Go the Chiefs!!

As I write this it's less than 10 hours until the Super 14 Final! I'll be goin hard for the Chiefs but no matter what happens, it's been a bloody great season! I've been talking up the Chiefs from the start, even though they lost those first three games, they showed lots of promise and now it's down to this last game....Awesome!!! I'll be headin into Tokyo with Anthony to watch the final, so it's gonna be a huge night (kickoff at 12:30am Japan time).

At home, we finished the vegetable garden and have planted tomatoes, pumpkins, eggplants, cucumbers and potatoes. It was a bit of a rushed job because we needed to get the plants in quick. Hopefully we'll have a bit of tucker in a couple of months that will inspire me to make a bigger and better vege garden for next year!

Looking kind of sad right now - but I counted 3 tomatoes growing!

Joshua is doing awesome. He has just started rolling from his back to stomach, so really have to keep an eye on him now. He loves putting anything he can get his hands on into his mouth. His hand eye coordination is also much better as he can grab things easily and turn them in his hands.

Trying to change himself; Another Marist rugby player in the fam; Can you see me?

Summer=Cute hat time!; Helping me on the BBQ

We have nothing special happening in June. It's the start of the rainy season so it's gonna be wet and getting hot and humid. Luckily, I copped the new Fat Freddy's Drop album to crank throughout the summer. I also want to buy a paddling pool for Joshua (and me!) soon, so we can enjoy playing in the water on the hot days ahead.

We found our first lizard at the new house!

Lazy Days

Not much happening in the last couple of weeks, but definitely enjoying the warmer weather and BBQ's (now had two and counting). Joshua is now rolling from back to side with ease, and he enjoys playing with his hands and feet. He was happy to see Liam a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed Liam's Dinosaur robot, "Lucky"!
On the home front, I've just started phase 2 of the garden - a vegetable garden out the back. Looking forward to growing some fresh veges in the backyard.


Joshua wearing his kabuto - a samurai helmet that symbolises strength and health; Me & Josh; After bathtime

Visiting Fumiko, Anthony & Liam; Josh checks outs Lucky; Evolution?

Operation Garden - complete!

It's been almost six months since we moved into our house, but the garden has been an ongoing project with the aim to have it ready for the summer. Well, today was the big day that we finally finished it, and it looks like a beautiful summerstyle garden with an NZ flavour!
It all started back in November as we pulled out all the old trees and weeds. The following few months we dug up the soil and pulled out the weeds (which I've continued to do until yesterday!). We planted an 'Iceberg' rose bush (Hajime's homage to Mum's garden in Mangakoea) and put down a stone pathway down the side of the house. Last weekend we built a small deck (or step?) for the living rooms ranchslider. And finally today we got busy, planting two trees (including an NZ cabbage tree), 25 small trees along the fenceline, and laying out patches of grass - I had a lot of fun cutting the grass patches to make it fit-kind of like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Now we just need to wait about a month for the grass to establish itself in the soil and then it's all good. Big thanks to Hajime for all the time and effort he put into the job - it was nice to have a pro directing me!

Building our massive front deck; Aki and Joshua like it

Boys 'n da garden; Grass sandwiches anyone?; The finished product

A nice finishing touch; Savouring a cold one after a hard days work

After all that hard work we had our first (of many to come) BBQ of the summer season. It really felt good to relax in the warm evening with a cold beer and a grill full of meat.....might have to have another one next week!

Looking forward to more of these; Aki tried to run away with the food, but was too slow

Not much else happening - just having a lazy Golden Week (4 public holidays in a week!), enjoying the nice weather and watching NBA and Super 14 (Go Chiefs!!). We just got a new couch so I'm enjoying lounging around on it, watching games and movies. Joshua is doing great and has a new favourite game called "kick daddy in the face". Maybe my stubble tickles his feet, but whatever it is, he really enjoys it! He also seems to be growing out of clothes after wearing them about 2 times!

Joshua likes to eat turtles nowadays; He's a winner; The new couch aka "My 2nd bed"; Yes, he's still looking cute!

Playoff Time

It's that time of year again that I'm in sports heaven. The Super 14 is getting real interesting now - just hope the Chiefs can hold on to a top four position. And the NBA playoffs are underway and looking as exciting as ever! I'm picking LeBron to beat Kobe in seven come finals time. From 10pm last night to 1:30pm today, I managed to catch the Chiefs and Crusaders win in SA and watched three NBA playoff games -pretty tired now!

Joshua is getting so big now - He's 62cm long (48.8cm at birth) and 6.1kg (2.9kg at birth). He is kicking so much and grabbing anything that is within reach, but usually settles for putting his hands in his mouth. He is also "talking" so much and we've heard him laugh a few times as well!

We've been enjoying the beautiful weather of late, spending more time outside, including a nice Hanami (viewing cherry blossoms) picnic at Hodogaya Park. The garden project has stalled a bit as we wait for the trees and grass to be delivered, but I'm hoping it will be looking better by Golden Week (four public holidays and a weekend in an eight day period - can't wait!!).

Getting into summer clothes; Hanami with Aki's family; Joshua and Dad

Joshua shelters from the sun; Trees; Mum and Joshua

New friend #1 - Toby the Turtle; New friend #2 - Shinnosuke (10 days old)....Joshua finally found someone he's bigger than!!

Time Flyin' By

Everything has been happening so fast lately!! Joshua is coming up to 3 months old next week, while last week we celebrated our 1st Wedding anniversary and my 30th birthday!!!

Joshua is now weighing in at about 5.5kg and getting longer (but I can"t find a tape measure right now!). He is also coming up with new sounds almost every day as he tries talking to us. It's quite normal to hear him make a "mama" sound, while this morning I heard him say"pop". Recently he enjoys dancing, flying like superman, grabbing anything nearby and watching the TV.

Personalised clothing; Watching the fish; Our little monkey

For our anniversary, the three of us went to my most favourite restaurant ever - Brazilian all-you-can-eat at Travesso Grill (same place we went for Aki's Bday last year). We ate so much delicious meat and Joshua was a good boy, sleeping most of the time, then getting a lot of attention from the family at the next table.

One year happily married; Love that meat!; Joshua with his old man

My birthday was a low key affair, as we had a nice lunch with Aki's family, then getting a visit from Anthony, Fumiko and Liam in the evening. It was Liam and Fumiko's first time to see Joshua since he was 3 days old, and their first time to hold him, so it was very exciting for Liam. I'll have a proper celebration as soon as our garden is finished and ready for BBQ's!

Liam meets his cuz

The weather has finally got warm after another cold spell and the cherry blossoms are blooming. We're looking forward to spending more time outside in the months ahead, especially as there's a huge park near our house where we can take walks, have picnics and go swimming in the summer.

Enjoying the outdoors; Sakura

Eyes are Smiling

It's been busy lately, especially at work where we had our closing ceremony and graduation yesterday. It was a really great day filled with lots of emotion. Some of the graduating kids did some amazing speeches that really moved everyone in attendance. Aki and Joshua joined the schools families for lunch afterwards. Joshua was very popular with the kids and their Mums, for many being the first time to see him. After work we went out for an early birthday celebration at the newly re-opened Hamabowl (the place that I first met Aki). It was a really fun night and I just managed to win the title, while the battle for the wooden spoon was a hotly fought contest!

Joshua continues to grow and develop. He really enjoys his mobile and is making more noises. He has also rolled from his back to his side a couple of times, so no more leaving him alone on the table!

Doing push-ups; Two of the many sleeping styles of the Sleep Master

Rolling around; He can kinda sit by himself; "I love oranges!! So good for resting my arms on!"

Sleeping with his best mate; Joshua-kun and Yuuka-chan; "Hey, Good Lookin'"

The weather has finally warmed up enough to start wearing shorts and t-shirts again. Should be able to finish the garden in the next couple of weeks then it's gonna be BBQs on!