And then there were four

After a month of unpacking boxes, starting jobs and generally finding out where stuff is, we were were just in time for our little son to arrive - two days early, as it turns out (he clearly doesn't take after either of us). After reluctantly agreeing to forgo the lovely Chinese take-away that Dan had had bought for him, we sped an hour up the road to Belfast, and discovered we were only just in time for action stations. Dan bravely sat on a chair and fetched cups of water while Marie-Claire did the easy bit for four hours. At 2.34am on Saturday, our little man arrived safe and sound.

All is well with Mum and baby, apart from the lack of a name for the latter. However, progress has been made in that we've tried out a name for him over the past 24 hours and it seems to 'fit'. Meabh wasn't initially super-impressed with her new little brother, trying her best to ignore him at every opportunity. Having brought him home on Sunday afternoon though, she seems to have warmed to him a bit, and had her first 'hold' yesterday. This morning, she can't stop kissing him and seems besotted.

In case anyone is concerned, Dan did get to eat his (reheated) take-away the next day - phew.

In other news, Meabh has started nursery (and seems to like it), Dan's started his new job (and also seems to like it), and Marie-Claire's started organising in earnest. Lots of domestic tasks lined up for Dan this afternoon like moving (yet more) boxes and putting up mirrors and pictures.

This blog sometimes seems like a register of births, marriages and deaths. And so it goes on. Last week Squirrel (our rabbit) died. I'm not sure whether the Guinness Book of Records has been contacted, but I'm sure she was the world's oldest rabbit. She's been buried in the garden (that, and the insertion of some squash plants, has been the only activity in the garden so far).

Meanwhile, Mr Jelly continues to thrive, and has discovered that next door has a special 'cat shed' for their moggies, equipped with a cat flap, an old armchair and plenty of food. He's not daft.

So that means we've gone from 24 legs down to 12 now. Six new chickens would redress the balance nicely :)