The kindness of strangers...

so here we are, week two, and I am more familiar with our new surroundings. There is also less blubbering going on.

The little guy and I take a stroll everyday to the local mini-mall and shops. He is a hit with the ladies and seems to attract a lot of blondes....Like any guy he loves the attention and turns on the charm. I cant blame them, he is kinda cute:

 

I found a gorgeous boutique owned by a lady named Penny who was so kind to us once she knew we were new in town. She has taken me under her wing and is smitten with Laith so she's promised to find us some baby groups and a nanny (ok so I am leaving out the part where her kindness reduced me to tears) Thankfully her store is less than 200 m away with a great beauty salon two doors down, an incredible ice cream parlour and the best latte in town. The beauty salon is owned by a lady named Jay who I met last year and today I had my first timeout -a manicure while the girls in the salon all took turns looking after Laith. Me thinks we will be regulars here.Everyone is so damn friendly, I feel like it is the Truman Show as I must say good morning and good day to about 25 people before arriving at the shops. Love it.
Have been enjoying a huge amount of skype time with family and bff's back home. You can never be too grateful for the Internet.

Life here is one for the health conscious - by 5pm the beach is scattered with joggers and cyclists, as are most of the neighbouring roads. The standard outfit for the men is shorts and trainers. Nothing else. Great on the eye if they are lean and and toned, not so appealing if gravity is affecting their man boobs and they have a carpet on their back. Thankfully more of the former so far.

So with that in mind we are joining the gym next week - Laith and I that is. He has his own gym membership for a grand total of £7 a month! Sam has already begun his 6am routine. Yes, you read that correctly, Sam gets up between 5-6am and goes for a workout whilst the two of us are snoring away. Laith and I are going to join him next week,  baby gym for him whilst mother rectifies the damage he did to her waistline. 

Precious (yes that really is her name, it wasnt just a movie) comes a few times a week to clean the house and it is nice to have someone here with me to help as she too has just had a baby (a girl named Angel - I just love these names!)


My wonderful father-in-law has now left Durban and has begun his trip back home to London where his other beautiful grandchild awaits him with more smiles and hugs. We are really going to miss him as he has been pricelss in helping me settle in. Laith is going to miss having breakfast on the balcony with him, followed by a massage in the sunshine and lots of hugs. I am going to miss the freshly squeezed juice he makes us all each morning, cooking dinner together and just having him around! :(

Other than that we have been busy doing the mundane stuff that people do when the move. The pace of life here is very laid back compared to the city life back home, but dont get me wrong, they are productive and hard working but there is no stress or manic feel about getting things done. They just do it. We are looking forward to the weekends as there is so much to do here- here is a link to tempt some visitors!   (http://www.durban-direct.com/activities.html) although this weekend we are sofa shopping - not exciting I know but when you throw in lunch at a beachside venue and a stroll on the promenade, with a possible braai by the pool then it isnt so bad.

The best part of all this change is that we have much more quality time as a family and we can enjoy falling in love with our son with each passing day. Until next time....