Mobile at last - Here comes trouble!

My Bike & I

Four Faces

Rugby World Cup 2007

I go swimming

@ the C

In the limelight

Am I cute, or what?

Life's all about fun

My Swing!

Mom bought me a swing, and today Dad put it up in the tree for me. As you know, I'm not afraid of anything, and swinging is no exception. Right from the start I just LOVED it!

Hold on tight!
Faster!!!
Whoopee!!! Thanks Mom! Thanks Dad!

My First Foam Bath

Bathtime is my favorite Playtime! Mom gave me a foam bath the other day - it was quite an experience! Here I'm preparing for the games...

Hey, these bubbles are something new...

But FUN!!!!!!

Can we do this again sometime, Mom?

Mom

I have the best Mom in the whole world! She loves me sooooooooo much, feeds me, comforts me and teaches me the nicest games. I really love it when Mom plays a little "rough" with me - I am a boy after all! Sometimes she says things like "I'm going to eat you alive!", but actually I know she's just playing with me, so I try to pretend that I'm frightened as well, but it doesn't work because I can not stop laughing!

Love you, Mom!

Mobile !!!

Mom got me this great new thing - they call it a walking ring! Mom and Dad were all smiles when they put me in the thing. At first I did not know exactly what to do:


But for a clever boy like me it took only a few minutes to figure the thing out. I can even chase Dad around the kitchen!!! I can go everywhere I want - forwards, backwards and sideways! This new toy is the best!

Poor Saartjie (the dog) and the Cats! No peace for them anymore!

My Jolly Jumper

When I turned 4 months old my Dad got me a Jolly Jumper! Oooh, I just LOVE it!!!!


Now mom can cook in peace while I exercise a bit...

3 Months!

We all have a life long wonderful association with food. Whether you are a foodie or not, we all need our “daily bread” - be it McDonalds and pizza take-aways, good old home-cooking or an exciting journey of exploring the bounty of nature by experimenting with all kinds of new recipes. I'm sharing my family's enthusiasm for food: maybe I'll be the next Jamie Oliver! Definitely considered as a career option after tasting my first spoonful of Purity Maize Porridge (Vanilla and Malt actually!). I'm enjoying one small meal every day...

My mom and dad are bent on teaching me to behave in my stroller. They take me for a little walk every day, but on windy days I get to wear this ridiculous Bear Outfit! Have you ever seen anything as silly. Who has ever heard of a BLUE Winnie the Pooh?? At least it keeps the cold at bay. I’ll humour them. But just this once …

Ten Weeks Old!

I had my 10 week inoculation recently and to bolster my courage, my mom dressed me in this “grown-up” outfit. It worked quite well to make me feel confident. I met another little boy in the doctor’s waiting room who was up for the same procedure. He was wearing a sleep suit: what a baby!

When I'm asleep I'm an angel. Absolute saint. But I'm not one for lying in late - at 5 o'clock I need to celebrate the brand new day! Mom's clock must be a few hours behind mine, somehow she doesn't quite share my excitement about it. Oh well, I might as well reluctantly give in and catch a little nap again and give her a little more sleep!

Last weekend my godparents (Louis & Mimi) and my favorite little cousin Louis came all the way from Pretoria just to visit me! Was I thrilled or what - I must confess I stole the show!

True Blue Bull

Benjamin is a Blue Bull Supporter. Whether he likes it or not. You know the way children always complain about their parents’ expectations and the pressure they feel to fulfill their dad or mom’s dream? Well, being a Blue Bull Supporter is just one of those things – he has no choice in the matter and does not seem to mind wearing THE JERSEY too much!!! Roelf claims that the Bulls win if Benjamin is awake and watching when they are playing and almost definitely lose if he is asleep.

You must have come across the famous quote by the author of Peter Pan: “When the first baby laughed for the first time, it broke into a thousand pieces and that was the beginning of the fairies”. When Benjamin laughs it is a bit of magic. It makes you believe in all the beauty of fairies, unicorns and moonlit evenings. Even at 10 weeks, he has definite preferences about things which elicit that gurgling, bubbling, beautiful laughter. This photo was taken with his favourite favourite toy – a little multi-coloured bug with a friendly face which normally hangs over the changing table where he spends many happy minutes chatting loudly to it. Magic.

Lina and Benjamin

Lina came to us 16 years ago – when we were still unmarried she arrived at our small flat in West Street one day to offer her services: she would iron shirts one day a week. She has seen us through the good times - big, momentous happenings like our wedding, moving into our first home, moving and renovating a bigger home and finally, by far the best so far, bringing Benjamin home!

She has known him for 10 weeks only, but is already very protective of him – she is outraged if Johannes mows the lawn right outside the window where Benjamin is sleeping!

8 Weeks Old!

Benjamin is now 8 weeks old – and a lot of growing up has gone into the last month. He has almost doubled his birth weight and is a handful at 4.6 kg! He has also added a whole 7cm to his length! It was with mixed emotions that I folded and packed away those very first “newborn” clothes he wore in the first month – those little outfits are too small and packing them away reminded me that he is growing up fast. He has had his first major inoculation and to us the most magic of all …. is smiling frequently at almost anything it seems. We have tried to capture some of these magic moments by camera but of course the pictures never portray the warmth and depth of his smile, the little noises which accompany these bursts of friendly communication or the range of emotions we feel as parents when he recognizes us.

One of my clients enquired about Benjamin the other day and during the conversation mentioned that little babies were quite “addictive”. This is exactly right! We cannot seem to get enough of his little quirks, his facial expressions, the way he feels when you hold him, the fact that he already has little favourite toys and objects he likes to smile at.

Even bathtime is starting to become fun now...

5 Weeks Old and Oh So Sweeeeeeet!

As you can see, I'm much more comfortable with taking a bath now - it is not so bad after all!


Oh, what's this? This is new! Exploring my gym...





I think I recognize you...

Love you Mom!