Being Granny

Dilly and I spent the evening at a friend's house. Last week, she came with me to Gardening Club. She feels that she can see a social life without babies looming. Indeed, I've offered to babysit if she and Al would like to go out to celebrate his birthday next week. This excitement is cheering her up a lot.

Pugsley is a cheerful baby, but he thinks that the days are for playing and the nights are for feeding. He eats small amounts of solid food during the day and wants to be fed by his mother every two nocturnal hours. Last night, they decided not to feed him between 10pm and 6am. Al went to him when he cried - Pugsley and Squiffany share a bedroom - but Dilly didn't. He 'only' woke and cried three times, but for quite a long time...anyway, Dilly says he has had a lot more milk today and so she's keeping her fingers crossed that two or three nights of this will be enough for him to learn to sleep through.

Of course, all good resolutions will go out of the window if they come down with chickenpox.

Apparently, rain is on the way. As we need dry weather to lay our concrete paths, and as I need the paths done before I can fork over the beds, I hope the forecast displays its usual accuracy. It was gorgeous again today, and Squiffany came to help me sow bean seeds in the greenhouse. One of the varieties of french beans is called 'Matilda', bought in Tilly's honour. They are rather attractive black seeds, but when Squiffany dropped a few, they were quite hard to find. "Be careful," I said, "You're dropping them." "Never mind, sweetheart," she said, reassuringly. "It doesn't matter."

She enjoyed getting dirty and, afterwards, dipped her hands into the watering can to wash them. She is looking forward to having her climbing frame, which her father and grandpa are making for her. She is impressed with the thick layer of bark chippings spread underneath. I've explained to her that it makes an ideal hiding place for insects and we can search for spiders and woodlice. She will like that.