8 months...

Weight...no idea, length...would be guessing...but growing...check, healthy....check and happy...check! And after months of anticipation....bottom 2 teeth are in!

And like so many other second children, he passes on the 'baby' toys in favour of Jake's much more interesting assortment of cars & trains to pick up and chew on. He sits fine on his own now, and loves emptying one of Jake's boxes one car at a time, examining each of them by flexing and straightening his wrists over and over, talking to them, and tasting some, then dropping each on the floor, and moves on to the next one. Much to my delight, he can keep himself entertained for 20minutes at a time...

Bath time might be a close second as far as favourite activities go, and he has learned the joy of splashing recently, so we all end up a little bit cleaner by the end;-)

And another update which means more to me than anyone, is that he is finally getting the hang of sleeping through the night...or only waking once, which means the rest of us can catch up on our beauty sleep too!

Happy 8 months Oliver!!

Arundel

Last weekend we celebrated with our friends at their wedding at a beautiful ceremony near the castle of Arundel, built at the end of the 11th Century by the Earl of Arundel. During the civil war in the 1640's, it was badly damaged until the 1700's, when Charles Howard known as 'the drunken duke' carried out some restoration. At least he had his priorities right even while drinking;-)

The happy couple, Mark & Fionnoula!

Walking around the beautiful gardens of the castle

We were lucky enough to take part in the medieval days at the castle!

This peasant gave Jake one of his newly carved homemade tent pegs...

Fantastic period costumes!

Jake & Oliver loved exploring in 'the keep', the oldest part of the castle.


Delicious hog-roast for lunch, complete with crackling (crispy skin) and warm applesauce!
Sword fighting
Jousting...England vs. France!

Ode to Aunties & Uncles

Going through all the pics from Canada, I found a theme...Jake & Oliver were spoiled not only by their grandparents, but also in the arms of their aunties & uncles, who will put up with a lot, just to get a smile;-) From climbing on shoulders, jeeps and up and down legs (Jake) and drooling and blowing bubbles and shedding the odd tear (Oliver), here are a few of my fave's...