Wordless Wednesday #306 - Delta Parkrun

Our first Parkrun

Delta Parkrun

We finally did our first Parkrun. I have been listening for weeks to a very passionate runner who sometimes runs the Parkrun twice in one go!

The Parkruns are a great way to get exercise in the fresh country, while being safe and getting feedback each week about the progress of your own exercise.
I did not realise that it's a worldwide event happening each Saturday, but it's definitely worth checking out when going to another part of the country or world!

Even Little Miss enjoyed it, and wanted to run for most of it!
We will be doing it more regularly from now on! (And I won't dress like the Michelin Man! ;-) It gets hot very quickly!)

Walking for a purpose - iThemba Walkathon

We took part in the yearly iThemba Walkathon yesterday. We first started when we became aware that nobody is exempt from breast cancer, not even an eighteen year old! It has been a yearly fun day for the family. Unfortunately The Student could not join us yesterday, although she was home (because of the lock-downs at universities), but she still has the rubber arm.

Little Miss did very well, and walked most of the way. She had to be bribed with an ice-cream, and "it's just around the corner", but she made it! (I think we struggled more, being as unfit as we are...) But we finished the 8 kilometres!

It took nearly twenty minutes to get past the starting line yesterday morning at eight. It's not strange if you know that there are 25 000 people taking part. But it was NOT fun stuck in that crowd not being able to move for quite a while!

Of course our beautiful city saved the day with it's skyline, it's purple streets and the friendly people!

That was the final walk for the MomAgain@40 clan!
I am glad that iThemba Walkathon gets so much participation, but it seems that the services and structures are struggling with the high numbers!

iThemba Walkathon 2015 #poutforapurpose #walkforapurpose

A photo posted by Karen Du Toit (@karentoittoit) on Oct 24, 2015 at 10:31pm PDT

Did we miss seeing you there?

Wordless Wednesday #265 - Hiking

Wordless Wednesday #248 - Afternoon walk with the dogs

Wordless Wednesday #232 - A Dad with his little girl

Wordless Wednesday #210 - Maropeng walking trail

Four and a half years

 I used to post each month on the 21st a monthly update, but the 21st days of each month are passing too quickly...
She's getting bigger! Too soon!

Little Missy is her own personality, and it is such a blessing to see her becoming her own person.

She still wants to be carried, and that's why we have to get a shopping cart.
(She is four; sometimes small, and sometimes big!)
15 kilograms are heavy, especially if she is all over the place.
Look there!
What's that?
Why are they wearing that?


She also does not want to sit in the chair, but at the back of the shopping cart, or standing on the front, holding.
Or being pulled like a roller-blader all over the shopping mall floors. (See the Vine above)
Anything, but walking...
Walking on her own needs creativity with racing from one shop to another, or seeing who gets where first!

I have a friend who still has to carry her 25 kilograms 4-year old! We consider ourselves lucky :D

Do you also struggle with getting them to walk on their own, or should I start worrying?

Annual Pink walk for breast cancer

The annual iTthemba Walkathon was again held in Johannesburg.

The family fun walk is a favourite of ours to attend.
It gets the family out in the outdoors and gives us a good exercise for a Sunday morning.
It also helps us to think we are doing our little bit for breast cancer awareness, as well as contributing to a good cause.

Ever since we got the scare when my daughter discovered the lump in her breast, we have become more aware of how important that check-up is. 18-year olds can get breast cancer!

I also have a colleague who went for her regular check-up just a week ago. She is completely clear after she had to go through a harrowing ordeal of a double mastectomy to save her from definite breast cancer in the future. Her story is here.
Now she does not have to worry about the C-sword hanging over her head, and she can plan her life with a long future ahead of her!

Not even the clouds or threats of thunderstorms could dampen  the walkers

Figures of 27 000-30 000 participants were mentioned

There was some enthusiastic walking by the Toddler,
but we  were glad we brought the stroller along

At the finish line!

Related posts:

- iThemba Walkathon 2011

- iThemba Walk against breast cancer (2010)

- Breast cancer awareness

Walking with the Toddler

One of the best places to be: On Daddy's back!

I wanted to post this on Friday, but Blogger had other plans. More that 24 hours of down-time... That was really frustrating!

We have to fetch the Teen every night at half past five after she has finished with her hockey practice!
I know all parents have to struggle with this, but all this driving and taxiing back-and-forth is a big headache. It takes just a little bit less of an hour before we get back home. So I suggested we get something from it as well. We walk with the Toddler in the back carrier and get some much-needed exercise as well! We drive to the school, and while we wait, we get in an exercise of at least half an hour!

I have announced now a couple of times I want to move more, but it seems the daily business of it all makes me slip time and again. I hope we can continue with this little exercise... We all feel a little bit better after we have worked up a sweat, and the Toddler really enjoys being outdoors!

Late afternoon walk in the 'burbs

Wordless Wednesday #73 - Autumn in Mpumalanga

Dunkeld Country Estate
Dullstroom

iThemba Walk against Breast Cancer

We walked a full 8 kilometers today for the iThemba Walk against Breast Cancer from the Marks Park Sports Complex in Greenside, Johannesburg. Everyone was pink, and we had a whole lot of fun!

We pushed the toddler, and for the most part she was happy to sit for the ride.

I had registered us for 5 km, but when we got our numbers back it was indicated we were up for the 8 km.  When we came to the split during the walk, we decided on the longer route. It was a good exercise as well. I am proud of us!

I am glad that we were able to contribute in a very small way in the crusade against breast cancer. It is a wake-up call every time I see people walking “in-loving-memory-of”!

The motto to remember” “Early detection saves lives!”

The teen and I had a bit of a scare last year when she did a breast examination and she found a lump. It turned out to be a fibroadenoma, and the gynaecologist confirmed this year that it is nothing to be worried about...
But we had a big scare! I can just imagine when you realize the lump is SOMETHING to worry about...

iThemba raises funds for breast cancer education and awareness in South Africa. A donation is also made to the Bosom Buddies breast cancer support group.

The toddler is 14 months - UPDATE

Mieka, our baby (translate toddler, but I still wants to call her my baby), was 14 months on Sunday! Every day we think she can’t get any cuter than this, but she does!
When I look back at the baby videos of earlier I am amazed at how much cuter she is now. The lights were on, but she was not there yet! (Smile!)
She is getting more vocal, but we only understand the few obvious ones, like papa, mama and tata (goodbye). The hello is there as well. The pointy finger STILL gets the job done, with a few grunts here and there! (Talking is highly overrated…).
She is fascinated with planes and birds, and makes circular movements with an mmmm-sound. Where are all the planes when you want to look at them?
She enjoys music! (We have hopeful visions of one member of our family being musical…) She starts bobbing and humming with music on the radio or television. Last night she was taking her bum right down to the ground, but lost the rhythm and only got it back when she got upright again. Very funny!
The sleeping is going much better. We only struggle to put her down, but then she sleeps through, most of the time. I have to wake her (which I hate doing!) on week days to get her ready for day care. (Working mother complaint!)
Walking is a great source of enjoyment. We enjoy watching her, and she enjoys exploring on her own. I think she is not the most adventurous explorer, but it has its benefits. She usually explores in our vicinity, and it helps to keep the eye on her.
She loves unpacking cupboards etc. and walking with the goodies to place it somewhere else. We don’t mind her unpacking, as long as it keeps her busy. Strange how easy we exchange a neat home for a bit of peace and quiet AND reading.
She has got 8 teeth now, and it seems another one is due, because there is a constant dribble on the chin.
She has turned into a fussy eater, but the baby books/experts say it is okay. We try to keep her occupied to get in a few spoons of food, and she takes a few bites of what we are eating, especially if it comes from our plates…
The breast feeding is continuing. It got a bit of a knock this last weekend with us being away on the cruise. I expressed a little bit, but I don’t think it was enough. It was only last night that she seemed satisfied again, and dropped off to sleep while still on the breast…
(Sigh of relief! It is the easiest by far!)
What’s next? We enjoy her with every single new milestone reached!

(Photo by grandfather James on Sunday)

Related posts:

The toddler is officially a walker

Baby milestones

“A mother’s job is never finished”

Dries and I have a joke between us when we get busy with all the fun stuff that’s got to be done in the house. We say to each other: “A MOTHER'S job is never finished!”
My hubby is the true millennium husband, helping with everything. I have said before that I am the lucky fish! Years back when Dries was still at college, he went home for the weekends. His mother insisted that he bring his washing, but he usually organized for it to be cleaned or washed it himself. He never brought back the washing.
But she told him: “A mother’s job is never finished!” (Sic)
We use the expression especially when we are tired, and the washing and dishes and everything are piled up.
The photo: Dries took care of a monster nappy today. He continues to help with it! I hear of many dads who only help in the beginning with changing nappies… (Thanks, Dries!)
We had a wonderful weekend, again, at Magaliespark near Hartbeespoortdam. My Mom and Dad had their 44th wedding anniversary, and Dad has a birthday coming up this week. Congrats, you two!
Glorious, our South African sun!
We especially enjoyed Mieka with her new walking skills! When she saw me on Friday afternoon at the crèche, she got so excited that she walked in a circle not to lose her balance. Cute, cute!
We noticed tooth number 8’s appearance over the weekend. It explains the crankiness, the more-than-regular nappies and the refusal of food she usually enjoys! But she slept quite well over the weekend, but I do not want to say it too loud! Last weekend was the same, and then came the week with more-than-broken sleep… SShhh!

Too late, she woke up just now with a huge fever! (Dries is walking now with her...)

Related post:

The hubby

The toddler is officially a walker

One of the biggest milestones has been reached: The toddler is walking! The day care has been telling us every day that she is walking further and further (from last week)! One of those awful irritations when you have to work! You don’t get to experience the first FIRSTS…
She has been doing the three steps for nearly a month, but now she is standing on her own, and WALKING! We can’t get enough of it, cheering her on with each step! Very cute!
She is thirteen and a half months old!
She skipped the crawling altogether. There are consequences because of it. (The worrying was not neurotic, after all!)
The crab creeping did not do the job. There is a lady who comes in to massage the babies at day care. (The lucky little fish! I am in my forties, and can only count on one hand how many times I had a massage. Now my little one is getting a weekly massage (which I am paying for)). Apparently Mieka’s neck is not stiff enough! When she is pulled upright by her hands, her head still hangs to the back.
I have to find ways of addressing this.
Do you have any ideas, or know of places where to search for information when a baby skipped the laying on the tummy and the crawling? (What if there are even bigger consequences later on when we don’t address it now?)
The little tortoise is walking! We are so proud!

(Photo: Gys Oosthuizen)

Related posts:

The personality of the toddler

The baby is a toddler

Baby update

Why go vertical when you can go horizontal?

The toddler is going back to day care

The joys of being a working mother!
We have left the toddler at day care again. I was on leave for three weeks. I started to work this morning! I am sad all over again. It feels like the first time when she was four months and three weeks and I had to go back to work again. She is now nearly 13 months old! I hope she will be okay and that she won’t feel deserted.
I have written a note to the new day care person/mother who has been appointed in the meantime after the previous one was fired last year. I hope she will be a very caring person. And I hope Mieka will like her. When they are as young as Mieka - babies and toddlers – the worry is always there that they won’t be able to verbalise when something is wrong.
Mieka has been spoiled rotten during the holidays. We, the parents and my family, were walking with her and holding her the whole time. The pointy finger and the shrieking got the attention she wanted. I hope the day care people are not going to complain and that she is going to be a sweet little angel. Maybe she will be so fascinated with her friends at the day care… (Thumbs crossed!)
Mieka is starting to walk three steps on her own. Her face beams when she has completed the steps on her own. It is VERY cute! But she still prefers to hold onto our fingers, and to complain until we rescue her with the finger. She has skipped the crawling altogether, and we rarely see the crab crawling now. She is by all means vertically mobile! The Year of the Toddler is showing big promises!

The baby is a toddler

The baby is a toddler already! One year olds are not babies anymore. I feel sad to realize that my baby is not a baby anymore. I’ll have to change my status now. I am a mother of a toddler, and not a baby.
Where are the BRAKES?
She is one bundle of inquisitiveness at the moment. When she opens her eyes, it starts with the pointing (yes, it seems the pointy finger are going to stay for a while). Points, points, points… and when there is no reaction from us, it is scream, scream, scream… VERY exhausting!
She is becoming more mobile by the day. She stands and moves along the furniture or whatever she can hold onto. She has given her first few steps already. The crawling is not an option anymore. The crab creeping works very well for the little lady. It has a bright side as well; I can keep on putting on dresses, because with the bum shuffling the dresses does not get caught up underneath her knees. And she looks very cute in a dress.
Eating has become difficult - for us as the parents, not to her. No more the easy way out with foods from jars. We have to think of finger foods for her to eat. She just closes her mouth and turns away (with a look of disgust) when we bring a spoon near her.
“I am not a baby, Mom/Dad!! I can eat on my own!”
She mostly uses her hands, and the back of the spoons and forks to pummel the food.
Sleeping has also not been mastered by the parents. We are still doing the nightly rounds. When I compare it with the first few days and weeks, it is now a breeze. (Powerwoman will not complain!)
She has a new thing; she starts to kick her legs vigorously when we try to put her into her bed. A tantrum type of manoeuvre? Or is something bothering her? Bad, bad teeth!! (?) She also wakes up screaming, but with the eyes still closed. She wants to sleep, but something is out of whack. We need that baby translator badly!
The hair is starting to grow. Not long, and we will be able to put in the ribbons…
Hold on to the reigns; our baby is a toddler!

(Photo: Mieka was not impressed with the musical water fountain at Silverstar Casino last night.)

Baby update

11 months, 2 weeks:
The baby does not sleep through the night. Not yet! But it is going much much better, thank you very much! We had a bad week last week when she was sick, but it is going very well again this week. Getting up twice at night is a bonus to me, and I have decided to not consider it a sleeping problem. I get up, put her on the breast, and sit-sleep for 20 minutes before I put her back in her bed again. If she complains, I take her to our bed until I can carry her back to her bed. Powerwoman got used to the interrupted sleep in any case… Sleeping sorted!

Mieka is still crab creeping, and we have to especially wash her left calve which is black every night. She uses the left leg to maneuver herself on her bottom in the direction where she wants to go. But she LOVES it when we hold her by her hands to walk. She has also found the stairs to climb while we are holding her hands. She manages to climb with alternative legs, not stopping on a step – even though her short little legs barely manages to lift up high enough. She is able to walk holding on to only one hand, but it is still going wobbly.

I can leave her for longer standing up near things, which she loves. While she is vertical, we struggle to get her to sit down again. She stiffens herself, and we have to bend her to get her to sit. Or, NOT!
She loves playing with containers and taking things out and putting it back in again.
She still gets excited when she sees her own reflection in mirrors or windows, and she claps her hands every time. (The Blonde reaction. Smile)

I can make out a “hello”, “tatta”, “ta” and “Mamma”.
And she laughs her head off when she “frightens” us. She makes sounds like The Exorcist! (Very funny to hear! Luckily I heard another baby over the weekend that is making the same sounds, or else I would have been worried…)
Mieka eats very well, and she loves to eat with us. I put the same food we have in her plate, and we try not to cringe while she dives into it. She manages to get some of it into her mouth, and the rest that lands on the floor is vacuumed up by the dog. That’s the only time the dog stops barking, while waiting underneath Mieka’s chair…

We are amazed at how much Mieka has become a little person with her own personality! I just hope that these words are able to show some of it!
And she gave all three of us a huge big open mouth kiss this morning when we asked for it! Nothing better than that!

(Photo: Mieka with her arms stretched out behind her head, while sleeping in the car seat)

Why go vertical when you can go horizontal?

Mieka has not started to crawl yet, and it seems she is not going to. All she wants to do at this stage is walk, with us having to walk with her. She also enjoys the walking ring, but her favourite way of moving around now is walking while being held. Whenever we put her down on her stomach, she freezes in the position, with her arms straight, and complains. She only stops when we pull her up again. How do you get a baby to crawl, when she wants to walk already? I can imagine years of extra maths classes because she has skipped the important crawling phase in her development… Why worry? We will deal with that later! Now we are the enablers in her horizontal quest! I think she is super intelligent, and does not need to go through all the phases.
(Says the proud mom wink-wink)