The winner of this year’s PE Express Front Page baby competition was not given a name that means “Lord and Master” for nothing, as it is evident that he has his parents – and two dogs – wrapped firmly around his tiny fingers.
Eight-month-old Murray Rhys Ireland, born on April 9 to Melissa and Llewellyn Ireland, walks away with the honour of gracing the front page of PE Express’s last edition for 2020.
“Murray is such a sweet soul,” his mother said lovingly. “He absolutely loves our two Jack Russells, Maggie and Remi, and finds them hilarious. They also don’t need to do much to entertain him,” she added.
“He is at a very busy stage and really likes to move around and go outside. He also enjoys watching nursery rhymes on TV, while clapping his hands. His favourite thing to eat lately is a peanut butter sarmie or puréed veggies with some chicken bits.
‘He is also saying mamamama, so I take it that ‘mamma’ is his first word,” she added with a laugh.
Ireland said that she and her husband decided to enter Murray for the competition because he is always smiling.
“Everyone thinks that he is just so cute, including his parents and since he is always smiling, we thought that he would make a good model,” she explained with a smile.
Ireland described Murray’s birth, two weeks into level five lockdown, as something that cannot be compared to anything else.
“I will never forget driving on our way to St George’s [Hospital] in the morning to be induced. The roads were dead; I’ve never seen PE so quiet in my life.
“The hospital allowed Llewellyn to be with me during the labour that ended up being a caesarean the next day. The c-section was great and my anaesthetist was amazing.
“He played music for us, What a wonderful world, by Louis Armstrong and that just broke Llewellyn. All I saw was his eyes welling up. It was the moment we were going to meet Murray! A few minutes later he played happy birthday as Murray was born. It was absolutely amazing and a very special moment I will never forget.”
Murray and his parents will be spending his first Christmas at Ireland’s sister’s house in Walmer Heights. “His cousin is seven months older than he is and they are starting to really enjoy each other. It’s so cute,” Ireland said.
His Christmas tree will also be stacked with gifts as his parents bought toys that will keep him busy and help him move since he doesn’t like to be in one spot for very long.
This includes a push car, boat for the pool, a tent for the beach, some bath toys and a pool with balls to keep him entertained.
Murray’s dad said that they had a reason for choosing this name for their baby. “We chose Murray as his name because we wanted to keep the tradition of his father’s name being of Gaelic origin.
“The meaning of his name is also quite fitting as we attend to his every need at all hours,” Llewellyn said with a laugh.
- ProDesin Photographers is our official Christmas Baby photographer. For more information on services offered, phone 073 161 3176 or go to www.pro-design.co.za/
