Oh, and I forgot to say - on Monday afternoon Daniel's cast came off - so he had BOTH arms free for his birthday! Wahoo! The doctor says that the arm has healed really well, which is great news.

One thing that made Mum and I smile was that, while waiting for the lift at the doctors office, a nurse stopped to admire Daniel... she innocently commented "oh, and doesn't he look JUST like his SISTER!!!" - far from being insulted, Mum and I were both delighted - which shows that we must really be getting old!

Daniel has had a VERY happy FIRST Birthday!

We had breakfast at the Ritz...

..Enjoyed home-made, Lion Birthday Cake...

(which, as you can see, Daniel wasn't too sure about); opened LOTS of exciting presents (although we have to say, the wrapping paper seemed to be the most exciting part!) AND we've tried out his gift from his Mummy & Daddy (a baby bike seat & helmet) by going on a BIKE ride! What FUN!!!

Thank you so much for all the cards, presents and emails. We all feel very loved! While thoughts today have, at times, turned to our little Joshua - more than anything we are filled with joy and gratitude to our great God who has carried us through this year and given us the joy of being parents to such a fantastic son.

AND (finally! - although, I realise now, you will be reading this post first!) Daniel is LOVING having his Granny to stay! Smiles and cuddles abound - although we are missing Grandpa (who had to stay home for various reasons), we are having a lovely time!

One thing that made us smile was that Daniel had his first 'date' when he met 10 month old 'Rose' at the pool last weekend... there were coy smiles, swapping of toys to suck and the occasional squawk of excitement... all very romantic! Who would have thought that romance could bloom in his new wagon at the pool!

Last weekend we enjoyed having God-Daddy Dan to stay - he was an immediate hit with Daniel - and it was a great joy for us to click back into the ease of conversation that can only be enjoyed with the best of friends!

Here we are enjoying the beauty of the Venice Canals - just a few minutes walk from our door!

Then, let me show you some photos we've taken over the past few weeks as we have enjoyed the LA sunshine and our fantastic new neighbourhood!


Daniel and I have developed a bit of a daily ritual of watching the sun set over Venice beach - what a TREAT!

All is well with the World... Granny Russell arrived safely on Thursday afternoon, England beat Wales (much to my Welsh Mum's disgust!) yesterday and Ireland beat Italy (much to my Irish Dad's delight!) this morning! Wahoo! We are now enjoying a brief respite from Rugby - and while my husband and Mother shower (separately!), I thought I'd post some blog updates before France v. Scotland!

First of all, let me (at long last) share some photos of our new home...