Baby, and other things beginning with 'b' ...

I was thinking about my baby, who has just been a birthday girl, when I realised she is many other things beginning with the letter ‘b’ …

Bum-shuffler: Despite being over a year old baby is not toddling, but does a brilliant high-speed bum-shuffle. Up go the gates and out-of-reach shelving. Up goes daddy’s blood pressure as I reel off all the hazards that he needs to sort.        

Beautiful: I know I’m her mummy, and that all mummies think their baby is beautiful, but oh, she is so beautiful.

Bonkers: who knew that placing a small plastic cow on top of my head could be so funny?

Blessing: As a sufferer of endometriosis, I was never entirely sure I would even be able to have a baby. She is a gift.

Box-obsessed: I was warned about this by practically everyone at Christmas; ‘She’ll play with the boxes more than the toys.’ Yeah, yeah, I thought, maybe you just got your kid naff toys. But I acquiesce, because she does love boxes! At the dinner table she used to moan and throw her bright toys on the floor, until we learnt to placate her with a tirade of empty boxes. Oh, to eat in peace.

Balance-challenged: She’s a bit like a Weeble, only she sometimes does fall down, bless.

And last but not least, Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson were singing the truth when they said, ‘The best things in life are free.’ I never used to get it; palm-lined swimming pools and luxury Villas aren’t free! What on earth were they prattling on about? I used to think happiness involved earning lots of money, and owning material possessions. But that’s not happiness at all. Happiness is smiling into your baby’s eyes as she falls asleep at night. Happiness is wrapping her up warm and snugly. Happiness is seeing her face light up and hearing her giggle when she sees me in the morning. Happiness is her.

And that’s the last ‘b’ – that she is the absolute best.