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March 14, 2006
Monthly Newsletter: Month Seven
Dear Dashiell,
On Valentine's Day you turned 7 months old.
I would have written this newsletter sooner, but your mother is a slacker, and we were in South Africa at the time.
One of your favourite things to do early on was to make a kind of gurgly sound like a static-y tv. We have been highly amused by this, and at the moment of writing, I wish you would revert back to it more, seeing as you've progressed to other things that are a little messier.
Late January we had your catheter procedure scheduled to try and fix your heart murmur. Sadly that didn't quite work out like we hoped, and we took you home the same day, with the heart murmur and two little puncture marks in your groin. You recuperated really fast from that ordeal, with no apparant side-effects, for which I'm thankful.
You also charmed the hell out of the nurses on the recovery ward, which would become a running theme over the course of the month.
Not days after your procedure we were on a plane to South Africa to meet your grandparents. I had been dreading this a fair bit, as a total of about 17 hours in a confined space with an infant wasn't the most appealing prospect. To my utter relief and absolute delight, you were a complete dream to travel with. It made the trip a hell of a lot more pleasant indeed. Besides being great on the plane, you were also really good about long travels in the car, which made driving to and from and inside Kruger Park a nice experience.
On our flight to Cape Town we did encounter the kind of child I'd fervently hoped you wouldn't be. A little boy of about one and a half or so in the row in front of us, who proceeded to have the screaming hysterics the entire way. His parents were also completely incapable of understanding what he wanted, and he seemed incapable of communicating his needs to them. Thankfully the flight was only 2 hours, and we didn't end up with kids like that on the longer flights to and from South Africa.
We saw lots of critters and amazing sights there, and you also went up Table Mountain but sadly I doubt you'll remember any of it. We did take over 1100 pictures, as well as some video, so you'll be able to enjoy it a little in retrospect when you get older.
Not that it's any real surprise, but you charmed the hell out of my dad and Diane. Diane could be overheard having conversations with you where she was discussing hiding places and other ways to avoid you going home with us. Unfortunately for her, we're not ready to give you up.
You were just so great on the trip. The change in temperature didn't bother you at all, nor did the heat. You had the luxury of being small enough that we could bathe you in little portable containers during lunch out and about in Kruger park. We all wished we were small enough to be able to do so too on some days.
Other than that you're still an active roller, which drives us nuts when you roll and scream about being on your tummy. All your therapy is making you stronger in your trunk bit by bit, which is good. We still worry about the day you start crawling though, because you'll be into absolutely everything. It's nice to see you so happy and active though.
Until next month...
Love,
Mama
Posted on 08:46 PM to: Dashiell , Newsletter