It was a nervous start to the day because we had drained the main battery listening to the radio. We could start it with the leisure battery but we would need to go for a drive to charge it up so there was no escaping from a trip to Wal-Mart.
So today's journal reads like this: got up, went to supermarket, came home, sat around and went to bed.
But there is a little more to it than that.
We are as obsessed as any new parents and carefully track every change and nuance. We put up videos, photos and stories on Facebook. We try to be careful when meeting people in the real world not to talk too much because at least on-line you can choose not to look or comment but in the flesh it's hard to ignore us.
So we have a huge amount of scientific data on Ms Lovemason's progress. For example the latest phrase she repeats endlessly is 'Who's that?' But sometimes in science there is a profound change in thinking, the so-called paradigm shift, and yesterday I had one of those.
It's perhaps the setting that throws it into sharp relief. Tomorrow we are planning a nostalgia trip to Sacramento. When I was last there she was a baby of a few days old. When J and Harriet left there for the last time she was four weeks old.
Gradually she has changed but yesterday it really hit me. This campsite is not very good for a child because there is no grass - just stones that look clean but contain lots of cigarette butts. She was quite frustrated at not getting to stick stones in her mouth or play in the driver's cab so she threw her first major tantrum that I have seen. Previously she threw tantrums but she could always be consoled but this time she was having none of it.
She threw whatever came to hand in all directions and then lay on the floor banging her hands and feet. We have a new cry too that can shatter glass.
Mercifully she went to bed early and had a good long sleep. J and I had an extremely good evening listening to David Sedaris recordings which left us weeping with laughter. That may be our main support in the battles that lie ahead.
