These are now some pictures of the weekend we went up to Knowsley for Auntie Sally Newsome's return from New Zealand.

Friday 22 September - We spent a little time this morning with the pre-school children. Woke up happy, we went outside and Elsie had a ride on the tractor.

Thursday 21 September - We went outside in the sunshine watched the wind blowing the trees and listening to the wind chimes.

We have had a lovely morning playing with Elsie’s toys – we have assembled her push along walker thing now and it is amazing! She loves it! So, we played with that for a while and then when she was a little calmer later on we were reading her colours book – she was very good and turning the pages for me. And then I told her to stop me on her favourite colour – which is red apparently!

Her eczema is looking sooo much better – the hydrocortisone has really done the trick so I think we’re going to go back to unguentum again now, as it seems to have broken the scratching cycle she was in and I don’t want to use it too much. am so glad that it’s looking better – it was so red and sore for while.

We haven’t had an update from nursery for a while. So this is what she’s been up to this week:

Wednesday 20 September – Having cuddles with Leanne. Playing happy and chatting. Having fun pushing the wheels across the floor. Elsie played with the toddlers. We went outside for a little while and Elsie had a ride on the bike.

These are another couple of pictures of Auntie Sally’s barbeque.

There is something up with the blog - it won't let me upload any more photos - hhhmmm? Oh well, that's all for now then x x

Elsie looks most unimpressed that Arthur is eating and she isn't!

We have just had a couple of lovely days with Granny. Elsie got to spend some bonding time with her – and Rob and I got our meals cooked and our ironing done! Which is pretty blissful when life is as hectic as ours is. Granny took Elsie to have her 8 month (which is late cause she’s actually over 9 months now) check on Monday. She weighs 20lbs something, and is slightly long for her age! She is going to be tall like her dad – she can be a supermodel! (Only if she wants to of course though, I’m sure she will be capable of far greater things and intellectual achievements should she desire!) They were impressed with her development, especially her clapping ability apparently. She went back to see a doctor today to get some hydrocortisone for her eczema which has got really bad on her shoulders. After two applications it already looks somewhat improved though, so I am pleased with that.

Here are some piccies taken at Auntie Sally’s barbeque a few weeks ago – when Uncle Jim, Auntie Gail and cousin Arthur came over to Bristol from fancy London town.

Elsie and I at Ashton Court (and she's still trying to get into the cider!)

How about a word from the lady herself!

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That's your lot I think - she has been distracted by a very exciting blue plastic cup!

She is up now! She is sitting behind me in her bumbo playing with the TV remote - oh, I think she's doing a poo! Her poo face is so funny! Rob says it's apologetic - she looks right at you with her big eyes and her lips quiver with concentration!

This is Elsie trying to get into Auntie Sarah's cider at Ashton Court - oh no, she's going to be a cider
drinker like her dad!

Up early again. Elsie wakes up every morning between half six and seven these days. At the weekend she has a bottle and then goes straight back to bed, but it’s very annoying cause I can rarely get back to sleep again after that – even though she is slumbering soundly! Which means I get even less sleep at the weekends than during the week normally, cause we go to bed later. Oh well, it’s quite nice to get up and have a potter about while my family are still asleep upstairs!

Elsie was quite fretful yesterday, I think she may have more teeth coming cause she kept bursting into tears for no reason – I hope she’s ok today.

These are a few piccies of Elsie at Ashton Court Festival – here she is wearing Auntie Caz’s wings!

Elsie and I with the lovely Dan at the Harbour Festival.

With Auntie Sally at the Harbour Festival.

This is a gorgeous one of Elsie with Granny and Grandad.

Elsie getting to know Great Auntie Angie's fishes!

A couple more from Michael's barbeque. I know we already had millions, but I love these few. This one is brilliant!

Oooo, we have had some other very exciting news - Elsie is going to a bridesmaid for Auntie Katie! Next March, so we are going to have to get cracking on those walking skills! Otherwise Elsie will be going down the aisle pushing her luminous baby walker cart thing, with it's flashing lights and fantastic disco tune (!) from Great Uncle Andrew (which we got out this morning and she loves!)

Could she be, la la la, the most beautiful girl in the world, la la la!

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. These are amongst the cutest pictures of Elsie taken yet, in my humble opinion!

This is wearing her sleepy suit from Granny Fi that makes her look like a cloud!

Elsie getting some kip at Barge Fest!

Elsie getting into the festival spirit at Barge Fest!

Rob is putting up the stair gates as we speak by the way. Elsie's crawling skills are quite magnificent these days, and the time has come for us to marauding baby-proof the house. Not that she's a baby anymore. Will get to some more recent piccies soon and you can see how much she's grown. She is ever so long particularly now, I think she's going to be mega tall like her dad!

Gracious, it has been a long time since I updated the blog. And what adventures we have had. Last week was absolutely crazy – with Aaron and Zelia’s wedding in Cornwall on Wednesday and Ruth and Bob’s wedding in Sicily on Friday. We had our mad dash across Europe all planned out so well, and we did manage it in one piece just about. But Elsie got diarrhoea and Rob got food poisoning and it was all quite challenging.

Elsie coped exceptionally well with the heat and not being brilliantly well (she got much better after a trip to the Sicilian pharmacist – diarrhoea is diarrhoea in Italian by the way!) And was so cool at the wedding do, she fell asleep in my arms for ages, and Rob and I danced with her between us – it was gorgeous and I was so proud of her. Travelling with her is definitely more of a mission than it used to be when she was immobile and only breastfeeding – or was it just that Rob was with us?! He doesn’t enjoy the challenge of adventures very much in turns out! But it’s good that I know that now, and we’ll keep exciting trips to just Elsie and I in future! The weddings themselves were gorgeous though, absolutely gorgeous.

By the way I have my engagement ring, hoorah! It is very sparkly and shiny so Elsie likes it too I think!

This is Elsie at Barge Fest in the summer, in her first mate’s t-shirt made especially for her from a cushion cover by Cap’n dave!

Pete gives Elsie her tea!

These pictures are all a bit funny looking cause Grandad had to scan the negatives with his fancy software to get them on the computer.

Doesn't she look gorgeous in this one with Caz - in her pretty summer frock from Auntie Katie.

Now a few of Dan's birthday up on the Downs - Rob is wearing his rounders sash here!

We have just had a glorious few days with Auntie Sally – she came down to spend some time with Elsie following their seven month separation – and they have bonded properly now. It was lovely for me too cause I got to spend lunchtime with them both on Thursday and Friday. It was so nice to have her staying with us – we want to keep her!

I have acquired a new phone with a camera – how new fangled and exciting! So, I can now take millions of pictures of Elsie all the time. I don’t know however, how you get the photos from your phone onto a computer – any ideas please??

There are loads more photos to share with you now. The first ones here are going back a while to when Granny and Grandad came to stay, back in those heady days when I was still on maternity leave.