Sunday 23rd November

Breakfast time:

Richard: CRASH! We do not balance the honey on top of the marmalade, it will fall.

Me: SCOOBY! We do not put our tongues in the jam jar, we will spread germs and get sticky faces.

Turtle: PO! We do not wash our pits in the sacred pool of tears.

(They watched Kung Fu Panda twice this weekend)

Lunchtime:

Turtle: Mummy, how many days is it till Christmas?

Me: Erm...thirty-two

Turtle: How many days is it till December?

Me: Erm...seven

Turtle: So how many days is it till my birthday?

Me: Errrrm...forty-one

Scooby: And how many days is it till we are dead?

Me: Er...?

Tea time:

Baby: (scream)

Me: Okay, do you mean you want more? More? Mmmmmmore? Do you want more? Mmmmohhhhhh...?

Baby: (cocks his head on one side like a bird and points at the sandwich like I'm stupid)

Me: Yes, you can have more. Say mmore. Mmmoh. Mmmmohhhhhh.

Baby: (relenting on his silence just to shut me up) Mnah.

Me: Yey! Good boy! Did you hear that boys, Baby said his first word, he said 'more'!

Baby: (lighting up as he realises the whole family is focusing in on him)

Turtle: Hooray!!!

Baby: (misses his cue to start clapping and puts his hands in the air instead)

Everyone: Baby is...soooooo big!

Baby: (hands in the air again)

Everyone: Soooo big!

Baby: (starts clapping)

Everyone: Hooray!!

Baby: (unspoken dawning of the realisation that actually everyone else is merely a puppet in his hands and he could do with the whole family exactly as he wills...)