A party for Orna! (Shh, don't tell her it's the Queen's Diamond Jubilee)

Today lots of people came to meet Orna for the first time, and she was very lucky and was given lots of presents. She wasn't very interested in watching Queenie float down the river, but was in good spirits to meet Auntie H, Grandad N, Mummy's friend H and some of Grandma's friends that I've known since I was tiny. One made her a beautiful Very Hungry Caterpillar blanket, Auntie H bought her some clothes (non-pink ones) and Great Auntie J got her a memory photo album.

 We ate lots of cake so were well fueled up for the drive home. When we got back, I noticed she had learnt to "interlace" her fingers. She's been holding her hands together like a little Monty Burns for ages, but has finally worked out how to lock fingers. She's also suddenly started grabbing with intent. I put her on the playmat while we unpacked and she grabbed hold of Captain Calamari and wouldn't let go, and deliberately reached out to grab some of the other hanging toys. She has been grabbing necks of t-shirts, the bottom of bibs, hems of t-shirts/dresses and wires/string for a while but I had thought it was by accident as she would only look at toys. Who's a clever girl?

Visiting Grandad and Grandma S

Today we went for Orna's longest drive yet, made even longer by hideous amounts of Jubilee traffic. This time we managed to travel much lighter, the car didn't seem to be bursting at the seams, despite us taking cloth nappies this time! I packed the "pram legs", and it was only when we got to my Dad's I realised that we wouldn't need them at all and they were just taking up space.

Grandma S has made lots of lovely little cardies for Orn, so it's a good job the nice weather is over and she can wear them! We also dispatched Grandad to the attic to get all my "baby" books down so I have some more things to read to Orna - she doesn't seem bored of the books we do have, but I need some variety. Two large boxes later, he says "That's not all of them", it's certainly enough for now. One book, Counting for Bears (it's not called that, the name has just slipped my mind) I remember quite well. I do wonder if someone saw the comedy of "Nine bears bathing", one wearing a medallion (perhaps this is soap on a rope) when the book was written. Turns out the term Bear did not exist in 1985 when the book was first published.


We then went to Great Auntie J's house, to stay the night. Orn was massively unimpressed with FiWi's play mat that had been brought out of retirement for her, and the cats looked horrified about the arrival of a baby.