Monthly Archives: September 2011

Grace’s Table

On September 10, 2011 - Uncategorized
We were very blessed that our friend Jason made Grace a beautiful wooden table.  Thank you so much Jay we really appreciate it and thank you Em for encouraging him to finish it.  You did a great job.

Today Grace helped Duncan prepare the wood, so that we can paint it!

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Our little model

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Gingerbread men, tea & squirrels

On September 9, 2011 - Uncategorized

We took my sister-in-law's godmother and husband out for breakfast this morning to Cafe Paradiso. Jackie & Mike have been on holiday from the USA – hiking up Kilimanjaro, and now spending a week in Cape Town.

Cafe Paradiso is really awesome. Other than being a lovely place, they also allow children to go into the bakery and do some baking. Grace got to go and make some gingerbread men and cookies. She loves baking, so once she settled down she really enjoyed it. I think the biggest hit was the chocolate buttons on the gingerbread men.

After breakfast we went for a walk through the company gardens and Grace got to see the squirrels. I'm not really sure how to describe the way she says squirrel – it is kind of like the sound you would make if you did not say the "qu" and the "rr", sort of like "sk-l". Regardless of how she says it, she said it a lot, and enjoyed the squirrel spotting.

It appears that we may have a little teapot on our hands. Donné made Grace a hot cross bun and some tea after her nap, and she drunk the whole cup of tea! We have given her some tea before and she has drunk a little bit, but never more than a few sips.

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And one last little story. This afternoon Grace and Donné were looking through the photos and videos on the blog (which Grace loves doing) and one of the videos was of her cutting plastic fruit. Donné said, "Grace, you don't want to watch this, this is a boring video." Grace did want to watch it until halfway through when she started saying, "Bore, bore" – at which time we both had a good laugh.

Cafe Paradiso is in Kloof Street.

Monkey’s on the bed

On September 8, 2011 - Uncategorized

Fun afternoon in the Garden

On September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
It was a hot sunny day today, reminding us that summer is around the corner.  After Grace's supper we spent some time playing in the garden:

First we fed the birds

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Then we climbed the bars like a monkey

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Of course there was some hip and bum wiggling

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Dad please can I have some fresh garden snap peas…yum yum

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"Stop taking photos of me Mom"

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And the garden fun ended with some standing on our heads

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Not quite ready to wake up

On September 6, 2011 - Uncategorized

We had to wake Grace from her nap today because it started a bit late after a yummy sushi lunch with Aunty "Meh". When Donné went in to wake Grace she opened her eyes, looked at Donné, closed them again and put her arm over her head. Not quite ready to wake up yet mom. It did offer a photo opportunity though….

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More independence

On September 5, 2011 - Uncategorized

Grace is getting a stronger and stronger desire to act independently – she wants to dress herself (and knows what she wants to wear), she does not want to hold our hand while climbing stairs, and she wants to climb into the bath on her own…just to name a few.

She has always enjoyed buttering and spreading her bread with her little bear knife, and now she enjoys cutting it herself. If she uses the bear knife it requires quite a lot of sawing and hacking, but she perseveres and cuts off the crusts (with some help), and then cuts her bread into pieces for herself.

It is lovely to watch her grow her independence.

A bumble bee came to visit our lemon tree. Grace often asks to see the bees so this was a treat, but she was not too keen on the loud buzzing.

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Checking if mom's chocolate cake mix is okay…

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The aquarium

On September 4, 2011 - Uncategorized

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We went to drink coffee at the Waterfront this morning and decided on the spur of the moment to go to the aquarium. Grace had such fun looking at the fish, penguins, playing in the kid area and watching 2 divers in the predator tank.

I think coffee at the Waterfront may never be the same again and will now have to include a short trip to the aquarium, thank goodness for a year pass 🙂

A step up

On September 3, 2011 - Uncategorized

It has been quite an amazing year for my business, and I keep being surprised by how things are going. I have taken a very different approach to how I view my business and I have seen that pay off. I have worked at growing my network of associates and am currently seeing some of that come to fruition. Work has continued to flow in, and there have been many inquiries, especially over the past few months. I was even recently contacted by someone I did a report for 3 years ago who now wants to commit to the project. And all of this while I am pretty much maxed out in terms of capacity.

One of the things that has been significantly different is how I have approached incoming potential projects. Previously I always worried about where I would fit everything in, and tended to shy away from new work which would overload me. This year I have been chasing every opportunity with the attitude that I will somehow make it work. Less fear, more commitment. And it does appear to be working.

I am so grateful for the opportunities that I have been given – it is a true blessing. It feels that I am at a bit of a crossroad where I can either step up and breakthrough to a new level, or hesitate and remain where I am. I am trying to step up and am looking forward to the time ahead.

Another Caleb day

On September 2, 2011 - Uncategorized

A second day of Donné putting her mommy and OT skills to good use looking after both Grace and Caleb. Today they made split pin men – paper plates for faces, cut out card board bodies and legs, and stuck on wooden beads for buttons.

Grace kept asking for “Ka-ka” (Karen) to push her on the swing. She also wanted Ka-Ka to bath her, and perform just about any other activity which would normally be performed  by mom & dad.

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Climbing up the cargo net

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Grace calls Caleb “Kay”

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Vida high chair

On September 1, 2011 - Uncategorized

Grace decided to try out the high chairs at Vida, and quite liked it. Unfortunately she did not really like the idea of having her photo taken while on one.

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