yes, it WAS a long, very quiet weekend indeed.
So yes, it did in fact turn out to be a long and very quiet weekend. I had an early afternoon date with a friend on Saturday and of course, being a breastfed baby, Roz had to come with me, so Krys (not one to sit around at home at the best of times) decided he’d go and run a few chores in the city with his mom. As a result, Roz didn’t get to see her babcia again for the whole day, and all the good work we had been cultivating went right down the toilet. She just would not let the poor woman hold her, play with her, cuddle her or act in any way grandmotherly.
Now, Roz is fiercely independent. She doesn’t like being held and especially doesn’t like sitting in someone’s lap being told what a cute little baby she is. Most Wednesday mornings i sit on the floor reading my book while she first zooms to her play area, turns on her musical jingles and does a little dance; empties all three of her toy boxes, scattering all the toys over her mat; then she zooms over to her section of the book shelf and removes all her books, placing each on the floors after a good pretend read, then over to her nappy area where she empties her nappies, wipes, muslin clothes, bibs, and cotton wool on to the floor before crowing triumphantly and then coming over to me for her victory dance.
The girl puts a stamp on the whole room. The moment I clean up, she gives a hoot of delight and is off emptying everything again. It’s so much fun to watch. She’s a total ball of energy.
So yeah, you can see how her granny wanting to play with her and sit cuddling her at the dinner table was driving her nucking futs to put it mildly.
But there were moments, especially late in the evening when she was getting sleepy, that she would curl up in babcia’s lap and let herself be sang to and kissed and cooed over. And Krys’ mum said it was worth braving her fear of flying for this.
She told Krys that she had really envisioned taking Roz out for a walk every day and playing with her to give me a rest and get to know her little wnuczka (granddaughter), and it hadn’t entered her mind at all that Roz would be deep in stranger anxiety mode.
Last Wednesday, i had to work half day and asked my sister if she wouldn’t mind picking Roz up for me and keeping her for the hour before i got home. I kept imagining Roz just crying and cryng wondering why a strange woman was picking her up, but she was good as gold for my sister. We think it’s probably because we sound so alike that she was perhaps more relaxed with Yolanthe? Kids are strange.
Anyhoo, Krys’ mom left last Thursday and I do hope that despite the boredom, especially on the Monday and Tuesday when Krys and I had to work and Roz was with the childminder, that she had a good stay. I’ll say it again, she’s a lovely woman and i do envy the fact that Krys and her can speak as one adult to another. It’s very rare for me to see that and it’s good for me to see that this is possible.
I hope Roz’s phase of being all clingy won’t last too long. I can imagine the number of traumatised family members who won’t get a chance to hold her let alone look at her, before she opens her mouth and screams the house down, when we go to Zambia next year. And boy, does that kid have a pair of lungs or what!
The cutest thing she’s done this week is that she’s really trying very hard to speak and get herself understood. She keeps saying “ksheeshay” when she wants something, or wants to be taken somewhere, or is pointing at something…hell, pretty much all the time. We’re starting to wonder, is she trying to say Krzysiek (Krys’ pet name) or pete’s sake! For us to get on with it and do as she asks.
Either way, it’s incredibly funny.
Now, enough baby talk. I’d best be getting to my bed, and will write more tomorrow.
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