Can I touch it?

We had fun yesterday with an empty box. Not just any old box - one with a clear round window, which I initially kept because I thought it would make a good drum. Indeed it did, but then I thought it would be more fun to put something inside. Asher was so curious! He could see his Indian rattle through the little window but couldn't touch it. His response each time was to lean forward and lick the plastic - I guess he was using his mouth to try and figure out what kind of sorcery was going on! Next I put my hand inside the box and drummed on the plastic from underneath. Ash was fascinated and again did the mouth test. I think he kind of gets the idea of glass in doors and windows but this was a bit different.

Today I tried to explain it to him by showing the box sideways so he could see me putting objects in and out. I couldn't get him to reach inside but he did look in and see the toy. Really interesting!

Go, baby, go!

So the other day me and Noah had a blue ice cream. (Cotton candy flavour, by the way - available from a Millie's Cookies stand near you. It was delicious!)

As you can probably tell, Asher was pretty keen to try it. (You may not be able to tell that he is actually in the sling here... no more arms-out wrapping for you, baby boy!)

Of course we let him have a little taste...

He liked it more than this face would suggest. Kept going for more (especially when I was holding it). I decided to try giving him a breadstick to hold instead - and was astonished that he happily devoured that and left us to enjoy our ice cream. Result!

The more long term legacy of this experience, however, is Asher's constant desire to be turned upside down. When he's in the sling now he will, without warning, launch himself backwards. What he wants me to do is bend over and swing him from side to side. This results in a wide-mouthed grin/laugh/squeal of delight, displaying all six (6!) of his tiny teeth (two have only just broken through, so they're *very* tiny).

When not upside down Asher can mostly be found stalking the cat (albeit very inexpertly) and pulling himself into a standing position on anything and everything (including one time Noah's chest hair... ouch). He's discovered that the kitchen cupboards can open and close and is enjoying further investigation of this phenomenon. When he's supposed to be napping he plays peekaboo with the blankets. And he's starting to turn the pages and lift the flaps when we read Dear Zoo to him. He holds our fingers and walks (no, runs!) up and down the corridor and round and round the living room.

Go, baby, go!

Splasher!

Asher had his first swimming lesson today. (I didn't get a picture of that, so here's one of him at dinner time today. Can you guess what we were eating?)

Anyway. Swimming! The changing room was tiny and very hot. The pool, in a local hotel, was likewise small and very warm. When we went in the previous lesson was just finishing so we sat by the pool and watched mums swooshing their toddlers up and down in the water. Then it was time to get in!

Asher started splashing the moment we stepped down into the water. I don't think he really stopped for the duration of the 30 minute lesson. Whatever activity we did his hands or his legs (and sometimes both) were getting me and him both as wet as possible.

That may be a slight exaggeration. He did hold onto the side, and he grabbed some of the toys that were used as part of the lesson. One thing we had to do was say "Ready, go!" then pour water over the babies' heads. Ash took this pretty well - he didn't cry - but he did make a kind of little gulping noise (like he does when he's drinking water and gets too much in his mouth).

Getting changed after the lesson was challenging. Asher was clearly exhausted and starving hungry after his exertions and wanted feeding RIGHT NOW. In the end I carried him screaming from the changing room, only half dressed, got my shoes on in the lobby and took him into the hotel bar for some milk. (To clarify... I supplied the milk). After a longish feed (a whole five minutes!) he was chirpy and cheery again. He had a nap in the sling on the way home and was surprisingly cuddly for a few minutes when we got back. He's been his usual gregarious self for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Hoping he sleeps well tonight!

Eight Months!

Asher is eight months old. It's hard to get a sharp photo of him because he's so determined to be moving All The Time. He has four teeth - the two bottom ones you can see in the photo above, and two top ones which are either side of the front two. He's pretty darn good at using them as well. And I don't just mean on his food. When he gets bored (or is teething, or hungry) he likes to stuff whichever part of me or Noah is closest into his mouth and bite. It hurts!

As you can see, he's a bit intimidating at times.

He loves his food. The messier the better. He's starting to learn to pick up small objects (like peas) - he kind of does a pincer movement with his thumb and his forefinger, but the rest of his hand likes to get involved as well. He can eat individual rice crispies and pieces of sweetcorn - but he really prefers them from a spoon (I load them on, usually with the aid of something sticky like yoghurt, and Asher takes it from there).

This is Asher's play corner in the lounge. He'll play happily by himself for a few minutes - although now that he's getting more mobile he tends to escape, wriggling across the floor towards the cat, or towards any power cables that Noah and I have failed to put out of sight. At the moment Ash really enjoys playing peekaboo - he does a really cute kind of monosyllabic giggle at each peep. I *think* he's starting to play it himself too because a couple of times he's put a blanket over his face then whipped it away quickly and grinned. But that might just be coincidence.

Asher is learning a 'proper' crawl...

... but wriggling is so much quicker when you spot someone's discarded apple juice carton on the grass and want to get to it before Daddy notices.

Of course there's always the grass itself to munch on. Delicious.

Mummy's shiny camera looks tasty too.

Asher loves to giggle:

He loves to wriggle and roll around:

He really really likes to walk around whilst we hold his hands (and he's getting pretty good at it). If possible he wants to be standing up, and he's starting to pull himself up on the coffee table and his highchair:

About to have a go at standing up, Asher spots the cat across the room and is torn between two favourite activities.

He enjoys going on the swings at the park (although the slide isn't quite such a hit). But his favourite activity there is undoubtedly watching the other children in the playground. He'll watch them for absolutely ages.

Asher enjoys most of the books we read to him regularly (when he isn't trying to chew on them). He seems to enjoy being tickled (does anyone *actually* enjoy being tickled? He certainly laughs a lot). Bath times are still a favourite and he frequently scares me by insisting on lying on his tummy in the water, which usually ends in him swallowing some in a scary gulpy way. But if I had to pick a defining characteristic at the moment, it would be his constant need to be mobile. I only really get cuddles when he's asleep... awake, he's a ball of muscle with no sense of fear and buckets of determination. Oh, and the cutest smile you ever did see.

Lakey Goodness

Of course the Lake District isn't all mountains! We had some fun times messing about on lakes as well - and here are the photos to prove it.

The top end of Windermere

On the Monday Noah and I decided to take the little one for his first ever boat trip. We didn't think that canoes or rowing boats would be a good idea with a baby as lively and uncomprehending of danger as Asher, so we bought tickets for the launch from Ambleside to Bowness.

Asher joyfully anticipates his first boat ride

It was an extremely sunny day. We'd all got very hot and tired going up Loughrigg the previous afternoon, so a relaxed sort of day was in order.

Asher did eventually wake up and enjoyed the second half of the boat ride. He stared down at the wake, tried to eat the entire boat, charmed the people sitting opposite us and repeatedly pulled his sunhat off. All in a day's work for baby!

People were paddling in the water when we got back to the head of the lake. I did take Asher down to get his feet wet, but he wasn't very excited about it.

Later in the week we paid a couple of visits to Rydal Water. This is my New Favourite Place, and definitely my favourite lake! It's the perfect size, in the perfect surroundings - and it even has a cave!

The Perfect Family?

The first visit was fairly short. We had time to paddle but not to swim, and Asher was asleep for most of it. I had a wonderful time though!

Couldn't do this with a pushchair...

On the second trip we did some swimming...

The boys did eventually join us in the water

Asher had a paddle...

And we found the cave!

We are in this picture... but maybe you'll have to take my word for it.

Yet another lovely day out in the Lake District!

Up Coniston

I had so many Lake District pictures (many of them taken by my lovely father - thanks Dad!) that I couldn't even fit them into one post. So to start off with, here's an account of what was perhaps our most exciting adventure: ascending the Old Man of Coniston.

(For the record, the others did do a couple of Crazy Luke Walks taking in about 17 peaks each and lasting from dawn until dusk, but this was the most strenuous expedition we felt like undertaking with Asher. And we didn't even carry him all the way!)

As you can see, we had lovely weather: dry, with clouds that stayed just above us for the entire climb. It was warm, but not too hot (as it had been on the preceding days). We parked the car fairly high up to make our ascent easier. This is not cheating when you are carrying a baby!

We took the 'tourist track', described by Wainwright as the most boring route possible up the Old Man. But we found it really quite interesting: beautiful views, and lots of abandoned quarrying machinery to intrigue us. There was one point where these massive steel cables wound their way across the path and up the mountainside. We had to climb under them (or go around if, like Edward here, you were carrying the baby backpack). Although I would have liked to take Asher up in the sling I don't think I would have managed to carry him all the way (it was hard enough getting myself up there) - especially as he's been resisting back carries. So thanks Uncle Ned for getting the baby to the top!

How to earn Uncle Points #2

We had a few stops for Mummy Cuddles on the way up though. This was the highest altitude at which I have breastfed my baby! (Hmm, unless you count the aeroplane to Florida).

As we got to the top, Mum realised it was about 30 years since she and Dad had first climbed the Old Man together. They have a photo of the two of them at this very trigpoint.

Asher had just woken up (having missed the most exciting part of the ascent!) so he was a bit confused at first. It was also very windy on top. The result of which was that he actually stayed still in my arms and let me cuddle him! That never happens! Despite the beautiful views we didn't hang around for long - didn't want the baby to get cold. Plus, Luke had offered to buy everyone tea in the teashop if we could get back to Ambleside for 3pm. So we took a few photos...

... and raced back down! Here's a picture of Mum looking very intrepid:

And guess what? We actually made it back to Ambleside in time for tea! Luke has been making similar promises for about the last ten years and this was the first time we arrived at the stipulated destination by the specified time. Apart from that one occasion when the tearoom was closed. There's no picture of it but I had a lovely cheese scone. Thanks, Luke!

Favourite Foods

Oh wow. It's September already.

I have a bit more to write about our wonderful Lake District holiday - but I need to wait until I have access to all the good photos before I do that post. So in the meantime, here's a quick description of what it's like eating dinner with Ash at seven months.

Enjoying Thai green curry with noodles, back in July

His favourite foods are probably pear and nectarine. Sweet, soft, juicy and delicious! To the extent that I can't eat either fruit if I'm within his reach, because he will take it from me and devour it himself. The boy definitely has a sweet tooth (surprise surprise...) - the occasional taste of ice cream has gone down a treat, and whilst we were away he had his first biscuit. It was a malted milk. He usually makes a bit of a mess, drops some bits, and leaves the last little piece that was concealed in his hand whilst he was eating. But that biscuit? He did not drop a single crumb!

Omelettes are a savoury favourite. I don't know if it's because they're so easy to eat? I've tended to make them for him when we don't have much fresh stuff in the house because it's a good way for him to eat the things we usually have in the freezer (spinach, peas and sweetcorn). His fine motor skills are improving but he's still not quite up to picking individual peas off his tray and putting them in his mouth.

Vegetables were really popular when he first began this eating business, but these days he's a bit less keen, preferring bread, rice cakes, crumpets, rice crispies, risotto, rice... hmmm, I'm spotting a theme here! He will give them a go though, especially babycorn, tomato and pepper. Cooked carrots are good for eating; raw ones for chewing on when there's a tooth coming through.

Generally though Ash will try most things. The only thing I've given him that he hasn't even tried putting in his mouth is mushroom (and honestly, who can blame him?) and I think how much he eats really depends what mood he's in or how hungry he is. Unless it's nectarine, of course. Asher is always in the mood for a nice juicy nectarine.