Yes!!!

Nicolas is 1 year, 9 months and 22 days today.

We realised earlier this week that it wasn't just wishful thinking and that Nico actually has started saying his first words... Kind of.

C, D and E in French and 'Two' do count as words, right? Or am I being desperate?

We're getting things ready for the trip to Brisbane on Saturday. I got Nico a Monkey Happy Buddy which he seems to like. Can't stuff much in there since it's more a harness than a backpack, so guess we'll stick in a sippy cup.

Another milestone achieved this week, another thing I no longer will take for granted: the art of nose-blowing. I have no idea where Nico picked up this one from, it came as a complete surprise when he actually blew in the tissue. He's still not blowing hard enough to clear all the muck from his nostrils, so I've had to resort to the 3 times daily nasal torture: Babydoo nasal aspirator + Sterimar sea water nasal spray. Poor Nico hates it and tries to run away at the sight of either of them, but he's come to reluctantly accept his fate. It's made a massive difference compared to his other colds, visibly reducing the amount of snot. I've often wondered how come he's not looking all wrinkled up after losing all this amount of liquid but I guess it's the same principle as other liquids coming out of his body in the last 2 years - drool, snot, various nappy contents... in reality Nico's a sponge in a human body.

Butterfly creek

Today, Nico is 1 year and 9 months and I'm 15 weeks pregnant.

We thought that it'd be nice to start having a weekly family outings every week-ends. Either go to playgrounds, the swimming pool or some other place.

Last week was the Mt Eden playground, and it definitely was popular with Nicolas, who just couldn't get away from the slides, making whoosh sounds as soon as he saw them.

Yesterday we went to Butterfly Creek, which is not a hugely known place but well laid out. Nico especially liked the fishes. Must remember to drag him to Kelly Tarlton's at the next rainy day.

He was brave enough to touch the baby crocodiles. Though I suspect this is only because he hasn't been bitten by one of them.

Butterfly Creek's latest addition: a mime-in-training

The petting farm was also a great place. Bunnies, chickens and one goat were freely hopping around, hoping that they'd find a sucker of a visitor to buy their food. Next visit when Nico isn't so wary of chickens (still traumatised from his encounter with the muffin-stealing rooster at the zoo) we'll get him a bag or two.

Nico's gotten a lot more interactive and independent, quite happy to walk the streets without holding anyone's hand. He loves puzzles and knows most animals' names quite well, pointing to the picture when asked. It would help if I knew how to say seagull or rhinoceros in Vietnamese...

He's taken on the responsibility of feeding Loki, the cats and Capt. Barbossa. He still has to be supervised, to make sure we don't end up with obese pets.

If only Nico could be just as efficient when dealing with his own dinner...

The toy library we belong to has recently acquired a bouncy castle. This is going to be a hit!

Bang bang goes the little cowboy... but something's missing...

I'm sure Daddy will remedy this in good time.

The pregnancy is progressing well, or rather it's just progressing. I'm getting a bit of a pot belly but nothing too obvious yet. Morning sickness isn't happening as much any more which is a relief, but I can't wait till I finally get my sushi on 31st Jan. Tiredness is the most difficult part to deal with this time round as I end up sleepy and cranky (crankier would say a certain Daddy who shall remain unnamed) if I don't have my afternoon nap. And to think that Kavi's cousin went through her pregnancy without even knowing she was pregnant till less than 1hr before the birth.

We got to hear the Bean's heartbeat at the latest visit to the midwife and of course my phone decided to restart so I got no recording.

Oh well, 25 more weeks to go. That's 175 days, 4200 hours, or 252 000 minutes to go.