DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-FIVE

Taro was still not feeling great this morning, but thought he needed some fresh air, so we went to the playground with Joshua. He likes going on the swing, but half of the time looks unsure as to whether he really wants to be on it.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-FOUR

I wanted to bake my bread this morning, but the dough turned out too soft. So I used half of the dough to make a loaf, which didn't turn out too well. I then added a lot of flour to the other half, rolled them into balls and put cheese in the middle. They were very yummy.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-THREE

Joshua woke up feeling and looking 100% better. I didn't want to take him out though to make sure he recovered well first. Instead I let him get some fresh air in our back garden and gave him some paints to distract him. He then started to collect some flowers and put them on his painting! I thought it was really amazing and creative that he would even think of doing that, so I had to take a photo.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-TWO

Joshua woke up feeling alright but as the day went by his temperature kept rising and dropping and my poor baby was moaning all day long. He hardly touched any food :-( During one of his happy moments though, he asked for the microphone and proceeded to sing-along to Singstar.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-ONE

Joshua was a happy baby today until this afternoon. After a while at the park he started to be a little stubborn and just wanted to come home. After watching Toy Story 2, Sophie and Becky went home and Joshua was really moany. It turned out that he had a fever, so I gave him some meds and put him in bed early.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY

I looked after Sophie for a little while today as Becky was waiting for a package. Both her and Joshua as usual had lots of fun.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-NINE

We bought Joshua a pad and some more crayons in Weston and he seems to love them. He's constantly drawing and sribling.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-EIGHT

Joshua loves jumping on duvets and sheets. He must find them comfortable. I just had to take the photo :-) We drove home early from Weston and were home by 11:15. It was a smooth drive with no traffic and only mild rain.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SEVEN

As the weather was dry, we decided to go and walk along Weston beach. Nana and Grandad bought Joshua a bucket and spade and some other sand toys. He really enjoyed it and was kept busy for a long time.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SIX

We drove down to Weston super Mare today to visit Taro's parents. The drive took longer than planned as there was a lot of traffic on the motorway and heavy rain. I'm glad I did it though and Taro's Dad no longer has to come and pick us up whenever we go down there. Joshua seemed to have a lovely time today and got many gifts from everyone.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIVE

Joshua found his uncle's guitar in the loft and thought he'd show off his musical skills. He's so musical and so much more talented than his mummy - and he's not even 2!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FOUR

Joshua loves his cars and trucks and plays with them daily. He even makes the sounds and all. So cute, he's a proper little boy!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-THREE

This morning Joshua decided to take monkey for a ride in his car. It was so cute I had to take a picture!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-TWO

Joshua and Sophie decided to play at the end of Becky's backyard. They love the fact that there are lots of branches and it's a little unexplored.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-ONE

Taro and I needed to go to Richmond to buy his Mum's birthday present, so we ended up having lunch out. I hadn't been to Giraffe in about a year, so it was nice to eat there.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

I have now been blogging for about half a year! It hasn't been flawless and on occasions I have borrowed a photo from a previous day (ooops), but hopefully the information is quite accurate and I'll still have a clear picture of what has happened this year.

This morning I finally went to the optician. I hadn't been since before Joshua was born and was surprised that my prescription is lower than what it was, rather than higher. Very strange. I also got 2x pairs of glasses. In the evening, Becky and I went to see the latest Harry Potter movie (The Half-Blood Prince). It was very entertaining, even if not very loyal to the book. Taro stayed home looking after Joshua, so I now owe him a movie night :-)

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-NINE

Joshua has been enjoying his new chair that we bought at IKEA a couple of days ago. He can now sit at a table like a big boy and do some drawings.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-EIGHT

A couple of days ago Becky and I went to the Garden Centre to buy some flowers. She bought loads for her garden, which 3yrs later, she is finally starting to take care of; and I bought a couple of indoor plants - as Joshua no longer destroys everything he sees. :-)

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SEVEN

Yay to IKEA!
Becky and I went to IKEA today and bought loads of stuff, some needed others not so much!
I stocked up on cheap kitchen stuff and bought Joshua a duvet and cover for his bed, as well as a Joshua sized stool.
Becky bought Sophie a table and chairs, and lots of other bits and pieces. Oh, and lots of kitchen stuff too!

I do like the Swedish put it together yourself 'cause we can't be bothered attitude! lol

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SIX

Becky and I went to the Garden Centre in the morning. I needed a couple of growbags and some plants and Becky wanted lots of flowers. In the afternoon, while the children played nicely outside, I planted a few more tomato plants. I hope they all grow nicely and the children keep their little hands away...

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE

After about a year of covering the fireplace, we have finally moved the improvised cover off it. Joshua thankfully hasn't shown great interest in getting to the coals, as he used to, and the living room looks a lot nicer now. We have even put some paintings up in the house and tried to make it all a little neater and tidier.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR

Taro and I took Joshua to the playground early this morning as we were all quite awake. It had been raining overnight, so there were lots of puddles everywhere, which Joshua loved!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-THREE

We have finally gone to visit Angie, after a long long time! It was great to see her again, and despite the rain/ no rain weather, we managed to have a lovely time. As she lives in Camden, we went for a walk at Primrose Hill and bought some brazilian cakes at the market. The way back wasn't as fun as the Sat Nav took us through central London, Trafalgar Square included, and the journey took about 2hrs!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-TWO

As the weather was dry, I took Joshua to the park. He discovered a pile of shredded wood and I lost him for the rest of the afternoon! The pile was bigger than him and he was crawling up the 'hill' at one point. Very funny.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-ONE

Taro recently bought me the latest Singstar game for PS3, the Pop Edition, and I must have sung every song more than once already. This singing business is highly addictive, especially as it's online. The opening song for this one is So What by Pink.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY

So, about a week ago I got a new haircut! It's not that easy to see it in this photo but it is a lot shorter and very layered. I really like it, and thankfully so does Taro. Or so he says. I'll definitely be going back to that hairdresser, especially for £15! Such a bargain!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-NINE

Joshua often lies on the floor and makes himself all comfortable when the TV is on. It's so cute that I just had to take a photo.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-EIGHT

Joshua's new bed arrived today! Yay! He was soooooo excited when I put it together and jumped right in. At bedtime, we put him in it, Daddy read him a story and left the room as usual. Unfortunately he wasn't too happy with the idea of actually sleeping in the bed and was very upset. After a couple of times of settling him back in bed and leaving the room, Taro and I gave up and moved the cot back in. Joshua fell asleep immediately in his cot. I'm sad that he doesn't like it, but there is no rush and I hope that he'll get used to having the bed in the bedroom and eventually wanting to sleep in it.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN

Today Becky, Natasha and I had our second girlie day out. We spent most of it strolling down Marylebone High Street just entering every shop. We had a lovely lunch outdoors at a pub, and some ice cream towards the end of the day. Luckily the weather stayed dry, although it did threaten to rain a lot and the dark clouds kept coming and going.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX

Joshua got a football kit at socatots and looks sooooo adorable in it. The socks are way too big for him, but it's still super cute. I love it that the colours are the same as the Brazilian football team. He's still a little shy at football, but definitely showing some improvement.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIVE

Taro and I took the kids to Snakes and Ladders, and indoor playground with lots of fun things for them to do. Becky didn't fit in the car, so she stayed home doing some online clothes shopping.
Oh and it looks like my little sister Susie is coming to England for work and will be visiting London!!! She's never been and we are all really looking forward to it!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR

As Taro has the week off, we thought we should do something fun. Today we went to Windsor. We didn't enter the castle as we didn't want to pay the entrance fee (£15 per person!), so instead we walked around and explored the city. It's a charming town with some yummy milkshakes and runs along the river. We also crossed the river into Eton and had a look at the renowned Eton College.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-THREE

Taro has a week off as of today!!! Yay!
Joshua had his final swimming class for the term and starts again in September.
My strange but nice neighbour gave me 2x tomato plants today, so along with the ones I've been growing from seeds, hopefully I should have lots of tomatoes sometime this year! :-)

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-TWO

We spent all afternoon at Becky's in her pool. The kids wanted to be constantly entertained though, so it was fun but oh so tiring.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-ONE

Joshua and I spent the day outdoors enjoying the Summer while it lasts. I am finally able to wear one of my many bikinis!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY

Joshua is really into In The Night Garden and interacts with the program and gets really involved. Not sure if that's a good thing though.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINE

Happy Anniversary to us!!! Taro, Joshua and I spent the afternoon in Richmond enjoying the beautiful weather. After Joshua went to bed, Simon came over to babysit and Taro took me out to a many courses meal at the Hotel where we spent our first night as a newly-wed couple. It was all pretty amazing.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT

Erhm, I have been letting Joshua run around mostly in underwear, but on occasions he ends up with nothing on to cover his dignity. This is my first step towards potty training. Not sure if anyone else would approve but I'm OK with it so far.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN

We went to the library this afternoon to get Joshua some bedtime books. I also got some books on gardening which hopefully will help with my tomato growing. The weather was so nice that Joshua helped me fill the pool when we got back. He then proceeded to jump in before I had the chance to change his clothes!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX

Joshua's hair has been growing in a funny way ever since the last haircut (or hair butchering). It gets messy easily and just looks funny. I must get him a real haircut next time.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIVE

John stayed over last night, so this morning we all went to the playground together. He left after lunch and Joshua and I had fun outside painting.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FOUR

Johnny came around today as he hadn't been here in a while. It took the kids only 2secs to recognize him and then wouldn't leave their uncle alone. Joshua was dancing away to his uncle playing the guitar and trying to get Sophie to join in.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-THREE

Happy Father's Day!!! It's Father's Day in the UK! Taro got a card that Joshua painted himself earlier in the week, which I personally think looks great. Later on we went shopping and Joshua bought his daddy the movie Big, and a cake for afternoon tea! It was a lovely day.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO

Today we babysat Sophie all afternoon! It's the first time we looked after Sophie for that long, and the first time Becky and Simon got to go out together for a meal and a film since Sophie was born. We had a great time and the kids were both so well behaved and seemed to have fun the whole time!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE

It's official! I'm no longer in control of what I do or where I go. The minute I leave Joshua alone to go and do some house chores or just sit down for a bit, he comes over, holds my hand and leads me to where he wants to go. This is very convenient for him as he can show me what he wants, but not very convenient for me if all he wants is for his mummy to sit with him whilst he watches TV. His food won't cook itself!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY!!!

This morning, after Joshua's nap, I drove Simon to the Garden centre as he had to buy lots of compost for his garden; so I finally bought some Gro-Bags. I've been meaning to get these for a long time, as I'll be getting some tomato plants from my neighbour Bob.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-NINE

Another day at swimming and this time both kids were very happy. Joshua decided to give Becky, Sophie and Mummy lots of kisses. In the afternoon the kiddies played a lot on the sofa throwing cushions at each other.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHT

I tried taking Joshua to the playgroup this morning, but he was really upset when he saw the other children and wanted to leave. I think I need to take him more often so he can get used to the interaction. In the afternoon we did some painting, which he is definitely better at, and we both had fun.

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN

We spent the day out today. Joshua woke up at 9am (wow), and after his breakfast we went to the playground and met Sophie there. After lunch, Joshua went to try out Sophie's new sandbox, which is very cool!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIX

Taro's parents left this morning and we went into town for lunch to meet up with a friend of Taro's who is visiting from the USA. Taro met Dane on an online forum, and he is travelling with his sister Skye and mum Kelli. They have been here for about a week and had already seen most of London, so we just walked around and enjoyed the weather. I think we all had a lovely day.