Three Year Old Sam

In keeping with the pattern of birthday posts, this year I'm going to use the alphabet to tell you about your current self:


A is for Adrienne
I'm not sure there is anyone in the world you like more than Adrienne. It must be all the days you spent together at Papu's house; she's your favourite person. I was sad at us separating you into different schools this year, but am filled with such joy when I see your little reunions. I love how you run open-armed to each other shouting, "Adi!" "Sammy!", and smother one another in big, bear hugs.

B is for Bee-Bee
This is a very exciting time for us in this regard. When Bayley was born, I figured you would tandem feed; after all, Zac did too. Unlike him, though, you took tandem feeding to a level I could probably liken to having newborn twins! But - you have also maintained that you are going to stop nursing at three. And if you are anything like Zac (who said he'd stop on his birthday, and did, on that very day), the end may well be here.

C is for Chuckle
You have the most contagious giggle. When you find something funny - or are doing something you aren't supposed to - your laughter is both completely engaging and contagious. Your eyes narrow into little slits you can barely see through, and your dimples are displayed for all to admire. Hearing you express your happiness is one of my favourite sounds in the world.

D is for Dirty
I have never met a child more dirty child than you. I don't mean you have bad hygiene habits (that would be a poor reflection on me); I simply mean that you attract dirt. Regardless of what we do or where we go, at the end of each day, you are absolutely filthy.

E is for Eddie
Considering that you have never met Uncle Eddie in person, you have a unique and surprisingly great affinity for him. We can probably thank the wonders of modern technology for that. Whenever we Skype or Facetime to the Webers overseas, Eddie is the one you want to talk to, and he is the one you are most looking forward to meeting - over freshly baked cinnamon donuts, I'm sure!

F is for Fashion
I don't know who taught you this, but you know clothing brands and styles, and have a thing for accessories - always sporting caps and sunglasses! You are a fan of "adi-di-das", as you call it, and since inheriting some from Zac now have a pretty impressive selection of shoes.

G is for Griewelik
I looked for an English word for griewelik, but none seem to do it justice. You are 100% pure boy - mischief, adventure and fun!

H is for Hair
There has always been a fair amount of fascination with you hair. It started when you were born with a head of ginger hair. Not long after that it lightened to almost white before settling on a darker blonde. At the moment, your hair is also very long, and you have no plans to cut it. In fact, you would far rather tie your hair up in a ponytail (and you do) - like Adrienne.

I is for Intercessor
There is something about the way you pray that is both pure and powerful. It's clear that you know Who you are talking to, and that you are totally comfortable doing so. I particularly love how your prayers are mostly for others, and how your faith is evident in what you say and how you confidently end with, "A-men".

J is for Joy
There aren't many children I know who always have a smile on their face, but you, my boy, are one of them. You don't just smile; your whole face shines! Even when you wake up, you gleefully shout, "surprise", flash me your pearly whites, and embrace me in a warm hug. You make every morning easier just for being in it.

K is for Kit-Kat
This is your favourite chocolate. You regularly manipulate us by asking for one of these to get you to do something. Most recently, this has become your reward for a week of no potty-related incidents. The best thing about you and Kit-Kats though, is that you always share them with the rest of us.

L is for Lisp
I don't know how it is that people who lisp are usually people whose names have an 's' in them. It seems like a cruel form of punishment. Anyway, this seems to be the case with you too. It's quite cute right now, actually, but I won't lie: I do hope that you'll outgrow it.

M is for Mimic
Boy, you know just how to wind your brother up. Your favourite thing to do to annoy him is to copy everything he does or says (and you do it so well). You think it's hilarious! Another wonderful thing you do is pretend to be Dad. At least once a week I find you sweeping and scolding Zac, saying, "I'm Daddy".

N is for (No) Nappy
As with many of your other milestones, you have defied the boundaries of 'normal' and done things in your own sweet time - be that early or late. Toilet training is no different. Before the start of this year you regularly old me were never going to wear an underpants. I'm pleased to say that you now do - consistently during the day, at least.

O is for Orchestra
You have a love for music that extends to all instruments. You are equally happy banging on the drum (you have exceptionally good rhythm for this) as you are tinkling on the piano, whistling through the recorder or strumming on the guitar (that you play left-handed). You're a real little one-man band!

P is for Polite
You are wonderfully considerate of others, and display very good manners (the majority of the time, anyway). You remember your please and thank you, and live by the old adage that sharing is caring.

Q is for Quirky
There is something about you that is just a little off-beat. And it shows in your sense of humour. I love how you are able to draw smiles from any and every situation and person - even yourself - with witty words and clever comedic timing.

R is for Romantic
Ok, so romantic is a little grown up and strong; nevertheless, you are a real little love-bunny. You love to pick me flowers, and often randomly come up to tell me, very matter-of-factly, how much you love me. You thrive on physical touch, be it warm hugs, hair playing,  soft tickles or just being entwined with another warm-blooded human.

S is for School
This was probably our best idea - sending you to school. You were so excited to start at the beginning of this year, and it has made me confident that when you embark on formal schooling next year, you will be well prepared. You love the school and your teachers, and you have grown and matured so much since starting there.

T is for Threenager
I bet so far you think you've been the model child. Well, this will change your mind. As much as you are sweet and kind and pleasant to be around, you have a serious temper that, when exposed, usually is accompanied by a growl and a tantrum. I brace myself for this year of the Threenager with you!

U is for U2
The band U2 is not really music of your time, but thanks to iTunes automatically loading their 2014 album Songs of Innocence onto all devices, you are a fan. We are basically subject to their music at least three times a week. Coldplay too; you genuinely think that Chris Martin is a real friend of yours...

V is for Vehicles
You are car-crazy! At one point, you didn't know your colours, but you could look at the emblem of any car make and tell me who you know who has a car of that same make. You are the first to hop into the car with Papu, especially if it's the kombi or the bus, and we regularly find you in the garage pretend-driving the car.

W is for Water Baby
You started swimming lessons this year, and you absolutely love it! You are so comfortable, you confidently speedboat from one side of the pool to the other, on your own, blowing bubbles and kicking like crazy. It may or may not also have something to do with your swimming teacher, Alison, whom you think you own.

X is for eXpletives
While this is not something I am particularly proud of, it would be remiss of me not to include the fact that we have heard some rather colourful words and phrases escape your mouth in your time. For the sake of this being a family blog, I'll spare everyone the record of the specifics.

Y is for YOLO
There is no doubt that you have an energy, positivity and enthusiasm for life that is refreshing and inspiring. You have already grasped the fact that we only have one life to live, and should make the most of it. This usually comes with risk and accidents of which you have had a fair share. Still, it doesn't hold you back. You have a confidence in who you are, and what you want, and you seem to choose to life as an adventure of opportunity and celebration. I hope you never lose that.

Z is for Zzz
As you have done pretty much since birth, you still sleep sucking your thumb and cuddling your blankey. Sometimes seeing this newer, more grown up you can be quite overwhelming. Some of my favourite and most cherished moments now are of you curled up asleep against me.

You are so excited about turning three today (I'm still catching up on how we got here so fast). May it be all you hope for and more. You are loved so much!

Happy birthday x

Family Bucket List: Term 1

As we approach the end of the first quarter, here is how we are doing on our Family Bucket List for 2018:

Meeting Criteria:

Go - so far we are meeting bed times most days of the week (the kids more so than us though)
Ride - early in March the kids completed their first Junior CT Cycle Tour and are hooked, so Knysna may be next
Give Back - I have done a good emptying of all the cupboards at least once already, and made a couple baby packs for some teenage moms
Travel - we have set in motion our plans to travel this year, starting with applying for passports for Sam and Bayley
Visit - we are looking forward to a special Christmas visiting these precious people
Watch - we recently watched our first sunrise together, and it was a total hit
Be - if nothing else, we are aware of the need to be respectful (and are regularly reminded by the boys)
Limit - this is working well because Zac is finally able to understand the restrictions and make wise choices, and Sam just copies whatever he does
Start - we have made a point of praying together each morning before we leave the house, and it really is the highlight of my day


Room for Improvement:

Play - while we have been spending more time together, we have not really gotten the game playing part down yet
Read - bedtime is a bit of a rush (to get to bed by 20h00) so stories are not always happening then, but Zac is reading to us every afternoon if that counts
Eat - we have such good intentions here, but the boys love bread so it definitely needs better enforcement
Make - traditionally, I make the books for the children's first birthday, so I have time here, although I have already started getting content together
Cook - the plan is to do this while on holiday (I'm super excited for a white Christmas)
See - this is the first holiday coming up, so I have a date with the boys
Enjoy - the treats are probably happening more often than I would like, but at least the boys are being made to earn them
Share - we're good at saying warm goodbyes, but I reckon we can get better at giving purposeful, no reason hugs, just because
Practise - while I can't say we're at the point of not raising out voices quite yet, I am happy that at least we see (hear) this less often


Intervention and Remediation Required:

Try - we have not even thought of this, which is problematic as we are going into Winter, and I'm certainly not camping then
Explore - I am so desperate to do this, but how to do it while saving money and leave for an overseas trip is proving to be more difficult than I thought
Send - shamefully we have not sent a single postcard, despite Zac writing love notes all over the place, all the time
Create - I honestly don't know this will even happen unless I do it myself, and that is not likely
Do - procrastination is the thief of time, and despite regular planning to do prom walks and park runs we are yet to do one
Grow - in the midst of this drought, I'm not sure why I put this down when I can hardly keep any plant alive right now
Learn - we need to be more deliberate about this as so far the only things we've learnt about anything is when Zac teaches us what he's learnt at school

Comment:
All in all, I'd like to think that we're making good progress. I'm even on track with my blogging goal!
Still, I realise that we need to maintain this momentum in order to tick everything of our list in time. Let's see how well we do next term.

The Time We Went To Watch The Sunrise

Earlier this year, we published our family bucket list for 2018. On it we put a number of activities, habits and experiences we'd like to accomplish between January and December - only some of which we have managed so far, despite already being nearly 25% through the year.

One of the more simple things we had committed to do was to watch a sunrise. In theory, anyway, it is something that is relatively easy to do. Unless you live with my family: I have a husband who hates waking early on any day of the week, and two sons who have their own rather verbal ideas of what fun is. So, admittedly, in order to get this done, I had to ambush them.

I knew this past Saturday would be quiet as it was the day before Andel's Cycle Tour race, so when I woke at my usual weekday wake up time of 05h15, following an exhausting day that had me asleep at 20h00, I took my chance. As soon as the kids stirred around 06h00, I suggested we take the opportunity to watch the sunrise.

Sometimes the best plans are the ones that aren't planned. We literally put trackies over our pyjamas and piled into the car, and at 06h40 were sitting on Muizenberg beach watching the world wake. It was magical.

Sunrise at Muizenberg Beach 06h42

Even Zac, who was in no mood to go, and spent the entire ride asking, "did we vote on this? I didn't vote to do this" had to admit that catching what was the only sun on Saturday was pretty cool.

My sun-kissed Sammy

Family Fun - even with graumpy Zac

Learning that we are better together

Bundled up and bonding

We're going through a bit of a challenging season right now, still, it's been so encouraging being reminded of God's great faithfulness, finding out how much joy and life we can experience in the small things, and confirming that as long as we're together, we're doing ok.

Junior Cycle Tour 2018

You'd think that after five years of doing this, we'd be taking Junior Cycle Tour in our stride. However, when you consider that this year we had eight children in six different age/distance categories, you can imagine the chaos that ensued just to register them, never mind on the actual day!

At 08h00 it was Andel and me with five kids, five bikes, two bags and a pram, trying to get the bigger kids ready for their race.

By 10h00 they had completed their races, and we were joined by Yaya, Dom and Garth, and the rest of the riders for the later rides.

To give you an idea of what the morning felt like: when we got home a little after 13h00, which would only have been marginally later than we do on a regular Sunday once we've been to church and popped out for groceries, I felt like I had worked an entire day!

Below, in no particular order, are pictures from various people, taken throughout the day. I'm sure you can understand that I had zero time to take pics!

Duck Faces

Dabbing

Pretty pleased with his medal

Setting off on his maiden bike voyage

So keen: at the start 20 minutes before the time

Not quite as keen on this cycle race business

Seems Peyton shares Bayley's sentiments

Taking in the view?

Bonny and her babies - just missing Adi & Bay

These boys - doing it for themselves

Start-line selfie

And perhaps some nerves?

Until next year then...