Sweetie-pie...

 Isn't he just too cute for words?  That auburn hair and those bright blue eyes.  Our little Rylee is growing fast and he's just about ready to crawl too.

But wait... what's that?  Mmmm... that looks interesting, thanks Jake...

Oh, it goes in my mouth...

 mmmm... that's quite nice...

 nom-nom...

 A smile was out of the question - his mouth was busier with FAR more important things...

 Shove...

 Getting messier and messier...

 He was hanging onto that last bit for dear life...

 It felt so good squelching between his fingers...

 Zapping me...

 I think his fingers tasted so good, he was just about ready to eat his own hands...

 And all the while, Duracell was watching... waiting for a tiny morsel to drop on the grass.  If I wasn't sitting there, he'd have been licking Rylee clean...

 Rylee had lots of good hiding places, saving some of his sweetie pie for later.  Like under his chin..

Rylee with a beard...

 I really struggle to get him to look at me when Jake's around...

 He can shove and watch his cousin at the same time...

 mmmmmmmm... so good...

 The biscuit wasn't as tasty as the marshmallow fluff in the middle though...

 Aaaahhhh... it's finished!!  Can I have another one please???

 Jake also got one, but he didn't savour it as much as Rylee did...

And just so you don't think I'm only a bad Auntie, I was equally bad with my own child...  This is Jake at 8 months (same as Rylee) shoving a sweetie pie too...

Hope you all have a great weekend with your sweetie pies!

Lots of love,

Sue XXX

Today's Birthday Boy...

Today is Marius' birthday!  He is 46-years young today and, really, I don't think he'll ever grow up entirely!! 

 I have known Marius for many years through work - I've been in my job for 14 1/2 years and, because he works in the same industry, he's been around since then.  Truth be told, I always thought he was kinda cute.  Back then though, I had the stars of a newlywed in my eyes and I was too happy to imagine life ever changing.  But change it did. It goes without saying that nobody wants to lose a partner, or go through the hurt of divorce, but that's what happened.  We've both had our hurts and one can choose to sit in a heap and sulk for the rest of your days, or you can look at each day as a blessing.  I am blessed that I can love and be loved again.  It is different, we are older and more cautious, but that doesn't mean that it can't be just as good!

My Marius is an amazing man.  He's crazy and funny and really good looking.  He makes me laugh and feel beautiful.  He's generous and caring and he's the most wonderful father to his 2 beautiful boys.  He helps me so much with Jake and when I feel like the life's too much to bear, he's the first one to offer to pour me a glass of wine - a man like that is hard to find!!  We are childish and silly and can giggle all day long at absolutely nothing at all.  His home is my home from home.  I love my weekend beach house and my stoep with my hammock.  I love my view of the sea, the sound of the waves and our walks on the beach.  He loves coffee and running and snacking on peanut butter in the middle of the night.  He's my hammock-putter-upper, my braai king, the steak master.  He loves taking me out and holding my hand.  He loves to snuggle on the couch and not watch TV.  He's my best friend, the most amazing boyfriend ever!  How lucky can I be?

 

To Marius, I hope that today is going to be a fabulous day for you and I hope that my secret, surprise day with you on Saturday will be just perfect!  I can't wait to see you this evening and to share your birthday with you and all of our boys.  How lucky are we??!!  I feel so, so lucky to have you in my life!  Hahahaha... I had to kiss a few toads before I found my prince, but it has been worth the effort.  I didn't think that I would ever be this happy again, but here I am.  Wishing you the most wonderful birthday!  I'm crazy about you and to say I love you madly, would be a severe understatement! I didn't know I could love you this much! Thank you for being you.

Love,

Sue

XXX

A bumper...

 So many things have been happening lately.  Life is crazy and it's busy, but it's all good.  The school holidays came and went far too quickly and I am exhausted with the back-to-school routine already.  I can't wait for the long December break!

Jake's had plenty on the go as well.  He took part in a cubs competition at their hall a couple of weeks ago.  Their leaders did it up with a CIS-theme and it was a lot of fun.  Exhausting for the grown-ups, but the kids had a ball and that was what mattered...

 Jake not looking too happy with me snapping photos of him...

 They arranged for the fire department and police to visit and the kids loved it.  Jake's troop won the competition, so they were thrilled with that too...

 As a little treat for doing so well on their reports, we took the kids out for a sushi lunch at Beluga, which is one of our our favourites.  Actually, it's where Marius took me on our first date!  Jake and Michael tackled a 24-piece platter each - Michael finished his in record time and Jake had to take some home for supper.  My boys...

 Michael wolfing down his sushi...

 Jake enjoy his too...

 Cam doesn't eat fish at all, so he opted for ribs and chips instead...

 We spent one of our afternoons playing mini golf...

 Jake loves pretending to shoot me at the moment...

 Jake's friend, Cole, is moving to America this month, so he joined us for putt-putt...

 We also spent a lot of the holidays (the afternoons, I was working) in our garden.  With spring here, it has been great to see everything slowly coming coming back to life.  I love my wild irises...

 My garden is messy and there's still lots of space to plant pretty things, but it all costs money, so I'm just enjoying what we've got for now...

 More irises...

 OK, I know it's not a great shot, but we've cleared out the veggie patch and we've dug in compost...

 Our seeds have been sewn and some have already sprouted.  Baby mixed lettuce...

 Carrots...

 Spinach...

 And mealies...

 Jake also insisted on buying a blue berry bush.  I didn't realise how big it's supposed to get; at 3m it's not a bush, it's a tree!  And I dread to think what colour my walls will be when the fruit ripens and the birds find it.  It's exciting for Jake though and he loves blueberries...

 This year, we've planted veggies outside our patch too - we ran out of space for everything we want to grow.  Peppers...

 Ooooh and look at these.  My mom gave me 3 clivia a while ago and I planted them beneath my lemon tree.  They've all bloomed beautifully this spring and I'm very chuffed with them.  By the way - I haven't done anything to the colours in this picture...

 Looking out from my stoep...

 Jake went to a fete without me on Saturday and he was thrilled to show me the plants he bought for our garden.  We pass a bush like this in the mornings when we walk to school and he always tells me he likes it.  Pretty flowers...

But deadly thorns...

 He also bought me this monkey tailed fern, which is very pretty...

 Having a boy around means that you find things like this in your garden from time to time.  It's a rain spider (my worst - they're harmless, but get bigger than your hand). He tells me it was already dead when he put it in the jar...

 And we also have this shark's jaw in our garden...

 Jake's hanepoort grapevine didn't do well last year and Jake's only just pruned it back and it's got some new shoots.  Hopefully we can nurse it back to health...

 In other news, Rylee got his first tooth last week and we were invited to dinner to celebrate...

 Little drooler...

Jake and Rylee love each other, it's so sweet to see.  Actually, it's been great to see Jake reach a stage where he's prepared to act silly to enjoy his little cousins...

Hahaha... it won't be long before that's a real punch!  Rylee, Jake's bigger than you...

 Rylee decided that he didn't want to go to bed, the dinner party was much more fun...

 He is crazy about his mommy and his daddy too...

 Jake got a new catty - they're not my favourite toys, I'm so scared he hits someone or breaks something.  He's thrilled with it though.  And don't even get me started on how big this boy's getting!  He's in the same size shoe as me now...

 We haven't seen Hilux for a while.  He's still as crazy as ever and he was also very happy to see Jake...

 This is Jake's naughty face...

 Because he was getting ready to shoot my with his catty...

You have to agree, even though he's naughty and full of nonsense at the moment (hormones!!), he's beautiful...

 Jake and my mom (Nini)...

 Hello Smiley Rylee...

 Rylee's hair's definitely red...

 And he's got the most beautiful blue eyes...

 I think he's looking forward to being big enough to enjoy a drink with all of us...

 Jake and Gareth played a game of pool.  Jake lost horribly, but he had fun doing it...

 The more you practice, the better you get...

 Rosie says something along the lines of "it's cuddle time" and Rylee gets all excited...

 Then she smothers him with a gazillion kisses...

 Rylee can't really eat pancakes yet, but he did manage to chew on one through this little gadget...

 The pancake stack...

 All the grandparents joined in the celebrating - it was a great evening and the food was fantastic...

 Jake with Rylee and Uncle Gareth...

OK, I'm back up-to-date!  Hope this finds everyone well!!

Lots of love,

Sue XXX