Owner: Goblin & Poppet URL:http://goblinpoppet.blogspot.com Join Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 03:37:19 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Tales of two smallish persons: Conor and Isla.
Their aim: to drive mummy bonkers.
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Mein Name Ist.. 2008-03-08 15:07:55 Blame rests on the dude pictured for the inspiration behind Conor's name. I was very much in love with Connor MacLeod when I was younger. This sword swinging immortal's name was perhaps the only one I gave any interest to, ever, until I realised in the first few weeks of my pregnancy that I also needed ideas for a girl child. Of course I could have done the 'liberated' trendy thing * insert large mooning emoticon* and use Connor on girl but that is a vehemently disgusting thought. I was at a loss for girls' names. As far as I was concerned my impending child came fitted with a winkle and I did not like the idea of becoming frustrated over picking a back up. So, I was lazy and considered a few names that were already in use on adolescents I encountered in my workplace. They were lovely gi
Islasthenics 2008-03-06 17:02:58 Isla has a new, albeit uncomfortable method of moving from sitting up, to tummy on floor. The "splits-face plant". The following illustrates as closely as possible how she does it although I was not quick enough to capture the actual face meets carpet moment.
Gobliquirks 2008-03-05 18:25:08 Like most kids his age, Conor has plenty of quirky and interesting behaviors.Isla is now his new doll. Since she's still finding her legs (bad, bad pun) she makes the perfect target. She is unable to get away from Conor fast enough and she's trapped if left in the sitting position. Although some of this dressing/undressing occurred while Isla was in the cast, it was harder for Conor to work around the chest high plaster and she was fast, very fast when having tummy time. Yesterday, he removed her buttoned top, found an old polar fleece jersey of his and was about to wrench it down over her head when I found him. The weather has been brisker over the last few days but not enough to warrant polar fleece apparel, although Conor seems to think she wasn't warm enough. He has Isla's
Ghastly Pink 2008-03-04 18:48:33 The idea of having some 'obligatory' pink clothing for Isla was an exciting, albeit short lived passion. Her wardrobe is now 90-95% pink when ideally, I would like mostly black, red, and anything striped. More brown would not go amiss either. I'm a fan of frills and flounce, I just do not believe it has to be in pink shade. Nan Nan fueled the pinkage but I am ever so grateful for her generosity. She's been a shopoholic for both children, as has their paternal grandmother (Gran). Both manage to spot the best bargains. Recently, I was relieved when a lovely chocolate brown pair of corduroy overalls, bought for Conor, were on the small side. He could have worn them but would have been given a serious case of wedgie by the end of the day. So, Isla's inherited them. A few months b
Leggystiltskin 2008-03-03 21:43:22 Aside from a morning of moaning, whining and general discontent, the Leggy One is now confident sitting alone only one day post spica cast. I'm impressed. However, she will not weight bear, even attempt to when I'm supporting her in the standing position. I do believe she's forgotten she has legs. Fair enough I suppose. She must feel very naked and unsupported without the cast. Crawl shuffling takes more effort too. There's no more smooth, solid cast to help propel her across the floor. The Rhino Cruiser has velcro straps which seem to want to dig into the carpet and hold her back. Generally all looks well although we do have to watch the skin creases behind her knees. Very red and sensitive and probably contributing to most of her foul mood. She is still a very tired littl
My Plastic Daisy Dukes 2008-03-03 04:10:16 Isla's plaster prison is gone and she has been fitted with a plastic Rhino Cruiser. Initially, 22/24 hour wear and a check up next week will determine how much longer it will be required.Two nurses tag teamed the cast and made short work of it. Very efficient!More noise than anything and Isla yelled her head off from what I assume was the vibrations of the saws. Noise does not normally faze her. Isla was trying to beat the nurses off so Daddy stepped in and comforted her while Mummy held Conor back from launching himself at the nearest nurse (I'm assuming he thought Isla was being hurt) and snapped some photos when convenient.We were able to wash Isla immediately following. It was badly needed. She was covered in icky lint and mystery crust. Generally the skin is red, patchy and Read more:Daisy
, Dukes
, Plastic
Legs Eleven 2008-03-02 00:46:00 Tomorrow, Isla will be able to see her legs for the first time in three months. In honour of her glorious chubbage, two photos. Chub on display and chub contained. Read more:Eleven
Woad, compootah! Woad! 2008-02-29 21:40:29 Conor has been fairly computer savvy from about 16 months. From 12 months, he showed a lot of interest in the "box", especially the mouse when he figured out hitting it meant the white thing on screen jumped too. This led to random clicking of mouse buttons when the computer was left on and unattended for a few minutes. Five minutes of experimentation lead to the Massacre of the Desktop one day. Nothing serious went "bye bye", although Conor's father almost had a mild heart attack when he'd thought his favourite game had been sent packing. Finding everything again took some time. The kid liked to make new folders. The CD and DVD drives were next. Open, close. Open, close....... The neglected floppy disc drive was assaulted with coins. I'm not sure what Conor was hoping it would
The trouble with binkies. 2008-02-29 21:27:10 Binkies (or suckers in our house) are a constant source of contention and amusement. We weaned Conor off day time use by 16-18 months but with the arrival of Isla and her subsequent binky train, Conor wanted to join in. When she was smaller, he'd swap binkies, hide hers or deliberately lose his own in an attempt to get a new one or snag one of Isla's many emergency spares. Even now he still meddles with and covets Isla's stash. Yeah, it's an obsession, but not as far reaching or Gollum-like as his key (and previous silk) fetish. With Conor's speech having blasted forth and I'd hate to see him regress in any way by stopping up that cheeky and precocious mouth with a plastic nipple. We are watching him most closely to make sure it's just bed time he enjoys a binky. I'd like to stamp
Meet the kidlets 2008-02-28 01:31:00 Conor James Rohan summed up in three words: blithe, whirlwind and artful.He was a very placid baby and a pleasure to nurse but once he hit six months it was all stations go. Conor has just gone over the 2 1/2 year mark but as far as my sanity is concerned, he's been three since he turned two.Conor is car, key and door obsessed. The colour and main components of any car present, passing or parked, must be yelled out in an instructive voice for the benefit of others. At all times, keys must be jingled, affixed to trouser belt loops and tried in any key hole. Doors are made to be opened and closed, locked and unlocked. We do this over and over again. We do this because it is their purpose.Conor is very affectionate towards his sister whom he calls by a middle name, Bonnie, as Isla come
Our Nan Nan. 2008-02-27 19:35:33 Conor's and Isla's great grandmother June, turned 78 today. I told her that she didn't look a day over 60 to which she replied: "Stop lying you cheeky bugger!" - such is Nan's style. What I said was not far wrong, she does not look 78 and is such an active part of her great grandchildren's lives (and has been such a huge part of my life) I do believe I'd be lost without her. I have made her promise to attend Conor's 21st, naked baby bath shots and other embarrassing fodder in hand.Effectively, Nan Nan fills many roles other than that of Great Grandmother. She's grandmother, grandfather, comedic relief, chief purveyor of clothing, toys and books, a wealth of information and can claim to cure anything with the three Vs: Vicks, Vinegar and Vaseline.As a small bit of background, Nan Nan
Little Fashionisto? 2008-02-27 04:18:37 "No Mummy, no. No shorts, just jeans. Yes. No! The other ones. Yes. Red top? Gween top? Ummmm, no! The yahwoe (yellow) one please. Yes, yes, good".2 1/2 year old Conor has taken a sudden and very zealous interest in his day to day wear. His first order of business in the morning is a sort through the dresser to find his outfit. Forget Blues Clues, a drink or fossicking through the fridge for a snack - "I get dressed now!" I always give him clothing options but he's been very particular about what's worthy of wearing these days - what goes with what etc..He has something serious against shorts and 3/4 trousers. Necessary clothing items during the New Zealand summer but he'd rather wear jeans and other trousers. Pant legs must meet the ankles or else they are firmly tugged down.
Test Subject: Miss Scarlet 2008-02-27 01:36:18 Like most toddlers, Conor revels in makeup, creams and other products. The bronzing powder is his playground, mascara makes stunning cheek definer and lipstick really plumps up those eyebrows. Throw in a generous layer of hair gel applied to the arms and legs and you have yourself that fresh, wet look. Lately, Conor has found a more amusing outlet for his product passion: Isla.Last week saw Isla's head doused in Johnson's Chamomile & Lavender baby powder. The whole damn container. I'm assuming it was about 3/4 full. I had to flash vacuum the lounge before attending to Casperina the Friendly Ghost. She seemed unperturbed by the whole thing, despite the powder in her eyes and was quite taken with her new ivory skin and hair tone.We've had a few nappy cream and hair gel incidents a
Bonnie's Bitey Things 2008-02-24 14:49:13 10 months and we have just two lower incisors. Quite enough to inflict wounds but not quite enough to chew lumps properly. Surprisingly, the teeth have yet to make their acquaintance with my chest although my toes and fingers have suffered the odd gnaw. There's still time for attacks on my nipples. To be honest, I think she's waiting for the opposing upper incisors to sprout so she can get a really heroic, worth the effort, chomp in.The eruption of the teeth coincides with a zealous interest in eating bugs and other crawling and buzzing fauna she finds. Our property is lined by thick native forest on almost three sides. Add in the hot weather and we have large mosquitoes and hordes of cicadas dive bombing our deck. A few days ago I found her snacking on what appeared to be Mothra. Yes, it Read more:Bonnie
There Be Monkeys. 2008-02-22 02:43:58 A few months ago, Conor was adamant there were monkeys perched up in the ferns and trees surrounding our property. "Bush Monkeys
" they were. I'm thinking he saw a portion of Animal Planet and came to the assumption monkeys must live in our temperate greenbelt just as they do in the jungles of Africa and Asia. Additionally, these rare New Zealand Bush Monkeys were "scary", "naughty" and apparently "purple". Yes, and in general monkey fashion they feasted on bananas. Funny, I've never seen a fern of ours produce a banana yet. For a few weeks he would not venture further than the washing line. The monkeys were always watching.Previous to the monkey thing, "scary frogs (fwogs)" lived under Isla's crib. WTF? I haven't a clue. I never worked it out. Toddlers and their cryptic speak
A Tale of Two Hips 2008-02-21 05:27:52 At her newborn hip check, the hospital orthopaedic paediatrician confirmed both Isla's tiny hips were clicking (DDH). Although this did not necessarily mean she would be doomed to a life of hip hell the pessimist in me thought worst case scenario while my heart sank and sulked that morning. One of my younger sisters was born prematurely with hemiparesis affecting her left side. She suffered a lot with physical activity, even walking a short distance could be a strain and it severely messed with her co-ordination which made even kicking a ball an effort. Factor in the surgeries needed to correct the imbalance and stresses on both her hip and ankle joints, she's had a whale of a time. So, whilst completely unrelated, I was anxious for Isla and what was next.The paediatrician gave us
Portrait of a Tanty 2008-02-20 14:45:08 Scarlet was a fitting second name choice indeed.In addition to the scarlet temper, Isla also reminds me of a Scarlet Macaw. Blame the silly Nickelodeon Diego show where a baby macaw is recused. Isla caws and screeches just like one when something annoys her. If Isla is the Scarlet Macaw, does that make Conor, Baby Jaguar? Hmmmmmm. Read more:Portrait
"I Flush Now." 2008-02-18 15:04:05 "Goodbye poos" or "Goodbye wees, bye!" Conor loves to send off his toilet business with a cheery farewell and a little wave.After two weeks of trialling his big boy underpants, Conor is now 99.9% dry during the day. I am over the moon and he is very pleased with himself. I expected him to be 3 years before we made any progress. The undies seem to have worked some magic on him. They are still a bit of a novelty and he loves to parade around in them as much as possible. One minor issue we have to tackle is the Strip & Run. Conor will remove all clothing before dashing to the toilet yelling "I go wees now". Not so much an issue with our warm weather but I can't see him keeping this up when it gets colder. It's certainly entertaining. There is also the running commentary on the
Manky toes & a fatso eye 2008-03-12 23:31:49 Conor's had issues with the toes on his left foot for the last month or so. Itchy, red, blistery and crusty issues. We initially thought it was athlete's foot but the doctor pooh poohed that idea and said bacterial. Conor also lost one of his toe nails a few days after trying to wrestle a safety gate which did not help in the foot healing department. On Monday it was confirmed he had a fungal nasty with a secondary bacterial infection. The bacteria had decided to squat where the fungus had left off. Well, to be honest, I proposed that idea and doctor agreed with it. So, rather than just oral antibiotics, he's also on a course of topical fungicidal cream. The double assault will hopefully remove the manky from the foot and quickly. Thankfully, the cream contains a little bit of cor
Hipzteria 2008-03-12 02:56:28 Isla's one week check up was on Monday. We had screams and tears throughout the 50 or so minutes we were there. It's The Scary Place now. White coats and white linen set her off, and these things are fairly unavoidable in such a place.Isla had a pelvic x-ray first and the cries hit as soon as she saw the table. I zoned out after about a minute. I had to. Everything is so much louder in the x-ray room - her screams echoed and pounded my ears. She did not much like the cold metal gonad protector either. I don't blame her. She proceeded to buck and with such conviction the radiographer needed to grab another pair of hands. I held Isla's legs whilst the extra x-ray heavy held the shoulders end. You'd think after three months in a plaster cast, her legs would not be capable of such
Hoo-Hoos, Drugs and Little Pink People 2008-03-11 05:34:29 When they offer you drugs during labour: Just Say Yes. I'm not about to pass on something that may relieve the pain of an exploding hoo-hoo. I don't take recreational drugs so when else am I going to be able to enjoy them legally? I do not have iron girly bits nor backbone and did not mull over for a second, the thought of going 'natural'. I will make use of the 21st century medicine on offer to me. Those who choose to avoid pain relief, I wince at, but take my hat off to at the same time.Conor's birth was traumatic. I'm sure there are much braver women who went through hell and back compared with mine but as far as I was concerned, I was the only woman giving birth June 1st and 2nd 2005, and it was the End of Days. Ponderous, completely ponderous and I was racked with pain t Read more:Drugs
Cadbury and Beautifcation 2008-03-15 04:24:10 This morning Conor finished off half a king sized block of Cadbury
Fudge Brownie Chocolate. The brown 'gold' is a rare thing in our house. On the odd occasion we buy any, I've usually tucked into it before any one else gets a chance. Conor sought his revenge just after breakfast and within half an hour was bouncing off the walls. The cunning thief also made sure to return the empty packet back to the fridge and avoided any obvious chocolately smears on his face or anywhere else for that matter. So initially, consider me perplexed as to why he was nutting out.Nothing was safe this morning although I'm pleased Isla napped for so long as she avoided being madeover. Conor beautified himself instead. First with my bronzer which gave him Oompa-Loompa orange cheeks and then later he
In Teh Name Ov 2008-03-14 23:31:11 I only have a small handful of pet names for Conor. The unimaginative and eternally childish Con-Con is used frequently. Then there's Conan, Conogan and the necessary Goblin, Goblet and Gobbalot. More recently I've been using Coddler, blurted out accidentally when I was trying to say Conor and toddler at the same time. Much earlier on, during the 4-7 month period, Jabba, Chunk and Chubs were fairly common. Presently, Conor rather likes the use of his first middle name James too. He will say his full name when asked. It only took a few playful attempts to get Isla's full name perfected also. I never expected it. It normally comes out like "Iowa Scarwet Bonnie Fwur Avril Oafayleeeee".Isla's the madam of nicknames. I just realised recently how fitting General Burkhalter would be for her. Mr
Goblinian 2008-03-17 07:26:14 Glossary:avicada 'ah vee kay da' - Cicada. A locust type insect. We have hordes of these noisy buggers in the trees surrounding our house. Conor just confused cicada with avocado. It's stuck. If what I'm understanding is correct, the wild bush monkeys ( see a previous post) and the avicadas are in cahoots.Bo-Bo - Injury. Boo boo was his preference initially.Bloods 'bwoods'- Alternative injury word.Crusties - Potato chips. We have no idea where this came from although this made me laughHot Fizz - Carbonated beverages, including beer. Anything that makes the tongue tingle.Iowa - IslaNoo-Noo - Vacuum cleaner. Conor picked this up watching a few episodes of the psychedelic Teletubbies. He can say vacuum, he just prefers Noo Noo.Lady Girls "wady girls' - Females 5 years and up.Sky
Goblin's pick of the best 2008-03-16 04:17:24 I know this is a kids' blog but the following 'politically incorrect' eye candy television ad is one of Conor's favourites. It should be obvious why as there's "pretty wady girls". I thinks he wants a moon hopper too. It shares top spot with a very irritating cat food offering that I cannot bring myself to share with you. Let's just say it features a frumpy harpy of a woman screeching and butchering the name Henry. "HENNNNN AH REE" needs to be booted from Kiwi screens. Whiskas, you can do better. I don't care that my son thinks it's great but I do care that my daughter bursts into tears when she hears the harpy 'call' for her cat.Transfixed by this:An honorable mention: (I'm assuming Conor's recent underpants fixation is to blame)Lastly, Both Conor and Isla will spark up for any So Read more:Goblin
Poppets & Pirates 2008-03-18 00:00:34 Okay, so she has crawling and standing covered. What next? Well, today Isla managed to go from standing against the couch to making it gracefully on to all fours on the floor. No face splats or tipping over, which are most unbecoming. It was lovely to watch her master it. Bent over, determined face, one hand planted firmly on the ground and a slow slide to crawling stance. It's not all gooey moments though. With the standing up comes crib protests. Pacifiers and toys thrown out and then there are demands for their return. Also legs and arms idle through the bars until they get stuck. Conor was never quite this annoying. Hopefully it's just a novelty.Meanwhile, Conor found a silly plastic sword in the closet and decided it would be fun to poke mummy with it whilst trying to Read more:Pirates
Daddy Laid Eggs 2008-03-21 00:09:29 ...in stealth mode around the house late last night. Conor found his Cadbury Deluxe Dark Chocolate Bunny on the end of his bed around 6.30 am this morning. I awoke to sounds of chewing and murmurs of "chohhcahhlit". I was about to ask him where in the frickety-frick he got the stuff when it clicked. Duh, Easter. Yes, we eat the brown stuff on Good Friday. He found most of his eggs by 8.00 am. Almost three year olds, do not normally grasp the concept of moderation and we had many eggs in various states of undress. We had to put aside most although he managed to access my own personal chocolate egg and attacked it good. Isla got the odd tidbit, particularly those left on the floor by Conor. I don't have any decent photos! I did not charge our pathetic excuse for a camera. Read more:Daddy
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