Princess C turns 5 - Daddy's perspective

Happy Birthday Princess C - When are you moving in?

It's been a hectic week and at times we've been so busy that time has passed by in a blur (so what else is new?) This week we celebrated Princess C's birthday with what has felt like a whole week of things going on, culminating in a really cool children's party yesterday with all her friends from school and elsewhere joining her in a smashing woodland adventure and party. 

But thinking back to 5 years ago, Princess C was born and the week between her emergence into the world - a tiny little black hole of a mouth screaming fit to shake the roof off - and her coming home with us for the first time was similarly hectic. 

She was tiny, nearly 5 weeks premature and with jaundice which meant she had to stay in hospital along with Mummy. She came out of hospital on my birthday and I couldn't have asked for a better 40th Birthday Pressie. 

From being small enough to fit into one hand almost, to being big enough to give my back a creak if I have to pick her up for any reason, she's amazing. I never dreamed I'd ever have kids, I never really thought too much about it and always thought I was too immature and selfish for them. Dads often sagely tell you that your life completely changes when you have kids and it's completely true. Change for the better. I think secretly Princess C has changed me into the person I should've been all along.

Needless to say her mummy is also awesome - I've never had anyone that provided me with that amount of support, that amount of drive, and that amount of inspiration as the pair of them give me every day. Just like all families we have our ups and downs but I love them both to bits and can't imagine (nor do I want to imagine) what I'd be like now if they hadn't come along.

The Birds and the Bees according to a 4 year old

As an only child we often get the prompt of mummy can you get a baby, or sometimes mummy can you have a baby. This is never going to happen, but that's an entire blog post of its own. So to divert the situation we ask Princess C how we should go about getting a baby.

All kids come up with wonderful stories about this. And usually ask in the most embarrassing of situations. My mum will gladly tell you about how I asked how I came out of her tummy on a packed underground train and how the carriage fell silent at that point. Before she could respond I chipped in with did I just pop out.

Readitdaddys sister, and again on public transport (i see a theme here), decided to say to a heavily pregnant lady "I know what you've been doing". She actually thought the lady had been eating all the pies.

So here is Princess C take on how babies get into our tummies and out of our tummies. Its audio not video so to explain that "here" is actually our chest which to her when you have a low cut top on looks like a hole.

She then carried on after to say that a baby is born with little hairs and that daddies have to go out to the shops right after to buy mummies cadburys chocolates. How thoughtful!

As sharp as a tack...

Sometimes, the best thing about being an attentive parent is also the worst thing. You will undoubtedly spot something your little one (or ones) does that will take your breath away and you'll feel like telling everyone you meet.

Princess C is definitely her mother's daughter, and is (to coin that brilliant and oft underused phrase) as sharp as a tack. Nothing gets by her, even stuff that I'm sure I'd have fallen hook line and sinker for as a kid (forget trying to take her nose off and pretending that your wiggling thumb is her schnozz, she won't fall for that - or for the "Look, there's a dinosaur!" method of stealing her chocolate when she's eating it!)

The other day we were leafing through a fairly well known book and starting to think about how the review would go (for 'the other place, the booky place!')

Princess C liked the book but had a clear picture in her mind who the 'hero' of the book was - and also, rather alarmingly, who the 'baddie' was.

To explain further, the 'baddie' in this story wasn't really a baddie, just a girl who had something that the 'hero' wanted. Kids and sharing are two extremely mutually exclusive terms and of course in any book where the main character is expected to share, expect plenty of scoffing from your younglings.

That really wasn't the alarming part. Princess C noticed, straight off the bat, that the illustration depicted an Asian girl. Thankfully she didn't elaborate further but it completely changed the whole perception and tone of the book virtually within the space of one page spread. The depiction was subtle, but based on Princess C's knowledge of the other books in the series and the programme, it was an educated piece of observation.

Princess C finding something like that, something the authors, designers, illustrators and publishers had missed made me realise not only how sharp she is, but also how cool and switched on she is about things that some parents will probably call "Political correctness gone mad"

Political correctness doesn't exist. Being sensitive to others most definitely does, thank goodness!

Princess C's Pearls of Wisdom Part 5 - Getting Old, Winning Prizes, raiding piggy banks!

With another packed week, we've struggled to remember (and write down) some of Princess C's pearls of wisdom. Here are a few amusing ones culled from this week's pile.

On the way home from school, a key observation on how old Daddy is:

"Daddy, you were born in the olden days!"

Oh it didn't end there though! She went on to observe that:

"Grandma was born in prehistoric times!"

I made it to an art class this week, and Princess C promptly burst into tears when she found out I wasn't going to be home at my normal time, in time to give her a cuddle before bed (aww!) When she woke up the next morning I told her where I'd been and (proudly) showed her my drawings.

She said:

"Did you win a prize?"

(because, of course, everyone should win prizes at art class!)

She also detailed what she would've drawn during the life class...

"I wouldn't draw that man with no clothes on, I would draw a Princess. With clothes on!"

Last but not least, the subject of holidays came up...

She said:

"Can we go on holiday to Lanzarote?"

Mummy pointed out that it costs a lot of money.

"A hundred pounds?"

Mummy pointed out that no, it would be a lot more than that.

"Oh, you should go to the bank and ask for some money then! Or you can take it from my piggy bank!"