Smelly cat

Neko has a new favourite spot to sit in on these sunny days - the communal garden compost bin. It's certainly warm and comfy because of all the rotting garden/kitchen waste, but it's also stinking! She's really weird.

Bliss

A very kind person who had a colicky baby has donated us a new piece of furniture for Hannah - a battery operated swinging seat. It is fantastic! As well as swinging back and forth at varying speeds, it has the option of silence, birdsong, soothing waves or a really terrible version of "Rock a bye baby". I like the waves personally, and Hannah appears to as well!!

Perfect peace

The seat has meant that I've been able to get breakfast or lunch without having to carry Hannah with me and do everything one-handed. It even soothes her off to sleep, meaning I can watch awesome films like New Moon (pictured!) while Colin is out the house. He doesn't want to watch it for some reason...

Hannah changes...

I have seen a massive difference in Hannah in the past couple of weeks - She is far more alert and interested in the world, and has been slightly calmer too! I don't want to get too excited about this, as she still has days when is SO upset at nothing, but on the whole she is much more pleasant to have around!

We have been out and about visiting lots of people, and have been up and down to Hartlepool to see Grannie and Grandad Robertson a couple of times. It has been lovely to get a bit of help with her while Colin is on call at the weekends.

Hannah gets to congratulate Uncle Andrew on passing his exam

She joins Grannie in some sunbathing

Discussing gaming strategies with Uncle David

In order to try and get Hannah's attention, I found a couple of toys off Amazon which are meant to be stimulating for young babies - and I think they are brilliant! They are so brightly coloured and noisy to touch, it's no wonder the babies love them.

The two toys are called Captain Calamari and Jacques the Peacock - Captain Calamari is massive (he's an pirate octopus in case you were wondering!), but Jacques is handbag sized, and perfect for entertaining Hannah when we're out and about.

Meet Jacques

Conversing with Jacques while we have a coffee on daddy's birthday

And the best thing about Hannah's new found love of the world, is the smiles and squeals she's now producing! It's great!

Cheeese!

Vroom

We have finally bought a car! We've done well up to now to remain reliant on bikes and public transport (and the kindness of parents who lend us cars!) but now Hannah is here we've been finding travelling slightly more challenging. I have felt there was also the potential for me to feel slightly isolated and trapped as it's not so easy to get out and about if you have to have a pram in tow!

Anyway, check out our beautiful new baby!

It's a Seat Leon 2.0 TDS. I think. I can definitely tell you that it's black, shiny and when you turn on the windscreen wipers, they come down from the side rather than up from the bottom! It's rather cool!

So if you live within driving distance of us - expect a visit soon!!