Tali - you poor love. :hugs: I can understand why you freaked out, esp with the pools all around you. Do you have any wine in the house? A nice glass of wine and some chocolate should hopefully calm your nerves. Our bubs are such sneaky little buggers. Don't feel bad about hitting the panic button, its what mums do. I hope you get DH's CD, its annoying when you go to the trouble of ordering stuff for xmas and it doesn't turn up. I love big, fat babies. My niece is 3 mths younger than Marley and at 12mths she was nearly 12kgs and Marley was 8.3! She has so many rolls, I just love them and she has such a big face and beautiful big eyes. I've never had one of those fat babies. Found this stuff on language development from Parenting and Child Health:

Speech and language
By 18 months children are usually:

babbling loudly and often to themselves and to others, as though having a conversation
listening to things said to them, and understanding some things such as 'no'
able to follow a few simple instructions such as 'get your shoes'
able to identify a few familiar objects when they are named (such as 'show me the ball', or 'where is the spoon')
using 6 or more recognisable words (the words may be quite unclear, but the primary caregiver is able to tell what is meant by the sound).

There may be a problem if a child:
is not babbling often
is not starting to use some meaningful words
does not listen when others are talking to him.

By 2 years children are usually:
able to use up to 50 recognisable words
listening to things that are said to them
starting to put 2 words together such as "daddy's car"
joining in with familiar songs
babbling while playing, with a few recognisable words in the babble.

There may be a problem if a child:
is still mostly silent while playing
does not respond when others talk to her
is not able to point to objects when they are named
uses signs, grunts or gestures only when she wants something

Amanda - I was going to try those stained glass ones (I think donna hay had some in her magazine), let me know how they worked out. I love giving photos as a xmas present, such a nice idea.

Jaspen - good luck for Friday, I'll be thinking of you. M/s is a great sign but not much fun for you!

Nic - poor Nixon, hope he keeps the weight on this time. Sounds like he is going to be a tall boy. Have you got any pics of his new hair cut, bet he looks super cute now!