wet wet wet

Firstly I must begin by conveying my sincerest apologies to those of you who have been getting a teensy bit frustrated at our lack of correspondence of late. Given that I am a mature and emotionally intelligent woman I am going to of course resort to blame, and what best to blame than the English weather? Already a month into Summer and it has been an absolute wash out. I can't remember the time we last had a dry and sunny day from start to finish. My feet which have been clothed in flip flops/thongs for the last two months out of dogged determination as if their very presence should bring about Summer, have somehow managed to tan nicely, while the rest of my body remains white as the driven snow.


So, needless to say, the reason we haven't written anything for weeks is because we have had absolutely nothing exciting to report. A poor excuse I know and it all seems a little trivial now in light of some of the events that have unfolded this week; severe flooding all over the country resulting in the loss of lives, Tony Blair standing down and handing over the baton to Gordon Brown who on his first day at the office had to handle a terrorist attack on the capital and on day two another in Glasgow and on a lighter note, tomorrow the pub-going, smoking public will be forced to smoke outdoors as all pubs and bars become smoke free.

The times they are a changin'.

summer solstice at the royal albert hall

birthday boy

Our baby boy turned one on Friday! They say it goes quickly but my goodness how it flies.

I remember from the moment we brought him home and the reality of no sleep, a non responsive newborn and almost constant breastfeeding set in it seemed like an eternity as we counted down the days until he reached the six week mark and things became a little more manageable. From that moment on it seems to have passed in the blink of an eye and every day cherished.

On Saturday we celebrated Nate's birthday with a very low key affair. An intimate afternoon tea with a small group of friends at the park complete with honey joys, fairy bread and Nana's famous walnut slice. A total of four kids (including Nate) and seven adults.

Naturally, Nate was oblivious to the fact we were all there on his account but thoroughly enjoyed himself, playing in the sandpit with his friends (and surrogate aunties and uncles) and being pushed around by Woz on all the bikes, cars and trolleys.

Thank you to Vicki and Andrew for taking photos of the day, to everyone who sent birthday wishes via e-mail or by post and those who spoilt him (or us) with a present.

We still can't believe he's ours to keep.

c'mon aussie c'mon

Last week Nate was granted Australian citizenship by descent. The news came in the mail from Australia House in London, in the form of a beautiful certificate for him which will be 'goin' strayt to the pool room'. To celebrate there have been no end of festivities.

On Saturday Woz and Nate spent the day together and so after their normal swim at the pool Woz took Nate for a walk to Regents Park to see his first game of Aussie Rules. After a few weeks of dismal weather it was a beautifully warm day and perfect for lazing around at the park.


Perhaps the highlight of the festivities for Nate has been his first sample of vegemite toast. Something which he will need to develop a taste for if he expects to be taken seriously as an Australian.

After Nate's recent development in mimicking our words with incredible accuracy we're now working on teaching him his first phrase ... 'guday mayt' .... perhaps a little easier than the English equivalent of 'alright guvner?'.

summer time