A grandson!

A strained wrist has kept me off the keyboard but the birth of Benjamin Patrick James two hours ago has made everything else pale into insignificance.

More news and photos to follow, in the meantime, here are a few pictures from Millie's birthday. She doesn't yet know that she has a baby brother and I won't be waking her to tell her tonight!

Millie helps Grandma decorate the cakes for her party

Some of the presents

Thank you for all the kind messages. I will be here for another week and then back home, where I'll be able to catch up with everyone.

Off again

I will be taking the train to Bristol Temple Meads tomorrow. It is a splendid station, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and opened in 1840. I am going to spend a few days with my son and his wife and I will even get to do a bit of babysitting. I'll report back on what mischief Charlotte and I got up to when I get back.

Beside the seaside

We had some really good weather while baby Charlotte was visiting, so we introduced her to the seaside.

Day 1. Basic vocabulary

 sand

  puddles

 surf

"And that," said Mummy and Daddy, "is the sea."

Charlotte made such good progress in her lesson at Croyde Bay that next day we ventured a little further:

Day 2. Advanced concepts

great tourist attraction

 great seaside tradition

great seaside nuisance

On her next visit, Charlotte will learn about boats and angling and later on we'll tackle farming and wildlife in the region.

(Charlotte's photos appear on her own blog. My son is happy to send invitations to any of my online friends to view them - just send me an email address to monix123@gmail.com)

Gone fishing

That isn't really true but it sounds a bit more acceptable than busy drooling! Mr and Mrs Brit and Baby Charlotte Emily are coming to stay for a few days. I have finished the baking and prepared as many meals as I can so that I will have lots of time to spend admiring the baby. I like being a grandma!

Knitted shoes

The mystery picture on the previous post was quickly identified by Rattling On as shoes.

I used a Debbie Bliss pattern but wasn't able to get hold of the correct yarn and the shoes will probably fit Millie next year! However, not to be defeated, I started again with  smaller size needles (pins) and Millie will be getting a parcel from grandma with two pairs of garter stitch shoes, plus the sweater and scarf.

REMINDER
I will be making the draw for A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts tomorrow. If you would like to enter then leave a comment (enter me, please, will do) on this post or on the original. Good luck.

Boasting

A friend just came by with a little gift to help me to show off my granddaughters properly.

I'm going to be busy for the next few days, cutting pictures down to size. Then I will always be prepared for boasting!

A corsage for Charlotte

My lovely blogging friend Karin, whose posts on One Perfect Little Miracle keep inspiring me to try my hand at different crafts, sent me some very pretty pink yarn. Having translated all the information into English equivalents, I found just the right pattern to make a little cardigan for baby Charlotte.

It was a challenge because the trim is crocheted and I have never tried that. I sat with one eye on the Rowan knitting pattern book and the other on a crochet instruction book. After a great deal of unpicking and starting again, I achieved an acceptable, though not perfect, result. Charlotte won't mind and I hope she likes the corsage, which was great fun to make. I have made it to fit when she is 6 to 12 months old, so she will probably enjoy pulling the corsage to pieces!

Butterflies and flowers

I've made another little quilt for baby Charlotte Emily. The butterflies and flowers are made from bits from my scrap bag, a great way to use really nice pieces left over from larger projects.  I thought the garden, on this rare sunny morning, was the right setting for the photograph.

I recently discovered a quilting supply shop in a nearby town that stocks fabulous fabrics from Cranston Village, the backing for the quilt is a piece of their Beatrix Potter fabric.

In-car entertainment

What do you do on a long car journey when you are 17 months old? Well, you totally ignore toys and books that Grandma thought would entertain you and who wants to look out the window for cows all the way to Devon?Toes are much more interesting.

This looks quite promising, too.

Always read the label carefully.

What can be better than a bottle of water? Two bottles of water!

You can play lots of balancing games with them.

And when that gets boring, you can take over the driver's seat.

Out you get, we've arrived.

Ten days of Millie fun coming up!

One week old

Here she is ... one week old today, gorgeous from head to toe and adored by all!
Just back from a few days of doting on this lovely little one. I was rather surprised the first time I witnessed the modern method of burping baby and I'm not sure that Charlotte Emily was terribly impressed. But it works amazingly well!

Ready for grandparents to admire.

Little Miss Brit

Charlotte Emily was born late last night. It has been a long wait but all is well.

I ordered this basket of flowers for our lovely daughter-in-law via Interflora. However, I had a very kind and courteous call from them this morning to say that the hospital does not accept flowers. I could turn that into another Meldrew Moment but that would spoil the day, so I've asked them to deliver the flowers when Mummy and Baby are home. We will be spending next week in Bristol, being Very Proud Grandparents. Back soon.

Daddy has posted a picture here.

Still waiting!

Thank you for all your enquiries. We are still waiting for Baby Brit to put in his/her appearance. The latest news is that "something should happen this evening." Watch this space!

A fishy quilt

Baby Brit will have to put in an appearance before midnight in order to give credence to the new exact science of calculating "due date". Maternity specialists haven't yet realised that babies can't read the manuals and have a tendency to choose their own moment to arrive. We are all on tenterhooks, jumping every time the phone rings but I dare say Mr and Mrs Brit are taking it all in their stride.
When my son sent me photos of the nursery he has prepared with its underwater theme, I remembered that I had some bits of Debbie Mumm "Beneath the Sea" fabric so I have spent the last 48 hours working on this little quilt. I have never worked so quickly on anything! Ready to greet you now, Baby, so don't keep us waiting too long.

Nappy stacker

I somehow can't imagine Baby Brit having a diaper stacker, so I've given an English name to this useful item from The Quilted Nursery. It was fun to make. If you can think of a better name than nappy stacker, do tell me.

What busy babies do

Thanks to erp for sending me the link to this. I wonder if Millie is a roller babe yet?

A bag to put it in

As Christmas or birthdays approached and we children started to list all the things we would like to have, my mother would put a stop to our greediness with, "Oh yes, and a bag to put it in."

My son and daughter-in-law were not at all greedy when choosing something from The Quilted Nursery, so when I finished the quilt they wanted, I made them a bag to put it in.

Another baby, another quilt

I have just put the last stitch into this quilt for the expected addition to the family. In good quilting tradition, I have made a number of mistakes. I love that tradition as it means I can pretend they were deliberate mistakes.

Recent distractions

I have been in London for a few days, enjoying the company of my delightful granddaughter. As you can see, even a picnic in the garden can be an occasion for high drama."Okay, Grandma, you can have some pictures for your blog."

Then, caught red-handed picking out the favourite bits, it is.......... "Get that camera out of here!"

Just before leaving for London, I noticed a lot of activity in the garden: two pairs of young blackbirds started building nests inside the garage. After zooming around to collect twigs, they started to look for softer materials for the linings. Click on the pictures for a better view.
Eventually, this one noticed some string on the wall beside him.

While he was putting that into the nest, we cut up lots more string and the birds kept us busy for an hour.
They didn't mind our presence at all, just as long as we kept on cutting up bits of string.

They are sitting on the eggs at present but I'm hoping to get some pictures of the stringy nests when they have finished.

Amelia in Devon

As predicted, it has been an action-packed week with Amelia (Millie) and I have had no time to post anything here. I took a few photos but most of the adventures went unrecorded because I was too busy trying to keep up with the little rascal to even think of the camera. Here, though, are a few highlights from the week:

On Wednesday, we joined hundreds of villagers who lined the streets to welcome the Commando Regiment home back from Afghanistan. Millie waved her flag as the soldiers marched by
Thursday was sunny but chilly so we had the beach all to ourselves. Millie had never experienced so much freedom.......


... but, as usual, someone had to spoil the fun and call her back.Lunch at one of those places the grandparents usually avoid - you know the sort of place with 'Children Welcome' on the door!

Grandma managed to hold the camera but Grumpy was lying in an exhausted heap on the floor at this stage. Have I mentioned that Millie has only two speeds: flat-out-fast or flat-out-asleep?
After church on Easter Sunday, wearing a pretty dress....
.... and full of the wonder of discovery.
She went home today and the house is tidy and silent and oh, so dull and empty.