Josh's 1st birthday party

It's Josh's first birthday on the 8th and so he had his first party this saturday (5th). Lots of family and friends but unfortunately not many of his friends were there - several have now moved to Australia and one of the others for some reason never received the invitation which was a bit sad.

He got lots of presents and some nice clothes (which was lucky as he was starting to run out of clothes big enough to fit him!). My grandparents are also over from Germany at the moment and so it was nice to have them there too. On sunday we then showed them (and Josh!) where we got married and had our reception. We still had our fruitcake from the wedding in the freezer (as we know we should have eaten that for our 1 year anniversary or the birth of our first child) and so we defrosted that and took it with us to the rose gardens and had a picnic there with the my family (incl dad's parents). Almost took the beetle for drive too but we would have had to take both cars as Josh can't really go in the back of the convertible and so we decided against it - just proof that we really should sell it as we're not using it!

VW nationals 2008 - Cambridge

Took our beetle down to Cambridge for the VW Nationals over the easter weekend. The weather was perfect for driving round in a convertible and the beetle finally got a bit of time out of the garage and on the road! The tyres had actually developed a little bit of a flat spot from sitting around for so long without being moved - but the tyres stretched themselves back to almost normal now. Our beetle won 3rd place in the convertible section which was pretty cool!

It was a nice weekend camping and Josh again enjoyed sleeping in his own tent - it convinced us that we should really get rid of the kombi too as it's easier in the tent at the moment anyway and I can then spend more time on our stretched one (which I haven't worked on for over a year now!).

Below are some pics from the nationals and Josh having a bath at the campsite (thanks Rob and Cass for providing the 'bathtub'!).

Josh's first camping trip

We took Josh camping last weekend at Opito Bay. Had to take the tents as Felix wanted to use the kombi and we'd already told him months ago that he could have it - as it turned out it didn't get the last minute warrant of fitness and so didn't actually get used at all that weekend.





It probably worked better with tents anyway as Josh had his own tent and so couldn't hear us get into bed or move around during the night. He didn't even have a nightlight which he normally has in his room.





We were so happy with him; he went to bed without fuss and only woke once during each night at about 2am - didn't even have to get him out of bed though. We just went into his tent to let him know we were still there and he went back to sleep. I think he actually quite liked his own little tent and he was quite the happy little camper.









Unfortunately sunday brought a few showers and so the tents got packed wet and had to be dried out when we got home - that's where the kombi is just so much easier!

A couple of photos of Josh

Mehreen took these at the going away party at Chris and Sandy's. And no he did not drink the whole bottle! And yes he did ruin my sunglasses (bent them open too far) so I had to get some new ones after that weekend!

Christmas and summer holidays

Must be time for an update - sorry to all those that have checked and waited for this; I know we're hopeless at updating this site! :-)

We had a nice couple of weeks off and spent most of that time with my parents up north rather than taking the kombi out for its summer drive. Maybe next year when Josh is a little older!

Spent christmas eve at my parents though Josh didn't stay up late to open his presents so we let him open his straight after dinner before he went to bed. He got a cool trolley with wooden blocks that mum and dad had made for him. The blocks passed Josh's taste test and the trolley after close inspection of the wheels were also deemed satisfactory I think - he does keep checking them though!










Christmas day we headed back home to have christmas with Becks family at our house on boxing day. There were 13 of us and though the weather wasn't too bad - there was the odd shower and a cold stiff breeze - we opted to stay inside. Luckily the dining/kitchen was big enough for all of us AND all of Josh's present (which took up a large portion of the floor area!).

Obviously he got spoilt but mum and dad did get a couple of presents too.








We then headed back up north after a couple of days at home and spent new years at my parents as well. Josh went on his first boat trip as well as a couple of dips in the water - both of which he wasn't entirely sure of but didn't complain about either! Will have to go back up a few more times and get him out on the water and in the water so he gets used to it early. he loves bath time so I'm sure he'll like the sea too so long as it's not too cold.









A brief update I know but at least some more pics!

Update number 2

Also have promised some photos of the garage on one of the earlier blogs and a couple of people have asked why progress photos aren't on the website! So here are some photos - it's not finished but at a stage now where it is water tight and lockable. Therefor useable!

Need to paint the outside still, and put some vertical battens on it. Interior needs the wiring for lights and powerpoints finished (it's alsmot done) and then we need to tidy up a little around the outside. We've also sprayed all our lawn to kill it so that we can level it properly and then re-sow grass. Plans are to also extend the deck and eventually plant some trees/shrubs/hedge/flowers. But all in good time!

This is how it all started - a big mess everywhere!

Building in winter is never a good idea - especially when you're building below ground level! Luckily it didn't take too long for water to drain out again (about 1/2 day). but it was constantly muddy and not much fun!

Getting concrete down was a big step and finally no more mud! Which also meant that the whole driveway area was a lot cleaner and we had more space again for the cars.

Mum and dad came down a couple of times too to help with the framing and putting the roof on - was much easier than doing it by myself - especially standing up the frames!

And this is what it looks like now basically.

Last but not least - our nice lawn at the moment! :-)

Finally - an update!

Sorry to all those that have checked the website only to find the same old photos and stories.

We had some professional photos taken a few months ago and have received these now. So here a few photos of us and Josh from August - so not the latest!

Josh obviously is another couple of months older now and has changed again - he's very interactive and at the moment needs a lot of attention. As soon as you leave the room and he's on his own he starts screeming - which can be testing!

But he's rolling over, and 'talking', and has a really catchy giggly laugh! So lots of fun. He's got two teeth now too - lower front - and started on 'solids' food a couple of weeks ago (still breastfeeding as well). He eats a lot too - which is just well as he's pretty active and needs all that energy. He's got a dummy looking mesh bag with handle which you can put food in (apple pieces! - he likes apple) and he can then suck and chew on it to get mushed up fruit and the juice out through the mesh. Works really well and he quite likes it.

Will get some more recent photos up soon but at these photos were quite cute too.

More cute photos of Josh

Here are some pics of Josh - just over 8 weeks old now - in fact 2 months tomorrow! He's so much more interactive now and 'talks' lots and grins heaps.

Our new house

We've bought a house! In mid May we moved into our own home, so thought I better put some photos up for people to look at. I haven't actually taken any myself so these are photos the real estate website had before we moved in. Looks a little messier outside at the moment. We've had a small shed (2.5x3.5m) moved in and are collecting all the bits and pieces to build a garage (a big garage!!! 9x7m). Will take some more photos later once we've got the garage maybe but for now these will do.

Inside is pretty nice but the gardens need lanscaping (a job for the spring!). Because the photos are from the real estate agent website from before we moved in, they have the previous owners furntiure in it not ours!