Celebrating Tania's 30th

(posted by Elizma)

To belatedly celebrate Tania's 30th we went to a lovely restaurant last night in Guildford.

We had a lovely evening - thanks again for babysitting Helena!


More photos here.

Shopping at Ikea

(posted by Elizma)

Mommy's favourite face

(posted by Elizma)

This is Mommy's favourite expression of mine at the moment. She just likes the expression, not the reason for it - a good old moan...

Swimming Lessons

(posted by Elizma)

Liam is two lessons away from completing his level 1 swimming course. He's had an absolute ball and loved most of it. (He had to miss two weeks due to a cold and he wasn't happy the first time we took him back after that - he forgot almost everything.)

However, this past weekend he was back to enjoying it. He just wants to swim around and kick the water. Both instructors we've had have been really impressed with his natural kicking.

This weekend he also held on to the side by himself - with Leon letting go completely. It's quite amazing that an 8-month old knows how to do that.

He can't wait to show off his skills to all his Oumas and Oupas. And when we go to South Africa early next month he'll have many opportunities to practise.

Some more snow photos

(posted by Elizma)

We went out for a walk yesterday and took extra photos. Also, this morning with the sun shining it's even more magical than yesterday, so we couldn't resist taking new ones. And be warned, we're going for another walk later, so you might have to endure even MORE...

Snow! Glorious Snow!

(posted by Elizma)

Our neigbourhood is a fairytale at the moment. Snow started falling last night and it's still going. Up to 35cm or almost 14 inches in places in our garden.

It's made for a very exciting morning as you can imagine. Although we made it even more exciting for ourselves. Running out the house (before even brushing our teeth!) we played in the street with the neighbours and in the excitement I (Elizma) locked us out!

Leon had to walk to his parents - about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) down the road - to get the spare keys. Luckily Liam and I could spend the time in front of the fire with some of our neighbours. They even had some formula for him and he could have a nap in Chloe's cot. He was, and still is, so excited. Probably picking up the vibes from everyone around him. I wasn't in too much trouble with Leon as he enjoyed the walk and the views immensely. And I got treated to warm cups of coffee, toast etc. Thanks Kath and Jays!

Leon could obviously not go to work and it seems that he won't be able to go tomorrow either.






For some more photos, click here.

Liam's 8 months old today!

(posted by Elizma)

I can't believe it's time to post another update on his milestones! He is still just a pleasure...

Quite early in January he started pushing himself up on his legs. It started suddenly at bathtime. As soon as Leon grabbed hold of his hands in the bath, he would push himself into a standing position - suprising us both the first few times he did it. Now it comes very naturally to him and looks so easy. He's not managed to pull himself up against the sofa, although he's trying. This also means that he's not that eager to sit down anymore and much prefers standing up - which he makes clear whenever you try to put him down.



He has also now really into playing games with us. And if he sees that we find something he does funny, he'll continue doing it to see our reactions. This spells the end of us smiling or laughing if he does something 'naughty' as we don't want to encourage him in any way!

He enjoys games such as Peekaboo (especially if he's on the bed and I'm hiding on the floor) and 'Mallekoppie' - a game from my side of the family which involves some vicious head shaking.

Signs of crawling are getting stronger by the day. He gets himself up on his knees, but does not yet get how to go forward. He does make 360 degree turns at an impressive pace and seem to get around by pushing himself backwards with his arms - covering quite a bit of ground in a short space of time.


He seems to totally understand the meaning of NO, but he either listens or he doesn't ;-) He had his first 'pat' on the hand yesterday after throwing a mini-tantrum at his dad for trying to undress him for bathtime. He also practises saying no to me at mealtimes, shaking his head for no more food even if he hasn't had any yet. I guess it's time he started to assert himself, but a few of the behaviours will have to be nipped in the butt quite early!


For some more pictures taken of him in January, click here. It was a very social month...