Chalk and cheese

Happy birthday to my niece Katie who is 21 today! We celebrated at a family party in Hexham. The venue was a Thai restaurant and the evening served to show up some differences between my girls.

I stupidly didn't take anything for Grace to eat, presuming that there would be some chips for her to munch on (the staple that we know we can order for her when we eat out and we know she'll usually attempt to eat). But there weren't any chips on the menu...so I ordered her some buttered toast, which she duly ate. She found the occasion quite difficult, as she's not used to eating out in the evenings and she is not good at all at having to stay in one place for more than two minutes at a time. Luckily Katie's little girl Lily was also there so the two girls ended up playing happily together.

Ophelia is an eating machine and lunged for almost everything on my plate. She ate some satay chicken, prawn crackers, dressed salad and several other things in addition to her own tea that I had taken for her. I tried to get her off to sleep with a feed and then by pushing her in the buggy around the room, but she was having none of it and cheered up once she was back to the table being handed around various relatives and being able to snaffle more food wherever possible. She's quite placid really and easier to placate.Katie's baby Freddie was also there. He's 5 months old today and a teeny little thing. He looked cute in his baby Newcastle United kit! Look forward to seeing him and Ophelia play together as they get older. Tonight, Ophelia just tried to eatr Freddie's ear.

Folks always say 'oh but you are so much more relaxed with your second child'. True, but I also swear blind that the girls are like chalk and cheese personality-wise (Grace is a whirlwind and Ophelia more laid back) and certainly in terms of their eating habits. Grace was fussy from day one; Ophelia was a glutton from day one. She obviously takes after her Mummy...

All in all a fab night, though we missed the puddings and cutting of the birthday cake unfortunately, as the girls just got too tired. We keep a pretty strict bedtime routine here and they're always tucked up in bed by around 7pm, so to be out until almost 10pm was quite a stretch for them!