Family Z

Gus in his pleather jacket looks as cool in real life as in the photo.  It is too brilliant for words.  All babies should have one.  He loves to try and stand, which becomes quite tiring, holding him, after a while.  He also enjoyed my singing "Teddy Bears' Picnic" to him, and when I stopped jigging him about at the end he did a huge double-take when the room stopped spinning round, which was very entertaining to watch.

The lunch went very well, and quite effortlessly for me.  All I had to do was whip the cream for the trifle and lay the table, and Phil helped with that.  Dilly said that lasagne is her favourite food, Hay ate it, carrots and broccoli with his fingers (they're bypassing much of the puréed food stage and just giving him bits of what they're eating) and everyone had second helpings, Squiffany thirds.  A few minor mishaps, when no fewer than four people managed to spill drinks on the table, one of which overflowed into the Sage's shoe (luckily, Weeza was only drinking fizzy water).  I was drinking wine and there was no slip between glass and lip.

Zerlina asked to go to bed at five o'clock, but I gave her some tea - she ate ham, olives, buttered water biscuits and leftover cold carrots, and a garlic clove and then a satsuma, and she was asleep by six fifteen. She just woke a few minutes ago, I gave her a drink, took her to the bathroom and straight back to bed.

Tomorrow, the panto.  Oh yes it ... oh, I've already said that, a couple of days ago.  Anyway, the Sage suddenly decided he'd like to come too.  I was able to tell him that I knew there was one seat left in our row and it wasn't likely to have been sold - who goes to the panto on their own? - and he has secured it.

Look loves, don't think I'm behaving totally out of character, but now I'm going to go and wrap a few presents, and it isn't even Christmas Eve.  Thing is, the children roam all over the house and I don't trust them not to find what's hidden in boxes.  If those things are wrapped and put under the tree (which I'm going to get them to decorate in the morning), they can shake and feel but not look inside the packages.