It’s hard to believe that we are 8 months down the line already. The evenings are gradually getting lighter out there, and before we know it we will be nearing summer.
Conrad is so aware of what goes on around him now and so keen on everything. He has had several comments from people recently about how grown-up he looks, how tall he is and how happy he is all the time. He has a really infectious laugh – that definitely has been confirmed by lots of people (including plenty of strangers out and about) so many times! Yesterday (Sunday 8 February) we went with friends to a kids’ soft play place called “Manic Monsters” in Edenbridge for the first time and Conrad had two fantastic laughing sessions: one when I changed his nappy in the ladies’, and one when his Daddy was making faces at him through the netting in one of the play areas. Several people nearby started to smile, one Dad looking up from his laptop at one of the tables near the play area, and someone actually burst out: “What an infectious laugh!”. So apart from smiling away ourselves, we were so proud…!
Conrad loves to try to communicate with any toddler that happens to be nearby, and they usually in turn seem quite curious, if sometimes a bit puzzled by the baby that’s giggling so unreservedly at them. I took Conrad and his sister to a 2-year birthday party on Friday 30 January, and he was playing really happily in the middle of the floor and all the 2-year-olds with a few toys, at the same time as his big, happy eyes were taking in everything around him. After a while away from me, though, I could feel him looking at me and when I turned around he looked straight into my eyes and made an unhappy face – he didn’t cry, but it was as if he was telling me to come and pick him up. As soon as I did, he was all smiles again.
Conrad can be very noisy at times, predominately all happy sounds, mainly caused by his delight to be walking or standing, playing with certain toys or watching his sister. Apart from general, happy shrieks, his favourite sound of the moment is “da-da-da”. (Jessica actually has started to refer to him as “Da-da” – not being able to say “Conrad” just yet.)
Conrad absolutely, definitely has a little brown patch above the pupil of his left eye – the rest of his eyes are still blue – I have checked in different types of lighting conditions so I can finally be certain. The birthmark in the palm of his right hand appears to have shrunk, though I’m not completely sure whether that’s because the rest of his hand has grown bigger around it.
Gabriella