And finally…

Lila's room… 

Red, blue and white, with a touch of pink… as she is a little girl after all. I preferred to make a few things myself (okay, I will admit that Lila's grandmother had to help here and there) as I can't stand the "catalogue look". I like putting unusual patterns and colors together. And yes, I do believe that red and pink go together! 

I love the end result… Spending time in her rooms makes me feel happy, warm and loved.

Little Lila

The name is of Arabic origin, and the meaning of Lila is  "Night", "Dark Beauty", "Beautiful".
And on a spiritual level it means "Divine Creation".
 
I love short names – it’s not over used and not usual.
 
You also get a beautiful, purple Lila flower…
 
Luckily my husband and I both love this name. We would have had a bit of a problem if he didn't like it as I didn't really have any other name in mind that I liked. And thank goodness for a little girl as we would have had endless problems on settling on a boy name. We have different opinions about male names. My husband feels very strong about family names, and frankly, I hate the whole idea of it. And o my goodness, being Afrikaans doesn't make it any better!!!

Everything related to this name feels very positive and beautiful which leaves me with a big smile…
Now I really can't wait to see our little princess's face!

Girlfriend shoot…

Isabel came up with this wonderful idea… spending a day with girlfriends in Kalk Bay and having a photographer running after us taking amazing photographs!!! Isabel, you rock! Saturday was so much fun and every single moment was captured by a professional. One should definitely do this more often! 

PS. More photographs to follow soon ;)

Week 32…

We are in week 32!!! Eeck, week flippen 32!!! It’s insane!!! How did the time fly by so fast? On the one hand it still feels like I have loads of time and on the other hand it feels like I have too little time left. This is such a strange time to be in… I can't wait to meet our baby girl, but I also want to treasure the time I have alone with my husband.
 
It constantly feels like I keep ticking off on a checklist in my mind. And the list keeps getting longer and longer!!! It started with: We need a cot, car seat, pram… basically all the big things. Then it moved on to what her room will look like… (I still need to do a complete separate blog update for this one!) Then it moved to medication for babies… Yes I know, it must sound very strange, but she actually has her own little medical cupboard, and I try to focus on natural, herbal remedies. And o my goodness, no one ever told me how bad "nesting" is! I started off with washing all the curtains in the house… starting with our bedroom and ending with the living area, but by the time I got to the living area the bedroom's curtains didn't feel clean enough any more!!! And rearranging almost every single cupboard in the house!!! O, and you won't believe this one… Getting the garden nice and tidy as I won't have time to do get to it when she is born. I have to admit, the day I attempted this I felt like I was going to give birth that same evening!!! Now I focus on packing her clothing into her drawer… Newborn in the top draw and 0 – 3 months in the draws underneath it.
 
Hopefully I will start calming down soon!

Wedding Bells

Friends of ours, Jacques and Nicole, got married in February.  I was the fortunate one to design their wedding stationary. It was a beautiful beach wedding on the West Coast. I have to thank Nicole for being the best bride that I have ever worked with. She made my job an absolute (sea) breeze and I was extremely pleased with the end result. Thank you Nicole and Jacques!

Dear Tony...

I read our last bbm messages to each other… You are congratulating Sarel and I on our wedding anniversary, and also telling me how special that day was for you, as you met Jorika there. I feel the need to watch our wedding video again, just to hear your voice once more, as photographs just aren't enough. And even though I am very sad, seeing you in that video makes me laugh…
 
I sit and look back at the past year and a few things makes a little bit more sense now...
 
Since I met you in 2006, and as René introduced us, you made me feel like I have been one of your best friends – like we have known each other since childhood. You made everyone feel so good, so special, so unique. Another thing that amazed me was the fact that you could have fun with anyone, anywhere. I remember a thought that popped up in my mind… You are ALWAYS so much fun! One never had one dull moment spending time with you. Even if you were in another room your laughter would make every one feel so much closer together.
 
One of your most beautiful characteristics were the fact that every one was equal in your eyes, and I really loved that about you. I will always remind myself to be a little bit more like "Tony". Even though you were crazy about fancy, fast cars, materialism didn't exist to you. You could have a blast from a shack in Khayelitsha to a mansion in Constantia, and every one would have been equal and evenly loved in your eyes. Tony, each and every one who crossed your path learned so much from you. I think that each and every one feels so blessed… Even though you are our guardian angel now, you were a true angel here on earth…
 
I never thought that our paths would grow so close or that you would ever spend time with my very afrikaans family as if you are one of us. I couldn't really imagine it… a Spaniard and a South African Weskus mix just sounded too weird… But it was such a joy and privilege! Well, let me tell you, the Weskus english vocabulary really improved quite a bit this past year. We had a few lekker giggles. Especially when the women couldn't figure out how to greet you… "Hy soen mens op altwee wange?" …they always used to say with a very confused expression on their faces. There are so many moments which leaves us with a warm smile, but at the same time, the feeling of how huge our lost is... Each member of our family loved you dearly Tony, and we will never forget the moments we shared together.
 
I hope that in this past year your life was filled with real family love, real friendship love and real true love…
 
We love you, and miss you. Always.
 
You were one AWESOME person!

Our little angel...

I am just past the halfway mark and guess what… Our little angel has started to kick! Well, obviously she has been kicking away for quite a while, but the little flutters has turned into obvious thuds. This feeling is so amazing! I have to admit that this stage of my pregnancy is much more fun. The nausea is completely gone (super yay!). To actually feel something inside you is a constant reminder that you are carrying a little precious gift within you. This might sound funny, but before now I had to constantly remind myself that I am actually pregnant – because you can't really see a big bump yet and I couldn't feel any movement inside me. In the beginning it just feels like gas bubbles moving around in my tummy. Now I know that it had nothing to do with gas at all… ha ha!!!

At our last scan, the doctor captured a lovely image of her face. I can't stop looking at it! I am really super excited to see her, to hold her, to kiss her little face… I constantly wonder if she will look like me like my husband? The doctor did say that she has lovely curves… Well, she won't be getting that from me ;)

In the end, nothing matters more than her health. Seeing how excited our parents are about their first grandchild… she will definitely be showered with a lot of LOVE.