Jasper seeing his first hippopotamus

A very excited Jasper on seeing his first hippopotamus.

My week in pictures

My first trip to a zoo - The Riga Zoo
I just love to point at everything. Mummy and Daddy musn't miss everything I need to show them.

Taking Mummy shopping

Snack Time at playgroup. listening to 'Grace'

Loving my milk

Not sure about these bears

First Steps

It is official!
I have taken my 1st steps!!!! It is all very exciting. Mummy and Daddy seem very happy with me so I think that I will muster up some more energy sometime soon to take a few more. It all happened on Sunday and we were all hanging at home. We had just talked to Grandma and Poppa and Daddy decided to let me walk to the kitchen. I've been trying to tell them that I could do it all by myself but sometimes they don't listen. I also enjoyed taking some more steps by myself at the zoo. My first zoo trip. We liked the zoo. My favourite animals were the hippos and the Bactrian Camel, what a funny fellow with two humps?? Very strange. I didn't much like the bears though they looked like Goldilocks should be living with them. They kept standing up, not sure if that was normal?
I'm enjoying taking Mummy grocery shopping now. I get to drive her around the supermarket. I'm a very good driver. I only try to sneak a few little extras into the trolley when she is trying to read all the Latvian labels.
Playgroup is still fun. I like sitting up like a big boy to eat my snack. I like to eat snacks. I also like to eat my friends snacks and even when it is time to sing I still like to sit and eat snacks. It could be my favourite time of the day.
My music class is going well. I like playing the triangle and the shakers. The big African drum was a lot of fun to bang as well. We are learning a Latvian song though I'm not sure how successful that will be as we all can't talk!

Oh I nearly forgot to tell you. I have grown another tooth this week. Now I'm even. Four on the top, Four on the bottom. I think more are coming though....I'll let you know...

It's all about the teeth

Now for my next trick I shall make a poodle

Going down the slide!

Nice apple off the tree




Im not sure who is not talking to who?!!

'Zorbing' with the tent.

Off on the canal boat in Riga

Finding Mummy

Now, how do I tell you all about these? These 'tights' were a birthday present and I am

expected to wear them in the winter. For your

information they are 'boy' tights!!! and they have aeroplanes, cars and skulls on them so there!

With Grandfather Nicholas in Kew

Snuggly Aunty time

Meeting my Great Grandmother for the first

time. I had a lot to tell her. She is a very good listener.

So as the title would suggest it has all been about my mouth this week. I am STILL teething and to be honest with you I'm a little OVER it! Sometimes 'they' wake me up very early and I have to get Mummy up to fix them. I don't really like doing that as Mummy looks frightful in the early hours. I don't know what is worse... the pain or Mummy's hair!

We went on a boat this weekend and met some nice Korean ladies there. Daddy and I talked Korean to them and they liked me a lot. I got a bit confused for a minute as I'm not used to people smiling at me as much here in Riga. I had to wear a big yellow jacket. I'm not sure why. It got in the way of me crawling and it made my hair a bit messy at the back.

We went to a playgroup party yesterday and I made balloons for everyone. That was in between going down the slide, 'zorbing' with the tent and crawling through the grass. I have to say, i wasn't' too sure about this grass business. Mummy said that I appear to be too' city-fied!' whatever that means as I prefer to crawl on concrete.

I'm standing up loads now, its a great party trick as its guaranteed to have everyone look at me. I'm not sure what to do next though I do like to take a few steps now holding a hand. Any hand will do. I'm not fussed.

I am One!

Beach time with Harry. Lots of sand to eat, and lots of sandy vegetables to share

I decided to do a few 'face plants' into the sand. I didn't mind
at all!

First playgroup back after the summer. Now I am a big boy and can sit with Harry and Victor

Cousins! Hal(ibut) and Otto ( before the poo incident)









The cabin in Hal's garden. See this is where the sun lives

Daddy with Otto and I

Mummy and I with sticky icing fingers

Theo helping me unwrap my presents

Oh what is hiding under this starry box?

My new bus! I can park it with my taxi




Choosing my tape measure

Deep discussions

With Godfather Will riding high

Us boys and our daddies

Bithday Morning with my new books

Aunty Bex and I chatting with the goats ( interesting animals aren't they?)

Walking at the farm

My caterpillar cake at my playgroup party, complete with a Latvian rocket!

Playing with my new xylophone with Carter

Playing pass the 'something'. I just carried on playing.Not sure what that game was about...

Mummy and Daddy and me, the soon to be birthday boy!

These candles came all the way from Korea and were given to Mummy before I was even born, in preparation for my first birthday ( that's looking ahead isn't it?)

Getting to those sandwiches

Not sure what all this fuss is about

The first rendition of 'Happy Birthday.'

Happy Birthday to me

I'm now a totally different age! Now I am one I can:
Walk around holding the furniture
Climb stairs quickly before Mummy and Daddy can get to me
Bang my head daily ( it is like a routine and I like to stick to my routines)
Stand up and stay standing (not sure what to do then though..
Punch out more teeth, -yay I'm up to 7 with another couple coming through
Still hate teething
Wave and point
Give smooches generally dripping with drool and boogies

Bite VERY hard

So as you can see I'm really exploring my options now. Anyway the most important news is that I had two parties this week and I got very spoilt.

The first party was for my playgroup friends. We had lots of balloons though all they seemed to do was stick to the roof....strange... I even managed to help myself to the sandwiches for the first time. you see Ive been watching my friends Harry and Sora and they do it effortlessly so I want to be like them. It was easy too. We played some games but I decided that I would play my new xylophone and sit in the middle of the passing game, much more fun.

I also went back to playgroup this week and its so much more fun now that I can move everywhere. I didn't need Mummy much at all. I even sat up at the 'big' table and ate my snack.... and Harry's snack.... and Evelyn's snack... and Nicholas's snack. They didn't seem to mind and I'm a growing boy.

We went to London this weekend and it was very exciting. First Mummy and I were stopped by some a very scary lady who wouldn't let us into the country of Daddy. Something about being an alien? Anyway we were finally allowed in which was a relief because a birthday party without the birthday boy wouldn't really work! Mummy and Daddy took me to this place with funny smells and weird looking animals. Uncle Tom made me chase some of them but then we got told off and asked if we could refrain from 'chasing the poultry'...whatever poultry is.....

We had my actual party in Hal's garden and this is where the sun lives. For some reason however my teeth decided that today was the day they would give me a birthday present so I wasn't very happy. No one really understands. I was in pain all day and I really didn't want to be happy! But mummy and Daddy said that I was very brave. I even had to chose a tape measure for some reason (As per Korean tradition on a baby's first birthday they have many items put down in front of them and they should crawl towards which ever one takes their fancy. This depicts what they might do when they grow up. Jasper was more interested in the balloons behind us so it took a while before he headed off in the right direction. Finally he chose the tape measure which tells us that he might work with his hands, interesting) I also investigated my birthday cake and it felt very strange and sticky.

I had to sleep in a little tent while I was at Hals house. I realised that it was more fun to rock the tent from side to side which meant I could then roll myself to the other side of the room. Sometimes it was fun, sometimes it got a bit scary so I had to call for help as I got a bit stuck. Mummy stopped all my fun by putting a basket up by my bed, so then I had lots of things to sleep with.... Doo Doo, my new rabbit Mr Kew, Marco and then a basket, Im surprised there was any room for me!

On Sunday Mummy and Daddy took me to meet my Great Grandmother. Wow, she is old, just a little older than Mummy and Daddy really. I was very nice to her and I even gave her and her friends some of my special smiles. On Monday we missed out plane. Something tells me that this wasn't the first time and it won't the last.

So a very busy week and now that I'm one I am going to be even more busier. I won't be too busy to write but you must understand that one can't be chained to the computer each day. Thank you for all my lovely pressies everyone. Mummy says that I am very spoilt and most of the time I didn't even realise that the object of the game was to rip the pretty paper....