Park life

At the paddling pool

The Boo effect

If it didn't sound so indecent I would say I should start pimping baby. I took her to a book shop two weeks ago and while I was looking at books she picked up a paper bag for holding gifts and began strutting round the shop with it. The two ladies at the till were so bowled over by her cuteness that, come time to leave, and I told her to put it back, one said, 'Oh, let her have it. She can take it, it's OK.' And I was going oh, no no, it's alright, thanks very much but I can't let her go round thinking she's going to get a new bag every time we go into a shop.

She kept going 'Oh, no it's OK, really. She can have it.' Until I was forced to be cruel and finally say well, no because though she loves bags she has the attention span of a fly and would probably forget all about it as soon as we got home and she added it to her pile of three or four handbags. I mean, isn't it a bit ridiculous for your toddler to own more handbags than you?

And then apparently this weekend in Hyde Park she managed to make some woman passing by and going 'Oh, how cute!' drop her ice-cream. Alex says she was on a mission to see the ducks and was urging him 'Run, daddy, run!'

Having been the recipient of such urging many times I must say I can vouch for its cuteness. She starts jogging along, little fists pumping, and face set intently forward, but her little nappy-wrapped bottom still waddles from side to side too much for her running to be taken seriously. It's damned cute when she starts going 'Run, mama!' though because she's so delighted when I do run. Or trot on the spot, rather. She doesn't run very fast yet, thank goodness.

The sun is finally shining
So we've had some nice days out in the parks. Baby skinny-dipped in one paddling pool one weekend because she'd been in her nappy and t-shirt in the sand pit and so I thought a paddling wouldn't do any harm to get rid of excess sand, but she'd wet all her clothes before I knew it and then had a jolly 20 minutes running around naked and squealing with joy. Last week we came prepared and had her in a swimsuit and sunblock and I think it's safe to say she had an equally jolly time. Especially since we crowned the sun and sand experience with the current focus of her life: ice-cream.

Everything cold and tasty now 'Is like ice-cream, mama!'
We had a battle one dinner because one of us made the dunderheaded move of mentioning ice-cream before she'd even started eating. So of course she refused to eat anything and insisted on having her ice-cream there and then. We said no dinner, no ice-cream but when it became clear she really wasn't going to eat any, I half-relented and made a banana-strawberry-orange juice smoothie thinking well at least she'd get some fruit in her.

Made it a point to tell her I was making a smoothie and she could have some if she wanted. She took a sip and her eyebrows rose.
'What this?'
'It's a smoothie, Izzy.'
Another sip. Awed look.
'Is like ice-cream!'
'Mm it's not ice-cream, it's a smoothie.'
Another sip. Cunning grin.
'Is like ice-cream, mama. Is like ice-cream!'

Ps & Qs
And speaking of which, suddenly in the past month it has become possible to hold a conversation with her. Or, more accurately, it's possible to keep up the semblance of a conversation with her because Boo's idea of conversation at the moment is all form. Not content.

Eg
'Mama?'
'Yes?'
'Where's Sam?'
'He's at home with his mummy.'
'Why?'
'He likes being at home with his mummy.'
'Why?'
'Because they do nice things together.'
'Why?'
'Because she's his mummy.'
Silence.
'Mama?'
'Yes?'
'Where's Sam?'
&etc.

To be fair, it's not just repetitive because when she sees someone doing something she hasn't seen before she'll now ask 'What man doin'?' or ''What lady doin'?' Though sometimes, right after introducing her to a colleague, the five minutes we chat in which I'll say 'This is so-and-so' and she'll refuse to say her name, say hi or hello - but will say bye - right after walking away she'll say very loudly 'Who's that?'

But I forgive her all that because at the moment she has beautiful manners. Or at least she can say no, thank you and yes please beautifully. Most often at the right moments too. Often in the presence of other people!

And sometimes, when I least expect it, eg after I've just given her a treat that she likes, she'll look at me in the eye and go, 'Thank you, mama.' Which is just sweet.

Oh and she's learned to sing now. I say sing. I mean she's learned the lyrics of four songs, possibly more, which she can yowl, sometimes in tune.

She sings:
Happy --day to you
Happy --day to you
Happy --day to whoever (say daaaadeee for eg)
Happy --day to you

Baa Baa -ack sheep
any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir
bags fool
One for master
One for dame
One li'l boy -- lane
(Very enthusiastically) THANK YOU MASTER
THANK YOU DAME
THANK YOU -- boy -- lane

A B C D EY F G
H I J K ell emm o peee
Q R S -- -- vee
--yeeew eks Y and Zee
Now I know
A B C D EY F G
&etc

And today we heard her sing Twinkle twinkle little star.

And she likes this song we invented for distracting her when she wants her dummy in the car but Ive forgotten to bring it to work:

Mummy mummy, I want my dummy
Dummy dummy dummy dummy dummy dummy
NOW

Boo Boo baby we're in the car
Your dummy dummy dummy dummy is very far

Repeat first verse

Daddy daddy I want my dummy
Dummy dummy dummy dummy dummy dummy
NOW

Boo Boo baby I'm on the phone [by which we mean she's usually talking to him on the phone in the car before we leave to arrange dinner plans; don't call the cops on us]
You'll get your dummy when we get home

She particularly likes shouting NOW when I sing the song.

'Cake, Mama!'
Daddy's birthday has left a lasting impression on Boo because she now realises we can have birthday cake - candles and all - at home! Since we had a birthday cake for Alex, our mornings have been like this:

Izzy stirs. Izzy sits up. Toddles unevenly to the bookshelf and takes a big Usborne picture book off the shelf, before toddling unevenly to the bed where she puts it down next to or on my head.
'Book! Read book, Mama!'
'Mmm... Izzy it's too early to get up!'
'Mama, read book!'

Then she turns the pages until she gets to the page laying out different types of food. Including a big cake with cherries and icing. Point, point, points with the finger.

'Buff-day cake! Cake, Mama! I want cake!'

This morning the book wasn't in its usual place on the shelf. So I told her to look around the room for it. She nodded. Then: 'Cake book, where are you?' Alex guffawed in his sleep.

Her vocab is slowly increasing and I'm still surprised every now and then by words I didn't know she knew - like last week when I brought her out to the car and it started drizzling. She looked up in surprise and said 'It's raining!' But it's also good in that she's not afraid to try out new words I tell her anymore. Not that she was ever so afraid, but definitely a bit hesitant. Now she just goes for it or, usually, a rough approximation of it. Eg strawberry is 'awbree' and butterfly is 'u-er-ly'.

Ring, ring
We play this game where she goes 'Ring-ring, ring-ring.'
And I'll say 'Hello, who's that?'
'Dhat's Isbel!'
'Oh, hello Isbel, how are you?'
'Dood! Is Mama!'
'Yes, this is Mama.'
'Bye, Mama!'
And then she'll put down the phone.

PS Hurray she has only thought to ask for M&Ms once since the bags in the car finished. And she didn't kick up any fuss when I pointed out we didn't have any. Just as well as the house-hunting close to work is taking a while. We're holding out for quite an ideal place.

Testing... ooh look blogging from a mobile!

Oh I lied, I thought I was. Am still working out how to blog straight from the mobile which may save me the time it takes to upload the photos in one long shot every now and then. Although that does mean I'll have to frame them better. Hard with a moving child.

Poxes on the slugs and snails
Anyways a very satisfying weekend. What with the last two weeks of non-stop rain, the slugs have managed to decimate what remained of our lettuces and ONE ENTIRE COURGETTE PLANT which really ticks me off because that plant was flowering and it had teeny-weeny courgettes on it already. I only realised this yesterday because Alex spotted that the one remaining plant, another courgette, had flowered, and he was already anticipating stuffing that flower with ricotta and deep-frying it.

I didn't hold my breath because I saw the devastation in the rest of the bed and, sure enough, today, the flower was totally gone. Like the slugs had heard him. So today I cut up the bottom of a foil case that had previously held a bacon quiche, passed the courgette plant through it, tied it to a cane and squirted probably a pint of slug gel into the case. If the slugs get through the gel and sharp foil edges well, at least I've made them work for it. In the meantime I uprooted the stumps of lettuce, chucked them on our compost heap and planted some radishes and spring onions in alternate rows. Let's see how they like them onions.

More random pix

We've gotten so fed up of Boo wanting to type over us when we're using a computer we've dug out Alex's old computer and now let her thump on it.

Here she is eating the first strawberry we grew ourselves! It was nice but I'm not sure it was worth all the effort.

Definitely no more e numbers for Izzy now the um-mums (M&Ms) in the car have finished.

Boo watches the Chutney Maybes - a band at work (there are several bands at work as well as solo performers and a little chamber ensemble) - whose practice session we crashed today for a colleague's leaving do. Boo was very good because she was eating icing off a piece of cake most of the evening and when she wasn't doing that, she was pushing her 'babby' (baby) in its pram all round the rooom. If you ask her 'What's babby's name?', she says 'MINE'.

Hello, cousins! Izzy still plays set-set-set


And she's now got her own bike (pics on right - the one on the left belongs to an indoor play area for kids and Izzy liked that because I got on behind her and propelled her down a hall to her great delight). I asked my boss whether he'd bought one for his children and he kindly gave me a bike his son had outgrown.

Izzy's taken to walks
Nearly every day this week, after work, she's insisted on going for a stroll around the grounds of my office, frequently to the canteen. Yesterday she had a drama-rama tantrum because I told her we were not eating dinner there and would not let her climb on the bench.

Most of the time though she quite happily potters about, picking up junk, trying doors, using my pass on the office doors to hear the "deet-deet", trying to set off car alarms by insisting that her beloved Lick-lick is in every other one we see. If we're walking round the neighbourhood after getting home, she likes nothing better than to swing the chain on a parking lot nearby and look for a black-and-white cat, to whom she will call "hello, hello mao mao!". Sometimes she goes on the field with me after footie and plays with the balls - she can kick one about four feet, which is good. Another step closer to her playing in goal...

Thanks for the stickers, mo-mo!

Drama queen
Izzy is milking the 'Ra-ra bite me' story for all it's worth. Nary a day goes by without her informing me that Ra-ra has bitten her. It doesn't matter whether Ra-ra has even been to nursery that day. I suppose three times is enough. And it's not just me she tells. When I picked her up on Friday, Amy the nursery girl was just getting off the phone to her grandmother. Apparently Izzy insisted on speaking to her too and, when she got hold of the receiver, informed Amy's gran 'Ra-ra bite me!'

So now I have taught her to say 'No, Ra-ra! Don't bite me!' Which is good for laughs because she will look at me and go 'Nnnnnnn-' and I'lll have to join in, and we'll both go: 'Nnnnnnnn-NO, Ra-ra! DON'T BITE ME!' (For Izzy it comes out '-o -ite me!' So maybe Tara is confused.)

I just don't know whether she's actually practising it at nursery. Because when I dropped her off last week, Tara, who is always delighted to see us, toddled over and started pulling at her dummy. (Izzy is very into her dummies at the moment, a bit worrying.) Cue thunderous pout on Izz, who very pointedly looked down at her toy, ignoring Tara. After little persuasion from the nursery girls, Tara then kissed her and gave her a hug. Trying to make peace, I said 'Aw, isn't that nice of Tara to give you a cuddle and a kiss, Izzy?'

Thunderous pout and pointed ignoring of Tara continued. Fortunately Tara was oblivious. No inch given. The nursery girls just laughed. Tara is not in Izzy's good books at the moment.

Happy belated father's day, grandpas!
We tried calling you both but couldn't get you. Your jet-setting retirement lifestyles are hard to keep up with but we hope you both had good trips.

For Alex, we had lunch at a Sichuan restaurant (Snazz Sichuan) near Euston station. It was good but a bit disappointing as none of the dishes was actually really hot at all. And the ma-la (numbing and spicy) fish soup only got ma when you dug into the vegetables that had been sitting in the gravy at the bottom. But it was easy to park outside, the restaurant was totally laid back and we chatted for ages, which was nice, as we were also celebrating Weif and Lucy's quickie wedding in New York. Just don't bother with the dessert.

Ah, young love

Escorted Izzy into the bigger childrens' room one day, where all the kiddies were playing. She'd been asking for Lick-lick as usual. She disregarded the hubbub from the other kids and scanned the room for his blond head and, when she saw it, raised an arm tentatively.

'Ah, there's Felix, Izzy, say hi!'
She waved the arm, still hesitant, then, obviously smitten, called out in a pathetic little voice:
'Hello, hello, Lick-lick... Lick-lick, hello...'
Felix was bent over some toy, oblivious.
'Hello, Lick-lick...' still barely above a whisper.

So, like a good mama, I shoved her towards Felix and yelled, 'Hello, Felix! Here's Izzy!' (Yes, that's going to be me all over in the future, Izz, you'd better watch out.)

But ah, joy. Felix finally looked up, saw Izz and his face lit up like birthday cake.

'AAAABABAHABAHAHABAHHABHABAH!' He screamed, and proceeded to run round and round the table in front of him.

And even after I'd shoved Izzy closer for a hug, he grinned delightedly, putting his face right in front of hers, and then ran off again, doing the dance of joy.

'AAAABABAHABAHAHABAHHABHABAH!'

And that is why everyone will eventually recognise that women rule the world.

Same sort of thing when I dropped her off yesterday. When I carried Izzy up to the card reader to buzz us in - the card reader being below a window for the baby room - I suddenly saw Felix in one of the nursery girls' arms, gesturing excitedly. Amy, the nursery girl, said she'd been in the kitchen when she heard him screech and realised Izzy must have arrived.

So cute. When I came to pick Izz up last week he had a shiny pink clip in his blond hair (very fetching) because, apparently, he had to be the same as Izz. And when I hauled Boo away from nursery before she could convince Felix to chalk the floor like she'd been doing oh boy were there floods of tears.

But Felix still has competition. Although Boo has him for company more frequently now in the baby room, Sam's return from a holiday has seen her mentions of him rise again. It's always Lick-lick and Ham now, though mention of Ham had dropped off towards the latter end of his long holiday. Now I have to sing the Felix song with Sam's name in it as well when she goes to sleep. Sigh. O well makes a change from Three Blind Mice. I hate Three Blind Mice.

Oh yes so cute Sam's mom told me yesterday that apparently Sam had asked her if Izzy could be his girlfriend and Simona said well that would be up to Izzy but it was fine with her. And then he said OK but only when she was four years old. She's a bit young now, apparently.

The ice queen
Our young miss has also been enjoying nicking our ice-creams regardless, as you can see, of the weather (lower pix taken only two weeks ago).

Hurray, the sun's back!













So it was all ice-cream, playground and walks by the river this weekend. Boo quite enjoyed the Coram Fields sandpit and animals - although the 'aa 'aa 'ack sheep rather scared her at first.

We've had a rather good time as well although being out all weekend meant that I did none of the gardening I've been wanting to do for ages and haven't yet because of the rain.

I need to transplant some strawberries and tomatoes and put some chives in around the lettuce and the spots for my future pea shoots, as I've read they sometimes help keep slugs away. Several have germinated from seeds we planted two weeks ago and I have some hopes that the couple of handfuls Boo and I planted this weekend will as well. As long as she doesn't drown them.

Boo enjoyed herself going up and down this wooden walkway, though she inexplicably also took fright at one of the other little girls who kept walking up to go down the slide. If I was up there on the thing with her, she'd squeal in protest and hide behind my leg. Very odd. No idea why other than the girl climbed onto the slide right after she first went down it. Here she is trying to convince me to slide down the walkway on my bum with her.













This is Izzy contemplating naughtiness at the Tate Modern, when she wanted to climb on an exposed beam and got told no severely twice. The second picture is of her throwing a tantrum because we wouldn't let her linger any longer on a seat, because two smoking adults had taken it over in her absence from it. Quite embarrasing as several adults with children stopped to look at her and three (Greek I think) girls sitting nearby who'd previously been smiling at her started looking rather horrified at her prostration and protest.












Some other random pictures I've taken plus note to self: stop feeding the baby e-numbers (added note to grandma s'ok her pallid features there are a result of my camera settings rather than an overindulgence in M&Ms):













Izzy's latest lullaby
Tonight she insisted I sing a Lick-lick (Felix) song at bedtime. I had no idea what she wanted me to sing so I made this up. She laughed quite a bit about the monkeys bit. I think it's a hit if not very original.

Izzy and Felix sitting in a tree
k-i-s-s-i-n-g
Izzy and Felix, two monkeys in a tree
Oo-oo, aa-aa, ee-ee-ee (that's the bit she likes)
Two little monkeys, sitting in the tree
I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine for me
Izzy and Felix want pears for tea
Here's one for you, Lick-lick, and here's one for me
It's time to go home now, let's kiss and hug
Bye-bye Felix, I'll miss you very much.

Had to sing it half a dozen times before she got fed-up. (Hasn't got much of a tune.) Makes a change from Three ********* Blind Mice though, which I have had on practically a continuous loop all the journeys to and from work this week. Have bought two new albums - the latest Pink Martini and Tori Amos in hopes that I'll have something new to listen to.

Uun, oo, ee, FOUR... ee (can't do five) ix... ee (or seven) ... eight ...nine ...TEN!
Have been trying to test whether or not she gets the concept of counting because I have a feeling the one to ten thing is just a sequence of words to her, not a concept. But she gets the numbers of objects I ask her (four and under anyway) about correct often enough to make me wonder. And today she pointed to the figure four on the changing mat in Starbucks and said 'four'. Very confidently. I asked in nursery if they'd been teaching her but they were as surprised as I was when I said she seemed able to count, almost, to ten.

Rara bite me, Mama
Was told by nursery earlier this week that another child had bit Izzy on her hand! Poor thing, there were teeth marks but they said she hadn't cried and they had put a cold compress on it. I didn't say anything but, as another nursery mom has told me would happen, on the way home she piped up:
'Mama...'
'Yes?'
'Mama Rara bite me.'

Tara is about 14 months I think and I remember Izzy going through a stage where she was biting me as well, just to test out her teeth. No idea if it actually is Tara that bit her but Izzy was insistent.

'Rara bite me, Mama. Rara bite me.'
'Yes, naughty Rara.'
'Mama? Rara bite me!' And then she did a little pretend cry, which was quite funny.
'Izzy, it's OK, does your hand hurt?'
She shook her head.
'Rara bite me, Mama!'

And then next day she said the same thing but I laughed and said, yes she bit you yesterday. Why did she bite you today? Yes, she nodded. And so I said 'No, Rara bit you yesterday, not today.'

The lo and behold when we came home and I took off the two t-shirts she was wearing - marks high on her arm, near her shoulder. At first I thought she'd scratched herself because her skin has been a bit dry lately. But on closer inspection I could see four neat little marks set together. Little teeth marks. So told nursery the next day and have been coaching Izzy to say 'No, Rara!' (she already does that quite well) and 'Rara dont' bite me!'

What else can you do, eh? Vik suggested teaching her to bite back but we'll wait and see if it escalates.

And tsk Izzy - such terrible manners today. We had lunch with a bunch of Malaysians and she was in quite a grump. Wouldn't say thank you to Vik for a lollipop he bought her though she sucked it with huge relish and only very reluctantly shook everyone's hands when I dangled a bar of G&B chocolate in front of her. Tsk.