Nathan walks?

I can't believe it's been a week since this momentous event, but it has. Just goes to show how busy I am.

Last weekend my dear son appears to have taken his first steps on his own. I'm not sure, because I wasn't present. It might have been more a case of "falling with purpose" than actual walking. However, he is now walking while only holding one of your hands (albeit still with a lot of shuffling and stumbling) and walking confidently along furniture. So, whether or not it was 'real' walking, it won't be long till he will be walking properly.

His sister was walking by 13 months, and she was 7 weeks prem, so he's got big shoes to fill if he's going to keep pace with her (he's a year in 4 weeks time - EEEK!). Then again, she was a LOT lighter than him, so it was probably a lot easier for her to get her weight airborne and mobile...

So - I'd better go and plan his birthday party now... Sheesh. Two kids to plan parties for... thank God they're 6 months apart - I don't think I'd cope otherwise.

Nathan

4 teeth down and number 5 on its way. Where did I put that Panado and Hydraspasmol (which the bottle says has an added sedative effect if taken with alcohol)?????

He's up, up and away... just about. This week he has started walking along furniture. It won't be long and he'll be walking completely unaided. Nellie was walking by 13 months. I reckon Nate might beat her record.

He's also just about climbing out of his cot. Hmm... I'm not ready for him to go into a big bed. He's far too young. But I don't really want him falling out of the cot either. Decisions, decisions.

And despite his teething misery (which we're all subjected to), I haven't killed him yet because he has such a cute smile that means all is forgiven in an instant. What a cute child!

So much to say...

Two weeks ago, Ali preached about how Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him into the surrounding countryside and why that was necessary. She made the comment that the disciples were preparing the way, finding out whether people were ready to receive Jesus or not. Something in that really struck a chord with me in terms of my own spiritual development. There was something about the active partnering with God to prepare people's hearts. Then, at our counselling session on Monday Ali made a comment to Graeme about the fact that, by its very nature, the 'stuck' place will not be resolved passively.

Since I had Nellie I've found that I've lacked the spiritual discipline and the time alone to have traditional 'quiet times' with God. In chatting to other mothers, I discovered that this is a common side-effect of having children. At the time I made the decision not to beat myself up about it, but it's been hard. I reckoned that God would understand and that when the time was right, he would draw me back. Yet, there is such a strong culture of regular personal QT's in the evangelical church (which I grew up in) that it's hard not to think of myself as failing in this area.

Over the past few weeks I've begun to sense God saying that now it's time to get back to something more focused, private and intentional than just relying on Sunday services for my spiritual input (hence relating to you the two incidents above, which are typical of recent weeks). Like exercising, it takes discipline to maintain that regular slot in the diary. Unfortunately, I'm not very disciplined. I'm one of the laziest bums I know! This is going to be a challenge, but it is something I really value, and I think it's something that will reap tremendous benefits in months and years to come. So I'm going to try again.

Speaking of exercise, I bet regular readers are wondering about my goal of 5,000 steps a day. Well, my stupid step-counter broke. I fixed it, and a day later it broke again. However, I have managed to maintain an attitude of exercise to some extent. While the step-counter was working, I managed to get a feel for how far 4,000 steps is (since that's a distance I walk once a week). I've been trying to motivate myself to get out there and walk, but I'll be honest and say I've yet to have a week where I've managed my 5,000 steps every single day. It's actually a lot further than you think! But, I am persevering with it. This week I've managed 2 days in a row. If I can do it again today, then it will be 4 days in a row because I'm going to do my 4,000 step walk on Friday. Which will make it a good week.

What hasn't helped in terms of exercise is that I've been very busy developing my business website. It's been going well, and I've done a mock-up of it. Now I'm actually building the real thing, based on a few friends' helpful comments on how to improve it. Then it will be a matter of testing the real thing, and finding somewhere to host it. I'd really like it to be up and running by the end of the month, but with the move and the limited time that I have to work on it, I may be pushing the boat out a bit far on that deadline.

Some good news on the job front has arrived. I've been offered a month's teaching work at a very good school in Cape Town, starting a week after we arrive. While this is another obstacle in the way of getting my business up and running, I'm grateful for the work because it means some of the financial pressure is relieved. It also gives Graeme another month to job hunt. At this point I would just like to acknowledge that once again, God has rescued us and reminded me that he will provide for us - even if it is only at the 11th hour! Thank you Lord - you are more faithful than I give you credit for.

Here's one....

This is of her ladyship at about 9 months. She had started to walk before she crawled, but then she got the hang of crawling so walking took a back seat, as you'll see.

Sick on her birthday!

This time one year ago, almost exactly, my waters broke. 17 hours from now, tiny Janel was born - all purple, with jaundice - at an incredible 34 weeks.

One year on, and to celebrate her birthday she has contracted chickenpox. Unfortunately, this means that her birthday party on Sat has had to be cancelled.... so not only was her birth itself eventful, but her birthday will be too (or not, given that we're in quarantine!).

Still, she has been, and is, the joy of our lives. Every day I thank God for her and tomorrow will be no different. As we look back and celebrate how our tiny baby fought the odds and survived - to walk all of 13 steps by herself today! - we will thank God even more for her. She is a pleasure to be around, a joy to behold, and a priceless treasure. And to think that God thinks we're the best people to be her parents.... unreal!

Happy 1st birthday my Sugar Lump Lovely! Happy 1st birthday Daddy's Chuckle Monster. May this year be the first of MANY more, and may God continue to protect you and guide you through this turbulent world.

My midwife appointment went well today - No 2 is a vicious kicker, just like Janel was! Some things change, others stay the same. Let's hope the manner of No 2's birth will be as different to Janel's as chalk and cheese.

Children's Zoo & walking

Yesterday we took Nellie to a local children's zoo, which was fabulous despite the wet weather. Her favourite animals were the lemurs (because they performed beautifully for her - leaping and playing games with each other), the Giant British Rabbits (which were anything but giant!) and the Bantam chickens (because both were smaller than she was)

and the sheep (because she thought their wool was just like the carpets in Mommy and Daddy's room).

She was slighly afraid of the goats, but at least not so terrifying that she didn't want to try to touch them. Of course, the ducks were a hit, but they always are, so that doesn't really count.

When we got home, she then proceeded to take 2 steps all on her own. Again, as soon as I got the camera out and tried to get her to do it again, she refused, so sorry - no video of that yet. THEN, this morning at church, she took 3 steps all on her own!! I'm guessing that if she continues at this rate, she'll be walking before Christmas!

So much new stuff!!

Where to begin? Janel has realised that she can pull the cushions off the lounge furniture - and then throw herself on them! What fun! Likewise, she has realised she can throw the pillows off the bed, or at least move them across the bed, and then throw herself on them.

She can now use her tongue to make "bdlup-bdlup" noises (goodness know how you spell that!) here's a quick video of it. (We now think we have a way to put the video off the camcorder on the web, but haven't had the time to try, so I've resorted to using our camera again...still, it's better than nothing!) As we no longer have video editing software to resize it - our trial version has expired so many times the website won't allow us to download it anymore I should mention that these video clips will only really work if you have broadband - sorry!!!

Big news - she took her first step on Sunday!!! YAY!!! Very wobbly, and fell down immediately afterwards, but never the less, a step! (Followed within seconds by another step, so it wasn't a fluke.) Sadly, not captured on video, but here are some clips of her attempting to walk. You're going to have to turn your head to see it... And here is one of her walking with the walker.

While we are doing the video thing, here is another video of her opening and closing the gate. I'm also going to try to get one of her shaking her head and wagging her arm, but that will have to wait for another day - she got frustrated enough with me trying to take all these videos today.