autumn clothing

It's so nice to be able to get out the autumn clothing Bernard was given this summer.

Can I take the hat off now?

Hand knitted cotton cardigan

quiche

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/6293/leek-mushroom-and-gruyre-quiche

This is the quiche I based mine on, though I did more than merely adjust things...  I wrote the ingredients on a piece of paper, then realised I only had half quantities of flour... used onions instead of leeks and reserved a quarter for Bernard with ham and cheese ... realised I didn't have a rolling pin and pressed out the pastry by hand... doubled the eggs, halved the cream... ok I pretty much ignored the recipe but it worked out delicious.  The mushrooms are a very delicate kind a bit like shiitake in shape.  And the quiche is very thin rather like the Tarte Flambee we had in Strasbourg one time.   I used every pan in the house but it was worth it.  And I look forward to seeing if Bernard will croon, "Pie!" over it as he did the other day in JOMA cafe when he enthusiastically ate bits of pumpkin pie and quiche in alternating mouthfuls.

growth spurt

At the moment it seems (touch wood) that Bernard is opting to include food as part of his lifestyle.  He is eating a lot.  This morning he consumed half a bagel, then at lunch a plate of pasta, a bowl of baked beans, a banana and a slice of cake.  For dinner he had a large bowlful of peas and more bagel with cheese and tomatoes.   Yesterday I watched him eat most of a 3,000 dong serving of sticky rice.  Most adults can only manage 4,000 for breakfast.  I'd intended it for two meals but he just kept on eating, making happy xoi noises and stuffing it in.  Last week he consumed 3 bananas in a day.  The day before yesterday I had to limit his tangerine consumption to five per meal.  But shhhh, as it may well not last.

Bernard, sitting in his high chair:  "Poopoo."
I check his nappy.  Nothing in there.
Bernard, again: "Poopoo."
We try giving him everything on the table: jam, juice, milk.  Nope.
Again: "Poopoo."
Bib off?  We take it off but he still points at the table.  "Poopoo."
Oh.  Finally I get it.  "Peepo!"   I lift the chosen title from a pile of books right at the end of the table.

I'm off to attempt quiche. Wish me luck.

Thailand 3

Nicholas took a great number of these pictures trying to capture the beauty of the spider and the drama of its conflict with the ants.

Should this child be modelling for John Lewis?

Our squawky, biscuit-crumby, wriggly journey back to Bangkok.  There was a misunderstanding regarding AM and PM at the park HQ, so our pickup didn't arrive at 5am.  However, despite the late start, the long bus ride and slow taxi ride to the airport, we still JUST made our plane.  We only sweated a little bit - we must have had a good holiday to be so relaxed.

Thailand 2

Our bungalow was 1km from the HQ.  There were a number of semi-domesticated animals living there including this spectacular giant hornbill.  As you can see it's not very shy. 

This was not the only creature that lived there.  We also met sambar, porcupine and macaques who frequented the litterbins outside the bungalows.  On the last night, Bernard and I were outside the bungalow getting ready to eat takeaway Pad Thai.  Bernard had just had his bath and was stark naked.   Suddenly the cute monkey sitting on the hill started striding purposefully towards us.  I called to Nicholas but he was in the shower.  Before I knew it I had retreated with Bernard into the bungalow and locked the door.  One of the packs of noodles happened to be in my hand but I had left the other on the table - the monkey casually jumped onto our deck and ran off with the noodles, the next-door-neighbours in hot and noisy pursuit.  It was rather frightening and I was glad to be inside our cosy hut with at least half our supper intact.

Getting ready to go out took a lot of time and patience.

Bernard likes walking along roads but doesn't always like holding hands.  "Khong", no, is our favourite word at the moment.

A challenging method of getting across the ''wet'', as Bernard calls it.

Thailand 1

Playing in the Discovery Mall.  It's getting late and there is nowhere to eat.  In the end we have Dim Sum.  Bernard likes the pineapple juice and the noodles but makes a huge mess and a gigantic noise.  He's terribly overtired and it's only the first day of our holiday.  Nicholas has an upset stomach.

Hooray, we found something Bernard likes to eat: yellow tofu.   We're at Chatuchak market where Hannah got a whole hour to shop.  The best stall was the imitation Birkenstock stall.  It's definitely time for a nap.

AAAhhh!  Bernard does not like the wind in his face on our pickup ride to the national park HQ.

But we saw monkeys!

Aubrey, Bernard and the Doggy Cart

This is the kind of thing Bernard gets up to when I'm at my Wednesday staff meetings

elephant or giraffe?

Bernard argues with his daddy about the definition of various animals quite a lot.  In this clip Bernard decides that a giraffe is actually an elephant, and then has something very important to say about a hippo.

busy baby

At Tumble Tots. Laura (Chilean) at the end of the tunnel

Bernard fancies someone else's shoes

Bubble Time

Hanoi's 1000th birthday celebrations are hotting up - here Bernard takes a stroll around a floral clock.

words

It's so exciting listening to Bernard's vocabulary developing.  Since he left England, he has slowly been adding to the list of words he can use, and he talks 'nonsense' much less of the time.  Let's list all the things Bernard can 'say', because before long the list will be too long to list, if you see what I mean.  These are words he can say spontaneously, eg. we'll walk down our alley and he'll say 'chicken' because he remembers we saw chickens there once.

Actual words (in order of appearance):

Doggy (doddy)
Mummy
Daddy
Bye-bye, bye
Up (bup)
Down (dow)
Poo-poo
Water (data)
Strawberry (da-doo)
Bear
Ba (Vietnamese for grandma)
Beans (zzz)
Cheese (tzz)
Tomato (ta -to)
Ball  (bo)
Baby  (bubby)
Di (Vietnamese for go)
Banana (nana)
Dudu (Vietnamese for papaya)
Chicken (dittin)
Fan  (fay)
Bath (baba)
Nappy (bappy)
Butterfly (bai)


Combinations:
It's a .... (plus anything)
Sit down/get down
Up-down
Bye-bye Daddy
Broom-broom Mama  (meaning Mummy's motorbike - note the Vietnamese word order)

Sound effects:
Peepo (dat-da)
Woof woof
Grrr
Roar (similar)
Twit twoo
Broom broom
Hop-hop (pop-pop)
Baa
Eeek eek
Boom!
Beep beep
Quack quack (dat-dat)
Cockadoodledoo (doo doo)
Choo choo
Buck- buck
Moo (boo)



I'm sure I've forgotten quite a few but in writing the list I've noticed how we've picked up quite a few just this week.  There was a rather long delay after we got back from England where Bernard consolidated all the words he knew and came up with his first combination.   It's also interesting that in that delay period Bernard picked up several Vietnamese words.  Also the way he uses all these words all of the day... meaning the list pretty much describes Bernard's cute little worldview at the moment.  Just know that most of the day is spent repeating 'broom broom' and 'ball'.  The sound effects get quite a workout too.

playing at the pool with my car

This is a bit old but I thought you'd like the storyline.

at last a new post

Our friends and former housmates Tui and Khanh just got married. Tui's mum was there and his uncle Joe, as well as a lot of my former colleagues. A really special occasion and we were so glad that by chance Nicholas met them in the street and they invited us to the wedding. We've known them since they were first going out, and through many ups and downs.

We went to play at a different "baby parade" from usual: the one every evening by the statue of Ly Thai To. It's quite an extreme social occasion for children and prepares them for negotiating the chaos of Hanoi traffic! Can you spot Bernard?

At an Office Rice restaurant (one step up from People's Rice) in the centre of town. It was surprisingly nicely appointed once you got inside, and the food was to B's satisfaction.

Brighton pics

Bernard showing early signs of print concept

The light fitting in the kitchen proved to be popular with Anjelica and Bernard

Uncle Edward and Bernard at Devil's Dyke, Brighton

More photos of England

Bernard and Oscar, Ben and I had a rendezvous at St James' Park in the morning.  Duckies, squirrels and Oscar were all popular with Bernard - but the Noisy Vehicles book still came in handy

Sea Life in Brighton

Grandma Anna and Grandpa Mark try to dip Bernard in the Channel

At the swings in Brighton

England summer 10

Imogen and Kristin at Bernard's party

Bernard wearing a towel given to him by Francesco's grandmother Sofia

Alice's graduation

birthday candles

first birthday party

bernard getting excited about the paddling pool

working on a technical issue with baby andy

opening his birthday cards with daddy

little bao anh (Chi Nhung's daughter) is not impressed by Bernard's Jonny Ball impression

Hoi An

MC Bernard hits Hoi An

Bernard loved jamming with passers-by on his new guitar

On a very hot afternoon an inspiration struck me to take B to the Hoi An History Museum. It was a sorry affair with a couple of cannons and some coins, but had a nice child-level fishpond.

bernard makes a friend within the hustle and bustle of the airport

holidays begin

it is RAINING.  Not just average rain but raining so hard that you can barely see the lake from here, and the starfruit tree in the neighbour's garden is tossing around like a mad rocker.  It's rumbling with thunder and flashing with lightning.  Last night there was another big storm just like this with less rain and more lightning.  There was one big crack and the power went out, not to return till three the following afternoon.  It didn't matter that much because the lightning was so bright I could see to brush my teeth etc.  I opened the door after the storm was over and allowed the breeze to flow into the room.

Oh gosh I'd better post this before the storm cuts the internet again!

Plans for the holidays

A short Google search has yielded a surprising amount of stuff to do MY side of the river.  It seems South Londoners these days take parenting very seriously, whereas North londoners are too busy to blog!!
Things it might be fun to do this summer:  (looks an awful lot funner than last summer already)


The London Aquarium


Vauxhall City Farm

Battersea Park Children's Zoo

The Horniman Museum

Science museum Basement garden

Coram's Fields petting zoo 93 Guildford st

Mudlarks at the Museum in Docklands

Hamleys Toy Store

Toddler soft Play in Peckham Pulse and Peckham Library

Sand areas and ducks in St James Park

Francis Peak Community Centre, Dulwich Park Tues am/pm: monkey Music

sleep

Last night baby slept through from 7.30pm till 3.30am!!!!   This is the longest he has ever slept, since before the night waking began at three months.  When he had colic before that, he would scream till 10 then sleep through till 6. 

I'm exhausted though, because as usual when he sleeps well I don't.  And it is the end of the school year and everyone is exhausted. 

Yesterday B and I went to the park and played football with a rather grumpy two-year old.  We then went home and Bernard ate liquidised vegetable stew.  (I know - he is back on the mush it seems.)  We had a brief and unhappy bathtime and then read Giraffes Can't Dance for the third time that day.

It's doggy doggy doggy at the moment.  It's the first thing he says in the morning and the nanny says he is still listening for dog barks in the neighbourhood as he drifts off for his nap.  He runs to the doggy picture as soon as he can in the morning.  The other thing is Beep Beep!  We're very excited about the remotes from the fan and the air conditioning, which do indeed beep when you press the buttons.  If you listen carefully in the video I just posted, you can hear Bernard at the beginning saying Doggy,  Woof Woof.

Bernard's toothy grin

teethsleeptoads

bernard has been working on pushing out the top two teeth.   Nights are much better since I read Dr Marc Weissbluth's book Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Baby.    Now, thanks to the strategies outlined in the book I have been cutting down on the night feeds and Bernard is much easier to get to sleep.   On the night of our farewell gig for Julianne Bernard slept right through while the babysitter was looking after him, i.e. from 8pm to 1am.  This is now pretty normal.  He still feeds at 1, at 4 and at 6 when we wake up.    When he wakes at other times  I tell him to be quiet and go to sleep without even getting up out of bed.  A LOT better than the two-hourly feeds we were used to till recently, and MUCh better than waking up to 20 times a night when he was younger and hungrier. 
he is very talkative and communicative now... even though his vocabulary seems to have shrunk since the spring break, back to Doggy and Woof Woof.   Today he and Aubrey had a little play at school, because I forgot my pump valve, and Aubrey was visiting mum anyway.  So Mindy and I both tried to feed in her room but it was far too exciting for either of them.  Aubrey is an excellent sound mimic, and does maa and growl, moo and roar expertly.  Bernard seemed to copy her roar and I can occasionally get him to roar like a lion these days.  He loves the lion on his little tee shirt and is always looking down at it when he wears it.
We went to the lakeside today and there was a puppy!  Bernard loved it but it played too hard and so he lost interest in it.  He liked watching the older boys Maxim and Arthur playing plastic golf... they were rather distracted by a toad they found jumping in the grass, though; it was a funny game to watch.

Weekend in Bach Ma

We had a special connection from WWF who organised for us to go on a trip up the hill to Bach Ma National Park. The park is currently closed to visitors because they are 'fixing the road'. What we had imagined was a short section of roadworks, but no. The entire ten kilometres of road up to the top of the hill is currently being worked on simultaneously by multiple workgroups. Our ride up the hill was the park fire truck, and the driver some sort of ex army guy who made light work of driving over huge piles of sand and being-mixed cement. This pic is the one time we actually had to stop to remove a couple of piles of rocks from our way. When we got to the top, we found we didn't have the place to ourselves. A large party from the US Air Force were taking advantage of the closure to look for persons missing in action. They told us they could not divulge much at this stage.


Testing the water at a stream

A handsome lady frog

Bernard was pretty tired after all the travelling. Here he relaxes against the pane of a cabinet selling kewpie dolls (is that what those are called?) at Danang Airport.

in 700 characters or fewer...

Blog has suffered first from husband's presence, then from his absence....
I have been Told I should get into Twitter.  But first I need a BlackBerry don't I?

Anyway...  the baby walked and talked.  Two steps, and 'doggy' mainly.   Then he forgot how.

I have a piccie or two. 

I am in recovery from being over-concise - the limit for our reports is 700 characters!   I've just ticked complete on the last one.

buti- ful babble

Today was such a day.  Bernard's language is developing rapidly at the moment.  Though he still hasn't said any intelligible words, he is starting to imitate sounds.  His imitations do not bear much resemblance to the sounds he's aiming for, but they often share common elements.  Sometimes he says "Ba" for bye-bye, or "tata".  It's confusing for me, however, because his babble often sounds like real words.  Each day brings us a new set of syllables for experimentation and improvisation; today was brought to us largely by the word "Buti", which means "suck breast" in Vietnamese!  (you can imagine my confusion.)  Whenever he sees something he likes, however, he says something like "Diddy" or "ditty" or "daddy".  Especially animals.  Today he pointed to a cat in the book "Peepo" and said "Diddy" very loudly.  The monkey in Linh's room is definitely called "diddy".
But he is suddenly so much more communicative, bossing me around by moving my hand to do things, asking for things, initiating games.  This evening I was rather surprised as he was in his bath;  I had forgotten to put the non-slip mat in the bath and was holding his thighs as he was kneeling; I was afraid he would slip.  He pulled off my hands and pointed to the bathmat on the wall, then stood up to let me stick it to the bottom of the bath so he could frolic around in non-slip comfort.

the hungry caterpillar

Bernard's Menu:
breakfast:  a few cereal flakes and a miniscule bite of apple 
lunch: about 4 pasta spirals with pureed red pepper-tomato sauce
tea: a third of a square of chocolate sponge and a cube of watermelon
dinner:   a tablespoon of rice,  a piece of fried fish, a small cube of paneer and a teeny bite of tomato


Yesterday about 2pm I was so hungry - so much cooking for the baby I totally forgot to make myself anything to eat.  And he wasn't really eating anyway.  In desperation I ordered greedily from Foodshop 45:  a paneer tikka kebab, dal, a fish curry, rice and a paratha.   As I sat in the easy chair in the kitchen, stuffing my face, a little head popped up beside me and looked very interested in what I was doing.  So I popped some rice in his mouth, thinking it would come straight out again.  It didn't.  That little head popped up again and again with a cheeky grin, opening its mouth for more each time, and was also quite happy to try little cubes of paneer.

See menu for today's efforts.  What an amazing day of transformation.

I'm hoping tonight he lets me have just a little bit of sleep!