It’s your birthday again, bunny! It’s hard to believe that this time last year we were in New Mexico visiting Grandpa and Grandma, and you looked like this: 

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and like this:

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and now you look like this:

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Same big bright eyes, only now they’re not so blue anymore but turning green like your mama’s. You don’t seem to have grown any hair in the last year. In fact you seem to actually have LESS hair. There’s a few wisps in the back, and some very fine blond down appearing on top. But it’s slow-growing bunny, and looking very fine and thin on the ground. Your half brothers and sister all have very white wispy blond hair. It looks like you’ve inherited those genes from that side of the family.  

That’s a London swing by the way. Check out that design. All square and cage like, with a good rubber handle grip. Pretty swish, huh? Not like the plastic bucket swings we got on this side of the pond. They got proper swings back in Blighty.

This past month we’ve been back in England visiting your papa. It was a whirlwind trip, but you had a fabulous time. We went to Battersea Children’s zoo, where you fed straw to the goats and were fascinated by the monkeys. Then we spent a day at the Princess Diana Memorial Park. Possibly the best children’s park in the world with a full size climbing pirate ship, sunken treasure, waterways, Robinson Crusoe type play structures, musical sculptures, and more!

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You LOVE the water.

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And you want to stand up ALL the time now. You haven’t started walking properly yet, but while we were in London you managed a few steps from your papa’s arms to mine. Your legs are getting strong as an ox, and you’ve been teeter tottering around the furniture and pulling yourself up to standing on anything you can get your hands on.

Mostly you like to be walked around with your mama’s hands to support you, but you can also move on your own like the clappers on your red Radio Flyer walker that Auntie bought you for your birthday. You careen up and down the house with that thing like there’s no tomorrow. It’s messing up the wood floors, and the landlady is probably going to have a cow when she sees the damage, but it’s worth it to see the look of triumphant glee on your face.

You’ve also mastered the stairs in the last month. Coming down is a bit tricky, but you can whizz up them in a flash. Well done, bunny. I’m so proud of you.

In London we did quite a bit of sightseeing. You’ve been a real trooper squeezing back into the Ergo sling, even though you’re getting on the big side for such things. You’re a heavy beast, but it’s much easier than trying to carry you in my arms.

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I think the Bugaboo’s days are numbered. You only seem to last about 5 minutes in there before you start bucking like a bronco to get out. Here’s a rare moment of you chilling in the Bugaboo in the back of a London cabbie. Better than being strapped in car seat, eh? 

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I’m happy to say that this month the biting seems to have stopped. No more new teeth breaking through. You seem to have chewed your way through a fair few of your books, though. And the floor mats are totally ruined with teethmarks. But so long as you don’t bite me, I’m happy sweet-pea.

You’ve guzzled down a LOT of food of late. Whole boxes of strawberries and blueberries have disappeared in one sitting. You scoffed double helpings of broccoli and spaghetti (your top favourite meal of all time), and tonight you even scarfed a load of chicken down your neck. Yup, that’s right. You’ve turned carnivore. I’ve managed to keep you on a vegetarian diet for the last 15 months, but now I’ve decided a man needs to eat his meat to grow big and strong. What with you still being super allergic to dairy and wheat, I was having a hard time getting your nutritional needs met.  So I gave up and started feeding you chicken, sausage, and even beef. 

Your latest trick is pointing. You wake up and the first thing you do is point. You point at this and you point at that, all day long. You never get bored of the pointing game. I think you get a kick out of making me look here, there and everywhere.

You haven’t started talking yet, although you seem to call me da-da-da and grandma ga-ga-ga. I’m holding out for a proper ma-ma-ma.

I’m not going to mention sleep. Other than to say, not much change there.

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 That’s papa’s bath contraption, which makes me horribly nervous. But better than trying to give you a bath in that enormous, bottomless tub he’s installed in his house. The “bachelor bath” I call it.

We’ve had another fun-filled month together, bunny. I’ve loved watching you grow into a beautiful little feisty and strong willed toddler. Did I mention that everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) loves you to bits? I can’t tell you how many people come up to me and say how lucky I am to have such a happy, smiley baby. Hundreds of people, many of them strangers, have told me you are the smiliest, cutest baby they have ever seen. That you should be a baby model. That you have the biggest eyes and the widest smile, and the most expressive face.

You are an extraordinary Buddha Bunny. You bring happiness to everyone you meet, and most of all to me. I am the most blessed mama in the world. Just thinking of you asleep upstairs right now, makes my heart glow with warmth.

Happy birthday, bun-buns! Many happy returns of the month!!!

With all my love, always

Mummy xxxxxxx