It was a great day

On July 17, 2012 - Uncategorized

A special day today: Grace's first day at school and Donné's birthday.

The birthday girl strikes a pose 

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It all started out with the drop off for the first official day of school.

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School went really well. There were some tears when we dropped Grace off, but off she went for a swing and it seemed like she settled quickly.

Fitting into the class

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We fetched her at about 10h30, so roughly 2 hrs of school and everyone was pleased with that for the first day. Some tears over spilled yogurt, but nothing serious. "Grace how was school?" "It was a great day!" We'll take that as a sign that things went well. Drawing, pouring (rice and water), playing with play dough and swinging.

What's a birthday without sushi? Probably not a Drennan birthday. After that we went on to spend some time in the sun on a beautiful winter's day. 5 years of beautiful sunny winter days of birthdays for Donné.

Feeding the ducks at the dam

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Grace taking photos

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The clan

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Some reflections on the last 3 years

On July 16, 2012 - Uncategorized

Grace officially starts school tomorrow. She did go to the holiday school one day last week (which went really well), but the school officially starts tomorrow and it will be Grace's first taste of a full-on school environment. She is going to Montessori @ Home which we think is a great environment for her and we believe that she will thrive there.

The day that she spent some time at school we spent some time together and reflected a bit on the the last three years.

One of the things that stands out is that in the last three years there has hardly been a time when we have not been directly responsible for Grace. Our families have been in PE and we have been slack and never organised a baby-sitter or au-pair. We can probably count on one hand the number of times that someone else has been in charge of looking after her. We know that it has not been ideal, but it is what it is.

The flip side of that is that this time has been a season, and it has been a really short one. A time to enjoy Grace to the fullest, to be with her, to play with her and to nurture her. It has been a great privilege for us both to be able to be as involved as we have been.

Now a new season comes and it is strange to think that for at least the next 15 years she is going to be attending a school of some sort.

So as we end one season and begin a new one I am sure some tears will be shed, but there are so many exciting things that lie on the road ahead that we look forward to the new season.

Laps

On July 15, 2012 - Uncategorized

Grace has been loving doing laps around the house on her pink scooter, bike and kick scooter….and also loving using them as a delay tactic before bath time. Last night we ended up with all of the vehicles packed away, and the scooter packet away for a whole day after numerous attempts to get her to stop of her own free will.

I'm not sure if it is the rainy weather and being trapped inside, or just a phase, but her parents requests and instructions seem to be falling on deaf ears at the moment. Not really sure what to do about it other than persevere and try to remain patient.

It’s going to be okay

On July 14, 2012 - Uncategorized

Donné was coughing and expressed some frustration, so Grace comes up to her, gives her a big hug and says, "It's okay dear mommy, don't cy." And of course this comes with the obligatory back rub. The cuteness is enough to make you feel better.

Tada!

On July 13, 2012 - Uncategorized

Duncan: Grace, look at mommy’s cute tummy.

Grace: Tummy getting bigger.

Duncan: Yes, it’s going to get bigger and bigger until your brother is too big…and then what will happen?

Grace: Tada!

Bouncy bouncy

On July 12, 2012 - Uncategorized

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She’s got it! And being able to bounce opens up a whole new world of fun – like bouncing over the rocks in our passage…

Goodnight doggy

On July 11, 2012 - Uncategorized

Just before bed Grace goes to Donné to, “say goodnight” (which is really just another delay tactic). Mr Spicey was on the couch too, so Grace looks at him and says, “What is it?”

Donné says, “Well he purrs and says meow. What is he?”

“He’s a goggy.”

“A dog? What noise do dogs make?”

“Woop, woop.”

“But this can’t be a doggy because he meows.”

“This goggy goes meow, all the other goggys go woop woop. Goodnight goggy!”

Want to go school

On July 10, 2012 - Uncategorized

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The plan was for Grace to ease into school by starting yesterday during holiday school when there are fewer children around. So where were we on Monday? At the doctor finding out how bad the cough was. And Grace, as you can see, has not been feeling very well, but she does keep asking to go to school.

Poor little girl is so excited to go to school and was very upset (tears) when we told her she wasn’t going yesterday. Fortunately she is getting better and should have at least a couple of days of school this week.

How to entertain yourself while waiting for the doctor!

On July 9, 2012 - Uncategorized

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Play dough hair

On July 8, 2012 - Uncategorized

After the hair cutting incident Aunty Keren decided that Grace needed an outworking of her hairdressing skills. Squish the play dough through to make hair and have fun cutting away (which Grace seems to love).

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