As Nathan approaches the 9 month marker, he's starting to take his first steps. This weekend he managed 6 unaided steps as he walked from my arms to James, and he's now confidently climbing the stairs on his own (with one of us behind him to help him if he stumbles, of course!) He's also making sounds that are much closer to real speech, and we're really looking forward to him understanding what "mama" and "dada" mean.
On top of all Nathan's moving around, it's getting closer to the day when we have to move house. We're buying a house in a village just south of Banbury, and there's rumours that the move could be around 4 weeks away. Of course, the only way we're able to know this is because we're in direct contact with both our buyers, and the people we're buying from. Estate agents and lawyers never seem to have any real answers when we ask them what's going on - the only things they can help with are things directly relating to our sale or purchase, and nothing further up or down the chain. The chain is quite long - around 7 links, but it sounds like there aren't any major problems or sticking points at any of those links. The latest rumour is that the people at the top of the chain are buying a new build property, and the builders require a 4 week exchange from receipt of contracts, which is apparently happening some time this week. Whether the rest of us will be ready in time is another matter, but we're keeping fingers crossed!
So, as I write this blog post it may be my last from Birmingham - my spare time from now on is going to be dominated with packing boxes and helping Nathan to take his first steps to independant walking - I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my back holds up to the strain!