Saturday 8 August

Joshua:

1. looking a bit goofy with his bonds easysuit around his ears - thanks Jenn, we lurve the easysuits;

2. looking a bit cute sleeping with Daddy; and

3. looking adorable in the groovy green "Cheeky Monkey" sleepsuit which Katie bought for him.

Thursday 6 August

Computer is working a bit better these days - thank goodness. But we have decided to invest in a new one. Lionel is doing his research and I'm getting very excited.

Nanna J sent Joshua a big sloppy kiss last night. You can see from the photos that she sent a BIG sloppy kiss!!!

Our "hundreds and thousands" tomato plant is producing a BUMPER crop. I guess we shouldn't be entirely surprised given its name!! We're also enjoying courgettes and runner beans. You can see from the photo that our cup indeed runneth over...

Tuesday 4 August

Afternoon tea with the NCT ladies today. We hadn't seen them together for nearly a month so the changes in the babies was quite obvious. It was such a delight to listen to their new noises, see their smiles and enjoy them interacting with each other so much more than ever before. Poor Joshua remains the baldest...

Sunday 2 August

Lovely afternoon with Mark, Liz ... and Melba's NINE puppies. Fiona very sympathetic towards Melba during various feeding frenzies witnessed during the afternoon visit!!! Puppies are named after chocolate bars. Our favourite names are Rolo, Galaxy and Malteser. Also Smartie, Crunchie, Yorkie and Milky Way. Tiniest one is Freddo. Biggest one is Bounty. Gorgeous!!!

Friday 24 July - Saturday 1 August

So - our home laptop is stuffed so posting will be much slower until we get that sorted out. Sorry!! Am trying to convince Lionel he wants to buy a new one but unsuccessful so far.

We had a lovely week in Dorset. A few days with the Bells and a few days on our own. Some highlights attached... So hard to pick the best shots!!!

Monday 20 July

We had a busy weekend this weekend. We visited a farm where you can pick your own fruit and vegetables. Ever the multi-tasker, Fiona fed Joshua while picking strawberries - no mean feat!! Joshua enjoyed the cauliflower patch the most. Afterwards, Lionel and Fi enjoyed a well-earned ice cream before heading home to spend the afternoon with Andy, Sam, Kayla and Iona. Kayla and Iona LOVED Joshua and didn't want to put him down.

On Sunday, Joshua met Bec who flew in from Canada to watch the Ashes with Lionel at Lords on Monday. With Bec and Simone we all went to the Big Lunch street party which was held by our neighbours. Apart from a little bit of rain that was lots of fun. When we got home from the party the Barrys arrived and as you can see from the picture, they weren't there to see Lionel and Fiona and all eyes were on Joshua!!

In honour of the last day of the Second Test Fiona dressed Joshua this morning in a special outfit... We wonder if Lionel will approve when he gets home this evening.

Friday 17 July

On Tuesday, Simone came to visit us from Dresden. The last time Fiona saw her was in Thailand in 2002 so it was lovely to catch up again. She is staying with us for a few days. Then on Wednesday, Joshua met his cousins Nancy and Grace for the first time. On Thursday, all the kids went on an excursion to celebrate Great Aunty Julie's birthday and all the adults enjoyed a special supper together that evening. And on Friday, Sarah and her two children, Harrison and Talia, came to visit so we could make plans for our holiday together at the end of July. We are really looking forward to a few days' holiday.

We've had a few Skype conversations with Nanna and Pa and Uncles Craig, Ross and Brad in Australia but we're still having a few "teething problems". Sometimes the camera doesn't work. Sometimes the microphone doesn't work. Sometimes nothing works!! But we have now booked our tickets to visit them in October and we are counting down the days until we leave.

Wednesday was a difficult day and Joshua was sick a lot which meant Fiona had to feed him ... a lot. At the end of the day we were all very, very tired. But we then had a couple of really good days on Thursday and Friday and there have been lots of smiles and gooing and other lovely noises. Fiona hasn't been so good at capturing the smiles on camera but she was successful today and hopes you enjoy seeing the smile that transforms even the toughest of days into a bearable one!