De Silva Family Blog

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!