I can eat!

Now Noah has teeth (well, two so far anyway) he just wants to eat everything. We decided to show him that you don't just need to eat blankets, teddy bears, hair, fingers or anything else within reach, you can eat food as well. 

Noah loves food.

A first glimpse of Noah's teeth

It turns out, Noah doesn't really like showing his teeth off. Whenever he realises we are talking about them, he closes his mouth up and refuses to open up. Today we were sat out in the garden in the searing heat (there is no irony there we applied layers of factor 60) and Cheryl and I were trying to find a way to trick Noah into opening his mouth so we could get a good picture of them. Eventually, Cheryl cracked it. "Noah!" she said, excitedly, "your room is finished!"

Boom! And there were his teeth!

We can't wait to brush 'em.

Man of action

The boring bird park

We decided to take Noah to the tropical bird park to get a gauge on his interest levels (plus we were going anyway and it's free for Noah, so seems silly not to take him).

Not only was Noah not interested but he seemed a bit annoyed to even be there. He had a point though, the birds had just been fed and so were not really interested in the nuts that we had brought. The only interest the birds paid, was in biting our skin and a hole through Stephens jacket. He was not happy and showed the birds what they could do with the damn nuts.

Coming soon: Noah's new bedroom

When we told Noah his room was being decorated, he could'nt contain his excitement.

We told him that he would have to sleep in mummy and daddy's bed whilst we tried to decorate as quickly as possible.

We gave him a sneaky peak so far, but told him he would have to sleep more if he wants it done.

To be continued...

Another first for Noah (and us)

Whilst we were away, we had several very involved conversations about the nuclear threat from North Korea. Noah had some very interesting views. It was at this point that, from the McGee's living room, in the spectacular views overlooking the Clyde, Cheryl spotted a submarine. We looked through the binoculars at it and saw that it was busy with people and other boats that seemed to be escorting it to the port. A few hours later, Noah was watching the news and drew all of our attention to the story on it. It turns out that the submarine was one with David Cameron in, doing a promotion for this whole Trident debate. We essentially saw a submarine and, technically, loosely the Prime Minister.

It's a shame because Noah had a number of questions about the policies Cameron is bringing it. Noah would have had him sprawling on a pin.

Trip to the McGees part 3

Whilst we were on the Isle of Bute, we aall had a fantastic time. The weather was spectacular, the views all around were stunning and Noah loved spending time with his Grandparents. He even touched a horse.

Trip to see the McGees part 2

The ferry. Noah loved the ferry. He particularly enjoyed this photograph because he said, "Daddy, the more I look at that picture, the more your body looks like that of a dwarf." He has a point.

Then he demanded that his mummy take him outside to look at the sea. Cheryl, still racked with guilt, had no real choice but to comply.

Trip to see the McGees part 1

This week, we took Noah up to Scotland for a trip to see the McGees. He had been excited ever since we told him about the trip and, since he has no real concept of days yet, he was asking us every three hours or so, "Mummy, when are we going up to Scotland?" When the day finally came, we couldn't shut him up - he just wouldn't stop talking about all the things he wanted to do when we got there.

First, we had the mammoth 7 and a half hour journey. Noah was good as gold, all things considered. He slept a lot, and when he was awake, he spent most of the journey talking to himself. Trouble struck half way when, from the front seat, Cheryl tried to take a picture of Noah in his car seat in the back...and then dropped the iPad. Noah cried briefly but was soon chatting away to himself again. When we stopped, there was a little bruise under his eye (the first in his life). Cheryl cried. More than Noah did.

When we got to Wemyss Bay, we had to take the ferry - again, the first in Noah's life. We sat in a pub killing the time before our ferry, and he was charming a Scottish woman who was in there. "What is she saying?" asked Noah, honestly.

 Part one, comprete.

Simply pictures (lazy blogging)

Kiss mah teefs

We know how controversial this post may be insofar as we have shunned every comment so far that Noah might be teething. This has been suggested for several weeks since Noah started chewing his hands a lot and dribbling all over the place. Well, about a week ago, we noticed his cheek had begun to go red. He had been a little more restless in the early evenings but otherwise a very good boy indeed. Then, on the journey down to Scotland, Noah was biting my finger and I felt two sharp little gnashers. That's right, our boy got teefs!

The Gee Gees

Noah loves it at the Gee Gees. "It smells funny round there," he says with s smile, "But I like Great Grandma and Great Grandad's stories." He thought about it before adding, "And I like it when Tally and Charlie bark." With that said, he demanded we take him round there or he would "Scream the house down."

We obliged.

Impossibly beautiful

Being biased, we are always going to say how ridiculousy, insanely, impossibly beautiful our boy is. But he is.   Here is the proof of this beauty in all its glory:

Noah's book review: I want my hat back - by Jon Klassen

The premise for this epochal story is simple and told on page one: "My hat is gone. I want it back." The protagonist, a bear, whose name we never learn, sets the scene. The power in the simplicity of the two opening simple sentences is telling. This is a character who knows what he wants and we get the sense that he will do anything to get it back.

As the story goes, the bear confronts a number of different characters and asks for any details that may reunite him with his hat. With each character he meets and each negative response he gets, the audience is invited to share in his ever-spiralling despair. Despite this, we are shown a warm and selfless side to the main character. A tortoise, who cannot help him with any clues about his hat's whereabouts, we learn, has, "Been trying to climb [a] rock" all day. Seeing an opportunity to aid the stranger, he immediately offers to lift him on top of the rock. Klassen has not missed a trick here. His protagonist had, up to this point, been proven to be rather two dimensional. This act of kindness develops the bear into a more complicated, three dimensional character. There is more than meets the eye to this bear and, as a reader, you can't get through the pages fast enough to learn more about him. What else motivates this guy? What pushes his buttons?

The bear reaches breaking point and when all seems lost, the deer is a beacon of light and wisdom, encouraging the bear to solve the mystery of the missing hat himself. Klassen's deer is to the bear what Obi-wan Kanobe was to Luke Skywalker, and I dare say, in time, he could become just as iconic.

Without giving too much of the roller-coaster plot line away, I will say that the surprise of the plot twist will hit you like a freight train. You will, I guarantee, be left wide mouthed and breathless at the climax and conclusion to this tale.

The verdict: it makes it onto Noah's Ark: 5 stars. A rip-roaring story that you simply have to have on your bookshelf. I make my mummy and daddy read it to me dead loads.