Sweet Baby James

Happy birthday James.

Josh has returned from James's party all hyped up - too much sugar and good company. The adults all feel quite mellow thanks to Rob and the Weiss Beer. Play school tomorrow should be a blast, I hope Erica sends cupcakes.

Eye teeth are out (as is everyhting in his sinuses) but the sleepless nights continue, oh joy. I hope that there will be another on the way. I can so wait and look forward to it all at once. Just please not twins. How does anyone cope? Good luck to all future teachers of this crazy little kid.

When in the party mood, don't stop ...

Say What?

Josh says:

Aug 30 2009 kitty teddy daddy mamma da (dog) out down no zizi (Zanzi the dog) tisi (Tipsi - Lusapho's dog) nana (banana) wata (water) meow quack uff (woof) mmoo meeee (sheep sound: says m and then laughs!) dipdip (tomato sauce to dip his food in) ta mwa (kisses and calls the dogs) dudu (says it when he gets his bottle and blankie before bedtime) brrrrr... toot toot (car sound) shoes tumtum heyo (hello) yum

Oct 16 2009 papa (grandpa) bath yeyo (yello, involves his tongue leaving his mouth) juice woof yeeha (for horse or riding) appoo (apple) avo artchie (nartchie) didi (Digby the dog) thankyou elmoo (Elmarie) ot (hot also used for sore teeth) baba (baby) bebee (blanket) outside sizzy (Elizabeth) wee (which he can do on command at bath-time) mato (tomatoes and strawberries) biscuit

Joshua, Take a Jersey

I can vividly recall the traumatic experience of traveling to the UK as a 10-year-old. Not because the trip was harrowing, but because I was dressed (by mom) in a pair of beige corduroy longs, with a beige jersey (so thick I battled to bend my arms, and I think it was size too small, which didn’t help) and beige suede shoes. Man mom was proud.

So … Joshua spent the first hot evening of winter '09 in a Bob The Builder gown. "I don’t think he'll need a gown," I offered. "Yes, but it's so cute," she said, ignoring the red cheeks and adjusting the little hat. I didn’t argue, but I was at Heathrow, '82, all over again. Poor kid he doesn’t stand a chance. Imagine the end of grade 9 subject choice conversation. "Ballet and the History of Politics? What kind of subjects are those. Maths and Science. As long as you live under my roof, you'll take Maths and Science." And he'll go on to design lingerie and hire people to do all the computation I would have done, and curse me for forcing him to do Maths and Science. I've put Bob The Builder's gown at the back of the cupboard, unwashed. I hope no one notices.

A Pig in the Sheet

When Peter had the vision of the sheet, the one with all kinds of animals, clean and unclean; there surely wasn't a pig in that mix. Surely God knew/knows that H1N1 is serious. Everyone's panicking. Not least of which the SA Pork Association. Aids from monkeys, mad cow disease and swine flu. Imagine Joshua's world - cancer caused by breathing, brain damage from TV and organ failure from drinking water. Oh hang on, that's been happening for years. The more things change ...

Josh had a little flu scare a week back. Or maybe it was his teeth. Tracey and I had a flu scare each. Turned out to be a 24hr viral infection but not swine flu. Sick as dogs though. I can understand the panic but wish it would pass. Same parents who are bleating about closing schools would happily send their kids to parties where there's no supervision. Priorities.

On that note. We still wake frequently to satisfy Josh's empty stomach and sore teeth routine between 7PM and 5AM. Two routines. One solution. Food. We can't get angry with the kid. He gets more adorable each day. He's stringing the odd sentence together. They're generally odd sentences, but he gets 'Amber, OUT' more often than not. (Untrained parent-ears will hear 'aadr et' but we know what he means.) Now we have to teach him to say 'Piggy, STAY.'

Mtunzini

We spent a week with Josh at Mtunzini on the North Coast (thanks Jane for the accommodation in MFL). Spending time in Josh's space was a wake-up call to the joys and challenges of raising kids, all over again. He slept in our room as it was too cold in the spare room. He woke up about 5 times a night and we did the same. What felt/smelt like 10 nappies a day was a pointer to a sizable molar pushing its way through those ever active gums. New words, an understanding of the 'No!' concept (demonstrated by a wild shaking of his head while doing the thing(s) he shouldn't), Flings, sea sand, bottle tops, walks to and on the beach in his back-pack, two remotes and a new found love for lions and lion sounds made for a busy break. I would do it again in a heart beat.

An evening with PJ, Heather and Phil was a highlight and the long visit to the Spur's kiddies area gave us a romantic break to crown it all! Man being an adult is so worth growing up for. Be warned.

Birthday #2

Josh and his friends had a party on the 30th of May. A modest affair by Fhk standards (a mere 3 bottles of bubbly) but a long day none-the-less. How parents of twins or any one brave enough to have three or more kids does it, I don't know. The colourful people cake (only the green guy is shown) didn't last long and mom's carrot cake hardly touched sides - unless you count the sides of the couch, the sides of the dogs, the sides of the TV, the sides of the other kids and of course the out-sides of Josh.

Birthday #1

On Tuesday 26 May, Tracey, Josh and I went to Gordon's Bay to celebrate Josh's first birthday. The little town was hidden in low cloud when we got there and our idea of spending the day on the beach seemed as crazy as trying to get him to eat without messing or bath without splashing. Thankfully though the cloud lifted to reveal a charming beach (made even more so by the rare absence of people) and an enless supply of sand-castle building material. Most of the latter passed through his digestive tract, but then that goes for nearly everything he enjoys as a rule.

Of Barks, Bites and the Road Less Travelled

Josh is growing at a rate of knots. He has discovered that a loud scream will bring attention and if it's aimed at the object out of reach it will generally cause the object to move a little closer. This works for everything but Rasin the cat. He has four teeth on top and four at the bottom (one of which is quite independent). Walking is making a little more sense and he is up to a few unaided steps at a time now. If he gets a hand to hold he'll make his way up and down the passage or busy himself with repeated visits to the lawn (and anything on it - whatever the dogs leave behind, the flower beds, newly planted marigolds and potted herbs all bear testimony to his adventures).

To keep up with all the growth and activity he has developed a voracious appetite. The pig in the picture is however a friend and no animals were harmed in the posting of this blog.

de Do Do Do de DA DA DA

The elections have come and gone and Josh is as likely to make a good job of being president as the incumbent, JZ. Josh is however innocent - which means he would get my vote ahead of most of the candidates I was allowed to pick on the surprisingly large ballot. I chose the only face that is as plump and round as his and she went on to win the Western Cape! Who says you cant judge a book by its cover?

The Case of The Little Baby

I don't remember much of what I got up to at Varsity. I think that my habit of socialising until Pumkin Hour, followed by hurridly going through my lecture notes and napping from 2AM until 6AM - when I'd go for a run to kick start my day - may have something to do with it. It's also probably why I work until late at night and don't wake when Tracey and Josh do - which is still 3 or 4 times between 11PM and 5:30AM! But even when I am forced to feed him or change a nappy early in the morning, sleep deprivation hasn't stopped me from noticing how very amazing and perfect Joshua is. More than one dad has said it all passes too quickly - and it does. Thank goodness that sleep will return - but how often will he find delight in a suitcase?

What a Difference a Day Makes

We've just been away for a week or so with Josh to see our family in Pta, with a follow-on break to Highlands Mountain Retreat in the Free State.

In the short time that we've been away he has learnt to crawl; pushed out some new teeth; recovered from chicken-pox and charmed two plane-loads of passengers. Now that we're back home the house seems so much smaller and the thought of sitting at the table to work while be plays at my feet is a distant memory! Even the dogs have sensed the emerging danger and hidden themselves outside while he attacks anything that can double as a support for his unsteady legs.