My first shoes

Yesterday Calum reached two new milestones; he got his first pair of "real" shoes and a new car seat that faces forward. To anyone who doesn't have kids, this probably doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but to a Mom with her first child these steps are further steps away from your child being a baby and becoming a toddler.

We got Calum's shoes from a store called Clarks. Whilst they aren't nearly as cute as the Nikes we got him in Seattle or the Converse my Aunt & Uncle got him before he was born, they are special shoes designed for walking and crawling which in the first day seemed to have already helped him stand more flat rather than on his toes. As part of the first shoes purchase, the people at the store measure the babies' foot and take a picture of him in his new shoes which is entered in a drawing to win £300 worth of kids shoes (which is probably only a fraction of what we will spend eventually!).

I'm pretty excited about the car seat, we don't pick it up until Thursday, but it's going to be so great to be able to see what he is doing now. On Friday I drove into Southwest London to meet a friend for lunch and on the hour or so drive it was impossible to know if he had slept or not. I also think he's going to love being able to see things from a different perspective. Eventually he will also be able to take advantage of watching t.v., Mark was so insistent about buying a car with those t.v. screens in the back and we have only ever used them once in the two years we have had the car!

Today I am off to a Baby Show with Mark's sister Tracey who is due in June, should be fun. Last Tuesday we officially exchanged on our new house which means it's almost as good as ours! We don't move until May 28th, but with all we need to do and buy between now and then, I think that's actually going to be just right. Last Saturday my Grandpa Britton passed away, this week is his funeral in Polson, MT. I am really sad I can't make it but am so glad that Mark and I made the visit out there in October to see him. He was a big part of my life when I was younger and is probably very happy now that he is with my Grandma again and able to play golf. Life is precious and far too short, so enjoy it. Have a great week x

New moves

The past few weeks have been really entertaining and a tiny bit heart breaking watching Calum try to learn how to crawl. Due to some massive thighs he just hasn't been able to get from sitting onto his tummy until just a couple of days ago. Now all he wants to do is go from sitting to his tummy although when he finally gets to his tummy he gets frustrated because he can't move forward (which isn't usually helped by us trying to lure him with the remote control or mobile phone as bait!). Anyway, it's pretty cute to see how proud he is when he gets down onto his tummy and for now I'm grateful he isn't crawling.

On Tuesday we went to see his health care visitor (nurse) who is referring us to a pediatrician as Calum is still in the top of his age group for weight (98th percentile at 25lbs 9oz), apparently they just want to make sure there isn't anything wrong as he seems to be eating a normal amount of food and having the right amount of milk. The pediatrician will also look at his flat as a pancake head and check out some concerns with his hips. We've also been referred to a physio therapist as Calum isn't anywhere closer to getting off his tip toes when standing and the nurse thinks this might hinder him trying to stand and eventually walk. Just when I thought everything was okay with Calum, everything seems to be wrong!

Mark and I went on a much needed date on Saturday-somehow I convinced him to take me to Up in the Air followed by Thai at a new place near our house, it was fantastic! Will have to make up for our lack of Valentine's Day plans which I think will probably be a trend for the next 10-15 years or so since it will be pretty hard to find anyone who wants to stay at home and watch kids on that night! Fingers crossed, we should exchange this week on our house-it's been a looooooooong time coming but once it's been done we enter into a contractual agreement and it's almost ours.

Wish us luck and have a great weekend! x