All 23 entries tagged Baby Lawrence O-Toole
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August 30, 2006
Instow, Devon
The yacht club on the estuary, viewed from our apartment…
The yachts at low tide…
The ferry quay at low tide…
On Instow beach with a boat…
Lawrence making sand castles…
Lawrence destroying sand castles…
Lawrence on the beach at Westward Ho!...
Emma and Lawrence walking on the beach at Westward Ho!...
Westward Ho! coastguard…
Lawrence on the rocks…
August 29, 2006
Cycling along Oxford's Little Camargue
The river was busy with boats, including kayaks, noddy boats and proper barges…
We like bridges…
And…
Once we reached the Botley Road, we headed into town for coffee at Borders (more child friendly than Blackwells). Lawrence rearranged the philosophy section, before seeking less childish pursuits…
The "wild" horses, cattle and flocks of greylag geese add interest to the wide open meadow and gently rippled river, reminiscent of somewhere in the South of France…
Lawrence being irrepressibly keen to make his way into the river, I suggested to Emma that he learn a lesson in freestyle diving…
Cycling in Devon
Along the shore of the Estuary, next to the nature reserve:
Passing under the Torrington Bridge:
August 25, 2006
Wild goose chase
One day my son will hunt big game in the Kalahari, but for now, wildfowl will be his training ground…June 12, 2006
Baby Report: Four amazing things
He's got rhythm
For a few months Lawrence has been able to hit a drum with a beater, shake a tamborine in time, and in the last month clap his hands. This morning I saw him reach into his toy box, and tap the various bars of a xylophone. This wasn't accidental, and he obviously got great joy from hitting the different notes. After a minute, I took the xylophone out of its packet and set it down in front of him with it's beater. He played it for several minutes.
Setting a challenge
Lawrence cannot yet crawl. He seems to be putting all of his effort into learning to walk. This is not at all surprising as at nursery he is surrounded all day by children who can walk. We can even see him watching and copying the feet of walkers. Sadly, when he does need to crawl, all that he can do is twist and lurch forwards in an uncoordinated manner. However, he does try. And even more surprising, is the way in which he seems to set himself targets in order to make the effort more focussed. This morning I watched as he repeatedly threw small blocks away, in some cases just far enough to stretch to, in others far enough to require a small shuffle, and occassionally, so far that he needed to make a significant effort and almost crawl to fetch them. He is already setting himself challenges that are a little beyond his grasp.
Dissect and connect
Lawrence seems to have a natural ability to pull things apart. Building blocks, the limbs off cuddly toys, parts of my laptop, all have been dissected with great expertise. Fortunately he is now showing some interest in putting things back together. Recently I watched as he held two building blocks, moved them together with the connecting ends in the required orientation, twisted one around to fit the other, and pushed them together so that they locked. To encourage such a constructive attitude, we have now provided him with a set of lego, and an excelent toy from the Boots Basics range: a ball into which variously shaped blocks can be fitted, so long as each block is manipulated into the appropriately shaped hole. The foundations of mathermatics perhaps?
A powerful attractor
And finally, his favourite game: lovely ladies. I should explain, the rules are as follows:
- sit in a crowded place, such as a cafe;
- look around for a likely candidate, preferably a woman with long hair and a big smile;
- fix her with a powerful and unflinching stare until she notices and looks back bemused;
- if necessary, do a loud "excuse me" kind of cough;
- just as she starts to look baffled at the behaviour of such an odd baby, start to smile and laugh.
The result is always the same. The technique renders the target completely helpless, and she walks over in admiration and behaves in such a way as to clearly indicate "want baby now". Amazing, and a trick that I have never been able to perform. Perhaps I should video the performance and sell it as an instructional guide to attracting women? Please note that I have so far resisted the temptation to exploit the results of Lawrence's work.
To illustrate this, I have taken a photo. For your own safety, it is taken at an oblique angle rather than looking directly into his eyes. However, if you are female and want to resist Lawrence's hypnotic stare, I suggest that you look away now:
March 28, 2006
Baby Report: Deconstruction
"Why make a knife pass between two texts? Why, at least, write two texts at once? What scene is being played? What is desired? In other words, what is there to be afraid of? who is afraid? of whom? There is a wish to make writing ungraspable, of course. When your head is full of the matters here you are reminded that the law of the text is in the other, and so on endlessly. By knocking up the margin – (no) more margin, (no) more frame – one annuls it, blurs the line, takes back from you the standard rule that would enable you to delimit, to cut up, to dominate."
March 12, 2006
Baby Report: Lawrence MP3
Follow-up to Baby Report: Learning to play the drums from Transversality - Robert O'Toole
Baby Report: Learning to play the drums
No, it's not a lollipop…
That's right, it's a drumstick…
Lawrence rocks, and he knows it…
I should add that he is modelling the Hooligan's Babes outfit that I bought him from Simon's Town, South Africa: "this year I shall mostly be wearing safari clothes".
February 18, 2006
Travel Report: Underwater Africa
Follow-up to Travel Report: Lawrence on safari from Transversality - Robert O'Toole
Our swimming teacher claims that babies keep their eyes open under water. Lawrence doesn't agree:
Whilst on holiday, he swam every day. Soon he had begun to kick his feet and use his arms. He is also capable of easily keeping his head above water.
February 13, 2006
Travel Report: Lawrence on safari
Follow-up to Travel Report: Lawrence of Africa from Transversality - Robert O'Toole
Steve Irwin says it's perfectly safe…
"Faster, faster, make them fly…"
"Daddy, why have those trees got eyes and beaks?"
…and seconds later the 20 foot long crocodile lept out of the water.
Travel Report: Lawrence of Africa
Follow-up to Travel Report: Penguin flu and giant crabs in Cape Town from Transversality - Robert O'Toole
It was a hard flight from Cape Town to Jo'burg, and then from there to Gaborone. On arriving at the ranch I found young Lawrence, who it seems had spent a week sitting in his jacuzzi on the patio…
…with the occassional swim in the pool…
…after a hard day's work running the government…
…and meeting many new friends…
At least he helped the two Peters to cook goat for my birthday…
December 17, 2005
Baby Report: sub–aqua Lawrence
This manouvre involves moving the baby backwards and forwards in the water three times, then pouring water over his head as a warning of his impending submersion. Finally, he is wooshed underwater head first and released. He then "swims" upwards and into the hands of the second assistant (in theory). The correct angle must be maintained at all times to prevent water entering his nose. Apparently, according to the instructor at the stunt-baby school, babies like this, and actually keep there eyes open under water.
Next week, paragliding for infants.
November 29, 2005
Baby Report: Lawrence at Frinton and Cambridge
Where's that sun of mine?
Freezing at Frinton:
Lawrence is getting very interested in food, especially if it is as good as the creamy roast pumpkin risotto at Brown's in Cambridge:
November 22, 2005
Baby Report: Vanity
"I'm just so beautiful, I can't stop looking in the mirror".