Wombat the wrecking ball

Wombat is is now 1 and a half, and is into everything that is below waist height in the house. He either pulls it off the shelf or puts it in his mouth. 

A couple of months ago he was crawling everywhere and stood for a few seconds in a wobbly way, before falling back on his bum. He learned how to get out of his highchair and onto the table, and had no qualms about crawling out of the back door into a muddy freezing garden in nothing but a onesie, to practice pushing his trolley. 

Now he is walking and picking up speed, toddling everywhere he has a chance to, including out of the front door. 

When people ask, I joke that we’ve baby proofed the house but they still get in. The stairs are in such a way that not even a ‘universal’ stair gate will fit onto them, but now he knows how to crawl both up and down them, so I think we’re past that point. We did get a stair gate last year to keep the dog downstairs, that we managed to fix onto the landing. This was installed after the dog vomited on our bed when Wombat was a few weeks old, and I ‘lost my shit’. The stairgate kept the dog downstairs, but it proved to be a nasty tripping hazard too, especially while carrying Wombat or laundry. Mole, Hedgehog and Beaver could never work it very well, and in the end the plastic hinges broke, so that was the end of it. 

Wombat can now also climb the loft ladder, which is a whole other hazard level. Last week his little head appeared above the hatch while I was doing the laundry. Beaver was dutifully just behind him. We’ve got cupboard locks on anything that opens, including the toilets which he’s fond of stuffing things into, like rugs and towels. That’s been a mixed blessing, as it’s made opening drawers and cupboards that bit more complicated. 

Now that the warmer weather is here, we are enjoying some mini walks with his trolley. The fact that Spring is coinciding with Wombat walking is quite nice timing. Beaver loves to push Wombat in his buggy on the school run. She does a wobbly zigzag along the path in a determined way, peering around the sides every so often to check where she’s going. She gives him the sweetest kiss at the school gates. 

Beaver loves her dancing, twirling around the livingroom to her own humming tune. She tried ballet for a time and now does Irish Dancing at her school. She won the trophy last week which she is super excited about. She likes to dress up as Wednesday from The Addams Family, her favourite sea animal is a dolphin, favourite land animal is a deer and favourite bird is a robin. She is easily the most demanding one after Wombat, asking for porridge or where a toy is every ten minutes. There are melodramatic tears and whining every day. 

Hedgehog is more low key. She is learning guitar with Mr M&H right now. They are working through some old bluesy numbers and country songs. She loves hoodie tops, archery in the garden, reading Harry Potter books, watching Harry Potter films, still sucks her thumb, and has decided that Chinese Takeaway is her new favourite food. She is quiet at school and loud at home. For her tenth birthday coming up she wants a cinema outing with friends to see Stitch, followed by a pizza party. 

Mole is entering a new phase of short shirts, make-up, fashion and watching endless Youtube shorts on I know not what. She is fully embracing middle school life, swinging between increased freedom and short walks on her own to friends’ houses, then curling up with me to watch a film in bed. She has an elaborate skincare routine and spends lots of time massaging various potions into her perfect eleven year old skin. I can see all the adolescent angst that is ahead for her and sometimes just want to wrap her up in a blanket and keep her next to me. She has her SATS exams coming up, so I’ve promised to take her on a day out together when they’re finished. She wants to go bowling?? and of course shopping. 

My wallet may not be able to cope.