dance of reciprocity

i went to a 2-day training (for my work) last week which extensively explained how "the baby is the father of man".  the discussions involved theoretical foundations such as containment, reciprocity and behaviour management.  in my humble opinion, this simply translates to how crucial parenting skills are in how we turn out as adults.

we were given an assignment: to look for the dance of reciprocity in our everyday lives.

what is the dance of reciprocity?  

it describes the sophisticated interaction between a baby and an adult where both are involved in the initiation, regulation and termination of the interaction.  it can also be used to describe the interaction within all relationships.  it involves initiation, orientation, state of attention, acceleration, peak of excitement, deceleration and withdrawal or turning away (Brazelton, 1974).

while i was enjoying a lovely sunny spring morning sitting at the piazza last week with a friend, i saw the most incredible example of the dance of reciprocity right before my very eyes.

i spotted this little girl tirelessly chasing pigeons while her mum was busy talking to a friend. Daisy Duck meanwhile was just coming out from the side of the street.  the moment the little girl saw her, she ran squealing towards Daisy with open arms. Daisy also opened her arms immediately and they shared the warmest of hugs, the peak of their excitement.  and then they would let go and the little girl would look up to Daisy and smile and ran around her and hugged her again.  they would do this dance over and over again until the little girl was called by her mum.  and then they waved goodbye and blew kisses at each other.

this picture of utter happiness stayed with me all throughout that day and even until now.

so happy to see you!

two is better than one

"life is two-riffic with twins!" -- author unknown

we went to the mister's cousin's twins' christening the other day and boy were they soooo cute! 

just look at baby M here getting ready to be splashed :)  that's her mom W holding her :) sorry for the dark pics by the way and the red eye.  i didn't have time to reset my camera.

below is the lovely family :)  the twins have an elder sister, C in her lovely pink dress and pigtails and she wants to be in on the action too :)

we had cake after!

baby S is hungry

 big sister C biting her nails

here i am carrying and cuddling baby M, after playing with my hair she promptly fell asleep :)

i just love babies!  they are sooo cuddly like marshmallows and they smell like one too :)

a tale of frolic and fun

under the watchful eye of Molly Bloom...

and the illustrious General Elliot...

these two friends monkeyshined on the swings...

the lovely lillies nodded their amusement and giggled at their antics...

the cabbage roses ooohhh-ed and aaahhh-ed...

the tide pool sighed and wished he could join our shenanigans while the little fishes scrambled up front because they just love having their pictures taken...

CEO-in-the-making baby G is so pleased at his progress reports that he just enjoys a holiday everyday!

in the meantime, rocket-in-a-pocket baby J however is busy conjuring his favorite sweet things in his really big silver ball :)

alas! a table is nowhere to be found in this land of rubber mats and rope swings... but nevermind, a bench will have to do :)

"oy!,"  said the red telephone booth in the corner, "don't put everything in your mouths or i'm calling your mothers!"

but there was no need because it was already naptime and... "frankly," the babies said to the red telephone booth, "we are pooped!"

hasta la vista, baby!