9 months

I haven't written anything on the kids in a while. It seems like time is just flying by and I only realize just how fast when I look at how long it's been since I last did a blog!

The past few weeks have been a blur of sleepless nights. First of all, Nicky had his top front teeth come through. Then we all got sick. Leo started it off with a stomach bug. He was throwing up so violently that he got an infection and had to take antibiotics for the first time in his life. He was in a lot of pain for almost two weeks, mostly because he then got a cold and the cough really hurt his stomach.

A few days after Leo, Nicky got sick, although he seemed very happy when he was puking all over us. It was the cold that he suffered from most. Abe and I got the stomach bug only, but those couple of days when we were all down was pretty bad. Now everyone is pretty much over it, though tired. Although it does seem like Nico's teething again, with little white lumps to the side of his front teeth. Is this the time we're supposed to send them to live with their grandparents for a few years?

So, what's been happening with my two growing boys?

Leo still loves school. He's moving along well with his new skills, some fostered in kindergarden, some here at home. He colors inside the line, can cut and glue by himself, can write many of his numbers, can count well, is starting to recognize several written words. He loves, and is good at, jigsaw puzzles and cards. He's still a little bit of a terror at times, although he does seem to be getting better. Our biggest problem with him is that he adores Nicky and wants to play with him all the time, but keeps forgetting that he's still a baby. As Nicky gets more mobile, Leo thinks he can play like a big kid, and he pushes and tugs him and invariably makes him fall over. He pushes too far at times and Nico will cry, which makes Leo TAKE OFF running, shouting "it was an accident".

As for our nine month old baby, the last two months have seen vast improvements, most noticeable of which is the fact that he's mobile. He can sit up from lying down, crawl, pull himself up to standing, sit back down and take some steps around the furniture. He will also let go of the furniture and balance unaided for a little while before we have to catch him. He can - and does - go everywhere now, even trying to climb the stairs. Of course, this new mobility has resulted in his first accident and cut. Nothing serious, a small cut by his eye when he fell against a shelf, but we know it's a taste of many more to come.

He's also getting far more vocal. He says mama and papa to each of us, and has a whole array of sounds that he throws together in a constant babble. He's also starting to do a couple of signs, for "eat", "drink" and "boobie", which goes to show where his priorities lie. He is a great little eater, and has some of our food at every meal. He seems to like everything we've tried him with.

He now does most of his pooping on the potty. He doesn't tell us when he needs to pee, but he does push whenever we put him on the potty, and even if there's just a little pee inside, it comes out.

He loves Leo, and the two of them play more and more together. He follows wherever Leo goes, and so, of course, Leo likes to lead him to places he shouldn't go.

He's also getting funnier. He notices when something he does makes people laugh and he'll do it again but more emphatically. His funniest joke, in his mind, is when we tell him "no" - he'll look at you, grin real big and do the thing again. When we tell him no firmly, he'll often look at you, lip quivering for an instant before he starts to cry, just devastated that we might be cross with him.

Leo was always really good as a baby about not putting things in his mouth. This is not the case with Nico. He puts anything and everything he finds in his mouth. This is only made worse by the fact that he is getting very dextrous. He can pick up the tiniest thing imaginable and maneuver it perfectly to where he wants it to go.

Sleeping is his biggest downfall. He's just not very good at it! Oh well. I'm sure that one day I'll get to sleep deeply again. Leo was the same when he was little (although even he was better than Nicky), and he now sleeps great, just waking up once in the night to pee.

But above all the changes in him and sick or teething troubles, he remains the sweetest, calmest, happiest little baby.

I'm afraid I didn't take many photos this past month, but what there is is here.

Advent to Christmas

When I was a kid, my sister made me an advent calendar just like this one - gifts in a box of styrophone pieces that you pull up by their number, from 1 to 24. Seeing as Leo is super into Christmas and counting at the moment, we thought we'd make him one, so he can count down to Christmas day.

We put the tree up, and then set the box near it. So far he has opened three days, and knows exactly where the next day's number is. He loves it.

Of course Nico, who is now 7 months old and getting into all kinds of trouble,WANTS the wrappers. He sat with me when I wrapped the gifts, and he was after everything - the gifts, tape, paper, scissors. He is getting far more mobile and dexterous, which makes him a lot harder to control these days. Everything he can do, he's doing better and more: roll both ways, scoot around some, pick things up (even starting to use his finger and thumb), eating (a BUNCH), chatting, laughing, playing. It won't be long before he's more of a little boy than a baby.

Photos of this month will go here.

Milestones

This week has seen a couple of fairly large milestones for our boys.

Nico has been saying his first word: "Mama" (said a little like a bleating lamb). At first we thought it was just babbling, but he consistently uses it at the right time, ie when he wants me to pick him up. Leo's first word was "wawa" (water), which we found very appropriate for a son of ours. However, I have to say that I like Nico's first one more!!!!

As for Leo, he loves games, like Lotto, so we have started playing cards (Uno - where you have to follow with the same color or number) with him. He is very good at it. He's getting really good with numbers. He recognizes and says them all, plus he can count a number of objects up to ten. Along the same lines, he is also starting to tell the time (digital), although he hasn't really grasped the length of minutes and hours. For example, he'll ask if it's lunchtime. We say, "lunchtime is at 1, so what time is it now?" "12.07". "So, is it lunchtime?" "No." However, he'll then repeat this line of questioning each time the clock changes, which can make the hour until lunch very long.

The other day Leo had a crook in his neck, so was laid up for a day. He starting getting bored with movies, so we played him all the movies we have of when he was a baby. It is uncanny how similar the two of them are, although there are definite differences, both physical and in personalities. Here's a few photos, Leo on the left, Nico on the right.



For more photos of this month, click here.

6 months old

Well, 6 months old now. I won't do too long of a post, as it feels like I only just wrote the 5 month one.

He weighs in at 8.5kg (19 lbs) and measures 65cms (26").

He has 2 teeth now and continues to drool like crazy. In addition to the drool, he has his first cold at present, so gunk seems to be oozing out of every part of his face. Poor little guy. That time of year, I guess - Leo brought it home from school and then Nico caught it (Abe and I didn't seem to suffer that badly though).

He can now sit on his own, and can play for a pretty good length of time. He reaches for everything, is getting pretty dextrous, chatters away, giggles at all our jokes.

He is starting to eat chunkier food (rather than just puree) and more of it. The other day he had his first cookie type food, which he can pick up and eat on his own.

He loves to stand, and is starting to cruise a little - holding onto something and taking little steps. He stumbles a little with the steps, although he is very steady when standing still.

For photos of this coming month, click here.

Five months old

The months just keep ticking by, with Nico now 5 months old (actually 5 1/2, seeing as it's taken me so long to post). I cuddle him and breathe in his babiness as often as I can, knowing that this stage will soon be over. With Leo, every age and event was new and exciting to us, and so we loved seeing him grow and change. With Nico, being our last child, we want it all to slow down a little and let us savor the moments, but he's not being cooperative and just keeps on growing at an alarming rate. In fact, the time seems to be going even faster than before. Oh well, it does have its upsides, getting to see what kind of boys my babies are turning into is a pleasure in of itself.

I guess the most important change this month is that his first tooth has come through. He has been a drooling mess for two months now, but it's paying off. The bottom right is through and the bottom left will appear over the next day or so. So, one down, nineteen baby teeth to go... sigh! I wish they didn't hurt him so much.

He eats a little real food at most mealtimes - applesauce, bananas, carrots, ceareal. He loves it all and eyes our food with genuine desire. He'll stare at your plate and follow the fork from the food to your mouth, with his mouth hanging open. I keep expecting him to use some Jedi mind trick to move the fork of his own volition, but so far we remain in control. His communication skills are improving because of his desire. He'll stare at his bowl or water cup and VIBRATE. When you ask him "water?" or "eat?" he'll break out in a huge grin and grunt until you give him the food.

We have now officially entered the "nothing is safe" part of babyhood. He grabs at EVERYTHING, and is coordinated enough to get it. Leo especially likes it when Nicky grabs him, his hair, his clothes (although not always so keen when he grabs his toys!). The two of them are really starting to play together, it's adorable, but potentially very annoying. For example, Leo likes to make him laugh, and does so at the table while Nico's eating, which results in food going everywhere. So, we have made a rule - no playing at the table, and Leo gets in trouble when he doesn't obey it. Leo finds it hard enough to resist, but Nico makes it a whole bunch worse by staring at him, waiting for his antics. When Leo is good and doesn't do anything, Nico squeals and flaps his arms up and down, which renders Leo helpless! We see years ahead of us of the two boys conspiring and ganging up against us.

His eyes are starting to change color. No longer the blue of his birth, but something in between that and brown. His hair, what little he has, is now turning blond. Everything just like his big brother. We've been looking at photos of Leo as a baby, and though not identical, you can tell without any doubt that they are brothers. I know lots of people say that Nico is fat, but actually Leo was just the same, surprisingly enough. He looks skinny now, but at Nico's age he was only 0.2kg lighter (and a little shorter). If anything, Leo's cheeks seemed fatter.

We've been leaving Nico without a diaper recently. He does most of his poops in the potty, but not his pees. With his diaper off we can learn his patterns and signs a lot better. We'll see how it goes.

Nico is very quick to laugh, just like Leo was. We notice that our family does a lot of laughing, and we hope that is the same for everyone.

For photos this month, click here.

4 Months old

Nico turned four months last week. He now weighs 7.3 kg (16 lbs) and is 62cms (almost 25 inches) long. I guess his weight gain is slowing down a little, although you wouldn't guess it by the way he chugs on his boobies. If I am slow in getting it out for him, he will literally push my shirt out the way, grab the breast and pull it to him.

We have now started giving him little bits of other foods. He gets to suck the juices out of any fruits we eat, and again, he will let you know in no uncertain terms if you're being too slow in giving him his share. Poor Abe usually holds him while we have fruit salad, and Nico is outraged when Abe takes a bite for himself. We have also tried him with rice cereal, although it may be too soon for that. He got the hang of eating pretty quick, but he then got a lot of gas and slept very badly, so we're going to postpone further attempts for a couple of weeks.

So far we haven't had to deal with any illness of any kind, although he continues to be a teething, drooling mess. No sign of any teeth breaking through yet, but there are several protrusions under the gums. He seems to really appreciate ice and water. He now drinks a bunch of water, a fan, just like the rest of the family.

He gets stronger and more capable each day. When he stands, holding onto your hands for support, he will pick up each leg in turn as though he wants to walk already. He certainly watches with keen interest each vigorous movement that his brother makes. He'll sit on his own, but you still have to put something or someone behind him as he cannot stop himself from falling backwards. He's really good at grabbing things as his coordination improves daily.

He is also very vocal. He likes to chatter away to his toys and to us, making all kinds of sounds that just DELIGHT Leo.

He continues to be calm and happy in general, but he has a temper on him. Though he doesn't often get mad, when he does it lasts for a while and there's nothing you can do about it. He doesn't want consolation, he wants to complain.

More and more we see a personality forming within this baby. He has learned his power over people, and will be quite the charmer. It seems like everything he does is funny to Leo, and Nico equally laughs loud at Leo's antics. Their love for each other is clearly growing.

Sleeping is definitely not his forte. He was starting to go longer intervals between feeds at night, and I was feeling rested, but then teething hit and he awoke far more frequently. Now, he has become accustomed to waking more often and I'm making it worse - I am now so tired that I often pick him up and put him at the breast lying down. We'll both fall asleep that way, which means he can wake up every so often and his snack bar is right there. I need to wake up properly and keep him awake to eat both breasts, so that he can sleep longer in between, but I'm too tired. Oh well, I'll work at it and hopefully by his next month's blog I can report an improvement in this field.

For photos and videos of this coming month, click here.

Trip to Grandparents

Well once again I have gotten behind on blogs. I mean to keep up with it, really I do, but then somehow the time disappears and... oh well. Needless to say, we have been very busy, although some of our projects I'll keep secret until we are further along with them.

A couple of weeks ago we went to visit Abe's parents. Emily, his sister, is off to Oxford University for a couple of years, so we converged at Jim and Vickie's to steal a quick visit.

The bulldozer was supposed to be arriving at our place around that time, so we didn't stay long. In hindsight, we should have gone for longer as it didn't come when it was supposed to, or even close. The quick turnaround was very hard on the kids (12 hour trip each way) and us.

Nevertheless we had a great time. Leo especially LOVED the extra attention. It's hard being the only one for three years and then having a little brother arrive on the scene to share (or steal) the limelight. He got to feed and ride a calf, ride a horse, ride a trike, ride a wagon, ride his Auntie Em. He really loves it there.

Nico also had a good time. I was a little worried that he might not be happy being passed around, as he has gone through a stage of not really wanting to be held by people other than us. But my concern was needless. He was charmed by them all and charmed them in turn.

We tried to go swimming, but the outing was cut very short by lightening on the horizon - the lifeguard at the swimming pool and river area kicked us out of the water, so we went to the park instead.

Leo was very sad leaving, but it had a little payoff in that we got to visit Uncle Augie on our way home. Again, an overly short visit, but better than nothing.

If you want to see more photos, they are in the folder August '11.

3 and 40 months

Nico just turned 3 months old and Leo will be 3 years 4 months soon. Both are growing like weeds.

Nico weighs 15 lbs. It seems like he'll overtake his skinny big brother before we know it! He is super strong. He can pull himself up from lying down to standing up using your fingers for support, and does so as often as you'll let him. He can hold his head super steady, can push his head and chest off the ground when on his belly and has even started to roll over. I got the jumper out of the shed the other day, and he seems very interested in it. He hasn't done much jumping yet, but he loves to look at the toys and stand on his own.

He is a very sweet baby. He'll cuddle into you when you hold him, smile when you look at him, laugh when you play with him. He is also very happy playing on his own. He loves to lie on his play mat, grabs at all kinds of things within his reach (and some that are not), is fascinated by all kinds of objects (especially likes to watch Leo's cars go around the track).

At the beginning it was easy - he cried when he was hungry, wanted to be picked up or had a wet diaper, in other words when he needed something. Now things are starting to get more complicated. He cries to tell you he wants something, and it is sometimes difficult to discern what. Yesterday he was crying a little and I tried all the obvious things to no avail. It turned out that he wanted me to put the cereal box in front of him so he could look at it.

He seems very vocal. He makes all kinds of sounds and is not shy about letting you know what he wants. He is also squealing and laughing more and more, though not as much as Leo did at this age.

One crazy thing is that he's teething. Just turned three months and he's teething! White, swollen gums, slight temperature, a drool machine, gnawing at his hands, your fingers and anything else he can grab onto. Poor little guy, it seems so young. I hope they come through quicker than Leo did, as his took forever and he suffered terribly.

Leo continues to adore his little brother, though he is now starting to become a little jealous and will often ask me to put Nico down so I can hold him. He is still going through a difficult stage, and he seems to strive to push our buttons. I know it is normal, but it is also very difficult. It sometimes seems as though we have to tell him off every other second. The upside is that he's starting kindergarden in a couple of weeks and I think that will really help him. He is an incredibly social child and he will thrive on a more regular interaction with other kids, not to mention all the activities.

When he's not being naughty, he is a wonderful child. He loves people, loves to help and to give, loves to play and color and read stories with you. He is very observant and fascinated by the world outside and all its critters. He is very agile, a great thrower, climbs on everything. He runs all over our place barefoot, although we try and discourage this during snake season.

He is also a perfectionist. This is ultimately a good thing, as he is tidy, meticulous and takes great pride in all he does. The downside is learning not to let this perfectionism control him. Things have to go a certain way, and when they don't he gets very upset. He has to do everything himself and doesn't want any kind of help, even when needed (about the only thing he'll let you help him with is when he needs to pee in the night - he can't reach the light to see where the potty is, so he'll call me for help). Little by little he is learning that some things are not worth getting upset over, but "don't sweat the small stuff" is hard for some adults, let alone a three year old.

I am looking forward to Nico being a little older, for Leo's sake. He is now starting to smile and laugh at Leo, which delights the latter. Coming up though are the more interactive months and I think both boys will really love to have the other's company. But I won't start wishing this time away - it passes fast enough as it is.

Click for photos of July or August.

Two months old

Nico is now two months old and is changing with each passing day.

He weighs almost 13 lbs (5.75kg) and is 22 1/2 " (56cm) long. Friends and family keep calling him fat and the poor little guy has developed bolemia - he'll eat and then puke it back up. I remember Leo as a baby never let a drop of milk, and later food, go to waste, but Nico is a very messy eater. He'll suck and then open his mouth to smile, letting half the milk dribble down his chin and me. I have learned to feed him with a rag under us, so we don't get too wet.

He is letting us sleep a lot better at night. His colicky stage is now almost totally over, so he doesn't wake to pain. He'll go between 4 and 5 hours between when we put him to bed and when he first wakes up to nurse, and those uninterrupted hours of sleep have done the world of good to the sleepy parents of a newborn. He's also going longer between feeds during the day than he did at first.

We have now entered the wonderful world of smiles and giggles. He is overall a very happy and calm baby. He's content to sit on his own for a long time watching the world go by without ever fussing. He laughs at Leo's constant attention, and doesn't flinch when his big brother runs around screaming and jumping. He coos and chatters, laughs and grins.

He has two types of cries - one signals pain, the other signals that he wants something. The first is generally linked to his stomach and is getting less frequent. Fortunately we have a secret weapon for his pain - we put him in a bath and all crying stops instantly. He LOVES the water, and I mean "he should have been a fish" loves the water (just like his mama). The second type of cry starts as a little on/off complaint, nothing very intrusive. He often gets picked up at this point (to nurse, to change his diaper or to be with the family, depending on the tone of his cry), but if he isn't, the cry gets a little more insistent, the final warning. And then he GETS MAD! He doesn't have the throbbing vein in his neck that Leo, and his uncle Augie, have, but that doesn't lessen the effect.

We haven't done too much diaper free with Nico. With Leo he used about one diaper a day for the first year (we then starting building and someone came up to play with him and Leo stopped asking to go to the toilet). Nico has done several pees in the potty, and even a couple of poops, but he struggles so much to poop that diaper free has been impractical. He'll start signals that he needs to go, but won't get it out for another half hour or more. We'll get more serious about that soon, now that his digestive system is maturing.

He is also getting a lot stronger. He loves to stand and even jump, and pushes up vigorously when he wants you to hold him upright. He locks his legs and can hold his weight for a little while. His head is also getting a lot stronger and he'll hold it upright for the most part. He likes to sit on the sofa like the rest of us and can stay there for a while, but if he starts to fall he can't yet correct himself.

He completely recognizes all three of us and has different associations for each. He grabs onto your T-Shirt and strokes you when you hold him. He seems extremely affectionate, just like his big brother.

All in all, a beautiful baby and the perfect completion to our family.

For photos of this month, click here.

Bob and Janet visit

My mom and step-dad (Janet and Bob) have just left, having been with us for the last 10 days.

The first time they visited us here was after Leo was born, when we lived in a small, one room house with dirt floors. Given the heat at that time and the lack of any kind of amenities, it is surprising they came back, but they have, a couple of times.

This, like that first visit, was the hottest and driest time of the year. We had asked them to bring us some rain (we haven't had any since September 28th), but they failed to do so. Other than that rather huge offense, they were the perfect house guests and we loved having them here!

They got to meet the rabbits and pigs, both new since they were last here, and even had piglets eating out of their hands and sucking on their fingers. But of course the animals were not really the reason they came, they came to meet the new grandson and play with the older one.

Nico is obviously too little to appreciate family visits, but Leo LOVED it. He happily gave up his room and bed for them, although he had originally done so under the assumption that he would be SHARING the bed with them. Janet was his pet - he told her what to do, what to say, where to go - everything was about Janet for the first few days. Bob told him stories and he and Abe took him kite flying, which he really enjoyed.

Leo is a very loving, fun, funny, sensitive child, but boy can he be obstinate and infuriating when he wants to be. He's had a rough month - mama was heavily pregnant, then an invalid with a new baby; papa has been busier than usual, picking up the slack of mama being out of action; both are getting less sleep and are thus less patient and energetic; and Leo has suffered some from all the changes. Then came Bob and Janet, which meant that he has been overexcited. He has missed much needed naps, and replaced them with a meltdown almost every day since we've had visitors. We all felt for him deeply, but at the same time could not let him get his way. Hopefully for all of us, this stage will not last long.

Leo will really miss his grandparents, as will we. It is the one thing that we do not like about our life here, that we are so far from both of our families.

Photos of their visit are in the set May '11, with other photos of the boys and us.

One Month Old

Nico is now a little over one month old, can you believe it? We took him to the clinic and he's doing great. After one week he weighed pretty much the same as when he was born, but after one month he has gained a whopping three and a half pounds! Not too surprising seeing as the little guy nurses A LOT, still every two hours for the most part, although he is starting to let a little more time lapse in between feeds.

He is overall an extremely calm and alert baby. He has colic (painful gas and poop), and so he cries and wriggles around when he has bouts of that. But when he's not in pain, he is truly the sweetest little thing. He will sit on his own for long periods of time, just looking around, but also loves to be held. He likes to be on his play mat and can already hit the shit out of his dangling toys. He LOVES baths and has never once made any protest at being put in water, even when it gets in his eyes.

Leo by this age was already smiling in response to things you did (kind of rare), and has continued to be extremely social ever since. He also did not like to be put down. Nico by comparison seems more serious, and more laid back. Obviously too soon to start characterizing him, but it is interesting to see the differences already shown. I really love the dynamics of having two sons, and am looking forward to them growing together.

For photos of this past month, click here.

One week old

We went into the village today to the doctor. I had my stitches out. I'm generally doing really well and am relatively pain free. Nico had his first checkup. He's looking great. His umbilical cord stump has fallen off and healed fine; he seems strong and alert; he hasn't gained a whole bunch of weight, but it is the first week, and his bowel movements are frequent and healthy. All in all, a normal little baby.

Photos for this month will be posted here.

A new arrival

At 5.55pm on the 28th April (his aunt Shelly's birthday), we welcomed little Nico into our family. He weighed just over 7 lbs (as opposed to the predicted 9 lbs or so of an ultrasound a few weeks ago!?) and was 20" long. Pretty much on a par with his big brother Leo, and he looks uncannily like him at that age too, although a little darker.

He was delivered via C-Section, as he refused to turn out of the breech position, again just like Leo. Even under the best of conditions, Cesarion is not the most romantic image of birth out there, but in this case it was even worse than usual. For some reason, the hospital was packed, with a bunch of emergencies coming in all the time. The result of this craziness (other than no family members allowed into the operation area) is that Nico was left on the infant table in the operation room for almost an hour an a half, crying, as there was no one available to take me to the recuperation room and give me my baby.

When we were eventually moved and united, he was so upset that he had some trouble latching on to the breast and continued to cry. Poor little guy. It took almost the full two hours of recuperation to settle him down, but once he did, he took to nursing like a voracious little vampire and became very calm. We got out of the hospital as soon as we could - 24 hours after the op.

We went to a hotel to stay for a couple of nights before making the ride home (for those of you unfamiliar with our place, we live off a bumpy and long dirt road). Jim and Vickie, Abe's parents, were at the hotel as they had come down to watch Leo. They did the perfect job - bringing him lots of toys, spoiling him rotten and making him feel special during a difficult time. Thank you.

We came home on Sunday and now, one week after Nico was born (I can barely believe it), we have settled into a four person family. Leo loves his little brother and is extremely attentive to him. He is acting up a little with us on the other hand, but I suppose that is to be expected given the circumstances. I am definitely looking forward to when I can pick him up again.

All in all I am recovering very quickly, and although still a little sore, I can walk, turn over in bed, do small chores. What I spend a large part of my time doing is nursing Nico. He has an almost insatiable appetite, partly because he finds comfort at the breast, so likes to nurse when pooping or when he has gas, etc. Luckily my supply can keep up with him.

Right now, he also sleeps a lot, so we have a chance to recover somewhat, although we all continue to be tired. Luckily, he is very calm, although he is a little nocturnal, a habit we hope he breaks soon.

We are all delighted with the new arrival and very much in love. I cannot believe I have two beautiful sons.

For more photos, click here.

She has a penis

Now that I'm in my 20th week of pregnancy, we decided to go and have another ultrasound.

Everything looks great. All normal and healthy. Just one small issue - our little girl has a penis! Yep, that's right, another boy. And before any of you start in with stories of someone you know who thought their baby was a boy, but turned out to be a girl, our little guy was very accommodating in the view he gave us of his junk. Even Leo, who was calling out the body parts he could see, cried "Nicky's wee wee".

Of course at the end of the day, it doesn't much matter either way. But it will take some readjustment. We had always assumed it would be a she, a little sister, etc. Well, Nicola Tess is no more, little Nico took her place!

And he is a very active little guy. I am now feeling him regularly. Thankfully, I have no discomfort or bad side effects of the pregnancy so far, although the BIG months are about to begin! Keep you posted next year.

As for Leo, I realize that I am long overdue for an update. I promise I will do a post on him in January. For the time being, suffice it to say that he's doing great, growing like a weed, in constant trouble, chatting up a storm and excited about Christmas.