Day 176 23/12/11 Wrapping presents

WE went out this morning to take the photos to our countersigner fro Rocio's passport application. Michael was not very happy in the car which is unusual.




Michael helped Rocio wrap presents today. He enjoyed tasting the paper and grabbing everything. In the end Rocio had to make him sleep to get it finished.
In the afternoon Michael was getting very upset and Rocio had to take him for a long walk up and down and up and down the stairs to cheer him up. He hasn't wanted that for a long time now. It's like when he was little!

Day 175 22/12/11 Lidl and Videos

Sorry I forgot to take a picture of Michael today. So here is an extra from yesterday.



In the morning Michael and I had a fight over the computer. He likes to come and sit on me as I watch my regular youtube videos but after a few minutes of watching electronics and ukuleles he gets frustrated and wants to grab the keyboard and mouse and get on with the "In the night garden" show. As soon as it comes on he sits peacefully watching the episode until the final music when he get bouncy again and wants to go to his mum.
Mandy Michael and Rocio went shopping today at Lidl. Mikewas not very impressed with it but he did have a good time charming passers by. One memebr of staff asked if she could have Michael as a present for christmas. I think Rocio said no. You do have to think about the loss of chiild benefit.

Day 174 21/12/11 Christine, Basil and Mrs Christmas

This morning God Mother Christine and Uncle Basil came to visit with Chirstmas presents for Michael. It was really good to see them and Michael had a good time bouncing on them both.





It's a pity I don't have much time on a work day and they soon had to go. Then we went straight to the pee-a-boo Chistmas party. I had to leave Rocio and MIchael there and go off to work but I'm told they had a good time and Michael got a present from Mrs Christmas.

Day 173 20/12/11 Bad News more Delays

We got bad news today. The passport office has rejected the photos we sent with Rocio's passport application saying that they are not recent enough. How they know this I don't know. So we need to send them some more photos, re-signed by the person who signed the originals. They haven't rejected her application yet but we do need to get the new photos to them as soon as possible and the Christmas holidays will make even more delay in doing this.

So this morning we had a trip out to a photo booth for more official photos and took them to the man who signed the originals, who wasn't there, and left them for him. We really hope to get this done quickly. Eventually we will have to go to Peru without her British passport and get that when we get back, which would be a waste of money and a shame.

Day 172 19/12/11 New Words

Michael is learning to speak. He hasn't said any recognisable words yet but the babbling he does is getting more and more 'wordy'. He often says whole sentences of babble and has a whole range of complicated sounds. I can't tell yet if he is tending towards just English sounds or more likely English and Spanish sounds. I am really excited to hear him learn to speak.

It's a Jenkins thing

I got some nice pictures of me as a baby and of my nephew Bob from Mum this weekend.
I think Michael looks more and more 'Jenkins' as he is growing. He doesn't look like a twin of Bob or me but you can see the family resemblance.

Day 171 18/12/11 Shopping again

Michael had a huge breakfast today. He is still getting through he boiled veg Rocio made for him and froze in little pots. He has had bits and pieces of it before but never very much at a time. Today he was desperate to eat it and was grabbing the spoon and dragging it to his mouth not giving me time to get any food on it. He had the whole little pot with hardly time to take a breath and looked very disappointed when it was all gone. He finished off with a good feed of Mummy's milk too.


we went to buy Rocio's surprise Christmas present today. This involved going around lots of electrical shops and trying the iPod docks. Michael was really at his charming best and made friends with lots of passes by. One woman on a check out said she saw Rocio coming into the shop with Michael on her back and thought it was a doll.
We had our traditional posh coffees and Michael made more friends. He's often having a conversation with the people behind if he's on Rocio's back and we're not paying attention.