Chandler's Overseas

These are some photo's we took of Harrison which capture his quickly changing facial expressions. Each picture tells a slightly different story, yet all taken within 10 seconds. What was he thinking?!

Now that Harrison is crawling everywhere (at lightning speed) and perfecting his clambering skills, it was deemed necessary to upgrade the stair barriers. The boys headed off to the hardware store to find a suitable barrier. Harrison loves sitting in the 'big boy' seat of the trolley and normally adopts a very relaxed and comfortable pose taking in everything there is to see. His concentration is very intense of all to see however occasionally gets interrupted by sheer excitement with arms and legs flapping uncontrollably! Harrison just as he was placed in the trolley with excitement levels slowly building p.s. a suitable make-shift barrier was found which Harrison has been busy analysing!

After saying goodbye to Jen's parents on Thursday, we welcomed Richard, Isabelle and their 16 day old baby daughter Emilie for the weekend. Harrison is still a little boy being nearly 9 months old, however amazing how quickly he has grown, and how big he is compared to Emilie. It was very cute seeing Harrison interact with Emilie- he was so intrigued with her, and surprisingly gentle. On Saturday an impromptu visit to Addo was planned. Upon arrival we soon discovered that the cool coastal breeze had not ventured inland so experienced a hot 37.5c as we drove around the game reserve. Thankfully our air conditioning was working well and there was sheltered picnic tables available for lunch. Whilst the majority of the game were hiding in the shade, we saw large herds of elephants bathing in most of the waterholes which Harrison watched eagerly. Harrison & 16 day old Emilie Cute pouting Emilie Picnic lunch at Addo with Richard & Isabelle Elephants cooling down in the waterhol...

The Little Karoo is a broad valley stretching east to west hemmed in by the Swartberg mountain range to the north and the Outeniqua mountains to the south. Whilst the environment appears very vast and arid, the windswept plains are broken by mountains with deep ravines and breathtaking passes. Jen put on her 'travel agent' hat and found stunning accommodation at Toorfontein tented camp which would offer a completely different African experience for Jackie & Stu. To break the drive we stayed at The Fernery on Friday night- the only hotel at the base of the Tsitsikamma Mountains which has views of the rugged coastline, deep gorges and surrounding forests. Our lodge was nestled against a small waterfall of the gorge which made for pleasant background noise as we braaied on our patio. On Saturday we meandered along the Garden Route, breaking for coffee at a French cafe in Plettenberg Bay and a picnic lunch in Knysna. We continued over the spectactular Outeniqua Pass from George...

Harrison has been on the move for quite some time with him accomplishing rolling at 4 months and progressing to leopard crawling around 7 months. Over the last couple of weeks he has mastered crawling. Barriers are on the stairs and running shoes on! Watch out... Harrison is on the move!

Exploring under the table during our lunch! Harrison loves his new quilt from his Great Granny Can you believe they make Haviana's this small! Harrison is kept trendy with this pair from our Joburg friends. Harrison has perfected taking his toys wherever he goes! The early stages of crawling... getting there! His determined look! Coffee & portugese tart atVovo Telo- Harrison didn't think either was too bad!

Jen's parents, Jackie & Stu, couldn't resist the urge for another visit to see Harrison. The last time they saw Harrison was in September when he was still a little baby. Five months later Jackie & Stu are now experiencing a little boy who is crawling, eating and constantly expressing himself. Harrison is spoilt with the extra attention once again with Stu resuming bathing duties and mum being a wonderful entertainer. It is always a race to see which grandparent gets to sit next to Harrison in the car! Today we visited Kragga Kamma Game Reserve which is a small private game reserve on the outskirts of PE. It was a surprisingly good game reserve and a bargain at R45 p/p (AUD7!). Being within such a close proximity to the elusive cheetah was a novelty, even if they were in an enclosure. Gran & Pa reading a story to Harrison Harrison showing off his new crawling skill to Pa More fun story time with Gran A small antelope at Kragga Kamma Game Reserve Big yawn... tough...