So Close

It's like riding a bike

I accomplished one of the most exciting achievements of my life this weekend, I taught the kids how to ride a bike. It was SO exciting!

We stay in a fantastic security estate, a little haven where the kids are able to ride their bikes around the complex with very little cars driving around and where there aren't any 'baddies' lurking around. At any given day on a weekend there are at least 10-20 young children riding their bicycles up and down. And up until this point, my children haven't been able to participate because they didn't know how to ride a bike.  We bought them bikes 6 months ago but after an aborted attempt to teach them how to ride a bike (*cough* Marko *cough*), the bikes just gathered dust in the garage. I thought about teaching them myself but it was hot and sweaty and I just couldn't.

But it is school holidays now and on Thursday night it was one of those beautiful Cape Town sunny winter's evenings and I thought I would give it a bash. I ran up and down next to the bike telling them how to balance and how to peddle (yay, I remembered!) and Adam got it straight away. Within a few minutes he was peddling up and down as if he had being doing it for years. He had got it.  It took until this morning for Kate to get it, but she has got it too.  It was such a fantastic feeling to see the two of them riding up and down on their bikes.

Yesterday I bought Max a bike too and today the kids were on their bikes the whole day. Poor Adam has a sore bum from all the bike riding. Marko and I are so excited about this bike riding thing we are thinking about getting bicycles too! 

Here are some pics from today. I was going to photoshop some shoes on Max and a helmet on Adam but I am tired and its late so I want you to pretend you can see them. Would hate to have a repeat of this.

 

 

He made his début two years ago as a Twitter Trend. #MaxDay

Max is two today.  I can't actually get my head around that fact. TWO!  Two years ago he made history when he was the youngest person to be a South African twitter trend.  I tweeted some of his birth, and my lovely twitter friends tweeted their support and the hashtag #MaxDay was born.   #MaxDay made the number 3 spot on Twitter’s Home page, ahead of Star Trek and Swine Flu.   This means that #MaxDay was the third most important topic on twitter in the world, and with an audience of over 7 million – that was no mean feat. (Link courtesy of Snowgoose)

Several other online publications picked up the story including News24 and Washington Post. Within the first few days of his life, Max had already become famous.

In fact, I am very good friends with an awesome woman Nicola Smuts (http://www.fertilityastrology.com/) who is the world's leading Fertility Astrologer (she has a success rate that is comparable with the best fertility clinics in the world), she did a quick reading for Max when he was born and she said that he had strong markers for fame in his chart.  Well, she might just be right - his fame started at birth :-)

I can't believe my baby is two.  As is the cliche, these past two years have flown by.  It feels like it has been two months, not two years.  Things are so, so, SO much easier / better when you are a second time around mom.  

Max is an awesome boy, he is such a sweet, happy child.  Everyone says that about him. I love and adore that child so much.  Perhaps because I know he is my last baby (my very, very LAST baby EVER!), I love my time with him.  Every stage seems so precious and even the harder parts don't seem hard at all.  I know how quickly it goes by.

There is also a part of me that still can't believe he is here.  My little bonus, freebie baby. A baby who came into this world all on his own. I had nothing to do with it. Well, besides a few minutes hours of pleasure (<--specially for husband).  I didn't plan for a baby, I didn't pay money for fertility treatment, I didn't shed tears, I didn't try my heart and soul out, I didn't pray / hope / despair / weep / fear / be terrified out of my mind it wouldn't work. I did nothing and yet he decided to join our family. HE decided. That blows my mind. I look at him everyday and think 'how on earth did you get here?'.  It is like Christmas everyday.  

Max is an average, healthy, normal boy.  I know enough about loss, about illness, about special needs and special challenges some people face to know how lucky I am to be able to say that about him.

I thought my family was perfectly complete before he arrived. I know now that with him in our family, we are completely perfect in our own special crazy, busy, normal way.

I adore you baby boy, my special, beautiful little boy.

xxx

(he is wearing a swimming cap in this picture. For no other reason other than he can)

PS we are having a small party for him today, so I might post some more pics later. 

PPS poor baby had to have a small party as he has no friends besides his family and cousins.  He doesn't go to play school and I am too old to do those moms and tot things. Oh well, he wont know any difference and we make MUCH cooler friends than other two year olds. At least we wont steal his sweets or play with his toys. Actually....we might. 

PPPS He is two and still drinks from a bottle. And he has a dummy. HORRORS!

PPPPS Adam and Kate had a dummy and a milk bottle until they were four. I strongly suspect Max will go the same way.  PHONE THE COPS AND ARREST THIS WOMAN!

Parenting a toddler is Hard Work for the aged

It could just be that I am getting older (very possible), but it seems to me as if Max is very, VERY um, spirited.  Lively.  Busy. (naughty!) OMG, he is busy.  He RUNS, everywhere.  He climbs, EVERYWHERE.  He dives off cupboards, he climbs up couches.  It is exhausting!

Already in his short 18 month life, he has broken more things than the twins broke. He smashed our new vase, he broke an ornament. Last week I had three lovely photos blown up and put on canvas.  It was a very expensive exercise. In the three seconds I turned my back, Max took a pen and drew all over one of the portraits.  I have to redo the portrait.  I had forgotten what 18 months is like.

And he is tough!  He is a tough cookie.  He takes absolutely no shit from his siblings. I suppose he has to be tough in order to survive those two.  He is a tough, busy, energetic little boy, and I absolutely adore him.  It is actually such a cute age.  Just not for the faint-hearted. Or the aged.

 

 

Never underestimate the entertainment value of babies

Doesn't he make such a pretty ballerina.  Marko is going to kill me when he sees this.

  

 

Maxie boy

Look how big my baby has got!

(Real post coming soon, promise)

 

 

 
 
 

One year old

It was Max's first birthday on Saturday - can you believe that! A year since he was born.  I know it is a terrible cliché, but seriously - this first year has flown by.  As hard and long and intense as the first year with the twins was, is as easy and quick as the first year with Max has been.  With the twins, my whole life was turned upside down. Max has hardly disrupted my life at all.  Perhaps it is because my life is pretty disrupted anyway, so one other baby is not going to shake things up too much ;-)  Actually, I think it is because I already have kids (so I am in the 'zone' already), plus there is only ONE of him (<-- can't stress this fact highly enough! One baby = fun, two babies = not so much fun), plus I am an experienced mom, plus he really is an easy baby. I really hit the jackpot this time around. 

Poor Max, he is already suffering from second/third/last child syndrome. Hand-me-downs, hardly any new toys, far fewer photos and a first birthday party that was spartan in comparison to the twins first birthday party. The twins had 25 kids and 30 adults attending. Max had his siblings, one set of cousins and the daughter of a friend of mine. 6 kids, 6 adults. However, his party might have been smaller, his gifts fewer but there was no lacking in the love.  I love love LOVE that child.  So much.  My totally delicious no-so-little baby. Yum.

I have a question for you, am interested in your opinion....

I recently came across a charity that really touched my heart. In fact, I had met the person who runs it about five years ago and then lost contact. Then recently I heard of them again.  They are an elderly couple who run a safe house for abandoned and HIV positive babies and young kids. With no government funding, relying purely on their savings and a few donations from the local community, they take care of about 25 kids at a time. 

I remember 5 years ago, sitting in the paediatrician's rooms. I saw an elderly white lady holding a tiny black baby. I started chatting to her and she told me about her charity. I asked her for her website details, and she smiled at me. No website, they are an elderly couple, they dont know about websites etc.  It was my turn to see the doctor and when I came out, she was gone. There are many, many needy charities in South Africa but this woman struck a cord with me.

Then, about a week ago I was at a kiddies play place (in fact, the best kiddie play place in Cape Town - Kidzone - run by my friend Bev) and Bev was telling me that she wanted to raise funds for a particular charity and would I help.  She started talking about the charity and I realized it was the same couple! This was meant to be. I am going to post about them soon (I am just waiting for some pictures), but this brings to my question...

Adam and Kate (and therefore by default, Max too) have lots and lots of toys. More toys than they can possibly play with.  I have already donated bags full of their hardly used toys that they have outgrown to other charities, but honestly - Max does not need any new toys. There is more than enough stuff for him to play with.

So what I wanted to suggest to family and friends is that they don't buy him a gift for his birthday, and instead buy something for the charity, or donate the gift to the charity. They need it much, much more than Max does. Max has enough clothes, toys etc.  But then I thought, I wonder how fair that is to Max? Is it ok for me to decide on his behalf that he shouldn't get gifts for his first birthday? *I* think it is ok, but should I be making that decision for him?  I don't know.  I was very close to telling people that is what they should do but then another thought struck me (I think too much) - maybe I am being unfair to the grannies and family etc, maybe they want to give Max a gift?  Aarrghh!  In the end, I left it.  I thought that I would allow Max to get his gifts, but I would help the charity as well. I would do both.

What do you think? Do you think it would have been ok for me to ask people to donate to the charity instead of buying Max a gift? Or not?  Unfair to Max? Unfair to grannies/family? Or is it ok for me to decide as his mother?

Some pics of his birthday here http://www.flickr.com/tertia

Those horns are not entirely inappropriate

Early education is so important

Book kindly given to us by the lovely Millie a lifetime time ago, before Max and long before the beautiful Eleanor. 

PS That BlackBerry must have THE worst camera in the world. Luckily I love and adore it so much or else I might have been forced to throw it out the window. (Idle threat. My life would be empty and meaningless without my BB.)

Jeez Louise, hold on to your broeks!*

* broeks is Afrikaans slang for panties

Wow, I go away for two days and all hell breaks loose! I haven't had time to read your recent comments properly, but a quick glance at my BlackBerry tells me that things have got a little heated around here.

I've been away for two days, did you miss me?  Or did you not even notice I was gone, you fair-weather fickle friends of mine!

I had a little trip planned for Monday and Tuesday, but due to Rose's early leave, I had to do some fancy footwork to arrange care of the offspring while I was away.  Marko is at work during the day, schools are closed, Rose is away so I was pretty stuck.  Luckily my lovely mother helped out with the twins, but I had no one to look after old Maxie boy so I took him with me!  He was SUCH a superstar on the trip.  Very good on the flight up to Joburg and mostly quite good on the flight back (he was quite tired so cried a little, but was mostly really good). I met Rose in Joburg at the airport (she was delighted to see her charge) and then we all went back to the hotel. Rose and Max went off to do their thing and I had a few appointments.  I booked a hotel room for Rose and Max, and another one for myself.  The prospect of a full night's sleep was VERY alluring.  Unfortunately I worked until 11 and then was WIDE AWAKE at 5am.  But it's the thought that counts, so they say.

It seems strange to take Max aalllll the way to Joburg with me but it worked out really well.  It was so fun to see Rose, Max had a great time and I felt much better knowing that he was close by and well looked after. 

I must say, I felt quite proud of me.  I am normally SUPER anal about routine and about staying home etc, but there I was, baby and all, winging my way across the country!  Go me!  Getting quite adventurous in my old age. Next stop - BINGO! 

PS Max really is THE most friendly, sweet, easy baby in the world. I am so damn lucky! 
I am very fond of that chap.

Max snacking on his favourite meal (toes)

Superb picture quality thanks to the excellent -0,25 megapixel camera on my BB. (^*%*&^!