Hello 2010!

I had this super-long post written, and now I can't seem to cut and paste it to blogger... pretty annoying, but probably for the best, as my posts are becoming quite rambly (is that a word?) lately!

So, I'll just update you all on our Festive Holiday Season by pictures with captions! Much more fun!

As you can see - my belly is growing a bit these days! These pictures were taken when I was about 34 weeks on... It is our little family portrait before little one arrives!

This is mister man helping out in his new garden - yes, the very same garden I wanted done by Christmas... ahem* Well... it's not quite done yet, but it is coming along nicely. I spent this morning pottering around (all 36 weeks of me) and had a complete blast! Photos of the garden completed will be coming soon!

A few days before Christmas we joined our local Ds Association to hand out food packs at a charity organisation that offers assistance to physically and mentally handicapped people. This organisation is run out of old disused shipping containers in a very poor township. We were so glad to be part of this!

Christmas with my family is a very chilled affair... no cooking, no cleaning, no entertaining... My brother-in-law always spoils us to lunch and afterwards we lie in the pool and relax (without a dish to wash!). This year we went to a beautiful hotel that organised the most lavish picnics in their beautiful gardens - Malakai just LOVED exploring and I spent as much time as I could lying on the blanket, just relaxing! Afterward, we swam in the pool and lay in the garden - all very full and very lazy!

Then, just a quick update on Malakai. I cannot believe just how much he's changed the past three weeks! It always seems that when we're on holiday and have lots of time with him, Malakai just blossoms!

On a motor level - Malakai is still not walking yet, but he's standing for longer and longer periods and is still cruising along everything. He's crawling with his bum in the air, legs completely straight and man can he move! He's obsessed with the toilets and toilet paper... He's also learned how to go down stairs and get off the couch backwards - he learned it amazingly fast one day he was diving head first and the next he was turning around. Malakai is also dancing - it is a the cutest friggen thing I've ever seen!

On a fine motor level - Malakai is now using his pointing finger and pushing buttons. This took a long time for him to master - I've been showing him for months. But it's like the light just went on and now he loves pushing buttons and making his toys make music! He's also showing an interest for the very first time to put shapes in the shape sorter - before he only wanted to throw the shapes as far as possible, and now he understands that he needs to put the shape in the hole!

On a communicative level - Malakai understands so much more than I think we even realise. He follows instruction and has started to give us things when we say 'ta'. He's playing peekaboo (he even hides himself away!). He's signing eat, sleep, and more. He's verbalising so much more than a few weeks ago and is saying 'ma ma' and 'ba ba', but I am not sure he's actually saying it in context yet... I think he's really understanding so much more, and the other day, when a show called 'Boogie BeBees' came on (a dancing show for toddlers), their theme song goes 'dance, dance, dance...' and there is is, shaking his little booty in front of the TV!

Teeth - yes... because they deserve their own paragraph! Malakai has been teething for what seems to be 40 years now! We have a full set of teeth on top and on ONE SIDE at the bottom... we are working on the second side on the bottom and then we're done (I hope and pray)! Add to this a bought of tonsillitis and fevers and you can imagine - I was so sleep deprived for 5 days that I didn't know what to do with myself! Things are better now though, and Malakai is sleeping through again... thank goodness!

As for myself - I'm officially on maternity leave and waiting for Harlan (yes, that is baby number 2's chosen name) to arrive. At my checkup today we discovered that Harlan is weighing in at 3.1kgs (huge!) and I have another 2 or so weeks to go. I am incredibly uncomfortable, but I am also relishing in the relative calm before the storm (so to speak)... So I'm napping every afternoon and generally having myself a fabulous time!

Ok, so my 'short' post morphed into a rather long one! Sorry! I will endeavour to update my blog more often, and hopefully will be able to keep my posts shorter...

Here's to a fantastic 2010 - it can only be amazing!