Could Ivy be Henry VIII?

Am I crazy, or is it possible that Ivy is a reincarnation of Henry VIII? Let me present my case.

She demands food constantly with an imperious hand gesture and when she doesn't approve of the offering, she throws it from the table and calls for more. (The chicken bones going to the hounds in the Great Hall?)

She wanders the house destroying, exploring and examining objects as she finds them. If she likes one she she eats it, takes it apart, puts it in her handbag or hides it in a shoe. If she doesn't like one she she destroys it, throws it in the bath, or holds it, wailing, until somebody removes it from her presence. (Wives 1 through 6?)

She is only content playing on her own for a short time and when left to her own devices for a while she begins to angrily demand attention or hang swaying onto a parental leg, moaning with self-pity. ('Out with this pitiful jester! Bring on the dancing girls!')

She soils herself at will and makes another gesture to indicate that she would like her garments changed. (It's a toss-up between a soiled medieval gout-bandage and a nappy after a fruit-heavy day).

She capriciously plays favourites with her servants (or parents); calling for one while in the arms of the other, or crying when one leaves the room even though the other is there, forlornly offering toys, food and cuddles.

I only hope that things don't end badly for Keith and I in the relationship.

a blanket for baby Banana

This post is for all the crafty knitters out there in Banana's life. This winter baby will need a blanket and so I'm going to knit him one, made up of squares from lots of people in his world.

Here are the specs:

Size 8 needles (or 4mm)
8 ply wool
30 stitches by 30 rows
Any shade of blue (we don't know its a boy but we've already got a girl so we figure we'll raise this one male regardless).

Anybody with the time, the love and the skills, thank you! (Please don't think they have to be good skills. Every time I try to knit the rows get smaller and tighther as I go until all I knit are triangles. But I'm pretty sure Banana won't notice).

ivy at eighteen months

Ivy is 18 months old this weekend, and she's had a cuteness explosion. She's been very cuddly, and can't stop laughing at jokes in her own head. Her language is really taking off too, although it's not in any recognizable form... at least not to anybody outside this house. This is her vocabulary:
Dodo - dog
Googa - bird
Nanna - baby
Mmm? - milk
Mmmmmmmmm? (a longer version...it's all in the lips)- cow
EErrrooowww (a sort of low growl) - cat
Aahhhrrrr (similar, but more guttural)- pig
Ooh (with arm in the air) - elephant

In sign language she also says food, duck, light, poo, butterfly and monkey. Since our visit to Canowindra last week , she's learnt how to say 'no' while shaking her finger. Very funny.

We're all well here, although my back is starting to be more painful with Banana fattening up. I tried to do some yoga tonight but Ivy just wants to crawl into my lap, and the Half-Sleeping Turtle is hard to perform with a small toddler lying upside down across your legs and gesturing 'Food?'

Keith has an panel interview for a promotion on Tuesday and was planning to get his twice-yearly haircut tomorrow... but the hairdresser is shut. I hope his wild 70's disco locks don't spoil his chances.

Ivy has started day-care on Friday afternoons. A lovely women called Marie with lots of animals and fun ideas is looking after her, and so far she is coping better than I am. The moments I remember she's not in her room, but in fact, in another womans house, I feel a stab of mummy-guilt. I'm sure I'll get over it, in fact I'll have to so I'm ready to let her move out at thirty-two. I've got a lot of work to do at the minute so having some time free is great.

These recent pics show Ivy meeting a rabbit at her day-care, inspecting Daddys teeth, playing in the garden, with me in our fancy hat and jacket for a dress-up party, and feeding cuzzy Isabelle in Canowindra. And this vid, taken today, tries to show her animal impressions, but we missed the monkey, just at the start, and then Ivy only wanted to be squirted with air from her water bottle.