Bank holiday sunshine...!

A bank holiday Monday spent at home, enjoying the sunshine. What could be better?

Luca was with us today, as Josh and Ruth had to be at work (and took Eben with them to the farm, where he loves helping with  practical tasks).
This was easy grandparenting: an amble across the road to the park, a bit of spontaneous chat and shared playtime with another family there, lunch, a nap, more time outside in the garden... Luca loves watering plants with a couple of tiny, toddler-sized watering cans. 

He had two big things on the go today, really. One was eating: he must have been up early, as he devoured whatever food we put in front of him. The second was chat. He's beginning to combine words, and loves trying it all out: 'plane... gone', when we'd watched one fly overhead, far above; 'shoes on!!' as a cue to get ready to go outside; 'teddy - drink!'.   He's also echoing and practising any new words that we come up with.  The most ambitious attempts today were 'vegetables' and 'helicopter' (one flew overhead, probably the air ambulance).  He gets the overall shape, gives it a go, refines it and tries again. It's an aspect of quiet times with him that I really love.

So today's blip doesn't feature an image of Luca, as there weren't easy opportunities for that. Once Ruth had picked him up, I had a quiet 5 minutes in the garden, watching bees and looking at these aquilegias, among other blooms.

A good, busy day. All the while, the Covid-related headlines have hovered on the edge of my awareness. The words 'exponential growth' stick in my mind.  I hope that the increasingly strident pleas for caution, from scientists, will be heard; but I don't feel optimistic about that.