Wow, so much news!

Hmmmm, what's in mommy's handbag?

Getting into Christmas spirit

Daddy's little home-boy!

My laugh is infectious!

Twisting myself around in bed

Told you my laugh was infectious!

Hmmmm, yummy reindeer horns!

Giddy-up!

On my tummy, ready to cause chaos!

Opening presents with daddy

Wrapping paper tastes gooood!

More pressies!

Family of reindeer

Nemo, is that you?

My family

Almost there!

I'll have that thanks!

Dabchick cottage - Dullstroom

Hello my only,

Wow, you've had a jam packed holiday so far, that's why I haven't been able to write for so long! You are sleeping now so I thought I'd quickly snap the chance to tell you what you've been up to.

We, your second toofie arrived about 3 days after the first one and we were so happy that it went so quick! I actually think your top two toofs are gonna make their appearance soon as well.

On Friday the 19th daddy went in for the same operation that you went for, the left inguinal hernia. But dad was in a lot more pain and took quite long to recover. You showed your support by kicking him on his scar almost every time he picked you up. I think you were trying to heal it, well, I hope so anyway. He's feeling a lot better now and you two have been playing up a storm since he's been on holiday. I think you like the guy on guy quality time.

Then on Saturday we left for Loskop dam with Ouma Rina, Uncle Koevoet, Melanie, Ludwig, Helmut and Charlotte. We were at such a stunning place, you had a ball. We went swimming in the baby pool, and we were taken for a 2 hour boat ride, which you absolutely loved! You couldn't stop talking the whole way! Then on Monday morning we left to go to Dullstroom. It was such a cosy little cottage we'll definitely go back there! You got to enjoy your first "fishing" trip. Daddy caught a big one, and Gerrie caught two trouts! Needless to say we had a very nice dinner that night! Once again you were on your best behaviour once again and even impressed us with getting into the crawling position. Since you've noticed that you can move, you haven't stopped! You're not crawling yet, but I can see it'll be very soon!

We came back on the 24th and that evening we celebrated Christmas eve. You had a ball opening all your presents, from Lisa and Dale, ouma Rina, and mom and dad. Of Course, you love the wrapping paper more than anything else! You were also fascinated with the reindeer ears we had on and kept wanting to eat them! Eventually you succeeded.

On Christmas day we went to Amelle and Warren, and mom's cousin's were there, Leatitia, Marycia and Richard. We had a great braai outside by trees, but towards the end we were all very very tired! We went home and turned in early. Oh and Merry Christmas to everyone we didn't get to greet! Never forget the reason for the season!

On Sunday we went to go and give all the goodies to the baby charity in Pretoria. It was so beautiful seeing all the little ones. The smallest was 11 days old, so incredibly tiny! And the oldest was 11 months old. He was also born early, 2 months, so he's also a little fighter. Thank you very very much to everyone who contributed! Megs, for the box full of goodies, Claire for the bags and bags full of clothes, Samm for the products, granny and grampy Paul for the money (we bought porridge, wipes and cloths with it), Loren for the scrapbook albums and SA Shelving for the teddy bears! We had a whole bakkie full to give, so thank you very very much! Unfortunately we couldn't take any pics because of the babies' rights, but it was a very nice day.

Well, it feels like our holiday is only starting now my only. We've been so busy, and now mom almost has to go back to work again! While I was writing you woke up in the mean time, and now you're trying to escape from the cushion that you're on. Very cute my boy!

Anyway my only, I love you plenty and plenty, and I can't wait to see what else you come up with in the next couple of days.

Love you lots!

Mom

1 Tooth smile from now on my angel!

Well my angel, it is a sad day for your mom, because from now on I will not see your all gum smile again. Yes, your first little toofie made it's appearance, the bottom right one, but the left one is not far behind. I realised something was making an appearance at our Christmas party on Saturday. Your buddies Kai, Keaton and Deqlan, as well as little Haylee was there. We had the most beautiful spot under the trees, and there you little guys (and girl) chilled all afternoon. You got spoiled rotten by your friends (and their mommies), and you can be very grateful to be so blessed. Thanks so much Loren, Megs and Samm for a wonderful afternoon and for all the great presents!!!

As I said earlier, it was also this day that I saw a little white spot on your gum, and I started worrying that it might be a little ulcer. But the next day it turned into a little slit, and you were very unhappy the whole day, and alas, today, on "gelofte dag" and the anniversary of your uncle Charl's passing, your toothie came out. Right next to it is another little white slit, so you might get the other one in a day or two.

Well, let me tell you what else you've been up to (other than moaning, which I completely understand). Saturday Haylee and Laetitia came to visit us after the Christmas party and you had such a good time with Haylee. She gave you plenty of kisses, and passed all your toys on for you to play with. You also had a bath together which was too adorable for words, and she gave you plenty of hugs! Last night we went to Keaton's house and you just said hi to everyone, had your bottle and slept for the rest of the night. Mom and dad had a fantastic dinner that Megan and Conrad made, and then we took you home for some rest. I also think you might be going through a growth spurt because you've been waking up every four hours to drink at night. It's good my angel, mom doesn't mind, just grow grow grow! I also started making your food myself, mommy's becoming domesticated! You had avo on Sunday, which you hated, banana yesterday, which you pondered about, and gem squash last night, which you loved! Because of your toofies, you aren't eating your solids that well, but when you're really hungry you devour everything in the bowl.

Today we went to the annual Theron Christmas party and wow, what a spread Aunt Barbara and Uncle Martin prepared! You had fun meeting all the people and playing with Ohpaw's beard, but you definitely didn't want to eat anything! We, however, had way too much to eat, but it was just so good! You played with uncle Popeye and aunt Daleen, you finally met your other uncles, Hennie and Louwtjie and aunt Ria and their wives and husbands and kids. It was a big party! Thanks so much aunt Barbara and uncle Martin, it was such a relaxing afternoon, perfect to kick the holiday off with!

Anyway my angel, you are sleeping now, so I'm gonna go climb in too because I'm sure you'll be awake just now!

Love you Lots!

Abba House

Hi Everyone,

As said in one of my previous posts Wes and I will be giving to charity this year as a Christmas present to each other. Seeing as we now have a little miracle of our own, we decided to give to abandoned babies and found the perfect place to donate to. It's called Abba House and they have 11 little babies ranging from 3 weeks to 9 months old. We are going to visit them the 28th of December to spend some time with the babies and give them some goodies.

Here is their website:

http://www.abbahouse.co.za/default.html

If anyone is interested in donating something, we would greatly appreciate it. Over and above money, here is a list of things that they need:

Cereal 2 & 3
Wet Wipes
Skip/Sunlight Washing Powder (Wash Baby Clothes)
Black Plastic Bags (For nappy changing dustbins)
Cloth Nappies (Spoegdoeke)
Sterilon (for sterilizing dummies) 200 ml
Fabric Softener
Pedal Bin Liners
Dishwashing Liquid
Cotton wool & buds
Basic Medicines:
Vi-daylin drops
Buscopan,
Iliadin nose drops,
Daktarin oral gel,
Fragrance-free, non-coloured Aqueous Cream
Milton / bleach

They also need second hand baby clothes if anyone has some. And they make a baby scrap book for every child that leaves them to go to a family, so they need some of those. They have the paper, they just need the albums.

If you are interested in donating something, please let me know and I will come and pick it up from you in next week. I really think we can make a great difference in the lives of these little miracles.

Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Lots of Love

Us3

Swim Swim Swim

Hello my only,

Well my angel, you are really becoming a new little person. All of a sudden you are so interested in everything around you. As soon as you see anything new you just want to grab it. It's very cute. You are also bringing your little legs in to crawl. Who knows, maybe by Christmas you'll be mobile.

Dad and I took you for a swim on Sunday at the Aqua lounge and you absolutely loved it! Dad held you in a swimming position, and you made all the motions to start swimming. It was really very cute, and you look too adorable in your swimsuit! On Saturday we had to cancel a photo shoot with your friends Kai, Keaton and Deqlan because you had a cold, and we didn't want you to give it to Deqlan, as he just got over URI and his immune system is still not 100%. But we'll reschedule it for the new year. We did however go to visit Kai and Keaton, and had a great time playing and chatting! I can see you guys are gonna cause chaos together one day!

Your personality is really coming alive now, and when I try to put you to sleep and you don't want to, you throw the biggest tantrum! You scream like something is horribly wrong with you, but only for 5 minutes, then you're asleep. Last night ouma Rina watched you again, and thank goodness you didn't give her so much grief. She says you were an angel, so it seems like you're saving it just for us!

Anyway my baby, I'll write as soon as you are doing more cute things (which is actually daily).

Love you plenty!

Mom

Our Christmas Plan - a Simple white envelope

My Angel, today mommy got one of the best e-mails, and ideas for Christmas ever. I sent it to daddy and he immediatly said that from now on this is what we will do for every Christmas. I hope you will learn from this new tradition that we are starting in our family, and that you will teach your kids one day. Here's the e-mail:

SIMPLE WHITE ENVELOPE
It's just a small white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree.
No name, no identification, no inscription.
It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas--
oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it --
the overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma --
the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.
Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass usual shirts, sweaters, ties, and so forth.
I reached for something special just for Mike.
The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended. Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.
As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears.
It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford.
Well, we ended up walloping them.
We took every weight class.
And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.
Mike, seated beside beside me, shook his head sadly, 'I wish just one of them could have won,' he said.
'They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.'
Mike loved kids -- all kids -- and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball, and lacrosse..
That's when the idea for his present came.
That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.
On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me.
His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years.
For each Christmas, I followed the tradition--one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas.
It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning, and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure.
The story doesn't end there.
You see, we lost Mike last year due to cancer.
When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up.
But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning it was joined by three more.
Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad.
The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.
Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.
May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season,
and the true Christmas spirit this year and always.

God Bless!

Fun Filled Weekend!

Hello my angel,

You had a very lekker weekend that just passed with granny coming to visit from Cape Town. She spoiled you rotten and bought you a bath ring and a little rocking horsie which you seem to love! Thanx a lot granny and happy anniversary for you and grampy for today. May you guys have many more years to come!

Friday night you stayed with granny while we went to Kim and Leigh's wedding. It was so beautiful and I'm sure they'll treasure that day for the rest of their lives! Granny said you were very good and you slept right until 03h00, which is great because the couple of nights before you weren't very happy. I think that measles injection really made you feel yucky, and now your toothies seem to be getting very painful. So it's been a rough couple of days for you my angel. But I'm so proud of you, because even though you are not quite yourself, you are still as good as gold! Granny left yesterday and phoned me to say how much she's already missing you. Shame, you really crept very deeply into her heart!

Sunday I went to go visit Ohpaw, and once again he taught me so many things about life, love and the rest. He's a very wise man my precious and you must listen to what he has to teach you. He reminded me that our only purpose on this earth is to love each other, unconditionally, and that's a very difficult thing to do. You will see that it is easy to love the people you like, but it's the ones you don't like that you must learn to love as well. I hope you learn that lesson very early on in life, because it will make your journey so much easier.

Last night ouma Rina looked after you for a bit so that dad and I could spend some quiet time together. We do that about every month, just so that we can remember why this little family started, and then we usually talk about our plans for you (if it's God's will of course!). Ouma Rina also said you were very well behaved and she'll look after you any time! Thank you for being so good my angel, now dad and I won't struggle to ever find a baby sitter for you! And thank you ouma Rina for always being ready to watch our tiny man.

Granny sent me some photos of the weekend. Hope you like them.

Anyway my baby boy, I hope those toothies come out soon and that the pain goes away.

I love you plenty my only!

Mwah

Mom