A Vat of Pandas!

We went to Ikea in December, as we were borrowing Yaya's car... and we laid your little sister in a VAT OF PANDAS!

Oh yeah, and we got a teddy called Bjorn.  Partly because Daddy liked him so much, and partly because after Minnie had cuddled him for about 10 minutes, he was covered in her snottles.

Road Trip - Penny's Top Ten

At the end of the 2,700-mile road trip, in Vancouver, everybody shared their top ten moments from the trip.

You had your own top ten too!

10. Seeing lots of dogs (or, as you call them, gogs)

9. Wearing your bear suit

8. Playing in the playgrounds, especially the swings (and on the hammock we bought in Vancouver!)

7. Wearing hats ('ats, in Penny-speak)

6. Destroying tourist maps

5. Dancing to cowboy music

4. Learning people's names (to uncle Andrew's frustration, you found Alex's name much more fun to say)

3. Saying No

2. Tyson the Bison the Bear (so named because we wanted to buy you a plushy bison, but you favoured a little brown bear so we got you that instead)

1. Pressing people's cheeks to make raspberry noises

All in all, you had a great time! Despite your annoying parents trying to make you pose for silly photos...

Road Trip - Yellowstone

Your bear, Cornthwaite, came with us on the trip. And you were dressed as a bear too!

Here's you in front of the Old Faithful geyser just before it erupted.

Many Meetings

Last week we visited Gramps and Marion on their gorgeous canal boat Many Meetings.

We went from Paddington Station.

You had fun running up and down the train.

Great uncle Chris and great aunt Gay were there too.

You enjoyed being on the boat, although you didn't much like going down into the locks.

And we visited Crofton Pumping Station while it was in steam.

You had a ball!

Until you tired yourself out...

...and it was time to go home.

Treasure Hunt

It took a few months before your mum fell pregnant with you. During that time we were keeping our intentions top secret, using the codename Project Windmill whenever we were talking about trying to have a baby.

So we were very excited when the good news finally came (in the form of a stripe on a pee stick).

I wanted to celebrate the news, so I made your mum a secret treasure hunt. When she got back from work, I called her from the pub and asked her to look in the fireplace.

She found a ribbon there, and followed it all around the room, and out the window, across the front of the house and back in through the front door. At the end of the ribbon was a web address: http://bit.ly/emmaplusone.

At that address was a presentation of lots of joyous quotes about pregnancy - one of which contained a microdot. The microdot directed your mum to look inside a particular book on our shelves.

The book had been hollowed out, and contained a memory stick. On the memory stick were these seven photos:

Salvator's trail revealed a musical sequence, which converted to letters, which converted to numbers, which converted to coordinates, which pinpointed a tree outside our flat. (I'm very proud of your mum for finding it - it wasn't easy!)

On the tree was another memory stick, which contained a poem:

*

Emma is Egnant and Preggers with Plus One

Embly is Carrying Daughter or Plus Son

Gravid, parturient, fecund, expecting

Eating for Two and Tummy Projecting

Fertile, With Child, happy and fat

Emma is carrying Substitute Cat

Exciting! Exciting! Nerves and joy fill our minds

And distract our attention at improper times

SerenPenelopeCamScarletDipity

ByronChristanielDeanCalvinJiminy

What shall we name him, who shall she be?

Will you be pregnant again when she’s three?

Where will we live? Vermont? Guildford? Brixton?

Will you work for Fair Trade? Will I sell all my scripts on?

Will she grow to be pretty? Will we care for him well?

Will the pregnancy work? Will the labour be hell?

One thing at a time, nine months to go yet

Before you give birth to Human Pet

(Who’ll grow up on Simpsons and comedy shows

And crocheting, board games, calligraphy, Go)

First you must solve this treasure hunt clue

That your boyfriend slash husband created for you

As a ^symbol his lovinj will never run short

And a ^sign that he offers bOUNDLESS sUPPORT

You’ve done well so far to have followed the trail

Of ribbons and websites and Salvator’s tale

{A square like a capital E, and inside

A circle – the womb where our child will reside}

The next clue location’s despicably clever

Lucky that Mummy’s as brainy as ever

On t’Interweb, find that most modern of media

Something dot org, an online-opedia

Look up the word that’s been causing you glee

Starts with a P, means the words on line three

Now here’s the cunning part; to solve the mystery

Click on the tab at the top called View History

There’s a list of revisions way back through time

Check out August 3^rd  at eleven oh-nine

Blastocyst bedded, on with the show

Bun in the oven, Proj Windmill is go!

*

You can follow the next clue yourself! That led to a puzzle, which in turn led to a final clue.

The treasure at the end was a star, engraved. And, of course, you.

Barnard

Your mum and I joked about getting you a bear that was bigger than you. One day I got home from work and saw you sitting in the lap of this wonderful giant.

We named him Barnard because your mum got him from Barnardo's for £4.99. What a bargain. Or, should I say, beargain. (Groan.)

Cornthwaite

Your Yaya gave your mum an unusual gift at her hen party before we got married. Two Build-a-Bears.

Thus, a couple of months later, Salvator and Cornthwaite were born, named after our great-grandparents (your great-great grandparents!).

We made the bears for our children-to-be, and we gave them a heart of gold. Literally. Each one contains an Edward VII sovereign.

They have very different characters. Salvator is adventurous, takes risks, and loves to travel. Cornthwaite is sleepy and smiley and likes to stay at home.

Cornthwaite is your bear. Salvator is still his own bear, but he's looking forward to meeting his soulmate one day soon.

Tigger Suit

Before you existed, whenever your mum thought of having a baby, she thought of having a baby in a Tigger suit.

One day, we received a Pooh bear in the mail. The postmark was from Austin, Texas where uncle David lives, so naturally we though it was from him. It wasn't.

We know someone else who lives in Austin, a lovely friend of ours called Keller. She must have sent it!

Nope.

The origin of the Pooh bear remained a mystery for a while. And then we got a message from cousin Ray-J (he's the one that's soooo tall his head brushes the clouds - or more often smacks against the lintel). He's the one that gave you the Pooh bear! What a sweet gift!

And guess what? A few days later you got another package from Austin. Keller couldn't bear for Pooh to be alone...

Thank you Ray-J, and thank you Keller!