Cake demolition in progress

Cake 3, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Sofia's first birthday

Happy Birthday Sofia, originally uploaded by Racmol.

You know how people always say to children: 'No, you can't have cake now, you'll spoil your dinner'? Well, we fed Sofia cake right before dinner - just to make sure she wasn't too full or tired to appreciate it - and she wolfed down an entire large slice and then washed it down with a full bowl of spinach, kumara and peas. So it turns out the cake spoiling dinner thing is an urban myth and we shall not be paying it any heed in our household.

There is a full sequence of birthday pictures, including all of us in St James's Park at lunchtime, on flickr. But I'll also post the final cake picture, so you can be sure I'm not making this up.

We've all been on a summer holiday...

Well, we've been around the world and home again - swapping the English winter for three weeks of New Zealand summer. Here we are, relaxed and happy on the beach at Whiritoa on the Coromandel Peninsula - just before we left to fly home.

We flew into Christchurch on a Monday night and started the holiday with five days in Akaroa with Nanny and Lolo. Surprisingly enough, there was a small festival of consumption as we got reacquainted with some old friends (mallow puffs, burger rings, fish and chips, Oyster Bay sauvignon blanc etc...) and made some new ones (various local cheeses and wines). Aside from all the eating and drinking, we went on a boat trip around Akaroa harbour and saw lots of Hector's dolphins, went swimming in the harbour and walked along the beach at O'Kain's Bay.



Here is Sofia on the boat trip with Nanny and Lolo.



And here she is at O'Kain's Bay.

After Akaroa, we drove down to sunny Dunedin (no, really, it was quite hot) for a few days with Grandma and Grandad, a visit to the Speight's Ale House and a swim in the salt water pool at St Clair. Here is Sofia enjoying a leisurely breakfast with Grandma and Grandad.



Next on the itinerary was a brief stop in Wellington - highlights: pavlova at Nana and Pop's and a quick dip at Scorching Bay - and then on to Westport for a few days with Jeremy, Ruth, Temo and Caoimhe. And here are all the cousins in the bath together after a swim at Carter's Beach.



To finish up, we flew from Westport back to Wellington and on to Rotorua, then drove to Whiritoa for a beach holiday with Annie. A perfect hot, sunny, beachy end to the holiday - even if I have sustained a sports injury (gammy wrist) from the boogie board. Here is Sofia testing the surf at Whangamata.



A new selection of holiday photos are now up on Flickr, including Red Bear in flight, for anyone who's interested.

Back at home, it is 8 degrees with a severe white frost this morning - but the crocuses coming up in our lawn seem to think spring is on its way, so here's hoping...

Sofia and Caoimhe at the beach

Sofia and Caoimhe at the beach, originally uploaded by Racmol.