Revenge of the Sleepus

This is the Bugbear. Arya calls it a Bumblebear, which is actually pretty
sharp of her, since it involves recognising its essentially chimerical nature.

Okay, I'm going to be honest with you, this weekend involved not a lot of sleep and a great deal of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

In fairness, Arya arrived asleep on Friday night. Once she was settled in her bed it was about ten o'clock, so like sensible grown up parents Andrew and I watched two and a quarter hours of Star Wars. Look; I'm not saying we didn't deserve to struggle, I'm trying to do full disclosure here.

On Saturday we got up, had breakfast, all going fine, and then headed to Tumble Tots. It was cold and windy, and once she got out of the pushchair at the station, Arya decided that she wanted to walk home. "I don't like the train, I just like the bus."

Arya: Doesn't like trains.

We got the train into Ely and then waited in the cold and wet for the bus to Soham. We discovered that a family Dayrider saves us all of 50p on two individual tickets. As usual, Arya and I sat at the back of the bus and discussed the landscape while she waited for the chance to push the 'Stop' button. Fair play, she is really good about this now and never presses ahead of time.

Then she didn't want to go in until I took her in, but this time she settled fast and I was able to leave her to it and get a cup of tea. Not, I should add, before being grilled about my presence in the class by an eight year old. So it goes.

We came home by way of the shops and had lunch in the Tesco Costa, then spent the afternoon chilling. Hanna called at one point and Arya, not recognising the distinction between a phone call and a video call yet, kept trying to show her things. It was adorable. when we had ice creams she also wanted to get one out for Mummy, despite Mummy not being there. I eventually persuaded her to leave Mummy's in the fridge.

On Sunday, Arya was pretty out of it. We're starting to wonder if she's short on something in her diet; possibly Thiamin as a result of the absence of fortified bread and cereals from her diet. Alternatively it could just be a growing thing. This was the day when most of the My Little Pony got watched.

There was a bit of an upset when her Pinkie Pie (a tiny Kinder surprise toy) went missing. We spent half the day on and off looking for it, then I went to put Arya's socks in the laundry.

More Kinder delights.

"Arya. Did you put Pinkie Pie in your sock?"
"Yes."

She had a reason and everything; she'd just forgotten all of it until that moment.

We had a magnificent bust-up when it came to bath time. She'd already got upset because I wouldn't let her bite me, and the prospect of bath drove her into hysterics. She got herself all worked up and it took an age to calm her down, only to go off again when she realised that Daddy Andrew had used the wrong bath carrot (because of course she hadn't been responding to anyone enough to make a choice.) We finally got her in the bath, where she grabbed everything that could be used to wet her hair and clung on. When I tried to wet her hair by hand she demanded Daddy Andrew and was shocked when he did exactly the same.

After the bath we went straight to dinner, then got her dressed and into bed. That went slowly, and eventually she again asked me to swap out for Daddy Andrew, which was actually nice to see after giving him hassle over the bath.

This morning I sent her off with Mummy and Andrew in the car and got a cuddle and a kiss for my troubles. Bless her.

Me and My Girl

Sadly, by the time I had the camera ready she had put Twilight Sparkle down.
Previously, she'd been holding her like Blofeld's cat.

It's been a long weekend, despite not being a long weekend. Arya has a bit of a lingering virus which is throwing everything out of whack and leaving her tired and grumpy by about 9am (or earlier.)

She fell asleep just before arriving on Friday night, so I first saw her on Saturday morning. We got up, more slowly than usual, and went to the library before Tumble Tots, but Arya was I think a bit miffed at having to turn in a book that had a reservation on it and consequently decided that she didn't want any new books. So it goes.

At Tumble Tots she wanted Mummy to go in with her, but she get involved much more quickly and didn't mind either when I swapped out with Hanna or when I slipped out entirely. When she came out at the end of the session, she seemed thoroughly chipper. We had a fairly painless shopping trip, and the afternoon was only really marred by weather which made a park trip unfavourable. Bedtime was a little fraught, as she didn't really want to go on account of the fact that it was still light. This is something that we're going to have to deal with, because it's not going to start getting dark earlier anytime this side of the solstice. So it goes.

Monsters!

On Sunday morning, Hanna slipped out early and I had Arya solo until about five o'clock in the afternoon. Given her tiredness the night before and just how long it took her to go to sleep, I let her lie in as long as she wanted, which was until about seven-thirty.

We had a slow, lazy morning, which only got a little tense once she decided that she wanted to go to the park, but resisted the preliminary stages of getting dressed and going to the toilet (part of the reason for the lazy morning was that she wanted to stay in her pajamas.) She made a few tentative forays, but kept getting distracted by the 'monsters' - motes of light reflecting from the sequins of her night dress - which she tried to chase across the walls of the corridor. That was utterly adorable.

Eventually we got dressed and had some lunch - perennial favourite crackers with ham and cucumber, with cheese for Daddy - then made it to the park in time to enjoy some of the best weather of the weekend. There were slightly more people than she really likes, but mostly she had fun and even persuaded me to take a ride on the zipline, once I'd got her well out of the way.

You gotta go make it happen...

On the way home, she and Anders the unicorn sat on the memorial Harley.

At home, Arya had a little accident, which I used as the catalyst to get her into the bath. We had the usual palaver over hair washing, and especially rinsing. She's got too much hair for anything but a thorough dousing to get it clear of shampoo, and something always gets in her eyes. Still, she got clean and I let her watch the 'Magical Mystery Cure' episode of My Little Pony a couple of times to calm down.

The rest of the afternoon was basically pretty chilled as we waited for Hanna to get home, after which I made dinner. Arya then finished watching a last episode of MLP (because the Season 4 finale was a bit traumatic and she needed a bit of a wind down,) and we went to bet. It took some doing to start her moving bedwards, but one we got in things were pretty smooth. Hanna sang to her and she sang along. We read a couple of Frog books, I sang a couple of songs and she drifted off. I may have drifted off as well.

This morning her fever was up and she was pretty reluctant to do anything, and it was an emotionally exhausting struggle to get her dressed and into the car. She said goodbye beautifully at the station, however. I am of course missing her madly already.

Going Solo

Arya tries out for an interior design cutie mark.

This was kind of a big weekend for Arya, as it was her first week in the 3+ Tumble Tots class, which she goes into on her own. Hanna was working, so Andrew and I took her up by train and bus and got there an hour early, as usual. She ran around a lot, rearranging chairs and all, until it was time to go in, when she ran in quite blithely, then ran out again when she realised that we really weren't following her in.

Mad 80s hair.

It took some doing, but I eventually convinced he to come in with me and sit by the wall, watching until she felt able to go and join in. She did so after a fairly short time, although she ran back to me several times. By the end of the session she was pretty into it and her confidence had grown massively.

After the session, we headed back to Ely, did a little shopping and got some lunch before grabbing the train home.

Now, on Friday night Arya arrived with Andrew at about 9.30, still wide awake and refusing to go to bed.

"I don't want to go to bed!"
"Why not?"
"I don't like going to bed!"
"Why not?"
"I want to watch Sarah & Duck."

Arya preps her go bag.

We eventually negotiated a settlement where she settled down with Andrew and got the Sarah & Duck story before sleep, but no episodes or sitting in the living room, but after a short time she asked to come through with me. We got to sleep quick enough, but then she woke my up at midnight, and although she went straight off again, I didn't. So, by this point on Saturday I was knackered and I got Arya to tuck me in for a nap while Andrew took her to the park.

I was awakened when they returned and she immediately wanted to go to the park again, which obviously wasn't happening. Since reason wasn't working, we went to the living room and put My Little Pony on just loud enough for her to hear from the kitchen floor, and sure enough she soon came through and curled up on Andrew's lap. I'm still not sure if this was inspired parenting or a dreadful cop-out.

On Sunday we - by which I mean Andrew and Arya - slept in a bit and we had a big breakfast. Arya played in her playhouse for a while, then went to the park with Andrew again; I was feeling ill, so didn't join them. When they got back we played some more, read a bit (The Highway Rat) and watched a little more MLP before it was time for them to leave. I got the loveliest hug before they headed out, and bless her, Arya insisted on walking, which may be the first time she's left my house for Ipswich under her own power. She's such a grown up girl now.

Ajarable

So, my main post misses out details - that's the tiredness - but there was one adorable moment I remember. At the dinner table I began to tell Arya 'You can affectionately mock me, but please swallow first,' when she interrupted by pointing at me and crying out 'MOCK!'

Lazy Sunday Afternoon (and the rest)

Run!

It's been one of those weekends really.

Hanna and Arya were in time for dinner on Friday, and that's always nice, as it gives us a chance to spend time together before bed. Then on Saturday we had a bit of a treat, as we toddled into Cambridge (with astonishing ease) to see The Gruffalo's Child at the cinema. As with The Gruffalo, which we saw last year, it was a three hander with the mouse doubling as narrator and the Gruffalo played by the same actor as the three predators. Arya seemed to enjoy it and was neither as scared as some of the other children present by the deep dark woodness of it all, nor apparently aware of the somewhat left-field bondage subtext regarding the Big Bad Mouse's tail.

Now there's a sentence I never expected to be typing in Ersatz Dad.

She who wears the boots of catskin.

After the theatre, Arya was stoked. I picked up a little Gruffalo's Child for a souvenir and we had lunch in Zizzi's, where she tried to get away from us twice and at one point told me to stop following her and stand in a corner. Then she ran round and round the big sculpture outside Carluccio's. Eventually she made a break for it, so we figured it was time to go home.

At home we chilled for a bit, then Hanna went for a nap and Arya put a cat on her feet. It's a floppy cloth cat that used to have a motor to make it purr and is now hollow and apparently shoe-like. In the end, she tucked the cat in beside Mummy before we went out. We took ice creams with us and had fun running around the park. At one point she wanted to play with a ball and another family kindly let her borrow theirs, although this did lead to some tears when they left and took the ball back.

Sitting pretty

Now thoroughly knackered, Arya asked me to carry her home, and I did as much as possible, with a detour to the shop. Dinner was fish fingers and beans on toast, because that was about my limit by then. Arya was predictably difficult about going to bed, but once we were there she went off pretty quickly.

On Sunday Arya got me up early, and once we were all about we went into Ely to do a little shopping and get some duct tape to fix Arya's new bag (which is actually a twenty year old binoculars case she's taken a shine to.) In the afternoon we went to the park again and she decided she was going to make a home for herself on the climbing frame.

After dinner - spaghetti bolognese - Hanna and Arya had to head home. All in all it's been a good weekend, but a little stressful because we've all been very tired. I think that Arya is still getting used to BST. We watched a lot of My Little Pony, and also seem to be getting back into Alphablocks a little as she starts to understand the whole 'spelling' thing more. Something to work on perhaps?