Last monday marked Nathan's 6th month - a half birthday! He's celebrated this fact by devouring whole jars of baby food (some lovely organic stuff - all varieties seem to be mostly carrot, but they taste lovely), walking around holding on to someone's hands, managing to sit himself back up having been lying on his tummy, and blowing raspberries whenever he feels like it. His growing confidence with movement has meant he's been much less frustrated, and I've been a bit more anxious - I can't exactly leave him on a playmat for any longer than 5 seconds before he could be launching himself towards the nearest sharp object. James and I have had to buy him his next stage car seat already - they all start at 9kg, and Nathan is over that marker already. I'll try to keep him in his first car seat a little longer before he goes in the new seat - the Maxi Cosi Cabrio we have says it can be used up to around 13Kg, though I'd like to meet those strong enough to manuever a baby weighing that much in one of those seats! The next stage seat is a Maxi Cosi Tobi, and we bought it in Oceanic Blue - very bright, but very well designed, with a neat way of keeping straps out of the way so you can put baby in the seat without much disturbance. We tested the seat before buying it with a sleeping Nathan, transfering him from his buggy to the seat and back again without him batting an eyelid, so I think it works! I reckon he'll be in the seat in a couple of weeks time. It'll be nice in a way not to have to lug the entire seat around, though at the same time it's a neat system - I've got somewhat used to just dashing to Sainsburys in the car, plonking the car seat on the buggy frame, running round the shop for groceries and then driving back home, all without having to undo any straps or move baby.
The rest of the week involved two Dad birthdays and my own small milestone - no longer in my twenties, but at least I feel like I've achieved a fair amount in the last decade. Having Nathan being the biggest achievement, with getting married a close second. I've graduated, learned to drive, bought a car, bought a second car, bought a house, redecorated / improved the house, travelled to America on business, written chapters for books, worked with some of the smartest people on the planet, and been more drunk than I hope I will ever be in the future. On the downside, I lost my mother, and my dad is suffering from some memory problems, but my grandmother has hit her 80th birthday, my brother has graduated with a fantastic 2:1 in Creative Product Design, and I've gained a fantastic new family in the Hart family. We recently had a large family gathering for Grandpa Hart's 90th birthday, so I finally met all of the family - had a lovely day and got on well with all of them. Coming from a small family, this makes a big difference. I worry that Rob (my brother) feels quite alone some times - since Mum left us, he's had no real home to fall back on, and has had to fend for himself, which is really hard work. He's worked incredibly hard, won an award for an innovative design of recycling trolley in a competition run by the Design Council, and managed to get himself a great result in his degree. Oh yes, and he has a website at www.robertgoode.co.uk!
Looking forward to the next decade, I'm going to see Nathan grow up considerably - going to a nursery and on to a proper school! Kinda scary, to think about it in that way. I'm looking forward to playing with him in the garden, playing football and cricket again, as well as playing tennis with him (if he wants to). He may have a brother or sister at some point too, but not for a couple of years yet! I'll probably go back to work at some point - I'd like to do more writing, and I don't think I'm quite done with programming. I'm going to have to wean myself off playing The Sims 2 at some point in the future, though I'm still really enjoying it - it involves a certain amount of creativity, which is keeping me sane while on maternity leave. With any luck, we'll be in a new house by Christmas, in a completely new area for me. I'd like to drop a couple of dress sizes again - I think I'm pretty much the same size now as I was at the start of the last decade, having gone bigger, smaller, and then had Nathan in that time. I'll wait til he's a bit older before I really hit the gym - I'm still feeding him, which makes any kind of vigorous exercise somewhat uncomfortable. There are plus sides to that, though - Nathan is getting the benefit of home-made milk, and James is certainly not complaining about the view.