Dad's birthday, and we went to visit Granny, Grandpa, and uncle Adrian (who's now travelling from Reading). Nathan's really improving with his cruising. There doesn't seem to be a limit on how long he can stay on his feet now.

The lad's understanding is also coming along in leaps and bounds. On the way home Dad said "you're not falling asleep on me" and Nathan smiled and shook his head.

After a study of the toy pages of the latest Argos catalogue, which contains many toy vehicles, Nathan is now able to recognise ambulances on the street. He calls them "ambla".

Today we (Dad Granny and Grandpa) went to Snakes & Ladders at Syon Park, new Kew Gardens. It's like Crealy or Deep Sea Den in that it has ball pools, lots of ride-on vehicles, and exploring "frames". Nathan loved it, and we stayed in there for two hours, which was the bearable limit for us grown-ups.

We got Nathan a little yellow police car from the shop by the exit (very sneaky) which he calls a taxi, because of it's colour (same yellow as a New York taxi).

We're having a strange almost-battle with the lad regarding colours. Ask him what the colour of anything is, and he'll say green. Once you tell him the error of his ways, he'll aquiesce, but the next time it's green again.

Granny came and we went to Uncle Adrian's house to oversee delivery of a new cooker etc. Nathan rather likes this house because there's still lots of room to lummox around in.

The lad's getting better at clibming. He can climb onto sofas now. What he then usually does is push whoever's sitting on the sofa off. Then he lies back with his hands beind his head, and surveys his territory.

We've discovered that the way to help Nathan with his walking is not to hold his hands, but to hold his arms just under his shoulders. Nathan then does moonwalking impressions.

Today was fairly uneventful. We went to Cintra Park toddler group, and dad went to see the dentist. We had a lovely day though, partially because the lactulose is starting to work.

Nathan's latest word is "Erm". He uses it just like we would, for instance deciding which book to choose next.

We went to Deep Sea Den today with a couple of friends. It's one of those places with ball rooms, soft floors, and various obsticles. After an initial "warm up" period, the lad was exploring with the rest of them. We all had a great time.

We went to the doctor today to ask about Nathan's iron intake and how it affects it constipation. He's been taking iron daily as well as in his Pediasure (fortified milk).

The doctor said that the amount of iron he was taking was not significant. She would, however, get the lad an appointment with a dietician. We agreed that the constipation was probably functional (in the mind). Nathan thinks it's going to hurt, so he keeps it in, and it does probably end up hurting. She prescribed Lactulose, so soften the stool. It's two 2.5ml doses daily.

We went to see another little friend today. This one is seven months old and in one incident, while Nathan was drinking his milk, this little one came crawling up and was watching intently. When Nathan had had enough he took the bottle out of his own mouth and handed it over to the baby. How sweet. I was very proud.