Rachel, Owen and Kathryn

Katy did an intensive swimming course in the first week of the Easter holidays, and enjoyed it so much she asked me to sign her up for another one this week. On the second day the instructor said she should move up to the next class, and today it's official: KATY HAS SWUM A WHOLE WIDTH ON HER BACK. She's very pleased with herself, and so are we. It makes me smile that just like me, she prefers swimming on her back.

Blazing June is here! Owen sped off to Kendal with a colleague this morning for a micro-performance of Don Giovanni, leaving me and Katy with a gloriously sunny Saturday and the car keys. The world is our oyster: where shall we go, what shall we do? Playground, nearby city farm, even Chester Zoo? No, Katy wants the paddling pool in the back garden - all day. So we have a whale of a time, splashing around naked (Katy), sunbathing and drinking a can of beer (me), admiring the washing drying on the line, and periodically dragging the paddling pool round our handkerchief lawn chasing the sun round the shadow of the house. After all the excitement she voluntarily went to bed early. By the time I'd finished the last bedtime story the clouds had closed in and rain had soaked my previously bone-dry washing. But after all the fun we had today I say: it's alright.

Frustrated at the lack of paddling opportunities at Southport , and fed up with my own shilly-shallying about the possible effects of chlorine on Katy's eczema, I took a snap decision to push the boat out (ho, ho) and zoom down to our local pool so she could experience swimming for the first time. We gate-crashed the last 30mins of a 'women only' session, which was conveniently quiet as Ramadan has just started! She liked it! I can't say she loved it, but she wasn't at all overwhelmed by the size of the place (no special children's pool). And she did look especially cute in her little swimsuit complete with built-in swim nappy and frilly bottom! On the walk home we shared a raspberry ripple ice-cream, which made me realise more than ever that I'm no longer just looking after a baby, we're building a mother-daughter relationship.