Whirlwind week-end - 28-11-2009

This past week-end was a whilwind of activity - definately the end of year creeping up on us.

Riley is nearly three years old, so we had a "little" party for her school friends - because her birthday is the day after her school closes.

We arranged a small jumping castle, and invited a few young friends. The party was great and Riley had a ball. I especially enjoy the look on her face while she is having "happy birthday: sung to her - she sings quite loudly too.







The cake was an ice cream cake which seems to have been a great success too. Will have to repeat that one.

Then we decided to put Ethan in his jolly jumper. Riley was about the same age as I recall. He seems to have enjoyed that too. Riley thought that he needed the balloon from her party to make it more fun. Ethan is such an easy going chap - always happy and smiley - even when he was not well last week he could still give the odd smile.



Sunningdale has an annual "Christmas Tree" in the park. This is a kids function where Santa arrives and hands out gifts etc.

This year there were about 150 kids, lots of activity, jumping castle, merry go round etc.

Sarah, one of Riley's school friends was also ther and they had fun playing together.

To think that a year ago Riley would never have done any of the things she did here - watch her RUN to see Santa.



Riley also loved her gift bag - worth every Rand spent - lots of little gifts.



Then we get the Merry go Round and the jumping castle. I spent a bit of time helping the girls get up the rope ladder, but they caught on very quickly.





And most amazing of all - she lets a total stranger paint her face - not just a little - a LOT...

Ethan Sitting

Ethan is getting pretty good at sitting. He just needs to work on his balance.
He manages to sit for fairly long periods before toppling or getting frustrated.

Hectic Week

It has been a bit of a week. We went to the Parnells on Saturday and all had a great day. On Sunday Ethan seemed to be teething (very early) and was a bit cranky, and by Monday he was having fevers of 39.6 etc.

We battled for a while and eventually took him to the paed who diagnosed strep and prescribed a course of three antibiotic injections as well as blood and urine tests.

Monday night was not much better and the paed saw him again on Tuesday and said to continue and that the blood results had confirmed the infection.

By yesterday he was much better - no fevers but still cranky and not keen on his bottle, which is very unusual - he normally can't get enough.

Here's hoping tonight is better.

Sometimes Riley can really act. On Friday night she was showing her displeasure at having dinner. Arms crossed glaring at me - all just an act! S sometimes really reminds us of Sydni - same facial expressions and actions.

She has been diagnosed with very low Iron (should be in the 20's, but hers is 6!)

The iron supplement fortunately tastes nice - she calls it her coffee and will quite happily take it as required - she has to take that for six months and then get retested.

Riley also loves to play with Nona - one game they play is "show". All the chairs etc are lined up for the show.

This is breakfast at 6:37 am - she is sharing her food with Teddy. At least breakfast is a bit easier now days.

Some Pictures...

Riley really loves her brother Ethan. They play nicely. They other day she decided that he needed to wear shades... A bit on the large side but fun anyway. The big green dummy is a teething ring.

Ethan has just graduated from Baby Gym. The first of many graduations? We believe that baby gym makes a huge difference to the developement. Riley was also a graduate.

Some nights Riley likes to pile her bed high with toys... Not much space on a "big girl bed" for our small girl. We just need to make sure that the toys are on the edge of the bed to prevent falling out accidents fro Riley, so she gets to sleep against the wall for safety.

Girls will be girls - This morning Riley got all dressed up in her heels and shades before school. The mini is her "nighty" and the shades are an old pair from Claudia which got dug out while tidying the spare room over the week-end. Then there are the "clip clop" shoes.

Nearly Four Months

Next week Ethan will be four months old - how time flies.

He is doing well, very aware and likes to "stand".

Today we put him on his donought again and he decided he wanted to scoot forward - looking like he wants to crawl, even though he does not sit or roll yet.



Riley and Ethan went to the paed on Friday, Riley once again has a throat and ear infection while Ethan seems to be a "reflux" baby, Ethan now uses anti reflux formula.

Riley had blood test to check for iron levels as well as allergies, we should get the results on Friday.

The theory is that she has low iron levels and hence a weak immune system - boost the iron and the immune system kicks in properly - the allergies are just a cause of the infections.

She is once again on antibiotics, but seems much better already. Dr Kara did say not to wrap her up in cotton wool. She must continue swimming as normal etc - this is nice to hear.

Very Rare Picture plus others

Riley does not often "munch" away. But she does seem to enjoy lamb chops.

She really tucked into her dinner the other night and then did the "van Gelder" thing, and tried to clean the bones.

Ethan is also doing well. He had his 4 month check up recently and we were pleased. He has grown and put on the required weight.

We have moved him to soya based formula to see if this will assist with his regurge.

He really like to be on his feet and patterns definitley attract his attention.

As all girls do, Riley like to dress up...

Claudia's Birthday

Today is Claudia's birthday. She had the morning off and then the Parnells came through for lunch and to bring back Grannie after they spent the night in Ballito.

While the "adults" had lunch, the kids had a mini picnic in the back quad area. Seems like they had fun though.

Ethan got a bit spoilt. He was allowed to sleep on Melanie for quite a while. He was very comy as you can see.

Hanna Fontana Makeover

We went through to the Parnells today, and Riley had a ball as usual.

Spot the makeover...

Riley has decided that she enjoys Hanna Montanna, but she can't say the Montanna - she says Fontanna.

She looks like a natural with the microphone though.

Big Eye

Ethan woke up today with his left eye swollen and glued shut. We cleaned it with warm water and he managed to open it.

Claudia took him to Dr Linde this morning, who could not find any sign of a bite - which we though it was. He prescribed some antibiotic ointment, which seems to have helped quite a bit. The pharmacist said that there seem to be a few cases doing the rounds.

Riley has started swimming lessons again. She got a new one piece swimming costume and was quite proud of herself.

She seemed to enjoy the lessons, but was with an older bunch of kids. The teacher has arranged to have her for one on one lessons from this week.

Ethan is now three months hold - hard to believe how time flies. He has a strong neck and can keep his head up quite well now.

Some videos

Last week-end Nona bought Riley a tricycle. She loves the new idea and took to the idea pretty quickly and now rides around the pool as she likes.

She still seems to be a bit short, hence the strange sitting pose, but she manages well.



Ethan is also doing well. Hard to beleive he is 12 weeks on Thursday. We took hime for his clinic visit today. He weighs 5.56kg (gained 1.15kg).

He is doing all the right stuff, reaching, grabbing, tracking etc.



Ethan also has a sensitive nose. He sneezes quite a bit.

On Saturday he was on Grannie Annies lap having a look around.

Little Leopard

Yesterday we took a drive down to the botanic gardens to have a picnic lunch.

Riley had a whale fo a time, running between the duck pond (lake) and the fish pond. She fed the ducks and fish with bread and even had a "rude duck" take food out of her hand.

There were some older kids climbing the tree behind us, so she decided to have a go too.

She looks a bit like a leopard with her leopard print pants etc.

Ethan holds Bottle

Tonight Ethan decided to show off and hold his bottle. He has been showing some interest for a while, but usually does not manage.

This evening he was more awake than usual, so maybe that contributed.

Heritage Day 2009

Today is Heritage Day (Braai Day), so we had a public holiday. I had to work so Claudia did a braai, and Domenica helped with Riley and Ethan. By the looks of it they had a fun day.


Ethan also turn 11 weeks today. He has grown quite a bit. I guess we will know how much next week when we go for the next immunisation. He has a strong neck and his eyes are still blue.

Riley and Claudia decided to "sort" the hair accessories box, which resulted in Riley wearing the accessories and dressing Ethan too. Note the alice band around his head.

As you can see Riley is still very good with her brother. She loves him and wants to hold him and help when she can. They bath together and she spent the time tonight pouring water over his tummy.

As much as Riley does not like to eat... she loves ice cream and jelly.

Cake Lover

As much as Riley is not an eater - she loves cakes, biscuits etc.

Claudia bought some black forest cake the other day - she decided to make use of the cream as a beard but still polished off the slice.

She is a real star, but seems to be having a problem sleeping in her bed some nights. She has on a few occasions snuck out of bed and sat at our bedroom door or at her room door.

Tonight she crept into the dining room and fell asleep at the lounge entrance. Looks like she was watching TV.

Ethan - Two Months Old

Its hard to believe, but Ethan is just over two months old now. He is very awake and doing all the right stuff. He eats well, sleeps well and seems to be quite strong.

His eyes are still blue. It looks like they may stay that way, but as I recall Riley's only changed a bit later.

Today was a "sunny day" so Riley wanted to swim. We set up her pool and she had a ball. After a while she decided it would be fun to play in a bucket. As usual she had a ball.

After a long day in teh sum there is nothing more fun than sorting... plastic cutlery. Note how the colours are matched etc.

After this she spent some time watering the garden with Claudia. She eventually came in soaked and we had to bath her early and washe her hair again.

Spring has Sprung

Today was Spring Day so Riley decided to have flowers in her hair for school. We raided the Jasmin bush and this was the result. Very Spring look I thought.

Ethan has woken up and is very aware. He smile and does all the right things. He weighs 4.4kg and is 56cm long.

Hair Wash Day

It has been cold for the last little while - so we have started to wash Riley's hair on a Saturday morning.

This can take some doing as she does not always co-operate. This week though she eventually agreed... And in the end seemed to be quite happy about it.

Sibling Love...

Ethan is now just over six weeks old. He is doing very well. He had his 6 week check up on Friday morning. He weighed in at 4.3kg (gain of 23g per day). Dr Kara said he would have prefered to see a gain of >30g, but was quite happy. He said "no points for a fat baby" so suggested Claudia continue with breast feeding.

Riley is still very good with him. She has her jealous moments - but loves him none the less.

Kevin's Pictures of Us - pre Ethan

A few weeks ago, before Ethan was born we had lunch with Kevin and Carolyn. We got Kevin to take some "preggie" pics which he dropped off the other day.

This is a small selection of what he did.

We are very happy with the results -thanks Kev!

Pimply "Teenager"

Ethan is nearly 4 weeks old. We went for a clinic visit today and all is good. He is doing very well and is a very good feeder (so far).

His measurements are:
Weight: 3.58kg gained 290g in 12 days
Length: 52cm gained 2 cm from birth
Head: 36.3cm gained 1.3cm from birth

All very good. He has passed his birth weight - Riley didn't do this.

Riley is also doing well. She has her jealous moments but I guess that is to be expected. She loves Ethan and has been seen licking his head - not sure why, but at least she is not poking and prodding him.

You may be able to see that Ethan has broken out in pimples. He looks a bit like a pimply "teenager". This is due to the hormones being secreted and indicates the end of the 3 week growth spurt.

From Thursday we start "sleep training". This means that the last scheduled feed at night is at 19h00. We then leave him till he wakes up (probably at about 00h00). We then leave him again till he wakes again and start the schedule at 07h00 again.

The end result should be a baby who "sleeps through"... Yes Please !!!!

Engineer ???

Last week Riley and Claudia built the tower above.

The construction is mostly Riley's handi work. Obviously the out of reach bits were added by Claudia.

Note the crossed arms.

Two weeks

Well, Ethan is over two weeks old and doing well. He has had the odd "bad day", but they do not seem that bad. Maybe we just know what to expect.

Riley is also doing well. She has jealous moments but we seem to handle them well. She loves her brother and likes to hold him and kiss him.

Ethan seems well on track weight wise. At 1 day short of 2 weeks he weighed 3.29kg, so gained 150g in 6 days which is good.

Riley had her last shot till she is five and was a real trooper. She did not even flinch, even though the shot is supposed to sting and Des expected more of a reaction.

Chameleon ???

We realised the other day that Ethan had a baby grow that matched his bedroom carpet. The colours are almost identical. He looks like a chameleon trying to blend in.

The Drinkers

I thought this was a real "Kodak" moment. My family all having a drink at the same time...

Anyway, Ethan is one week old today. We had our scheduled 1 week check up with the clinic sister.

Des is very happy with Ethan. She did say however that the hospital measurements are a bit off... Ethan measures 50cm ( not the 54cm as measured in hospital).

His weight today is 3.14kg (down from 3.456kg at birth and 3.40kg at discharge). Des feels that he has passed his minimum weight and is back on track for weight gain.

We go for another checkup next Wednesday... Just to check the weight.

Otherwise all is well. We are getting used to the new addition. Riley is still being a star. Long may it last.

Riley and her cousin Noah

We had some visitors today. Bianca (Blanca) and Noah came to see Ethan. Gareth (Garafin) was nor able to make it due to work.

As usual Noah and Riley had a ball. They love running around the garden and play together very well. They love to cook and play with dough etc.

Blue and Green Racing Car baby grow

Not sure if Brett and Lara will recognise the baby grow - stripy with car... It is a hand me down from Leo. Nice that the van Gelder boys can share already.

Ethan had his first home bath today. He was not thrilled but as far as we can remember was happier than Riley was when she had her first bath. With Riley we waited for more than a week before we attempted this.

We are still coping well. The nights have not been too bad. The every two or three hours does take it out of you though.

I was worried that Riley would wake up with the crying, but so far she has not. She has slept till about 7h00 in the morning... Hope this continues, at least till she goes back to school next week.

Who is Who

Any guesses?

Home at last

We finally got home on Sunday. We arrived at about 12h00 and Riley was thrilled to have us back. She loves her brother and so far has been great. She is helpful and loving and wants to hold Ethan and gives him hugs and kisses which is great.

We could have been discharged on Saturday but decided to rather spend the night. Claudia was alone in the ward and the paed had picked up a bit of jaundice to we thought it better to wait for the second set of results the next day.

The levels were very low, so no need for concern. We were told that Ethan's B+ blood type (as opposed to my O+ and Claudia's B-) should mean NO jaundice.

Anyway, all is good and today also went well.

Ethan Day One

Just got back from the hospital. Claudia and Ethan are doing well. There has been very little "food" production so far, so Ethan has been hungry.

We decided to give him a bottle at about 17h30, which he glugged with gusto - a whole 50ml.

When I got back at 19h00 he was sleeping but got woken a couple of times, I assume because of the noise etc as it was visiting hours.

He also spewed a bit of milk, but seemed happy after that.

He also loves his dummy...

Otherwise Rileya nd I are fine. She seems to be taking things quite well so far. I even got told to go back to work this morning after we got back from grandparents and siblings visiting.

Ethan's Birthday 09-07-09

Just a quick post to show the new addition. Ethan is a great little guy. He has already had three good feeds from Claudia. He also likes his dummy. He started sticking his hands in his mouth so we decided to give him the dummy.

The mark on his face is from the forceps, but that should be gone in a couple of days.

Claudia is well, she says much better than with Riley. She does not feel has "off" and the after effects of the spinal block were not as bad.

The staff are great. Dr Hartmann is a champion and is Dr Mileham, the anaesthetist.

Will try and post some more tomorrow. But off to bed now.