My first medal
On February 18, 2012
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This morning Grace and I went off to our first swimming event. It was the annual swimming association event and our swimming instructor encouraged us to go so that Grace can get more exposure to other children swimming and have some fun. For Grace's group the goal was to swim across the width of the pool on a pool noodle and monkey walk (move along the side of the pool with your hands) to have "passed."
I went with zero expectations. I wasn't even sure if Grace was going to get in the pool with a stranger, and I know that she doesn't swim very far on her own. My goal was just to give her some more exposure and whatever we got beyond that was a bonus. Grace not only got into the water, she even swam half way across with some help and then monkey walked along the edge. She was a little edgy before she got in, but once she was on the noodle she was kicking beautifully – she just had a bit of a look like she was about to cry while she was in the water. Once she was out I understood exactly why she had the quivering lip….in her words, "Very cold!" (which she said over and over again while shivering). She mostly swims in indoor pools, so she is not quite used to the shock of the cold outside pool first thing in the morning. Even so, she did amazingly well in the situation and I was very proud of her, and for her efforts she got her first medal đŸ™‚
Humpty Dumpty
On February 17, 2012
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One of my favourite parts of today was sitting at Vida, having a cup of coffee and sharing a punnet of strawberries with Grace. Donné had gone for a facial and after some errands Grace and I sat down to wait for Donné. We chatted a bit and shared the strawberries (Grace ate about three quarters of it!) and then Grace started running around (she ran and danced in circles around a leaf on the ground), pushing the trolley and just having fun.
Later after DonnĂ© joined us she started singing Humpty Dumpty….
I look forward to many coffee dates with my little girl. I want to nuture a deep and sharing relationship with her and I will do everything that I can to do that.
The way it is
On February 15, 2012
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This morning Grace was still going on about the butterfly garden being very sad, so I asked her, "Grace, why is the butterfly garden very sad?" to which she replied, "That's just the way it is." Which is apparently a Duncanism.
Boom pity boom
On February 14, 2012
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Things that made my heart go boom-pity-boom today:
- My husband (who always makes my heart go boom-pity-boom),
- Grace deciding that my chilli con carne is yummy and eating it,
- Grace building squares, triangles and rectangles on her geo-board (all on her own, for the first time!)
- Cuddles, back scratches, laughs and general cuteness from my little girl.
Building a square on her geo-board
Some Grace moments
On February 13, 2012
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Donné and Grace were playing a matching game today and there was a flower and a flower pot. Donné said, "What goes in a pot Grace?" to which Grace replied, "Bacon."
Grace was playing in the garden while I was working and I hear, "Potty, potty, poopee," so I call out, "Quickly Grace, go inside and call mom." Grace cruises to the door and shouts, "Mommy! Donné!"
After completing the grocery shopping this morning Grace turns to the packer and says, "Too many groceries."
At supper tonight Grace was shoving food into her mouth and started to gag. After that she started putting food in, and shoving her fingers into her mouth too while saying, "Gag, gag," in her attempt to gag. I was having a little fit about it telling her to eat properly, and Donné was laughing away.
Butterfly World
On February 12, 2012
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We took Grace to Butterfly World today. Although she has been asking to go to the "butterfly garden" for about a week she didn't seem all that interested in the butterflies once we were there. Â She seems to have a bit of me in her,and is not particularly fond of things flying around her head. Â Having said that she did enjoy looking at the various reptiles, spiders, monkeys and guinea pigs. Â
The thing that stood out the most for Grace was a butterfly caught in a spiders web.  She was rather distressed by this and kept on moaning and talking about it "butterfly stuck in spiders web" usually followed by "Gracie moaning" (since she still sometimes vocalises that she is moaning – just in case we missed it đŸ™‚  She went through this same story at least four or five times during the afternoon.
Grace and Duncan spoke it through (again) while she was in the bath and it seemed to go better.
Grace: Butterfly stuck in spider's web in water (the web was above some water). Spider eat it all up.
Duncan: Yes, the spider will eat it. You see Grace, the butterfly eats the nectar from the flowers, the spider eats the butterfly, a bird eats the spider, a cat eats the bird. Then the cat dies and a tree grows, and a butterfly will eat from the tree again. That is the cycle of life.
Grace: Butterfly stuck in spider's web.
Duncan: Yes Grace….
At least she wasn't moaning that time around.
Telling stories
On February 11, 2012
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Grace's ability to describe and retell things has improved remarkably over the last while. Like this afternoon when I asked her which episodes of Dora she had watched while I was putting up shelving brackets, she quickly responded, "Butterfly one, piggie one." It used to be difficult to know if she was telling us what actually happened, or what happened on another day, but her accuracy and ability to convey the information is significantly better.
I enjoyed the story this morning though.
Donné: "Grace where are you and dad going?"
Grace: "To corner store. Buy croissants. Going in pram. Walk"
I had told Grace we were going to Basil's (which is not the corner store) to buy croissants – she came up with the rest. I think she had no reference for Basil's (we practically never go there) so she decided on the corner store and figured out how we would get there.
She is definitely full of stories that she wants to tell at the moment and it is great to just listen.
So maybe
On February 10, 2012
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With Grace being a bit hesitant to jump off of things with a bit of height she decided to add a new phrase to her pre-jumping routine. This morning she walked towards the edge of the bed and said, “So maybe jumping.”
New bread
On February 9, 2012
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After a few years of making rye bread it has gotten a bit boring, so thanks to DonnĂ©, my sister in law and pinterest we tried making a quick French bread this morning….and it turned out pretty well. The nice thing about this bread is that it is really quick to make from start to finish, which is what we need in the morning. I made some adjustments to the recipe – hotter oven (230C) and a baking tray at the bottom of the oven that I put a cup of water into at the start (which helps create a crispier crust).
We have downgraded Grace from her Sit Right chair to the cat scratching post – improved balance seems like a better goal than good sitting posture.