Christmas build-up

The last few weeks have been quite busy, but in a nice way, with the build-up to Christmas. It started in the first week of December when we spent a few days at Center Parcs at Sherwood Forest. We've been due a break for a while, and when an offer of money to help us came along, we couldn't say no! It was a lovely few days, with plenty to keep us occupied. Imogen loved watching the squirrels and was fascinated by the singing reindeer in the village centre. The village centre looked lovely on an evening with all the Christmas lights, and Imogen loved the fireworks display mid-week. We're planning a return trip next year at the same time - it was a nice time to go away and got us started in the Christmas spirit.

I opted to do Christmas shopping without Imogen this year - I just couldn't face coping with the two at the same time! Some of the shopping was done while she was at nursery, but Nanny and Gramps looked after the Grandchildren for a day (well, Imogen for the day, and Molly & Charlie once they'd finished school) so I could go to Leeds with Rach.

We're not ones for putting up the tree too early, so that was left until last weekend. Dave and I did most of it on Saturday afternoon while Imogen was having her nap, but left a few bits, including the top star, for Imogen to finish it off. She loves the tree and spends ages walking round it looking at the different decorations, telling you what they all are - "Santa", "reindeer", "fairy", "lights" and - my favourite "wellies" (stockings to you and me!) Unfortunately she doesn't seem to understand that you look without your fingers, and several times, she's unhooked a decorations and then brought it to me saying "Oops!"

For the last week the weather has been cold and snowy. Imogen went out into the garden with Dave last weekend to build a snowman, which she loved doing. Buster was bit confused with snowballs that disappear when the land though! Whether we'll have snow falling of Christmas Day for a truly white Christmas remains to be seen.

Obviously the true reason for Christmas is important to us. At the toddler service at church, all through December we've been reading about the different parts of the Christmas story - the birth, shepherds, kings - with a bit of a craft activity to go with it. Today we've been to a crib service with her, when she tried to have a closer look at baby Jesus by pulling him out of the crib, and tomorrow we're going to a communion service in the morning as well.

Imogen seems to get that something is going on, but doesn't understand what. It's all just very exciting for her to be with lots of people who love her and to be able to play with Molly and Charlie! I read her "Twas the night before Christmas..." at bedtime tonight, and we'll try and have some other calm times together, but I'm not overly hopeful!

Help, help, help!

I can't do anything now without Imogen asking to "help, help, help". I know I shouldn't complain, and generally I'm letting her join in (although it doubles - at least - the length of time it takes to do anything), but it's difficult when it involves things like draining boiling water from pasta, or cutting up carrots and onions. She's not much good at pairing up socks either!

She'll learn!

I gave a cocktail sausage to Imogen, then went downstairs to the freezer. Suddenly Imogen started crying and saying "No, no". When I asked her what was wrong her reply was "Sausage, Gone", whilst pointing at Buster! Bless her, she was really upset by it, even asking him for it back!

Big Sister

We've know for several weeks now, and you may have picked it up from facebook, but Imogen is going to become a big sister, probably in early May, next year, assuming everything goes OK. We have set up a blog to keep track of the progress; you can follow the Full O' Fizz blog by clicking the link

Toilet training

Not started in earnest (mainly because at the moment I don't think I've got the patience for it!) but she seems to know what she's supposed to do. For weeks now she's been giving me a running commentary on my toilet visits - "sit down, wee wee, paper, toilet, flush" - so we thought we'd introduce a potty to the bathroom to see if she made any effort to use it. Our first attempt a few weeks ago just resulted in her playing with the potty and rarely sitting on it, so it went away. But we've got another one out now (a basic one - the first one was an complicated multi-use thingy) and she seems to be doing OK. When we go and change her nappy, she'll often ask to sit on the potty. Until today that just meant sitting on it for a few seconds, getting up, walking round, peeing on the floor, sitting down again and repeat! Today when Dave took her up, she seemed to be doing the same, but farted lots and told him she'd pooed (although she hadn't!). Then later, when I took her up she seemed to be going down the same route until she sat for a bit longer and did actually poo in the potty! Hurrah! She did get a bit upset when she saw it, but then told me it was a caterpillar! It can't have upset her that much, because she's sat on the potty again since. I'm still not ready to buy the pants and ditch the nappies, but we're making moves in the right direction.

18 months, not 18 years!

For a few weeks now, when we've been sat chatting at the dinner table after we've finished eating, Imogen has been copying us when it comes to how we have our hands. If one or other of us has our hands clasped together and resting on our lap, that's what she will do. If we rest our head on hands, she'll do that too. Fold arms across tummy, that too is copied. If we put thumbs on the edge of the table, in the way of the student drinking game, that will also be copied. Tonight, Charotte put her thumbs on the table, Imogen followed, then shouted at me that I hadn't!!! Pah!

Sleep-talking

Last night, just as I was snuggling down in bed, reading before going to sleep, Imogen started chatting. I thought I'd woken her, but no, it was sleep talking! She didn't talk for very long, and I have no idea what she was babbling about (just like half the time during the day!), but it was definitely sleep talking.

My Mum says Imogen takes after me!

The end?

Tonight Imogen went to bed and didn't ask for milk from me. If anyone else puts her to bed, that's been fine - she's quite happy not to have breast then (obviously!) - but this was the first time that she's not had any if I've put her to bed. I don't know whether she was so tired she just didn't think, or whether it's the end of breast-feeding. Whatever, by breast-feeding her for 18 months I've given her the best start I could, and if she's ready to do without, then I am too!

A little song

This is Imogen's favourite song at the moment. She's obviously picked it up from nursery, 'cos I haven't really sung it much with her - in fact I had to look the words up when she got frustrated that I wouldn't sing it with her!

Mummy!

After many months of waiting...

It started with her signing "Daddy"
This moved on to signing and saying "Daddy"
Then came signing "Mummy" and saying "Daddy"

Today, when I went to pick Imogen up from nursery, I opened the room door and...

she signed and spoke "Mummy" :)

Why..

Why is it that when I'm having a bad day - tired & not feeling well - Imogen decides that's when she's not going to have a good day either? Yesterday afternoon was awful - she didn't have a proper nap and then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in a very bad mood, while all I wanted to do was go to sleep! Turns out I was brewing a migraine which hit last night :(

Competition winner!

Last weekend was the village show where Mum & Dad live. Among the competitions were the usual photographic ones. Dad entered this photo in the "people" section - and won! Nothing to do with the great composition and lovely colours - it was all to do with the gorgeous little girl!!!

SAGGA camp 2009

It was a few weeks ago now, but I've had trouble with the photos. This year's camp was at Giant's Seat campsite near Radcliffe in Manchester, and we went for just over a week. The weather was OK - a few days of rain, but nothing too bad.
I was worried before we went that tea-time and bed-time were going to be a nightmare - food being later than we'd eat at home, and everything going on stopping her wanting to go to bed. But it was all OK - there were a couple of evenings that were a bit harder, but generally not too many problems. Daytime naps were not as long as she'd have at home - and she was suffering for that later in the week - but we got through without too many tears.
Imogen loved being out in the fresh air with all the space - and plenty of people to play with. Simple things like bubbles were a hit and kept her occupied for ages, with Charlie teaching her to "pop, pop, pop" the ones on the floor. And the big digger was also exciting to watch - but only for a while! In true SAGGA style Imogen tried to get stuck in with the work - after watching others leveling some concrete, she later picked up some tools and had a go herself!
I was more relaxed this year about leaving her with others, and Dave took his turn at being "in charge", so I got some time and space as well which was nice. We didn't really get to visit any tourist attractions (a planned visit to the MOSI was abandoned in favour of a lie-in!) but still got off site to the nearby country park and into Bury for some shopping. Obligatory visits to the swimming pool for a wash were also enjoyed!

Bubble-tastic!

Tonight Imogen had bubbles in the bath. She's had them before and has enjoyed playing with them and laughing at Mummy with bubbles on her nose. But tonight as soon as she saw them she got very excited and uttered the fantastic word. Yes Bubble said "Bubble"! Over and over again!

Photos

Have changed the photo feed for the blog, so hopefully you should see the most recent photos at the top. If you want to see any older ones go to http://picasaweb.google.com/charlotte.pinney

Long awaited update

Once again we've been slack on blogging, so here's a bit of an update.

Since we went on the boat Imogen seems to have suddenly grown up. No longer does she need us to cuddle her to sleep - lovely as it means we have evenings back, but I do miss the cuddles! The other major thing is that she's no longer happy to sit in the push chair and just go for a ride - she'll sit for a bit, but then just wants to be out and walk. This is no bad thing - I'm all for making/letting kids walk, but it does mean that journeys take far longer than before as every leaf/flower/stone/bit of rubbish etc is just sooo interesting! Uncle Hugh bought her a wonderful little rucksack which she's quite happy to wear and means that, not only can I stop her running off after whatever is interesting, but also allows he to carry her own snack pot, drink & Mr Cow!

Healthwise, the snotty nose and viral rashes seem to have reduced in frequency (having said that she's not great at the moment!). We did have hand, foot & mout disease (no, not the same as what cows get!) which meant a week off nursery and not seeing a couple of friends for a bit who were concerned about little babies catching it. The blisters on her feet seemed to take ages to totally heal, and it did seem to have played havoc with her bowels.

She seems to really enjoy nursery. After the holiday and her illness we had a couple of week of her not being too sure about us leaving her, but that's all passed now. Sh'll quite happily gie me a kiss and a wave, then toddle off to play with whatever toy takes her fancy. I think she enjoys it all too much - there's so much going on that sleep is always a struggle there. We're lucky if she has more than an hour there and sometimes it's not even that (compared to 2+hrs at home) and she is always exhausted when she's home, which leads to tears and stress.

Her communication is improving all the time - she certainly makes it known what she wants. Her signing vocabulary grows all the time, and she'll often look at me waiting for the sign (shame I don't always know what the sign is!) and will try and sign new things after me doing it only once or twice. Nursery have said a few times about her using it there as well. I certainly think that it's helped us understand her, and reduces chances of frustration. And it certainly prooves that she understands a lot more than we'd have given her credit for. Her speaking is coming along as well. I'm still waiting for her to reliably say "Mummy", but there's plenty of other words. I'm not convinced other people would know what she's trying to say - either with signing or vocally - but we get along.

Holiday aboard Quintet

Last week we went away for a holiday on the boat. It was a lovely week, although you wouldn't exactly say relaxing!
We didn't get very far along the canal - it took us a week to travel as far as we would have got in an afternoon in the past. But that wasn't the aim of the holiday anyway - it was more about a change of scenery and escaping having to think about the boring things like bills!
During the day we spent plenty of time feeding the ducks and playing the in the park near the canal. Imogen and I also went swimming and to a soft play, while Dave and Buster enjoyed a few long walks. Dave and I also managed to have an evening out at the local pub, thanks to Mum & Dad babysitting.
Sleep was perhaps the most stressful part of the week - the boats not really set up with a safe place for a lively toddler to sleep. On a night she slept on a blow-up kiddie bed which we wedged in the corridor near the bathroom. During the day, naps were in a buggy squashed in front of the wardrobe! The first three nights were awful, with none of us getting a decent sleep - and we nearly gave up and came home - but things got better and she settled into sleeping through the nights, which made things easier.
There are a few more pictures here - feeding the ducks, wearing her life jacket (which, luckily, she was quite happy to keep on) and Buster, the captain!

Painting and drawing

Imogen seems to not have much interest in drawing and painting. She got an Aquadraw mat for her birthday, which she'll use for a few minutes, but that's about it. Try and get her to draw in birthday cards for people, and she'd rather eat the crayon. And painting's not much better. We've only had about 3 paintings from nursery and the last one came with a comment from the staff "I've never seen a child so uninterested in painting"!

Let's hope we can find some other creative outlet for her. I'd hate her to have nothing as she grows up - I think it's very important to have something to "escape" to.

How to...

...wash your face the Imogen way
1. Get Mummy to buy a flannel that has a character or face on it or, even better, one that's a puppet.
2. When Mummy wants me to have a wash, get her to hold the flannel so I can see the face, then put on a silly voice and say "Come on Imogen, give me a kiss!"
3. While the nice flannel is giving me lots of kisses, make sure Mummy is making silly sound effects.

...brush you teeth the Imogen way
1. Get Daddy to help. Mummy's useless!

More Imogen proofing required

Imogen's climbing has taken another step forward (no pun intended). This morning she was playing on the lounge floor while I was clearing the table after breakfast. I came back from the kitchen to find her sat on the sofa. Argh! All that stuff that was out of reach are no more - now very accessible and at risk! Help - where do we move it all to?

"I forgot to tell you..."

Or that's what Imogen seems to say to me some nights when I'm sitting with her while she goes to sleep. She'll be laid there, sucking her thumb, cuddling My Cow, all quiet and nearly sleep. Then suddenly she'll have a little manic phase - sit up, look at me, get all animated, chattering away and gesticulating - and then as suddenly as it started it's all over and she's laid quiet again. It's as if she suddenly remembers something about the day that she _has_ to tell me. Very cute and brings a smile to my face - I'd just love to know what she's trying to tell me about!

A little film

Here's a little film that we've created. Enjoy!

Baby encounters

Mad & Charlie came to visit today. It was good to see them, although I'm not sure Imogen would entirely agree!

Charlie's about 11 weeks old, and I reckon it must have been Imogen's first encounter with a baby a lot younger than her - especially in our house. She kept a close eye on her, looked puzzled when Charlie made "baby" noises (rather than the "toddler chat" that she makes) and seemed fascinated by breast-feeding (despite her still doing it, so she knows full well what it's all about!).

But I guess the most telling point came when I was left holding Charlie as Mad went off to get something. Imogen came over to me & Charlie and gave us a cuddle - all very nice - but then tried to move Charlie out of the way so she could get onto my knee as well/instead.

Still, she can't have disliked her that much - Imogen gave her a kiss as they were going - and they're not given out to just anyone!

No tears

There were no tears from Imogen when I dropped her off at nursery this morning. She was met at the gate by one of the staff and a couple of little friends and off she toddled to play. And that was it! I know that means she's happy at nursery and doesn't mind going, but it was a bit sad that she didn't even look back to say goodbye!

Hugs!

Yesterday at church there was another little girl, about 6 months older than Imogen. We hadn't seen the family before, but Imogen's a friendly kid and made them feel welcome - during one of the songs she walked up to Emily and, unprompted, put her arms round her to give her a big hug. Very cute!

No fear!

Sorry about the sideways video, but I keep forgetting to hold the camera "landscape".

Anyway, we've been to a soft play place today. We've been before and Imogen's always seemed to enjoy it, but today she was really having fun. No fear! Up and down the slides and ladders - yes, even up the slides and down the ladders. And when she realised that I was more scared than she was, she just giggled!

Wonky teeth

No, not individually wonky, just not growing in the "right" order. They started off growing in pairs - 4 at the top and 2 at the bottom. But the last couple have been a bit random. She now has 3 teeth at the bottom and 5 at the top - and the 5th on the top is not next to the other four, but further back in her mouth. We're at the dentist on Monday anyway, although I'm not quite sure how cooperative she's going to be with that!

Shoes

Imogen now has "proper" shoes. Her walking has suddenly taken off, and we decided she needed something to give more support and protection for outside. So, size 3,1/2 G little white buckle shoes have been bought. Yes, they're white, but ti was either that or pink, and pink doesn't always go with the green/brown/purple/red etc that she wears! They're actually pre-walker shoes, as the lady who measured her feet said that until she's really steady (and she's still fairly wobbly) having walker shoes could actually put her back a bit, as she wouldn't be able feel the ground properly etc.

Easter eggs

Imogen likes them! Just like her Mummy!
Creme eggs were handed out at church this morning, and Imogen just couldn't wait. She tried eating it without taking the foil off, so I thought it would be better to do away with the wrapper and let her have it properly. Yum, yum, yum!

Oops!

Imogen went splat! Out of the patio door and down onto the paving slab!
Tears were calmed with cuddles, but the scab on her nose remains!
I'm sure it won't be the last time.

Walking!

Imogen is now walking. It's all very unsteady, and only when she feels like it, but I'm sure that will change!

She's been cruising and walking holding hands for a while, but last Monday she took a few steps when I let go of her without her realising. Then, when she did realise, she wouldn't try again for a few days! Then over the weekend she decided it was worth another try and started walking between bits of furniture rather than going down on the floor and crawling. She needs lots of encouragment, but I'm sure practice will make perfect!

Birthday photos

Here's a link to photos from Imogen's birthday celebrations. Enjoy!

A whole year on!

Imogen is 1!

I can't believe that it's been a year - doesn't time fly when you're having fun!

We've had a lovely day celebrating - and it's been my first Mother's Day too, so an extra special day.

Because it's Mother's Day, I didn't want to have the stress of having to organise a party or get-together on her birthday - sorry, Imogen! - so we had a family get together last weekend instead. It was a nice day - some relatives for morning coffee and then more in a pub for lunch - and Imogen seemed to enjoy all the attention and new toys!

Today we had a fairly quiet day, just the three of us and Buster. We went to church this morning, taking her birthday cake to share with the church family. (BTW I was very proud of the ladybird cake I made!) Imogen grinned when everyone sang "Happy Birthday", and grabbed a piece of cake without much prompting! Then we headed off to Chatsworth for the afternoon, taking a picnic lunch to eat by the river - a bit chilly, but at least it wasn't raining! After a walk along the river bank with Buster, we then headed into the restaurant to enjoy yummy cakes. We all enjoyed the fresh air, and it was lovely to spend the whole day together without having to run around and do twenty zillion different things - we could just please ourselves!

Imogen has received lots of lovely cards and presents - thankyou to everyone. We bought her an activity cube, which she seems to love. I also did a bit of cross stitch on a ladybird soft toy for her. (The ladybird thing is because that was the first really hand sign she made, so it seemed like a good mini theme to have).

So, Imogen had a lovely day being the centre of attention at times, and I had a lovely day relaxing, as Mother's Day should be! Everyone's happy!

It wasn't a good day

First day of work. Rubbish. 9 very long hours of dullness.

Imogen did well at nursery - played happily for a lot of the time (with Mr Cow to keep her company), had a couple of naps and ate well. The trial yesterday hadn't gone well at all, which didn't help the gloom today, but I kept my phone calls down to 2, plus updates from Dave when he dropped her off and picked her up.

Shame about me :(

No more a full-time Mum :(

I'm back to pharmacy work on Tuesday. Not looking forward to it one little bit. In fact I'm dreading it. I'm only going back to pay the bills, and I'd much rather be at home with Imogen. I've - nay, we've - loved the last 11 months, but unfortunately the mortgage has to be paid. I keep telling myself it won't be for ever, but it doesn't really make it any easier.

I'm going to be working 2 days a week, with possibly occasional Saturdays if we're really stuck for cash. Unfortunately one of the days is having to be a 9 hour day for me (the second day I'm hoping to be able to manage by covering stores that have half-day closing, or where I'd be a second pharmacist so wouldn't have to be there all day) which is going to be a very long horrible day.

Imogen is going to this nursery. It's not in our village - the ones here weren't really suitable - but only just across the valley, and we'd rather travel to a nursery we are happy with. It is lovely with lots of outside space - and they go out every day, whatever the weather, and animals (including sheep & chickens!). The staff are lovely and everyone I've spoken to has good things to say about it.

Imogen went for a visit on Tuesday, with Dave and I going with her as well. She seemed fine with it all, and wasn't really fazed by the new people and environment - after just a few minutes she was happily playing at the other side of the room to me, and helped herself to plenty of food at snack time. She was due to go for a visit on her own on Thursday, but then woke up with conjunctivitis, so that got put off and she's now going on Monday, before she starts properly on Tuesday.

To be honest, I'm not too worried about her. There are some things that I think about - mainly sleep (she's not good at settling herself, and I worry that she'll be left to "cry it out") and discipline (more later, when/if she has "tantrums") - but I think a lot of it will be down to communication between us and the nursery staff.

It's more me that I'm worried about - not only am I having to leave Imogen, but I'm having to do it to go to a job that I don't enjoy at all.

Hand gestures/baby signing

I heard about this research on the radio, and it prompted me to blog about baby signing and hand gestures that Imogen's starting to use.

We got this book a few weeks ago. Imogen had started to know what she did and didn't want but was getting frustrated - as were we - that she couldn't tell us. A few friends have been to baby-signing classes, but there are just not enough days in the week for that, so we decided to just go for it without attending classes. The book is really good, explaining about the research and background behind the idea, and then going on to show you plenty of signs to get started, and how to make learning the signs fun.

We do now use plenty of signs in every day life - drink, nappy, change, finished, more, get dressed etc - as well as some more when were playing - different animals, train, book etc. We've also learned signs to go with different songs and nursery rhymes, although Dave can't quite do them "at speed" yet!

And it's already starting to show signs of success with Imogen. It's not totally clear yet, and not always appropriate either, but she's trying to use some signs such as "finished" and "change". She also does a fair amount of pointing which gets the message across too!

But the biggest - and most reliable - signing so far is from church. At Sunshine Hour - the local toddler service - we always do singing and the favourite among many of the kids is "The Ladybird Song", that involves some actions. And just in the last few days she's started doing the action for "ladybird" and "tree so tall". Sometimes, she'll look at you and do the ladybird action, then give a big grin when you start singing the song. We'll try and capture it on video, because it is so cute!

Our primary reason for starting the signing was to reduce frustration and encourage communication for us all, but if it helps to develop her vocabulary as well, then that's a bonus.

Fun in the snow!

Last weekend was SAGGA catch-up at Hesley. Dave was studying, so I took Imogen up there for a few hours to see people and say hi. Someone had thought a brought a couple of sledges, so I took Imogen out to enjoy the snow. Her waterproof all-in-one was a little tight over all the layers, but we still had fun!

She was quite happy sat in the snow, playing with it, but - as you can see in the photo - she wasn't too sure about sitting on the sledge on her own! When I sat on it with her and we whizzed down the icy slope that had been created, she giggled and laughed, which was great. I haven't been sledging for years, and I've forgotten how much fun it is, even on just a little slope!

She's changing all the time!

It's been far too long since I blogged about Imogen's development, but let's just say she changes all the time! Every day seems to bring something new, and it's great. We're really enjoying watching her antics and only this morning I remarked that she always cheers me up! (Well, not quite almost!)

She's crawling, climbing, standing and cruising. Basically, that translates as "into everything". Kitchen cupboards make great playgrounds, Buster's cage makes a good hiding place and everything that shouldn't be makes a good toy! One of her favurite things is going down on hands and feet, bum in the air and head down to the floor, waiting for you to tip her head over heals. (We've tried to video it, but we're still trying!) She's so fast, both physically and mentally - sometimes too fast!

She's just figuring out the shape sorter, although at the moment it's really limited to the circle. The stacking rings are now also being stacked rather than thrown across the room. Pouring water into the water wheel in the bath is fun too. Books are starting to appeal and she'll turn the pages to see what's next - books with things to touch and feel, or flaps are best.

Out and about everything is exciting for her. Walking along the road you can tell she's watching the cars etc, she'll smile and wave to anyone, and when we're walking Buster she laughs and giggles at him. The park is one of her favourite places and she loves the swings and slide.



We're still going for swimming lessons. We've had a bit of a struggle with it at time since Christmas - Little Miss Independent deciding she doesn't want to do certain things! - although the last couple of lessons have been a lot better. She holds onto the rail at the side of the pool keeping her head out of the water, she loves Bubba the surfboard, and is quite happy splashing in off the side especially if prompted by someone singing Humpty Dumpty.

Food-wise, there's no stopping her. We're not worried about her appetite (a Pizza Hut children's meal is yum!) and there's not much she won't eat. It's getting a lot tidier - not so much on the floor for Buster to clear up - and she's starting to try and use a spoon on her own now.

Imogen is - generally - a happy smiley little girl and laughs and giggles at anything. She's got a lovely caring side to her as well - just recently she's started giving lots of cuddles. She just comes up to me, puts her head on my knee or chest for a hug and then goes back to playing. If I'm holding her and Dave's nearby she leans over to give him a cuddle too. Very cute!

So I reckon we're about up to date not. Hopefully it won't be that long before the next update. Must try harder!

Routine HV review

The health visitor has just been to review Imogen's health and development. Imogen was asleep!

She (the HV) asked me questions about her motor skills (is she crawling, is she sitting, is she passing things from hand to hand?), her vision (can she see at distance as well as close up?), her vocalisation (is she babbling?), her general health (any recurrent problems?) and that was about it. I'd been to clinic recently so she didn't even weigh her.

And Imogen stayed asleep!

Snow!

Imogen was born on a snowy weekend, and today she got to see the white stuff properly. There was a bit before Christmas, but it's the real deal now.

It was white over this morning, so our morning walk with Buster was her first good look. And it didn't go too well. It wasn't snowing when we left and - and I know this might stupid - I sometimes forget how wet snow is, so I didn't put the rain cover on the pushchair. Imogen had the waterproof foot muff on, and I pulled the pushchair hood over her, but she didn't seem to like the snow on her face and cold hands didn't help - although that's her own fault for pulling the gloves off!

From inside the lounge she seemed fascinated by the snow falling and kept standing staring out of the balcony doors. So, after lunch, in a break in the snow fall we went out into the back garden with Buster. She did a lot of staring around, seemingly bemused by it all. I picked some up for her to have a feel of, but she didn't seem to like the chilliness of it! Buster enjoyed it though, although also seemed a little confused - and all the more so when I threw a snowball for him to chase and it disappeared when it landed!

I have seen kids being pulled around the village on sledges. Is Imogen too small for this? Would she stay sat on it? Would Buster try and get on it with her? And perhaps more crucially, will any shops have sledges left in stock?