Lunching with the Little Lady

I guess the thing about being a second child is that you rarely have the undivided attention of both your parents at the same time. I have said it before, and I'll say it again: first-borns are a privileged lot.

Anyhow, when DD came home on Thursday bearing the glorious news that his impending 16-day overseas reservist stint had been deferred, we decided that it was cause for celebration. And with Noey at school, we ended up bringing little Naomi out for lunch with us at Riders' Cafe.

"One of us can eat, and the other can carry her," DD said.

Not so, I assured him. For little Meips is a great lunch companion, as I recently discovered. Unlike Noey for whom sitting at a dining table is the worst torture ever, little Naomi can sit in her highchair happily through a meal. Occasionally she'll even try to engage you in conversation.

"So Mummy... what's for lunch?"

But mostly she can be relied upon to keep herself busy with a trusty teething rusk. Or two.

"Hmmm, something tells me I'm being short-changed. This tastes the same as what I had the other day..."

We, on the other hand, were able to enjoy something a wee bit (or a lot) tastier.

The market catch of the day, and aglio olio with crabmeat. Both were delicious.

We really enjoyed having our little girl out for lunch with us. And in the process, discovered some things about her too.

Me:	Hey, did you see that? She just passed the rusk from one hand to the other! That's a milestone. I think.
DD:	Eh, she's also looking down for the rusk she dropped. That's a milestone too right? Which month?
Me:	Errr, I don't know?
DD:	Quick, let's get her to "regard a small object, like a raisin".

(He proceeds to put some bits of cheese on the table, which Naomi promptly tries to grab and put into her mouth. Ugh. Suffice to say, she passes that milestone.)

I guess it's pretty clear that one child down, we are like the opposite of eager parents who diligently keep track of milestones!

Eh folks, you are really NOT doing a good job keeping track of my progress here!

Well, I think the important milestone here is: Able to sit through lunch and allow parents to enjoy their food and have decent conversation. Naomi certainly gets a big tick in this box! I'm hoping to bring her for more lunch dates when I've got a bit more time on my hands in the weeks to come.

A Mummy with a full tummy is a happy Mummy.

The teething rusks are coming along too, of course.