For Super-Gran

This post is especially for my Gran, my Dad's Mom, who lives in Cape Town, South Africa. We call her "Super Gran" to Michaela, Alexis and Jack because she's their Great Granny :)



Obviously, she hasn't met Jack yet but she asked me to buy him an outfit, from her. I found this adorable little romper at Babies 'R Us on sale and so bought a newborn size and a 3 month size in different colors. Too cute!



The reason I put him in the flower bed full of Lily of the Valley (poor thing wasn't too charmed with having to lie there while I got just the right shot!) is because this is Gran's and my special flower. She used to take me to pick the first blooms every spring in the field near our house in Cape Town. They are just starting to bloom here in Peoria and there are masses of them around Mum and Dad's house.


So here you go Gran...thanks so much for the outfit. We miss you and can't wait for you to meet Jack one day (hopefully it'll be soon)!

P.S. the Lily of the Valley smells heavenly :)

Hanging out with Daddy

Clearly, he's not a great fan of the Baby Bjorn (first time trying it)

Mum and Dad's back garden

Happy Sunday!

Yesterday

Thought I'd document our day yesterday. Not the easiest of days with little Jack boy (colic, fussiness etc.), but I've got some cute photos from it, so here you go.

After an early morning feed, Jack and I tried to nap together (not my best photographic moment, but this is reality folks!). I say tried to nap because it was rather difficult with all the noise going on, due to these boots...

and these trucks....

belonging to a whole host of workman who are working on this project...

They are working on the outside AND the inside of Mum and Dad's house, remodeling their master bath, which also involves putting in a beautiful bay window (it's going up where the top of that scaffolding is). It just so happened that there were workmen swarming all over the house installing light fixtures, working on the radiators etc. etc. So it was a busy day around here! And now the bathroom, in it's almost finished state, looks gorgeous!

However, Jack did not have a great day, hardly napping at all (that darn pacifier keeps falling out and waking him. What does one do about that?!!) and so I resorted to getting him outside for a bit of fresh air in the stroller...

After that, the little stinker peed, pooped and puked all over me, in that order and then looked at me like this...

How could I possibly resist that grin? In fact, I laughed so hard I almost fell over...a good tonic for this tired Mummy! Another wonderful surprise cheered up my day even more, when this beautiful bouquet was delivered, just for me. It's from Nessa's best friend, Anika, who sent it to me to celebrate Jack's birth. Thank you SO MUCH Anika!


We then visited Daddy to see what he was up to and found him painting in the bathroom. By evening the workmen had installed the bay window and the bath, making it possible for Andre to start prepping and painting in there. Mum and Dad have chosen beautiful Travertine tile, brown/black granite counter-top and lovely fixtures. The walls are going to be a khaki/brown color and the cabinets are cream. It looks like a spa in there!

Here's another cool thing that happened. I had been looking at Goodwill and on Craigslist here in Peoria, to find a swing or bouncy seat for Jack, as this seems to soothe him and keep him occupied. I had found both on Craiglist and emailed the sellers. After hearing from both of them that the items were still available, I responded, saying we'd like to come and get them. Frustratingly, I never heard back from either of them after that! I was really disappointed and wondering what to do. Then today, a sweet friend of Mum's dropped by with a beautiful swing AND bouncy seat for us to borrow, as she'd heard I was in town and thought we could use them!! Praise the Lord for providing just what we needed (and at no cost)!

All in all, a good day!

Happy Birthday Mum!

Sunday was Mum's birthday and we were thrilled to be here in Peoria to celebrate with her. After church, Dad took us out for a wonderful Sunday brunch, champagne and all (!) and then we spent a lazy afternoon at home before celebrating with tea, coconut cake (her favorite) and presents outside.

Mum and Dad at brunch

Birthday tea

Little Boy

Just had to show off these photos of our little boy and what he's up to these days. At 7 weeks, he is doing well with his sleeping during the day, taking good naps. We've introduced a bedtime routine at night: bath, feed and bed by 7:30 pm. He wakes up around 1 am to eat and then sleeps again until around 6 or 7. We'll see if that continues to be a good pattern for him (and us!). He loves his bouncy seat and usually falls asleep there if I put him in it. We think he's just the cutest thing!

Firsts: air travel

This past Saturday, we headed up to Peoria, IL to spend three weeks with my parents. Andre has some remodeling projects to do here and I'm hanging out with Mum! We flew up and so this was Jack's first plane trip. He did so well, sweet little thing, sucking on his paci as we took off and enjoying his bottle several times, when we thought his ears needed some unblocking. He slept most of the way and we successfully changed his diaper on the drop down tray table! (he's still small enough for that although those extra long legs of his were hanging over the edge!) As we got off the plane, the pilot allowed us to have a photo of him in the cock-pit! Andre was so proud!

Jack in the pilot's seat (and no that's not his ear on the left, it's my thumb...poor child looks like he has bat ears!!)