Dizzy at 1/2

I can't believe she is 6 months already! She has turned into a wonderfully happy little baby who brightens up our day with her cute little cackles.

D is curious, she'll try her hardest steal your pint as you drink it. She's very chatty and has that cheeky charm  that her brother and mother possess in spades. In short my girl is turning into a little person in her own right and it's a joy to watch. 

A sad, sad day

RIP Old Smoky 2009-2012

This week poor Old Smoky burnt has last after a steady decline. He was as a bright, gleaming furnace in his youth and swallowed up anything you put inside. During those early days, it was like having your own hotline to The Pit for disposal of waste. OS was the resting place for pizza boxes, various garden waste and even a dead hedgehog (?!), before gaining gaping hole in his middle this winter which finally did for him. He will be sorely missed.

A.

Little D and X at Hayling Island

Cheap rides, a wide beach and plenty of sunshine, it was like Christmas had come early for X. Finally, the sea has warmed up enough not to have a testicle-tightening when you go paddling in it. Little D seemed to have a pleasant afternoon too, she has perfected her slightly knitted brow expression of "WTF is going on?" as the photos here show.

The look of total bewilderment has a comical quality about it. However if she's still pulling this expression at 28, I might not think it's such an endearing expression.

In the meantime, D's development has been coming on nicely. She can now hold  herself upright in her bouncy chair like Al Pacino in the sauna scene out of Scarface. She can lean forward in her pushchair, swing one arm outside of it, and peak at the outside world like a trucker scoping the world from the front of his cab. In other news, our girl has added a few more animal noises to her repertoire, especially when she's pissed off. It amazes me how when screaming at the top of her voice, you can put her down (for nappy changing, as an example) and she will continue at an even higher pitch!

The amount of noise that emanates from babies never ceases to amaze me. Our little Buddha Baby now has a cry as loud and insistent as a train whistle. Maybe she won't be as different to her older brother as we first thought. 

A.

Technical Difficulties(!)

So the Man Cave Desktop has been playing up recently. A few days after refusing to turn itself on and emitting a chorus of bleeps like a pissed off techno budgerigar, it has relented.

Gives me the chance to send a quick post with a picture of little D, she is away on a road trip with E and X. Meanwhile, I'm home alone with the cat for company. On the good news front, someone has decided to give me a job in the field where I've been volunteering for so long, I start in September. Let's face it, I'm not made to be chained to a desk in a poorly air conditioned office, drinking cheap coffee so of course I'm thrilled. 

In the meantime I have August to catch a little sunshine (possibly), do some matched betting (probably) and help out with little D (definitely!).