Two week wobble
On October 4, 2012
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Mom cuddles!
The two week wobble….it always comes. After two weeks of feeding and sleeping Eli was restless today. He never really settled and hardly slept through the day, but even through that Donné went off on her own with Eli to have a cup of coffee and get a few things from the shops. And now at the end of the day he is peaceful.
Oh dear, what can the matter be
On October 3, 2012
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"Oh dear, what can the matter be, Gracie's locked herself in the lavatory. The lock's stuck and now she's crying, while we wait for someone to open."
Daddy wasn't paying attention and Grace locked the toilet door while we were out today and she wasn't able to open it again (the lock is just hard to turn on that toilet). Normally it is easy to open toilet doors – just use a coin or something to turn the lock from the outside, BUT (a) the lock is hard to turn, and (b) the outside turning part of that lock has been stripped – clearly too many people and children have been locked in there before. Fortunately we managed to get it open with some help from the centre staff and Grace appears to have brushed it off quite quickly. Maybe that will help to insetil the lesson that she should never lock the toilet door.
Grace has been loving holiday school, and our plan was to send her for this week, but let her stay at home on Monday before school starts on Tuesday. With her loving it so much we asked her if she wanted to go on Monday, or stay at home, At first she wanted to say at home, but then after some thought she say, "Go to holiday school. Home is boring." Unfortunately I can't fault her for this statement – school with arts, crafts, other children and playtime is way more fun than daddy working and mommy feeding Eli.
What Eli does in a day
On October 2, 2012
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First he gets some sleep.
Then he pulls some funny faces while sleeping
His outfit and look changes while he sleeps
Rough day at the office
Okay, so he doesn’t actually just sleep all day….but it does make a cute photo sequence 😉
Did some talking to the sun
On October 1, 2012
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Dad hugs!
Two babies being burped, with Grace copying Eli
Donné bought some bath toys for Eli (for later) and Grace was allowed to choose some for herself – 3 for her and 3 for her brother. First there was a long process of choosing – boat, train, scooter…..no….train, plane, car….no…..plane, helicopter, boat….ah, that's it!
Then she flabbergasted us. There were two piles of 3 toys and she says, "My brothers got 3, have six!" It seems her maths skills are improving…
After that the stories and the singing started, "Once upon a time I had a aeroplane, a helicopter and a car…" and then singing, "Down came the rain and washed the helicopter out, so I did some talking to the sun."
Grace is going to holiday school this week, and they are doing painting, crafting, baking, drawing and all sorts of fun things that Grace loves to do. In Grace's words, "Had a happy day today."
Confident and assertive
On September 29, 2012
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We went to Jack's birthday party this morning and the part of it that I loved the most (other than the cake) was an opportunity we had to watch Grace playing. Donné was feeding Eli and I was in the room with her. The room we were in has a window looking into the back yard which gave us a great view of everyone that was playing outside.
Jack, Caleb, and Grace were playing soccer with Doug (Jack's grandpa). Doug was the goalie and the three of them were trying to kick balls past him. Jack and Caleb were quite focussed on the goal, while Grace was kicking, running around, throwing the ball and jut generally having loads of fun. She was totally engaged and loving the playing.
It is just wonderful to see her having so much fun with other adults and children – engaging and enjoying herself without any need for us. She actually did her own thing for most of the party, playing music, playing in the garden and playing with Jack's new train set.
We've said it before, but it is such a joy to us to see her growing in confidence and assertiveness. The assertiveness is a bit of a double edged sword because now we also need to deal with her grabbing things from other children and pushing them away from what she is busy with….but learning how to deal with other children appropriately is just a part of growing up and one which we're happy to teach her.
Friendly reads
On September 28, 2012
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Reading with Caleb. Those books (along with many others that we have) were my grandmother's from her teaching days.
What else is it for?
On September 27, 2012
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Whoo-chop! Kung fu baby!
Story time
Donné was busy feeding Eli and Grace says to her, "What's the other boob for?"
A walk to the dam
On September 26, 2012
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Gathering before the walk, with everyone having their butterfly net and accessories.
There was some bread, a magnifying glass and a bottle of bubbles in each bag, and later they also got a bug catching jar. Grace took out the magnifying glass peered through it and said, “This is a magnifying glass. See tiny things better!”
One of the big hits was Cole’s off-road wheelchair, which also has a remote control so that his dad can move it around if necessary. This meant great fun as the children took turns going for rides.
And then the great merry go round experience.
Followed by the ducks getting LOADS of food
Grace had a lot of fun and it was good to meet some more of the parents.
This afternoon Donné was looking at photos of The Cousin Who Shall Not Be Named with Grace and she says, “Who’s that Grace?” Grace puts her hand to her chin and says, “Let me think…”
Tonight when I was leaving Grace’s room I said (as I say every night), “Good night Grace, see you in the morning,” and Grace says, “See you real soon!” Maybe a bit too much Mickey Mouse Clubhouse…
A first for Grace
On September 25, 2012
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Little brother christened Grace with her first baby spew shortly after our first true experience of a hosepipe nappy change. Now she has added an extra option to her repertoire, especially when holding him, "Think he's going to vomit."
Grace 80-fied herself while dressing this morning
Brother's first visit to the garden
