have your best interests at heart Joshua.

Cherish the Days

Had a busy day yesterday, not exactly the way I would like to have spent my birthday but I have less and less control over the content of my life. The bus was late so I had to race to get Joshua. Got home and took him and the dogs for a walk. I had forgotten to bring a change of clothes downstairs, so I went out in my work clothes. The walk was nothing unusual, but as we were walking I started singing to Joshua. The songs I like to sing are not the ones he reacts to, so I sang some children's song. He especially likes the ones were I need to jump up and down, so "Roll Over" is a good one. I love the way he laughs out loud when I jump with him. I got home and I only had enough time for a shower before I had to leave to teach my private. Kelly was very late coming home, so I was waiting with Joshua downstairs. When I got home Joshua was already asleep. I only teach my private for two evenings a week, but when I read this entry I think about how it eats my time with him. The sad thing is that the boy I teach came to the open house of our school last Sunday and wants to come. His family had originally come to the open house because of his older brother. ISIS, my school, is one of the best schools in Taiwan, and certainly the best primary school. But the boy I teach will be going into grade six. The other students in his class have had five years experience learning the IB way. It is virtually impossible for him to succeed in our school without assistance. I will probably need to teach him next year as well. I have had people comment about the fact that Kelly and I work so much and he spends his weekdays with a nanny. We cannot afford the luxury of one of us giving up work so a nanny is the best alternative. The thing is that because we do not spend all day with him, we really cherish the time we do spend with him. As he is the only child I do understand that he may become spoilt, but it is such a joy to be with him, and he does love his mum and dad, or at least I think so. He woke up at 2.30 which is unusual for him. Even though I was very tired, it was fun to see him do his routine before he went back to sleep. This morning I tired, as I always do, to leave as quietly as I can to avoid waking them up. However today I had to go back upstairs as Kelly had taken both sets of car keys to the room. With me coming back in a second time and Kelly getting the keys, he woke up. The smile he gives when he sees us is just priceless. 6.30 is a late enough sleep in Kelly.

Moving with Purpose

It was another wonderful night. Nanny Lee took Joshua out for dinner, which was a good thing because the bus was late again. I was home when she brought him around and as I was coming to greet them Joshua started jumping up and down and started squealing he was so happy. Moments like that are special. He did a very similar thing when his mum came home. We often spend time in bed with him before he goes to sleep and he spends that time moving, he doesn't sit still. The scary thing last night was the way he was moving, he was propelling himself with quite a lot of force. Lots of strength and lots of energy. He would try to stand and could balance for increasingly longer periods, he also took a step. He loves moving and this is his play. The nanny said he will probably be walking by the end of the month. SCARY.