This terrible 2020 has finally come to an end. Here are the latest updates on the end of the year with Lavinia.
A cheeky tornado
There’s not a better definition to describe Lavinia. She’s developing her very own personality, getting more bold and confident day by day. She’s not afraid to take risks and challenge the adults’ authority, while she’s still friendly – but firm – with the few peers she can interact with.
We had only 17 days of relative freedom of movement in town before two tough lockdowns the government imposed on us to fight the virus’s spread; despite that, nurseries and childminders can stay open. It is a blessing as Lavinia can practice her social skills and see different faces than ours and the ones she can see through Facetime.
Together, we stroll
The “stay at home” lockdown still allows us to go out for a walk, so we do it as much as we can – weather permitting.
Lavinia likes watching the world around, even though sometimes she seems a bit afraid of other people and animals. I prefer the baby carrier than the pushchair, but Lavinia doesn’t seem to have a preference as long as she can observe the surroundings and talk.
Play and learn
She learns a ton while playing. One of the latest new games we played together is to pretend to eat something with a spoon out of a plastic cup. She then was able to replicate this at mealtime, and she’s so skilled! Not only does she master the spoon, but she can also use the fork.
Music is still her favourite activity, along with dancing and singing. She also likes bathing, whether in actual water or on different kind of tubs 😂
Like all the child of her age, she’s obsessed with stacking cubes, pots and boxes where she can put things on and off. I hope she’ll keep this OCD for tidying up her room!
Food
One day I will apologise to grown-up Lavinia for having been too harsh with her at mealtime. Sometimes I lost my temper when she throws food down the highchair or refuses particular food she likes – or used to enjoy.
Franz made me kindly notice that she’s a person with her tastes in developing, and he’s right. I heard and saw many horror stories about fussy eaters and messy children.
We’ve been blessed with a hungry girl. All things considered, she doesn’t like wasting too much food. On the contrary, mealtimes are always happy, playful moments.
I am nearly done with breastfeeding. The weaning process has been harrowing for both Lavinia and me, mostly on the psychological aspect. She’s very much attached to the breast, so we had troubled afternoons when she wanted the breasts, and I played all my tricks to keep her distracted and offer a silly cup with my milk instead.
I looked forward to stopping breastfeeding her. As the end time is approaching, I also feel a sense of void closing my stomach. Breastfeeding has sometimes been painful and challenging, and it’s not natural at all, as you may think – it’s more like a team play kind of activity. I am grateful for the fantastic relationship I created with Lavinia thanks to breastfeeding, and I will forever treasure the memories tied to that. Who could have imagined that stopping nursing would have been so emotionally painful?
Christmas holidays and New Year
For the first time since I was an early teenager, I put together a Christmas tree. Lavinia loved it, especially when the lights were on.
We spent the Christmas holidays isolated at our house because of the pandemic and the lockdown.
On Christmas Eve, a little Elf came to help us open the presents 😀
We then had a big family Zoom call on Boxing day where we virtually exchanged presents too. Instead of the Christmas Elf, Lavinia and I sported matching pyjamas gifted by my sister.
As we spent the Easter holidays in this situation, we were ready to this, even though it’s been a little sad anyway. We compensated the sadness with lots of food and playing with Lavinia’s new toys 😀
We went to bed very early on New Year’s Eve as we had nothing to celebrate: 2020 has been the most horrible year for everybody, and I keep my expectations low for 2021. We’re far from being out of the woods with this pandemic, and I’m afraid Lavinia is losing lots because of it. Franz and I are doing everything we can to make sure she can grow up without any lack on all the levels – emotional, developmental, cognitive, social etc.
Videos, videos, videos
As always, here’s a curated selection of the most hilarious videos we shot with Lavinia. Enjoy!
I am Lavinia Olympia 