Baby Brew

Today was one of those rare occasions, Sean was on leave and it just so happened that the Sister, who was also off, wanted to have a little fun in the sun and some baking session with her girl friends which meant my place was free, gloriously and totally empty. Not quite your once-in-a-century-Jupiter-aligns-with-Mars rarity but close. And when such golden opportunities to indulge in uninhibited workouts that have nothing to do with conventional exercise present themselves, you seize them. Which we did.

So after a couple of sojourns in bed, a short nap and the meatilicious meatball lunch at Ikea, we headed back to his place. His mom was ill however and wanted to see the doctor so we basically had to keep an eye on his 7 months old nephew, Jarrod till she returned. He's a cute baby, bit of baby fat on the cheeks, tiny grasping hands and the longest eyelashes I've ever seen on a baby. The kind that'd make you'll boo boo at and start baby talking to.

Babies in particular and to an extent, kids are fun to play with as long as they aren't your kids. You can always play with them and shower them with some attention but at the end of the day you can (and will) still say bye. Having your own kids though is a whole different ball game and it's not everyone's cup of tea. Certainly not mine. But playing with them can be fun. Till they throw up on you or something.

I'd played with Jarrod on the few occasions he'd been around when I came over. Nothing much, just the usual tickle and perfunctory pat on the head, then it was off to my favourite room in Sean's house. But today, we had to 'keep an eye' on him, till Sean's mom returned. Sean vanished for a while to settle some stuff after warning me not to pick him up cause 'You'll be stuck with him then', so basically it was just the two of us eyeing each other.

First Contact: Looking on a little startled in Big-Bright-Eyed-Wonder. And we always wonder what's going on in their heads. I must have looked like some alien peering into the cot at him. Jarrod was certainly fascinated by the flash though.

He's a grabber. Reaching out in a flash, Jarrod grabbed the proffered thumb without hesitation. And what goes on behind those big, liquid eyes? Possibly something like Big + Wriggly = Fun. Grab!

Feeling it up. But the extended index finger interested him more apparently, one which he gripped tightly with his tiny left hand and proceeded to pinch the tip repeatedly with his right hand much like your average housewife pinching/prodding a piece of meat to see how fresh it is. Observe his serious countenance as he pinches. Hmm long + fleshy. Pinch pinch.

Num Num. Then as I was tickling him under the chin, he grabbed with startling alacrity, my thumb and little finger and shoved my middle finger into his mouth which he sucked happily and chomped on hard with his still toothless gums. Then he'd take it out, still tightly gripping my thumb and little finger, inspect it for a while then proceed to shove it back in and suck/chomp on it while grinning at me, cheeks puffy as he sucked/chomped away. A process he repeated for sometime. I was laughing non-stop the entire time. This kid has potential man.....to be a bright lad. What were you thinking? Tsk tsk.

Baby Dracula. After a while Jarrod decided that my finger, long and juicy as it may be was insufficient. He'd tasted finger and now he wanted more. Which was when he proceeded to grab my index finger and shove both that and the little finger into his hungry, chomping little maw. Which he then proceeded to suck/gnaw on with obvious relish. As you can tell from that look of sublime bliss on his face.

Then Sean appeared and it was his turn to entertain his nephew. Seriously though, adorable babies like Jarrod are fun to play with but at the end of the day they're still not your kids which is really, in my opinion, what keeps the fun factor alive. Having kids of your own though is totally different and even if I were straight, thanks but no thanks.