Ed got back yesterday from a week in the UK. While he was away, we both suffered from a touch of the 'grass is greener'... As Ed coped with the drizzle of an English summer (!), he felt sad that he was missing the mini heat-wave we were experiencing in California... and I felt sad that I was missing out on seeing all our precious family and friends back home!

I seem to often struggle with this 'grass is greener' syndrome - looking over my shoulder at what others have/experience and wishing things were different for me... I have been really challenged recently as I have been thinking about Psalm 23 where it says that the Lord leads us in green pastures... that means that if I am one of His sheep, I am IN the green pasture He has for me... other 'pastures' might look more lush and green to me, but I need to trust my good shepherd that THIS pasture has the nutrients and goodness that I need - THIS is the 'green pasture' he has for me right now...

And actually, this pasture IS pretty darn green! Daniel is an absolute delight and, although I don't want to gloat, I do want to say a massive 'Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiba!' because last night Daniel SLEPT through for the first time!! Whoop! Whoop! The only irony was that, because Ed was still on England time, even though Daniel slept through, Ed did not! Humph. It's still exciting though!

The girls got back from their road trip on Weds night - it sounds as though they had a great time and packed more into 9 days than we have managed in our entire time out here!

Yesterday we managed to squeeze in a trip to the 'mall' for some mandatory American shopping and also spent some time at the pool - although both Wellie and Ann are the archetypal 'English Rose' and therefore had to plaster themselves with factor 40 suncream before sitting in the SHADE - all very non-Californian behaviour! They also laughed at me for swimming in such a way as to not get my hair wet (!) - my excuse was that I was trying to preserve it for my 'date' with Ed that night (more about THAT in a minute!)

As they left, I remembered to take a photo of their ridiculous hire car - apparently it wasn't a Cadillac, but it was still ridiculous! It was SUCH fun seeing them - more visitors from home are very welcome!

So, about that date I mentioned...

Ed is leaving today for a week in the UK and so we thought we'd capitalise on having a baby-sitter on hand and go for our first 'date' since Daniel got home from hospital...

We walked down to a restaurant that is about 2 miles away - a beautiful walk along the coast with the sun setting - all very romantic and just the thing to get up a good appetite! We then shared a starter and enjoyed our main dishes - relaxed conversation, good food, some wine - we were having a lovely time... but then my phone went...

My poor frazzled Mum had been coping with a baby screaming blue murder for over an hour... she had tried everything (she has quite a repertoire of baby-soothing antics), but nothing was working - all my son wanted was my boobs! Nothing else would suffice! He is an absolute breast snob!

We quickly got the bill and then RAN the 2 miles up the hill to get home! Oh my! Running on a full stomach is not a good idea! I was just about OK, but my poor husband (who had eaten more than me!) only just managed to hold his food down - by the time we got home, Ed was looking green and had to take some indigestion medicine before putting himself into the recovery position on our bathroom floor! Not exactly the end I had envisaged to our date night!

Daniel had actually cried himself to sleep in the time it took us to get home - but he woke up about 10 minutes after we got in and guzzled milk contentedly in my arms before falling asleep... hopeless! I think we'll have to take him with us on date nights for the time being!

This is the 4th post in 2 days! I am doing well!

Today, I decided to treat my amazing Mother to a pedicure! Despite our best efforts to get her to sit down, she seems to spend a good proportion of her time tidying or cooking in the kitchen - so we have nicknamed her 'Cinders'! My Mum delights in feeling useful - but it was time to ensure she sat down and got some relaxation time!

It was WONDERFUL! - not only did our feet and nails get exfoliated, moisturised and our nails tidied and painted, but on top of all that, we enjoyed a chair massage throughout and then a foot massage at the end! Heaven!

We were both in danger of dosing off, but thankfully we managed to hold it together just enough to avoid dribbling in public! Phew!

We decided to take a photo of our happy feet when we got home! The neighbours think we're bonkers!

Every day we do some 'tummy time' with Daniel to build neck and back strength - Daniel has been lifting his head for a few days now, but this morning, instead of just staring down at the mat, he was able to lift his head sufficiently to look around - and here is the photographic proof!

Then, just to show off, he managed to roll from his front to his back - both to the left and then to the right! It won't be long before he's mobile! Yikes!

Here are some more delicious photos of little Mr incredible...

This week, not only have I had the joy of my Mum being here, but my lovely friends - Clare "Wellie" Wells and Ann O'Flynn have come out to visit! :)

They flew in on Tuesday afternoon, picked up their hire car, booked in at their Motel and then arrived at ours at about 5pm - the first indication that they were here was hearing the low rumble of a powerful engine - I went to the window to look, and sure enough, the girls have hired THE most ridiculous, sporty 2-seater Cadillac - although at first I took the enormous grins on their faces to mean they were pleased to see me, I think they were actually slightly delirious about the enormous engine they had been given the keys to for the duration of their stay! I failed to take a photo of said vehicle, but fear not! Although the girls have now headed off for a road trip to LA, Vegas and Yosemite, they will be back next Weds and I will provide photographic evidence of their ridiculous American ride then!

Joking aside, it was an absolute joy to see them both. It made me realise how much I am missing my wonderful friends from back home - don't get me wrong, the Lord has blessed us with fantastic friends out here, but there is something special about friends you've known for years - it was just so easy to slot back in to chatting and laughing - SUCH fun!

On Wednesday the 5 of us (Me, Mum and Daniel - and Wellie and Ann) went down to Capitola (a pretty seaside town south on highway 1). We had lunch overlooking the ocean, then managed a nappy change on the beach (without getting covered in poo - reeeeesult!) before doing tag-team shopping (one of us would stay outside with the buggy while the others tried on shoes/dresses and then we'd tag in and out for the much-needed 2nd opinions!). The only purchase was made by Wellie - who needed some flip-flops... it wasn't until she was at the till that she realised just HOW cool the ones she had chosen are - get this: in the sole of these flip flops is hidden a BEER BOTTLE OPENER! Yes lads, you read that right! Wellie is now able to open beer bottles with her flip flops! Oh Yeah!

Before heading out to 'Town' (a local favorite restaurant), we had time to watch some rugby Ed had recorded - Daniel was happily kicking away on his play mat and is usually completely disinterested whenever the TV goes on - but not this time! Oh no! All kicking ceased, he became silently transfixed, his Mother's smiles were no longer captivating... he had found a new love... RUGBY! Ed was absolutely delighted to see that his son is a man of taste and is clearly showing interest in the game already! It was hilarious - he literally watched the match with us unblinkingly!

Dinner was a fun time, although I realise I need to work out how to 'do' eating out with diabetes... last night I took my insulin before joining in with the shared starters we'd ordered, but then the main meal took quite a while to come... and I felt my blood sugar plummeting... it was OK, but I was nervous enough to ask the waiter how long our meals would be. He obviously told his supervisor that we'd asked and the result? FREE PUDDINGS!!! Reeeeeeeeeeesult! Luckily my main dish had not had sufficient carbs for the insulin I'd taken, so I had about 60g worth of carbs still to eat - I very much enjoyed consuming my remaining carb limit! Yum! There are some plus sides to being diabetic after all! (oh, and while I'm on the subject of diabetes - my eyesight has completely returned to 20:20 normality, so thanks for all the prayers! The glasses have been consigned to the drawer and I am back to looking like a thicky! Oh well! I also seem to have stabilised my sugars and have not had any significant hypos or hypers since last Weds!)

The other main event of this week is that I have decided to get Daniel into a daytime routine... he seemed ready for a bit more structure and I was beginning to feel that just feeding him on demand was not really working... we started on Monday afternoon and I have to say that it is going really well! He is SUCH a good baby! And I am loving knowing when I'm going to feed next and feeling more in control of my day - definitely helps with planning my insulin/eating requirements to have a structured day too... Daniel continues to smile liberally and has started gurgling communicatively - to everyone's delight!

More good news: we had confirmation yesterday that Daniel does not need to be on oxygen at all any more, not even at night - so, at long last, we are enjoying the freedom of a tube-free baby! Wahooooooooooooooo!

Thank you for all the prayers that I know are going up for us as a family - we really are doing amazingly well! Praise God!

Although Daniel has been smiling occasionally for quite a few weeks now, in the past week he seems to have mastered the ability to smile on demand and is using his new skill liberally with anyone that will give him some attention! It is THE most delicious, heart-melting, gummy, dribbly, joy-inducing facial expression that ever there has been...

We have been trying to capture it on camera for the last few days, but generally, at the sight of a camera, Daniel assumes a serious frown and refuses to smile - even when his parents and grand-mother exert themselves with their most amusing and enthusiastic efforts... the end result: exhausted parents and grand-mother, camera returned to it's case and then, almost without fail... a few moments later, Daniel's face yet again breaks into a wide, gummy grin from ear to ear! If it wasn't so cute, we might be tempted to get frustrated - but the sight of that little elated face melts all of our hearts and makes it all worth while!

Anyway, this morning I managed to capture it... it is often even bigger and more enthusiastic than this, but here it is... get ready for the ultimate 'cute-attack'... Daniel's smile...

Wahoooo!

Daniel had his LAST eye examination today. After weekly appointments during which his eyes have been pinned back and prodded around with, under bright lights, at LONG last - today we heard the words: "His eyes are mature, you don't need to come again"!!

Wahoooo!

Now we just need to get rid of the need for Oxygen overnight and then he'll be ready for pre-season training for England's Rugby team.