storbarnsförälder

She walks around the house with her hands behind her back, like a priest similarly privileged large man in films from a certain era. Well, it's more paces than walks, really.

She makes things into tubes and looks through them, or into cones and loudhails through them. Loudly, hailing. Ahhhhh! Awaaahh!

She puts things where they belong, lines chairs in waiting rooms up against the wall neatly, puts lids back on things, puts books in boxes, shows me where to put my shoes and socks (feet, boot boxes), insists on coats being hung up.

When someone is leaving, she will supervise their departure, pointing out where their hat, coat, bag, buggy, etc are.

To indicate "lid,' she has invented the sign of tapping her head, as she does to indicate "hat." When she says "Door," it might mean door, or lid, or the more complicated "thing which ought to be either opened or closed."

She hauls me in for a cuddle in the middle of nappy changes. And lots of other times, too.

She hides.

She seeks.

She loves to play peekaboo with babies, checking between her fingers to make sure they're looking. Adults will do if there are no babies around.

She is very brave when she falls over, and tries very hard to be happy when she is sad.

She is lovely.

She gave me an old CBeebies magazine she'd been playing with, and we cut out a Snap game, and I glued the relevant parts (matching backs so no-one can cheat, see?) together and trimmed it all up and handed her the finished cards one pair at a time.

"Oh, Spud!" she cried. "And another Spud! That's for the other twin."

"The what?"

"The other twin."

"What twins are these?"

"The twins you a-going to have."

"Er, I'm not having twins any time soon."

(Disappointed) "Oh." (Cheerier) "Maybe tomorrow you can grow twins!"

[later]

"When you have two bumps on your tummy you will have twins."

I've tried to explain that IF we have another baby we can't make it be twins just to please her. She's not at all convinced. I think I should have tried for the Gift From God or the Stork strategy. But, since recently I had occasion to say "No, Linnea, she's a person, not a toy!" and was met with "She's not a person, she's a BABY," perhaps I'd better stick with facts.