Spring has sprung - I'm always amused here when the weather forecaster is so precise about exactly when winter clicks over to spring! This time is was at 5.07pm on Tuesday, when the vernal equinox hit Seattle ... not a minute before or after. I think I prefer the calendar-based system at home, here I almost feel I've been cheated of three weeks of spring already!

The Mustang is back to Dave's shop for more work - rehang the exhaust, patch the floorpans, install new leaf springs, plus some miscellaneous other things that Andy just doesn't have time to do on his own. The tow truck arrived on Tuesday morning, so Andy didn't have to wake the neighbours by driving it down the street on just the headers.

Isobel's third tooth also appeared on Wednesday - top left lateral incisor, according to her baby book. A little out of order, apparently the top middle teeth are supposed to come in first! Still only pretty mild symptoms, but she's been chewing on her thumb a little the last few days when she's tired - checking out that funny new sharp thing in her mouth!

Solid foods are progressing - tried the pureed apple again a couple of times and she wolfed it down! So she seems to be getting the hang of this swallowing thing. She scarfed down an entire little container over two nights, and most of it actually went down her throat - apart from what was smeared all over her face, bib, hands, feet, chair ... she likes having a bit of control, so she often tries to grab the spoon from me - usually a bit too close to the end, so her fingers end up in the contents and then proceed to distribute it to everywhere else.

Much-anticipated opening of the new COBS bakery at Crossroads - a Canadian offshoot of Baker's Delight, and this is their first US store. The decor is all the same, so it looks very familiar and homey! We popped in on Tuesday after getting the Mustang sorted (Andy had taken the day off work), and we were tagged as Aussies before even entering the store - seems the staff were playing a game on their first day! The girl behind the counter had one question for us, "Microsoft or Boeing?" ... apparently they'd had lots of Aussies pop in to visit for their opening. I think they'll know us all before long. Still seemed a bit strange to be talking to Aussies behind the counter, ordering Farmer's loaves and proper bread rolls, in a real bakery ... but paying in US dollars!! It was great to get some real bread again - we're the closest ones to the store, so Andy's already been asked by a few folks at work if he'll take delivery requests for those living over in Seattle and Queen Anne!

Isobel hasn't quite got the knack of crawling yet - she's now regularly up on all fours, but hasn't progressed past rocking backwards and forwards ... before collapsing on her stomach again. She also loves being held up in the air over our heads, which makes her giggle like mad and flash her little teeth at us.

Andy departed again for Adelaide on Friday, for two weeks this time. Very frustrating for him to have to shuttle back and forth to crack the whip, it'd be nice if it wasn't necessary but apparently he has to be there to mediate and clarify. At least he didn't have to travel too much last year when Isobel was younger - we're both a bit more independant now, but Andy's worried he'll miss Isobel crawling. I'm under instruction to have a camera ready to go so I can email photos or a quick video.

The netball season kicked off on Saturday - and in typical Seattle fashion it rained the entire game. I think the weather discouraged lots of people from showing up, so I ended up subbing in for one of the competition sides instead of the 'social' team! Mel and Beth were kind enough to keep Isobel amused while I was out on the court getting drenched, she was very well behaved and only started getting grumpy towards the end of the last quarter. By then she'd been up for about three hours, so it was well past her naptime anyway. She also seems to be teething again, so I had to finally crack open the tylenol this time to dull the ache enough for her to drop off to sleep.

With Andy gone, I'm spending most of my spare time doing spring cleaning for our next house inspection on Tuesday afternoon. It's mostly done, I just have to do a bit of dusting and stash some purchases up in the attich until our return removal. The back yard is still rather windswept after the December storms, I think we'll end up hiring someone to maintain the yards for us with Andy travelling so much now... at least we'll only have one more inspection to go after that one!