For the last few days Grace has been demanding that I jump on the trampoline with her. It is fun, because now she is quite okay with me jumping properly too (before she didn't like the instability it caused for her). She is fine with me "double bouncing" her, and even enjoys it if we get the timing right – she normally shoots off towards the net and collapses in a heap. We hop after each other in circles chasing each other and just have some fun. I am very fortunate to be able to walk out the office and play with her straight after work – it is a really nice way to clear one's brain.

I really enjoyed catching up with a good friend from Pretoria over dinner tonight. One of the things it reminded me of is that I love to help build the energy of people who want to do things. What I mean is that there are lots of people with great ideas and I love to help them to go from the idea to the first steps. That initial step is actually a really hard one to make – there is a part of us which fights it, which pushes against us sticking our neck out and doing something, creating something – and I really enjoy helping people to see past the fear and just take that first step. Once you’ve taken that first step it is like pushing a boulder down a hill, it just gathers momentum.

Grace wanted her geoboard, and from a blank board created this….I really like the hairband in there.

Grace had a busy day – an early morning swim at the gym followed by a day playing and having fun with Caleb. On the way home she passed out, totally nackered, and eventually had to be woken with marshmallow smelling salts.

For a while now we have all been eating together, which means we all say grace together….well, as much as a two year old will allow us to say it together that is. Grace does enjoy thanking God for our food, it just happens to be that she really prefers to do it in her own sweet time.

For Grace, there were two things which stood out today. She wanted to go and see dogs today, so I organised a visit to Mel on the farm. We saw the dogs, threw stick for them, jumped on a trampoline and had fun outside, but what really stood out for Grace (and were the things she spoke about over and over again) was,

1. Aunty Mel catching a chicken (which was roaming loose in the barn), and
2. Finding out that eggs come from chicken bums (to which she said, "Silly," and laughed a beautiful and wholehearted giggle of delight).

I wished I had been able to video something today. I was talking on my phone and watching Grace and Jack with each other. Grace was sitting in front of a small cooler bag with her snacks in it, and Jack was standing on the other side eating an ice lolly. Grace and Jack were looking at each other and one would nod or shake their head, and then the other would respond with a nod or a shake of the head. It was like watching a little unspoken conversation.

1. Get naked
2. Stand right up close to the clivia
3. Push pelvis forward and take aim
4. Fire away.

For the last few days we have been reading them at bedtime and Grace has been loving them. I'm never really sure if she quite gets the story of the humour, but she does seem to think they are funny and can retell parts of the stories when prompted – "Winnie Pooh hunting woozles," and "Sad donkey, lost tail. Winnie Pooh find on tree."