Saturday, November 26, 2011

'Gamma and Gamma' come to visit

Last time Pam and Keith Robinson saw Nina in the flesh, she was just six months old, while Pascal wasn't even a twinkle in his daddy's eye.
So there was plenty of catching up to do when they visited this time, and all parties made the most of it!
We've had a lovely nearly-four weeks with Pam and Keith staying at Casa Noginson, spoiling Nina and Pascal to within an inch of their lives, and generally making themselves incredibly useful around the house by tackling all those jobs that Phil and I just can't seem to find time to do. The bathroom has finally had the finishing paint touches put on, the lounge room has been repainted, the garden is looking better than ever, and now that they've departed back to the UK, we face the unwelcome prospect of doing the washing up ourselves for the first time in weeks.
Nina loved having her 'gamma and gamma' around, and had them jumping through all sorts of hoops. I'm not sure Keith's legs will ever be the same after running up and down a strip of bubble wrap for Nina's amusement ("Again, Grandad! Again!).
And Pascal was never short of someone to cuddle or feed him, so he was happy as a pig in mud.

Don't get between Pascal and a sandwich

megalong valley picnic by nospuds
megalong valley picnic, a photo by nospuds on Flickr.

Some of you may recall that we went through all sorts of grief over Nina's weight, or lack of it, when she was younger. She was always just hanging on to the bottom of the so-called 'healthy weight curve', barely eating enough to keep a sparrow alive yet somehow still having the energy to run rings around us on an hourly basis.
We don't have that problem with Pascal. In fact, Pascal is never happier than when seated in his high chair or on the floor with some kind of food in his hand. Sandwiches, bread crusts, fruit, cheese, vegetables, rice cakes, egg ... it all goes down without touching the sides, with great lip-smackings of approval.
Despite this consumption (which is currently about twice the volume that Nina consumes, and she's 3 times his age), he's right on average weight. Go figure. He does have those gorgeous little rolls of chub on his legs though, which I just adore.
Meanwhile, Nina still barely eats enough to fill a sparrow but still has the energy of a roomful of grasshoppers.