Friday Night Petra

We have spent the week recovering from a nasty flu bug - chills, fevers, coughs, the full deal.  The joys of winter in Dunedin.  Actually the weather's been very pleasant since the snow - calm, mild, and sunny - but it's undeniably winter and that's a shock after three years of perpetual summer.  My neighbours have flown off to Rarotonga for two weeks in the sun, leaving me to collect their mail.  I envy them their tropical island.

Hanging out in front of the fire with Petra brings its own satisfactions however.

We're witnessing one of Petra's periodic developmental leaps.  She sings, she dances, she runs around. She sticks stickers on the walls and draws on her feet.  She spends ages quietly absorbed in putting things in other things and taking them out again.  Her language acquisition proceeds at a dazzling pace.  She walks around the room pointing at objects, waiting for us to name them, and repeating the names after us.  She says "look" and "hello" and "up please".  She takes our cellphone and walks round the lounge talking and laughing into the aether.  She's very cuddly.  Leave takings are lengthy affairs because she works her way round the room kissing, and often rekissing, everyone.  She likes to fall asleep at night with her arms wrapped around my neck and her face on mine.  I enjoy that as well - I get to breathe in her baby smell and kiss her soft baby cheeks as she dozes.

She's also revealing her inner egomaniac these days.  Olivia came to stay a couple of weeks ago and Petra was a thug baby with her.  I gave Olivia a drink in a purple cup because Miss O is very very keen on purple and Petra stole the cup, hugged it to her chest and handed Olivia her own, much less desirable green cup.  I had to find another purple cup for Petra to avert a tragedy.  Petra's also discovered that she elicits all sorts of interesting reactions if she pulls Olivia's hair or pokes at her.  I spent a lot of time soothing Olivia's wounded feelings while trying to convince Petra to be gentle.  They did play nicely as well, as long as I hovered nearby to deal with potential trouble.

 

I'm mustering up the courage to attend a nearby playgroup to give Petra a chance to socialize with other kids her own age.  I fear that it will be a nervewracking experience as Petra tests her edges against the other kids.