One upshot of the Great Tummy Bug, was that Olivia was forced to miss her first week at Nursery, lest she should introduce herself to her new friends by giving them a severe case of the trots. Naturally, the fact that this didn't stop us having to pay for nursery was hardly noted at all..

As the picture above reveals, Olivia has acquired her first pair of measured shoes. Apparently these are known in the trade as 'cruising shoes', and are specially designed for babies on the cusp of walking/gullible parents who will swallow any guff. Like every other unnecessary purchase, the 'but she does look cute in them' argument trumps every objection that could possibly be advanced by a penny-pinching father. I fear that this argument could cost me for a long time to come...