A Break

They had a last-minute cancellation at Quidenham on Friday. So we took Maggie there that evening. We're picking her up tomorrow (Monday) morning.

We haven't done anything too wonderful in her absence. Shannon had her hair cut on Saturday. Alice and I met her later in town and we all pottered about. We watched a bit of crap telly last night, got a little drunk and awoke at a more leisurely time this morning.

This afternoon, however, we took Alice swimming for the first time. And, as predicted, she loved it.

It's possible that we don't mention enough how wonderful - and wonderfully easy - Alice is. It's not just that she's in bed by 7.30pm and awake at around 8.30 the following morning. It's that when she's awake she's the most easygoing baby. She's very bright, very happy and an absolute joy to be with.

If we just had Alice we'd be the envy of parents everywhere. Our lives would be incredibly easy.

But the strange thing - and actually, maybe it's not that strange - is that we really miss Maggie. Even though she's a massive pain in the arse, and even though almost everything about her is difficult, we really wouldn't want to be without her.