In which the kid gets spoiled. Again. Still.

I started blood tests today (day 10), which were in theory to be daily up until ovulation but the results have showed that my body is disinclined to rush, so we're taking a couple of days off and they'll have another look on Friday. We're not particularly phased - it'll happen the way it happens. At this stage it's probably a week away from embryo replacement. Possibly a bit longer. Will keep you posted.

And so

We've started our frozen embryo replacement cycle. Nothing much to it really. I rang the clinic on day one to confirm (we're now a couple of days in), they send me out the necessary forms so that they can track my natural cycle with blood tests (we're drug free for this one - and also relieved that Diagnostic handles all fertility blood stuff) and scans, then come ovulation they thaw out one of our little warriors and pop goes the embryo, as it were.

The only question I had really was about the thawing of the embryo(s), and what happens if it doesn't survive the thaw. I wondered if that cycle would be a bust and we'd have to do over, and then potentially do over and over for the next 5 months or so. But no, if the embryo doesn't survive, then the clinic gets our consent to thaw another and we continue to move forward. It didn't escape me that at the end of the cycle we could be pregnant, or potentially have lost all our embryos, but it's the nature of the beast isn't it, when you're dealing with an unnatural beast. However it plays out, whether our family is complete with Cuinn or there's another little ginger shockwave on its way, we're good. Relaxed. Celebrating the little ginger we already have. Looking forward positively, but not foolishly. I think.

There was something else I was going to say, but I've forgotten, so you can have more kid pictures instead.

Watching Kidzone in the morning. No idea why it's more awesome done in a trolley dangling a water bottle, but apparently it is.

Helping Dad cook dinner. It was really cute as he poured left over stock into the measuring cup (you can kind of see him tipping the carton up), until he poured the stock from the measuring cup all over the bench. To be fair, he was aiming for the blue bowl, but the kitchen did smell rather chickeny afterwards.

On his new bike which is MUCH easier for Mama and Dad courtesy of the nice long intended-for-big-people-to-use handle. Excellent. Photos are fuzzy obviously because it was very important that we didn't stop moving. Still, you can see a happy little face.

Busy in the rain

(In case it crosses your mind that he may actually be less playing with/peering into the manky water in the wheelbarrow, and more about to drink it - you'd be right)

It's been a month? Oops.

Sooo ... quick run down ... the little ginger has done lots of changing and as a result, he's done lots of being awesome, and lots of being absolutely revolting. You've seen no blogging basically because when he's being awesome, we're hanging out and I'm in a semi-collapsed heap breathing a sigh of relief, and when he's being revolting ... well. The revolting-ness seems to be related to teething (we don't like teeth at all in this house. Not even a little bit. He took months to cut through his top molars, and even now they're still working their way out, and now his bottom molars have started. Vile. V-I-L-E. Bad teeth), and new routines related to growing up. The bit that does me in to the core, is trying to work out what the bellowing is all about. We sort of end up working on a cold/warm/hot basis for a couple of weeks till be get there. I know how hot/warm/cold I am based on how loud the bellowing is. If I need ear muffs, I apparently need to pay more attention. If I can flick through a Vogue, but not actually concentrate to read anything, then I'm heading to warm, and if the little ginger appears cheerful, cruises through the morning and succumbs to a nap with ease, nailed it!

Anyway ... the month in pictures.

Perhaps an indication that the child likes Pamol a little bit tooooo much.

Marmitey cruskity goodness.

After a tough morning at the zoo, also apparently under a blue moon.

This one you can't really see too well, but the gist of it is that the kid discovered that post-its stick reeeally well to the border collie, and spent quite some time sticking them on her through the child-gate. I now need to thieve more post-its from the office.

Coolest of duvet covers for when we transition to his big boy room, in about 15 years.

Cuinn loves helping make a 'hot cuppa' (standing on a chair at the bench) and in particular loooooves the coffee machine, so we found this and he's lived happily every after making 'cuppa' after 'cuppa' in the lounge. It even came with a little wooden milk carton and sugar bowl and teaspoon.

Training. And, interestingly (although I don't have photos as yet) after a good 9 years of marriage, I still can't get the husband to put his shoes away, however when I turned my attention to training the kid to put the husband's shoes away by convincing him that putting Dadda's shoes away is the. coolest. thing. ever. I've gotten much further. Go figure.

And did I mention we're doing an embryo transfer next month? More on that later, but in the meantime, I've ordered a nice, docile, non-ginger girl. What d'you think my chances are?