All the way from America

Hard times can also bring good times.... Sue has decided to come out from America to see Graham & Heather! Although the circumstances are not the greatest we are all so pleased we will get to see her. More importantly though is, that Zara will finally get to meet her "Aunt Suzie"! All this, on her SIX month birthday!!!

As if seeing Sue is not a spoiling enough, Zara has been given the most wonderful clothes from America - she certainly looks set to be a well dressed babe this winter - Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

So, the plan is for Sue to spend a night or 2 in Jozi. I will then drive her down to Hilton for a week. While Sue spends time with her folks, Zara and I will go on to Durban to see my family. Chris will then join us in Durbs, we'll go up to Hilton for 2 nights and then bring Sue back to Jozi to see the rest of the family.

While in Hilton, one of the most important things "Aunt Suzie" has been teaching Zara is : "we don't eat books, we read books" It has been amazing to see, at this age its an automatic reaction for a child to put everything in the mouth. But soon enough it seemed that Zara was certainly getting the message and she stopped trying to grab the books to her mouth all the time. It is now up to us to keep reminding her...."we don't eat books, we read books" and with all her family being such avid readers we hope she will come to love reading and respect her books as we all do.

Riley and Zara

Riley really seems to have taken to Zara during our latest visit to Durban. She even wanted to hold her... very short and sweet but a cuddle and then off to play again. We look forward to when they can really start playing together.....

Baby Art Moulds

While I was still pregnant, I spotted these baby mould kits at Toys r Us in Sandton. The two kits on offer where for a belly mask and then for a foot/hand cast. We looked for the foot/hand kit in Durban over Christmas with no luck - now with Zara's 6 month birthday pending, I thought it would be nice to make a cast / mould of her hand and foot as a keepsake at this "milestone" in her life. Off I went to the branch where I had originally seen the kits and as my luck would have it - no longer in stock!!! As you know, I don't give up that easily and after a bit of a hunt I managed to get hold of the supplier and she delivered a kit to me. The next curve ball was knowing how "unhandy" Chris can be but my back up plan was up coming trip to Durban and I knew Mark would be a great help to me....

So, on Saturday morning I got the men involved and we started the procedure. Everyone was rather sceptical as to how this would/could/should work.... I must say the instructions were not the easiest to follow but with a bit of patience, perseverance and delicate concentration, we managed to get a perfect foot and hand mould. Now it was time to see if this would really work - mix the plaster of paris, pour it into the moulds and wait for it to set....

We assume that the mould is the same mixture dentists use to make a cast of our teeth. Chris and I were too nervous to break the mould away from the cast so we left the delicate procedure to Mark's steady hand. The combination of the mould and plastir of paris has given every detail, wrinkle and crease in the casts....AGH SWEET MAN!!!! All I need to do now, is find a way to frame these for Zara - Thank you Markie!!

With the Parnells

Today we went out to Umhlali to see the Parnells.... We had a lovely lunch together and then all the "girls" went into Ballito for some "retail therapy" The kids were all too keen to push Zara around .... Crystin was dressed to the nines and certainly looked like a mini yummy mummy. When we got home it took a bit of persuading but we managed to get all the (present) cousins together in 1 photo - obviously we missed Riley v G and the Londoners.... but PERHAPS at Christmas time????

See how we "Gru - Some"

While we have been down in Durban it was super to see Kelly, Riley, Lauren and Rebekah again..

We took this photo of the kids, to match the last one we took a couple of months ago...it took a bit of co-ordinating to get them all away at the same time but we had to get the cameras clicking.

Zara is now 6 months old while Riley and Rebekah are 4 months old.

My goodness time is certainly flying by and the babies are growing SOOOO fast.

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.