Bug = 3 years 9 months
Bub = 1 year 11 months Linus at this age
Bud = 3 months 2 days Linus at this age – Ada at this age

(Read about Linus’s name here and Ada’s name here.)

Zoe Jean

Just as with Ada, Daddy “found” Zoe’s name. We were struggling to come up with ideas, and the few I liked hadn’t appealed to him, so one night he started going through our baby name dictionary to see what he could come up with.

With Ada, he started reading at the start of the dictionary. Luckily this time he started at the end of the dictionary, otherwise we might have ended up with an “Abigail” or “Alison”!

Ada’s middle name is “Janette”, from my and my mother’s side of the family. This time I wanted a middle name to honour Bob’s side of the family, and “Jean” (Granny’s name) seemed like a nice middle name. Unfortunately many of the first names I liked didn’t sound good followed by “Jean”, but when Bob found “Zoe”, I immediately thought that “Zoe Jean” had a nice ring to it.

Brown

See entry for Bug’s name.

Patterson

See entry for Bug’s name.

Nicknames

Zoe’s most popular nickname has become “Zoe Skarloey“. The rhyme is catchy, and “Skarloey” is a (very strange!) name from Linus and Ada’s beloved “Thomas the Tank Engine” series.

We sometimes call Zoe “Zed” as a nickname: it’s cute, it’s short (we often just write “Z”), and it’s cool to say “Ada Zed…” – I love playing with words! I sometimes think the only reason I keep having babies is so that I get the fun of naming them.

I don’t know if “Zed” will stick – most nicknames don’t, especially if there’s no “need” for them (i.e. the name isn’t a long one that needs abbreviated). “Bug” and “Bub” are used only occasionally with Linus and Ada. Linus doesn’t really get called anything else; Ada is occasionally called “Ady” (which we probably wouldn’t have come up with except that it’s what Linus used to call the alphabet song).

We’re also occasionally calling her “Zo”; Nana often calls her “Zozo“; and I must admit I often call her “Ada”, but I’m managing to grow out of this habit.

Bug = 3 years 9 months
Bub = 1 year 11 months Linus at this age
Bud = 2 months 30 days Linus at this age – Ada at this age

• I started a habit of play-fighting with Linus on the lounge floor. He’s excellent at being not-too-rough and we have a great time! He asks me very often to do this with him, and – bonus! – he’s more than willing to tidy the floor so there’s a safe fight space. Play-fighting gets a bit harder when Ada tries to join in; it’s hard for me to look after TWO kids and protect myself, and Ada likes the idea and attention more than the actual fighting.

• I gave up on the prospect of making tea one afternoon (Daddy was instructed to bring home fish and chips) because of two grizzly, needy girls. Instead I decided – in spite of the nice weather – to shut the lounge curtains, open the fold-out couch, and have a “pyjama party” with the three kids. They LOVED it, and we had a happy couple of hours hanging out in bed reading, singing, and playing with a zillion soft toys.

• Zoe’s right eye has completely cleared up. Her left eye seems better than it was, and I think the infection has gone but the blocked/immature duct still isn’t working properly.

• While I took my girls to RO’s second birthday party, Linus took Daddy on his first trip to Chingford Park, a great place in Dunedin which has bush walks, a playground, a pebbly stream (HOURS of stone-throwing fun!) and an archery range.

• Following on from starting to stay at Nana’s, Ada had her first night away at Granny and Pop-pop’s, and it went well. They had dinner out (to show her off) at the RSA. She went to bed easily, but woke later that evening. However she was easily soothed by her beloved grandparents, and had a good night’s sleep. She got a little bit lost in the morning, but hopefully next time she’ll know to just go through to Granny and Pop-pop’s bedroom. I’m delighted that she got a big chunk of time with Granny and Pop-pop without the rest of us (especially Linus) around.

Bug = 3 years 9 months
Bub = 1 year 11 months Linus at this age
Bud = 2 months 30 days Linus at this age – Ada at this age

Some October/November highlights of Linus-speak:

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Linus and Ada in car together, Linus reading Thomas catalogue and Ada talking with him about it.

Linus (affectionately): I don’t know what you’re talking about, you little duffer!

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Linus: EVERYONE is nice in this land!

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Linus: Do you have pyjama parties at your work, Dad?

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Linus was playing with a McDonalds toy in the back of the car:

Linus: Excuse me Dad, Ronald McDonald is in my pants and he’s by my bottom and p*n*s.

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Linus: Ada, after we have finished tea would you like to bite the table? Does that sound like a plan?

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Bug = 3 years 8 months
Bub = 1 year 10 months Linus at this age
Bud = 2 months 23 days Linus at this age – Ada at this age

None of these are greatly funny, but I think it’s interesting to record the level at which Ada’s speaking. These are all things she’s said in the past month and are a fair reflection of her vocabularly and length of sentence.

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Ada: Need a tissue! Need a tissue again!

She tacks “again” onto the ends of lots of sentences where it doesn’t quite fit.

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Ada: Mummy, I want up again!

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Ada: Can I press the bubble?

This was Ada asking Daddy if she could play the Bubble Wrap game on his iPod.

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I was reading a book to Linus as Ada looked on.

Mummy: What’s the dog called? (asking Linus)
Linus: Buster.
Mummy: What’s the cat called?
Linus: Ginger.
Mummy: What’s the Mum called? (Trick question – she doesn’t have a name – so Linus pauses to think.)
Ada: Linda!

Until then, I had no idea she knew my name!

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Linus was away for the night, and Ada was sitting at table eating with me and Daddy while we were chatting about our day.

Ada: Mummy… Stop talking! I want more!

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Bug = 3 years 8 months
Bub = 1 year 10 months Linus at this age
Bud = 2 months 23 days Linus at this age – Ada at this age

Zoe’s Sleep Habits

Zoe naps on people’s laps/shoulders, in slings/front-packs, in her car-seat, and in the hammock. She sleeps all night in bed with me.

I haven’t been feeling very sleep deprived… sharing a bed with Zoe means that I hardly need to wake up when she feeds, and in any case I don’t think she’s a voracious feeder. However I do like to have my own space to sleep in, and I’ve loved a few luxurious bedtimes when my amazing husband has taken the baby while he’s up on the computer and let me get an hour or two of sleep alone in bed.

Zoe’s cot has been beside the bed as a “sidecar” since she was born, and it’s been great for holding tissues, a baby monitor, spare nappies, books, my iPod, and whatever else I might need at bedtime or in the middle of the night. It has not been set up for a baby to sleep in. But a couple of weeks ago I finally put bedding into Zoe’s cot. I wasn’t feeling any need to put her in there, but just wanted to open up the option. With Linus and particularly Ada, I remember that what worked well was putting the baby in the cot at bedtime so we each had our own space, then moving baby into bed with me when they wake for a feed a few hours later so we can have cuddles for the rest of the night.

Zoe Tries the Cot

A couple of nights after setting up the cot, Bob put her in there when we went to bed. She hadn’t even had a last feed, so we weren’t really planning to leave her there, but wanted to get her used to it. And what do you know? She went to sleep in there and didn’t wake up for four hours!

We were pretty shocked, but put it down to beginners’ luck. But two nights ago we put her down in the cot asleep at bedtime… and I woke up 7 hours later (at 6:00am) in a state of blissful shock. Last night, we put her down awake and she gave us a repeat performance.

What a wee angel!