h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It is now only a fortnight to Harry's second birthday so as you can see I have been a little lax in updating my journal.

He is walking and talking. In fact, he is a bossy and cheeky little so and so. Last weekend we went for lunch and every time someone came into the restaurant, he started shouting telling them where to sit.

He loves books and cbeebies. He still uses a lot of sign language and contrary to popular belief it hasn't held back his talking.

How can he be 2?

I remember when that little romance that resulted in him began on this very website.

Then again, I remember when that bit over there was all trees and fields...



Time does march on a bit doesn't it?

My daughter was born in June 1999 and I first came to h2g2 that August - she's now a proper lady in second grade.

He is huge and very cheeky. I can hardly believe that we have gone from those fields to this life so quickly either.

In the blink of an eye they will be married with tiddley winks of their own!

James started work on H2G2 a few months after our first and our fifth is now crawling and starting to talk.

I don't quite see why signing should hold a child back from talking - after all, babies are supposed to be able to learn up to five complete languages simultaneously; signing is just an alternative vocabulary for the same language.

Anyway, all babies sign to a certain extent, and you never hear anyone suggesting that teaching a baby to wave or clap or shake their heads delays their ability to say goodbye or well done or no. (Don't you just wish it did the last one?)

"Mine" is the word I wish I would never hear again!