Hamburg

We went to Hamburg this weekend... a scorcher of a weekend! We spent most of the days in the pool (including Ant, who was happiest in the pool). These are pics from our last weekend at Hamburg - about 3 weeks ago. I didn't have enough hands to take pictures this weekend...

A tiny taste of the First World

I've just received this sms:
"A friendly reminder from SARS: Record your car mileage at the end of today and keep it to complete your tax return. Thank you."
Huh?

This makes me happy: seeing a beautiful place for the first time

I love travelling. I just love seeing a beautiful place for the first time. I love planning the trip (ultra-Virgo style, all the details, maps, books). I love reading my journals and looking at the photos and remembering. Some of the beautiful places from our trip to Indonesia include: Lake Toba (Sumatra), Borobadur (Java), Lake Kelimutu (Flores), so many more... OK, agreed, sometimes the actual travelling can be exhausting, frustrating, hot. But you quickly forget those things (pretty much like childbirth, you forget the bad stuff).
So here we are, planning our next trip. WE'RE GOING TO AUSTRALIA. There. It's out there. We've been swinging back and forth between ja... um... nope... um... ja. Well, the pendulum's stopped at ja, and we're going. Today I read this beautiful quote in Stacy Julian's blog (seen it before somewhere, and it's kinda a mantra I'd love to live by):
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails.
EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER (I think it's Mark Twain)
And it's totally confirmed our decision to go. And now I'm excited. We have so much to do... Least of all to get passports for all three boys. Not a small exercise for South African administration (can you guess the words I can't spell?) We need to get together a huge amount of money (access bond, beware!) and I need to work on my " I don't think I can cope with 3 boys on the road" attitude. Perhaps some practice is in order. All and any advice about travelling with young children will be gratefully received (Schonkens? Adlards?)

How could I forget?

Ant has TWO teeth! First one pushed through on Friday and second one yesterday! Well done, big boy, all that gnawing has worked. Be careful you don't bite your toes now.

Ant at 5 months

Can you believe it... you're 5 months already. And boy, you've grown.

You're into 6-12 month babygro's and look like a little boy in your dungarees and t-shirt.
You still love your bath and are getting more and more adventurous. Now splashing and giggling with passion. You totally don't mind water on your face, and think it's incredibly funny when Dad baths you with your brothers.
You've started eating porridge, and at first you LOVED it, grabbing at the spoon with both hands and smearing it everywhere. Now you're like "ok, what's next" about your porridge. We've tried you on some apple, but it's a bit tart, making you pull faces and squirm.
You're sitting so well now. Still toppling every now and again, but quite steady most of the time.
You're still mimmicking lip movements for "mum-mum", "baba" and "hello". But no sounds with the lips are coming out yet (it's ok, one thing at a time)
You and Granny are getting "into the groove". You just love your granny... She's getting you into a cool daytime routine (sleeping for 2.5 hrs at mid-day), and I'm thinking the two of you are becoming inseparable.
You love been thrown into the air and giggle with such delight when Dad does it.
You're understanding things, like "bottle" (huff puff in anticipation) and "kisses" (big wide mouth smile).
You love to play "where's mommy, here she is!" and "where's Anthony, here he is!" ("peek-a-boo" just doesn't do it for us)

You're just a delight... Love you!

This makes me happy: the colour green

I love it. It's fresh. It's sophisticated. It's living. It can be warm, it can be cool. I love the colour of avos - the way they're a dark green on the outside and grade into a really cool light green in the middle. You just don't have a colour "avo", because it's about 100 different shades of green. I love the colour of kiwi fruit. I love a car that's the fresh green of granny smith apples. I love how a potplant has a million shades of green and all are pleasing. I love the colour of freshly steamed broccoli. When I page through a magazine, the pictures of gardens or jungles always draw me into them, I can feel the coolness of the fresh wet green. Yes, I think green makes me happy.

This makes me happy: eating strawberries

I'm a sucker for good food, which is pretty obvious, but even the most scrumptious food doesn't do it for me. Except strawberries. Perhaps because they're virtually sinless. Perhaps it's because you never know whether you're going to get a really sweet one or a really tart one. Perhaps it's their complex texture. Perhaps it's just their colour. But I just love eating them, at room temperature, out of the box I bought them in, holding back their leaves with the stalks. Yum.

This makes me happy: bathing Anthony

When I start running his bath, I put him on his bed and give his lion-king stainglass goodie a twirl, which he loves. His room catches the late afternoon sun, and he watches Lion King, kicking his legs in delight. Then when his bath is ready, I undress him. He starts huffing and puffing in anticipation. When I take his nappy off, he gives me the biggest, wide-open-mouth smile, as if to say: "now, now, now?" Then I carry his little naked body (love it!) through to the bathroom, and pop him in his bath chair. And now the fun starts. He squeals with delight after the initial shock of the water (no matter what the temperature is), and starts kicking his legs and splashing with his arms. He stops for a little, looks at the taps and then, he's off again. Smiling his wide-open-mouth smile and getting it full of water. The boys have got a tupperware set of buckets and a couple of them have holes in them making a shower of water. Ant just loves this. I shower his belly and his legs and his arms. He watches it with great concentration and tries to catch the water with his hands.
He's never once complained in the bath, even when he's overdue for a bottle or a sleep. He's even once or twice moaned, just a little, when I've taken him out.
This makes me happy. Really happy. I try not to miss his bath. Even if I'm exhausted. What a delight.