Little milestones

Am dead tired and have about a million things to do including tidy the living room which is looking particularly hurricane-hit today, Roz having again gotten into the rubber bands just before bedtime. But I thought I would note two things from today.

First this morning I realised that Roz could dothe actions for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - even the little diamond with her fingers. Was taken aback as I know she's keen on the song, the nursery folk say, but had not seen her do anything more than the twinkle-twinkle of fingers opening and closing.

So that was a bit of a delight. Especially since Roz is still giving me immense amounts of grief about leaving any room she's in. Even if she's in a good mood, all it takes is for me to go get a drink from the kitchen, or go to the bathroom, or pop into my room to get clothes, and I hear an angry wail, followed quickly by her padding hands and feet. In no time her already tear- and snot-stained face will pop round the corner, beseeching and angry at the same time. And that's what annoys the heck out of me: you can follow me now, munchkin, is there really such a need to make a song and dance about it?

But for the same reason I suppose, when I'm putting her to sleep at night now, once Izzy is asleep, and Roz has my undivided attention (tonight she was even pushing away the bowl I was eating from when she wanted to climb into my lap) she is happy as a clam. And we often have a really happy 15 minutes of fooling about - me squeezing her legs, her clambering onto me and patting my face or legs, or putting her hand over her mouth to make a wah-wah sound, something she and Izzy find immensely amusing. After a while she'll yawn or rub her eyes and then I can put her down, give her a last feed and she'll often pull herself off, turn over and go to sleep quite happily. If only the rest of the day were as simple.

Anyway: second thing. We met up with Felix and Dex at a park again and just when I thought the evening was going to descend into sulky tiredness on Izzy's part - she having woken unusually early at about six this morning - she and Felix suddenly announced they were putting on a puppet show and that we were to go and sit in the audience.

So Nikki and I sat there with Roz and Dex on our laps, while the two older ones began using a set of skittles and balls as puppets.

Izzy came forward to announce: 'Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the play will now begin.'

Then she and Felix got into a fit of giggles and decided they needed different-coloured skittles.

'No, no the play hasn't started yet.'

Nikki remarked that Izzy had done that rather well. I told her the sad truth that she just watches way too much TV.

They began again. 'Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...' This time Felix was joining in the announcing.

But the beginning of the play was aborted again. Third time lucky.

'This is a Christmas play!' Izzy shouted.

'Christmas?' Dexy asked, raising eyebrows.

Nikki and I were already laughing despite having whinged in solidarity for the first 15 minutes of meeting, on what hell the children have been giving us lately.

A big pink football came flying over their stage (park bench).

'There was lots of snowflakes.'

Two skittle balls followed.

'Lots and lots.'

'One Christmas, there was a little girl,' Izzy said, putting up a red skittle.

'No a little boy,' said Felix, putting up a green one.

The stories were not extremely coherent to begin with but by about the fourth or fifth they were developing half-decent narratives and certainly improvising gainfully in the slapstick department, the stories having to do mainly with the skittle children falling off mountainsides or falling over snowflakes. Or flying in the sky and landing in trees.

By this time Izzy and Felix were killing themselves laughing and hurling the toys around the little bit of the park we were in. Dex decided to join in and then they decided 'we're going to be the characters now'.

And that was the cutest really. There once was a boy called Dexter. And another boy called Felix. And a girl called Izzy. All three of them jumped onto the park bench.

They fell into a bin - a dustbin - and then were put into a bin lorry. (Oh no!) And then they were turned into robots. Robots with fast buttons that you push so they jump off the mountains really quickly. And then they came across a monster but they killed the monster and used their skittles to cut him into little squares. And they made him into monster pie and monster sausages (Nikki and I were joining in the improvisation now as we wanted to head to the supermarket). And it ended with monster pie for all.

Sometimes they remind you why it's worth it.