Here is what I wrote for Callum documenting the first 3.5 years of his life. I found this on webarchive.org after I had feared it had been lost forever! I am hoping that now he can read and write that he will continue to document his life as seen through his unique eyes and personality.
March 15th, 2009 Had a trim at the barbers with "Father" this morning. I look very smart now and am ready for a family picture. I'm excited for Spring Break as it means we'll likely get to stay in a hotel for a night or two this week!
March 10th, 2009 I love reading books back to people now. Today I astounded my mother by reading "Are you my mother" back to her - all 63 pages! No memorization at all, of course. She seemed stunned and declared that I was a prodigy. Grandmom wasn't as impressed as she might have been, however!
February 28th, 2009 Today I helped Dad put together a dresser for Finlay's room. It was hard work, but we did it without too much swearing and only once did we realize that we put the wrong screws in.
February 8th, 2009 While waiting in checkout line Wallmart... Callum: "do people live on Venus?" Dad: "no, it's far too cloudy" Callum: (after a moment's thought) "do people live in West Virginia?"
January 25th, 2009 First visit to Pittsburgh National History Museum today - I was disappointed that the Dinosaurs did not have any skin and held out with my camera for the real ones that never came :( Had fun digging up dinosaur bones though... that is, until it was time to leave... I am anxiously waiting my return visit so that I can finish off the dig.
January 14th, 2009 The tiger costume has been retrieved from the basement and is in regular use again. I now even answer the phone in character "hello, this is the Tiger speaking" - perhaps a thespian career awaits?
January 10th, 2009 Went to see another Panto this afternoon! Another Jack and the Beanstalk at the Met downtown, this time with Mum. It was great fun - I was one of the few people in the audience who had actually been to a real panto and knew what to do!
January 5th, 2009 Back to school! Told everyone about all my adventures over the last few weeks and got a few more very late Xmas presents from my friends.
January 1st, 2009 I'm now in my fifth calendar year! Hard to believe how big I am getting and how much there is to look forward to. Had a quiet day today - Grandmom and Pop looked after us while Mum and Dad went to the movies.
December 29th, 2008 Back in Oreland for New Year. Opened up even more presents left over from Christmas and had lots of fun playing with Noah and Gabriel.
December 25th, 2008 Mum, Dad, Finlay and I had a fun day opening present after present and ate lots of food. We even went out for a little walk in the mild air before getting back inside for more presents. A nice family Xmas at home!
December 24th, 2008 Christmas Eve! We're back on US time now and I'm ready for Santa to come. Did some last minute shopping and was under strict orders not to wake up too early tomorrow.
December 23rd, 2008 Back to Morgantown today - it was a loooong flight! Both Finlay and I kept Mum and Dad very busy - I got a bit frustrated with the headphones on the plane, and enjoyed watching the "Map Channel" all the way over. Changed planes in D.C. and finally made it home around 9 pm, tired but happy. It's good to be home again.
December 21st, 2008 Went to see my first Panto today - Jack and the Beanstalk at the Darlington Civic Theatre. It was really great - lots of shouting and booing and I was rivetted to my seat throughout. Can't wait for the next one!
December 20th, 2008 Saw Santa today! Not just a pretend Santa but the real thing. He asked me what I wanted for Xmas (twice) and I made sure he got the message. Can't wait for Xmas.
December 17th, 2008 Made it to Darlington today - another short flight to Newcastle and a car ride to Grandma's. It's great to be back for a bit and we had fun playing with Sam and John.
December 16th, 2008 After another restless night, we had one more day in Amsterdam. Sylvia took us to the zoo while Mum and Dad slept through the talks. Tonight we all went to the conference dinner and stayed as long as we could before leaving in a hurry to get to bed. I was very mad at Dad for carrying me into the hotel! Off to England tomorrow.
December 15th, 2008 After a restless night, we all slept in! We were here so late that our babysitter, Sylvia, came to meet us. Had a good day with her while Mum and Dad went to a meeting. Happy to see Dad tonight and had an adventure getting home (Dad got lost again in Amsterdam!).
December 14th, 2008 Made it to Amsterdam - Mum was pleased to see us after our long trip. Arrived in our pyjamas and got a quick change before checking into the hotel. After a little nap we headed to a museum to meet Grandad and Pam for a few hours before collapsing in a heap on our beds for the night.
December 13th, 2008 Finally left Pittsburgh today! Instead of going East we went West to Chicago! Had fun racing around O'Hare before our big flight accross the pond. Got onto the plane in our Xmas pyjamas and stayed awake as long as we could (long enough to fight over a few toys) but eventually crashed and had an OK night's sleep.
December 12th, 2008 Set off for our big trip to Europe today. We only made it as far as Pittsburgh airport before our flight was cancelled! So me, Dad and Finlay are staying in a hotel at the airport until tomorrow.
November 27th, 2008 Saw my second movie today!! "Happy Feet" with Mum, Monica, Tara, Kaya and the twins. Kaya slept through the whole thing, but the rest of us loved it!
November 26th, 2008 Back in Oreland for Thanksgiving! Today Dad took me to my first movie - "Bolt". I was transfixed through the whole thing and even missed my afternoon nap. Can't wait for my next trip to the movies.
November 13th, 2008 Pedalled the big wheel for the first time today - our new driveway is good enough for biking now and I have great fun going up and down it. It's great to finally be able to reach the pedals!
October 31st, 2008 My fourth Halloween! Certainly my best so far. I dressed up as a tiger and wandered the streets with Mum getting lots of candy.
October 22nd, 2008 I turned three today! So much has happened in so little time. Had a nice day at school - Mum baked muffins and brought them into class and Dad read us all a story.
October 8th, 2008 Month one of the potty training now behind me and life is good. What challenges lie ahead next?
October 4th, 2008 I'm enjoying having Max and Willy staying at our house this weekend. Today we went to Pittsburgh zoo - I saw tigers, lions, giraffes and monkeys! The tiger was my favourite.
September 12th, 2008 Week one of big-boy pants completed! There have been highs and lows, but I've stuck with the program and am doing really well.
September 5th, 2008 I donned the big-boy pants tonight! There's no turning back now. A brave new world awaits!
September 3rd, 2008 Today was my first day at pre-school! I raced into class and settled down straight away. It's great to have lots of new friends to play with - I now have two Martha's to look after me: Martha up the street and Miss Martha in class!
September 1st, 2008 Potty training is a bit sporadic! Some days I'm in the mood, others not. I've found that it's a good way to get attention when things are at a lull and an interesting way to spruce up the dinner conversation when we have guests over!
August 7th-8th, 2008 I made two back-to-back toilet breakthroughs today! Yesterday I did a pee and I followed it up with a number two today. I enjoyed telling everyone within earshot of my exploits and enjoyed all the praise.
August 6th-8th, 2008 We've had a great time at Great Wolf Lodge in PA the last few days. The days have been spent at the water park going on slides and rides and playing with my cousins. Nights have been spent staying up late and getting up very early. My popularity took a bit of a hit on the last night when I woke Finlay up. A good time was had by all, though. We made it back to Morgantown tonight tired but happy.
July 29th-August 2nd, 2008 Mum and Dad left me and Finlay in Oreland while they headed to Puerto Rico. It was a good result for us as we got to have fun with the McLaughlins and got spoiled rotten for a few days. Highlights were swimming, walks around the block, gardening and Sunday mass.
July 20th-21st, 2008 The Hodges came to visit us this weekend! It's been great to see Ben, Olivia, Martha and Joe and show them where I live. We went swimming, ate pizza and took a tour of the observatory on Saturday, then took a train ride up the Cass railroad on Sunday.
July 19th, 2008 My summer in Green Bank is coming to an end. It's been a lot of fun. I'm starting to come out with profound statements that catch people by surprise. After a round of "no more babies", "no more mummies" and "no more daddies" as standard banter to Dad, I surprised him with "no more Walmarts"!
June 21st, 2008 5:30 am --- wakey wakey! It's time to get up. The later I go to bed, the earlier I get up. My ears seem to have stopped ringing after the concert last night, which is good.
June 20th, 2008 I got my first gig playing the rattle on stage with the X-band at the Green Bank party tonight. It was great! I even stayed up late and watched some fireworks and saw the stars before bed. Mum and Dad are hoping that I sleep in tomorrow - I have other ideas on that!
June 19th, 2008 I'm enjoying being out at Green Bank this summer. The transition was a little hard at first, but now I've made lots of new friends at the playgroup and reaquainted myself with old buddies from last summer.
May 24th, 2008 Went to Green Bank with Dad in the van today to move Noel and the rest of our heavy stuff over there for the summer. It was a long day but I enjoyed every minute in the big white van. Stopped off at CJ Maggies for dinner on the way home - very tired and pleased to see Mum on my return to Morgantown.
May 9th, 2008 Helped Dad celebrate his 39th birthday today. We had a fun time playing, eating cake and pizza and talking to Mum and Grandma on the phone. Sang a few choruses of happy birthday before bed. You don't seem to get quite as many presents as you get older I'm noticing.
May 4th, 2008 I can now use the "big boy" swing and cast a very grown up figure on the swing set these days. Though I much prefer to lie on it on my tummy and spin around!
April 24th, 2008 I've figured out that Mum and Dad have alter egos and cause no end of amusement by addressing them as Maura and Dunc. Today I put the mini vacuum cleaner in Noel's cage. He seemed to get quite excited about that.
March 28th, 2008 Today I had great fun visiting the Pittsburgh children's museum - finally a museum that I can relate to... lots of things to crawl into, buttons to press and wheels to spin. I was in heaven for about 4 hours non stop until it was time to leave. Mum and Dad say we'll be back again - can't wait!
March 8th, 2008 I've finally learned to say my name correctly now. From this point on I shall be known as the boy formally known as "Camma". Now that I can say it right, Mum and Dad seem to wish I would revert back to my old ways --- there's no pleasing some people.
February 11th, 2008 Although very shy with new people who think I'm a mute, my language skills are coming along in leaps and bounds. I like showing off with my negations these days, e.g. "This light is not on" etc. I'm also doing a lot of make-believe play with my toys which causes no end of amusement.
February 4th, 2008 My reporting skills are definitely improving. I'm able to tell Mum and Dad what I've seen and done each day rather than repeat the question I've been asked. I'm getting very good at story telling - my favourite game is putting Mummy or Daddy to bed and making up a story about two little boys who go to the circus/get eaten by a whale etc etc.
January 18th, 2008 I am getting pretty good at drawing these days and can do reasonable renderings of Mummy and Daddy on my trusty erasable drawing pad (best $20 they ever spent!). Also coming out with funny phrases all the time... "Daddy's a tricky boy" was one from today.
January 2nd, 2008 Back in Morgantown after a long time away. It is nice to be back home and playing with my old toys again.
December 27th Today was the long flight back to Philadelphia. Not quite as much sleeping as on the way over, but I was very well behaved and didn't run Dad too ragged by staying in my seat and playing with toys/reading books for 8 hours straight. All of us were very tired upon our arrival back in the US, and I promptly flaked out on Grandmom and Pop-Pop's sofa before rallying for an earlyish night.
December 20th Finally made it to Darlington to spend Xmas with Grandma. She has lots of toys for me to play with and I've been impressing everyone with my talking.
December 18th Spending a few days in Cheshire on our way up north. Tonight I went out for my first curry - in true British style, the food took an age to arrive but was worth the wait.
December 16th Now moved on to stay with Grandad in Essex. They have a very nice house and I've been enjoying spending time with Grandad again.
December 14th Had a family lie in to get over our jet-lag. After we got up and saw Mr. Tickle again, we spent the day wandering around Cambridge.
December 13th Our big flight over to the UK! I got my own seat for the first time and sat next to Dad, while Mum and Finlay sat in the next row. I was very good and slept most of the way. Very happy to be in England again - though it is very cold. We're staying in Cambridge on our first night with some friends of Mum and Dad's. These people live in a wonderful cottage and even have a duck called Mr. Tickle! Very tired tonight after all the travelling.
December 12th A fleeting visit to Oreland on our way to the UK. Tonight, we are dropping Mazy and Noel off. I've been having fun with Pop-Pop, Grandmom, Tara and Henry.
November 3rd We got a dog today! I now have someone new to chase around. The house is even crazier than ever!
October 31st My third Halloween! This year I was a monkey. Check out some pictures from the event here.
October 14th My talking is getting better by the day. Lots of my garbled phrases are disappearing. e.g. what was "kee-kee" is now "pancake" and what was "nggg" is now "change". There a still a few left... "checkee enum" and "milk o fay"
October 13th I got my second proper haircut today - and it was a bigger success than the first one. They got the clippers out onto grade 4 for the back so I look very smart indeed.
October 9th I can now get up and play at the piano stool all by myself - getting very independent these days and coordinated. My favourite tunes are "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "My Boomerang Won't Come Back". I'm also enjoying strumming the guitar a bit too, while Dad frets some chords.
September 30th I'm getting very brave (some would say foolhardy!) these days. At the park, I'm much more adventurous going down the big slides and climbing up high. I'm enjoying being back at Martha's during the week, especially now that my friend Matthew is there too.
September 18th My talking is really coming along in leaps and bounds these days. I'm starting to string sentences together and am getting good at ordering people about!
September 4th The novely of the bed is wearing off a bit. I've taken to getting up in the middle of the night and walking into Mum and Dad's room. From today on there's a gate at my door to keep me in my room. This seems to be working pretty well....
August 18th Tonight I slept in my new bed for the first time! This was a major breakthrough in the McLorimer household, as it means that Finlay can move into my room and Mum and Dad can finally get some sleep. I quickly discovered how easy it is to get out of my bed and run around, but I was soon too tired for that and had a peaceful night.
August 13th My tickling is reaching new levels. Today I even tickled an ant.
August 11th This week my cousins Victoria and Jason are visiting. I've been having a lot of fun following them around and showing them all my toys. I'm more or less managing to share with them.
August 7th My favourite character by far is Elmo. Even though I've never seen an episode of Sesame St (except perhaps on Pop-pop's TV!), I just love that little guy. Check out this great website that Mummy found. There are lots of games there including one that helps me practice my letters. I can even tickle Elmo by hitting the space bar... "I tickle.... Elmo!" will often be heard during my sessions online.
July 28th Today I had my first proper haircut at... wait for it... WALMART! Yes, they even cut hair these days and I was strapped into a chair and given all sorts of bribes while getting a trim. I had had enough by the end but I do look a very smart fellow with my new summer cut.
July 26th I know about half of the alphabet now. My favourite letters are E, K, X, I and T! If you're wearing a shirt with letters on it, I will spell them out to you... well, almost.
July 25th I peed in the potty for the first time today. One small step for me - one giant leap for Mummy and Daddy.
July 22nd I'm starting to count these days. Going down the steps, you'll often hear me say: "one, two, three, four ... six"!
July 14th I climbed aboard my first fire engine today at the Morgantown kids festival. Also had a frolic in the water from the hosepipe - the perfect tonic for a hot July day!
July 13th Tonight I discovered my talking rabbit in the bed. Dad had put it there hoping to keep me busy when I woke up in the morning, but I spotted it before I went to sleep. Eventually Dad had to go in an prize it out - what a spoilsport!
July 12th I'm discovering pronouns and sentences. Some of my favourites are "I tall", "I want more milk" and "I like it".
July 4th Today we celebrated independence day in low-key fashion at home. Finlay doesn't do too much at the moment, so I'm playing a lot with Grandmom and Uncle Terry.
July 3rd Finlay and Mummy came home from the hospital today and we began a whole new set of adventures together. Grandmom also arrived today. She is being a big help looking after me.
July 2nd Today I went with Daddy and Uncle Terry to the hospital to meet Finlay for the first time. I like being a big brother and giving Finlay kisses.
July 1st My little brother Finlay is born! You can read all about him here. I was in bed when it all happened. Fortunately, Uncle Terry was staying at our house and looked after me while Mum and Dad went to the hospital.
June 2nd I now officially can say more words than Noel. My most recent ones are "slide", "wet", "rain", "phone", "beans", "bath", "bed", "pillow", "window" and "outside". My favorite words though are still "light" and "car". I can't help myself from pointing them out whenever I see them!
May 29th Mummy and Daddy get back from their trip. I was having so much fun I barely recognized they were gone. I went to the zoo, went swimming a few times, got to stay up WAY past my normal bedtime, and played lots with Ziggy and with my cousins. I have decided that Grandma's name is "Mom mom" and Grandpop's name is "Pop pop".
May 25th I am staying at Grandma and Grandpop's for 4 days while Mummy and Daddy go off on a holiday to Bermuda!
May 6th Today the McLorimers moved to Green Bank, WV for a couple of months. Mum and Dad start work at the telescope tomorrow while I get to have fun with Max and my other buddies during the day. Our new house has four bedrooms and lots of room to run around in.
April 19th I feel like I'm on the verge of bursting into verbosity any day now... I can say quite a few words, but often only the first letter comes over, e.g. M for Milk or L for Light. Some words I can say well are: Bee, Dirt and (Ba)nana!
April 10th Today was my first day without the bedtime sippy cup. Now that I have most of my teeth, I need to keep them clean at night! So far so good - I don't seem to have noticed the absence of the cup tonight.
April 8th It's been a fun weekend in Philadelphia and good to catch up with everyone and show off my new tricks. Had my first Easter egg hunt today with cousins Noah and Gabriel and I've been learning how to share my toys (rather reluctantly I must admit!) with them. Another long drive back tonight - I was supposed to be sleeping but woke up half way there and proceeded to blow raspberries in the back seat of the car, egged on by Dad a bit. He regretted it later when I refused to go back to sleep. Arrived back in Morgantown just after midnight, tired but happy.
April 6th Headed off to Philadelphia today to spend Easter weekend with my US family. It was a long journey here, and I couldn't wait to start racing around Grandmom and Grandpop's house causing havoc. Discovered how much fun kitchen collanders can be at bathtime!
April 3rd It's taken a day or two, but I am back in the swing of US time again. I've started saying "wheeeeeee" much to Mum and Dad's amusement.
April 1st A loooong flight home after a great week in the UK. I hardly slept at all on the way back and made Mum and Dad work hard to keep me amused. I was very happy to land again in Philadelphia and clapped for five minutes. Not quite so happy to get on the connecting flight to Pittsburgh after clearing customs and it took a good few choruses of "it's a long way to Tipperarie" to calm me down. I went straight to sleep on landing and was happy to be back in my old crib again.
March 30th After a few days in Darlington we travelled over to Cheshire this morning to spend the last part of our trip revisiting some old friends. Dad has got a surprise gig in Chester tomorrow with his old band which he seems quite excited about. I've been having fun charming the secretaries at Jodrell Bank and spilling crumbs on the office floor!
March 25th Adjusting well to UK time - I even slept in until 8 am this morning in the Lorimer family crib. This evening we went round to uncle Angus and auntie Sue's house and had fun racing round the garden chasing after my cousins Sam and John. It's great being the centre of attention!
March 24th Arrived in England this morning after a trans atlantic flight to Manchester. I held up pretty well despite the long journey and a frantic dash to make our connection. Mum and Dad upgraded us to business class, much to the disdain of our fellow passengers when we boarded. I was too big for my bed so I had to sleep on the floor. It's good to be back in the old country for a week visiting relos during spring break.
March 18th Today I had my first hair cut! A 5-min trim by Mum was all I needed to smarten me up. I must say I feel very grown up with this new look.
March 10th I'm a fully fledged toddler these days - running around and causing mayhem at every opportunity. My fine motor skills are getting better and I'm getting the hang of building towers from wooden blocks. Spring seems to be finally arriving and I love wandering around outside as much as I can.
February 11th Today I walked down the stairs for the first time, with Dad holding my hands - but I did it!
February 10th I'm on Day 7 of my life without Mum's milk! No worries so far - but maybe I'll have a rethink in the summer when this new baby comes along! My walking is coming along splendidly - I no longer need to have a round of applause each time I complete a few steps and can now move freely around the house almost as fast as crawling...
February 8th Mum returned from San Fran this morning. I was happy to see her but my concept of time is not quite there yet so it seemed to me that she just stepped out of the room and came back - she was hoping for a warmer reception I think! It's great to have her back, though, Dad's jokes were becoming a bit tiring.
February 5th Day 2 of the weaning and it's also the coldest day of the year so far. This afternoon, Dad and me had to go for my 15-month check up. The doctor measured both our heads and found that they were both off the chart - she seemed a bit happier when she saw Dad also has a big head. I now weigh in at 26 lb and 8 oz - right on track! I wish they didn't stick needles in me at the end of the examination - I was perfectly happy until they did that.
February 4th Today I am on day one of weaning. So far so good - just to help things along and keep me from temptation, Mummy has gone to California for a few days to attend a conference so I'm home alone with Dad. It's not clear who is looking after who, but we're both having fun dancing around the house.
January 30th Today I broke my own personal best for walking and made it from one end of the kitchen to the other: that's a good 10 steps! I think I'm getting the hang of this walking now. Mummy was very excited when she got home and I was still walking around the place. I'm also getting the hang of eating with a spoon and bowl and managed to skewer a few pieces of macaroni during dinner today.
January 27th I'm starting to get the hang of signs a bit now. Today I made my first "more" sign during dinner - I'm not sure whether this tells my feeders to give me more or that the food was good. They seem to like it either way!
January 21st Today I had my first ride on a sledge - here I am hurtling down our street after the first big snowfall of the year. By the way, I'm rather fixated on people's belly buttons these days, so beware - if you are lying on the floor I am liable to lift up your shirt and have a look!
January 20th: Today I showed Mummy my steps! Daddy was very relieved - it wasn't just a flash in the pan. They're still fairly tentative steps but I'm moving forward. P.S. For the record, there is a lot of talk about other babies in the house these days. I'm not quite sure what Mum and Dad are talking about, I thought I was the only baby around here!!
January 19th: Today I took my first steps while Dad and I were waiting for the laundry to dry. I seemed to get a lot of praise for it! Mummy hasn't seen this yet.
January 4th: I'm copying Mum and Dad a lot these days - so they'd better be careful what they get up to. My latest trick is to bend over and peer at you upside down with my head between my legs. It seems to get big laughs every time!
January 2nd: I started with my new daytime babysitter today who lives up the street. They have lots of cats which are fun to play with!
January 1st: Still no tendencies to take my hands off the walker since I can get everywhere I want to with it. If there is no walker in sight, I'll just start pushing the nearest inanimate object.
December 21st: I'm standing a little without holding onto anything and have started pushing my walker around. Maybe Mummy's bet that I'll be walking by Xmas will come true after all. Dad is predicting Easter 2007!
December 5th: Today I came out with my first proper word - BOOK! Mummy got so excited that I started calling everything book!
November 11th: All is well as I'm into my second year. I'm now riding the right way round in my car seat, I've learned to point and my favourite game is riding around the house in my little car (pushed by Mum and Dad).
October 24th: Today I went for my first photoshoot! They took lots and lots of shots of me which you can find here.
October 22nd: Today I turned 1! I visited family and friends in Philadelphia and had a great time. I am almost talking now and my first word is about to be D-d-d-doggy!
October 7th: Today I discovered the stairs of our house and made my first successful attempt at scaling them on all fours! I was closely followed by Dad, but managed it all by myself. Needless to say I was very proud to reach the top. Coming down again didn't look quite so easy and I have decided to defer that for another day.
September 17th: My crawling is up to high speeds these days, I've learnt to clap and am trying to keep time with the music. I love listening to my Mum playing the oboe and have started music classes in Morgantown this week. My Dad says I'm a happy clappy, which is probably about right. No sign of walking just yet, Mum and Dad seem fairly relieved to be able to keep up with me crawling around. They'll be in for a shock when I do get up and go I think!
August 29th: I'm back in the US after a long journey home and getting over jetlag. It's good to be back in Morgantown again. Mum and Dad are getting into the routine of college life and Dad survived his first week of teaching class. I'm pulling myself up to a standing position now! Not bad for 10 months old!
August 15th: I'm back in Europe on a whirlwind tour with Mum and Dad travelling to Germany, UK and the Czech Republic. I've been handling the constant upheavals very well and even managed to sleep in a cardboard box on my way over on the plane! My big breakthrough during this trip is that I've figured out how to get back to a sitting position from a crawl. I'm no longer stranded on the deck!
July 27th: My crawling is getting there now - I've discovered that it's great fun to scoot over to a tower of blocks that Mum or Dad has piled up and knock them over! My attention span is also getting long enough to play a game of peek-a-boo.
July 13th: After months of coaching from Mum and Dad I've got this whole waving thing. I can often be found practising my technique waving at the wall and random objects.
July 3rd: After a week or so of backward scooting I finally managed to crawl forwards today. I still need to work a bit on my crawling technique but I can now get to places under my own steam! It's a great feeling and makes me very happy.
June 2nd: Today I got my first US check up. I weigh 19 lbs 12 oz and am 2 feet 4 inches tall! It's now official that I'm a big boy - 75th percentile for height and weight and 93rd percentile for head circumference.
May 22nd: Today I held my bottle for the first time. This is a big step as Dad can now feed himself a beer whilst holding me on his lap.
May 21st: Today I started stringing syllables together and am starting to come out with things like.... la la la da da da fa fa fa and maybe even ma ma ma.
May 16th: Today was my first day at nursery while Mum and Dad start their new jobs. I've managed one sick day so far when they sent me home with a fever on my second day. Everyone seems very nice and it's nice to find like-minded babies my age to play with.
May 8th: Today I discovered my big toe and stuck it into my mouth! Mum claims she can do this too - Dad feels a bit left out. Perhaps he should start yoga classes again to build up his flexibility!
May 7th: I had my first piano session today. Managed to play a few chords and really enjoyed it. Dad tells me he'll buy me a Hammond Organ if I get really good!
May 1st: We arrived in Morgantown today! We've started looking around for houses and day care. There are lots of new people to meet here and I'm getting plenty of attention!
April 28th: I headed off to the USA today to begin my new life with Mum and Dad in West Virginia. After a long day on the plane, grandpop picked us up from Philadephia airport and just managed to fit us all into the jeep. I got to ride up front while Mum and Dad were cramped inbetween suitcases behind me!
April 12th: Today was my big breakthrough on the solid food front. After a few slow starts I pounded down a whole bowl of mashed banana at one sitting! Yum! Maybe now I'll start sleeping through the night again, or maybe I won't!
March 26th: I got my first tooth today! No wonder my sleeping has been all messed up lately. Hopefully I will feel better now that its poked through.
Did I mention that I am laughing and giggling ALL the time lately? I'm a pretty happy boy.
March 20th: Today I rolled over - not just one way but 360 degrees!
March 13th: Back from my round-the-world tour. So much happened. I went to San Fransisco and Australia and Singapore and flew on lots and lots of planes. I also did my first observing run! And had my first dip in the Pacific Ocean! I really enjoyed our stay in Singapore. We stayed at a really nice hotel with a warm rooftop pool. I got to show off everything Mum and me have learned in swiming to Daddy. He was pretty impressed!
February 12th: I saw snow for the first time today! Much of the Eastern US got hit by a large storm overnight and we ended up with 18 inches of snow covering the streets when we woke up this morning. This is not the norm for Holmes Chapel, let me tell you! Unfortunately the snow meant that a lot of family relatives didn't get to see me today... they're coming round later in the week instead.
February 11th: I woke up a bit jetlagged this morning at 4 am. I was all ready to start playing, but everyone else was still sleeping. Dad took me on a car ride to get me back to sleep for a bit - it was the first of many car rides on this trip. It seemed to do the trick, though. By the end of the day, I was feeling much more adjusted to US time.
February 10th: I took my first trip on a plane today and flew from Manchester to Philadelphia on the start of my 30 day round the world tour! Flying is great - Mum and Dad took along the car seat to make it feel like a car ride and I soon went of too sleep with all the noise of the engines. With the exception of Grandmom who I met last year (see November 16th, 2005), when I got to Philly, I met my American relatives for the first time. My youngest relatives are Noah and Gabriel - Aunt Monica and Uncle Joel's twin boys.
January 13th: I took my first trip on a train today when Mum and Dad took me to London to get registered at the US Embassy. When all the paperwork goes through, I'll be a UK/US citizen! I had fun on the trip, but I got a bit tired on the way back.
January 1st: I slept through the night on my own for the first time ever! After a string of longer nights' sleep, Mum put me to bed at 8 pm on New Year's Day and I made it all the way through to 7 am the next morning. Mum and Dad were very happy.
December 25th: I celebrated my first Christmas!
December 24th: I rolled over all by myself! OK, maybe it was a bit lucky as I was face down on the playmat at the time and moving round in circles on my tummy, but I did it! Mum, Dad and Grandma were amazed. Sadly, there is no photographic evidence of this momentus event.
December 13th: Today was my 7 week checkup. I am now 11 lb 2 oz and 56 cm tall (high?) - right on target and just a little bit under 50th percentile for my age. My humongous head however is at 97th percentile! They were very happy with me at the surgery and to be honest I was by far the cutest baby there. The doctor said I was also the strongest baby she had seen in a while as I can lift my head (despite its size!) and turn myself on my side already. I think I will be a handful for Mummy and Daddy soon! She also dangled a ball in front of my eyes and made me follow it back and forth and said I was very clever and coordinated.
December 4th: My first real smile!!
December 2nd: Today I got weighed again, I am now 10 lb 8 oz. Mummy and Daddy had to move my car seat headrest to the next highest level. I am getting very big, but at least now eat only every three hours.
November 19th: Today I am one month old! There are some pictures of me at one month here.
November 18th: The health visitor came again and I am now 9 lbs ad 12 oz. Wow! Mommy is not surprised as I am keeping her very busy eating every 2 hours. I am now in the 50th percentile for weight.
November 16th: Today was very exciting as I met my Grandmom McLaughlin for the first time. I love her but she won't give me a minute's peace - so much cuddling and cooing and ogling!!
November 1st: The health visitor came and weighed me and I am now 7 lbs and 9 oz (have gained 4 oz since birth!) She was very happy with that. I am not very tall yet - 19.75 inches puts me on the 9th percentile. I am in the same percentile for weight but I have a big head (75th percentile!) Hopefully I will grow into it.
October 24th: Home from the hospital to Holmes Chapel.
October 22nd: I am born!! At 6:02 pm at Macclesfield Hostpital. I weigh 7 lbs 5 oz and am healthy and happy.
