My First Easter

Zara's first Easter weekend was spent in a rather chilly Wakkerstroom. We left at about lunchtime on Friday - to try miss the bulk of the holiday traffic - and to coincide with Zara's "long sleep". She was as good as gold - despite the hold up on the road due to road works, resulting in an extra 30-40mins in the car. Shortly after arriving, unpacking and lighting the fire, we went for a walk.... all around the area there are huge fields of cosmos which looked absolutely beautiful. I have never seen so much cosmos before and as cosmos always reminds me of Easter this was truly fitting for the Easter weekend. On Saturday we went into the village for the Easter Festival - the town was buzzing with visitors, we even bumped into some Jozi people we know..... On Sunday, the Easter bunny happened to find out where we were and low and behold we found some Easter eggs hidden in the garden! Poor Zara is still to little to enjoy them so I had to force myself to have her share so that she could also enjoy them at her next meal ;~) Monday we had another lazy day relaxing before heading home again on Tuesday.

The one toothed Angel

After weeks of constantly being asked if Zara is "teething" due to the copious amounts of drool pouring from her mouth, last Thursday I was finally convinced that yes, indeed, there may be a tooth in sight. We were on our way back to Hilton after visiting Grandpa at the hospital when I noticed at white line, pretty much like a tooth....Wow! could this be, all of 5 and a half months old???

Later that afternoon, she had a bit of a temperature but nothing too hectic, so I was now pretty sure we were going to be boasting the new tooth to all the family in Natal. On Friday morning I had a look again but the tooth was GONE! I know that this can happen - apparently teeth can come up and down for weeks on end before they eventually cut through. So with all the other goings on we soon enough forgot about the "almost tooth". Then on Monday when she had a bit of a runny tum and a bit of a temperature again, I suspected that this may be the allusive tooth again. Not wanting to get too excited, I didn't say anything to Chris and just let her be. The this morning I had a look in her mouth and low and behold there it was.... the very first teeny tiny tooth!

Well done Zara! You are just too clever and have you have truly been so good humoured about this, I can only hope you'll pop out all your teeth as easily as this first one.

(maybe the amber teething necklace she has been wearing for the past few weeks really does make a difference????)

Once a girl.....

Once a girl, always a girl....

Today I bought Zara a pair of shoes. While I was standing in the queue to pay for them, she was already tugging at the bag trying to pry them away from me. Then while in the car I gave them to her to keep her entertained but when we got home, she was fast asleep but definitely not letting me take them away from her. So much for diamonds being a girls best friend - I think it's more likely going to be a case of following in her Mom ,Grannyannie & uncle, Dion's footsteps, with sure signs of a shoe fetish setting in.

Sad Farewell

Today we went off to save our "goodbyes" to Chris, Serife and baby Teo. Serife and I met through preggi yoga and got re-acquainted after our babies were born through Sharon's bumps & babes mornings. Teo is 3 weeks older than Zara..... Serife and I sometimes took the kids walking around Zoo Lake and recently Teo and Zara have been able to "socialise" with each other. This afternoon it was so sweet seeing them interacting with each other, holding hands, feeling each others gums/teeth etc

Sadly (for us) they have chosen to relocate back to London. It will be much nicer for them as a family as Chris will have far less traveling to do, and in turn have a lot more time with his family, however we are going to miss them a lot!

Noo-Noo Bear

We have certainly arrived back to a very icy Jozi! It is the middle of March and the max temp today was approx 11 degrees!! Not really expecting such cold weather at this time of year, I had next to nothing to choose from to get Zara dressed up to brave the cold wet weather, luckily, she is not a huge baby and still fits into her 0-3mth clothes so soon enough my little "noo-noo bear" was as snug as a bug in her "bear skin baby grow" - perhaps I should go get some winter woollies as it seems winter is on its way already....

Cardinal Zara

This past weekend we were down in Hilton with Granny Heather, while Grandpa is recovering from his emergency triple bypass. We also managed to visit the "van Gelder clan" too. It was Sydni & Maxine's birthday party..... the weather was wet but the kids all enjoyed themselves especially as it didn't really matter as they were already wet from the foam slip & slide Greg had going. It was great to see all my family too, especially my dad who has made a great recovery from his bypass and valve replacement 7 weeks ago.

Mark found this doll's hat and plonked it on Zara's head - we all started laughing, and Grannyannie commented that she looks just like a cardinal....once again Zara knew she was the source of amusement and was quite pleased with herself for providing the entertainment!

OOPS another Grandpa sick

We were most horrified to hear Grandpa Hilton had taken ill this past week. Having not "felt himself" and a little short of breath, he made an appointment to go see their doctor. Unfortunately he didn't make the appointments as during the wee hours of Monday night Heather rushed him to Howick Hospital with chest pains. They then transferred him down to Pmb Medi Clinic who sent him on to St Anne's Hospital. After having an angiogram done, he was wheeled in for a triple Bypass on Tuesday morning! All this a mere SEVEN weeks after my Dad's double bypass & valve replacement. So off we were down to Hilton..... Chris, Zara, Mike and I left early on Wed morning so that we could be with Heather as soon as possible. That afternoon we went to see a very weak Grandpa in ICU. Laura suggested we give Grandpa a pair of Zara's shoes as a "good luck charm". She had done that for her own Dad when Meg was a baby and he had had a stroke. So on Thursday morning when we went to the hospital armed with booties and a photo to put near his bed. The ICU Sister was very accommodating and had them stuck up on the chart trolley at the foot of the bed in no time. She also kept telling Graham that they were there.....On Friday night Laura arrived with Gareth & Meg and while she and Mike went to the hospital we stayed in with the kids playing cards etc. On Sunday we left after seeing a much stronger albeit still weak Grandpa just before he was due to be transferred out of ICU - hooray to making great progress, we now look forward to seeing both Grandpas fighting fit in no time.

Up to date......

Zara is now 5 & a half months old - where has the time gone.

We are loving her more and more each day and she certainly has quite a personality! She has us in fits of laughter at times. She is such a happy little girl and I think she actually knows when she is being funny - she looks very pleased with herself when we laugh at her. Recently she has been lifting her arms to us when we go to pick her up and babbling non stop. Chris says she is starting to get "momalitus" but I think its still a bit early for that..... She loves blowing bubbles and giving a big sighs. Yesterday she made such a big sound that she actually startled herself, not knowing where the voice had come from. We are also very lucky that she is quite content to lie under her gym or in her donut playing by herself. Her tummy time is also coming on quite well and the other day she needed to move towards a toy so she lifted her bum and slithered forward like a worm. In the sitting position she is able to balance for a few seconds at a time. She has also discovered the TV!!! Chris tells me that her favorite things to watch are rugby and Bloomberg - hmmmmm. In the hair department - we are starting to make some progress... I was very sad when her gorgeous red "locks" fell out, now only time will tell if she'll have Dad or my hair

Being the Mum and photographer in chief its not always easy to get this all down on "film" so for now you'll just have to take my word for it!!!

Now that we have got you all back up to date with our lives, hopefully there will be no more computer glitches or sudden trips away..... Hope to hear from you guys too..... its always nice to have a few comments to keep in her memory box along with all the posts which in turn double up as a journal of her life and milestones.

Those Toeses

Zara supposes her toeses are roses...... or maybe they just a good teether?

She has definitely discovered her toes. They are possibly the most fascinating discovery she has made yet. With toes like hers, she is entertained for ages at a time, sometimes she gets her big toe in her mouth a has a good suck on it - never mind becoming a thumb sucker we may just has a toe sucker on our hands.

I think its just too sweet and must admit watching her play with her toes has kept me entertained too.

Zara meets Samuel

Today Zara and baby Samuel got to have their first "official" introduction....

Shaun put Samuel next to Zara on her play mat, as you can imagine at 2 weeks old, little Samuel was completely oblivious to her, but soon enough she realised that her toes were not quite as fascinating as her little "boyfriend". At one point she even wanted to take his dummy from him, but Chris was too quick and we'll never know if she actually would have managed to grab it or not.

We are so looking forward to watching little Samuel and Zara grow-up together. They will hopefully share the same bond that Megan & Jason do - practically like brother & sister - at least we know that Zara will have a great protector round her a lot of the time!!!

Fooled you.........

Since we have been back from Durban, Zara's sleeping habits have left much to be desired!!! So I have been trying to keep her a bit more awake in the day in the hopes that this will help her sleep better at night - hmmmm wishful thinking but worth a bash...

Today I had to go to my beautician who is a few blocks from home, so off we went in the pram - Zara loves going walking and had a great time looking about. I had my treatments and then on the way home, I thought the same would apply, but no sooner were we on the road and she had pulled her "dog book" over her face, closed her eyes and drifted of into lala land.....I couldn't resist taking this pics of her - she was so exhausted that even when I picked her up she still wanted to sleep some more.

Swimming with Dad

At last summer has arrived and the pool has heated up enough that even I will get in!!

Today the temp was about 24 degrees so we decided to give Zara a swim with her Daddy - not surprised at all at how much she enjoyed it - they stayed in for about an hour or so....

AHHHH Sweet !

Today we went to Gareth's birthday party at the Lonehill fire station. Zara was pretty oblivious to the fun being had by the older children - sliding down the fireman's pole as well as going for a ride in the fire engine and then spraying each other with the hose....

She did however love seeing her Grandpa and Granny Hilton again!!!

After the party we went back to Mike & Laura for the present opening - wow Gareth - what a lot of great goodies you got!!!

Gareth & Emma were also very taken by their baby cousin and spent quite a while loving and entertaining her....

Johanna came to visit

Since Zara was born, we have been trying to find a suitable time for Johanna to come meet our baby girl. As you will remember, Johanna, worked for Chris & I for the past 10 yrs after Brett & Lara left for London. Unfortunately she could not come to work for us full-time as she has been working for Julie for many more years and is about 2 years away from retirement. Anyways today was the day that we were all available, when she arrived, Zara was asleep but soon enough, with sleep time over, she and Johanna got to meet each other and have a bit of playtime too.

Hey there Baby Cousins

While we have been down in Durban with Grannyannie & Grandpa, while Grandpa is recuperating from his emergency bypass and valve replacement surgery, we have also been lucky enough to see baby Riley and baby Rebekah a few times. At last we have been able to get all three babies together & awake at the same time. As you will remember, the first time she met Riley and Becky they were all of 12wks (Zara) 4 wks (Riley) & 3 wks (Rebekah) old. Although even now, they are still too little to pay each other much attention now, I am confident that our future visits to Durban are going to be a whole heap of fun for Zara visiting all her cousins.

Soothing the itch

Over the past few days Zara has discovered how to put her toys into her mouth. On her first attempt, she was more accurate at getting her fist there, as you can see, she has now mastered the art...... she especially like her "rasbaby teether". I think the sensation of the baubles on the rassberry sooth those incredibly itchy gums. Although she has possibly started "teething" as her teeth are moving up into the gums, it may still be quite a while before we see an actual tooth.

Bathing with Riley

While we have been down in Durban, with Grandpa recovering in hospital, we have been having supper at Mark & Claudia. Tonight we decided to try let the girls bath together....

As Zara is still new to her bath chair, she was a little apprehensive to her big cousin towering over her and at first clung onto the bath chair. Riley was all too keen to have her baby cousin come out and play so kept tugging on her legs. They both seemed to enjoy the experience and provided a good dose of laughs for all us adults.

I cant wait till they are able to play together, what with a mere 10 mth age gap, I think they are going to get up to all sorts of mischief in the months and years to follow.....

Teo & Zara

Today we went to lunch at another one of Zara's little friends. Teo's mum - Serife - and I did preggie yoga together and our babies are 3 weeks apart - Teo being the older. Teo was very patient in showing Zara how his cars work - they are like "Russian dolls" and the red one goes over the yellow one which goes over the blue one with the green one at the bottom....

Serife and her husband Chris have been in SA since the beginning of last year. Chris works up in Uganda so is in and out of SA a lot. He has just been offered a job back in London, which will obviously be a lot better for them as Chris will be home all the time. So sadly for Zara and me, it looks like they will be leaving at the end of March.....

Zach & Zara

Today, Zach and his Mom, Theoni came to visit. I met Theoni through yoga - she was our teacher. Our estimated due dates were 3 weeks apart but seeings Zara decided to come earlier, Zach and Zara were born 4 days apart. Amazingly they had exactly the same measurements at birth. As you can see now, Zach is a real boy an is a bit bigger than Zara.

While Theoni and I had a catch up, the babies lay "talking" in Zara's donut. It was very entertaining watching our little ones interact with each other. See how they holding hands......

At one point Zara started whinging like a real girl and Zach just looked at her and giggled - we have that on video!!!

Big Girl Bath

As you can all remember, we have always bathed Zara in a rather deep bath allowing her to float about in the water. Well, now that she is such a "big girl" we have decided to let her use her bath seat. This will give her a bit more inderpendance and also give us some relief on our backs. She seems to be enjoying this new found bath technique, albeit a little apprehensive at times as she clings onto the arm rests. We have also started splashing her face a bit in the hopes she will follow in Leo and Riley's footsteps and not get too fussed when splashed in the face..... as you all know I am the biggest ninny about water on my face!

Grandpa's Yacht

Never mind being on "Daddy's Yacht" - look how Zara had a chill out session with Grandpa!

She really looks like she is in the lap of luxury with her arms under her head....... what a life!!!

Zara's Cafe

Not many children can boast having a restaurant named after them - Just kidding! We were however intrigued to find this coffee shop in Durban North so together with Grannyannie we went out to have lunch. The food was absolutely divine - but the aircon was not working so we just about fried ourselves. We had to guzzle down our meal as not matter what we did poor little Zara would not settle because she was so hot. In a desperate measure, as Chris was paying the bill, I rushed out into the Woolworths next door and did a few laps up and down the isles to cool her down.

3 Months Old

Today Zara is 3 months old! Chris & I decided to try get a set of foot prints to add to her collection - first foot print taken on day she was born, then 7 days old and again 8 weeks old.....

All I can say is that its easier said than done - half a ream of paper later, I think we got one semi decent one and now understand why Sharon uses an ink stamp pad (not paint) when she does footprints of all her babies!

As for the past 3 months of motherhood - time has truly sped by. Each day is as exciting as the last and so rewarding watching Zara grow and develop...... she is a real gem. A totally contented little girl!!! Motherhood is all I thought it would be and more - yes there are the tough days but its been well worth the wait and I now understand why people say "this is the meaning of life"