The Yacht Race...

My uncle and cousin (the ones we went to Greece with in 2006) are taking part in a yacht race from Cape Town to St Helena bay at the moment. It's called The Governor's Cup and you can check out the leader board on the Governor's Cup website: http://www.thegovernorscup.co.za/. Their yacht's called 'Aurora' and they're currently in third position, just behind a yacht called 'Lusty', upon which, coincidentally, Jacques' aunt and uncle are racing. It's been neck and neck most of the way and until 2 days ago, 'Aurora' was ahead of 'Lusty'. It doesn't actually matter where the boats are lying though, it's all based on handicaps, so, at the end of the day, the guy who crosses first, isn't necessarily the winner...

Jake & I went down to the V & A Waterfront on 29 Dec with my folks, to meet up with the family and to wave farewell to the 14 (or 15) yachts leaving the harbour. Each team has matching shirts and caps, indicating their yacht's name and the yachts depart alphabetically to the cheers of the gathered crowds. I felt quite emotional watching the yachts leave...

Jake & Eve watching the seals. It's Eve's grandfather and uncle who taking part in the race... Live entertainment for the kids. I was quite concerned that these two seals were going to do "the deed" in front of Jake and Eve. I've already got my fair share of questions to answer with Connor on the way...

A mother's love comes in all shapes and sizes. These two were really sweet and I was quite upset to see that the baby has a bit of string tied tightly around it's neck. It's going to cause the poor thing endless worry as he grows bigger... See? They are cute sometimes. This was early in the morning though, so they were fresh. Check back at 6pm... Jake's not all that keen on getting too close to girls at the moment. These pictures were forced upon him...

The yachts all lined up and ready to set sail... My uncle waiting patiently to leave. They were busy doing a blessing for all the yachts... Ummm... just messing around, but I quite like this photo anyway... Another seal enjoying the sunshine. I'm not so sure that I'd be brave enough to walk past it to get on that yacht though... From the other side - check the crowd... That's my cousin and my uncle, again. Glad to see they're actually doing some of the hard work themselves. Hard work - HA! Fender-lifting is the complete opposite. It's what I opted to do whenever we entered and departed the various ports we visited in Greece... There they go... This is 'Lusty', with Jacques' Aunt & Uncle on board. Pete's the guy in the middle with the white shorts on and Sue's the one with the board. Sue's gone with as their chef. Their boat has the overall highest average age... After 'Aurora's' official departure, we met up with them again on the other side of the harbour for a drink. They ended up getting involved helping another yacht repair something, so after we'd had a quick lunch at Quay Four, we walked across to the pier to send them on their way... Jake was given the task of releasing the rope from the quay, which he took very seriously... They're free and on their way... From the main harbour, they had to motor their way out into Table Bay, where they met up with the other yachts. The actual race only began about an hour later... After our trip through to the harbour, we went to Jo & Paul's house to feed their cat and to let Gemma out for a bit. Jo and Paul were away for a week or so with friends. I took advantage of not having them around and snapped a couple of shots of Connor's bedroom. I can't believe Jo's so organised, all that's missing is the baby... The wardrobe's even packed and ready. She's got a few essentials still missing off the shelves, but she's still got a baby shower coming up, so hopefully the cupboard will be fuller by the time Connor's born... This is the theme for the room. The decorator's still busy, so this is just a blanket. Cute, hey?? I can't wait to meet my little nephew...

The Great Fishing Trip...

So, as you know, Jake got a fishing rod from our good friends, Wes & Lizelle, for Christmas. From the moment he opened the gift, all he wanted to do was go fishing. The day after Christmas is my mom's birthday (happy birthday, Mom!), so we were pretty busy with visitors. Gareth's an aspiring fisherman (I'm not actually sure that he's caught anything to date), so he was more then happy to have a little partner to teach the ropes to. Jake couldn't wait and the date was set for a fishing trip. Rosanne and I went with for moral support and to take a bunch of pictures. We went down to the Milnerton Lagoon, which I don't think has many fish in it, but, since it was pretty much deserted, it was a nice spot for Jake to learn how to cast...

All ready to go...

Arrival at our destination and trying his best to be patient...

Under the old wooden foot bridge...

Gareth showing Jake how to put the hook, bait and sinker on the line. I can already see my baby's holey fingers... Getting ready to cast off... Jake holding on for dear life, and reeling back in... The seasoned fisherman in action... For those who don't know, this is the Milnerton lighthouse. What started out as a sunny, partly cloudy day, was quickly turning into a gloomy, windy afternoon (see earlier photos)... Jake's first and only catch was this tiny crab. The picture's pretty close to life size... Jake really got into the swing of things quickly and he had tons of fun... And then it started to drizzle, but still the boys fished on... I was actually pleasantly surprised to learn that my sister knows quite a bit about fishing too. She can also cast a line and helped teach Jake a bit, while Gareth did some fishing. Note the towel... It had started to rain, so I headed back to the safe, warm, dryness of the car While the rest of them fished for seaweed... Finally, the heavens opened and it began to pour. Rose, Gareth and Jake were, by this stage, soaked and decided to call it a day. Jake was NOT happy to go home...

The Camp Out...

Before Christmas, shortly after putting our Christmas tree up, Jake & I decided that it would be fun to spend a night camping out in front of it. It meant shuffling a bit of furniture around the house and putting our tent together in our dining room, but it fit in perfectly and we spent 3 fabulous nights sleeping there. Jake loved the novelty of it...

Christmas Day...

Christmas Day was a very busy day. Jake slept in until about 7:30, after waking up at about 4am asking about his presents. He went back to sleep quickly after I told him that Father Christmas hadn't been yet and that the reindeer would be scared off with all his talking... So, after he'd woken the entire household, he raced through to the lounge to check out what was in his sack. He was a very spoilt little man indeed and got everything on his Christmas list. His Ben 10 Watch was at the bottom of his sack though and it would've been a disaster if he hadn't gotten it. Seriously. With each gift he picked up, he'd feel it and announce whether or not it was his Ben 10 watch before ripping the paper off. It was quite funny. So, thankfully, there was a Ben 10 watch in the sack and he was thrilled with it. He also got his 'penis' fly trap, which he's been very excited about. Although, it seems to be quite a fussy plant to look after and it isn't doing all that well at the moment. Fingers crossed that it doesn't expire on me yet. Unbeknown to me, the Ben 10 watch did land up flying off Jake's arm on Christmas morning, only to land in the swimming pool. After a quick recovery and rescue procedure, the rest of my family managed to distract me and get the watch going again. Lucky!! He also got a scooter, which he's had tons of fun with, clothes and tons of junk - but that's what grabs him.

We had Christmas lunch with Jacques' immediate and extended family. There were 22 of us and we all had a lovely lunch together. Jake enjoyed being with his cousins and was spoilt by everyone on that side as well. He had a whole bag of goodies to take home!! We had the full traditional lunch, including beef fillet, gammon, turkey, roast potatoes, roast veggies, rice, peas, gravy, salads. I was almost too full for pudding, but there was trifle and ice-cream with divine hot chocolate sauce and Christmas pudding - I rolled out the door!!

Waiting to go through to the lounge and presents... A Transformer mask. Jake's sack was exploding...

The fly trap...

A fishing rod from Uncle Wes, Aunty Lizelle, Lara-Lyn and Robert. This gift has been a huge hit...

The moment arrives...

The gift that nearly wasn't. A Ben 10 Watch!! He doesn't know how lucky he is to have that...

Far too cool...

Lunch at the in-laws. Abi seemed intent on showing me what was in her mouth - I have about 4 photos of her like this. Jake was too tired to pick his head up off the table... Tammy, Abigail, Josette & Rebecca. For those of you who don't know these faces - Tammy & Josette are Jacques' sisters and the girls are Josette's. Abi's soft and gentle, a real mommy to Jake; Becky's like a sister to Jake. They fight like cat and dog, but absolutely adore one another. They're going to get up to mischief together later in life... Waiting for presents to be handed out at Granny & Grandpa's house... After lunch, at about 6pm, we headed out to my aunt's house. My cousin's were both there with their kids. Dylan's 6 weeks older then Jake and Eve's 10 days younger. We had tons of fun being pregnant together and the kids all get along really well and it's always good to see how they're growing. But, to get three 4-year olds at that time on Christmas day, to pose together for a nice family picture is like pulling teeth. First, Jake wouldn't smile and Eve wouldn't look up... Then Jake smiled and the other two wriggled... Then Eve smiled and Dylan looked away. But, look at my child!! He was just past it by this stage... I love how Eve and Dylan are having a good laugh at something they found hysterical, Jake just isn't even trying to smile with them. Thank goodness Christmas only comes once a year!!

Till tomorrow xxx

Christmas Eve...

OK, the photos are sorted out and I've picked out the best of the lot to put up on my blog. I'll have to do them in various little posts as and when I get time (sorry). So, back to the beginning of the festive season we go...

Christmas has always a been a bit of a crazy time of year, not only for us, but for most people. I find it a very difficult time of year and one where, obviously, I feel Jacques absence strongly. It's a family time and mine's broken. It's also always very difficult trying to divide our time up fairly between my immediate family and Jacques' family. We normally alternate meal times, so that we're sure to have seen everyone. This year, we had dinner with my family on Christmas Eve, well, it ended up only being my parents, Jake & I. Joanne and Rosanne both have partners with families they need to spend time with and they're trying to set traditions of their own. Joanne and Paul always have a quiet night on Christmas Eve at home on their own and then have Christmas lunch with my folks (Paul's mom joins in as she's on her own). Rosanne also has to fit in seeing extended family on her fiance's side of things. Like I said, it's a bit of a time juggling act in our house. Actually, that doesn't really only apply to Christmas time, it's a year-round act. We had a lovely dinner of slow roasted lamb, gravy, roast potatoes, Jake's home-grown butternut and salad. Of course there was plenty of wine on the table and a delicious chocolate marshmallow pudding for dessert (I must remember to bring the recipe, it's a real winner and just thinking about it's making my mouth water!).

In line with tradition, before bedtime, we laid our Christmas sacks out under the tree for Father Christmas to fill. My sisters & I still have ours from when we were kids and they still get used - if you don't put your sack out, you won't get any presents! I've made Christmas sacks for Jake and now for Connor too - they're bright and Jake loves his. We also laid out a mini-feast for Father Christmas and his reindeer. The reindeer were going to feast on freshly picked carrots and water, while Father Christmas was getting chocolates, home baked shortbread and a glass of sherry. Delicious.

Jake spent the night in my bed, which was the best gift I could've asked for. He's just so precious. Sure, he has his faults, which of us doesn't? But to me, he's absolutely perfect in every single way.

OK, enough blabbering, here are some of our Christmas Eve pictures...

Picking carrots for the reindeer. Jake was very fussy through this process - if they weren't big enough, they weren't good enough...

The haul... Totally excited...

Us at the dinner table... An excited little boy on his way to bed. Did anyone see these musical toys at Woolworths this year? They sing Jingle Bells and Jake has had so much fun with his... The spread for Father Christmas and his reindeer...

Jake getting cosy with Father Christmas' sherry...

All partied out! The cutest elf in the world (to me anyway)...

A New Year...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! The fact that I'm blogging again, means that I'm (sadly) back at work again. Jake & I had a good break together and, while we were pretty selfish with our time, it was just the break I needed. I've come back to work feeling refreshed and ready to face the New Year. At least that's what I'm trying to convince myself. I seriously wouldn't mind just having a really wealthy man around to sponsor my living for a while (like for the rest of my life)...

Work is a bit like a mad house, which I wasn't expecting. I'd thought I'd be able to look through my photos and get a couple posted on my blog, but I don't have time. They're coming and I promise to do them in segments. I think I took nearly 700 photos in just 10 days. I had lots of fun with my camera and Jake was pretty obliging too.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi, to let you know that I'm still alive and well and to warn you that there are LOTS of pictures coming soon. Hope everyone's had a great festive season, looking forward to finding time to read everyone's news...

Lots of love XXX