Milestones

I had a chat with a friend of mine, via Facebook, about milestones and development, which she said I could share with you. I thought it might be interesting to other new parent's out there - I guess this is something that everyone goes through.

(In the meantime, Alfie has learned to play the piano and we are considering entering him for classical music competitions)




Hello! Long time no see! Happy New Year as well!
I have a question for you about milestones Alfie hit. I'm getting depressed, I know I shouldn't be, about where Eric is in terms of development. I'm on message boards for parents with children with DS and all of there little ones the same age as Eric or younger are all sitting unsupported and getting up on their hands and knees. These kids have DS!! I was okay with him being behind "typical" kids, but now it seems like he's behind his peers as well.
Eric is not sitting (no where near) and starting to get on his knees but not the hands at the same time. I am so depressed. I went to Ian's babybook to see when he sat unsupported as I knew he was late doing this too and he was 7 1/2 months when he did. That's how old Eric is right now and he is not showing any progress at ALL in this area. Blah.
Okay, sorry for the rant but no one else understands. My sister-in-law who has been the best about all of this says not to compare and so not be sad but it is impossible! I knew he was delayed but he seems to be getting more behind everyday. Blah.
Ok, I have to stop or I get you down!!
Hope things are well!
Felecia


Oh I know how you feel!
But the only way I've found to manage this is to completely ignore milestones. I think Alfie was about 9 months when he first started to sit - it was when he was in hospital so he was between 8 and 10 months - but I really don't keep track of things like that. One reason is that Alfie had very low tone and a very big head and very poor muscle tone in his tummy. The other reason is that it makes me feel wretched.
Eric might also have lower tone than you thought - especially in his stomach. This is no indication of his overall intelligence, or how able he'll be able to manage when he's older. In fact, some of the adults I've met have been very strong physically but not so able verbally, so being able to sit really isn't a good indication of anything.
I have days when I'm so frustrated that Alfie isn't doing anything - responding like I think he should, that he's still chucking his plate on the floor, etc etc, and then a couple of days later he'll completely surprise me by crawling right up the stairs!
It might be that Eric is having a little plateau while he thinks about things and develops another area that isn't sitting. Just keep going and know that he will get there in his own sweet time. And he will get there. And you will be SO PROUD!
Also, I'm concentrating on getting Alfie to do things right, not quickly. He does learn if he is shown something enough times, and I'm so proud that he's crawling - even if it's about 6, 7, 8, months late - because it means that he's strengthening his arms and that will help him in the future.
Keep going with the physio, concentrate on getting Eric to do things right, in his own sweet time, and feel proud of your little boy for just being the cutest little boy in the world.
I feel sorry for all those parents whose baby's are walking by 12 months (like Noah was) - it feels too fast!- enjoy the lovely slow pace that our little ones take and give him a lovely big hug from me.
Alice x x x

Oh Alice, when I woke up this morning and read what you wrote to me I almost cried as you cheered me right up! Some days I have good days, others not so great. I was getting so frustrated. You are so right about teaching him how to do things right, not just fast.
On a happy note - Eric must of sensed I was frustrated and when I calmed down this morning after reading your letter, I went to work on Physio with him. He sat!!! For like two minutes unsupported!! Without falling! He's still pretty hunched over and supporting himself with his arms, but he's finally getting it!!! I am so happy - I posted some pictures. I am so proud of him I cried. By 9 months he should be fully able to sit unsupported the correct way if he keeps this up!! Yeah!
Felecia :)

Phoneme Touch and Say

Right, it's been so long since I've written anything here, I'm a bit embarrassed. In my defense, I've been working quite a lot, and I made a new years resolution to spend more time with my children and less on the computer. Which I'm being quite good about sticking to. Anyway, Felecia pointed out to me that two months with no posts is quite poor really - so here's one for you.

Alfie learned a new sign this week. 'My turn' - or 'me'. He's so pleased with himself for learning it that it's meaning has changed to 'Wow look mummy I can do a sign, look! look! look! meeeee!!!!'. He's just so delighted with himself. He realised how useful it was the other night when he was trying to reach the chocolates - suddenly he had a brainwave and tried the 'my turn' sign - and it worked. Now he's using it all the time. I'll have to try and get a video of it because he's really cute.

Also, we have just started working with speech pathologist Jill Hicks. Mat and I are really excited about this. She uses a sign system to help show children, visually, how sounds are made, and how they are different from each other (well, there's more to it than that - but that's my quick summary). It's called Phoneme Touch and Say - and has emerged from her professional practice and her experience of having a daughter who has Down syndrome herself.

To start with we are working on four sounds. Da, Ma, Oh, Eee. For Daddy, Mummy, NOah and AlfiE. I'm making a picture book with photo's of each of us, and I'm going to hold it up and say the sound very clearly, and then show him the sign for the sound while I say it. The plan is to do it lots of times so he can clearly see that there are different sounds in these words. Obviously, we'll have to do it many times. I'll post up here how it's going.

Also, Jill pointed out something really useful. She made a quick video of me chatting with Alfie and noticed that I ask him chatty questions quite a lot - for example 'would you like some more?' 'how about we put it this way up?' 'would you like the cow?'. Instead of doing this, I'm going to try and say shorter, or one word, sentences - 'more' 'this way' 'cow'. The aim of this is to build up Alfie's vocabulary - give him the meanings of lots of words very clearly rather than lots of extra information that doesn't really matter to him. I'm really pleased with this - it makes perfect sense and I wouldn't have thought to do it myself.

I really think that clear speech is the key to giving Alfie confidence and independence as he grows up. So we are starting now.

Brothers playing

Alfie and Noah love to play together. Alfie can't take his eyes off his brother.

Noah is a Hot Potato

Here is a slide show of Noah. He chose the music - it's called 'Hot Potato' by The Wiggles, (thought I'd put that in case you want to buy the album!).

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Developmental Report

RE: McCarthy, Alfie Peter
Unit Number: P0044hosp7
Date of Birth: 29/06/06
HCN: 02834948372
Location Code: Dev
Seen in Clinic: 25/07/07

Alfie and his mother were seen in the Developmental Clinic in followup today. Alfie is now 12 - 1/2 months old and was last seen in May 2007. As you know, he is a little boy with Trisomy 21 and congenital CMV infection. At the time of his original consultation in May, Alfie was unwell and we were unable to complete a developmental assessment.

But now we have done it and are sending this copy to his parents. It will be interesting for them to read this 12 page report about their son and useful for them to have a copy of the information that is used to assess his development. But in addition to this, it will feel a little bit demoralising. They will read through a description of their son that concentrates on all that is 'wrong' with him, from his head, to his toes. Alfie's mother will process this by re-writing the report so that it more accurately describes her son.

On examination of head and neck, Alfie was noted to have a large anterior fontanelle with a relatively flattened occiput. He has his mother's eyes and a little button nose. Examination of the extremities revealed short, broad hands, again like his mothers. There is a gap present between his first and second toes on both feet. On neurologic examination, no facial asymmetry was present and he is undoubtably an extremely handsome child.

All the achievements of which his mother and father are so proud will now be dismissed in short sentences that compare him to a large number of children who do not have Down syndrome, and for all we know, might have nothing special about them at all. On the gross motor subscale Alfie had an equivalent age of 7 to 8 months. On the Self-Help Subscale, Alfie had an age equivalent of 9 months. His cuteness factor was 140% and by parental report his happiness level is equivalent to that of a child who has been born into a loving home and adored, from the very start, by all who have ever met him. His mother and father are, quite rightly, extremely proud and contended to have produced such a unique and charming son. Together with Alfie's older brother Noah, they appear to be a perfect family.

Sincerely,
A Doctor, confined within the traditions of a medical model of diagnosis, who has to write these reports for her job, MD FRCPC

/EHM
c - my blog

Alfie's First Year

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Alfie has started to crawl forwards!!!!

Three days ago Alfie couldn't go forwards at all and now he can get right across the room. Because he has low muscle tone he isn't able to lift his tummy off the ground so, ingeniously, he has devised his own pull and shove method.

Four generations

Here's Alfie playing with his Great Grannie and Grandpa who were born in 1912 and 1910. When he got bored they poked him with their sticks!

A whole year!!!!

Wow! Alfie is one year old. And such a wriggler. I shouldn't have tried to start writing now because he's sitting on my lap and trying to alternately grab my necklace and pull it off my neck, bite my nose, and bash about on the keyboard.

So, just quickly - he had a 'brain stem' hearing test last week, under general anaesthetic, and was going to have tubes (grommets) fitted at the same time, but the hearing test showed that his hearing is normal!!! I sort of knew that his hearing was OK, but at birth we were told he had a severe hearing loss in his right ear, and at Christmas we were told that he couldn't hear any sound below 15dc. Obviously we were worried, and even more so because the risk of not developing speech is increased if you have both deafness and Down syndrome, but hey - that's one more thing to cross off our list of 'terrible-things-that-happen-if-you-have-an-extra-chromosone'. It also shows that sometimes you need to trust your instinct as a parent and believe what you see rather than what you are told. Interestingly, the normal hearing tests didn't work on Alfie because they are designed for people who have wider ear canals. I wonder if other babies with Ds have had this false negative test result?
Anyway, what a wonderful birthday present (for us - Alfie obviously could hear anyway so having a general anaesthetic probably wasn't the best way for him to celebrate). The consultant decided to be conservative and not fit the tubes, as he didn't have any fluid on his ears, which I'm also pleased about as I'd read mixed reviews on their efficacy.

Also, Alfie has got a tooth. And he's crawling backwards so fast that if you leave the living room for a minute he gets stuck under the sofa. And he has the most gorgeous, melting, joyful smile. We are very, very, very proud of our lovely one year old boy.

We've been away for a month...

...back to England. Wow! It's been amazing to see our lovely family and friends but, hey a month is a long time to be staying at other people's houses and we are totally exhausted. In fact, Mat, Alfie and myself all have strep throat and tonsilitis so we've been lying around groaning - but at least in our own beds. Poor Noah found it especially hard staying at so many different homes and is only just getting back to his normal chatty-quirky-silly self. Anyway, after a week in bed I have struggled down the stairs to post a few photos of the boys with their cousins Ben and Tom, and Louie (with my sister Kate). There's been so much going on in my head I don't know where to start back with my blog.

Well, I'll start with a worry - poor Alfie is ill AGAIN! He has his tubes appointment scheduled for next Thursday so please can you send him some wellness. If we have to reschedule his appointment this will be the 5th time it's been changed due to ill health in the last six months. I wouldn't worry so much but his hearing is very up and down and I think they might not believe me if he's ill AGAIN!
Hey, on the good side though - he is crawling backwards! A month ago I noticed that if I was in the room with him he'd just sit smiling at me, but whenever I left (even for just a moment) he'd have moved ages across the room. He was using a clever rolling technique but has graduated to a consistent backwards crawl now - bless him, he keeps getting stuck under the sofa! I'm going to make some grippy knee pads because he's not getting a proper purchase on these shiny wooden floors and his legs are prone to splaying outwards - I think something with shammy leather - any ideas?
He's also started babbling which is a really good sign for talking - I was thinking it might never come. I try and get him to repeat the noises that I make (as the speech therapist showed me) - he never actually does copy me but loves it when I make "ba ba ba" noises and he tries to look right inside my mouth - with his eye right up to my lips if he can - to see how I do it - SO SWEET!
He and Noah are practising for the Canadian Brothers Baby Wrestling Championships. Noah is so adorable with his bro and lets him grab him and pull his hair for hours. Bless.

Anyway, Alfie is 1 year old next week!
That is bringing up lots of stuff about this funny old year and what we were doing this time in 2006. Blooming heck - it's been one of the best and worst years of my life! Thank goodness for my lovely boys. I'm so proud of Alfie and I can't really believe he's made it to one year old already. He really makes our family whole and I can't really put my emotions about this into words - I just know that with him and Mat and Noah in my life, the world is a million times richer for me than I could have ever hoped.

I've been having a real up and down week. Lots of Down syndrome stuff...some things that need a bit of bravery and others that warm my soul. Also, we are moving house so there are boxes everywhere - I'm trying to pack up my feelings a bit too. In particular, it's been a bit hard this week seeing lots of babies who don't have Down syndrome. It's a bit odd and I have to do a little swallow when I see a three month old so easily lift his tummy off the ground, - I'd be thrilled if Alfie could do that. Sometimes it just hits me that Alfie's got to put so much work in to accomplish the little things. Not that he minds. He's so delighted to be able to reach his toys now, and put his arms up for a cuddle, grab the spoon for his supper, and pull a nice big handful of Noah's hair.

Also, I keep getting a little shock when I see how long typical babies legs are! I think "what funny leg extensions they've got". So quickly your idea of 'normal' changes.

There's an article in the Globe and Mail today about Down syndrome and Alzheimers. Don't bother reading it, it's badly written, melodramatic and patronising - the title is 'Doomed from birth to death'. I won't even link to it because it will just take up time you could better spend humming tunes or staring blankly into the fridge. Instead I'm going to post a few of the comments that people have added at the end...

"Renate lindeman from Mineville, Canada writes: I take great offence in the title "Doomed from Birth..." As the mother of two beautiful children with Down syndrome, I know the challenges our family faces; medical, developmental and societal. Some challenges are faced and can be changed by working hard, some challenges cannot be changed and we need to accept. Alzheimer is a devastating disease but medical science is progressing fast and is close to finding answers. As a society we can make many positive changes by not seeing people with Down syndrome as 'being doomed' We are all destined to die; but there is so much to celebrate between birth and death. Being is the answer."

"Kate Chase from Vancouver, Canada writes: As a speech language pathologist who works with many wonderful children with Down syndrome and their families, I find the headline of this article to be completely inappropriate.
There are many interesting points to this story, including the full lives lead by most individuals with Down syndrome, the scientifically fascinating link between DS and Alzheimers, and the need for appropriate care for individuals with DS in their later years. None of these issues require a headline including the word "doomed".
As so many other readers have commented, we will all die at some point - children with DS are no more doomed from birth than those who might have a predisposition to Parkinsons, cancer, or any other disease. Lives may be shortened for any number of reasons, but they are still worth living and far from "doomed"."

"Gary Twyne from Lower Sackville, Canada writes: I am the proud father of two girls. Both of them are beautiful, healthy, vibrant, inspiring, loving and full of hugs - I couldn't picture my life without them. Both of my daughters have Down Syndrome. When my first daughter was born I had a lot to learn about being a dad and about Down Syndrome. My wife was 27 when Claire was born, hardly old, and our stated odds of having a child with Down Syndrome was about 1 in 1000 for our age category. Upon seeing a genetics counselor about our options for a second child we realized that there were very few options, have your child or abort your child! An amnio test would simply let us know if the baby was going to have DS and then we could make a decision based on that. An amnio test has a risk of aborting the fetus on its own (1 in ~300) and the test is hardly reliable (in my opinion), I was appalled to learn just how high the percentage of false positives and false negatives are. After two years we had a second child and she too ended up having DS. Medical science is learning new things to better our lives everyday, and it is obvious to me that this article shows more gains can be made by studying adults with Trisomy 21 & Alzheimer's or any other disease for that matter. Without a doubt these studies will provide further invaluable information in the hopes of creating treatments or cures for all of mankind. Doomed because of our genetics. The hair on my arms stand on end when I think of genetic selection; where does it end? Who picks the genes that should continue? Do we hold the wisdom to determine what genes the world can live without? Should you not be born or live life because of heart disease? Cancer? Addictions? Where would it end? How many people in this world are truely genetically 'normal'? In North America 9 out of every 10 couples abort DS babies, doomed before their lives could even begin. Claire and Elise bring me hope happiness and joy. They are blessings from birth!"

Here's my comment (please note that I'm feeling especially grumpy today): "I found this article, especially the title, really hurtful and upsetting. My nine month old son has Down syndrome, and, yes, I am aware that he has an increased chance of getting Alzheimer's disease, but my father died of a rare heart disease and I am at increased risk of contracting that... other people may be predisposed to breast cancer, or depression, etc, etc. Disease and illness are part of life but we are not 'doomed'! I think that this article is sloppy and badly written. The journalist has played on emotive language for effect, and I find it particularly patronising and insulting. As well as the title, phrases such as 'wet rubbery kisses' are prurient and undignified descriptions of adults who are suffering from Alzheimer's. My grandmother also has this disease and if she has been described in these terms I would be shocked - is it OK because the subject has Down syndrome?

As I put my young son to bed this evening I thought once again about the phrase 'doomed from birth'. It sobered me for a moment but then he gave me such a joyful grin I remembered how lucky I am to have him in my life. Please don't patronise him, or me, with any more pitiful articles."

On a more 'up' note:

I'm very excited about a new project. Four of us from the Nova Scotia Down Syndrome Society met up this week to plan a photography project for young people (well, actually it was five of us but Alfie didn't really contribute anything). We're planning an eight week project for a group of teenagers who have Ds. Together we're going to make artworks about dreams and futures, and hopefully we'll be able to develop the group into a permanent club. I'll write more as it comes together. We've already got a great room to meet in, and some money raised throught the NSDSS, a plan, and eight young people who want to take part...I'm hoping to raise a bit more money and we plan to start in September. It just shows how easily you can make things happen when you work together.

Denial

I met some gorgeous children on Monday. Two kids who have Down syndrome who go to Alfie's playgroup at the Progress Centre. I was planning to leave the kids with Mat and go shopping but these cuties were so gorgeous, with their big eyes and smiles, that I had to stay. Also it was really nice to meet their mums.

Anyway, we got to chatting and one of the subjects that came up was 'denial'. How it is difficult when your baby is born to take on all the information that's given to you. And some subjects are just too much. One of the mum's said she couldn't look at the Down Syndrome Society website, or join it, it was just too much to take on board. I found the same thing with anything medical. At first I threw away all the literature I was given in the hospital about health issues. Often I find myself saying 'la la la' in my head when the doctor's telling me things. I'm finding my own way through now and I've read up on things one at a time, but I was just browsing the web when I came across the Down Syndrome Research Foundation. It looks really interesting but my 'denial' sensor has come up. I've decided to ignore the site and write this post instead. Now I might watch the Trailer Park Boys. Is it 'denial' or is it 'organisation of complex issues into a format which is compatible with my emotional well being'?

Here's a picture of Noah when he was one, eating a melon.

Spring at Peggy's Cove

Alfie and his team

Here are some of the staff who were so wonderful when we had to stay in hospital.
I took this on the day we found out we could go home.

Three pictures of Alfie

Yuck! I've had enough of learning curves.

We are home and for the first night in weeks I can't sleep. There are no strangers coming into my room, no bleeps, no coughs, no panic jumps of awakeness, no soggy hospital cots to sleep in, no babies crying inconsolably in the next room, no electronic hums, and I am AWAKE!!! Lying in bed thinking about my blog of all things! Well, I have taken a bag of carrots from the fridge and I'm munching and typing and chomping and hopefully I'll get it all out in twenty minutes, fall into a beautifully restful slumber and be alert and astute in the morning.
(hmmm - fat chance).

But the important thing is that we are home after 15 nights. Alfie is much much better and we are all on the mend. Thank pants for that. I've learned so much recently that small bits of information are falling out of my ears.

Resilience. That's the most useful thing I've learned. We are resilient and we can cope with more than I imagined. It helps that everyone has been so kind and supportive - I'm in the kind of mood where I can be fine and strong and resilient when things are going well, but if someone takes my place in the queue I'm likely to throw my Tim Bits at them.

I've also learned that Alfie has an impaired immune system. And what this actually means is that it's easier for him to get very ill, and harder to get well. My friend tells me that she's got a really good naturopath and has helped her children (who have Ds) to stay well for a good while now. I shall wring her for information and share it with you too.

More stuff I have learned...

• Don't hang out with sick kids if you know they are sick
• Get a flu shot
• Don't spray everything with anti-viral antiseptic spray because it actually impairs children's immune systems - lemon balm in a spray is better - as is a flu shot.
• Give Alfie and Noah vitamin D
• Wash your hands more
• Get a flu shot! (Actually, Noah did have a flu shot and he still got ill - but I think it might have stopped Alfie from being so very precariously sick).
  
• Chest physio is extremely effective for Alfie and if he gets pneumonia again I should make sure he gets it straight away - it's more important if you have Ds than for typical children.
  
• Ear plugs are an essential item in hospital
• Anti-biotics can cause runny stools which can cause weight loss, but pro-biotics from the health food store change this.
  
• Hot steamy bathrooms help to runnify your insides and get rid of pneumonia. So do saline drops in your nose.
  
• Lots of movement and activity is good too.
• Nursing relaxes Alfie and opens up his airways (it also meant he didn't have to have his food via IV)
• "Cough in the Trough, Sneeze on your Sleeve" - cough in the crease in your elbow and sneeze on your sleeve rather than on your hands so you don't spread your germs everywhere.
• It pays to be interested and alert and take an active role in your child's medical care.
• The nurses and doctors and students and therapists and physios and cleaners at the IWK hospital are very, very, very, good
  
• It is good to be in a hospital where they aren't always short staffed
  
• Going out in the cold doesn't make you ill as long as you are dressed up warmly enough.
• Canadians don't put kisses on the end of their emails (x)
• One of the hardest things has been helping Noah through this difficult time. The Child Life department at the hospital were incredibly useful. They brought toy medical kits and doctor and nurse puppets and just let him play. He worked through lots of his fears about Alfie and doctors and calmed down a lot. I'm going to do some more playing with him and Alfie now that we are home because he really isn't himself at the moment. Very tearful and upset. It's all so confusing having your mummy and brother away for so long when you are only three. And then having them back. I wrote a little picture book for him in hospital about Alfie and what was going on. I think I might do another one now for coming home.

• If you eat too many carrots your tongue goes a bit numb. I'm off to bed. Wish me luck. x
  

Blooming Heck: We're in hospital!

Poor little Alfie has pneumonia and influenza and we've been in hospital for the last 10 days - feels like an eternity! He's getting much better now but it was a bit dicey for a while. We've been living as if in a dream, just watching time pass on the clock but not really believing it. Day, bleep, night, bleep bleep, doctors rounds, bleep bleep bleep. This sort of thing is very hard on your heart. I need a sigh machine that can suck all my sighs out and replace them with something light and fluffy - giggles maybe.

Alfie's still on oxygen but they are finally able to reduce the amount and bless him, he's starting to sit up on his own. He's so smiley about it all - the rest of us are shattered though. His breathing was further complicated by sleep apnea, - I think his tongue is a bit big for his mouth and when he sleeps on his back it blocks his airway. Bleep bleep bleep bleep. His sats monitor is going off all the time. And I keep waking to find a room full of nurses and doctors. Bleep. With Alfie grinning at their funny masks. Bleep bleep.

And we bought a house last week too! I've only seen it once but it seemed fine and we couldn't get too worried about it with everything else that was going on. I think that was the most relaxed real estate purchase ever made. "Is it standing upright? Nice colour? OK I'm sure it will be fine".

We might be in here for another week or so, but I'm crossing my fingers it'll only be a couple of days. This hospital (IWK Children's Hospital) is great - all the staff have been exceptional - professional, friendly, on the case, interested, energetic, and kind. And talking of exceptional - my friend Susan - who has FIVE children of her own, including two who have special needs, volunteered to come and stay the night so I could have some time off!!!! How lovely is that! I am so touched. She's coming this evening for a few hours and I can't wait to get home to cook and put Noah to bed, and just chill out with Mat for a bit.

It's strange having the same light-hearted conversations over and over again ("what brought you to Canada?" "oh you've got some accent") with all the medical staff, and then bizarrely chirpy conversations with parents who are going through the most difficult times of their lives. ("how long have you been here?": "oh about three months" "have you got any other children?": "none that are alive") The contrast is too great sometimes, especially when you don't see anyone you know all day.

Alfie and Noah's Nan and Grandad are coming tomorrow! Yeh! I am so excited! Last time we saw them Alfie had nasal prongs to help him breath and was in hospital, and the time before that he was in intensive care. What bad luck that it's happened again. Well, at least things are on the up. I'll write more when we get home. Bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep.

Our boys are growing up so fast!

Wow! Looking at these pictures it really strikes me how quickly Noah and Alfie are changing! Alfie couldn't really hold his head up two months ago - and now look at him! And Noah is getting ready to hit the road as a Canadian cowboy. He's been talking with a pseudo-Canadian accent all day today "I ceen't fix it" "I'll pud it in my beeg" mixed in with English "mummy"'s. He's not got it quite right yet, probably because he's learnt it from Bob the Builder (USA version), Elmo, and various 3 year olds. Bless. Alfie is eight months old next month. And Noah is three and a quarter.

Alfie has some carrot

Hooray! I have finally found the camera cable so I can download the pictures that have been stacking up since Christmas. Here is Alfie having his first solid food.

The Cutest Baby in Halifax

Hooray for Alfie the cutest baby in Halifax! It's official!!!

I entered him for Peninsula Parent Magazine's cutest baby competition and he's WON!!! Mat said we would have a parade if he was the winner, so I'm busy planning. The article isn't published yet, but when it is I'll update this space. Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!!!!! Hooray for Alfie! Hooray!!!!