Date Night

Yesterday evening we took Tom over to his grandparents for the night while we went out.

We were sat having an early dinner in Nando’s trying to work out the last time we had gone out as a couple, we couldn’t remember, I think the last time was Simon’s birthday back in February. Every meal out since has been a lunchtime affair with Tom for company it’s become second habit to make sure that there’s nothing on the table within the grasp of a baby that Tom can break, stick in his eye, choke on, throw on the floor or smear in his hair. It’s also become second nature to check the baby menu for something for him to eat. So it felt weird to be sat there enjoying our wine without distractions.

The first time we went out on our own for the evening we spent almost the whole night talking about him, we have got a lot better since then, I think the novelty has worn off since then.

Last night we went to the theatre, well the arts centre to see Barry Cryer and Colin Sell. It was a positively old fashioned kind of evening, when he said “Do you remember Max Miller?” there were sighs of appreciation throughout the audience. We were about the youngest people there and the jokes Barry told were positively middle aged too, but seeing as he had wrote a good proportion of them, I suppose he’s allowed to. It was an fabulous night out though he is an excellent raconteur and the jokes were good ones so we are not complaining at all.

We are very lucky in King’s Lynn that we have to venues for arts and cultural happening even if some of those arts and cultural happenings do not hold much appeal for me. A night out with half of Cannon and Ball anyone?…. Thought not.

Anyway we picked Tom up from his doting and slightly frazzled grandparents this morning. He had been showing off his new walking skills to them all last night. Did I not mention that Tom started walking? Well he did, Wednesday afternoon just after lunch, he tottered from the coffee table to your left to the sofa on the right where I was sitting.

He had a book in his hands that he wanted to me to read to him. So far he has had his most successful walks when he has had something in his hands to distract him from falling over. When he thinks about it he seems to remember that walking is hard and falls over.  He’ll get better but it is, literally, baby steps.

You Are My Sunshine

My sweet, always smiling, never complaining baby is disappearing.  Over the last couple of days he has taken to screaming or crying when he realises that he can’t see one of us when he feels he should.  He’s also developing opinions and likes, he sobbed his heart out when I took his hairbrush off him this afternoon, thankfully he was mollified by a teething toy.

In his defence he is teething, teeth 5 and 6 are appearing simultaneously alongside his top two front teeth which can’t be much fun.

But it’s all part of growing up apparently, he’s more aware that we can disappear and he doesn’t like it, unless it’s on his terms when he is exploring, but even then he seems to take stock every so often realise that he can’t see or hear either me or Simon and burst into tears.  As quickly as those tears come they disappear with being swept up for a cuddle.

Tom has also become shy.  Well shy for him which is not very, but he’s no long happy to smile at all about him.  We went to my Mum’s yesterday, my brother and niece were there too.  Patrick my brother gave Tom a cuddle as we came through the door which proved to be a mistake as the next time Tom saw Patrick he burst into tears, we all laughed which didn’t help, poor Tom was most put out.   Tom spent the rest of the day being very wary of his uncle, in two minds as to whether he was horrified by Patrick or would tolerate him.   I played a version of “What Time Is It, Mr Wolf?” with Tom in my arms, creeping up to Patrick to show that he is a safe, if silly, curly-haired uncle.  It worked but not completely, I think it will take Tom time to take to him.

He is of course, happy most of the time. He loves to follow me about the house as we potter through the day. He is getting more adept at crawling with each day. He stretches out his legs going on tiptoe, it won’t be long until he works out how to pull himself up to standing and yet a new era in our lives will begin