Monthly Archives: July 2011

Balloon fun

On July 31, 2011 - Uncategorized

Discovering new ways to have fun with balloons

Little madam shopping

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Caleb’s Birthday Party

On July 30, 2011 - Uncategorized
Today we spent a lovely morning in the park celebrating Caleb’s birthday, here are some photos from the day:

Caleb and his guitar cake

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Blowing out the candles

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Please Karen can I have some cake – well actually please can I have some jelly tots, that just happen to be on the cake! 

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Playing in the park

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Decorating presents

On July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Grace loves to help me wrap gifts for people.  I must admit that I rather enjoy wrapping presents and when I used to work at the pharmacy in my varsity holidays, it was one of my favourite jobs, wrapping the customers Christmas presents.  I enjoy wrapping presents with Grace but must admit its definitely not neat, with paper torn and crinkled, and pieces of sticky tape placed randomly.  

Today we wrapped Caleb's birthday present and after we had finished she wanted to stick some Winnie the Pooh stickers onto the paper which she did, and as always, once she was finished she wanted more.  I gave her some blue round stick on labels and I expected her to randomly put them onto the paper, like she had put her Winnie the Pooh stickers on, but instead she took the blue round sticker and placed it into one of the circles on the wrapping paper.  She continued in this fashion until she had completely filled all the circles on the front of the present.  It was fascinating to watch her working systematically through all the circles and she did this for about 45 minutes!  Great cheap entertainment, I will remember that for another cold, wet rainy day!!   

All Done!

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A good groove

On July 28, 2011 - Uncategorized

The Drennan household is currently in a good groove. You might recall that a short while ago I reinstituted "adult baths" and the impact it has had on our relationship has been quite phenomenal. That thirty minutes to and hour of just talking about the day, how we are, how Grace is doing, what is bouncing around in our heads and so on, and has been really restorative for our relationship – we feel connected again. And the obvious effect of that is that the household just runs better. As Donné said, you don't realise what was missing until you bring it back.

There is also a general sense of moving forward at the moment. Things have been going well with my business and it is growing. I have been working hard to achieve more this year and it has been paying off. I'm also starting to see some relationships that I have been building begin to bear fruit, so I am excited about that. There is plenty of work that keeps coming in, too much for me to handle alone. I am excited about the business and I am having new ideas about how to run my business, which is great. I am thinking about things a bit differently and excited to see were that leads to.

One of the ways that things are going to move forward is that I am going to move my office into the granny flat. We have spoken about it before, but now we are serious and I am quite excited. I can see exactly how I want it to be, and can also see how it is going to be a good thing for the business. The first thing we need to do is get a tool shed and get rid of some of the things which are in there. When it is done it is going to be a great working environment. This will also be the year that I seriously start one of my own projects.

Donné is in the process of wrapping up her business. Just a few reports to get out, and then just a matter of collecting the outstanding money and finalising the business. What has been good to see is how Donné's mind has been opening up to new possibilities as it has become less burdened with the work things that needed to be handled. There was not a lot she was doing (checking reports and handling the admin), but it has been a drain on her for a while now so she is happy to be putting it behind her. Again there is just that general sense of moving forward.

For me, I think the rest of this year is going to be crazy, challenging, and ultimately fulfilling and exciting. I am looking forward to making even more happen and getting through more projects.

As a side note: for the last few days Grace has been asking for her night light (the one on the monitor) to stay on when she is going to sleep. It is interesting how that has suddenly changed.

In the Drennan household, not much happens before our morning cappuccino. Even decaff makes the world go round.

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I am still growing some vegetables in the garden. The lettuces have grown well this year, but the crowning glory of my vegetable gardening has been to successfully grown a pepper. If you have only ever bought peppers from the shops you won't understand how impressive this is (or at least it is to me). I have hardly managed to get a pepper plant to last a whole season without getting mowed down by snails and caterpillars. So I present to you, my first red pepper! (And it was really delicious)

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Lego fun

On July 27, 2011 - Uncategorized
Grace and I had a great afternoon making Lego houses for Daisy, Little Girl, Kitty and two Firemen.  They even got to have lunch and use the toilet.  It was great fun playing with my sweet girl and escaping to a Lego land where firetrucks can come inside houses and cats can be a little heart key ring with a Hello Kitty picture on it.  What a blessing to be able to have this time together.  

Playing on the floor

Floor

"Mom" followed by "Grace no touching the oven"

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Building a house

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Lunch…nom nom – the noise the little people make while eating

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You & Mom

On July 26, 2011 - Uncategorized

Grace has generally been a child that can entertain herself, but in the last week or so she has wanted Duncan and I to play a lot more with her.  She loves her morning time with Duncan and the last few days they have been making houses for Daisy (WOW toy) and Little Girl (Duplo girl) with her Duplo blocks.  Today's house was rather impressive, pity I didn't take a photo before it was demolished.

Before her nap Grace and I completed her 80 piece pilot puzzle, which she can build on her own, but since she is enjoying doing things together we built it together.  When we were done I said to her "well done, you built the puzzle so well" to which she pointed to herself and said "you" and then pointed to me "mom" – very sweet!  Grace currently refers to herself as "you" as much as I tell her its "me" I totally understand the confusion, the English language certainly can be tricky at times!   

Last night while I was making dinner, Grace came into the kitchen opened the draw, took our two very dirty placemats and returned to the lounge.  When I looked up I saw Grace lying on the floor in front of the TV, cushion under her head, and placemats as her blanket

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Wheelbarrows

On July 25, 2011 - Uncategorized

Grace and mom having some fun playing on the ball and doing wheelbarrows and somersaults.

The shopping fairy

On July 24, 2011 - Uncategorized

We went out today to have some coffee and get a few things and while we were out went to look at some children’s clothes. Grace appears to have some decent shopping experience. While we were looking at the clothes, she would take a pair of pants off the rack, hold them with the hanger at her waist and the legs lined up with hers, look down to see how they would look on her, and nod happily (then put them back and start the process over again).

We did acquire some butterfly wings in the process….

Fun with Dad

On July 23, 2011 - Uncategorized
Having a game of slide cricket.  Duncan may need some practice, but Grace certainly thought the game was very funny!

My favourite part of the day

On July 22, 2011 - Uncategorized

Today was the monthly friends get together, so Donné and Grace went off to the Southern 'burbs for the day. Before these get togethers (or other events) we usually chat to Grace about what is going to happen, both to gauge her feeling about the event and to try to build some excitement. Often she will respond with "No," or turn her face away and "hide" while we chat to her about what is going to happen, but there is usually at least one thing that we can get her excited about (at the moment the prospect of seeing Aunty Mel is getting her very excited).

Even though she often does this, she almost always comes back having enjoyed the day and wanting more. While Grace was bathing Donné asked her if she enjoyed seeing her friends today and the answer was, "Jaaaa….more."

She enjoyed her friends today, but it turns out that was not her favourite part of the day. When I was chatting to her while she bathed I asked her what her favourite part of the day was. After a short while she responded, "Ba!" (meaning bath, and in today's case, a bubble bath).