We're halfway through Andy's trip back to Australia, and were lucky enough to have a few events to attend during the week.

On Sunday we were invited to Denise's "Kiddie Shower" in Seattle, a proper High Tea at a nice little English-style tea house. We had the whole room booked out, and Isobel and I sat with Sandra, Alison & Ashleigh, and Kir. Ashleigh was very pleased to have the baby on her table! I had a really nice black tea with a bit of caramel in it, but probably destroyed it by adding milk and sugar .

First course was three little scoops of sorbet - and at this point I realised I would not survive having a baby on my lap if I didn't share. Isobel seemed to like the pina colada/pineapple flavour, but was more interested in chewing on the silver teaspoon! Next was little sandwiches and sweets on tiered plates. There was also some sliced fruit, so I found a bit of apple and gave it to Isobel, and she loved it! Grabbed it out of my hands and seemed much more pleased and started munching away - not actually eating, just a bit of gnawing andslobbering until it started to disintegrate . The slices were pretty thin, so I had to keep an eye on her to make sure the slice was still relatively intact - or swap the pieces out for a new slice. Must be that control factor again ... she was quite happy once she could hold her own food!

Latte was at Tina's house this time, I had thought about getting some hot cross buns from the bakery but ran out of time. Not to worry - seemed like everyone else had popped in as well, so we had lots of yummy bread and nibblies to go with some fantastic coffee. I had to leave a little early to make it home for the six-monthly house inspection, only had a four-hour window to work with  so it was difficult to predict when the agent would arrive. Murphy's Law struck again - halfway through Isobel's feed before putting her down for a nap, the doorbell rang . At least the inspections here are pretty cursory - he noted the fence panel was still damaged from last December's storms, but said they had to get permission to cut down the offending tree as the land on the other side was owned by the City. Somehow I don't think the City would notice if suddenly one of the trees wasn't there ... but we've done our bit by notifying the agents - now it's their turn.

The Durango had some repair work done on Wednesday - we were able to get a shuttle home so I didn't have to spend a day in the waiting room. We thought it was in pretty good nick for it's age, until I got a call that we needed a new radiator, and three freeze plugs needed to be replaced. Oh, and one of the freeze plugs was in such a position that the engine had to be pulled out completed to gain access . Sigh. At least we only have two black holes masquerading as vehicles now . Oh for our old Renault service centre that offered courtesy cars rather than having to rely on a shuttle van ...

Finally, the big news this week - Isobel has finally figured out how to crawl. A little unsteady to start with - eyes wide open, lots of huffing and puffing, and then flumping down on her belly once she's in reach of her toy. She's not darting all over the room just yet, and she still manages to back herself under the coffee table and get stuck. Even more concerning, she's now starting to pull her torso up on the couch  ... good grief, can we have a couple of weeks before walking, please?!