Triumphs and Disasters

Don't look now but I may be quite good at this lark.

For the last six months, the little lady has been positively enjoyable! She has been growing, laughing, sleeping (hitting a LIFE TIME RECORD OF 2 3/4 hours today MUMMY LOVES YOU MY DARLING LITTLE ONE), playing, signing and generally terrorising the babies and children of our local neighbourhood. It's starting to feel like there may be a moment whereby the months of OH GOOD GOD WHAT WERE WE THINKING will be outnumbered by the CRIKEY WE DON'T SEEM TO HAVE IRREVERSIBLY DAMAGED HER YET months.

I've had a few moments recently of delighting at my enjoying her, and cringing at myself enjoying her. Particularly wonderful episodes include being invited to a lovely dinner with some newly-made-mummied-friends and becoming far too opinionated (or should that read 'inebriated') and thus emphatic on one particular mummy's use of the strapless brassiere.  I also heard a rather obnoxious voice (mine, sadly) attempting to get her child to dance on demand to an assembled group because, 'a minute ago, she was just... go on... oh... she's not doing it now...' I hate myself sometimes. Misguided enthusiasm rapidly decaying into mum-up-man-ship and a desire to cut off ones own head. Ho hum.

But, let's focus on the positive. The long sleep today followed a triumphant session at the local playgroup, where she bla-la-la'd various nursery rhymes,slept (and hopped) with the Little Bunnies, wiped the wipers on The Bus and rocked Miss Polly's Dolly with the best of them. She then munched down her lunch of pasta and tomato sauce, before resting for our yoga. There, she 'helped' me stretch into my various positions (do not attempt downward-facing-dog with a toddler leaning on your elevated posterior) and sat on my face during the final meditation session. Excellent. She then waved at any and all passers-by from her buggy, like some mini-Kate Middleton, before returning home for dinner of potato and aubergine curry (seriously yum, by the way).

Bedtime was a speedy affair of our first 'at the sink brush and wash' while perched on a family heirloom vintage footstool and then settled in bed after a massage, a story and a song.

Within twenty minutes of starting bedtime, she was quietly finishing her milk and getting herself to sleep...

I'm sure there will be 'encounters' in the future.

I'm sure we won't always see eye to eye.

I'm sure she will think that I'm SO UNFAIR and DON'T UNDERSTAND HER and KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HER LIFE in a very short amount of time.

All I know now is that whenever she was at a loose end today, she scrabbled over to me on her speedy tip-toes, turned her open mouth to mine for a wet sloppy kiss, and then embraced me with a pat-on-my-back cuddle.

And for now, I think I might just keep her.