Leo

Leo has just turned 1. He crawls very fast, but shows no interest in walking. He is Scandinavian blonde, but without the Viking ancestry, and takes after his tall, slim dad. He likes pointing to planes in the sky and playing with his stacking cups. He loves curry and spinach and Marmite but hates broccoli.

When I was pregnant with Leo, I fantasised about all the wonderful books I would be able to read to him. I thought I would start reading to him within weeks of him being born, and that a bedtime story would be our ritual from a very early age. It didn't really work out like that. Leo would rarely provide me with the audience my fledgling reading-out-loud talents craved - too busy looking at his teddies or staring out of the window or clamouring for a feed. I realised that I didn't want to read to my baby after all: I wanted to read with him. So I waited, and waited, and then slowly over the last 2 months Leo started to really notice his books. It started mainly with chewing them, but quickly progressed to page turning, then pointing, and now laughing and smiling while pulling the chosen one off the shelf. His attention span is now long enough for a decent bedtime story, and finally we are now reading together.