1. I do like to take Alec out for coffee and cake, just the two of us concentrating on each other.
2. "Where do you want it?"
"Are you allowed to take it upstairs?"
"Of course," says the delivery man and takes Alec's new bed straight to the bedroom.
3. "Want look after it!" but there is no way I'm letting Alec "look after" his cakey in the pushchair on the way home. "Want hold cakey!" he howls all the way down the street. Just this afternoon I was reading an article on the evils of distracting toddlers from their emotions, so I roll with it, empathising and giving him space to rage. Then "Want look after- Ohhh, van go brmmmm brmmm, Mummy."
