Busy bodies...

It's been a  long time since I posted.  Actually, I uploaded these pictures a week ago and still haven't had a chance to add comments and publish the post.  Needless to say, the pictures are a bit out-dated already. 

So, somewhere along the line, we took Jake to take his boat out for a spin.  We went went off to Buitenverwachting, where there is a nice big dam (thanks Hermann for organising this for us).  Jake has been so excited about his boat and he was dying to take it out for a spin.  So was Danie.  I think the boat is more for him than it is for Jake...

Danie was the first to put it in the water, much to Jake's horror... 

Jake finally getting his hands on the controls...

And having a go.  Seriously, the grown up men were way more excited than the little one...

Beautiful vineyards and cellar at Buiten.  I miss this place so much...

The dam...

A little boy in his element...

I didn't manage to get a very good picture of the boat in action, it was too quick for me.  Thankfully, it survived this trip pretty well and Jake was very chuffed.  At 60km/hr, it's not a slow toy and definitely not a kid's toy.  We have been again and Jake did manage to get the boat stuck in the reeds twice, but I did try take the controls for a moment and it's very difficult to control that thing, especially when it's coming towards you and you have to be able to swap the controls around.  My brain just doesn't work that way.  It's a girl thing.  Like reversing a car with a trailer, we just aren't meant to do it...

The next day, we put the stickers on Jake's boat.  He was super, super excited with how it turned out...

Smart...

We haven't wanted to bombard Jo while Paul's been off, but did stop past for a quick visit after school on a Friday afternoon.  Jake is very chuffed with his little girl cousin and keeps telling me now that he wants a sister...

Awww man.  She is a real little angel, she sleeps well and is growing beautifully.  I need to make a plan with Jo to take some photos of her soon, before she stops looking like a teeny baby.  In the mean time, I could just about eat that boy up, he's getting so big...

Other than that, life's been busy.  Danie, Jake and I are off to the Kruger for a few days next week and I can't wait for the break.  Jake and I had a lovely weekend together this weekend, we missed spending time with Danie, but that's life.  He is a busy guy.  The weather was awful, it's so cold and has been raining lots (good, I guess).  Jake's such fun to spend time with, he makes me laugh so much.  He's my little ray of sunshine :o) 

Hope every one's well, hoping to find a few minutes later today to catch up on some blog reading too.

Lots of love,
Sue XXX

Our Little Princess...

Has arrived safely!  And I had one of the best birthdays ever.  Granted that it was a little bit not all about me, but I was blessed with a beautiful little niece as a birthday present from my sister & Paul!   As far as birthdays go, it can only be topped by the one that followed Jake's birth in 2004. 

Little Bianca Mary Duncan was born early in the morning on Tuesday, 17 May.  She weighed in at a healthy 3.69kgs.  When Jo was strapped up to the monitor on Tuesday morning, she was actually having regular contractions and the doctor was very happy to tell her that the baby was exactly ready for delivery.  Jo did well through her Cesar and seems to be taking it all in her stride.  Bianca (to be called Bee by me) is gorgeous and as the first little girl in our family, since Rosanne in 1985, we have all been very excited about her arrival.  It was just so special to meet her and get a cuddle on my birthday!

So without much more chatting, here are some (lots) pictures...

Bee and me.  Babies suit me, don't you think?  I am SUPER broody at the moment...

Jo, looking gorgeous, just hours after her surgery...

Siblings are allowed in to visit, which means Connor's been allowed in to see Jo and Bee, but Jake isn't.  He's not impressed.  Connor just wants to be with his mommy...

The first family snaps...

Bee is such a contented baby.  I remember Jake sleeping a lot and I am only too aware of the honeymoon phase of a new baby, but Bee is so relaxed and hardly stirs...

Proud Daddy...

Kisses for Daddy's girl...

That little finger's ready to start dishing out orders...

Her hands are really wrinkly and that little bow of a mouth...  It always amazes me how perfect babies are...

Her eyes are a little red still (makeup?) and she has the most gorgeous, little round face.  She's also got strawberry blonde hair, which Connor had too...

I asked Connor to give his baby sister a kiss, this was the look I got - are you nuts?  He calls me Corky, Cor-cor, Sue or Susie.  He's such a busy little boy now, very cute...

Holding his baby's hand...

And finally a little peck.  Connor has no idea how his life is going to change, but I'm sure he's going to be the perfect, protective big brother to little Bee...

My mom is smitten again...

Bee has quite a lot of extra skin on her forehead, exactly like Rosie had when she was a baby...

Besides the excitement of a new baby, I was a very spoilt girl.  Just about everyone I can think of sent me messages, phoned or came to visit.  I was extremely blessed and it's really nice being reminded how many people care.  I got such beautiful, thoughtful gifts too, including lingerie, chocolates, gift vouchers (one for movie tickets & babysitting), clothes, yummy food and boots.

Danie thoroughly spoilt me at midnight on my birthday with the most stunning Tissot watch.  I haven't had a watch in years, but believe me, it was worth the wait!  It was such a thoughtful gift and I absolutely love it!  I am worth it though ;0)))

The watch was in a gift bag, filled with the most delicious chocolates - this man knows the way to my heart!!

And I got 34 beautiful red roses, to remind me how much he loves me...

We went out for pizzas for dinner, with my friend Jacki and her son, Steven.  And all in all, it was a wonderful day, full of spoils and surprises and I am a very lucky girl to be loved and cared for by so many.

All my love,
Sue XXX

Excitement...

Well, my baby is officially 7 today.  Hardly a baby any more, but he will always be that in my eyes.  It's amazing how clearly the birth of your child stands out in your mind - it feels like yesterday that we were blessed with a tiny bundle to love and cherish for the rest of our days.  I always find birthdays a bit difficult to get through, I guess they're filled with so many happy memories.   I just do my best to keep as busy as possible.

All that said, Jake's birthday has been such fun this year and he has been so excited about his party and birthday.  We chose a Survivor theme this year and ended up inviting just about everyone he knows.  We had it on the field opposite our house, which was a lovely venue and we were blessed with a bit of sunshine to enjoy being outdoors with the kids.

Jake & I made this survivor banner.  Jake did all the inside bits, I did the fine work.  It's very far from perfect, but I think quite effective anyway...

I also made Survivor style lanterns filled with sweets as party packs.  My mom & Rosanne helped a bit with them...

Once the entertainers arrived, the kids were divided into tribes and each had war paint done on their faces in their tribe colours...

Tribes then had to make up a war cry...

 The first game up was for tribes to line up and then each member has a turn to race against the other tribes to pick up little flags.  The tribe with the most flags was the winner...

  

The race is on...

 Next up was tug-of-war...

 Jake's team won their first round, but lost in the second.  That guy's one of the organisers...

The birthday boy...

I'm not sure that I would've been able to have done the next game.  It was another race against the other tribes, this time to use their mouths only to fish a plastic bug out of a bowl of jelly, then to find a sour worm in a bowl full of flour.  Needless to say, there was a lot of spitting going on... yuck...

Tribes ready to go...

 Jake fishing for his worm...

 And seriously battling to swallow it.  I'm not sure whether it was the connotation of eating a real worm that got to the kids, or the flour, but they all battled to get this down...

 Done and waiting for the last team to finish...

 They made one member from each tribe go up against each other to first get jelly all over their face, then rub it in flour to see who could get the dirtiest.  Abi, Jake's cousin, won - she even had flour in her ears...

 Next up was a water game.  Each tribe had a bucket filled with water and were given a leaking cup to carry water across to fill a bottle.  They only had to get it half full and Jake's tribe won this race...

 After all the fun, handing out of prizes.  Jake's tribe was tied with another, so prizes were shared.  I think it's fair to say, everyone had fun and I'm sure they all went home and slept well.  I know Jake did...

 In between the action, the kids were given time to eat and drink.  I thought I had over-catered, but just about everything was gone at the end of the day.  And thank goodness I made a few adult-friendly snacks, quite a few moms stayed to watch...

 Jo and Paul were there with Connor...

 She's looking great - Bianca arrives early tomorrow morning!

  Our friends from Augrabies were in town, so popped in for a bit, always good to see them...

 After all the fun and games, it was time to sing to the birthday boy and cut the cake...

 A group shot of most of the kids...

 After most of the kids had left, Jake opened his gifts - he was such a spoilt boy and people are so thoughtful...

 A funny moment amongst the cousins...

 Jake with his gifts, such a spoilt boy...

 This morning, it was just Jake and I at home when we woke up.  Jake was super, super excited and was awake around 6 saying "what do you want to say to me?".  I wished him, the lights went on and he opened his present from Danie and I...

To my darling boy: Jake, you are SUCH a blessing in my life and I am so proud of the little boy you have become.  Your birthday is finally here, no more sleeps to count, so I hope that you have the happiest birthday ever!  I love you with all my heart.  Mom (because I'm not mommy anymore *sob*) XXX


And on that, I'll end off.

Sue X