Its amazing what a little bit of sleep can do. Both kids slept through the night last night and I am feeling... well, not entirely like crap. So I though it might be useful and informative and fair to give a more tempered view of the Little Man than he has so far been given.

While Princess has always been rather full on, Little Man is more inquisitive. He is always ready to laugh and has a rather goofy smile, that just makes you want to smile back. When not whining or farting, he likes to chatter away with "mumumumumumumum" and has recently added "da-da-da-da". In fact, when he gets excited and starts crawling after some interesting object (read: anything we have removed from his reach), his speech gets faster. It keeps time with his speed and he can really move along quite quickly when he wants to. He sounds like a tiny little one cylinder motorbike.

Any parent will be familiar with the transition from immobile to mobile. A child can be safely sat on the floor and outside the immediate area (arms reach) around the child is the "safe zone". Then they start to crawl. Actually, they start to reach and tumble and cry. This can last for a couple of weeks I'm told. Then they start to rock back and forth and edge their way toward things. Eventually they crawl. This did happen with Little Man only it took about a week from the rocking gently back and forth to stealing the remote controls from on the sofa. He can also open several drawers and likes playing with the TV. One working week is not enough time to prepare for that change.

To be fair, I should put this in context with his older sibling. Princess didn't really crawl. Well she did a bit. But she always had excellent balance and actually could stand herself up unaided before she could crawl. So she had a couple of days of shuffling steps and then she realised she could carry stuff away with her. She was like a goanna. Little Man doesn't have quite the same balance but that is because of his higher centre of gravity owing primarily to his inordinately large head.

Little Man is a thinker. He ponders the little things and the big things and the things he puts in his mouth, which is everything. He loves to play peekaboo and has even worked out his own little version of it. Actually it mostly involves farting and then looking around for a dog to blame until he sees someone and laughs. He is quite mature for his age. Princess on the other hand will take the blame even if it was the dog. I'm really not sure what that is about. Still, farts are funny and that's what is important, though I think Little Man just likes the extra speed he gets.

The unfortunate thing about working long hours is missing what happens during the day with the kids. I don't usually get to see them before I leave for work and by the time I get home, they are usually pretty tired and getting a little ratty. DW however, is fresh and happy and greets me at the door wearing a floral dress and make up and says "hello dear." Dinner is ready and the kids are sitting quietly doing their homework, and neither even go to school yet. They have been bathed and the house looks like it just popped out of a catalogue for Ikea. Classical music plays gently in the background and a sherry has been poured and sits by the fire along with my slippers. This isn't true.

Where the hell was I? That's right, tired and ratty. Actually, while the above paragraph is not quite the way things are, they are still pretty good. DW usually does have dinner ready and she is an excellent cook. Occasionally Princess will even help clean up the house but apparently Little Man likes to be able to see all his toys at once. Little Man does start getting pretty grumpy around late afternoon and there is a simple cure. Bathtime. He absolutely loves it. DW was giving the kids a bath before I got home but Little Man makes it almost impossible. The little bugger is impossible to hold. He needs a "slippery when wet" tattoo. If he were just slippery, that would be one thing, but he wriggles and giggles and splashes and thrashes and laughs and barfs. He goes nuts. Even Princess, who shares the bath, is a little frightened of him, and I don't blame her. He is like a small boat with four propellers all pushing in opposite directions. And slippery. With a big head. I suspect he pees as well. Basically, not the ideal bath partner. If you have ever done high school chemistry you may have seen what happens when you drop sodium into water. It explodes.

The thing is he has fun. It brightenes him up and he is happy again. It also helps wear him out and so helps him sleep. So, I don't mind doing it. Its a little bit of time that I get with the kids that I wouldn't want to miss out on, no matter how stuffed up my back is. It won't last forever and I expect Princess will start wanting to have a bath on her own soon. Also, Little Man won't need my help and so it goes. Its easy to look at these sorts of things in the very immediate sense of what they represent now, and not what they will have meant when looked back on. Its kind of like being able to look back and laugh, only I think it will make me a little sad. But I still throw myself into the thick of it because, above all, I want both Princess and Little Man to want to look back on it, and smile.

Ciao!

Thought for the day: I am like a bird only without the feathers or the ability to fly. And I'm much bigger. So, mostly like an emperor penguin. Only they have feathers. And can swim.