The Forty Fifth Month: August 2008
August 5th Tuesday
Yesterday we had a conversation about you going in the pushchair. I said you were a bit big to go in the pushchair (we walked to Eastville park in the driving rain with Rowan, Martha and Abdull). You noticed that your boots were poking out of the bottom of the rain cover, then said “ when I am big like Jack (neighbour, aged 8), you won’t carry me anymore”, recognizing that you are not going to need me in the same way. “yes, I said, but I can still cuddle you.’
You 3 had a great time throwing sticks in the lake, going perilously close to the edge of the lake, playing going on holidays and monsters by the boat launch. Martha sang to herself, while you two interacted with each other, but there was no squabbling the whole day.
The weekend had been a cornucopia of cultural and magical stimulation. I had frantically tried to get a babysitter so we could see an adaptation of a Moliere play, Dr Love. In the end we went and took you. You sat amazingly still, cuddled up with Daddy, but did not like the ‘shouting’ (ie operatic style singing), and said ‘I don’t like this story’ within the first 10 minutes. ‘ Why is that man shouting?’ then after a while you asked to go home. We left after the interval; as we were all hot and tired.
By co-incidence, the next day, we had tickets to see Gifford’s circus at Frampton on Severn village green. You napped on way there after the previous late night.
It was the most magical, inspiring, breathtaking spectacle I have seen for a long time – a 2 hour-long feast for the senses. You sat mesmerized but asked many questions about why things were either on or off stage and where people/things had gone to. You referred to the clown as ‘that silly man’ – recognizing him using the camera the wrong way round. When a Hungarian horse rider appeared standing on a horse and cracking his whip, you and I had our hands over our ears.
Afterwards you had a red hot little face, and we were all stripped down to our vests. You were entranced by having portions of nutty flapjack thrown to us! Your exhaustion, hunger and over stimulation led to a massive crying fit which lasted til we got home
PlaY: floating things – ie bath toys in the sink and paddling pool, and finding out anything else that floats – eg wooden wheels from ‘meccano’ set.
Rudeness: poo bum willy fart when I tell you off, and you have learned consequences. So if I tell you off or say if you are going to carry on like this , I am going to…(go and eat breakfast in the other room). You say ‘ if you do that I am going to …break all my toys / pour water on the table…
10th August
A week of out door adventures. On Monday we walked to Eastville park in the rain with Rowan Martha and Abdul and on Thursday we went to Bene’s magical birthday party in the woods.(In a clearing surrounded by coloured bunting). We all made hobby horses of cardboard, crayons, ribbons, wool and glitter, then you children ran off and played for hours with twigs and branches. We ate hot dogs and fairy cakes and adults drunk flasks of tea and glasses of damson coloured -cider. Parents chatted and surprisingly children did not get lost.
Saturday morning we got up at 5.30 under a pink streaky sky and went to Ashton Court to see balloons taking off. I felt I could do anything after getting up at that time. The rain held off til 8am (another picnic of croissants and peaches), then we went to John Lewis to look at beds for you…back home for a sauna and then packed for our hols. You slept for 3 hours in the middle of the day, and were full of beans again til 9pm. I was out babysitting and could not stay horizontal after 8pm. A strange re-visit to the land of sleep deprivation.
Today (Sun) we have been at Chepstow castle with Juliet H, and Alexander (8) , Thomas and Louisa (6). You enjoyed the big children and were soon running around, chatting and playing Frisbee, and climbing the ramparts.
Outside the castle gates, you rolled and slid down the steep hills, and soon were covered with mud. All of you were entranced by what I thought was a dead mouse, but turned out to be a rat’s head. You all discussed it for ages and turned it over with a stick.
Afterwards we went for a picnic at the observatory, to see the evening balloon flight but it was blowing a gale. We scurried down to the little playground and you and Bene played while B’s mum, Daddy and I drank cava and bellini’s and ate smoked trout. The sky looked grey and foreboding but we are hardy picnic makers. We managed to last out til 8pm while you two ran around on the rocks, balanced on the wooden logs and swung on tyres.
Yesterday we had a conversation about you going in the pushchair. I said you were a bit big to go in the pushchair (we walked to Eastville park in the driving rain with Rowan, Martha and Abdull). You noticed that your boots were poking out of the bottom of the rain cover, then said “ when I am big like Jack (neighbour, aged 8), you won’t carry me anymore”, recognizing that you are not going to need me in the same way. “yes, I said, but I can still cuddle you.’
You 3 had a great time throwing sticks in the lake, going perilously close to the edge of the lake, playing going on holidays and monsters by the boat launch. Martha sang to herself, while you two interacted with each other, but there was no squabbling the whole day.
The weekend had been a cornucopia of cultural and magical stimulation. I had frantically tried to get a babysitter so we could see an adaptation of a Moliere play, Dr Love. In the end we went and took you. You sat amazingly still, cuddled up with Daddy, but did not like the ‘shouting’ (ie operatic style singing), and said ‘I don’t like this story’ within the first 10 minutes. ‘ Why is that man shouting?’ then after a while you asked to go home. We left after the interval; as we were all hot and tired.
By co-incidence, the next day, we had tickets to see Gifford’s circus at Frampton on Severn village green. You napped on way there after the previous late night.
It was the most magical, inspiring, breathtaking spectacle I have seen for a long time – a 2 hour-long feast for the senses. You sat mesmerized but asked many questions about why things were either on or off stage and where people/things had gone to. You referred to the clown as ‘that silly man’ – recognizing him using the camera the wrong way round. When a Hungarian horse rider appeared standing on a horse and cracking his whip, you and I had our hands over our ears.
Afterwards you had a red hot little face, and we were all stripped down to our vests. You were entranced by having portions of nutty flapjack thrown to us! Your exhaustion, hunger and over stimulation led to a massive crying fit which lasted til we got home
PlaY: floating things – ie bath toys in the sink and paddling pool, and finding out anything else that floats – eg wooden wheels from ‘meccano’ set.
Rudeness: poo bum willy fart when I tell you off, and you have learned consequences. So if I tell you off or say if you are going to carry on like this , I am going to…(go and eat breakfast in the other room). You say ‘ if you do that I am going to …break all my toys / pour water on the table…
10th August
A week of out door adventures. On Monday we walked to Eastville park in the rain with Rowan Martha and Abdul and on Thursday we went to Bene’s magical birthday party in the woods.(In a clearing surrounded by coloured bunting). We all made hobby horses of cardboard, crayons, ribbons, wool and glitter, then you children ran off and played for hours with twigs and branches. We ate hot dogs and fairy cakes and adults drunk flasks of tea and glasses of damson coloured -cider. Parents chatted and surprisingly children did not get lost.
Saturday morning we got up at 5.30 under a pink streaky sky and went to Ashton Court to see balloons taking off. I felt I could do anything after getting up at that time. The rain held off til 8am (another picnic of croissants and peaches), then we went to John Lewis to look at beds for you…back home for a sauna and then packed for our hols. You slept for 3 hours in the middle of the day, and were full of beans again til 9pm. I was out babysitting and could not stay horizontal after 8pm. A strange re-visit to the land of sleep deprivation.
Today (Sun) we have been at Chepstow castle with Juliet H, and Alexander (8) , Thomas and Louisa (6). You enjoyed the big children and were soon running around, chatting and playing Frisbee, and climbing the ramparts.
Outside the castle gates, you rolled and slid down the steep hills, and soon were covered with mud. All of you were entranced by what I thought was a dead mouse, but turned out to be a rat’s head. You all discussed it for ages and turned it over with a stick.
Afterwards we went for a picnic at the observatory, to see the evening balloon flight but it was blowing a gale. We scurried down to the little playground and you and Bene played while B’s mum, Daddy and I drank cava and bellini’s and ate smoked trout. The sky looked grey and foreboding but we are hardy picnic makers. We managed to last out til 8pm while you two ran around on the rocks, balanced on the wooden logs and swung on tyres.
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