August-September 2010 Moms

Hi Ladies
Have been hectic at work - DH is in Jhb, so am on the home, baby, dogs duty again
But one of my dogs (have 3 mini yorkies) is sick - has been at the vet since Mon
At first they thought it was just gastro, then renal failure (gave her 6-18 months to live! )
but now they have all the bloodwork back and she has Addison's disease
Thank goodness it's treatable, and she will live til 18 years again

D still only says "Duh" for everything
She knows her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair, toes, fingers, arms, legs and belly button - too cute!
She gives big hugs (she really squeezes so hard, her little arms shake!) and nice kisses too (proper, closed mouth kisses now!)

I'm also thinking of taking her for swimming lessons (my parents have a pool so I want her to know what to do if she ever fell in )

She still has 3 or 4 bottles a day (07h00, 11h00, 15h00, 19h00) but she only drinks 120ml
She eats very well - has quite an appetite and loves feeding herself and drinks water and apple juice
The only 'naughty' thing she gets is some flings - no sweets, chocolates etc!!
Still only has 8 teeth, but I'm sure more are coming as her top gums at teh back are very red & swollen (she now hates brushing her teeth as it hurts when the brush touches her gums )

She is very good when it comes to getting dressed or undressed - puts her feet into the pants/skirt, puts her arms thru the tops and now takes her tops off when asked

I just wish she would start talking (altho I've heard alot of people say 'Careful what you wish for' - once they start talking, you just want them to keep quiet!)

She is starting to push boundaries now - gets cross if you take something away from her but no major tantrums yet ( ) And hates when I change her nappy (I have to give her something new and interesting to look at to keep her occupied)

Hi guys!

Things should be winding down hey?!? But seems everyone needs to get their last activity in!

School exams are over, ballet is over, now we just impatiently waiting for school to close! (Errr, maybe not quite...)

Abs got a Trophy at ballet for best stage presence. So proud of my Angelcakes, and got 88% (distinction) for her ballet exam!!! We are super happy...but evermore so suprised! As there seriously was NO time for practise with Iz in hospital and school exams!

Once again we had some drama the dad, urgh my poor poor children! But luckily it seems to be sorted 75% for now.

Kerry, sounds like K is quite the little adventurer!

Flower, they look so super cute in their dresses once they walk, then you can start dressing them ultra cute again!

Iz picks out her own clothes....much to mommy's dismay sometimes! And then she is very impressed with herself and the way she looks. I am afraid Ballet has taken its toll on my 1 year old! It started when Abby practised for her exam....Iz copies her, you must see her dance!!! It is just super cute! She turns, and lifts her one leg, does plies, and goes on her toes. I'll try catch a pic. If you say to her 'dance like Abby' she pulls out all the stops and dances. Such an entertainer! Then she waits for you to clap hands.

Yesterday missy seriously had verbal diarhoea! Hell, she wasn't silent for a moment, she was babbling non-stop!

I found fresh goatsmilk and yoghurt over the weekend!!!! Happy much???????

We are leaving on holiday as soon as the girls gets out of school the 9th. First going to Pretoria, want to take them to the Zoo. And then we off to Graskop!!!!! My mom and her fiancee decided to also join us on holiday, they are going from the 10th to the 16th. Staying in the hotel though. Hehehe which I think is better though....3 kids isnt everyone's cup on tea!

We are having the whole big family thing on Christmas Eve with DH's dad and his new wife's family, and then Christmas day will be with my mom. My girls are going to their dad though .

It's DH's bday tomorow and I'm torn between hosting a Fondue or just going for supper....supper means Sushi....hehehe.

Janine - you know i kinda gave up trying to fit everyone in... i know bad bad girl...

so heres my last offer... this weekend sunday at my place....

Kidding thats super short notice.... I am thinking maybe the 11th or the 16th? at my pool?

Joburg ladies,

Are we still going to have a meet this year?
Or are we going to leave it for next year...

Hi Ladies

Kerry - just for you


Shame, sounds like you had a hectic day Friday!! My office is right by the Empire off-ramp, I heard a LOT of people complaining about the accident and traffic. Luckily I come from the opposite direction…
Really, expecting a ONE year old to play with ‘properly’ with the fishing set?!?!?! I’m just glad when Willem is hitting ‘stuff’ with his toys - otherwise he is hitting ME!
FIL also tends to give Willem lots of sweets and juice - but I just leave him... I just make sure that I give fruit juice (diluted) and marie biscuits - so at least he doesn’t get TOO much sugar.

Cols
Hehe, seems the other kids are catching up on the running - Willem has also had a bloody nose or two - and more bruises/scrapes than I can count - I don’t even notice the new ones anymore

Enjoy the dresses - they looks SO cute in them - but DH would KILL me if I put one on Willem - Guess I’ll have to wait and hope no 2 is a girl…

Sheryl - how does the swimming lessons work for such small kids? I’ve been thinking to take Willem from an early age - but wasn’t sure when the best time is to start (we don’t have a pool, so not urgent).
Willem absolutely loves his little blow-up pool, screams when we take him out.
So on Sunday we went to the public pool… He started SCREAMING the second we got close to the water! In the baby pool, he would only sit on our laps, and screamed when he thought we were putting him down Maybe there was just too many people?

Climbing - don’t even get me started on climbing!!! On Friday afternoon, I kept noticing a shadow behind the curtain - looked like the cat standing up, probably chasing moths, so I just ignored it...
After about 5 minutes I wondered why she was still there, and opened the curtain - and there stands Willem - holding on the burglar bars, and staring out the window!!!!!
This particular window is table height I couldn’t figure out how on earth he got up there, so I put him back on the floor. He ran straight for the coffee table, climbed up it, and then reached up to grab the burglar bars - which was JUST in reach, and used it to pull himself up till he could hook his knees...
Needless to say, the table got moved immediately!

Willem also loves running and jumping on our bed - we have a chest at the bottom, so he stands up on that, and then runs off it and throws himself down on the bed.

He is still not really talking - he just goes hmmm at everything and points - he does make lots of ‘sounds’, and has said mama, dada and ta before - so just lazy

He is on 2 bottles milk a day. Small bottle nap time, and big bottle to go to sleep with (and whatever is left, for when he wakes up - note the “when”, not “if” ) - and fully on cow’s milk - I decided I had enough, and started weaning him about two weeks ago - I only give him a little boobie once every 3-4 days, when I get too 'full', but it's getting less every time , so should be gone by end of the year, if not sooner.
He has 9 teeth already, and I can feel more pushing...

Still wakes up 1-2 times a night, usually around 4am. Then he is either tired, but can’t get comfortable - and spends an hour tossing and turning ON TOP of me, OR he wakes up at 4am and decides to play........
However, in this last week he slept through twice - so there is hope
And on Sunday he gave me a HUGE pressie - awake 4-5am, and then we all slept till 7:30!!! Can’t remember when last I slept past 6am!!!!!

I envy you all - I have to work through December . Only been here 1 month, so can’t exactly take leave… We haven’t made plans for Christmas yet - but it will either be at my folks (Dad usually makes a piece of pork / chicken on the spit), or at the In-laws (MIL does platters - so cold meats, salads, snacks ect - then we just eat throughout the day )

Sweet Kerry - they really do the CUTEST things at this age. I am loving it. I can't wait for 15 December, I'll be home with Em for almost 1 month - soooo excited!!!

Emily's vocab has really grown, she can repeat almost everything we ask her to!! Not sure what her favourite word is but probably Nee, Nee. Everything is Nee, Nee at the moment

Flowergirl - Congrats on the dress - use it while you can, we have a few but everytime K wears them she lands up tripping over them while climbing stairs and... everything... so i use them on special occasions... basically when we are out.

Sheryl... i know what you mean, K is the same she just doesn't stop... but i love it to bits. (just have to keep a close eye on what she is up to). We eventually put locks on all the cupboards in our kitchen save for one... initially we only intended the ones with breakables or poisons to be locked... but we got too tired of re-packing! so now she can empty the tuppaware cupboard or the pot draw.... and it took a few days but now she doesn't even try the others.

Cols... yep MIL is a trooper.... she kept asking me to show her, coz she will listen if i show her. and i kept saying yes but its still not the kind of thing K is interested in... it means being still for more than 2 seconds.... i mean seriously i think K's feet would dissolve were she to remain still for long enough to do that!

I see we all have a favourite word then? K's is Hello and she can almost say it clear as a bell... we went to the nursery restaurant over the weekend (they have a nice play area that K likes to play in - so we get to eat in peace) and every statue she walked past she said hello to and waved at! There was a man on a bench, a tiger, about 5 dogs, meerkats... it was hilarious!

Oh and our peaceful lunch was interrupted by K setting out climbing the slatted plank side of the jungle gym... all the way to the top! Aaarrrghh!!! and then she delighted in walking on to the chain and plank walkway and rocking herself on it.

Cols... K is going through the same... we have had a really bad two weeks... and then last night we tried a few things, we started with and epsom salts bath with mommy, then we put baby horlicks (well its actually purity malt) into her milk coz she is definately going through a growth spurt and finally the thing i think did the trick, we left the night light on in her room. I think she has developed a fear of the dark already.

We also read up that this age is the age they start dreaming... and a nightmare to them is anything their brain cant process.

but alas we had the first good night in two or so weeks.

and lastly i am so proud of my munchkin... last night DH made curry (well he was day off yesterday and made it yesterday morning). I was feeding K some rice and curry sauce from the bowl as she loves it and she took the spoon so i guided her two or three times with my hand over hers... then put her on the floor with her bowl and spoon and she fed herself 3/4 of the bowl (as i said growth spurt). when she had had enough she started feeding the dog... she would take a spoon and drop it on the floor in front of the dog on her left... then drop a spoon in front of the dog on the other side... and so it went till all the food was gone.

so sweet!

ah well... back to work