Frog Spawn, Front Teeth and Fingers...

Ella, Tom and I have just returned from a visit to Nanna and Bampa. It's our first visit since Tom was born, so we had lots of people to see.

We also spent lots of time at the nature area outside N&B's house. We found frog spawn in the dipping pond, so we kept some in a jam jar for a couple of days to monitor their progress. They were just about to reach the tadpole stage when we came home.

Ella got to spend time with Melissa - they played hide-and-seek, went for walks and generally mucked about together.

We took the train back to Paddington on Sunday and met Karl and my friend Treez. Treez, Tom and I went for lunch, while Karl and Ella went to the rather fantastic children's park in Kensington. Ella spent all afternoon looking for the Pilot's ship. When Karl pointed out the enormous wooden ship in the middle of the park, she said "No, that's the pirate's ship". I don't think he had the heart to explain...

Karl had stayed at home to do some painting and finished Ella's room by the time we came home on Sunday. After careful consideration, she declared her new room to be "excellent".

Tom is in fine form. He now has two front teeth and a few more on the way. He will be six months old on Thursday and the plan is to celebrate with a banana, followed by a visit to Imogen and Cameron's house.

The reference to fingers in the title relates to the Viennesse Fingers that Nanna knitted for Ella's pretend fruit and veg shop. After a number of bizarre comments, it seems that Ella thinks "Vienny" is a person, and we've been selling her fingers in our shop (Vienny's fingers)... Probably accounts for the spate of night terrors she had after Christmas..