baby wayne

as some of you will know, otis and kimberley have been in sydney since monday catching up with family and friends. yuki and i have been attempting to bear the deprivation but i have found myself lying awake at night and hearing phantom cries when i am watching tv or eating dinner.

still, i, too, am off to sydney tomorrow and all three of us are heading for a sun-filled week in vanuatu. apart from coconut bras and grass skirts this most likely means that there won't be a whole lot of blog action for the next ten days or so. I am sure that after we get back a captivating series of otis goes to vanuatu entries will more than make up for this pause.

looking forward to seeing you all soon.

xx j

lately otis has been increasingly enjoying his 'tummy time.' he has even started to look at himself in the mirror on his gymini (and has smiled at himself in the bathroom mirror.) i have no idea what this might mean other than that he approves of himself.

so we decided to try and catch up with otis checking himself out ...

but as seems to be the way, whenever the camera is unleashed he is apparently transfixed by the all-seeing lens ...

and it lasts for a while, too

and just keeps on going

until the point that we have to put the camera away for fear that he will never avert his gaze

Long, long ago before Otis I was a regular attendee at a knitting group. We would spend a lovely Saturday afternoon eating, drinking, gossiping; oh, and knitting. Since Otis was born I hadn't managed to make it along, until last week when we finally got outselves into gear and made an appearance. It was lovely to see everyone again after a long absence, and to introduce Otis to my knitting friends. Sadly, Otis was having a grumpy afternoon, and wouldn't tolerate being cuddled by anyone for longer than a couple of minutes, but he did sit still long enough to pose for a photo.

Otis and Aunty Candy

Despite his cranky mood, we did manage to get a couple of rows done on this.

In other news, Otis had his 4 month immunisations on Wednesday. The poor little fella was a bit traumatised by the experience, so I took him shopping - even sick babies need to look their best.

We got this

and these

The little bit of retail therapy did the trick, and by the afternoon Otis was much happier, almost managing a smile.

well, he hasn't just received guests but he has been out and about - pressing the flesh, kissing adults and all that kind of stuff. anyway, there have been a lot of social engagements for a young boy and i hope to give what may be just a glimpse into the vortex of otis's social whirlwind ...

otis had waited for three whole months to meet his uncle phil. uncle phil moved to london a little over a year ago in search of ... it's probably not polite to say ... and returned for a recent visit after stops in new york and broome. activities with uncle phil included a home visit, lunch at marios and, finally, yum cha.

uncle phil has since returned to london but we hope he comes back again soon.

aunty lou is a regular visitor and is captured here as part of otis' now famous 'noir et blanc' phase. for some reason this particular part of our lounge room has become a common place for photographs. to celebrate kimberley's recent birthday lou and miles took us out for a delicious breakfast at mrs jones, and a lovely time was had by all.

we will be returning to mrs jones for dinner in a few weeks time as otis' grandma liz is turning sixty. grandma and grandpa are currently in cuba - i am sure they are havana good time. oi.

there is no photograph of uncle miles at this time due to copyright issues. hopefully, the planned december camping trip will provide opportunities to catch miles in his outdoor persona. the camping trip is being planned due to the meredith music festival selling out.

aunty genevieve (right), who apparently reads this site religiously, and aunty annie came to melbourne from sydney as part of a surprise birthday weekend for gen. although, i am led to believe that the surprise was not altogether that surprising. a situation that was compounded by me revealing the nature of the only undisclosed surprise - the group dinner.

this picture is taken in the back room at vicki and dave's (Mr and Mrs Fentas). last weekend we had a great time at dave's birthday eatathon. this was the first time that otis had slept in his new port-a-cot away from home. the cot folds down with only slight difficulty, but carrying in its bag gives one the feeling of preparing to carry out a hit. it is good to know that we can take otis and that he can settle and sleep in a different environment.

as otis and family prepare for our upcoming trip to vanuatu (we decided that it would be a good idea to try and have a holiday somewhere in the sun, that didn't involve doing very much and that wasn't too far away) he has had to venture into the world of having an official identity. otis received his first passport a couple of days ago.

newer, more secure passports, contain two photos - one in the traditional location and the other kind of embedded like a watermark on the same page. it's kind of lake having your face on some money. nevertheless, otis looks suitably solemn - a temperament that was no doubt encouraged by the indignity of lying on his back on a piece of cardboard while the photolab shop assistant took the happy snap.

despite this blog appearing to be a glorifed excuse for posting photos of otis i don't have the passport photo to be able to share his air of solemnity with you. this is probably useful as it will prevent otis' from becoming fodder for those in the identity theft industry.

it is curious that a three-month old baby can be issued a passport that is valid until after he turns five. hopefully, he will not be looking quite so babylike after he has turned three ...

Otis has been sucking his fists for a long time now, but, until last week, had not figured out how to suck his thumb. Then, in the midst of a crying fit, arms flailing about, his thumb magically arrived in his mouth - he sucked - it stuck. We used to give him the dummy when he was going to sleep, but now he just spits it out, preferring his thumb. I must say that none of us is displeased with this new arrangement, the novelty of getting up ninety four times a night to replace the dummy having long worn off. For those of you who might be concerned about our future orthodontic bill, I am reliably informed that Otis' teeth will be unaffected by this new habit, as long as he has stopped by the time he gets his adult teeth.

In other exciting news, Otis has made a friend.

Otis and Asha

Asha is the daughter of Kate, a new friend from mothers group. We walked to Ceres and back last Friday with the Darebin Pramwalkers. At the cafe Asha was giving Otis huge smiles, and reaching out to hold his hand; Otis was blissfully unaware of her attentions. Yesterday at mothers group he was more enthusiastic about his new friend.