General update

It's been a busy couple of days. I took Michael to the dentist yesterday morning because I wanted to get his top front teeth checked. I was worried that he might have damaged them by bumping his mouth. Thankfully, they are fine. The dentist was trying to encourage him to open up and say ah by showing him a model of a mouth saying ah. I don't think he has much experience of 11 month old babies. He then asked me if Michael could say ah - erm... no. Michael sat there impassively regarding the dentist who was foolish enough to put a gloved finger in his mouth. Michael bit it. I forgot to warn him that this is a hazard for any finger venturing too close to that dank cavern of evil ;o)

In the afternoon we went to the children's farm in Hoofddorp with a friend I 'met' on a baby forum and her two children. It was a lot of fun and Michael really enjoyed playing in the sandpit. He seemed, despite my efforts to prevent it, to eat a vast quantity of the sand so I imagine that he will be pooping sand castles soon enough. He had so much excitement that he ended up falling asleep in his dinner when we got home. Being a good Mummy, my first thought was to take a photo ;o)

Today I decided to have a lazy day and I took Michael out for a little bit of shopping in town and a snack in Hema. Michael had babbling conversations with any baby in earshot and spent a happy 10 minutes thumping his hands up and down on the table and waving to passers-by. He can be quite a handful in restaurants so I gave myself a pat on the back for being brave enough to venture into Hema. On the way home I spotted a huddled bundle of feathers on the pavement. A wood pigeon was sitting very still and with some of his feathers at odd angles. I'm a bit of a hopeless case when it comes to animals in distress so I shot off home to get a box and some gloves. The sun was very hot and I was concerned that the bird would get attacked by the local cats if he sat there much longer. I have never handled a bird before but I managed to get it into the box without too much trouble. Holding the box under one arm and steering the pushchair with the other I made my way home again. I put the box in the utility room as it is quiet, dark and cool in there. Within the hour the animal ambulance came to collect him to take him to a local vet. The animal ambulance really is fantastic. The lady took the bird out of the box to examine him and he really was very beautiful. She thought that he had a broken wing and was a bit stunned but would almost certainly be fine after some TLC.

So... that was my good deed for the day. Michael was most unimpressed that his dinner was delayed whilst I attended to the bird. As punishment for my good deed he decided to hang off my leg howling. What is it they say? No good deed goes unpunished?

I guess I'll finish with a general update:

Currently reading: Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Last movie watched: The Glenn Miller Story
Last thing I ate: A smoked salmon sandwich in Hema
Current mood: Murderous. If Ron doesn't pipe down I will go crazy.
Current location: In the living room at home