Thomas at 15-18 months
October-November 2007
In October Thomas got another round of vaccinations; one combo measles-mumps-rubella, and a new one that protects against flu and certain kinds of meningitis. He didn't seem to get any reaction to the latter, which would have shown within 48 hours - but the MMR jab gave him some uncomfortable side-effects the following week, and he was quite feverish and uncomfortable for a few days. This meant that we had to keep him home from day care (once the child has fever of 38 degrees, they get sent home) - so we had some fun outings to local shopping centers, which kept his mind off his discomfort for a little while at least.
Nearby Fisketorvet has a fun art installation on the top floor which is relatively uncrowded and fun to run around; Fields (a short metro ride away) boasts a huge indoor play center, where Thomas was delighted to find a wheelbarrow after his own heart.
Even in the cooler weather, the local playgrounds offer plenty of entertainment value; Thomas and Johnny from the English mothergroup had a little reunion a few weeks ago at Remiseparken, which besides the usual play equipment contains farm animals and lots of small pedal-powered bikes and cars.
Thomas is always trying to climb whatever he can reach; the bike trailer was a recent favourite target, he managed to tire himself out quite thorougly after climbing in and out several times one evening.
November-December 2007
Thomas is still developing by leaps and bounds. After dinner he and his dad like to go out for an evening "constitutional" (walk) around the building, exploring the mail room, bike storage, laundry room, recycling and other highlights. It has become such a fixed tradition that Thomas gets Jonathan's shoes and coat for him whenever a walk is suggested!
He also loves to push buttons, turning all powered devices on and off at every opportunity; a recent dishwasher shopping spree was a great opportunity to check out a wide range of washing machines.
Thomas' appetite is also finally getting more varied; we have found that by letting him play with his food, he actually ends up eating quite a lot more and different kinds of things. But we do go through a lot more clothes! A recent care package from England contained many delights, including his dad's favourite Jaffa cakes. Yum!
We made a few attempts to take a Christmas photo to rival last year's calendar shot, but his mobility presented some challenges. He likes the Christmas tree, but is even more interested in the furniture which has been rearranged to accomodate it; he can now climb onto the armchairs and sofas himself, and loves nothing better than to stand up on it, wait for us to tell him to sit down, and wag his finger scoldingly at us...
He had some fun with friends Frederik, Marvin, Carla, and respective parents at our traditional yearly julefrokost - an even more lively occasion than usual!
Christmas 2007
The background for this year's Christmas card was the quilted Advent calendar made by the sister of one of our mothergroup friends; in Denmark and some other European countries, the tradition is to open a little present every day in December up until the 24th (or a bigger present on each of the four preceding Sundays). We decided to wait a year or two for that, so in the meantime some of Thomas' finger puppets took up residence, and it made a nice theme for our yearly card.
Thomas gave us a lovely present, made at the nursery; a hand decorated frame with a nice picture of him in a Santa hat! He got a big kick this year out of all the Christmas decorations, especially the singing snowmen, lights, apples, and soft Nutcracker decorations made by Cindy's mum a few years ago.
Despite teething and a bad cold, he somehow hit a big development spurt during our visit to England, both physically and socially. While there he climbed lots of stairs, met various kinds of animals including his old friend Domino the cat, got used to riding in a car seat again, ate fish & chips, learnt to shake hands and "gimme five", and re-kindled a deep interest in tractors. He also got to let off some steam at a local playground (with swings, naturally!) - luckily we finally found a playground near home in Copenhagen that also has kiddie swings.
Updated 12.01.08