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.
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| 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. |
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