We are in the final moments of July as I type this message to you. You turned 3 on the 2nd of this month & I am still in shock at how fast time flies. 

The last year has had some tremendous highs and some painful lows. We've been through a lot together. I learned to ignore the milestone emails a while back. They just served as a painful reminder of how far "behind" we were. But as I discovered the joy of celebrating each new thing you do / say; I understood what it meant to live in the moment. To truly savour each day. Your smile is often the first thing I am greeted with each morning - as you've usually climbed out of your cot and made your way into our bed. You grip my neck so that when I make a move, it serves as your alarm clock & you just grin at me. Then sometimes you indulge me spontaneously with a song. Yesterday it was Chris Tomlins "Good, Good Father". You sang it in your beautiful inimitable way. 

"You're a good good father, it's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are;

And I'm loved by you,

That's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am"

My heart melted. You smiled and sang away, "It's who I am!", and I thought "Yes! That's who you are! A God-loved boy!"

Because sometimes when we spend so much time asking "but why?", we seem to think that because the situation isn't perfect, we've been given "seconds" and not Gods best. 

But perfect you are. You are perfect for me. I've learnt patience by you. I've learnt to be kinder to myself and others. I've learnt to be slower. I've learnt to appreciate the little things because they really are the big things.

 I love watching you in your favourite place - the outdoors. You're an intrepid explorer so I've nicknamed you Bear Grylls. You could happily live outdoors. You're happiest sitting in the grass singing, or lying in the trampoline singing, or walking amongst the plants - singing. 

When we awake, and you beam at me, my world is complete. I never knew a love like that existed. The joy I see in your face when you see me, makes me feel like the only mum in the world. 

So we'll sing through our days and dance through the storms. 

I love you so much Judah. You are perfect in every way, and I have no doubt in my mind that you will live up to your name: Iyanu ~ a wonder. God's wonder. 

Dear Morayo-Hope,

I'll just join the ducks in the river...... "NO JUDAH!!!!"

I'll just scoot down these steps then...  "NO JUDAH!!!"

Woohoo, no fence to scale this time! "NO JUDAH!!!"

Just thought I'd sneak through a hole in the bottom fence and pay the neighbours a visit.... "NO JUDAH!!!!"

I'll just check myself out whilst you take your selfie #photobomb!........"NO JUDAH!!!" I've found the perfect spot to watch TV from.... "NO JUDAH!!!!"

welcome to may - even though we are fast hurtling towards the middle of the month! the last couple of weeks sped by and are now a mere blur in our memories. or rather mummy's memory! my memory is sharp - i'm only 4! nothing escapes me, mummy however is another kettle of fish entirely. she's nicknamed herself Dori from Finding Nemo. daddy always says if her head wasn't attached to her body she'd forget where she left that too!

may has been good so far. it has brought with it the sun - and for that we can only rejoice! bank holiday monday was a bit drab but by today, we were positively sweltering in the high 20s centigrade! so what have we been up to? well, in the spirit of getting out & about a bit more, mummy bought this amazing picnic blanket (her words, not mine!). she is in love and believes it shall increase her desire to go out & about. because it is pretty. and she likes pretty things. she got it from Great Little Trading Company after missing out on last year's edition that she loved so much but procrastinated on till they sold out. This year she wasted no time as soon as they had one of the 20% off everything days! she loves it because it's a good size, has waterproof backing, rolls up into a bag with carry handles, and is just so pretty! oh, and it's lovely to sleep on in the sun. #fact.





 we went to a food festival on bank holiday monday and forgot the blanket at home! what a clever blanket - fulfilling it's purpose without even having to be present! mummy pretty much starved herself that morning in anticipation of a bbq'd burger or some other such bbq style meal. unfortunately for her, there was not a burger stall in sight. just all kinds of street food, whose prices were polar opposite to the container sizes. the food was tasty but as mummy had come prepared for a carb fest, she left needing to top up at home.


judah's been continuing to provide amusement as is his custom! mummy took us to the park to feed the ducks after a classmate's birthday party. (i tell you, the sun brings out a different side to my mummy! normally she can't wait to get home and bemoan how her social life consists solely of my social life. not so now - these days her optimism knows no bounds - i love you sun!) back to the park - we fed the ducks quite fine, but judah was keener to be at one with the river thames. "not on my watch!", said mummy - as she quickly took a picture, then rescued him from the fence. #priorities!
again, blanket wasn't really required as we just had a bag of crisps and rather dry bread. bread for the ducks, crisps for mummy to fuel up & keep up with judah!

oh dear, what's he up to now???

that's right - about to scoot down some steps...

today after church we were back in the same gardens, enjoying a lovely picnic lunch. judah wasn't as keen on the old ducks - more interested in going after people's water bottles and chasing unsuspecting kids. oh, and crying for my scooter each time he saw me on the move. mummy has promised she's getting him his own now. le blanket was definitely in full use today and i must admit it is pretty! "it looks like it has giant cupcake sprinkles!" i exclaimed.

now we want to keep the dream alive! we want to hit as many gardens and beaches as we can over the next few months with our picnic blanket! any suggestions?? we'd love to hear from you as i'm worried mummy will wind up just sleeping on the blanket in the back garden and call it a summer!