A little trip down memory lane with Mieke

Mieke is turning 8 next Monday.  Eight seems really big.  It feels like yesterday when she was my clever little baby and now she is 8 - how did that happen?

Here are some photos from the past 5 years.  Mieke still with long hair in South Africa before Silke was born.

My little spoilt princess in her room in Bali Ridge, our lovely house which I still long for.

In hospital with Granny and newborn sister Silke - she was such a proud big sister!

The photo below was taken at our last lunch at Moyo Restaurant in Zoo Lake - we loved that place (African face painting included) and in summer you are sprayed with a cool mist while enjoying cocktails at the bar.  Never mind that the service was extremely sssslllloooowwww - its Africa after all!

See my two little cherubs below - Mieke's hair is short because she and her best friend Mia practised their hair cutting technique on each other.  It grew back it no time but it actually looked really cute short.

Mieke loves swimming and did really well with her swimming lessons with Auntie Margalo (Margaret) at the gym.  She could swim very well at three and do lenghts in all different strokes at four years old.  But alas I cannot say the same about the swimming teachers here in the UK.  They stand outside the pool shouting instructions to the kids.  So even with the school taking them for swimming lessons every week she still used to swim better in South Africa when she was 3!! 

Before we left for the UK we visited our favourite places - the Drakensberg and Sanlameer.  We stayed for a weekend at the Cathedral Peak Hotel in the Drakensberg and had a great time.  Did a lot of walking and picnicking in the forest and swimming in their rock pool.  We even had a babysitter one evening which was a rare treat.  Silke was about six months old on this trip.  We also loved Sanlameer as always and after travelling the world I think its still one of my favourite places.

Mieke turned five in the October before we left for the UK.  We had a wondeful party for her at Kate's Cottage.  I think this was definitely her best party ever - sunshine, friends, jumping castle, slippy slide, lots of shiny balloons and a princess cake - what more could a girl want!

At her last Christmas play at the Cottage Montessori she was a fish - not sure which type of fish but she was a gorgeous little fish and did her dance perfectly.

We had a last Christmas with Ouma and Oupa in Betties Bay...

And then eventually - five year old Mieke's first day at school in the UK at Pewley Down Infant School in January 2006.

That face says only one thing:  WTF!!

...Am I doing here?

Where is my house?

Where is my room?

Where are my friends?

Where are my dog and cat?

Why is is so frigging cold here?

What do you mean I have to wear these scratchy clothes every day and go to school until 3pm!!

Well all is well that ends well!

Here she is starting her new school in Year 3 at Holy Trinity Junior School in September 2009.  She has come a long way and we are so proud of her!!

Eight years old, I can't believe it. And I am so incredibly proud of her, the way she adjusted to everything over the past nearly 3 years was amazing. Today I went to pick her up from school and there she was - playing hockey with avengeance. The smallest kid with 2 ponytails and an oversized mouthguard hurling herself unafraid into a throng of hockey sticks - I was very proud today.

And yesterday when she played a new piece on her violin, and when the teacher wrote she read her book beautifully and when she got two prizes last Friday at school and today when she made a forward roll on the beam in gymnastics. I am a very proud mom.

So let me take a moment and talk about Mieke and what she is about.

99 (or less) things about Mieke

Mieke is my firstborn my pride and joy.

When she was born her head was flat and her hip dislocated, but I knew in my heart that she was fine. So imagine my surprise when they sent a counsellor to see me about my baby's 'disability'.

Still, Mieke had to wear double cloth nappies for the first six weeks of her life - at first I was worried about having to wash these until I realized I could put the cloth nappies over the disposable ones.

When she was little she called a sweetie a footie.

She loved her milk when she was a baby and still does.

I breastfed Mieke for 18 months, she could speak sentences at 18 months. These things are unrelated as I'm still breastfeeding Silke at 3 and she is barely speaking sentences.

Mieke loves reading Horrid Henry books and Naughty Fairy books and some Roald Dahl. She reads very well for her age (well as her proud mum I think so).

Mieke is very proud of her South African heritage and tells everyone about it.

Most adults like Mieke as she is very well behaved. She is not always that well behaved at home though...

Since starting Year 3 at Holy Trinity, Mieke does Art, Violin, Hockey, Gymnastics, Kumon and Orchestra - she is very busy but loving it.

Mieke is good at art and very imaginative.

Mieke fights with Silke every day. But she also hugs and kisses Silke every day.

Mieke gets up each morning at 6:30 am to watch tv and sometimes to do her Kumon. She likes to see her dad in the morning before he goes to work and cries if he doesn't wake her up.

Mieke can walk for miles without complaining, wether in London or on holiday in Italy or Switzerland. As long as she gets an ice cream - she loves vanilla ice cream.

BAIE GELUK MET JOU 8STE VERJAARSDAG MIEKE!!!!

Ons is baie lief vir jou - jy is ons almal se NUMBER 1 - Soos Oupa altyd se.