Sproglet

I'm really digging Sproglet at the moment. Not that don't usually - I do, but there is something so magical about the age he is at - on the cusp of four. He is his own little person: testing boundaries, choosing best friends, expressing opinions, discovering more and more about himself and the world around him.

He had his first swimming lesson last Friday which he was beyond excited about. Once he had shoved on the obligatory fetching purple swimming cap and been weighed down with so many floats I could barely see his face, he jumped on in and was off! Whilst other kids held back and refused to go it alone - he gave me a swift kiss goodbye and wasn't phased at all when I was relegated to an upstairs cafe window to watch the proceedings. He loved every splash filled minute. I couldn't have been more proud. Watching your child exploring all the things that you once loved just takes you straight back. Some feel having kids ages you - when in fact it makes you so much younger at heart. Haggard looking and sleep deprived yes, but the spirit soars.

His taste in books is pretty cool - Dr Seuss is a big fav at the mo. Try reading Green Eggs and Ham when you are shattered mind you... getting your tongue round it is a whole new feat. He talks to the baby - but his way of doing this is opening my mouth and shouting into it 'Hello baby, want to play with my toys?' He wants a brother. Everything is a climbing frame - his Father especially. He talks endlessly about his up-coming party and who is invited, what the cake will be and what will happen at it. If this is 4 - god help me at 18...

At night his favourite activity is for me to join him in the bath. Such a simple request and one that brings him such joy - as he soaks me and we play with empty bottles and pretend to have mini tea parties. Then I wrap him up in a big towel and hold him close and every night I think of the little girl in his class who died a few weeks ago of meningitis. I can't imagine what her parents are going through. I hold him so tightly and smell his fresh skin and thank god that I still have him in my arms.

Then we do stories as we both lie on the bed with his assorted menagerie of stuffed animals. And I'll kiss his soft perfect nose goodnight and feel his lashes tickle my face and he will snuggle under the quilt and be in the land of nod in seconds. I will watch him sleep and be amazed at how much I can love something. How he has my heart in the grip of his tiny sweaty little palm. Parenthood is relentless and sometimes boring and often repetitive and also utterly amazing.