On the wrong side of the door

George's friend Noah came to visit the other day with his baby brother – and his mummy, of course – and when it was time to go home we all walked out to the car to see them off.

George must have been feeling extra friendly because he was quite happy to give Noah a kiss goodbye – there will come a time when this will be discouraged – and Noah was quite happy about it too.

Moments later the car has been loaded with bags and children and all the associated paraphernalia. Noah's mum walks round to get in the driver's side and we turn to walk back up the garden path to see George race ahead of us, run in the house and slam the front door shut.

Aaaagh! He is now alone inside the house with me and mummy locked out – all keys and phones firmly indoors. Worse still, we know that George cannot open the door from the inside – he can reach the handle and pull it down so that it is unlatched but hasn't got the strength to pull the door open (it's quite heavy and makes a suction noise when you open it).

Noah's mum watches the panic ensue from her open car door and the only thing we can think of is to borrow her mobile and call a grandparent (both sets of which have a spare key to our house).

Fortunately, I could see George through the door window and after a couple of seconds of encouragement manage to get him to pull the handle down – and it's first time lucky – as soon as I think he's pulled the handle down and unlatched the door, I give a little push and we're back in.

Panic over.

It was a bit of a lucky escape – I dread to think what might have happened if we had had to wait for Nannie, Nanna, Grandad or Grandad... and it would have been even more unthinkable if we hadn't been able to contact them. We would probably have had to call the fire brigade, and in George's eyes that kind of excitement is pure encouragement.

At least it wasn't raining.

How to give a balloon an inflated ego

I'm on a level playing field with a balloon. Apart from the fact we may be similar in that balloons are round and have no hair (unless you draw it on), it seems that when it comes to a goodnight kiss George is in a dilemma as to who should be first and I am often last in line.

Mummy, balloon, me. And it's not one balloon in particular – after all they don't last that long – any old balloon deserves a goodnight kiss, perhaps a little rub and a cuddle, even when they're looking shrivelled and deflated and no longer bobbing up against the ceiling they still get their kiss. I sometimes have to pull a 'very sad face' – something I can do that a balloon can't (ha) – before I get my goodnight kiss.

The other night I was even further down the pecking order – Mummy, balloon, train, lorry, a picture of Thomas the Tank Engine, me – but I'm hoping things might change when George sees his new bedroom. He has watched me painting the walls and the woodwork and he knows daddy has been working on 'George's new room' but we've been keeping him out since we added the Finding Nemo mural, Lightning McQueen bed and a Stargazer Ceiling that glows in the dark with a true representation of the night sky. When it's all done we'll do a big 'reveal'!

The ceiling is particularly magical. The best way to see it is to lie on the floor from where you can view constellations including Ursa Major and Minor, Gemini, Cassiopeia and Cygnus and even the Milky Way in the distance. It almost looks as if the ceiling has disappeared, and to a little boy fascinated with stars and the moon it will be truly captivating.

Now, if that doesn't elevate my status there'll be some serious popping going on!

Say cheese

Probably the cheesiest blog I've ever posted...

This what happens when we leave the cheese unattended for a few moments...

And it's so hard to keep a straight face and tell him off when he grins at you with a big cheesy smile!

In the bright garden

We've spent a little more time outside enjoying the garden – could be down to the sunshine and the lovely warm days we've been having...

George finds a new use for the slide...

and is fast learning the art of posing for the camera...

and finally, I couldn't resist taking a pic of the afternoon sky.