Today Grace and I had a fun filled day with friends which included swinging, painting, bunny, bear, and of course a bath in the middle of the day (even though nobody was particularly dirty).  The bath seems to be part of a "this is what we do when we go to the Parker's ritual."  If Grace and Caleb had their way bear bathing would definitely be part of the "going to the Parker ritual" but for the sake of healthy kids no bear washing was allowed today. 

This afternoon Duncan and Grace made a wall of pillows and then rode through them on a couch cushion! It was so much fun Grace kept on saying "more" and to emphasize the more, she would verbalise it and than frantically sign "more" at the same time. 

  

Grace said "Sorry" for the first time today. Motie cat came home early and Grace was very excited to see her (she hardly does). Grace was stroking her while she was eating and decided that a hug might be in order – which is a bit rough for a cat who is busy eating. Motie ran off and we told Grace to go and say sorry to Motie. She went to the back gate where Motie was sitting, reached through, stroked her a bit and said, "Saaah-ee."

We woke up to a beautiful day and decided that it was beach weather, so off we went. As soon as we got over the mountain and Grace saw the sea we just heard, "Sea, sea" all the way down – except when she could not see it, then "Sea" was replaced with "No."  Grace loved playing in the sand and the water (which was surprisingly warm for Camps Bay) and enjoyed seeing all the dogs (and stroking as many as she could). I am quite sure we will be making good use of Cape Town's beach facilities this year…

This afternoon Grace asked me for a pot and the bread tin and when I looked again, she had some measuring cups, a few soup spoons and of course the little people, Kitty, Bear and Pig.  When I asked her what she was making she told me soup.  It was fun just sitting and watching her using kitchen stuff, her little people and her imagination.  Although she didn't say she was making people bread she went through the usual process, even fetching a plastic cover to put over the bread tin to allow it to rise.

Wednesday is swimming day, and the last two lessons have gone poorly. Grace had a three lesson break due to being sick. Before the break things were going really well – she was doing well in the water with just the instructor. Last week she did get into the water and did a tiny bit, but we cut it short after too much crying. This week she flat out refused to get in the water with Charlene (even though we have been talking her through it for the last week). We did hang around for a while and Grace slowly settled into being in the area, first throwing her toys into the water, then getting some of the swimming toys out the basket and throwing them in…and then she started to take off her clothes so she could get in the water. She pottered around in the water through the next girl's lesson and the class which followed after that, just generally enjoying herself. When asked if she wanted to do any of the swimming activities she would give a definite, "No," so we left it at that. Right at the end, after getting dressed, she even gave the instructor a hug – quite a different child from when we arrived. We don't really understand how she is right now, but next week we'll be there early so she can potter and hopefully settle before her lesson begins.

It can be difficult to deal with – like when she cried through most of the birthday party Donné took her to today – but we do our best and try to prepare her for any new situations (and also for familiar ones). Although she can be a sensitive child, this kind of behaviour is unusual.

I have started to think of her sensitive nature as a potentially good trait. She is quite aware of what is going on around her, and how things and people relate to each other. Grace seems to have a kind of intuitiveness, like she understands what is happening around her. If we are able to help her grow into a secure and confident person, that intuition will help her to understand and relate well to people.

She loves shoes like her Gogo.

She loves to take her vitamins like her Grandpa (and also Turkish delight).

She loves to give the cats a little tidbit from her plate like her Gramps.

She loves tomatoes like her Granny.

She loves to stroke Monkey's tail in the same way as her Uncle strokes cats' ears.

We had a lovely relaxing Sunday.  We spent part of the morning at Klein Joostenberg playing on the various jungle gyms, giving the horse a stroke and after stepping into a very wet muddy patch Grace and I got to wash our shoes in the dam! We then had a lovely lunch with Mel followed by a short nap (well Grace and I anyway!  Duncan went to gym).