Manchester

K: Once we were back from Somerset there was time for a quick breather, and then it was off to Manchester. As far as I was concerned this meant some long sleeps in the car (which I seem to be quite ok about) and some more admirers (which I am very positive about). There were also some interesting trips. We went shopping, and we went to Chester Zoo, both of which I seemed to like. I am definitely interested in variety and get a bit tetchy if there's too much of the same thing.

I am becoming a very smiley and conversational small person. I do a lot of grinning if you smile at me, or wriggle me about, and I like having very long conversations, especially if you copy what I say (Ah-ghhhzzz. Ah-boo! Ahggghh. Ghur ghur ghur. Ah! Ah! Cackle.) I enjoyed Granny Jenny and Colin and James very much indeed.

The parents insisted on persisting with this bottle thing while we were in Manchester, despite me making my feelings on the subject very clear indeed. I got to the stage where I would shout my head off at the sight of the bottle, and indeed was beginning to cry at the sight of Daddy. That's what broke them. They seem to have decided to give it a bit of a rest since then.

In other news, I quite like being on my front, and can get my head some way off the floor now, which makes it more enjoyable. I like to push vigorously with my increasingly fat legs and sometimes this results in very small amounts of progress across the floor, about which I get unreasonably excited. I can also Hold Things. This takes a lot of concentration but is very pleasing, and makes life much more interesting. Sometimes the things go 'jingle' or 'rattle', and that is good too.

F: I had a brilliant time with Granny Jenny and Colin and James in Manchester. I especially liked the zoo. We saw a teeny tiny baby elephant and we saw chimpanzees and one of them was two, JUST LIKE ME! That was very exciting.

There was a very good playground where I could be a monkey myself, with help from Colin.

I liked the snakes as well, and lions, and the butterflies - I spent ages in the butterfly house. We had delicious lunch with CHIPS and then we saw the penguins.

Then I made a very half-hearted attempt to nap in my pushchair (mainly involving turning around and sticking my bottom in the air) and then we saw rhinos and meerkats and more elephants, and I made Colin read out every single label on the elephant enclosure. Granny Jenny bought me my very own meerkat in the shop and I was thrilled.

After the zoo Daddy and I were quite tired.

On Sunday we went to the Museum where they have a Tyrannosaurus Rex and lots of other things. There was a Monitor lizard and he was my friend. Daddy and Granny and Colin and Mummy kept trying to get me to look at other things but I just wanted to stay with my friend. He was very nice. There was a big boy who told me all sorts of somewhat suspect facts about monitor lizards (they can eat a lion, you know) and I looked at him with big serious eyes and took it all in.

Later I made mince pies with Granny Jenny and Colin, which was a lot of fun. I was a little unconventionally dressed for cooking, but I resisted efforts to introduce unnecessary encumbrances like trousers. Afterwards I ate mince pies with great enjoyment, saying "I like mince pies - oh yes".

 On Monday morning we went to the amazing soft play place and I climbed and swung and slid for ages. Then James came and I had a very nice time with him too. I am very much into lining things up at the moment, so we did quite a lot of that.

We also went to Chorlton Water Park to feed the ducks and geese. There were a lot of them there and they waddled after me. Geese still make me look rather small. I enjoyed making speeches to the ducks, and swinging on the swings.

I continue to enjoy independent time without my parents more and more. Quite often now they get sent away if they try to interfere with my private Granny-time - for example, while Granny and I are wrapping and unwrapping ducks in the bath and talking about how they are birthday presents.