Saoirse gives me a workout

I am just back from four days in Jersey to see my new grand-daughter Saoirse, Sam, Lucy and Arthur (who will be three in a few weeks).

I always find new babies a bit scary. They feel so small and light, as if they might break if you’re not really careful.

Saoirse is quite big for a six-week-old baby. She’s very long and very strong. She is moving her head around and looking at things. Her eyes are very knowing, you’d swear that she understands everything that’s going on.

She is feeding well and is a very good baby. She sleeps for long periods in the pram or car but likes to be carried when she’s awake during the day. I tried to do my share of baby-carrying, but I wasn’t jigging to Saoirse’s liking. Sam had to demonstrate the correct jiggle to keep her quiet.

It’s a bit of a workout for the knees and arms and after 20 minutes jiggling I felt as if I’d been to the gym and had to take my dressing gown off because I was so hot. Another 15 minutes jiggling and I was almost pooped. I had to put her in her car seat/carrier and give her a swing, just to give my muscles a change.

See video: https://youtu.be/hybrMgd7W3M

She is growing very quickly and I’m sure I saw a change in her just in the four days that I was there.

Arthur is also becoming quite a big boy. Both Margaret and I now find it quite hard to carry him. He’s absolutely solid and really heavy compared to how Julia felt this time last year (or perhaps I’m getting older and more feeble).

We went to Tamba Park on Saturday morning. It’s an indoor play area with a lake and park where there are life-size dinosaur automatons. I would have loved the place when I was little, and Arthur certainly does. We’d talked about it for a day beforehand and he thought it was very funny that the T-Rex (always the favourite) might eat grand-dad. I said he really enjoyed tender little children, not tough old grandads.

It was a rainy morning, so we played inside for an hour or so. Arthur can now climb up the rope ladders and ramp to get up to the big slide. I’m quite pleased about that because before I had to go up and then crawl through the passages on my hands and knees.

We had some food in the café and because Saoirse was asleep and it was still raining a little, Arthur and I went for a walk in the park to see the dinosaurs.

You forget that he’s a little child and all the bravado about I’m going to kick T-Rex up the bum and laughing about who might be eaten by him disappears when reality (even automaton reality) arrives. Arthur needed a carry and didn’t want to go down to the walkway closest to the dinosaurs, we had to go on the top path. He loves seeing them, but he is frightened (in a good way).

By the time I’d carried him down and then along the top path, I was ready to put him down and let him have a look around the outdoor play area. It was too wet to go on any of the slides, so we walked back on the bottom path. He was much happier this time and didn’t need a carry.

Margaret couldn’t believe I’d told him that the T-Rex might eat him.

Well, Arthur was in a bit of a grump on Sunday. The “Terrible Twos” syndrome was manifest with swings between being the sweetest child (dressing in his new Arsenal kit and saying thank-you on video to Uncle Max and Auntie Inna) to being a terror when I wanted to wash his hands after using his potty. He ran away, hid, wriggled, told me the water was too hot, too cold, wouldn’t get onto his step by the sink, wouldn’t get off and then ran away before I could dry his hands.

Tom and Sam didn’t have the Terrible Twos, but Max did. There was a spell when he’d have a meltdown two or three times a day. There was nothing consistent that you could say sparked it and nothing you could do except put up with it. Thankfully, one day, it stopped, and he went back to being sweet little Max. I didn’t know at the time that Terrible Twos is a developmental phase and is born out of intense frustration, wanting to be more independent. Julia was going through a similar phase last year. Sometimes she’d lie on the floor in a rage and sometimes she’d get so angry she’d literally just hop up and down. I’d never seen anyone hopping mad before. It was quite funny.

I had a slightly later flight to Gatwick, so Lucy was able to drop me off on the way to taking Arthur to nursery. Often, I’ve had to leave before he gets up, so it was nice to be able to say goodbye.

On Sunday, I’d told him I was leaving for home and he’d suggested I could stay there. He seemed to accept that I had to see Grandma and Holly, and I said we’d see him soon when we went to Tenerife.

Arthur in the car ride at Tamba Park - we had a go on a few of these, including a video game where you have to steer the
car along a road. He liked that one best.

Chatting with Arthur and meeting Saoirse

I had a funny conversation with Arthur in the car this morning. Sam and I were taking him to nursery before going on to do some work at the allotment.

Sam said you could see the countryside a lot better when the leaves were off the trees and I gave Arthur a bit of an explanation as to why leaves shed their leaves in the winter. I could tell he wasn’t entirely happy with what I’d said and then we had a conversation about the moon.

I think I said you could sometimes see the moon during the daytime and I could sense a gasp of exasperation from behind.

He wanted to tell me about the caterpillars he’d seen at the allotment eating the cabbages and I was very interested. All was going well until I said maybe the birds would eat some of the caterpillars.

I might have said I could fly! “Birds don’t eat caterpillars grandad”.

“Oh,” said I, “I think they do.”

“They don’t!”

He was quite adamant. Lucy said that he’d asked her what seagulls ate and she’d suggested fish, crabs, shellfish. “They eat worms,” Arthur had told her and he wasn’t having any other theory.

I think he might have a career in Theresa May’s cabinet explaining why Brexit is a good idea.

I’m in Jersey to spend a few days with Sam and Lucy and to meet new granddaughter Saoirse. I met her for the first time this morning and I’ve discovered she’s very long for a month old, surprisingly wriggly and has a range a facial expressions and sounds that I wouldn’t expect in one so young.

We posed for photos and had a little carry. She likes very much to be carried as upright as possible and slept for three hours this afternoon, partly while I walked her in the rain and partly in her pram in the house when we’d got back.

She was very quiet and peaceful, even Rosa’s vacuuming didn’t disturb her. Margaret would have needed to give her a poke to make sure she was all right.

Arthur sitting in his chair watching Paw Patrol