Busy, fun weekend!

'Tis the season to be jolly... and we lived up to it this weekend! We went down to Fremont for Gabe Griffin's 5th birthday party combined with the Griffins' farewell since they are moving to Colorado later this month. The party was lots of fun for the bigger children, and I can't wait to be bigger so that I can play with them. The party was on Saturday at Pump it Up Inflatable Party Zone followed by dinner at uncle Doug and aunt Heidi's house. Dad says that the Burgundy wine that the adults had was excellent! Today we spent with friends at the Svendsen's and we got to see Alia and Jadyn Paterson again.

Earlier this week we received a shipment of stuff my Mom and Dad had sent from South Africa. For a while our house was filled with boxes of stuff that we're slowly unpacking and finding a place for. My brother Aiden had tons of fun climbing on the boxes. This may be the last time that we blog for a while since we're leaving for South Africa on Friday. I am REALLY looking forward to my first visit there and meeting my grandparents and cousins.

The Harvett boys

Zack is growing up to be a tall, handsome boy. At his 4 month doctor's visit he weighed in at 14 lbs 3 oz and measured 26.75 inches long. Aiden at 4 months was 15 lbs 10 oz and 26.5 inches. Lucky Zack gets to wear his brother's old clothes... and apart from the same clothes there isn't much of a family resemblance at 4 months...

Andrew and Sarah visited us this past weekend and we had a great time in Apple Hill, eating apple pie, tasting wine and playing outside. Aiden tried out the big tree swing at Plubell's Family Orchid.

Thanksgiving 2008

This year was a double-whammy Thanksgiving for us! We continued our tradition of celebrating at the Rubow's with the usual fabulous food and company, but this year we did it on the eve of Thanksgiving. On the day of Thanksgiving we had the Sinclair-Lees over and Christina cooked an awesome meal for all of us. Leftovers galore for the Harvett boys to enjoy in the days to come. Zack has graduated from his infant swing into the exersaucer and it is awesome to see him start using his hands to grab things and engage objects with his eyes. Aiden is chomping at the bit to start playing with his baby brother and at times we just have to hold him back.

Look at me!

Zack is almost 4 months old and it is wonderful to see his beautiful smile! What a cutie. This was the last quiet weekend before the holiday season starts. This week is Thanksgiving and we have a 20 lbs. turkey in our fridge waiting for Thursday! I will let you know how it turns out....

Visiting friends

We spent the past 5 days in the Bay Area visiting friends and doing a little bit of work. Aiden had a great time, first playing with Josh, Marlie, Liam and Danni for two days and then spending time with Grant. Here's Grant and Aiden, busy on the laptop, just like Gus and Gavin! The matching shirts were a total coincidence.

Aiden is really sweet and gentle with Zack.

It's Halloween time!!!!!

We had a great time at Halloween this year. Aiden went bananas over his monkey suit and Zack tolerated being dressed like a chicken. Aiden really got into the spirit of Halloween when we joined the Rubows for trick-or-treating and collected a whole bucket of candy.
Zack also celebrated his 3 month birthday on the 30th and weighs a healthy 14.5 lbs (6.6kg)

Love is in the Air...

We've just returned from a busy 3-day visit to the Bay Area. I was down there on business and the rest of the family decided to come along. Christina and the boys enjoyed seeing some of our friends again. Aiden was especially happy to see Clara (former neighbour and love of his life) - as you can see it was a feast of hugs & kisses from start to finish. This trip also marked the first time that Zack slept away from home and he did fabulously. On our way back home we had a breakfast feast with Kevin and Heather in Walnut Creek. We hadn't seen them in years so it was great to catch up. We have a few more weekend trips planned before the BIG trip to South Africa in December. We're hoping these little getaways will train us and the boys for that. So far... so good!

Apple Hill

We joined friends in exploring Apple Hill on Saturday. Apple Hill is a area east of us towards the Sierra Nevada mountains where you can pick berries in the summer, eat apple pie in the Fall and taste wine all year round. The weather is just gorgeous with cool nights and sunny days and everywhere people are getting ready for Halloween and Thanksgiving. The highlight for Aiden was the petting zoo and the goats in particular. My boys were not really interested in taking fun photos in the pumkin patch...

Zack is all about smiles, giggles and looking around.

Salmon Festival

We had a great time today at the local Salmon Festival. Aiden just loved looking at the fish and he was even able to feed the Steelhead salmon at the hatchery and watch the "fish fireworks" as they splash in the water eating the food.

Zack is getting bigger every day. It is great to see how he can hold up his head and his wonderful smile.

Sleeping Boys

My boys are both good sleepers (I take all the credit for that!) and they keep making me smile. Before every nap and bed time, it takes a while for Aiden to decide which car or ball he wants to take to bed with him. These days, it means most of his cars and of course, his two teddy bears - Nonnie, small Nonnie and Clifford.

We will not be able to swaddle Zack much longer, because he keeps getting his hands out. At least that does not seem to bother him much.

Zack @ 2 months

Zack is 2 months old already and went for his scheduled pediatrician visit this week, which included getting five shots. He yelled at the nurse, but was back to his old mellow self within 5 minutes. The doctor says the bump on his head is nothing to be conserned about as the X-ray and ultrasound both turned up normal. Over time the size of the bump will diminish and eventually disappear as Zack's skull grows and gets its normal shape. Zack's weight is now 12 pounds, 1 ounce and his length is 23.75 inches. Aiden has learned how to smile at the camera :-) or is that "grin"? Anyway, he thinks it is very cool. He loves drawing with chalk outside on the concrete and is helping dad mow the lawn nowadays using his very own little lawn mower (thanks Rubows!)

Summer won't quit!

Summer won't quit, so we won't quit either! As most weekends in California go, it is another gorgeous one. We had breakfast at the Waffle Barn this morning and then went for a leisurely stroll along the banks of the American River in Negro Bar State Park. Zack took a nice little nap in the Baby Bjorn while we were walking. I can't wait until he is old enough to play in the water with me. My dad has tennis elbow, so his ability to skip stones on the river was impaired.

Last days of summer...

We are enjoying the wonderful weather and try to play outside as often as possible. Aiden's new favourite shirt is his Lightning McQueen shirt he got for his birthday from Sullivan. Thanks buddy! This morning Gavin took Aiden to Folsom Dam to throw some stones into the dam. One thing led to another and after about 15 minutes Aiden was shirtless and swimming! Fortunately it is still warm enough for these type of "tricks". Zack is approaching 2 months and is cute and healthy.

Really a big boy now!

Aiden had his 2-year doctor visit on Monday. The doctor said that he is a healthy two year old, but that he should stop using his pacifier because it is starting to shape his dentures. We have been trying to wean him off his paci for the longest time but with our big move, moving him to his big boy bed and the arrival of Zack, we thought we'll give him some slack when it comes to him using his pacifier. At least we were down to having only one (and not the three pacifiers as in this photo from July) The doctor said it is best to go cold turkey, so after explaining to him on Monday that this is his last day, the moment finally arrived this morning. At dawn Gavin took him to a bridge across the American River in Folsom and he tossed it into the water. He was really good today coping without his beloved paci. When he asked for it, I would ask him where it is and he would say it is in the water and that would be the end of it. We are so proud of him! He really is no longer our little baby!

Birthday party

We had a total blast with Aiden's birthday party on Saturday. The Lightning McQueen cake and cupcakes with cars on were definitely a highlight for him. We gave Aiden a sandtable for his birthday, where you stand and play with the sand. He clearly has different ideas about how to play with it!

Aiden turns 2!

Our little big boy turns 2 years old tomorrow. The second year has really flown by and he has crept ever deeper into our hearts. We think he is the smartest two year old in the world and he continues to amaze us with the things he can say, do and remember. Just this morning he was able to name the days of the week... Monday to Sunday! We're not having a huge party for him, but will be joined by some close friends for cake and a braai (barbeque) on Saturday. Christina took Aiden to a professional photoshoot this week and he really behaved well to Dad's surprise. These photos are some of the results. Happy birthday Aiden!

First smiles

Zack will be 6 weeks old this week and he gave his first smile today! I think he has the same mischievous smile as Aiden. This season's first oranges and clementines (naartjies) made their appearance at the store and Aiden just loved peeling them and seeing how many slices he can stuff in his mouth! Aiden is really doing great as a big brother and is very patient with all the changes which a new baby brings to a family.

Zack at 1 month

Yesterday Zack was 1 month old. We've really been blessed with another easy-going baby (so far)... he is still sleeping and eating well, although it is starting to become a little more challenging getting him to fall asleep sometimes. This weekend we ventured out twice to visit with friends and although he did not sleep like he usually does, at least he was well behaved. It is Labour Day weekend here in the US, so tomorrow is another day we get to spend together as a little family of four. As you can see from the photo of Aiden - it is still very much summer and he still loves his yoghurt!

Mommy's Boys

We're at the beginning of a long weekend thanks to Labour Day, Sep 1st and this weekend is also the official end of summer. That's a good thing because it is hot hot hot today and we're ready for things to start cooling down a bit. Zack & I have been spending a lot of quality time with our Mom and it has been absolutely wonderful. She takes us to the park and the gym to play and we are swimming almost every day. The other cool thing I wanted to show everyone is what a package arriving from South Africa looks like... 77 postage stamps in total! Counting all the stamps was almost as much fun as opening the package. Thanks for our gifts tannie Linda!

Going well...

The two Harvett boys are doing well and get along with one another just fine so far. For the time being we've managed to synchronize their nap and sleep times fairly well, so mom and dad have actually had a decent amount of sleep since Zack was born. This week was the first time that Mom had a night alone with the boys (Dad was in Palo Alto for work), and she handled it very well. They went on a play date in El Dorado Hills where Aiden really enjoyed the basketball hoop. Zack's pediatrician wanted to double-check the size of Zack's fontanelles, so Mom took him for an ultrasound on Thursday. We hope to get the results back from the doctor next week. He seems to be doing great though and the bump on his head is getting smaller every day. We're having a relaxing weekend at home swimming, doing some gardening and watching the Olympics in-between the kids shows that Aiden insists on watching.