The Whole Family

The Whole Family
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

The family at Atlantic Beach, just before Doug, Nathaniel and I headed out to the next family reunion.

With Uncle Jay

With Uncle Jay
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

Jay arrived just in time for Wednesday's barbecue in the courtyard (for the yankee members of my clan that word means only one thing, pulled pork). Nathaniel thought Jay was very cool and also enjoyed his first taste of sweet soft pulled pork. This picture is taken right before Nathaniel took a header off Jay's lap.

Meeting Ava

Meeting Ava
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

Nathaniel meeting his cousin Ava for the first time. Nathaniel enjoyed screaming at her, which appears to be his way of coming onto the girls. I don't know how effective that will be as a long term strategy.

Sand Castles

Sand Castles
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

The three of us on Atlantic Beach. Daddy along with his cousins built an elaborate wall, trench and moat system on the beach. Nathaniel probably peed in the water.

Beach Hat

Beach Hat
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

This was one of the windy days on the beach. Nathaniel found getting sand in his eyes to be a less than enjoyable experience. That was his one complaint about the beach.

First Day at the Beach

First Day at the Beach
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

This is Nathaniel's first time touching sand. He found is strange and interesting and after a few days really started liking the ocean. He spent most of his time at the beach naked. Unfortunately for you blog viewers that means most of Nathaniel's best shots can't go on the website (North Carolina doesn't cotton to cute bare naked bottom photos of babies. They send you to jail for that. I kid you not. Thanks Daddytypes for the link.)

Long Car Trip

Long Car Trip
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

This is our cherubic son as we were setting off on his first long car ride-from Virginia down to Atlantic beach. He was very good and slept for long stretches and he only really had a breakdown in the last 45 minutes.

In the Pool

In the Pool
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

Nathaniel and Dylan cooling off in a paddling pool, thanks to Aunt Kristen. She went and got a pool and beach toys and swimming gear for Nathaniel to cool off in the sweltering D.C. weather. This shot is after Nathaniel took a headfirst dive into the pool but before Doug managed to shot Dylan in the face with a water hose. We learned a lot about babies and water safety that day.

Candace and Kate

Candace and Kate
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

Candace and Kate, looking like icons of serene motherhood. I can't even remember Nathaniel being that little. She felt like a fragile bird when you picked her up.

My First Briefcase

My First Briefcase
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

This is Nathaniel enjoying his first good old USA backyard. This is one of our first days in the States at Tom and Kristen's house. They were very kind to put up with the baby invasion that is a visit from us. At one point we had taken over a bedroom, the kitchen and their downstairs, and had left toys in every other room in the house. Nathaniel is enjoying his first briefcase, a gift from Jim and Candace. He's just like daddy.

Luggage

Luggage
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

Then of course the great summer festival tour of 2005 began. I think Nathaniel and I should have T-shirts for all the traveling we did. This is all the luggage we packed up for the U.S. and we came back with even more stuff. In the course of our travels, we visited Silver Spring, MD, Arlington, VA, Washington, D.C., Atlantic Beach and Beaufort, NC, Asheville and Chimmney Rock, NC, Wilmington, NC, Woodstock and Shady, NY and Staten Island. Not too bad.

Lunch with Daddy

Lunch with Daddy
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

So months and months ago, right before we headed out for the Davidson-Smith tour in the USA, Nathaniel and I went and visited Doug at his office. Nathaniel got to chat and screech at a bunch of daddy's office mates. Then we all enjoyed lunch out in the gardens at Temple.

Cruising the Coffee Table

Cruising the Coffee Table
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

Movement movement, the bane and focus of our existence. As expected Nathaniel has steadily refused to crawl for the past few months. He used to flip over on his back when we put him on his tummy. Now he props himself into a sitting position whenever we purposely put him in a crawling position. He is intent on walking though. He started pulling himself up on his own when we were on vacation in Atlantic Beach. Now he is pulling himself up 20 times a day on anything and everything-window sills, coffee tables, stepping stools, chairs, steps. He cruises around coffee tables and walks from chair to chair. He seems to have absolutely no fear and no idea that he actually can't walk yet. So he will be standing at a chair and I will be sitting on the floor next to him when he sees another chair five feet away. As long as I am near him, he just willy nilly launches himself at the next object, willing himself the ability to walk to it. When I am nowhere near he shows more prudence and caution but hurts himself far more when he tumbles. God this is an agonizing development period. But his balance improves by the hour. Now he can stand holding on with only one hand and mantain really good balance for a few minutes.

Interestingly the balance he is gaining by standing is now having some impact on his on the ground abilities. Just this morning he did a weird crawl shuffle for two or three steps. He got into a crawling position with one leg folded for crawling and the knee on the ground but the other leg with a foot on the ground. Through a combination of shuffle, crawl, drag, he moved about two feet.

So we return home soon and I now have to get our whole house prepared for the whirlwind that is Nathaniel. We haven't baby proofed any of our house and I know we are in for a few rough days as we all work out the kinks.

Maestro Nathaniel

Maestro Nathaniel
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

So Nathaniel and I are still in the United States, although we are finally heading home at the end of this week. Doug's summer of freedom is about to come to an end. As will our cats. I don't think they are ready for Nathaniel version 2.0. He is a screaming, babbling, clapping, grabbing, moving baby and he is going to just want to love them.

So he has picked up a bunch of tricks in his time in the U.S. Clapping is old hat by now. He actually uses it as a comforting technique. Last night he woke up around midnight and I was listening to him try and settle himself back to sleep. He would thrash around for a few minutes then go still and start clapping. I don't think I have heard anything funnier than the sound of him clapping to himself in the pitch dark.

Waving is down pretty good now. He has on a few occasions now actually waved a goodbye, rather than just waving randomly. And just this week he has started doing this very interesting maestro/facist dictator wave. He lifts his hand in the air and cups the hand and stares at as he moves it slowly. Its not his wave. He tends to do it when he is standing in the airway of a fan or when he is listening to music. I don't know what it means.

Safe

Thanks for all of your inquiries. For the record, I am safe, having gotten into the office pretty early on 7 July. Deirdre & Nathaniel are still in upstate New York. I haven't decided on a sensible practical reaction ... the tube is the only practical way to my office; the bus does not seem any more inherently survivable and cycling into the office is far more dangerous, albeit from the more prosaic threats of lorries and black cabs. Like everyone else, I fear I'll have to rely on chance.

Best to all.

Bachelor Summer

Well I, at least, am back from a whirlwind tour of the southeast, capped off with a 490 mile drive from Chimney Rock, North Carolina to Washington Dulles (this is almost the distance between London and Aberdeen) followed immediately by a flight back to Heathrow.

The trip was a lot of fun, but I seem to have left Nat and Deirdre behind, who are staying in divers parts of the US for the next month. Bachelor Summer begins.

I kicked it off by finally going to see Star Wars III. Terrible, boring, nonsensical. I should have realized beforehand that my extreme dislike of the first two would probably be be a good indicator for my attitude to the third. Now I think I've soured on the entire SW universe. Alas. War of the Worlds is next on my list.

Tomorrow I have a date with the hedge that is swallowing my front garden and the vines that threaten to infiltrate the bathroom. What an exciting time.