Happy Halloween!!

I stayed up until 1 am carving my jack-o-lanterns last night, been meaning to do it all week but as usual left it to the last minute. I think they look pretty good! It's now nearly 3pm on Halloween and I'm still waiting for Neil to carve his.......

Latest pics of number 2.....

We had another ultrasound today and got a couple of good pictures of number 2. The baby was pretty active throughout the session kicking me here, there and everywhere. Looks like he/she is smiling in the 2D scan and taking a little nap in the 3D. They said everything looks good and measurements are all ok. The tech didn't give anything away regarding the gender so it's still a mystery. Neil thinks the baby looks like a girl but I'm wondering if that's possibly a hint of a penis at the edge of the 2D pic above. Hmmmmm, we'll have to wait and see.

Sebastian's first birthday!!

I can't believe our little baby boy is already one whole year old! The year has flown by and suddenly here we are on his first birthday with him running around like a mad thing, jabbering in baby language and generally acting like a typical toddler.

After some late night decorating and food preparation the night before, the party went really well and we all had a lovely time. We had about thirty people including all the kiddies and we decorated the house with streamers and balloons and bought a brightly coloured playmat for the floor so that Seb and all his buddies could enjoy themselves at the party. The food was a success and everyone admired the rubber ducky cake! Thank you to all those who came, Seb is extremely happy with his tons of toys. The only thing that could've made the day any better would have been if our family and friends from back home could've been here with us.

The living room pre-party. Looks like a kindergarten!

All the yummy party nosh freshly prepared by Neil and myself.

Another pre-party shot of the decorations.

Seb checking it all out.

Hunter raiding the jelly sweets.

Seb's growing pile of presents.

Seb and his cute little friend Mercedes having a chat.

Mercedes and Sarah.

My fruit sputnik creation.

These orange jelly slices were a hit with everyone! I remember having these at a party when I was little and being really impressed so I really wanted to make them.

Blowing out the birthday candle.

Seb goes in for the kill....

attacks the rubber ducky cake....


smashing it's head to mush...




Oh the poor ducky!

Opening presents....

Aww! Our cute little boy!

Seb's birthday cake......

I really wanted to to make a birthday cake for Sebastian's first birthday but unfortunately I'm not much of a baker and the whole idea had me in a bit of a panic. For weeks I was trying to think of ideas for a cake that would be easy enough for me to create and still spectacular enough for his very first birthday party. After lots of inspiration from Kate and a bit of searching online for ideas I decided I would make a rubber ducky cake seeing as Seb is so fond of his bath time pals. So to cut a long and boring story short, here it is....

My three freshly baked cakes that would eventually form the rubber ducky masterpiece.

With a bit of trimming and the addition of a dried apricot tail you can sort of see a duck shape.....

Now for some yellow frosting....

Seb examining his duck to check that I got the details right.

More sticky yellow stuff.

Seb looking dismayed at my lack of progress.

A duck! Woo hooo!

The final cake complete with blue coconut bath water and mint bubbles.

Thanksgiving.....

We've had a lovely Thanksgiving this year, we really had fun at the pumpkin patch on Saturday and then on Sunday we had the Headleys over for a delicious roast turkey dinner. Neil made his own amazing stuffing and cranberry sauce and I even ventured into the kitchen and made a pumpkin pie (anyone that knows me should realize that that's quite something!) I think the dinner was a success and we all had a very pleasant evening.

The table all set for our yummy Thanksgiving dinner.

Neil, eating a delicate little portion as always.








The Headley's.












My homemade pumpkin pie! I'm very proud of myself, it was actually good!