Another little Jaco for us

So God has a sense of humour! He so desperately knew that I wanted another little girl (cos they are just the best) and now He's testing me with another little Jaco.  Problem is, Milea is just like her dad so I'll be blessed with 3 Jaco's in the house! On the other hand, it's great to now have a pigeon pair and I can close up shop for good and not have to go through another pregnancy again. The little one is healthy and well with an above average abdomen size which could be due to all the FutureLife I'm currently scoffing. Due date seems to be the 16th December 2012.

Ching, Chong, Cha: Stories from China

Well I’m not sure what I was expecting of China. I don’t think I had really put my mind to it before the trip, although the word ‘different’ came to mind. That’s the thing, we had chosen the cities of Beijing and Shanghai because they were different. We wanted to go somewhere in the world with a different language, culture and people. And we certainly chose correctly. However I didn’t expect there to be so many people (the population is estimated at 1.4 billion people!!) and that it would be so expensive! I mean, everything is made in China right? So surely it would be cheaper there – how wrong we were. In fact, our plan of taking one backpack between the 2 of us with the expectation that we would buy more suitcases to be filled with all our shopping, was very misguided!

So our adventure started off with a midnight flight of 16 hours to Beijing a mere 5 hours after Jaco arrived back from Nigeria! Yours truly had to do all the packing ;) We were certainly the minority on the airplane which we quickly had to get used to as only about 2% of all tourists in China happen to be foreigners. The majority are all Chinese nationals! We had no real itinerary besides finding our first night’s accommodation which we had pre-booked. Luckily the underground system was easy to follow and the street names were in Chinese and English. We managed to find our Motel 268 located in the heart of the city a few blocks from the “Oxford Street” of Beijing as well as Tian'an Men Square and the Forbidden City. It was the perfect location, despite the HARD mattress being less than perfect (especially for a tired pregnant lady after a long day of sightseeing!). We spent the next 3 days walking anything from 10 – 12kms (Jaco refused to take a single taxi) around the city visiting the 3 lakes in the north of the city, the Drum and Bell Towers, the 2008 Olympic Stadium (known as 'the bird's nest'), the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City and Tian'an Men Square. Jaco was brave enough to try some street food and managed to gulp down some fried squid and a sloppy looking eel twirled on a stick. He was much braver than I, who opted for McDonalds and KFC burgers on occasion (PS I would NEVER eat these back home but they were a decent option at the time!).

We found the Chinese breakfast of stodgy rice, tasteless dumplings, wet cabbage, funny speckled eggs and a meat of sorts to be quite unsavoury and opted for Oatso-easy which we’d bought over from SA – thank goodness for that! Generally we enjoyed the rice and noodle dishes but after 2 days of carbo-loading meals, we were dying for a simple sarmie which was no-where to be found.

We joined a tour-group for a day visit to the Great Wall, which included visits to a Jade (stone, and also a hot favourite for #2...) and silk factory where they try and get you to buy all their goods. Our tour took us to a less touristy section of the wall and we had to take a ski-lift up to the top of the wall. Disappointingly, because of all the smog and pollution, we couldn’t see the wall snaking into the distance on the mountaintops (which is what you imagine after seeing all the pictures of the wall). It was a great experience to ‘climb’ the wall – literally you are climbing up steps which lead very steeply upwards and then very steeply downwards again – I think I had the impression that the wall was flat – but definitely not the case!

Next big city was Shanghai – China’s financial capital and home to the country’s tallest building. We took the liberty of taking the 5 hour bullet train to Shanghai to get a feel of the 300km per hour train and see a bit of the countryside. It was like being on the Eurostar or on an airplane: a food compartment and hostesses coming down the aisles selling food (larva-egg noodles) and drink. We treated ourselves to 2 nights at the 5 star Sofitel and it was great – soft mattresses, slippers, gowns and English TV! And of course a gym for Jaco! We had decided to save all our shopping for Shanghai. After realising we weren’t able to afford the stuff from the high street stores, we headed for the back street markets where you would end up bargaining for anything up to an hour on a pair of shoes (which would probably have cost less in South Africa). The city is divided by a large river with the financial district on one side and the colonial-styled buildings and mainland on the other. We took a ferry between the two and visited their tallest building at 470m. The cars far down below looked like tiny ants – it was quite impressive to see. The next couple of days were quite rainy and overcast and between shopping and hunting for our next market, there wasn’t too much to see. In fact, I think we overstayed our holiday by about a day and in the end I was dying to come home and see my Milli Moo!

The journey home was LONG – a 2hour wait at Shanghai airport, a 2 hour flight from Shanghai to Beijing, a 6 hour wait at Beijing airport. Then a 16 hour flight from Beijing to JHB, a 3 hour wait and lastly a 2 hour flight to Cape Town. I have never been happier to land on solid ground and of course to see my little bundle of joy. Unfortunately she was less than impressed with me for leaving her for a week and it took a few hours for her to warm up to being with mom again! Ouma loved her time with Milli and they became the best of friends – just shows how easily and quickly a replacement can step into mom’s shoes!

3's a Crowd, 4's a Family!

So the cat is out of the bag and I might as well make it official! I'm 13 weeks pregnant! It came as a big surprise I must admit and you're probably questioning why I say that since making babies is not accidental most of the time. Jaco has been out of the country lately more so than in the country so we didn't think it possible ourselves. But obviously we are just really good at it and so voila - Milea will have a brother or sister come Christmas time. I just love celebrating special occasions, so this year I will have a little baba for a Christmas pressie as the tiny tot is due on the 23rd December. I hope it arrives on my doorstep with a pretty bow and beautiful packaging. Mmmm trying not to think about another operation again....

Since I did the home pregnancy test (on my own since J was away!) and it turned out positive, my mind suddenly started telling my body I was pregnant. I have been feeling really nauseous ever since. Definitely different to when I was carrying Milea - they say all pregnancy's are different. I've been craving foods that I don't normally eat or drink such as oranges, niknaks and glasses of milk! And boy have I been packing the food in, so I have a sneaky suspicion that a little boy is brewing in there.

Other momentous news is that Milea celebrated her first year on this earth recently (25th May 2012). As you know I love celebrations and so decided to throw her a big party! Now, having a winter baby is not great in Cape Town because parties at the park or beach or garden just don't work with the uncertainty of rain. So what was meant to be a relaxed affair of planning became a stressed and crazed time of trying to find an indoor venue to cater for 1 year olds and younger, as well as the old fogies who wanted tea and cake. So at the last minute, we decided on the Cape Milner Hotel in Tamboerskloof and served a high tea which was fantastic. Unfortunately Milea was a little out of sorts, with too much attention and photo-posing, so she was miserable and grumpy most of the time. Thank goodness Granny and Grandpa were down for the weekend and Ouma too, so there were all hands on deck to try and keep her happy and smilling. The lyric "Its my party and I'll cry if I want to" definitely rang true this time! She was thoroughly spoilt and we're slowly handing out 1 toy per every couple of days to try and keep the interest up. Thank goodness for new toys - even I was getting sick of her other ones!

Exciting times ahead as we plan to leave for China this Friday. We have no idea what we're in for as we travel to Beijing and Shanghai to experience a bit of the East. With no signs in English, few people even speaking English and every living thing walking off our plates, I'm a little nervous but trying to keep positive for our 'babymoon" (as opposed to a honeymoon). Jaco's mom has kindly agreed to stay at our place and look after Milea so she will hopefully not realise we're missing for 9 days. It will probably be the last holiday that the 2 of us go on alone for the next 20 years so we're going to make the most of it. We're so looking forward to the hot weather of over 30 degrees everyday after this cold snap we're having.

Otherwise, life is good. Jaco is working hard as usual and gyming alot. He's hardly touched his bike since the Argus but intends to get back into it when the summer swings around. I'm trying to find motivation to go to gym in the afternoons after work, but yawning every 5 minutes and feeling ill are not great motivators so any other excuse normally wins the battle. We've started taking Milea swimming at the heated pool at the gym and she loves it. She squeals with delight and watches all the other kids swimming. After just 2 times, she has learnt to hold onto the side of the pool by herself. Bu she sometimes forgets what she is doing and starts sinking under the water and gulping in all the water and  has a mini freak out. Its so lovely watching her growing up and discovering nw things and experiences.

Pitter Patter of Little Feet

I think Milea is an overachiever even at this young age! At 10 and a half months she discovered that she can stand and has even started toddering along and walking! So cute to see her do the little shuffle - short, small footsteps with her shoulders and arms lifted up and ready to save herself if she plops down. She is SO pleased with herself as she squeals each time she starts walking. I suppose it doesn't help that we scream with encouragement every time she does. Hope she doesn't expect that sort of response all the time..... soon I may be less than impressed that she is walking around so much - no more chill time for mom anymore;-)

So my folks were here for Easter and the whole CPT side of the family moved into their Camps Bay house! It was wonderful having them spoil us with home-cooked meals, babysitting and some quality time. They are the doting grandparents of note! Wish they lived down here so granny and grandpa could be more apart of her life (she keeps forgetting them when they leave). We also took advantage of the beautiful weather and did a Table Mountain Hike with Milli. She loved sitting on Jaco's back like a little mountain goat - and Jaco loved the extra exercise in having to carry her! Everyone climbing commented on the fact that she was climbing and we (actually Jaco) were so brave to carry her up there. Mom and babs took the cable car down while dad tried his best to beat us to the bottom. Guess who won??? (answer at the bottom...)

Our other big sporting moment these last couple of weeks was swimming the 2 Oceans Half Marathon. We were both winging it really with Jaco having done 1 run this year and me trying to convince myself that I had plenty of muscle memory from the Half Ironman in January! Although the weather was far from perfect, it was such a fantastic run and so great to do it together. Jaco was a mini Bruce Fordyce and kept running off cos he had so much energy and I was obviously too slow for him. But we stuck it out together and thank goodness for that cos he (literally) pushed me along the last 3 kms to the finish. We slushed across the muddy finish line in 2hrs 20mins and then froze our butts off in the cold weather. No time to revel in the glory as we sprinted back to the car to hotbox it big time in order to warm up.

So life has been a bit sucky the last couple of weeks as Jaco has been travelling so much for work - Seychelles, Germany, UK and Nigeria all in 4 weeks! Mom and Milli have gone into auto-mode and adapted to a single mommy routine which is full on! I am so glad that its nearly over and we can be a real family again - which means dad is back to cooking duty ;-) In the meantime mom is very busy with Milea who loves unpacking the grocery / Tupperware cupboard, climbing into the shower, licking the pages of the touchy-feely books and discovering that the toilet has a lid that lifts up and down. Maybe only having one parent around is starting to effect her after all....??!?

After a day at Moyo's

I love licking my books

(Answer: Cablecar of course! He can't run THAT fast!)


Oops! You caught me in the act!



Exciting News

Besides my daughter having popped her second tooth and learning to open drawers and delve into the tupperware cupboard, the Cronje's have exciting news. We are the proud new owners of a beautiful home in Pinelands!


We are so excited to eventually have our own place after 4 years of living in a flat in Vredehoek. We are definitely going to miss the convenience of living in the city, but are finding that the walls are closing in on us and we're running out of space (yes, open the cupboards and everything comes tumbling out because they're so crammed full!). We started looking in January for a property and liked the area of Pinelands because it offers good value for money and large properties. I had the misfortune of looking at many old houses in the area which needed lots of work before finding this gem. For example, this one house I saw desperately needed renovation and hadn't been changed in the last 70 years. The old lady living there was 4 years old when her father built the place! When I stumbled upon what was to become our house, I only had 15 minutes to quickly whizz through it before a Chiropractor appointment for Milli. But you can tell within 2 minutes if its up your alley or not. This place had such potential, and with a few changes here and there, I could definitely see us living there. Jaco saw it the very next day and we decided to put in an offer. In the first 4 days of the property coming on the market, the owners had already received 3 offers!

The 3 bedroomed, 1 bathroomed house is in good condition with wooden flooring. It also has a cute cottage in the garden. The kitchen desperately needs some work and we will need to put in another bathroom. However we have time on our sides as there is no rush to move in - the sellers are renovating another property down the road. We only have to leave our flat in Aug / Sept this year. Milli will definitely be walking by then - she is already standing against furniture and then letting go to balance for a few seconds before plopping down. Apparently this is called 'cruising'. She loves showing off her new trick. It will be great to have a garden and space for her to run around.


So the missy is 9 months old already and weighing 8.25kgs. She has such a little personality and the cheekiest grin. Her new skill is to wave goodbye to people - and has perfected the queen's wave I might add. I am finding it more tough as she gets older because she wants my attention all the time and needs stimulating every waking hour. So between work, which is very busy and spending time with Milli in the afternoons, I'm not finding time to exercise as much. Argus this weekend and the 2oceans marathon in April are going to be interesting. I'm discovering how difficult it is to be a career-minded, fit, healthy-looking mom! You definitely cannot have it all!

Jaco has been racing the summer league in Cape Town with his new BF (Berge Farrell) team. He has enjoyed being back on the racing scene. With his regular travelling to Nigeria, it sure makes the racing quite challenging! He is trying to find an Epic entry/partner, so if you know of one floating around, give us a shout! I've warned him that this could possibly be the last year he's on a bike when Number 2 comes along so he had better take advantage of it. Mom putting her foot down....



Milli just loves cuddles! Her favourite time of day is when dad comes home and plays rough and tumble with her on the bed. She squeals with delight!

We've had to put up a security gate so she doesn't venture out into the big wide world. She just loves standing at the gate and making noises for me to let her out. She cannot wait to get out there! In the meantime she spends her time cruising (standing and moving from one piece of furniture to the next) the apartment.

Like her folks, Milli loves her food. She always wants to taste what mom and dad are eating even if she only has 1,5 teeth to eat it with. I mean how do you eat a piece of toast with those tools - her solution is sucking it so it falls apart.

Having fun with her best friend, Rebecca on a hot day!

Mom is an Ironman!

After 6 months of hard and strenuous training, I finally achieved my goal of completing the Ironman 70.3 in East London this last weekend. The 1.9km swim, 90km cycle and 21km run was a goal which I set myself shortly after giving birth. Thanks to some gentle persuasion from a few of my girlfriends I decided it would be a great achievement to get fit again and return this mommy's body back to its former state - that of an endurance athlete! I'm proud to say that I completed the race in a time of 6 hours and 34 minutes, well within my time of wishing to beat 7 hours. I was elated to have finally conquered this challenge after many hours of training, tiredness, exhaustion, struggling to stick to my training programme and continuously motivating myself for the last 6 months.

The conditions on the day were perfect: cool, overcast and little wind. We couldn't blame a poor performance on the weather. I was very excited to do the race - actually I was tired of all the training and just wanted to get it over and done with. So the nerves were calm as I didn't know what to expect. I had a very good swim, with no kicks or punches in the face and exited the water after 42 minutes. Running to the transition zone on wobbly legs while trying to strip off a wetsuit was interesting. Once on the bike, I tried to use my Tri bars as much as possible to rest my body but the harsh rolling hills didn't allow for such comforts. I had to be careful not to slipstream other cyclists as referees were continuously monitoring everyone's following distance. Transition into the run was slow as I slapped on as much suncream as I could before trying to find a steady rhythm. I started the run with a stitch and couldn't run very easily. I panicked as I thought of 21 painful kilometres to look forward to. So many times I felt like giving up - my body was sore, aching and had no energy. I pushed through and by 10kms felt alot better. I kept looking forward to the feeding points every 2kms where I would walk and drink as much as possible - that was the only thing that got me through the run. There was a nasty 1km hillclimb as well which saw me walking it both times (the run was 2 laps). I just kept telling myself that every step I took was one step closer to the finish. And finally the red carpet was there and I had done it!

Jaco and Milli supported me all the way! It was a long hot day for them but their cheering got me through my run. They were the best supporters that a mom could ask for!

I've been asked whether I'll do it again. The sore achy legs are enough for me to decline right now, but perhaps I'll look back one day and only remember the highlights and forget the pain!
Milli is 8 months old today and weighing 8kgs. She has found her voice in the last couple of days and babbles away non-stop. She is getting faster on her hands and knees and loves following Constance around the house. She is exploring every space in our flat which means we need to watch her every move. When there's silence, you know she's up to mischief. I miss those days that I could just plonk her down on the carpet and know she wasn't going to go anywhere....sigh!! You always want what you can't have ;-)

Milli on the Move

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2012 has already started out with a bang with my baby Milli going from sitting to crawling in no time at all! I am happy to report that after a frustrating month of balancing on her hands and knees with bum in the air and pointing her head down into the carpet, she has finally discovered how to mobilise those fat little legs and sumo arms and crawl. She's no longer happy to sit and play with her toys on the carpet anymore - she wants to see the world! Mom, dad and nanny are having trouble keeping a beady eye on her all of a sudden as she's quick as lightening to crawl from one spot to another. But, in true Cronje style, she's no longer happy to just crawl, she wants to start walking as well! Pulling herself up against the couch, TV cabinet, toy box and her bike (yes she got her first ybike for Christmas!) seems like such fun.....until she bliksems over and looks at you with puppy dog eyes before screaming.

I've suddenly realised (with sadness) that she no longer needs me. She can operate pretty much on her own these days. She told me that breastfeeding is for babies and only wants to eat proper food for brekkie, lunch and dinner. So its been a long and hard (in all senses of the word) road to dry these boobs out! She doesn't want me to hold her bottle while feeding her - she can do that all by herself. Her first tooth broke through this week, so she's getting ready to start chewing on some meaty biltong. We've dropped her bed down to the lowest level as we've often found her sitting up and crying when I go through in the middle of the night. She is very vocal about what she likes and doesn't like - don't ever think of taking a toy away from her when she's playing with it as she'll bite your head off with an angry scream! So she is becoming a real little missy....or just taking after her dad ;-)





Granny and grandpa were down in Cape Town for Christmas and Ouma was in town from the farm so she was a very spoilt little girl and spent many hours playing with them. Christmas day was so special with both my parents, Jaco's mom and brother with us to celebrate the day together. She was very spoilt with lots of pressies and I think loved the wrapping more than anything else! Actually mom enjoyed opening two lots of pressies on the morning as Milea didn't really know what to do with all of them! We really did get our money's worth from the ouma's in terms of babysitting as Jaco and I went training every morning in the holidays. The half ironman is next weekend and Jaco's cycling season starts this weekend. He's signed up with the BF team this season which means he's in line for a sponsored bike and all the kit which he's very happy about. 2012 seems to be a very big sporting year for both of us what with the half ironman in East London (Christie), Argus (both of us), Boland Tour (Jaco), Two Oceans Half marathon (both of us and Milli in her pram), and depending on training possibly the Epic for Jaco. It may just be the last time we'll be able to do all these things. I'm enjoying having my athletic figure back but have a feeling this is the most fittest, thinnest and well-toned I'm ever going to be in my whole life!! Sigh......



Milli was lucky enough to be selected to appear in 2 adverts recently: one for Huggies nappies and the other for a French catalogue. It was very exciting to see behind the scenes and take part in the photoshoots. She was such a star and behaved so well - the fame definitely didn't go to her head! It was very strange seeing her pose with an Italian model as her 'mom' in the Huggies photographs. And I didn't realise that they always cast 2 babies for photoshoots - 1 being the main baby and the other being the backup child in case the main baby doesn't feel up to posing that day. I'm pleased to say that she was great as the main baby and the other little one just sat around for 3 hours watching Milli strut her stuff. She will be appearing on the nappy packaging for Huggies from August 2012. The French catalogue photoshoot took place in the beautiful gardens of a Bishopscourt house. Milli had to pose with another little boy who had trouble sitting up by himself. They had to prop him up with lots of pillows so he didn't fall over. Milli took it in her stride and gave lots of big smiles while Constance (her nanny) jumped up and down and made funny faces at her behind the camera.

1 week to go before half iron man which means I need to stop typing and get out there and train!