December 2003
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- Real neck control. Uhuh, no seriously. (We'll try not to go in a month: "REAL REAL neck control."). We've said it before, but we're amazed at how much Duvan controls his neck. He has complete control over his head, can do all kinds of neat tricks with it. One thing that he enjoys is to scratch the back of his head on whatever he's lying by moving his head side-to-side rather strongly. We're a little concerned, since he already has very little hair left on the back of his head :).
- Not needing us at night. If Duvan wakes up in the middle of the night, he talks for a while on his own, and eventually falls asleep again. This is such a blessing!
- Grabbing things. On Monday, Duvan and Jan were sitting in the bath after a looong day at school (see below). Jan was splashing the water with Duvan's legs, and Duvan intently watched Jan's hand on his right leg. Suddenly, Duvan stretched out his right hand and grabbed Jan's hand, squeezing it repeatedly. The moment was golden! Now he reached out and grabs all kinds of things. Now we're just waiting for him to realize that he actually has control over two hands. He's still very intent on his right hand, but is completely obvlivious to the left one!
- Interacting with random people. Duvan now smiles at and interacts with strangers. (This might be more of a milestone for Mom & Dad, who finally feels free to hand him to other people).
- First snow! Although Duvan could not care less, he's experienced his first snow. :)
- Anticipation. Duvan is starting to really enjoy games of anticipation. He's really enjoying it when you approach him slowly, with wide eyes, and then grab him and tickle him or "eat" him. He's starting to realize that the tickle is coming after the slow approach, so he'll anticipate it and start smiling as he watches you approach.
- Chewing. It's too early for teething, but he's definitely acting like those gums are itchy. He loves to chew on his hands, and basically on anything that he can get into his mouth :).
Duvan, his bubbly self in his bouncy seat:
It seems that simple toys always end up being the most interesting for babies. (Proof that baby toys are designed to be appealing to parents when on the shelf so it will sell). Marésa has a collection of cloths with different colors and textures, and Duvan absolutely loves it! He loves to pull it down from the arch over his bouncy seat, to touch it or to just watch it!
On Sunday 11/30 Duvan and Dad took a nap on the couch. This was the first time in a while that they got to do this, both thoroughly enjoyed it!
As promised, we would also like to give you a series of hand-shots. Duvan's right hand is his Nr. 1 toy. He loves to watch it whenever he has the opportunity!
Marésa had to go back to work this week, which meant Duvan and Dad got to hang out all day. Duvan helped Jan print out his thesis on Monday, which meant a looooong day at the office for both Jan and Duvan. Both did well though, and we were rewarded with Duvan reaching out and grabbing Jan's hand in the evening when they were taking a relaxing bath together. On non-bath nights, Duvan gets to hang out on the carpet before bedtime. Here he's showing off his upper body strength:
Duvan is becoming a real baby-boy. He's interacting with us much more like a baby and not so much like a new-born anymore. Marésa propped him up with her legs the other night, and he loved watching both of us and chatted away.
Duvan loves to hang out on Mommy's legs (actually, Duvan loves hanging out with Mommy, period :)), and loves to talk with her while on her legs.
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DOKTOR J.H.D. BOSHOFF,
Ons wil weereens vir jou baie geluk toewens met die groot mylpaal wat jy in jou lewe (studies) bereik het. Ons hier vér, het nie altyd besef hoeveel sweet en deursettingsvermoë (veral omdat jy nooit gekla het nie) dit jou gekos het om sover as Vrydag, 19 Des.2003 te gevorder het nie.
Ons het die maklike deel v.d. saak behartig deur net vir jou te bid. Terwyl jy nie net jou studies gehad het nie, maar ook nog die verantwoordelikheid van `n vrou en huishouding op jou skouers moes dra en toé.... op die klimaks en moeilikste deel van jou studies, is ook nòg `n nuwe en pragtige verantwoordelikheid vir jou bygevoeg. Daarby moes jy ook ons klompie Suid-Afrikaners en Yankee-vrinne gelukkig en op hoogte hou met dié nuwe Boshoffie (doktor) se vordering.
Daarom kan ons net al die eer aan die hemelse Vader gee dat Hy jou onderskraag het met krag en wysheid en dat jy nou die vrugte van jou arbeid (PhD) met blydskap en genoegdoening kan geniet..
Ons is trots op jou!!
Ons vertrou dat julle nou met 'n groot gemoedsrus vorentoe sal kyk: wetende dat julle toekoms in die hemelse Vader se hande is.
Omdat dat julle deur Hom gelei sal word, sal julle vrede hê in die besluite wat julle ook mag neem... want dit sal die wil v.d. Vader wees vir julle toekoms.
Ons bid julle ook krag en wysheid toe vir die reëlings wat julle moet tref vir die komende paar maande. (Ons wens so dat dit vir ons kon moontlik wees om te kon handjie bysit het met die inpakkery)
Sterkte en voorspoed.
Liefde,
Al ons Van Tonders, ouma Ferreira en Patrizia.
Posted by: Pa & Ma van Tonder | December 21, 2003 01:48 PM
Dr. Boshoff,
Your pictures of Duvan are fabulous and so very informative. What else could we expect from a PhD???? Congratulations to all of you. What an accomplishment. Duvan has some competition here with his accomplishments. You two are doing everything right. He is very strong b/c of his tummy time and you are wise in allowing him to put himself to sleep. Keep up the great work.
Love you all,
Barbara
Posted by: Barbara Waldron | December 22, 2003 11:09 AM
- Chatting! Duvan loves baby-talking. It started Sunday 12/14 talking when just by himself. We let him talk for 45 minutes to an hour after he wakes up, and it's the best! (Sound clips below).
- Left hand discovered! Duvan discovered his left hand Monday 12/22, and similar to his right hand, soon began touching things with it. He started last week to play with his hands in front of him, but he never really stared at his left hand the way he did at his right hand. Now he knows he has two!
- Exploring with his hands. Now that Duvan knows there are two of them, he uses his hands a lot more to explore and play with things. (See picture below).
- Babysitting experience. Duvan had two long babysitting experiences last week. Since dad was defending his thesis, and Mom had to finish working, he hung out with Lis and Heidi last week. He also had 2 hours at home with Dan and Missy. They all enjoyed him thoroughly and loved hanging out with him!
- Interaction. Duvan has reached a new level of interaction, he will sometimes sit wide-eyed in his bouncy seat, looking at us until we look at him and talk to him, and then he will squeal with pleasure and start kicking and waving his arms. The squeal may need clarifiation though. It's always a high-pitched noise that he produced while inhaling (mmm, we might have to record this one too, it's hard to describe!).
- Playing by himself. The times that Duvan can be left alone playing by himself is getting longer and longer. He now doesn't mind being left alone to play for 20-30 minutes without getting upset.
- First mini vacation! Duvan went away with Mom and Dad over the weekend in celebration of Dad's successful thesis defense.
- Health! Duvan has not had any medical issue whatsoever. Jehova Rapha is Duvan's Healer.
- We're so thankful to God for Duvan's personality. He is extremely flexibile and his sleeping schedule is super robust, allowing us to go out sometimes. He happily sleeps in his carseat or in his play yard in any environment. He has no problems with it at all!
We try to read to Duvan at least once a day, and he seems to be enjoying it more and more! Sometimes there more interesting things around than the book,
...but most times he enjoys reading along!
Duvan's friend Micheala (15 months) came to visit on Saturday 12/13, and she lavished him with hugs and kisses - he loved all the attention.
We had another surpise snow-shower, so Duvan got to wear his snowsuit!
Friday was Dad's big defense so Mom planned a little getaway afterward. After dinner, Dad and Duvan let go of the day's worries...
While Mom and Dad got ready on Saturday morning, Duvan hung out on the couch.
Duvan helped pick out a Christimas tree on Monday. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and we all loved the outdoor adventure.
Duvan was responsible for quality control, and made sure that the needles of our tree are not too sharp.
Duvan discovered his left hand on Monday...
...and figured out how to play with his toys using both his hands on Tuesday!
We mentioned above about how much Duvan loves talking now. This morning we sneaked into his bedroom and recorded his morning prayer. ;) Here is a 1 minute ensemble!
Morning chatter (60 seconds, MP3, 170kB)
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"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it......and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
John 1:1-5,14
Praise God for His son Jesus!
- 3 Months old today!
- First Christmas!
- Duvan pulled the monkey for the first time today! He has a little monkey that hangs on his bouncy seat and plays "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" when you pull it. Well, today he had it in his right hand while we were on the phone with Oupa Japie, and he pulled it several times to make it sing. We were excited!
We've been saving these two pictures for today since they were taken on 11/27.
Christmas was a lot of fun, we hung out at home most of the time. Jan & Marésa slept under the tree Christmas Eve and Duvan got to join in on the fun in the morning (he'll join in the tradition when he's a little older :)):
Duvan has no clue of in/out yet, so he appreciated our help in opening his gift. Although we gave him a good while to try it out himself!
It's not just Jan & Marésa who love to stare at the tree lights...
Dan & Missy made us a beautiful tree ornament in celebration of Duvan's first Christmas (and our last in the US). It's fragile, so we decided to photograph it (just in case).
The text on the blue side is the date, "December 25, 2003", and the nativitiy scene depicts Mary and Joseph, with a lamb in the foreground. The text at the bottom reads "May the light of Christ dwell in you".
We wish you peace, hope and love as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. May His peace fill your heart and your homes in the coming year!
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