A tempestuous afternoon

The Bat is really figuring out that she can press my buttons. Not that she understands it properly, she just knows that if she does a particular thing (current favourite is pulling my books off the shelf and making like she's going to tear the pages - which she would if I let her carry on), I start making the funny NO noises and eventually come over to intervene. Then she looks at me and laughs. I know it's beyond ridiculous to get angry with a 15 month old who's just playing a game, but there are only so many times I can do this patiently before it starts winding me up. She tends to do it in the afternoons and it can go on for hours.

If it hadn't been chucking down with rain today, I would have bundled her into the pushchair and gone out to give myself a break from rescuing books. As it was I got upset, raised my voice, then sat at the other end of the sofa like a sulky teenager, had a little cry and refused to read her Happy Baby board book with her. Eventually I gave myself sixty seconds to stop being an arse, which I timed on my watch. Then I picked her up to read her book and she hit me in the face with it. Poor Owl came home to find us both in a properly foul mood.

Happily it turns out that IKEA do cupboard doors that we can attach to our book case, so my sanity will be saved.