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Mater: Parent Wars
Posted by Pater , Wednesday, March 24, 2010 9:18 AM
Cain and Abel. Esau and Jacob. Rachel and Leah. Sibling rivalry is as old as the history of the world, my dear Avocado Jnr. While less famous, Mater and Pater have been discovering that parental rivalry (in various guises) is no less potent.
As you entered your sixth month (where has the time gone?!!) the mature, wise and responsible adults who watch over you, began competing for title of Favourite Parent. That is, if it could be called a competition. It was inevitable who the winner would be...
You bounced about in your Jolly Jumper, worked out in your Exersaucer and, lying on your playmat, swiveled in circles of 360 degrees using your stomach as a pivot. And throughout, Mater and Pater "discussed" who your target audience was, who you liked better, who you were smiling at, etc etc. +013.jpg)
When you were born you couldn't have cared less who Mater and Pater were. Milk, clean diaper, a bath, and lots of hugs. Those were your requirements from us and you had no prefence as to who provided them. +065.jpg)
Then BOOM you hit 6 months and start recognizing the people around you. Suddenly you cared who held you, who played with you and who put you to bed. And that person had to be the one you spent most of your day with. Moi! Your Mater. You and I tried to keep this quiet. Just a little secret between us girls. But amazingly Pater noticed. Maybe it was the way your head swung around like the needle on a compass EVERY TIME Mater entered a room. Or that you would only put your head down on Mater's shoulder when you were tired or upset. Or perhaps Pater spotted that when he held you, you arched your back like a contortionist, as you sought out Mater. Not that I complained! I loved the attention...and winning the competition (even if it did make disappearing at nap time a commando-esque task, often requiring a sudden drop to the floor and crawling out of your bedroom on my hands and knees). +063.jpg)
Pater was a sore loser. Mater tried explaining that girls eventually love their Paters much more than their Maters. And love their Paters' wallets more than... Ahem. But Pater wasn't happy. Fine, he said, you may have won the battle, but the war is far from over. And so the parental rivalry morphed into "Who Saw You .... First?" As if witnessing you throw up for the first time is on par with being your favourite parent. And for the record, Mater did...+039.jpg)
Bless him, Pater claims that he saw you crawl (if that's true, how come it has yet to be replicated?). He swears that he made you laugh before anyone else (it was gas). And even that he was the first to see you turn over (Hmmmm, Grandmas Toronto and London even dispute that one). He then argues against Mater's claims to have seen your first self-burp, first smile, first helicopter on your stomach, first, first, first...+031.jpg)
Thankfully, and before blood was shed, Pater stopped acting like, well, um, a baby (sorry) when Mater suggested a (temporary?) truce, with the next big milestone being witnessed together. And here it is below. As Julia Child would say, bon appetit!
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but whose cookies is she going to like more?????