TRICK OR TREAT?

Who's this little chap coming to stay with his Grandpa?

Why it's baby Peter, who's come to play trick or treat . . . 

Actually he doesn't know any tricks yet but give him time !! 

"Guess what I am wearing, Grandpa!"

"I am a Happy Little Pumpkin, and my Mummy dressed me up in my brand new outfit !

. . . . . read me a story from my book, please Grandpa!"

"Here, take a closer look at my Pumpkin outfit!"

Well Peter was indeed a very happy little pumpkin all morning until his Mummy picked him up.  This afternoon he is meeting some other babies and apparently he is quite a little charmer.  He waves to other babies and talks to them . . . .  he is quite the little socialiser. 

Back to this morning, he played and pulled himself onto his feet and practised soft landings before he finally takes the plunge and starts walking.  Currently he propels himself around shuffle-bottoming although I expect it won't be long before he walks.  I doubt whether he will bother with crawling.  He is one year old, plus one week.

"Hold on Grandpa, I'm coming to stand up!"

"Heave! . . . just a bit further!"

"There . . . easy peasy!! 
Now I'll shuffle across to my high chair . . and pull myself up  again there."

"Now Grandpa show me that silly banana outfit you wear sometimes!"

"OK if you promise you won't eat me . .   I know you like bananas."

"Oh you are such a card, Grandpa!  No wonder you get such funny comments . . . "

My fears of being eaten might have been justified because for lunch he ate cheese on toast, a whole banana, a whole satsuma and half an apple . . . and he drank a beaker full of milk.

. . . and then he was most interested in sound and echo technology and experimented for a while making noises into this bottle . . . he thought it was so funny . . . and it was.

"Listen to this, Grandpa!"

"Listen to this tune . . . you hum it and I'll play it . . . . ok!"

Just look at those big blue eyes!
How can anyone refuse him anything?

As usual it was delightful day and  it was such a treat to have him, and he was so happy and well behaved . . . . good boy!

________________

I've just remembered there is a rather peculiar nursery rhyme:

Peter, Peter,  pumpkin-eater
Had a wife and couldn't keep her.
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.

Very strange how these nursery rhymes originate.

QUOTATIONS TO BRIGHTEN ANY WEEKEND -11-

It has been a while since I posted some quotations so without further ado let's see a few more:

Showman Phineas T. Barnum knew there were fortunes to be made in show business, since

"Every crowd has a silver lining."

Hollywood producer Sam Goldwin 

"Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined."

and

"What we want is a story that starts with an earthquake and works its way up to a climax."

Pianist and mordant Oscar Levant:

"Strip away the phoney tinsel of Hollywood and you find the real tinsel underneath."

Mae West in the 1930s, playing the bad girl:

"I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."

and

Girl: Goodness what beautiful diamonds you are wearing!

Mae West:  Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie!

Comedian Will Rogers:

"The movies are the only business where you can go out front and applaud yourself."

Errol Flynn, whose private life was expensively wild, confessed:

"My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income."

Mickey Rooney recognizes:

"I'm the only man who has a marriage licence made out 'To Whom It May Concern!'"

More next week

GRANDPA AND GRANDSON

Following on from my first post, HERE, I am looking after my Grandson Peter for two days a week.

I am delighted to post some more pictures and to recall some highlights of his stays with me - and he is coming again tomorrow (Thursday) and again on Friday.

I have enjoyed every one of the six days he was with me.

And here is Peter himself, the 100% little Cutie Pie.

He arrives at 7.30 and from the moment he comes it is fun and games with learning, learning, learning, playing, playing, playing, sleeping, sleeping, sleeping, eating, eating, eating, and walking, walking, walking in his buggy.  

I really don't know who tries to imitate who the most.   Can you imagine me making loud gurgling noises replying to him in a busy supermarket - the looks I get sometimes.  It is sometimes so funny what women particularly say and what I reply . . . 

But I get a real buzz wheeling him around in his pushchair. 

The days commence with Peter switching on the radio and having a play with all his toys while I prepare his breakfast.

Here he is playing with his dad's old building tower which I fetched from the attic.  They did not stay on the high chair for long - he had a great time discovering Newton's Law of Gravity, as they crashed loudly onto the tiles below . . . 

Of course Linda and Betsy would post, "what is on the  menu today" - so I will tell you:

Breakfast:  2 Weetabix soaked in milk, followed by cheese cubes and a couple of peanut buttered thin slices of toast with the crusts cut off.

As I approached him with his Weetabix he started waving his little arms about furiously, which he always does, and he squealed loudly, literal translation being, "Get off your backside Grandpa and shovel it in - now !!!"

"Ok,ok,ok!  I'm coming!"

"Ready, Grandpa! I've got my bib on!"

"Well don't close your mouth until it is all in! - you could have had more if you had waited a little longer !!"

"That's better!"  - yum yum

"There, wash it all down with water and don't throw the beaker across the room this time!"

Ok time for playing while I have my breakfast and a coffee!

The more toys he has the better he likes it - he loves being surrounded by them . . . 

We stayed playing and talking for a while and I changed his nappy and made him squeal with delight when I pretended to eat his feet.  I have never seen a baby laugh so hard. Then I saw him rub his eyes and yawn so I picked him up and carried him to the rocking chair and sang some nursery rhymes to him.  They must have been incredibly boring because he fell asleep and we had a little cuddle.

I put him in his travel cot and he stayed there for over one hour asleep but woke bursting with energy and he presented me with another horrific nappy . . . . lol

After I changed him he decided to practise hauling himself up onto his feet but then shuffle bottoming across the floor, just like his Auntie Selina did.  He is not into crawling - "That's for babies," he said, "I'm going for it with walking and shuffle bottoming! That's much faster!"

Off with his jumper and let's get down to business.

What a technique! "Come on Peter, come on!"

Well he rest of the day went very well - I took him out for a walk into town to get one of his favourite treats - blueberries - he loves them.

Then back for lunch: thin slices of ham cut up and mixed vegetables which went down a treat - then a long play and some book reading:

Here he is playing Peek-a-Boo through a hole in his book and when I get closer and ask him where Grandpa's nosey is, he puts his hand through and bops me on the nose and laughs.

Inside the book there are various interesting shapes and colours and I am pretty certain he knows blue and red, for he always points to the right picture colour when I say blue or red - his Mum and Dad were rather flabbergasted. 

Then off for another walk - good exercise for Grandpa and into the park to feed the ducks - quack quack!

And I made his formula drink just when he returned home.  It did not take long for him to polish that off.

Then we heard a ring of the doorbell and is was Mummy calling to collect him.  This led to him playing a little game for us - he wanted to go to Lisa and when she took him he wanted to come back to me, then to her, then to me and he was laughing his head off.

More later . . .