Herbie's first summer

We had a lovely summer in the Lake District (pictured above) and Italy with some Oxford in between. Herbie loved the pool at Cergallina. We didn't make him swim in the Lake in Windermere, but he did enjoy practising going up and down stairs in the rental property. Still not confident enough to tackle all our stairs at home (or should I say too confident as he tries to walk straight down them without holding on). In Italy, in true Harford style, he ate about the equivalent of his body weight in pasta every day. Amazing what enough salt and fat will do for a babies appetite! We reckoned that ten days of this wasn't going to do too much permanent damage... Here he is on the favourite wall at Cergallina:

First Birthday

Just a family celebration for Herbie's first birthday, but Stella and Africa were of course very keen to help Herbie celebrate. You may wonder from all the candles how old he actually is, but he is only one... He took his first steps on his birthday too. Two months earlier than his sisters - they had better watch out. Unfortunately the 70% cocoa icing may have been too sophisticated for his tastes.... but the rest of us enjoyed the cake!

Food

So, somewhat predictably, no sooner had he started eating food, someone was unable to resist the pleasure of feeding Herbie chocolate! I think we can guess who the guilty party was.

We had our first holiday as five to Portugal over the Easter holidays. It was great fun, and Herbie really enjoyed splashing in the paddling pool. But did his mother manage even one photograph?? No she did not! This one was just after we got home. I think we probably wanted to unpack which is why the chocolate biscuit was unleashed!

Herbie can definitely crawl now, and is already kneeling up to reach things. The playpen is out, but there is still plenty of potential for michief...

Nearly Crawling

Innevitably Herbie is not benefitting from as many photographs as his sisters, but I'm doing my best! He is growing so fast, it's hard to keep up. He's very nearly crawling, and can move around quite effectively by rolling or shuffling sideways or backwards. Forwards motion is probably only days away. Then we're in trouble! Herbie has taken to food, like a very hungry boy, and will pretty much eat anything he's offered. That's probably because he knows he better take what he gets, as there may be nothing coming for some time! He is really very good natured and usually smiley, chatty and gurgling, with just the occasional grumble, which makes him very good company to have around. Although, he seems to have learnt how to get himself heard when the girls are around, which makes the household unbelievably loud!

Herbie loves being taken out in the buggy, so if he's grumpy at home, that's a pretty easy solution. He's also been enjoying swimming with his sisters and he loves splashing around in the bath. His favourite sound is da da da. I'm still waiting for ma ma ma. He has adoring gazes for all other members of the family, especially his dad and his sisters - oh well, and maybe me too!

Christmas present for daddy

One part of a triptych

Dream baby...

Herbie is going through such a wonderful stage at the moment. He's happy and content and yet still doesn't move very much. This means that it's really easy to plonk him down in the corner and he will happily kick for literally hours. If you happen to talk to him he will reward you with the biggest smiles. He rarely cries and usually only for a moment or two until he gets what he needs - some milk or some sleep generally, or for Africa to stop yanking or squeezing him in some very enthusiastic manner or other! We are feeling incredibly blessed and enjoying the phase while it lasts!

Buggy life

I couldn't resist the nice light Herbie found himself waiting for me in today. The buggy is finally fixed - after 3 months waiting for new wheels - which means my back is getting a break...