Friday = Isabella Day (56)

Isabella is now three years old. This means that her car seat can be set up for her to face forwards, so she can see what the driver can see. She can also see the sunroof, and duly demands that it remain open. No problem on a warm day like this.

Once at Timperley, there were cards to open and a Duplo toy to unwrap. It was a good choice of present as she quickly assembled it and kept coming back to it in order to quell the imagined flames that seemed to afflict her various other toys, as well as having to rescue the cat that was firmly stuck at the top of a tree.

The ingredients for a birthday cake were mixed and ovened, and a felt butterfly was worked on while the mixture cooked and cooled. The backing to the little pieces of felt is small bits of paper from which a snowstorm can be enjoyed. And it was!

The Brio trains, both in Timperley and more extensively in Didsbury, are the most brilliant of toys. They keep Isabella entertained for hours on end in all sorts of different set-ups..

The cake soon cooled, and we found some candles for Isabella to blow out.

Before we knew it, lunchtime was upon us.

Then a bit of Jake and the Never Land Pirates sent the little girl away into dreamland for an hour or so. I wonder what three year olds dream about?

 After her nap, a visit to nearby Newton Park, where we were the sole visitors on a sunny afternoon. There was much running.

Teddy was taken for a walk, a favourite activity now that Isabella is tall enough to drive the pushchair without any help.

Apparently Teddy loves going down the slide.

We went across to the river, Baguley Brook, where the ground is almost covered in conkers. In my day these would have been harvested by the children at the adjoining junior school.

Back at home, it was dinner time. A spoilt child enjoyed a birthday treat. Her meal took on a strange order of courses, starting with apple crumble and ice cream, and followed by (after a refusal to be allowed more of the same) a main course of sausages, roast vegetables, beans and peas. Yummy!

Then, before going home, it was back to the Duplo fire engine and the Duplo house that her dad used to play with.

Another lovely day with a happy little girl.