Welcome

Rather than struggle any longer with updating our website, I've decided to keep this blog and let you all know how Otter is doing this way, as well as musing and reflecting here on parenting.

Otter is over sixteen months old now, and almost every day he has a new sign and/or a new word. He is obsessed with his Fisher-Price ride-on bike and the plastic pink-topped baby bottle that they have at his daycare.

Yes, that's daycare, singular. Due to commuting difficulties on both Otter's and my part, we're swtiching him to just one daycare instead of two. This one is relatively close to our house and we love it, as does Otter. It means giving up the great parents and indoor slide at the other palce, but I am working to accept that we can't give Otter every lovely experience in the world simultaneously.

Otter's latest signs are 'cold' (which we use for frozen fruit pops) and 'apple', plus he's learned to imitate his dad by catching and hugging to his chest the kisses blown to him. He says "gahh" for car, and "gohh(k)" for sock, and from context they're pretty clear. (After all, how often do you put cars on your feet or sit on a sock?)

When he's hungry at daycare, he heads right over to the table and sits down to wait to be fed, whether or not it's snacktime. We're lucky that they're very flexible and feed him whenever he's hungry, which, lately, is all the time.

He threw a massive tantrum of upset and frustration and exhaustion last night when I had to take the pink plastic baby bottle away from him as we left daycare for home. He wailed all the way home. Then, after half an hour of nursing at home, he bounced up cheery as ever.

I'm just happy that he likes a baby bottle as much as a ride-on-bike, thus defying neat and easy gender stereotypes.