Flattery Will Get You Nowhere….

It has occurred to me in recent weeks that Emily is turning into a bit of a show-off. While she’s built up a nice rapport with most of the people she knows – Mummy, Daddy and her two grandmothers, for example, it seems that she’s willing to flutter her eyelashes and offer a smile to anybody who’ll pay attention.

Yesterday, we were in the supermarket and she just couldn’t stop engaging with random people – from the couple who were sitting at the next table from us in the cafe, to the woman on the checkout. Everybody thought she was charming – and they were only too happy to smile and wave back.

Of course it was a different story when she started fluttering her eyelashes in my direction while I was eating a chocolate Krispy Kreme donut. While I may find my daughter eternally endearing, it takes a lot more than that to get me to part with cake.

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We Have Talking….

For months now, Emily has been showing signs of language progression, making assorted squeals and coos – but now this has graduated into full-scale babble.

Now, the cute little sighs that used to wake us up in the morning have been replaced by a stream of ‘dada’, ‘mama’, ‘baba’ and assorted other combinations.

This morning she actually touched my husband’s face while declaring him to be ‘dada’, while ‘mama’ appears to have become the mealtime conversation of choice, given that she’s taken to shouting it loudly while her food is being served. In fact, she’s enjoying her new-found skill so much that she is yelling everything at top volume, usually accompanied by animated hand movements.

Of course we haven’t worked out who ‘baba’ is yet. Perhaps he or she is Emily’s imaginary friend. And now we’ve reached this stage, surely it can only be a matter of time before proper words appear. We are of course looking forward to the day she learns to say ‘NO!’, ‘but why……?’ and of course that childhood classic ‘I want……..’

Upside Down You’re Turning Me….

Last Wednesday night I was just dozing off (in front of Desperate Housewives, as has become the norm) when I heard a scream coming from Emily’s room. When I went in to investigate I found her lying the wrong way round in the cot, on her front, with her head wedged in the bottom right hand corner.

Quite how she got there, I have no idea (since she had been fast asleep and facing the opposite way when I’d checked on her just half an hour previously), but I’m becoming increasingly used to finding her in all sorts of peculiar positions since her mobility increased.

When she first began rolling over in her sleep she would invariably get stuck on her tummy and call upon me at all hours to ‘rescue’ her, but these days she tends to sort herself out, however this position was clearly beyond even her capabilities.

She went back to sleep very quickly after a cuddle but it hasn’t dampened her passion for night-time exploration. A couple of days later, after an early morning feed, she decided to go back to sleep – and when I checked on her I found her fast asleep, on her front, facing – you guessed it – the bottom end of the cot once more.

Which of course led me to ask the question: when was the last time I woke up in the morning underneath the duvet at the bottom end of the bed? Never, as far as I can remember. Maybe that really is something that only little babies do.

Emily Loves Banana Custard!!

Now that Emily is getting on so well with her eating, I have of course endeavoured to teach her good table manners, but my efforts so far seem to be a tad hit and miss. As is evident from when I dished up a pot of her favourite banana custard at lunchtime recently.

Of course, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to take this picture. Because I just know it will come in very handy in the future – for bringing out at family gatherings, showing to boyfriends, passing round at her 18th birthday party, showing all the guests at her wedding…..you get the idea.

And Our New Favourite Trick….

…..is to roll over on the changing mat, pull the used nappies out of the nappy bin and drop them ALL on the floor.

 As I have previously maintained, Emily is such a charming child……

The Bottomless Pit!

Is it just me or are there days when Emily eats more than I do? Like all babies, she can be fussy and have times when she’ll hardly touch her food, but these are tempered with days when anything which isn’t nailed down is likely to be devoured.

Today, for example, she not only scoffed all her breakfast and ate every last scrap of her lunch, but she then proceeded to stare at the baked potato I was eating with a longing look on her face, and continued to stare until I gave her some of it (which she then proceeded to gobble up). Not content with that, she then polished off all of her dinner and continued to stare around with a hopeful look on her face even after it became apparent that her plate was empty.

Suffice to say, if she wakes up in the middle of the night claiming to be hungry, it’ll come as something of a surprise.

Habit Forming

By rights my child should pick up good (and just occasionally bad) habits from their parents, yet in my case it seems to be the other way round.

Just lately I’ve found myself imitating certain aspects of Emily’s behaviour – for example her tendency to rub her eyes when she’s tired (which I now do) and her fondness for sleeping on her tummy (I haven’t slept on my front for years but she looks so comfy and content when she is doing it, I’ve started following her lead).

Both of which of course leave me wondering what else I might pick up from her. Although fortunately Emily’s tendency to shove her hands into her full food bowl, drop banana-covered spoons on the floor, dribble on her playmat and chew on TV remote controls (usually switching on the TV in the process) have thus far passed me by.

Teeth…..Or Lack Of!

As you might have gathered from my last apologetic post it’s been a bit of an odd week in the Only Little household. It was last Thursday when we noticed that Emily had a bit of a runny nose and sure enough, she was not a happy bunny on Thursday night, waking up with the sniffles constantly.

On Friday she seemed a lot better – at least well enough to go to my mother’s for the day while I went to work as usual – but by the evening it was clear that all was not well, culminating in a rising temperature and one very grumpy baby.

We eventually managed to get her to sleep thanks to the twin miracles of Calpol and milk, and were fully expecting a disturbed night, so were amazed when she slept right through until 4am, woke up demanding a feed (not something she normally does but let’s bear in mind she had eaten almost nothing all day) and went straight back to sleep again.

Saturday saw her well enough to take a trip to the supermarket and various relatives, but she started feeling poorly again in the early hours of Sunday morning . By the evening, however, she seemed to have made a miraculous recovery and although her appetite still wasn’t what it should be, she was back to her lively, energetic self.  Two days on, she appears to be almost back to normal, although is still coughing and sneezing just a little.

We, meanwhile, have been left wondering whether she simply had a bad cold or whether teething had something to do with it. Because after all the discomfort, teething gel, disturbed sleep and Calpol she is still sporting a gummy, toothless grin. There are definitely teeth visible underneath her gums now, but when they’ll actually make an appearance remains to be seen. In the mean time the waiting game continues.

Apologies Once Again….

…..for lack of posts in the last few days, I have been juggling work and other commitments, while Emily has decided to combine having a cold with a bout of teething.

So it’s been a little busy around here. I’ll be back later on with a proper update however – and hopefully news of some actual fangs, which appear to finally be making their way through!