A pair of big tummies

  

  

New Year update

  

During the course of a typical day, Julian will often come out with expressions he's heard us use in the past. Sometimes it's something sweet, like "Beautiful hair," which he said to me when I pulled a brush to his locks. And sometimes it's alarming, like "Stupid dog," when Ali the pug was pawing me somewhat viciously as I attempted to leave the house without her.

Julian and Ali continue their grand love affair. The other day, I had to go to a christening, and was home later than I expected. Julian was fine about it; he said to my mother, who was baby-sitting, "Mummy's not home. Back later." But, afterwards, Ali disappeared in the backgarden and couldn't be located for a few minutes. Julian got suddenly frantic, screaming, "ALI! COME BACK! WHERE'S ALI?" Lesson: dog trumps mother every time.

It is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, and Julian has discovered a new love: apple and honey. Or, as he says it, "MORE APPLES AND HONEY!" Then you ask him to request this nicely, and he bellows, "MORE APPLES AND HONEY PLEASE!"

I am growing steadily by the day (or, after two Rosh Hashana gigantic meals, one of which consisted of NINE cakes for dessert, courtesy of my mother, I am growing steadily by the minute), and am starting to wonder how Julian will greet his new sister. He certainly loves babies; whenever he sees them, he approaches and wants to interact with them. But, he is also used to being the centre of undivided attention, and relishes it. I will miss our one-on-one time together; hopefully we can still find that space together.

Meanwhile, here is a typical occurrence in my day as I happen upon a stranger:

Random Person: Oh, when are you due?
Me: December.
RP: September? Wow, any day!
Me: No, December. Around Christmas.
RP: Wow, I was sure you meant...I mean, you're so big...I mean...really? Three months away?
Me: Yep.
RP: Are you sure there's not two in there?

Yeah, it was funny the first five times this happened.

We have a short list of three baby names so far, but we're not sure about any of them. I really loved the name "Amelia" until my niece told me to look it up in the dictionary. It means "congenital loss of limbs." Not the name, with a capital "A," but the word "amelia," with a small "a". Still, that seems like a bad thing to call your child. Even though I still love it.

Random Aside, so that one day when Julian looks at this blog, it can serve as a kind of time capsule.
Book I'm reading: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, about the legend of dracula
Last movie I saw: The Devil Wears Prada, and I'm seeing it for the second time with my friend Nikki on Monday night
TV shows I watch: Grey's Anatomy, Project Runway...there's not much on TV at the moment as ratings season is at an end
Last restaurant I went to: Fifteen Melbourne, the new Jamie Oliver enterprise. I went there for work, and it was great.
Thing preoccuping me at the moment: Test-driving a new car, one that will fill loads of family junk
What's in fashion: Can't be too fashionable, as I'm pregnant, but I'm into wedge shoes because you get the heel and some support

Julian dressed up for rosh hashana

  

And if you don't believe how quickly they grow...

Random greece - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Here's my niece, Rebecca, currently having a massive adventure in Europe. Julian knows her best as "Rebecca the Monkey" because she does a great simian impersonation. Nevetheless, we miss her. And when she was born, I was already 21, or somewhere in that vicinity. And now she is all growed up, too.

Suddenly

 

My little boy is all growed up. 

Bad dog Carl

I can't really tell if Julian is going through the Terrible Twos or not. Certainly, there are tantrums, and there are probably tantrums every day. Usually they are about food, or more precisely, Julian's demand for chocolate and my unwillingness to give in. Sometimes they are about getting dressed. Often, they take place upon waking. But, he is often talked out of them pretty quickly, unless he has just woken in a bad mood, in which case this doesn't seem like a Terrible Two thing, but more like a Bad Waker thing.

Julian often makes compelling cases for his side of the argument. Yesterday, he asked for chocolate. When I told him no, he said, "Good dog Carl opens fridge and gets chocolate for the baby." And yes, it's true: in his book, Good Dog, Carl, a Rottweiler is left in charge of a baby while the mother goes out (drug shopping, no doubt), whereupon the dog takes the baby on an adventure in the house. He lets the baby swim in the fish tank, he messes around with mamma's makeup and jewellery, they eat all sorts of unspeakable items from the fridge (hello: chocolate!) and it ends with a bath and a blowdry. David is so incensed by the bit where Carl drops the baby down the laundry chute that he won't even read that bit to Julian, even though we don't even have a laundry chute. Carl really should be reported to the authorities. And that mother - well, that's a whole other story.

  

Would it surprise anyone who knows my family to learn that, in this photo of me that's nearly 40 years old (probably 38), the lamp is still in the living room, and the chair is now downstairs. Only the curtains and carpet have been changed. Actually, I'm not even sure about the carpet.

Circa: late 1960s

  

I just got a new printer/ scanner (thanks, Freddy!) and am having fun with it. Here is an old photo of me as a kid with my father. I have discovered that there ain't too many old photos of me as a child because of my mother's not-so-meticulous shove-the-pics-in-a-drawer system, so I've salvaged some and hope to copy them. Some have been lost through my years of travel - I took my favourites to New York when I lived there and I can't recall having seen them since I returned - but I still have some nice ones left. Unlike Julian, who will have several photo albums and a blog to document his youth, I am trying to hold on to the little documentation I have left! Anyway, I'm not sure if I was grumpy in this photo, but here it is...

  

  

Julian's conductor-mode

 

Julian was a great example in the music session of his party, following instructions perfectly so that others could join in! 

  

Julian's big weigh in

Today was our official 2 year check up at the health centre. It was a little nerve-wracking, because David and I had a busy-body babysitter who recently told us that Julian was three kilos overweight! (Americans, that's like 7 pounds) We pooh-poohed the suggestion but were secretly worried. Anyway, Julian came in exactly with the same stats as he had at 18 months - 90th percentile in weight, 50th in height. They said that was fine, he is growing perfectly.

Supposedly if you double a kid's height at two years old you end up with what they're going to measure when they're adults. I don't think this is a really reliable measurement, and I hope not - compared to his tall mother (moi) and his above average dad (tall, if you go by Jewish height!), Julian is going to be halfway between the two of us - not too tall for a guy, at something like 5"9. I don't believe it! I'm sure he's going to be pretty tall - compared to his friends, anyway! Of course, as my mother says, "It's his luck that should be tall." Hear, hear.

Julian's cake

  

Julian's 2nd birthday party

  

Julian turns two tomorrow - Sept 11 - but had his birthday party today. It went fantastically well. We had it at a hall where he goes for a weekly music class, that's filled with climbing equipment and fun stuff. We also had colourful helium balloons, a ton of food, and a train-shaped cake. Paula, his music teacher, ran a singing and dancing session for half an hour, and the rest of the time the kids just ran amok. They all had a great time. When Paula told the circle of kids (around 25) that it was Julian's birthday, and clapped, Julian gave himself a standing ovation - standing up and shouting, "Yaaaayyyy!" He was definitely in his element during music time, participating in all the songs and doing all the actions. He also loved it when everyone sang happy birthday to him, and even prompted the crowd to sing the long version, saying "fellow" for "He's a jolly good fellow." He needed some help blowing out his candles; so much so that his seat-mate, Mariela, tried to extinguish them with her fingers. The adults had a pretty good time, too.

After: Julian looks adorable!

  

Julian had his first ever haircut today. I was reluctant to sign him up, as I have wanted to only give him his first cut when he's three years old, in accordance with Orthodox Jewish tradition. Still, he was starting to look crazy and the hair was bothering him, and because we aren't really that religious I figured it was okay to cheat a little. So, we kept his long locks but made them more manageable.

He had his hair cut at a place called Hairy's House, which is so set up for kids, it's not even funny. The walls are brightly painted, and each station has a built-in TV and video - Julian got to watch the Wiggles, so he was thrilled. At the end, Julian was offered a lollipop (we passed) and was given a certificate denoting his first haircut. We even bumped in to someone we knew, a little girl who was given two pink bows and glitter hairspray at the end of her cut. Apparently there's a fine line between kids' haircuts and poodle grooming.

As an aside, am I the only person who gets riled about bad grammar? I bought Julian a drill today, made by a company named Playskool. On the side, it says something like, "the drill let's children learn various skills..." and the "let's" shouldn't have an apostrophe! How can you rely on a company to teach your child when they can't get it right in the first place?

During: Julian gets his haircut

  

Before: Julian needs a haircut