What can I say another relaxing day in Jeffrey's.  We went out for breakfast this morning, a short walk on the beach, some sliding down a slide and then the rest of the day was spent relaxing at home.  

After Duncan used the ladder yesterday (to see how many eggs were in the turtle doves nest), Grace decided that ladder climbing would be fun. Since she had done this before at friends of ours, there was no stopping her until she was physically tired of climbing.  Thank you Gramps for having a cool ladder! 

Such a naughty face – and just note I am always unbuttoning my jersey

There is a turtle dove that is nesting outside and Grace has decided it is her bird. She is fascinated with the bird and checks on her at regular intervals during the day.  Yesterday she flew out of the nest for a moment and Duncan lifted Grace up to see if there were any eggs.  When he asked she said yes and "two."   Duncan then had a look and saw that there were indeed two little eggs.

Duncan noticed that the turtle dove was eating food from the nearby bird feeder so they filled the feeder to make sure she didn't get hungry while sitting on her nest 

Putting some seed out for the other birds.  I think Gramps may have found a new little bird feeder helper

Duncan and Grace being silly after a bath

Today was another beautiful day (yay for warm sunny winter days between the cold, wet days) and we spent some more time on the beach, to Graces delight.  While Grace was eating her snack I was pottering around making mini sand castles using the spade as a mould. Duncan and I were trying to figure out what to call my creations when Grace pipes up "shoe" "shoe", so that's what they were.

Duncan giving Grace a pair of lace up sand shoes

Grace modelling her new shoe creations

Just enjoying herself on the beach

Grace was loving being in the water and just wanted to go to the waves.  She was not interested in waiting for them to come to her.

Fetching some water

Grace telling us how old she will be (in 9 days). It has been interesting to watch how she has been figuring out putting up two fingers. We tried to teach her a few different ways, but this is the way she has settled on. Although she has it now, it was taking her a few seconds to plan how to hold up only two fingers. For a while she would hold up one, then five, open and close her hand a bit and then very excitedly get to the right position.

It seems that going on holiday might elicit a particular response from Grace – she wakes up in the middle of the night and stays awake for two hours. The last time I can remember her doing something like this was when we were away in Yzerfontein. It went something like this:

Today was the first day that we sent Grace out with someone else without us. We have left her with other people before, but have never sent her out while we stayed at home. She went on a short shopping trip with Gogo and Gramps while Donné and I relaxed at home and chatted. Grace really enjoyed her time out with the grandparents (and collected some gifts along the way – thank you!) From the report back she engaged and did the things that she would usually do while out.

Grace settled in today and had some good time with Gogo and Gramps. What was very cool is that Grace got to meet my aunt and uncle Pat & Gary. Being who she is Pat brought along one of her favourite children’s books, “Everybody poops,” which Grace really enjoyed…she enjoyed it so much that we had to read it twice before bed time.

The book is literal, but I think the sentiment, “Everybody poops,” is a life lesson that I may need to teach Grace one day. The lesson would be about how we’re all actually the same. No matter how rich or famous or idolized you are, we all still need to poop.

Donné’s slipper got buried by one of the dogs but Gramps was fortunately able to divine the spot where it had been hidden.

Grace has also been showing signs of jumping over the last few days. Today she was enjoying “jumping” (more like stepping) off the deck outside the house.

I’m really proud of Grace for how well she handled a long and busy day. She enjoyed her flight today with Captain Budgie Burgher (yes, that really was the captain’s name), was happy to see all the family, and very excited about the cats and dogs. She even managed to go to sleep easily tonight. We’re all settled in and ready to enjoy a break.

Today was Grace's last swimming lesson for the term. We have been going since February and it has been amazing to see how Grace has developed. She is really engaging in the activities and enjoying it so much. She rolls from front to back and back to front with me just supporting her head, goes underwater comfortably, kicks beautifully, paddles, and is happy to go for a swim with the instructor.