Hello,
Now very mobile, Zafra has started to reach not just the first shelf of things, not just the second but now the third shelf so we've had to start really explaining to her that some things are not for her to play with. It's very interesting to watch because most of the time she seems to essentially understand what we're saying and will move onto playing with something else. The increased mobility means that Zafra will crawl to and through everything - in the video below Daddy has set up a little hamlet made out of blocks...
There's a rather amazing soft play area near us so we took Zafra there. There's a section for children who cannot yet walk so while other kids were running round, falling over and crying, Zafra was able to play quite happily in her section...
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| Zafra at the Soft Play area |
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| What's funny about this picture is that, quite by chance, it looks like Zafra has wings. |
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| Zafra either pointing at a flower hanging from the ceiling, or contemplating where God might be. |
Everything's a little bit different now - bathtime with Daddy, for example, is less about sitting in Daddy's lap now and more about reaching for things around the bath - the curtain, the shampoos etc., as well as, of course, playing with Pirate Duck (a small rubber duck with pirate patch and bandana from Liz and Michael's wedding which Zafra adores - when she plays with it, Neil has a whole song to the tune of the traditional Spiderman music - "Pirate Duck, Pirate Duck, he doesn't care, he doesn't give a ... damn. Pirate Duck, Pirate Duck, he takes his chances, he plays his luck, look out for Pirate Duck, look out for Pirate Duuuuuuuck"). Her mobility and increased dexterity means that she and Parker can sometimes play with each other - Neil will grab a ball, give it to Zafra who will throw it a matter of inches towards Parker, who will then grab it, run around with it and return it. It's very sweet. Unfortunately, Zafra has learned from Parker that the best way to get down from heights - stairs, bed, etc. - is to jump headfirst so we have to be very much on our guard at all times.
Neil's been off work for the last couple of weeks so after having a few hours in the morning with Zafra while Jenny catches up on the night's sleep, he works heavily in the garden (tomorrow's green big collection will be of 2 full green bins plus 9 large green bags) while Jenny spends a few hours with Zafra. We come back together in the evening for a nice meal, such as at a place called Cheese and Alfie's in Christchurch (Dorset, not New Zealand), where we took the following snaps and vids...
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| Zafra drinking reminds us of the 80/20 rule... 80% on her lap, 20% in her mouth. |
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We think it's really important for Zafra to read as much as possible. One of her favourite books is "That's Not My Dragon" and at Cheese and Alfie's they had another version - "That's Not My Penguin...."
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| "That's not my penguin... it's wings are too shiny..." |
They also had a rather interesting book there about a zoo. The child has written off to the zoo for a pet so the zoo keep posting the child different animals....
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| "...so they sent me a ... lion..." |
Neil questions much of this book in terms of pedagogy - what exactly does this book teach children? He says it teaches an unrealistic expectation of the postal service that they will post live animals to children. Secondly, he thinks it potrays zoos as irresponsible by posting deadly animals such as lions and snakes to children. Thirdly, and we hope we're not giving away the ending of this classic piece of literature, they finally send the child a dog, but why is a zoo keeping dogs in the first place? The whole thing is rather questionable but Zafra loves it nonetheless.
Jenny and Zafra often go to parks to get some fresh air and to mix with other children of a similar age...
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| Moments later, the force of gravity was to take hold and Jenny was to regret standing there to take a photo. |
Sleep has not been good recently. Zafra now has her two bottom teeth, a little of one of the top teeth and another top tooth trying to come through but taking forever. So she moans her way through her sleep and tosses and turns, although she LOVES the baby paracetemol solution. The result is that all of us are a bit under the weather with colds and so on, although that doesn't stop Zafra from honking snotty noses or, as you can see at the end of this video, moving from honking to picking!
Of course, Bournemouth being Bournemouth, when we have time we go down to the beach. The best time to go seems to be mornings where it's not too hot or too crowded. Jenny bought a marvellous beach tent so that she can be in the sun while Neil sits in the shade. Zafra loves to get her feet wet in the sea and now, for the first time ever, Parker will run around in the sea as well, possibly to keep an eye on Zafra - he used to run from every wave beforehand.
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| Zafra, playing with Mummy, sees Daddy and begins the long crawl up the beach for a cuddle. |
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| Cuddle over, Zafra returns to Mummy for a bit of a dip in the sea. |
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| Zafra, beach baby. |
It's hard to believe that in a few weeks time Zafra will be one year old. Everyone says it goes quickly, but it's hard to believe how quickly. It's amazing having a daughter, and such a lovely daughter, and this means only a few more years before we actually get some proper sleep again!
We'll probably post again after her birthday celebrations.
