A Toddler is Born

Starting a blog is really fun, you write a first entry, get great comments from friends and family, relish in all the attention, then don't write again for over a month.... Whoops.... I have an excuse though, I swear!  Christmas, New Years, Sophiya's first birthday, Mason and Krystal visiting from US, good weather, back to work.  Ok, I guess I'm done with the excuses now and committing to being a faithful, timely blogger for 2011.  On a good note, I will have lots to write about and exciting updates to share with you all after this long stretch.

We had an absolutely lovely Christmas holiday time.  Although we are away (yet again) from our family and friends in the USA, we were lucky enough to have a little taste of family with us for three weeks.  Dana's brother and wife, Mason and Krystal, braved the 24+ hour flight to come stay with us for the holidays.  We spent our days showing them the fair Cape, enjoying the sunny, breezy days out by the pool, venturing out for a couple nights on the town, eating far too much sushi and tasting far too much local South African wine (not possible Mason says).   Soaking in the sunshine and having a braai (bbq) for our Christmas supper is surprisingly becoming normal for us now, but our families back home tell us all over Skype about the cold and snow, so we won't forget the magic of a white Christmas.

 At Arabella Hotel under the enormous Christmas tree.  (This one is for you Nana!  Thank you for an amazing few days of being utterly spoiled rotten)

 At Aquila Game Reserve, where Mason and Krystal went on safari.  She was fascinated with the ostrich in the background!

It's happened over night, our little girl has suddenly changed from a quiet, unmoving, adaptable, easy going infant to a one year old, sassy, strong willed, speedy pirate peg leg crawling and cruising machine.  Her crawling is unique, she uses the one knee down the other leg's foot down approach to getting around, and it seems to propel her faster than the normal baby.  Lucky for us, that means that cupboards full of pots and pans or Tupperware, bookshelves of books and coffee table materials are scattered and destroyed at a much quicker rate.

Poor Sophiya, having a birthday the day after Christmas is not ideal.  Everyone is relaxing with family after a big Christmas dinner the night before, looking over, playing with or trying on their new gifts, it's certainly not the best day for having a birthday.  However, Dana and I vow to always make her birthday a special day no matter what and always to separate the two celebrations, no "combo" gifts.   We had a small celebration, sang Happy Birthday with family on Skype, had a homemade carrot cake for her (thanks to Krystal baking and my mom's famous recipe) with one little candle.  

For her first birthday, Sophiya received a very special birthday present from her Dad.  Uncle Mason and him built her a beautiful, slam proof, baby safe toy box for all her toys from Grandpa Crum (aka Santa Claus).  It is something that she can have for life, bring to college with her one day with all her belongings, a treasured gift for years to come.  I was really proud of Dana for doing something so thoughtful, not to mention quite a lot of blood, sweat and tears was put into this box!

 Sophiya in her inflatable "Duckie".  Duckie was for sale on the side of the road from a hawker, thanks to Uncle Mason, this has been very well used.  She sure understands the concept of rest and relaxation at an early age!

This is currently the most famous facial expression for Sophiya to date.  Although in the photograph it looks a bit frightening, this is her open mouthed kiss face for nearly everything/person she encounters.  From the moment she wakes, she is ready to kiss the animals on her curtains, her new outfit, house plants, the guy swiping my card at the gym, the car guard at the parking garage, characters in her books, the rock in our front yard, you name it, she'll try to kiss it.  This girl has a lot of love to give and she gives it all day long.  Dad just hopes that it ends promptly when she is 14.

Here is Sophiya's concentrated face, yes, the one with the tongue sticking out.  I'm pretty sure I've seen this same face on Dana more than once.  When she is really focused on something whether it's flipping through books one after another (one of her favorite pastimes no joke) or working on getting objects inside a container or out, the tongue is protruding slightly and she isn't going to look at you or respond until her task is complete.  She is a determined little one, stubborn and goal orientated.  Not sure where these qualities came from...

Much love and light from Africa.  Wishing you all a blessed 2011!

First Time for Everything

I've been meaning to start some sort of blog for the past year since Sophiya's birth, but in typical African style, I am now only starting a few weeks before her first birthday.  I would love to use the excuse that for the first 11 months of Sophiya's life I was either too tired or busy to write, but if I want to be a Supermom that kind of excuse just isn't going to cut it.

Life in the Slow Lane is a bit of an ironic choice for my blog title.  For those family and friends that know me well, you know that I tend to be an ultra-organized, efficient and Type A perfectionist.  I've spent a lot of years wondering "what's next" and always wanting to think about the next step and future planning.  I'm not going to lie, this certainly hasn't changed much.  However, living in Africa for nearly 5 years now (!!) has taught me a lot about patience, slowing down each day and enjoying the moment.

The pace of life in South Africa is incredibly slow.  Comparable to other African nations it's lightning speed, but coming from America, both Dana and I struggled for the first couple years to deal with the inefficiencies and sloth like behavior that are endemic to this country.  I'll never forget when my family came to visit and my Dad was telling us the story of when he was about to explode in the Jo'burg airport because the lines of people weren't organized correctly and it was chaos, something he is not used to at all.  That is life here everyday in small doses, but only recently we've come to terms with the humor of it and certain aspects we even find charming.

For example, when we came home to the US and went out to eat a couple times, we couldn't believe how quickly the food would be put in front of us after ordering, we were almost in shock.  In a way, we have come to appreciate the waiting time in SA.  This time is used to sip wine, have conversation and take in the surroundings.  There is something normal about waiting for us nowadays, it's even comforting.  In an age where everything is Now, Now, Now, a bit of down time and respite is welcomed. 

Sophiya has both simultaneously sped up and slowed down Dana and I's life this past year.  Having her turn one the day after Christmas baffles us, it feels like time has absolutely flown since her birth.  She has opened our eyes to the preciousness, innocence and simpleness of the first months of life.  Every day that passes, she morphs into a new little girl, one capable of more than the previous day.  It is a truly remarkable thing to watch this transformation and we count our blessings for having a happy, healthy daughter to complete our family.  Well, not totally complete, but complete for now, she is starting to show signs of needing a sibling ;)

She is now crawling full speed ahead, getting into everything that she can get her hands on and pulling herself up on furniture.  She is saying 'mama', 'dada', 'baba' and the normal baby babbling.  Dana and I went camping with her for the first time the other weekend, and she loved it!  She truly is an outdoor girl, anytime she is fussing or having a melt down, a little walk around our garden and she will calm instantly.  She loves animals, especially dogs and is intrigued with flowers and birds.




 

She also went to her first Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden concert last Sunday, the band "Mango Groove".  We packed a picnic of wine, cheese and crackers, jalapeno popcorn (wow!) and grapes.  We had such a blast and she seemed to enjoy it as well.  She has two front bottom teeth and a giggle that makes your heart melt.  On Fridays, a group of women from our antenatal class have play dates with our babies and all us moms attempt to have tea/coffee and cake and chat, while chasing around our busy bees.  Tomorrow, we are going to Jonkerhuis Restaurant for our picnic, which is located at the Groot Constantia winery, where you can lay out your blankets and babies and have tea outside in the grass under the trees with a lovely view of the city and Muizenberg beach stretch. 

Sophiya and her friend Taylor also started swimming lessons together and Dana was able to come to today's lesson!  I swear, the first two lessons Sophiya hated it!  She clung to me, cried and thoroughly was not enjoying it at all.  With Dana there today, she was so calm and even smiled here and there!  It was amazing to see the influence he has on her mood, as she clearly felt safe and secure with him there.

Her favorite things to eat are consisting of pasta, cheese, chicken, toast and cream cheese, plums, papaya, spaghetti bolognaise, cheesy eggs, baby marrows (zucchini) and yogurt!  She's a pretty good eater, she goes through phases.  I have a great recipe book by Annabel Karmel which has tons of great kiddie foods and family meal ideas.

Lastly, I have to conclude with my love for food and cooking!!  I am obsessed with finding new recipes, new ingredients, trying different genres of food - Thai, Indonesian, African, Latin American, Italian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, there are so many options!  I try to find the freshest, organic (when available) ingredients from our local grocery store or Saturday farmer's market, which I find makes the tastiest food!  Even if meals take a long time to prepare, that is my much needed time to wind down at the end of the day, to shift my focus from the stresses at work and craziness of sweet Sophiya's mood swings, and focus solely on ingredients, chopping vegetables, sauteing, marinating, roasting, whatever it may be that night.  I love seeing pure, raw ingredients and spices create a work of art and tasty meals for my family!

Tonight, it was a HOT day so I decided to make a nice cool salad, a new one that I am obsessed with!   It's called Tabbouleh, a traditional Middle Eastern salad consisting of fresh herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes and Bulgar Wheat.  Bulgar wheat is such a delicious whole grain, similar cous-cous, but with a nuttier flavor and healthier for you!

Tabbouleh

• 2 bunches of fresh parsley (1 1/2 cup chopped, with stems discarded)
• 2 tablespoons of fresh mint, chopped
• 10 cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 English cucumber, medium diced
• 1 scallion, white and green parts thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup bulghur
• Juice of two lemons
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Soak bulghur in 1 1/2 cups boiling water for at least 20 minutes (or more if you have time)

Combine all ingredients, except for salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.

Sprinkle olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper on top.

Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator for 2 hours before serving. 

 

 

I think this will conclude my first blog entry.  Dana's brother Mason and wife Krystal will be visiting us next week and staying for three weeks!  We are thrilled to have family to celebrate Christmas and Sophiya's first birthday!

In the spirt of Ubuntu, have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!