Friday 28th October - The Homecoming.

Natasha and new baby Toby are in hospital but will be home later today. Will went off with the car rather than his Ute today so he can bring them home. Di and I spent the day keeping house and looking after Ollie. We took him down to the park in the morning and watched him play in the sand. I found a flock of mixed corellas (little and long billed) who were very obliging and allowed me to film them feeding on the grassy bank at the edge of the playground. Back home whilst Ollie had his mid day nap, I hooked up the camera to the TV to watch the corellas in action. These cameras are brilliant! The pictures are so vivid, so sharp. Later I showed Ollie but he was much more interested in seeing himself on the swings and the climbing frame. After lunch we had a call from Natasha to say she would be home at around 4.00pm. We cleaned up thoroughly making sure everything was clean and tidy for the homecoming of Toby James. With five minutes to go, a nappyless Ollie decided to wee all over the little armchair he uses and all over the floor of the living room. I had to take the chair out to the garden, hose it down and hang it up to dry whilst Di mopped te floor. In the midst of all this activity, the Subaru pulled into the drive and I had to dash for the camera so I didn't miss the homecoming shot.

I managed it ok and we cooed over our new arrival before I went into the garden to finish the job. Then we prepared dinner together and as it drew near, we popped the cork on a special bottle of French champagne we'd brought from Europe with us. The baby's head was duly wetted before we sat down to a steak meal with jacket potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob and broccoli, all washed down with a nice Australian merlot. Natasha retired early, understandably but actually did reappear later to sit and chat with us while we watched Grand Designs and a Relocation programme. Toby was wide awake and it was lovely to get the chance to sit with him and get to know our new grandson.