De Silva Family Blog

Christmas was a very welcome break this year as I've been working too hard, suffering from a severe lack of sleep and a cold - get the violins! I spent the whole time playing with Leo and forgot completely about work. It was wonderful. We became so close, he even started to get separation anxiety when I left the room! We spent Christmas at home with the whole family - 11 in total. Luckily it wasn't too much work as everyone helped out and the grannies took over the kitchen! Leo was so exited that he woke up at 2am on Christmas morning to open his presents. (Actually he was suffering from a cold and couldn't breathe.) We finally got him back down again by 3am, so Mary and I sneakily opened a present each. We felt like naughty children! With two babies in the house, there were so many presents they filled half the living room and, when it was time to open them, chaos ensued. Poor Leo didn't know what was going on. Although he was extremely excited by all the

Since becoming mobile, Leo has been getting more and more clingy. Whenever Mummy is nearby, he can't bear to be separated from her. He tracks her down and surprises her in the kitchen, in the shower and even on the loo! This little menace was finally captured by Hatfield police in a pushchair he had taken for a joyride around the Galleria. He has been given an ASBO but, in a final twist to his long suffering mother, his puppy dog eyes won over the judge. Now he is not allowed to be further than five paces away from her at all times.

For weeks Leo teased me with "da" and I was desperately hoping that he would call me Dada. Then all of a sudden he said "Mama" and ever since it's been Mama this and Mama that. I felt like "Earl" from that old TV show Dinosaurs (see clip). Finally we had a breakthrough and those longed-for words were like music to my ears. All day, we've heard "dada dadada dad da". Any moment now, just like the in the clip, I'm expecting him to finish with, "Not the Mama"!

Soft, strong and very long. Tasty too!

On his visit to see 9 week old Amelie, and -2 week old Moby (Mog is due shortly), Leo got to play on the swings. Looks like he enjoyed it!

Leo has been a little slow when it comes to chatting, preferring instead to use Neanderthal grunts and squeaks. So we were really pleased, and a little surprised, when all of a sudden he started baby babbling. After weeks of making "da" sounds sounds now and again, he finally said ... ... "Mama"! Now it's Mary's turn to squeak and come running every time he says it!

It was my Dad's (currently known by Izzy as "Dado") birthday on Tuesday. To thank him for all the help he's been giving us recently, we held a Sunday roast lunch in his honour for the whole family. But, before lunch, we did manage to rope him into some hard labour in the garden! He had a wonderful afternoon surrounded by his two grandchildren, although guess who hogged all the cuddles!

Ever since I left PwC over five years ago I've been missing my regular greasy spoon cafe, Cafe Deco on the corner of Smithfield Market. Every monday lunchtime the "Big Breakfast" was to die for - probably quite literally given the cholesterol I was ingesting. Nevertheless, since moving near Liverpool Street I've scoured the area but nothing I've found comes close. That is until Leo was invited to brunch at Rosalind's house. Kicking off with some Bucks Fizz followed by a hearty breakfast of sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, plum tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. washed down with a large mug of builder's tea. All it missed were the greasy spoons, the polish waitress and a dog-eared copy of the Sun. Although we did get Danish pastries to finish. The babies loved it too - they had the liquidized version. Here you see them nicely stuffed and ready for their naps. Haven't they (and their mums) changed in the last six months ?

Since Leo has become mobile, changing his nappy has become a very smelly, messy and difficult business. The boy will not lie still for more than ten seconds. Sometimes, I think we need the McLaren pit team to help out - they may be the only ones who could manage a nappy change in that time. Distraction seems to be the only option, but in a moment of exasperation the immortal words of MC Hammer came to mind, "Stop! Hammertime!" followed by some crazy 1980's dancing. It certainly stopped Leo in his tracks. I'm sure he was thinking, "Dad. Don't you ever do that in front of my friends!" For you nostalgic types, or those who have no idea who MC Hammer is and would like to see what I'm talking about, enjoy this clip . (The dancing is classic and the famous phrase is towards the end. You don't get that sort of quality these days!)

Leo was invited to his first fancy dress Halloween party this week. Mary and myself were very excited and racked our brains to come up with a costume for him. After a quick trip to Hobbycraft we came up with this little Devil's outfit. We tried to find a trident for him, but everywhere we looked had sold out. The party was held at Bethan and Kirsty's house - two lovely girls he met on our recent trip to Norfolk . It was a very scary party - they even had a vampire which sat up slowly when it hears a clap! I'm not sure Leo's ever watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer , but at soon as he saw that vampire he was off. A quick karate chop to the chest and strangle hold later and that poor vampire wasn't going to do much biting! It didn't take long for Leo to kick back and settle into his role as our Cheeky Little Devil...

After months of being stuck in reverse, Leo has finally found first gear. So, what motivated this elusive manouver? A mince pie! He certainly takes after his mother in that regard. Grandpa De Silva unwittingly set down his mince pie two feet from Leo and within seconds he was off, a look of steely determination in his eyes. As silent and deadly as a hunting tortoise, he crept up on his prey, only to have it whisked away by an unbelieving mummy and set down another foot away. The hunt lasted several minutes, the mince pie proving to be an elusive quarry until, nearly dropping from exhaustion, our young hero reached his mark. Salivating with anticipation he took his first bite - of the plate!

Leo's been suffering from a bad chest infection recently. The poor baby has been stoically putting up with it all this time (he gets that from his mother!), but this afternoon it all got a bit too much for him. He cheered up a bit when I got home. Luckily, we've now got some antibiotics, so hopefully the worst is over. Fingers crossed - it breaks my heart seeing him so ill. To cap it all off, his teething has been quite bad too. But as of today he now has four teeth. He's quite proud of them and when his Calpol has kicked in he starts grinning like a Cheshire cat. Unfortunately for Mary, he's quite keen to put them to use!

Alex came over to play today. Both boys were thick as thieves, laughing, playing with each other's toys, planning next year's ski trip, etc. Its the first time we've really seen Leo interact with another baby. Unfortunately, Alex is powered by ordinary zinc-carbon batteries, whilst Leo uses Duracell - he goes on, and on, and on ...

Leo's locks were getting far too long - we were having to brush his hair every night before bed to avoid knots! How many boys comb their hair once a day? It was time for some drastic action. On contemplation, perhaps I was a little over zealous? It's not easy you know - that boy just won't keep still. Maybe next time we'll use a pro.

I spent last week at the annual GIRO (General Insurance Research Organisation) convention. You may laugh, but unless you've attended one, you can only dream of the hedonistic, depraved event that is an actuarial convention! Unfortunately for me, it didn't last long as I twisted my ankle in the mosh pit of a dance floor on the first night! I spent the rest of the convention in bed catching up on sleep (Leo has been up a lot recently) and hobbling between lectures on crutches. At least I got the chance to catch up with some mates. The convention hotel, the Celtic Manor , is a great five star hotel. Especially if you're into golf as it's the host of the 2010 Ryder Cup. It seemed to have everything - great restaurants, spas, swimming pools, etc. They even had crutches for my dodgy ankle! I'll have to make sure I go back again to make better use of it, though perhaps next time I'll choose a more sedate event. In the meantime, I'll get into training fo

Our little lion cub is not so harmless any more - he has teeth!!! After what seems like gallons of dribble and months of roaring, two front (bottom) teeth have emerged. They may be only 2mm long, but they are incredibly sharp - rather like his older cousin, Simba's. Look out Mary!

We got the chance to pretend we had a social life last night as we headed off to the NCT Harvest Ball. Leo, who knew we were going out, decided that he would prefer that we didn't and bedtime didn't go entirely to plan. Luckily my parents, who were kindly babysitting, made sure we got to the ball on time (well, only an hour late). As you can see, the girls were looking especially lovely and the guys, well, at least we'd scrubbed up. Dinner was nice. Mary's tummy muscles got a good workout as she laughed hysterically at her own joke about the jelly dessert for at least fifteen minutes before realising that we were laughing at her rather than with her! A charity auction followed and Claire bought a flight in a Russian Yak stunt plane, for hubby Alex's 40th birthday! The boys got to play on a giant Scalextric track and Luke proudly took first place. Spirits were still running high as we hit the dance floor and a few embarrassing photos ensued. The least said

Some of you might know of Mary's insidious plan to turn our son Leo into a ballet-dancing Billy Elliot. One glance at our beautiful baby boy would immediately show you that this is a misguided effort - as one nurse put it, "Look at t'e t'ighs on t'at" (in a thick Irish accent). Clearly Leo is built to be a rugby prop forward - more Billy Moss (of Bath and England U19) than a Billy Elliot. So to that effect, I got him his first rugby ball. I think the ball and his rugby shirt suit him much better than a tutu. What do you think - comments welcome? I suppose he could always follow in Matt Dawson's shoes and do both (you may have seen him in Strictly Come Dancing). Nevertheless, I think he needs a few more "manly influences" to his upbringing - perhaps I should go part time...

Why does everyone drive so slowly in Norfolk? We've just returned from a four-day holiday there and it seems that we spent half the time sitting in our car, following some granny in a BMW tank driving slower than a man could run (well one man anyway, Maurice Greene, who holds the record at 27mph)! Anyway, when we finally stopped driving, we had a lovely time. We were staying at Titchwell Manor , a wonderful family-friendly place which has been voted the best small hotel in Norfolk. Our room was lovely, but with just one problem - the curtains were not much better than net curtains. As such, we were forced to set up Leo's travel cot in the shower (being the darkest part of our room)!!! I wonder what the maid must have thought? We spent some lovely afternoons playing on the beach at Wells and Holkham, followed by some great tea and cakes at Holkham Hall (including the World's best cheesecake) and a lovely three course dinner back at the hotel. If you'd like t

We sprung a surprise birthday party on my mum today. As it's not her birthday until Tuesday, it caught her unaware. She's had a bit of a cold recently, so turned up with a surgical face mask on, so as not to spread her germs! Leo thought it was incredibly funny and pulled it off within three seconds! As you can see, she got to spend the afternoon relaxing and playing with all of her offspring. She was an incredibly proud and happy lady. After putting Leo and Izzy to bed Mary made us all had a lovely dinner and, for once, Mum managed to sit still without helping (Joan, my mother in law, told her to sit still and I think mum's was a little scared!). She's starting to realise that relaxing can be fun too. From all the family, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!!! xxx

"Hey. Give me that spoon!" "See, I don't need your help." "Who needs spoons anyway?" "All gone!"

It was Izzy's first birthday party this afternoon and all the family came to celebrate. After such a bad summer, thankfully the weather was perfect. Little Miss was on great form and loved being the centre of attention. She received lots of lovely presents, including the beautiful dress you see her in here and a wonderful monkey cake. She actually seemed just as interested in the wrapping paper as the presents themselves! Leo also had lots of fun at the party as he got to eat all of her new presents, met his Aunt Cathy for the first time (technically first cousin once removed if you're into that sort of thing) and even received a present of his own. From all of us here at the De Silva Family Blog: HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, IZZY!!!

After six months, last night I did my first full night's duty. Just my luck, it also coincided with Leo's worst ever night - he was up every half hour!!! I'm sure he was just doing it for the novelty value. Thankfully, Mary took over at 6am and I spent the rest of the morning in bed. Little Monkey was looking a little sheepish when I saw him, but he made up for it with a lovely smile and a big sloppy kiss on my nose!

I received quite a shock today... Apparently swimming wasn't enough excitement for one day so, in the changing rooms, our little adrenaline junkie tried BASE jumping for the first time. He dived off a bench without his parachute and unlike his namesake landed on his chin rather than his feet! (Do big cats always land on their feet?) As you can imagine this wasn't his desired result and he let everyone within a three mile radius know. Poor mummy was distraught and even though she's just completed some research into head injuries, did not realise that he showed none of the signs ( Glasgow Coma score of 15)! Luckily they'd just been swimming with the NCT class babies and Mike, Sebastian's dad, drove Mary and Leo to hospital, left a message on my mobile ("It's Mike ....crackle... Mary and Leo ...hiss... accident ...static... QE2 hospital ...crackle ") and stayed with them while I manically made my way there. Thanks Mate! It turned out that Leo w

I'm tired of hearing that announcement at Kings Cross station every day this summer. Well we've had a few nice days recently and as you might expect those barbecues have been lit and are raring to go. Unfortunately today's, at Claire and Alex's, has been affected by that inclement weather! Nevertheless it was a lovely afternoon even though poor Alex was stuck outside cooking under his umbrella! The weather was much kinder yesterday, when we went to Mog and Ed's for another get together. There was certainly lots to celebrate as Mog's pregnant, as is Katie who's due in six weeks. Here you can see them both showing off their bumps. Congratulations girls! We also had two engagements: Caitlin and Dan, and Louise and Martin, both due to get married next year. So there were plenty of beers and champagne going around - shame it was my turn to drive.

Issac, our dinosaur-loving neighbour who lives two doors down, was three today. He kindly invited us to his party today - Leo's first ever! It was our first children's party too and we thoroughly enjoyed it. There was so much to do - trampolines, tunnels, slides, swings, pin the tail on the dinosaur, etc. The entertainment was provided by a lady from Kindaroo , a local company that specialises in "educational movement for 2 to 5 year olds." Leo was a little too young to fully appreciate it, but joined in anyway as best he could - dancing, playing with a colourful parachute, flying like a bird and making lots of silly noises. He was so excited! Just when we thought all the fun was over and everyone was leaving, he received a party bag (we'd forgotten about those)! In it, was a little seal-shaped water squirter which will be a great bath toy. As you can see, Leo was fascinated and spent much of the afternoon imitating it!

This sleeping in his own room may actually be working - Leo slept until 6am this morning! So the day started well. Leo sat up unaided for the first time today. Previously he would topple to one side or the other and it was fun trying to guess which way he would fall! Here you see him playing with the stacking blocks Grandma and Grampa bought him. As you can see, he's still not particularly stable as he frequently overreaches. Leo spend most of his waking hours trying to put everything into his mouth. Now he's started to take after his old man and learning to put his foot in it! That's my boy! I joined Mary and the other NCT girls on their weekly swimming trip for the first time. It was great fun splashing around with Leo in the pool. I even summoned up the courage to dunk him, though it took some coercion. Leo had a go in Sebastian's inflatable ring and he loved it, kicking away like a maniac. Finally this afternoon, Leo became mobile for the first time - h

Leo's first night alone wasn't so bad after all. He woke up a few times during the night, but it was certainly better than his recent performances. It's my birthday today and Leo spent all night making me my first birthday present of the day, a large pooey nappy, which he was very pleased to give me at 5:30am! I also received an ipod (so that I can be a cool dad and catch up with the rest of the World), various accessories for it, some cash and some lovely birthday cards - thanks all! Leo actually made his own birthday card with lots of red finger paint! I saw the remnants of his craft session a few days ago - it looked like a crime scene! We spent the day in St Albans which turned out to be a lovely place - I can't believe I've never been before. We had lunch (and afternoon tea) at The Waffle House , situated within a 16th century watermill on the River Ver. It was followed by a lovely walk through the park beside the lakes and up to the amazing cathedr

Leo hasn't been sleeping well recently and last night was particularly bad. Poor Mummy was at her wit's end (she doesn't do too well with a lack of sleep)! So after her having a chat with the NCT girls, we thought we'd try moving him to his own room. I've been resisting the idea for a while as the thought of my little son abandoned and crying in a dark room on the other side of the house breaks my heart. Nevertheless, we've got to try and fix the problem, so I'll get over my irrational feelings and we'll give it a go for a few nights. I think he knows something is up as he's been especially happy and smiley today - almost as if he's trying to say sorry. Well too late Leo. You've made your bed (or rather I have), now lie in it! I've just finished moving the cot into the nursery and now our bedroom looks empty. Well, fingers crossed...

Things have been so busy at work recently and I've been dying for a break and a chance to spend some more time with Leo. Finally that day has come and I've got ten days of holiday - known as "Daddy Days" to Leo. I'm not sure its going to be very a relaxing time, but as they say, "A change is as good as a rest".

We thought Leo might be a little young for the baby led weaning, so we've started him on the traditional mush - baby rice. He's not too keen on it, but once we started mixing it with sweet potato, banana and the like he's taken to it quite well. He prefers to feed himself, although half of it usually gets plastered around his chops.

Taking her inspiration from little Leo, who can't sit still, Mary decided to take part in Cancer Research's Race For Life . Two thousand women from Stevenage and the surrounding area ran. Mary was running for Marge (Nana) Payne and Grampa William Heppenstall. Every other person there had someone in their life who had been touched by cancer. It was quite emotional - Mary was crying before the race had even started! Nevertheless, she managed to pull herself together and here you see her powering her way to the finish line in her record time of 27 minutes exactly (beating her p.b. by 38 seconds)! She finished well within the first 50 runners! Leo and I were hoarse from cheering her on. Well done love - I'm proud of you! Thank you to all who sponsored Mary - she raised a grand total of £360 for a wonderful cause.

We had Thomas Miller biennial summer ball last night. It was a black tie event so I had to dig out my old dinner jacket. Unfortunately the shirt was looking a little worse for wear, so I had to make a quick dash to John Lewis to pick up a new one. What do you think? The ball was held on the Silver Sturgeon - a luxury cruise boat on the Thames. Apparently it was used for Rod Stewart's engagement party! It was a gorgeous evening and sipping champagne whilst waving at the tourists on the Millennium bridge was certainly a novel experience. I'd forgotten how beautiful London can be - the houses of parliament, Tower Bridge, etc. - perhaps I'll have to do the tourist thing soon. Can't wait for the next one.

Leo has become incredibly interested in our food during the last few days. We'd been reading about baby led weaning , so we thought we'd let him try it. What better food for a little monkey than a banana?!! He loved it. I'm not sure how much he actually ingested, but he sure mashed that banana with his gums.

Leo has always been a bit of a flirt. The minute he sees a stranger he's all smiles and giggles - especially with the Ladies! He's especially partial to Rosalind (above, check out her blog ), his first girlfriend from our NCT class. I'm not looking forward to our chat about the birds and the bees. Perhaps I'll leave that to his mother!

We affectionately refer to Leo as "Little Monkey". Given his resemblance to Bobby , the Gorilla at London Zoo, perhaps we should call him "King Kong" - he's certainly the new king of our household (now that my wife has abdicated)!

Leo loves to "walk" (although he can't support his own weight yet), so I bought him a baby bouncer . As you can see, he loves it.

Leo had his third set of jabs today. There were three injections one in each leg and one in his right arm. The poor little boy screamed until he could scream no more and then a little tear slipped out and rolled slowly down his cheek - his very first. It was heartbreaking, but luckily mummy was there to kiss it away. 30 seconds later though, he was smiling away, happy as Larry. At least until it came to pulling off his plasters.

Today was a good day. At 7am Leo gave me a beautiful smile, a card as big as himself and the wonderful mug you see above - complete with his own footprint. Met up with the NCT lads for a bike ride around the local countryside. We were planning on a few pub stops along the way but unfortunately we left too early so all the pubs were shut! Instead we had to cycle further so we ended up doing about 20 miles in the end on just 1 pint of beer! We returned to the WABs (Wives and Babies) for a BBQ lunch at Lindsey and Brian's house, where we spent the afternoon eating some great home-made burgers. My own dad turned up in the evening. He hadn't seen Leo in over a week (we'd been on holiday to Cornwall) and was dying to see him. Leo gave him his biggest smile yet and another card from both of us. It made Dad's day and he sent us a very soppy email that evening. All in all, a very good day. Goodnight.

Leo has been playing on his front a lot recently and he managed to roll over for the first time! It took us all by surprise, even he looked a little shell shocked. However, it was our collective shout of joy that startled him - making the poor little mite cry. I'm not sure he'll be trying it again in a hurry! This afternoon I took him swimming with Mary. He'd been once before a couple of weeks ago, but it was my first time with him. I was very pleased that Leo loved every minute of it - he really has taken to water. I've heard that little babies can swim underwater, but I was a little too frightened to give it a go without an experienced instructor helping out. The swimming really tired him out and afterwards he fell into the deepest sleep, midway through his feed. Let's hope he sleeps well tonight...

Mary's 30th birthday present from her parents was a holiday for the family (Leo's first - not that he needs one since he's been born). We stayed in Eastwood Cottage in Trevigue, Cornwall. We took him down to the beach at Crackington Haven and he loved splashing around in a rock pool.

Congratulations Mares! She graduated from her PhD today (she should have received it last year, but we were attending my brother's wedding). We all got dressed up and it was a lovely day out for the whole family to Senate House in London. Leo wasn't sure what to make of mummy in funny clothes but when he saw the certificate, he had to get his hands on it! So it looks like we have two doctors in the family.

Leo has recently started sleeping through the night. Unfortunately it looks like this wonderful state of affairs may not last long. He's stopped drinking water from his bottle, but chews the teat instead of sucking it. He's started dribbling a lot, his cheeks were red yesterday and he's unusually grouchy at times. It looks like he's started teething! Oh joy!

My neice Izzy was baptised this weekend. The ceremony was held in St Michael's church, Stinsford, where Thomas Hardy is buried and where my brother got married in March last year. Here you can see Izzy with my mum, looking very happy indeed. The robe she is wearing was knitted for me by my Aunty Arlette and has done the rounds around the entire family.