28/52 2018

Week 28
9 - 15 July



Here we are again, at a local park, having a good clamber around. This elephant bench is because of a local circus in the 19th century which included elephants who used to be taken to this part of the river to wash.

It occurs to me that maybe I should mention that yes, England did have a heatwave this summer, and no, I am not stupid or cruel to put Jamie in a long-sleeved hoodie and long trousers and socks. Our response to the heatwave was to move the daily routine forward to start earlier in the morning, so we could go out and do things, gradually shedding layers as the day warmed up. Then after lunch the Mama And Jamie Vest And Pants Club could have a good long nap through the hottest part of the day.

27/52 2018

Week 27
2 - 8 July



If there was ever a tree that grew for toddlers to climb, it is this one.

26/52 2018

Week 26
25 June - 1 July



A lot of new housing has gone up around our area recently, and with it, new playgrounds. Access is bobbins and parking non-existent, so I've only seen this one on drive-bys. But Steve made a point of taking Jamie up there as many summer evenings as possible, and they always had a brilliant time.

24/52 2018

Week 24
11 - 17 June



We've always taken Jamie to cafes and restaurants with us, and he usually behaves himself extremely well. He doesn't really need a high chair any more, but we give him the choice and sometimes he prefers to have one, possibly because on a normal dining chair he has to keep switching between sitting and kneeling to comfortably reach his food and drink. The novelty of outdoor tables was a source of endless fascination to him this summer. He also rediscovered a love of veggie sticks which has to get me at least fifty Smug Mummy points - he went off them for a while once he no longer needed them as teething aids.

21/52 2018

Week 21
21 - 27 May



Jamie is good at climbing and is steadily gaining confidence. He's also good at recognising and testing his limits - going a little bit higher, then checking he can get back down, then a little higher again. Meanwhile I am getting better at a kind of meditation where I tell myself to give him space, and that if he does fall he will most likely just bruise and learn, and if he does need to go to hospital at any point, social services do not swoop down with child protection orders for parentally supervised kids falling off council-maintained play equipment.

There is a second picture for this week, because it was our wedding anniversary:



I am so happy that we have kept up with the anniversary picture-within-picture thing. We have prints of the current year plus the original wedding picture stuck to our fridge.

19/52 2018

Week 19
7 - 13 May



This is Jamie's first go on his first bike. It's a balance bike, which means no pedals - the idea is that the rider can scoot themselves along with their feet and get used to the balance and steering of a bike, without having to manage pedals as well.

Jamie particularly loves this bike because he got to help build it. By which we mean, the store we bought it from are happy to get it out of the box, put the wheels on, get it all adjusted, pump the tyres, etc, and Jamie got to be right up close while that was going on.

I do know the helmet isn't quite properly adjusted. Jamie is patient by two year old standards but he has his limits. It took another few tries before it was right.

18/52 2018

Week 18
30 April - 6 May



There's a lot going on in this picture, but it's a pretty accurate depiction of most of our summer mornings. Jamie doing experiments with water, mostly to do with how differently water behaves compared to the sand that's usually in that play set. The camper van tent, a prize for sustained achievement on the potty training front. The picnic blanket that became the preferred location for eating meals for the summer. The scooter, the red car, the orange dump truck, the pavement chalk... I think we took full advantage of having outdoor space this summer.

34/52 2017

Week 34
21 - 27 August



I bought Jamie this lovely little beach/water play outfit. Lightweight, UV resistant, suitable for wearing in and out of the water. Sadly what with one thing and another, this was the only time he wore it - at a water playground where most of the water appeared to have been switched off. Not that he minded, there were still plenty of things to twiddle, but he was a bit bemused by having his clothes changed first!

33/52 2017

Week 33
14 - 20 August



A slight cheat as this was taken on 13 August, but it's one of only a few photos where he's really looking at the camera. We were out for a drive with Daddy and had stopped for an impromptu picnic. It was a good day.

32/52 2017

Week 32
07 - 13 August



An English summer has to include a certain amount of rain, but to a boy with a bright yellow raincoat and dinosaur wellies, that's not going to stop him poking the world with a stick.

31/52 2017

Week 31
31 July - 06 August



At the beginning of August Jamie had his first haircut. We went to a small local hairdresser who specialises in toddlers and also autistic children - very relaxed, very calm, very much working around the child's needs. It went incredibly well. I'm half tempted to ask the guy to cut my hair!

We got a certificate and the baby curls in a little baggie. I was warned that it might feel sad but really it was just another proud growing-up moment. The only thing I miss is being able to fiddle with the curls during a feed!

29/52 2017

Week 29
17 - 23 July

We visited quite a few parks and playgrounds over the summer. This is one of our favourites, in Stratford upon Avon. Jamie is still developing the ability and confidence for climbing, but sandpits and Things That Twiddle are always acceptable!

25/52 2017

Week 25
19 - 25 June



At Burton Dasset, climbing a steep hill with the aid of daddy. He probably would have managed on his own, but we didn't quite have the confidence to let him scamper freely. It won't be long now, though.

24/52 2017

Week 24
12 - 18 June



Jamie's confidence and physical ability are continuing to expand, which is an absolute joy to watch. Admittedly his attempt at this cargo net was not entirely successful in terms of getting to the top. The difficulty is a philosophical one; instead of tackling it incrementally and climbing one row at a time, he wants to make a single big step of about three rows and then feels frustrated that he doesn't have the leverage to bring the rest of his body up. As soon as he wraps his head around the theory, he'll be away.

21/52 2017

Last week saw Jamie's first barbecue party.



He had a terrific time running around, and we got home with neither sunburn nor food poisoning, so it was a success... better than that though, it was actually quite relaxing. Of course it was at someone else's house and that always helps.

15/52 2017

This week's picture skims the wire for being "this week" as it was taken last weekend on the day of wonderful sunshine. But I love it and I really wanted it to be part of this record.



The hat was purchased on holiday, on the day of the trip to the beach. If you ask Jamie where a hat goes he will proudly clasp his hands to his head, while saying something that might be "hat" or might be "head" but is certainly in the right ballpark. However there's a difference between understanding that a hat goes on your head, and actually keeping one there. Winter hats are fine, but I think he finds it hard to see the point of a summer hat. What with the vast increase in his mobility I think assisting Hat Management may have to be added to my PAs job description.

38/52

This week was (probably) the last heatwave of the summer, with "heatwave" being defined in our house as the gro-egg being angry red sad face at bedtime, or to put it in non-baby terms, over 24c/75f indoors at 9pm.

Which means it's probably also been the last outing for Jamie's paddling pool. It's not really what I would think of as a paddling pool - it's more like a puddle - but with an inflatable sunshade and an inch of water it's a good way to cool him down on a hot day.



Purchased at the start of the summer, the first time Jamie went in it he couldn't really crawl and was only just getting the hang of unsupported sitting for any length of time. It was strange to think of that while watching this strong, confident little boy who at 11 months sits upright without even thinking about it, crawls and furniture-walks anywhere he pleases, and is on the verge of being able to walk unsupported. Just one summer has seen incredible developments.

36/52

Daddy and Jamie this week, going out in what is teasingly referred to as daddy's shiny red sports car.



Steve never desperately wanted a convertible, red or otherwise. But with the big sensible Vauxhall Zafira Family Car containing ramps and powerchair and isofix baby-seat base being needed by me and Jamie every day, a second car was required for him to get to and from work, and this was what came up within budget, mostly because it's too old to be exciting, too modern to be a "classic", and frankly, too draughty and leaky to be a decent car to have in the UK climate. But, it was cheap, and there are some beautiful summer days when it's just right.

Jamie didn't think much of it. Admittedly they only went to the supermarket and back. But being able to see everything in bright and glorious summer sunshine was a bit too much for Jamie - Steve said he only settled down when the sunshade hood of the car seat was up and a muslin cloth draped over the handle.

35/52

This week I took Jamie to the splash pool at one of the local parks. It was the first time - we needed the weather to be warm enough to have a splash, but not so warm that we would be toasted alive, and we needed to not have any other commitments, and we needed to not be ill... But it all came together and at last we've done it.



I wasn't sure how Jamie would take to it but he seems to have had fun. I have the distinct feeling that it was helped along by the social cues of the other children clearly enjoying themselves.

We discovered a few pitfalls that I hadn't anticipated but probably should have, the biggest one being that:
- Jamie needs to be holding two hands to walk
- I can't walk without one hand to support myself
- The splash pool is just a bit too deep for me to be able to shuffle on my knees, unless I'm prepared to get properly wet to the waist, which I'm not, because it's a free facility and therefore lacks luxuries like changing rooms and it's not really the done thing for an adult to strip off in the middle of the kiddie play area.

I settled, instead, for a minor case of Soggy Bottom from sitting on the edge of the pool and restricted Jamie to walking within arm's reach. Next time we'll see about my PA having a skirt or shorts so that she can join us in the pool. But there will definitely be a next time.

33/52

This week saw Jamie's first experience of an outdoor playground.



At ten months, Jamie is officially still a bit small for most play areas, and with it being the summer holidays as well, the local parks are rather dauntingly full of great big primary-school-age children. But we were able to have a bit of a play on the less popular play equipment and I think he enjoyed it. The slide he was neither scared nor excited about, but he spent quite a while with this tunnel.