Duvan is loving the summer weather. He loves being outside and enjoys all the new sights, sounds and fragrances (and tastes!) that the outdoors afford. A moment before this picture was taken, Duvan took a healthy bite at the flower. :)

We thought we'd include a couple of these shots where Duvan stretches out at the camera. It's something that Dad obviously has in his hands most of the time, so it sure is worth checking out. The straps are his favorite part, although the buttons generally have appeal as well. He doesn't seem to realize that it's his own picture on the little monitor though. :)

Aah Dad, gimme that camera!

We had just finished dinner out on the porch, a perfect South African summer day. Duvan was enjoying our company, and we were certainly enjoying his!

Here Duvan's doing the exciting hands move. He's making high-pitched "ooh" sounds. It was one evening with sunset, and we put him down on the grass to take a picture in the dusk hues. He though though it was the coolest thing to sit on the grass!

There's that stretch for the camera again!

Duvan's facial expressions have matured a lot over the last couple of weeks. Every now and then we stop and look at him and go: "Wow, he's a real person!"

He still has the touting mouth though whenever he's in deep concentration.

Duvan has developed an intense interest in reading. He loves it when you sit with him and page through a book, pointing out the bright objects. Here he's hanging out with Grandmom. You can tell the excitement! Look at how those hands are talking.

Here Duvan's wearing Grandpa's Amazing Maize Maze cap!

We continue to stand amazed at how Duvan is developing into a little boy! It's sad and exciting at the same time. Everytime we realize that he's growing up, rapidly changing, we realize all the new things he's doing. There's never a dull moment. It's such an amazing blessing, this awesome journey of parenting.

We hung out on our own lawn one Saturday afternoon on a play-blanket that his grandma made especially for him. He's always super interested in all that we're doing! Look at those long fingers!

Duvan's cute dimples are still there, winning the hearts of all who dare to look upon that smile!

He's got his mother's beautiful big brown eyes.

Time's running out for taking naps on beds - he's getting way too mobile. This was one of his last ones on the bed. We came up after some time to check on him - he was sleeping longer than usual, and found him in this peculiar position! He had pulled his legs up all the way with his butt in the air! It wasn't too long ago that Jana told us about her nephews always sleeping like this, and we though is was the funniest thing when Duvan copied the position!

One fun thing about South Africa is the number of public holidays! It's amazing how many was fit into the month of April. We did not mind at all, it allowed for lots of hangin' out time that we can always use. The van Tonder's paid us a surprise visit on the 12^th, so we had a nice big family day.

The 14^th was election day, which was another public holiday. We used the opportunity to visit Potch, our college town. This time we brought along God's gift to the union that started out in this humble town. We all had so much fun and really enjoyed each other's company. Duvan was particularly giddy that day, and wouldn't miss a thing.

We spent a big part of the day eating - visiting all the little coffee shops where we used to hang out for hours on end (by lunchtime we were thoroughly stuffed). Duvan was a star - waving at everyone around him. It was the first time we went out with him waving at people, and we were as amused with him as most people were.

Duvan was so excited in his stroller today. He really would not miss a thing. At one point he became really tired, but would not lie down to take a nap! We tried everything we could to get him to lie back and relax, but he would struggle everytime to come up straigth, gripping the front of the stroller with all his might!

He became so tired though that his eyes would no longer cooperate, and he eventually would fall forward, fast asleep. Whenever we'd gently try to make him lie down, he'd wake up and would fight to come up straight again, almost as if to say "What, me sleeping? Get outta here!"

Here Duvan and Mom are posing in Lover's Lane. It was a beautiful day, we were the only ones on campus, as most people were gone on Fall break, and it was particularly bright and sunny.