After I had done her hair this morning, Grace decided that I needed my hair done….

Resulting in this….

…and this…

Eli is six months old today! He is sitting really nicely and is quite stable, weighs about 8.3kg, and has a nice little trick to flop from sitting to lying on his tummy – he flops forwards and flicks his legs out behind him.

Grace’s picture of a mommy with a dress, long hair and a baby.

A little while ago we played a game in the car – who can be the quietest on the way home. Today we were on our way back from a cup of coffee and Grace says, “I’m going to be the quietest so that I can watch something when I get home.” Then while everyone is quiet she says in a whisper, “Ssshh….who said that?!?…..ssshhh.”

Eli: “I’ve got this head lock thing under control” (he loves grabbing hair which is a bit problematic)

Grace is on her way to her room and decides that walking backwards is a good idea. Then suddenly she says, “The wind is blowing me away!” and wooshes backwards down the passage.

A new portable seat for Eli

Grace has been quite rude to Eli when he is playing with something, or about to do something – she either grabs the toy away (even if she is not interested), or hurries to do it before him. We were going to swing and she said, “I’m going to swing and Eli is not allowed to swing.” So I had (another) little chat about sharing and taking turns and how it is bad manners to behave like that and good manners to share and take turns. She then says, “Eli can swing after me. That’s good manners….it makes my heart sooo happy.”

Grace and Donné were having a dispute over the weekend. The continent song (sung to the tune of Love and Marriage) goes,

North America, South America (clap)
Europe, Africa, and Asia,
Don’t forget Antarctica,
Or way down under in Australia.

but Grace sings, "Nora, Africa and Asia." Donné was telling her that the words are "Europe, Africa and Asia," but Grace was having none of that, "That’s not Neurope! We sing Nora, Africa and Asia."

Then, on Sunday morning I was getting ready and Grace was singing the song to Eli. When she finished she said to him, "Mommy sings Neurope, but I sing Nora."

Today she has been home for a while and suddenly and excitedly says to Donné, "We sung Neurope today!"

Grace watched some cricket with Donné today, and Donné was explaining all the ways that someone could go out. After supper we went out to play some cricket and Grace decides that she will bowl first. Everyone gets into their spot, with Donné at the crease. Grace throws the ball and almost immediately shouts, “I’m out!” and runs towards the house. I guess it was a run out.

After Donné dressed Eli this morning, it was definitely time to pose.

Still more cuteness in his borrowed clothes

And finally, cuteness with Grace

Eli and Grace playing some soccer

Dot line, dot line, spiders crawling up your spine….

We had loads of fun at Matthew & Luke’s farm party today, and I was really impressed with how independent Grace was today. She quickly settled into the fun, and went on a pony ride and tractor ride all by herself.

Grace didn’t even bat an eyelid, she wanted to ride the pony, got her helmet on, and off she went.

Waiting for the tractor to start with Thomas and Catelyn

Collecting hen’s eggs

I got one!

Whacha looking at buddy?

Loving playing. There were also some old small tractors which she loved sitting in, turning the wheel and pulling the levers.

Eli is sitting eating and watching his sister at the same time (sis is on the right in this picture). Donné’s feeding him from the other side (the left). He finishes his mouthful while watching Grace, and then opens up and takes a big gulp of air looking for more food. Try the other way, my boy, try the other way.

We got a decent video of Grace saying “l”. Before she said, “ion” and “E-i”, until recently when she started sayng “Edi”. And now…

Tomorrow is cake sale day at school to raise some funds, and Grace and Donné made these awesome cake pops

Grace was singing Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika while we were drinking our coffee this morning, but instead of singing "Sikelel'" she was signing, "Sike-la-la." She was putting her tongue on the top of her mouth and saying a proper "l" – the first time she has said a proper "l"! Very exciting for us.