Jam Jam Boomerang and walking

At the Box of Delights course we were talking about birthday parties and things to do with our little ones. Nicole recommended Funky Monkeys or Jam Jam Boomerang, I was quite surprised, I didn't think that they'd take children as young as Tilly but apparently they do and the adults get to play in there with them - bonus. So today, we went to find Jam Jam Boomerang. It is a large warehouse on the outskirts of Coventry and as we approached the door we could hear the children screaming inside. Adults are free, so it only cost us £2.00 to get in which we thought was a bargain. You get 2 hours of fun in a soft play area. Tilly had fallen asleep in the car was wasn't best pleased when we woke her up to get her out, so she was still a bit groggy when we got in. We took her into the PVC clad foam climbing frame, all caged in with netting. Tilly seemed totally bemused and a little uncertain. Richard went up with her and I stood looking through the net to encourage her to move around it a lot more. After two trips round the lumps, ramps, through tunnels, down slides etc she was fine and you could see her really start to enjoy it and more importantly to get better at her agility with the strange obstacles. It reminded me a lot of the children's TV show 'Funhouse'. We spent nearly the full 2 hours there, mainly crawling around on all fours and squeezing through the obstacles that had been designed for small children. It was a great and cheap day out and I'd certainly do it again.

Tilly has been practising walking a lot more today. Before we went to Jam Jam, we took this video footage of her walking. She tends to have a problem when she gets excited about what she's doing, she giggles, her knees go and she launches forwards towards us.



Later this afternoon I took her out into the garden to practice. They say that children start to walk better in open spaces as they feel less likely to knock into something and feel free to move. She did really well and probably took about 16 steps. I can't believe how fast she is learning, it was only Friday that she took her first steps and she's grasping it quickly, with much better standing balance too.
I'm so proud of her. It is so amazing to think that not even a year ago she was still inside me and already she is out, crawling, walking, babbling and understanding what I say.
Her understanding is growing so fast. Yesterday we were reading books, she kept going to her bookcase, picking out a new book and coming back to the sofa to read it. After flicking through all the pages, she'd turn around go over to the bookcase and point at the next book and back. This continued for about six books. A while later I asked if she wanted to read a book and she turned to look at the bookcase.
Today we were standing by the light switch and she was trying to turn it on and off. I was telling her it changed the light but with the bright daylight the difference could hardly be seen. Richard said she didn't understand and I almost agreed until she pushed it and then turned and pointed at the light.
Earlier today she came to see me in the kitchen, she'd just been playing with a ball that she no longer had. I asked her where the ball was and she turned around to look where she'd left it. I told her to go and get it and off she went, crawling purposefully towards it. I am totally amazed by how much she can do and understand now, literally every day is new. Although they say you learn something new everyday, it is strange to think how profound these new skills that you can see her learning are to the rest of her life.



In a week's time we'll be holding a small gathering for Tilly's birthday. I thought I'd practice the recipe for the cakes. I plan to make little fairy cakes, small ones and very small toddler ones. Of course the best way to test them is to test them on Tilly. I didn't expect her to fit the whole thing in her mouth but she did. (Apologies for the noise in the background, Richard was shredding).

Valuable lessons learnt

Tilly's neediness continued today. Her desperation to be close to me has hit an all time high, it would be nice if it wasn't every minute of the day.  Within the first half an hour she'd managed to pull herself up onto various pieces of furniture and fall down bumping her head every time.  One bump was particularly bad on the hardwood floor.  After the third bump I put up the travel cot, to contain her and keep her safe.  She wasn't at all happy.  

The afternoon was spent trying to deal with her new mobile ways.  She is desperate to get to the television, each time I say 'no' firmly she looks at me and when I say it again she bursts into tears and comes crawling for a cuddle.   So for the final part of the afternoon I put her in 'prison' as Richard calls it, or a travel cot as it is more commonly known.  She certainly doesn't like it but at least it gives me peace of mind if I'm in the kitchen that she is not going to break a bone, crack her head open, eat something she shouldn't or get her fingers trapped in something.

Matilda is often better when we are out, so I went to the breastfeeding cafe. I haven't been to the Friday one in ages, when I arrived, I quickly remembered why.  Matilda played happily on the play mats and watched the other children arrive.  As always biscuits are provided, I gave Matilda one and she sat contently on the floor eating it and offering me a bit from time to time.  This was a new thing she learnt over Christmas, to give us something and then take it back. She took to her feet and stood up at the table, another little boy (only a month older than her) came over to see her, he was also desperately looking for more biscuits.  It was at this point that she learnt a tough lesson in life . . sometimes other people don't share.  She gave him her biscuit, which he promptly took and started to eat.  She looked on in horror and then burst into tears, he tried to feed it back to her but this made her howl even more.   She came for a cuddle and eventually calmed down.  

This afternoon I took her off to BabyStart, a sensory room run by SureStart.   I haven't been to BabyStart since she was 8 weeks old. It was such a horrible experience as she was screaming that I never dared go back.  Back then all the babies were much older so I thought I'd wait until she could enjoy it more.  Today the tables had turned there were lots of little babies and Matilda was the big one that could move.   It was nice to be out and she seemed to enjoy herself.   She certainly seemed fascinated by the babies and kept wanting to poke them in the face . . .yet more lessons followed . . . .

Walkies

Oh my goondess, not only has she just cracked crawling but now she is confidently taking first steps with her baby zimmer!

I bought the baby zimmer back in the summer at a car boot sale and it says from 12 months, so I didn't expect her to be using it so soon to walk with. She has been playing with the musical part for a while now and half-heartedly taken a few nervy and wobbly steps before . .  but today she has walked up and down the rug between Richard and me several times. I can't believe it, it seems that now she has worked out how to move, she wants to run!

I think you can tell by the look on my face that I am so pleased for her . . .

She pants excitedly as she is walking, it is almost as she can't believe she is doing it either. 

     

I'm not going to hold her back, she has learnt these things at the right time for her. I love when Matilda learns something new, she looks so pleased with herself and I am so proud of every little step.