In Your Face

In her face, that's where Tara is now finding surfaces that, until now, have only been acquainted with her back side. I told Jose that as per the developmental information we've been given, she should start lifting her little big head when she's lying on her front. Obviously she only stands a chance of achieving that feat when she actually gets to lie on her front occasionally. So here we go, and plock, Jose now turns her over daily.



For supervised training or, alternatively, for punishment (because she doesn't actually likes it very much and starts complaining after only a few minutes) when she has again pish-pished all over him while he's changing her nappy (something she does seem to enjoy doing). That sounds something like this: "Oooohh noooo, Aleeex, she's done it again!!! Taaaraaa... it's all over your new naaaappy/your cloooothes/the changing staaation/our beeeed/the floooor/my trouuuusers!!" Trousers are the worst offense and therefore the complaint is now always accompanied by a resolute "Right! That's it! On your front for punishment!"
I'm also sitting her up in little corners occasionally. Take her picture whenever you like, her little face always seems to be saying, 'But mummy, I think I can't actually sit yet, shouldn't this wait a little longer?!'


Tarita, darling, I tell her then, if you want to come back to the office with me before February and start your career, you'd better get that sitting business right soon! We'll start you on basic computer skills next. And don't even think about vomiting into the keys!

While Tara is getting better at lifting her head, I've made it back to the gmy for a first class this week. Jose's orders: "Fill her up before you go, don't linger, do shower, and come STRAIGHT BACK!" So I did. Unplucked child, ran down to do my old favourite class (baby as full as I could get her in her sleep), contemplated a total collapse after only 25 minutes, hung on for the remaining 35 nonetheless (feeling rather weak, having to take quite a high number of breaks and getting an 'I know, it's been a while' from an irritatingly bouncy instructor), grabbed a very quick shower, ran home (well, dressed before), worked up sweat number two in the process, and received a rather urgent text message saying Ven ya!!!! halfway home. Sped up a little more, half stripped on the way up the stairs to the bedroom safely guided by some very loud and very urgent umm-ummm-ummm's, unplucked Joses fingers and plucked the hungry child back on. Dear me. Spent the next 15 minutes apologising to Tara and promising her I'll only go to the gym again once we've got a pump and she's taken to the occasional bottle. (There, a shopping mission for the weekend!) But she'd actually only been umm-umming for 15 minutes, so hopefully it was not definately traumatising, just possibly maybe.


Talking of things in people's faces and general achievements, we've also made some progress on the dummy issue. After a second attempt that failed as miserably as the first one a month back, we'd just forgotten about dummies. But remembered when Tara wouldn't let us have our dinner even though we'd already placed her ever so sociably right on the table with us. And, voila!, it worked! The joy of being able to finish dinner with both arms and hands! Granted, she looked a little unsure of it all. She'd probably only been tricked into holding on to her dummy by her own impeccable sucking instincts, but at that point that only had her triumphant parents giggling into their salads even harder.



PS: Of course you weren't irritatingly bouncy, Andy. You were admirably and mysteriously bouncy. Not one muscle in my body today can understand how anyone can be that bouncy!
PPS: Ah well, on third though I'll make an exception. I can see how you can be this bouncy, but that's about IT.
PPPS: Janet and Janet, sorry, I'm only joking with Tara about coming back to work sooner. Her father and I haven't actually discussed the position you had offered her yet.
PPPPS: Yes, table cloth and chair cushions do not match. Comes with fully furnished rented accomodation.