Cousins

We moved to Saltburn for the summer for a number of reasons. Economics and the fact that it's a lovely little town are but two of those reasons. The proximity of family was another.

Now, I love my family dearly, but I never felt the need to live spitting distance from them before. Still, we had this vague feeling that, with a new baby, it would be rather nice to be close by.

We were so right. It's not just that it's great for me - especially when TLOML is off on his travels - to be able to go to my mum's for Sunday lunch, or that my sister pops round unannounced with a Wispa when I've had a hard day of buggy-pushing.

It turns out that it's also rather marvellous for Lady P. I had thought she was too young to form a relationship with her aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandparents, but oh how wrong I was. She already knows them well, and enjoys many a cosy cuddle with her grown up relatives.

Cuddles with Aunty

But it's the socialising with her cousins that really makes me - and I hope, her - happy. How much more fun it is to go for coffee not just with your mother, aunt, and uncle but with your rufty tufty twin cousins for company too? Sometimes the kids outnumber the grown ups, and that must be very nice for them I imagine.

Hanging with the big boys

I happen to know the boys like hanging with Lady P too. Ollie told me last week that included in the space rocket he was drawing was not only him, his brother and his dad, but his baby cousin too. Sweet!

And look at Eddie, in a moment he may have thought was unobserved, waving the cat toy at Lady P to try to amuse her. Not sure it''s working for her, but I love the sentiment.

That blur is the cat toy, being waved furiously

Yes, all in all there's a lot to be said for living near family. And it's not just for the free babysitting.