A very, very nice development this weekend. Bridget has decided that hugging Daddy is great fun, and that it can be a great comfort.

Fun, first. When I came home after work on Friday, Bridget held out her arms to be picked up and hugged (a proper hug, where she rests her head on its side on my shoulder, and puts her thumb in her mouth); then when put down she crawled a little way away before turning round with a giggle and coming back for another hug - and so on and so on and so on. Over the weekend, I have many times held out my arms and called 'Hug Daddy!' to her, and more often than not she's come bubbling from whatever she is doing to have yet another hug.

As for comfort: well, this evening, she was being held by Mummy after a bath upset of some kind, but held out her arms to be taken by me when I popped my head round the door. As someone whose deepest self-identity is 'Bridget's next best parent after Mummy', this was a wonder and a delight.

Bridget's been getting really very good at standing with a minimum of support from her hands, but she hasn't shown any desire to let go of furniture or people and take everything on her own feet. Nor has she, obviously therefore, shown any interest in walking. However, just over the last two days she has been experimenting with her sit-on car. She has found that, if she holds on to the front bar, the car automatically moves away from her because it's so light on its wheels, so she has to follow after it. With a convenient adult at the other end to keep things from going out of control she has now successfully manoeuvred a supported walk of about 30 feet.

Like everything Bridget does in her physical development, once she had acquired this skill she mastered it within 24 hours.