Is 5 too young to be wearing glasses?

Beth's goggle-free days are coming to an end.

She squints at the TV. Can't read signboards. Can't see the lyrics on the big screen during Sunday worship.

Yesterday, she was on the computer wrestling with multiplication, and her aunt said she was squinting at the monitor.

Hubby and I are in denial at the moment, and keep talking about natural vision therapy.

But we know the day is coming when she'll be promoted from Just Beth to Bespectacled Beth.

Maybe we should give away the TV...

Ask and it will be given

When J wants to be carried, she crawls up to me, hangs on to my leg or my chair and makes little noises that mean, "Carry me!"

Sometimes, she even raises both arms and grins.

When she wants a feed, she crawls into my lap, wiggles herself into sleeping position, and opens her mouth like a fish...or a hungry baby bird. Aaahhh...

Babies are so incredibly clever, aren't they?

J's Got Teeth!

If J opens her mouth wide, you can just about see the gleaming tops of 2 little teeth poking through her lower gum, right in the middle where her lower lip is.

My baby has teeth!

Today, I gave her a bit of rice, chopped tomato and shredded chicken, which happened to be what Beth and I were having for lunch. She ate it all very quickly and kept opening wide for more.

She's been managing very well without her teeth actually.

I've been clamped upon several times at the end of a feed, or when she stuffs my fingers in her mouth.

I've a sneaking suspicion she knows exactly what she's doing too. Something to do with that sidelong glance and cheeky giggle...

I love how she's been babbling away. Some days, I'm pretty sure she said "Dog!" when asked where Scottie is, or "cheh cheh" when she sees Beth.

CA tells me not to get excited or imagine things, but he can't help getting caught up in the excitement himself. Ha!

Baby's Breath

Last night, our friend A asked, "Have you ever smelled J's breath?"

A is uncommonly passionate about his love for his family. He has 2 little ones aged 5 and 3, and continually marvels at how the 3 y.o. - his "baby" - has grown so big so fast.

A tells us babies' breath smells different.

It smells like heaven, he gushes.

Gosh, I'd never thought to smell J's breath.

A says we ought to do it soon, because once babies get older, their breath starts to stink, and to smell like...well, adults' breath.

I can just imagine it now.

Fish & chips, burgers, soft drinks, Tim Tams vs pureed fruit and veg and brown rice.

Who'll win the Battle of the Breath?

I'd better snuggle up with J for my daily dose of pure heaven while I can.

Emotional Blackmail

This morning, I 'kena' the ultimate emotional blackmail from Beth.

We were waiting outside kinder for her teacher to arrive, and she took refuge in J's pram to have breakfast and avoid the cold wind.

I carried J around a little bit, and came back to find Beth sitting quietly and solemnly.

"You alright there?" I asked.

She gave me THAT LOOK.

"Mummy," she began, "You spend so much time with Baby that you have no time to spend with me."

Ouch.

She's right, of course.

But hearing it said to my face was rather confronting and uncomfortable, and I felt a bit defensive.

"It won't always be like this," I tried to reassure Beth. "It's just that Mei Mei can't walk or talk yet and is still breastfeeding, so she needs Mummy all the time."

At bath time, I tried to make it up to Beth by reading a story to her - twice - as requested.

At lunch time, I made sure to chat with her as she ate, and not just busy myself shovelling food into J's mouth.

But I can't guarantee Beth won't feel neglected again tomorrow.

It's hard work giving equal attention to both girls.

Separation Anxiety

J is turning out to be a textbook model of separation anxiety.

Read an article on BellyBelly today.

Was relieved to be told that:

• Picking J every time she cries won't spoil her. On the contrary, it will help her feel less grizzly.
• The more I carry, cuddle and interact with her, the more comforted and secure she will learn to be.
• This clinginess is a phase she's going through. Once she's learnt to form a secure attachment, she'll be off and running on her own.

It's amazing how much I'm having to relearn stuff from when Beth was the same age.

Big Words From The Big Girl

The other day, Beth and I were taking turns to recall family holidays we'd been on since we arrived in Melbourne.

"Great Ocean Road. Pennyroyal Marsh," said I.

"Puffing Billy!" chimed in Beth excitedly.

"We haven't been to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat yet. You could dig for gold coins," I suggested.

"Oh Mum," came the rejoinder, delivered in the world weary tone of a parent talking to an overly naive youngster.
"That's just a myth."

Myth! Big Word #1.

My 5 y.o. is using big words on me.

I recounted the incident to hubby over dinner. We agreed that the day is soon coming when we will not be able to understand Beth. She will be using words on us that we will have to look up in the dictionary.

Which means we won't be any good at helping her with homework either.

This morning, I was packing health supplements to take on our trip to the Mornington Peninsula.

Beth spied the sachets I was popping into a ziplog bag.

"I suspect," she began, "That's Body Tona you're packing."

Big Word #2.

"How right you are."

Today is hubby's birthday.

As per annual ritual, he claims he's 25.

Beth was confused by Mum and Dad each making extreme claims about Dad's 'real' age.

Finally, Beth made up her mind.

She wrote on a piece of paper (with some spelling help, but the words were her own) -

"The truth is that Mum is right."

Power.

Bindi & Beth

Beth loves watching Bindi The Jungle Girl.

She thinks Bindi's cool. So do I, actually. She's definitely not your regular 9 y.o.

This week, Beth has been preaching at me to Save The Whales. She tells me that the wind sometimes blows whales onto the beach, where they get beached and die.

Then she read a library book about how much people were willing to pay for shark's fin and the jaws of the Great White, and she exhorted us to Save The Sharks.

This afternoon, she took up a suggestion from another library book - one on recycling plastics - and said we could keep birds away from our fruit trees by hanging a disused CD on a string and tying it to the branches. When the sunlight catches the CD, it will dazzle the birds and ensure they stay away.

A Boyfriend For Every Season

Have just realized, as I was thinking of the title for this post, that Beth has had a new boyfriend every term.

Term 1 was Lachie, who has blond spiky hair with a rat's tail down the middle.

Term 2 was Bradley, who always wore the same blue T-shirt.

Term 3 was Joey, who loves hugging everyone and has a great smile.

I'm bracing myself now that the hols are over and it's Term 4 starting tomorrow....