What's up and happening

WOWEE! Where has the year gone? I just read a scary tweet that there are only 100 days left of the year - what do you have planned for the last 100 days of 2014? I have been meaning to write a what's up and happening post for so long, but there just never seems to be enough hours in the day. I have a hundred ideas of posts to come, but to find the time to put them together is proving difficult.

The first weekend of September, was focused on my mom's meetup. I am so exceptionally proud of the event. I learnt a lot from it, the do's and the dont's, what to expect for next time, etc. I also learnt a rather tough lesson: When I starting toying with the idea of organzing this event, so many people who I know said they would be joining but when it came to the actual day, I think I probably knew about 4 of the attendees personally. The rest were purely blog readers. It was heart warming that I finally got to meet some of the people who I write for but also opened my eyes that people will say anything and everything to your face, but won't necessarily follow through. That's okay though, I still managed to conquer the event and have every intention of making it a regular thing.

The second weekend was set aside to spend time with my momzi dearest. I don't get to see her all that often - the last time that I saw her, Axl was a mere 3 months! It was great to see her again, like really, it makes my heart long for her to move close, all over again! The thing about my mom is, I am so much like her (only I talk non-stop) and I miss the companionship of having her around. My mom and I can walk into the same room and we'll look at each other, give a little smile and know exactly the thoughts of the other. I often joke that I open my mouth and hear my mom, but it is seriously the truth. I see it more and more each day, especially when it comes to being a mom. I am becoming the women my mom was to me. I choose those words so carefully, because I am on my own little mission of teasing my mom that some other lady must be bringing up my sister because my mom would've slapped my head off my shoulders if I even thought to behave like my sister. My mom was firm with bringing me up, she had the highest expectations and taught me manners and how to be a lady. And sure, sometimes she was too hard, but it moulded me into a better person - someone, who I am proud to be, today. She came down to celebrate my 21st, which took place on the 16th. We had a small tea-party, without the tea but rather wine, and we all wore hats to follow the mad-hatter theme. It was great to have all the special people in my life, under one roof. My oups doesn't say much but he got up to say a few words, which made me all teary.

On the Sunday, Darren and I went shopping so I could spend some of the awesome gift vouchers that I had, and both of our cellphones were stolen. Darren's cellphone was not even a week old! I wasn't worried about mine as it is insured and I don't put too much happiness in materialistic things but I was pretty annoyed that the photos from my party and the time with my mom were gone. We went back to the store and watched the footage, I knew exactly when it had happened. While I was paying, this lady was right up my rear and I kept making comments, when I turned, she was all over the pram and I still pushed her off and said, "excuse me, my son is sleeping in there!" She put down her things and left. The store had already closed and they had to still let her out. I remember thinking, what a cow, she couldn't just wait the 2 minutes while I paid, for her to pay for her articles. Turns out, she scored two phones, each to the value of over R5000! The footage shows me blocking her about 6 times, while in the store and she saw the opportunity for her final attempt, when I lifted my hand to make the payment. What frustrates me is the same woman targeted the same shop (Pick 'n Pay Clothing, Walmer Park) on the previous Friday, where she opened a lady's bag and had a decent dig, taking her phone too, all while this lady shopped. The store clerks knew her face and were trying to call the manager, yet she still managed to leave the store with our phones.

As for Axl, I don't even know where to begin.

He has got his bottom 2 teeth, for starters! They're so exceptionally cute. I love when I get him to laugh or smile and I get a glimpse of his toothies. They're just about big enough to see, during his constant mumbling, which melts my heart. His personality is developing so beautifully. He is starting to pick up on social etiquette: when we laugh, he should laugh. This can be hilarious, as he will laugh with us, causing us to laugh at him which results in him laughing again, it eventually leads to a huge exaggerated cough. He is starting to pull himself up on his cot, to stand up, and if he is sitting on your lap, will lean forward and stand up for like a second before tumbling. He is adamant to crawl and has the position set! He moves all over the bed and two days ago, I put him on his playmat so I could do my makeup, I turned back and he was behind me. I don't think it will be all that long before he is completely mobile. He has this new thing that when he is tired, he comes to me, pulls on me until I pick him up, then he positions himself with his head buried in my neck, pulls on my amber necklace and doses off. It is probably the cutest thing. I love that he has learnt to lift his arms to be picked up because it is a form of communication. When he is ready to get out the bath, or wants a feed or to go for a nap, he lifts his arms. We have also started to introduce solids - like real food. We have tried plain spaghetti - he loves playing with it and slurping it up, Purity's teething biscuits (highly recommend these!) - he has 1 every day, he can't get enough of the stuff and eats the entire thing! Dröe wors is another favourite and we've tried "finger"biscuits which he isn't too sure of. This past weekend, he was getting noisy at the table, so I gave him something new (distraction is key) it was a strawberry... I think these pictures say it all.

He tried a swing for the first time. He laughed from his belly each time, and then would get a nervous giggle as it would back-up. It was so heart-warming to watch him enjoy something as simple as a tyre swing. We've come to the realization that you don't always need the fanciest toys! We bought him an old-school shape sorter from the flea-market for R70, he loves putting everything inside and shaking it up. He gets ecstatic when he sees that I have his sorter, and if he is in his walker will run up to you, to grab it. We also got a simple rattle, a material (with crinkle paper inside) book and a ball. They don't require batteries and keep him occupied for long periods of time. For the times that nothing works, we have discovered Oogieloves. I watch the show about 3 times a day, and there is ONLY one freakin movie of the Oogieloves. The problem is, Axl smiles so big at just the sound of you singing their theme song, and if you need to cook or handle emails, the best way is putting him in his walker with the Oogieloves in the background. Sure, there are thousands of professionals and specialists cussing at me and saying that I am a horrible mom, but in all honesty, I grew up watching TV, eating MSG and colourants and I turned out just fine.