The other Kolocep Beach

Today is Brett's birthday - he is one of the lucky few who seem to always be on holiday on their birthday - so we decided to go to the other beach on the island. It is about a half hour walk from our apartment, with some steep hills in both directions. Having been there once before, we decided to take the "short" cut over the hill which meant a bit of bundu bashing. The main incentive to keep going in the Mediterranean temps was the cool sea on the other side and the good food we were going to have at the little restaurant. Chris, Brett and Emma went to jump off the wall across from where we were sitting. Emma was so excited at being able to do the jump she ran all the way back to us to ask us to watch her jump into the sea. Once again we were reminded of the devastation caused during the war... with a deserted hotel right on this little beach with bullet holes on the facade.

Loving the beach

The main beach we have been coming to on Kolocep Island (pronounced-Kolochep) is a sandy beach which is the exception to the rule in Croatia. Most beaches are pebbles or rocky - like the picture from the day we arrived..... The island is a small - car free island, and so the only mode of transport is walking. Luckily the beach is a short walk from the apartment - once you have negotiated the 157 stairs - and the kids have been having a ball here. As you can see from the photos, the sea is calm and as flat as a dam. The water is a little colder than expected especially after the "cold" front & rains. Emma & Leo have been playing very nicely with Zara, giving us a nice break. Zara loves the beach so much she has literally devoured it.... I decided there's no point in stopping her & causing a scene which will no doubt then cause her to want to do it more , so as predicted, soon enough, the novelty wore off and she stopped eating the sand.

Dubrovnik - Old town

Today we took a trip into Dubrovnik. The weather has been unseasonably chilly and overcast so we thought that it would be a good time to see the ancient city. Having caught the ferry back to the main land, we found that the buses we overflowing with tourists so we decided to walk into the city - WOW - It is absolutely breathtaking - despite being very busy with tourists = quite hard to photograph the architecture etc .... but well worth battling the crowds to wonder through the ancient streets etc.

Feeling the water...

After settling in a bit, we decided to test the water. A bit chilly for the Adriatic/Mediterranean and Zara was not too wild about it to start with - I think generally just a bit disrupted from all the traveling.

Arriving in Croatia...

After quite a lot of travelling - "taxi" transfer from Arlington Rd to Gatwick Airport, flight to Dubrovnik, transfer to port, ferry to Kolocep, walk (with all our luggage) to apartments....we have finally arrived and thrilled with our accomodation! (never mind the 157 steps we need to contend with to get to and from the beach)

Zara was completly zonked ..... one would have thought she did all the carrying etc....

OFF OFF & AWAY!!

....... with my very own pink suitcase, ladybird sunglasses and a cozi or 2, I am off to Croatia........

see you in August

xxxxxxxxxx

Trip to the Zoo

Our first visit to the zoo has been months in the planning, and finally having settled on a day and time to suit most, as luck would have it, today the weather turned cold, but never the less we all bundled ourselves up and off we went. The group of Mom's we met up with, I met in preggy yoga so our babies are all various ages. Some of us also did some Mom's and babies yoga for a while so the littlies have also met a couple of times ;~) We all had a lovely time on our blankets - as you can see Zara and Jazmine even had a little "rough 'n tumble". After a good chat and laugh, we had a little walk around. I think Zara took note of the ellies (who could miss them) but pretty much everything else went by in a blur.....

playing so nicely

With the 10 month age gap between Riley and Zara it was nice to see how they will soon be able to play together. Riley is desperate for Zara to get mobile and is therefore often trying to get her "up" to walk with her but today they just sat nicely on the mat and shared Zara's toys. Not to worry Rileykins, soon soon soon Zara will be all over the show and you girls will have a very merry time together!

and how we've GROWN

Once again, Zara & I are in Durban (while Daddy is off to celebrate his 20th school reunion...) and today we got to see Riley Lindsay and Rebekkah Armour again. Each time we have got together, Kelly has had us take a photo of our babies on Riley's "donut". With Zara being 8 months old and Riley and Becs 6 months old, I think this will possibly be the last time we get all three on the donut together - not to mention still and quiet. I am pretty sure the next time we see the cousins, these monkeys will be crawling all over the show!

Hitting the bottle early....

Tonight Daddy let Zara get her first "taste" of beer. Having only had about 3 (milk) bottles in her life, she certainly knew exactly what to do with this one! With sheer ease she put the bottle to her mouth and then there was no getting it away from her...... OH DEAR - what have we started ;~)

Mommy's little helper

Not only have I had to cope with a sick baby this week, but with Miriam being on leave for two weeks, I have been trying to keep up the general housework and most importantly the washing! This morning while I was hanging up the washing, Zara was getting annoyed at being left alone so I had to bring her out to be by my side..... With the remainder of the wet clothes over my shoulder and Zara in the wash-basket, together we got it all out to hang.

I have always admired Lara and Sue etc who battle on with no helpers overseas but now with the additional work that comes with having little people in the house - wow you girls ROCK!!!

On the mend again

Well after 10 days of shear hell, Zara is finally on the mend again.

It all started with that slight fever she had last Sunday when I took those photos of her and I was sure she just had a common cold.... the fever persisted for a couple of days and the poor little mite was just not herself. On Thursday it seemed like we had turned the corner (just in time for our trip to Wakkerstroom) and she was her normal cheerful self again. In fact, she was in such a great mood we went to visit Dad at work!

On Friday night, when we arrived in Wakkerstroom, she charmed Granny & Grandpa Hilton with her smiles and laughs. Then, during the night she just didn't seem to settle and I put it down to the change in environment and a pretty chilly Wakkerstroom. Again on Saturday she tried her best to be charming, albeit from a distance, so we put it down to the common 8mth old "momalitus"! By mid afternoon, we seemed to hit rock bottom as her fever spiked to 41. With Sharon's advice, Chris and I gave her a few cool baths to try bring her temp down and then kept her skin to skin on me with a cool face cloth on her head. Being skin to skin, allows my body to absorb her fever. She slept on and off for most of the rest of the weekend. I had to hold her all the time-as each time I thought she was a sleep and tried to put her down, she would have none of that and start yelling.

On Sunday evening when we got home we took her to the emergency pharmacy - they said it could be anything from teeth to a bladder infection..... On Monday, still feverish, we went off to the homeopath. He gave her the once over and also thought it must have been a cold, assuring me that whatever bug it was, it was on its way out and within the next day or so she would be right as rain. As if on cue, late on Tuesday, her fever broke completely and although still a bit clingy was certainly more herself, even cracking a smile or two.

Wednesday morning, I went back to gym, came home dressed her and put her down for her nap feeling quite excited about our weekly outing to bumps & babes. Within 30mins at Sharon's, Zara was really miz again - but there was no fever and yet nothing seemed to settle her. While Sharon was holding Zara I noticed some spots on her neck - at first we thought that maybe it was from where her necklace had been but after further investigation we saw her back and tummy were also covered. After a quick look in the books we decided it must be some form of measles...... so back off to see the homeopath - he confirmed our diagnosis. He says that its highly unlikely to have been rubella as her fever was way too high.

Having done some Google research when I got home, we have established that it is Roseola - baby measles - very common in babies her age, and almost impossible to diagnose till the spots present them selves as all the other symptoms are "cold/flu" flu like. Poor little Zara, if only it was easier to diagnose prior to the eruption of spots..... But as you can see, now she is a lot more cheerful and we are looking forward to happy weekend together!

Our brave Firefighter

On Saturday afternoon, we noticed a small fire in the land across from our house in Wakkerstroom. The guys were trying to burn some firebreaks.....but without a watertank. Chris, kept looking and at what they were doing and telling us that it was going to get out of control. Within minutes the wind picked up and also changed direction which was cause for much concern and naturally could have lead to some big problems. Last year during the firebreak burning things went horrible wrong leading to the vlei being severly burnt. Luckily our brave little firefighter was quick on the craw and out the front door to get the hose to try be of some assistance. Soon enough, and with a spot of good luck, they managed to get things under control and put the fire out.

8 months old

It is hard to believe Zara is now 8 months old! In many ways it seems as if we have all been together forever and yet in reality -two thirds of a year - is merely a drop in the ocean of what life has in store for us as a family....

Our little princess is easy going and generally an extremely happy baby - proof of this is the majority of the photos in this collage were taken today whist she was feeling pretty poorly with a fever 0f 38.4. We are pretty sure this is more than likely the next set of teeth making their presence known.

Many of you have been hinting for some "up to date" photos so, with this in mind, as well as Zara's 8 month birthday, I decided to grab the opportunity to dust of my camera and take some photos myself. The other photos in this collage were taken yesturday by Elize.

As far as her developmental progress goes, Chris and I are constantly amazed to see how she changes on a daily basis. She has been sitting for a while now and every now and again is able to get back up when she has toppled over backwards. She has discovered how to knock two objects together and can keep her self amused on her donut for ages tinkering with her toys. Her favorite "trick" is putting her dummy back in her mouth. Although she has been doing this for quite some time, her sense of humour is coming through as she purposely puts it in upside down just to get a reaction from us.

This past week, she started lurching forward on to her tummy from the sitting position. Problem is~she then gets stuck.... she hasn't worked out that this is all part and parcel of getting ready for crawling
(long may the "no crawling" last ;~>!)