Grace has never really shown much interest in her soft toys, until recently that is, now Scrumpy Bear (she calls Te-dee) and Monkey (a newly acquired friend) have to go everywhere. Her other dolls and soft toys get attention too, but Te-dee and Monkey seem to have tied for first place (well this week, anyway).

Te-dee and Monkey have the privilege of, getting cuddles, driving in the car and going out shopping, riding on a bike, rocking horse and in a pram, dancing to various songs, getting thrown down the stairs as well as in the sand, and if Grace had her way taking a bath with her.  Monkey was eventually spared participation in the bath and allowed to be a spectator on the side.    Of all the fun activities that they get to participate in I think the most precious is at bedtime.  After Duncan has said goodnight to her she grabs Monkey with her one arm and Te-dee with other and drifts off to sleep hugging them.

Te-dee and Monkey get a hug

Monkey goes for a ride

I remember (pre-Grace) talking to parents of young children and quite a few of them having clear plans for the children’s school path – this preschool feeds into that primary school which in turn feeds into the best high school (and all the waiting lists involved). I don’t think I’ve been very good at having that long term view through my life (although I’ve been working on it this year) so I always found it a bit strange, partly just because life changes, people move, and having a super clear path that far ahead seemed to put you in one place for a long time.

My perspective has changed a bit, mainly just because I have realised how fast time can pass when you are busy with a child. It is not so much that life flits by, but more that sense that if we don’t prepare in advance it will catch up with us quickly. The flow of time is very different with a child around.

We don’t have it figured out yet. We have considered Montessori schools, but need to find out a bit more (i.e. visit an open day). I want Grace to be empowered by her schooling – empowered to think about the world with an open mind, and eventually to become someone who can affect change in the world around her.

Grace is doing much better in herself today. She seems to be feeling better now that the antibiotic course is complete. Her tummy is more normal, and her whole demeanour was much better today. She should be back to 100% through the course of this week.

Seeing your daughter fall out of a swing is terrible and gut wrenching. We went for a swing this morning and everything was going well until I did something stupid and sung a song which involved clapping hands and kicking feet. Grace clapped her hands, leant forward and kicked her feet, and fell straight out of the swing and onto her face (onto ground, not concrete). Fortunately other than what I suspect was a bad headache and a small mark on her head where she fell she does not seem to have sustained any major injuries. We were worried that we might need to take her to the doctor, but she got a bit more energy as the day went on. We will keep an eye on her and see how she is doing tomorrow.

I can remember as a child hiding in the cupboard, part of me was hiding because I wanted to hide and not be found, but mostly I was hiding, hoping someone would wonder where I was and come and look for me.

Today Grace discovered the joy of hiding in Duncan’s cupboard.  She sat in the dark, both cupboard doors closed waiting for Duncan and I to look for her and find her.  I sometimes I wonder how long she would sit quietly for, if you left her and didn’t go and look for her.  Probably not that long since the joy is being found after all.  She particularly enjoyed it when Spicey was in the cupboard with her.  Spicey didn’t seem too keen on being in the cupboard but endured it since he is that kind of lovable cat.

The joy of being found

Donné got Grace some new shoes for the upcoming winter (she is currently a size 5) and she had them on for the first time today. They are ankle boots and Grace wasn't quite sure how to negotiate this slightly stiff boot coming up her leg. She ended up walking with stiff straight legs ("unable" to bend her ankle) and looked like a cowboy who's been out riding all day. Unfortunately no video, but certainly lots of laughs for us. She does seem to have settled down in the shoes now.

It was good to hear lots of laughter today after a while of mostly grumpiness. Grace had a really good day and was full of laughs this evening, even though her tummy is still quite dodgy. She laughed while throwing her stuffed toys down the stairs at the back, laughed when I picked up the broccoli she dropped and blew hard to get some dust off of it, laughed when she dropped a noodle and it landed on the seat of her bike, and laughed after getting out of the bath while pretending to be falling. She was just much more herself. Now the tum-tum just needs to get better. Giving her antibiotics at 12 last night went smoothly.

In other news our domestic worker Ethel, was offered a job as a cleaner at a company which was full time, but working at nights, but was able to turn that down as she was also offered another domestic work job twice a week. With her three days she is now earning more money than she was working four days a week, and also has another possibility of further work. She currently has 2 days available if anyone is looking for someone. So even though it seemed like a crisis at the time, she is now in an even better position than before.

Grace’s new kitchen set (which also brought great joy today)

The answer is a big yes – as we discovered when we took Grace to the pediatrician at 17h00 today, after finding some blood in her stool. The pediatrician didn’t seem to think it was unusual but I keep on wondering, how did she get it?  Oh well I suppose I will never know.

Grace has been off colour for the last week, with a runny tummy, runny nose (which cleared up after two days) and a slight fever.  As usual when you are not sure what is up, the good old reliable teeth get blamed, but it turned out to be a bit more serious than that – which we gathered when we saw blood!  

Knowing when to take a sick child to the doctor and when to wait it out is so tricky. I mean I don’t want to be one of those parents that rushes her kid to the doctor for every runny nose or upset tummy, but on days like these I wander should I have taken her earlier? I suppose there is no formula one can apply to this question and we as parents just have to go with the facts we have, our intuition and some common sense. It fascinates me that although Grace is pretty sick and very up and down emotionally, she still enjoyed dancing to her DVD, making scones and building puzzles today.  Adding to the confusion of whether she was sick or not.

So the Cape Town Drennan’s are currently in quarantine, which means no Clamber Club tomorrow, no Friday get together and no people over the weekend 🙁 

Think of us tonight at 00h00 when we have to wake Grace to give her her antibiotics.  Every six hours for the next five days.  It was either that, or taking her to the hospital everyday for 5 days for a single dosage of antibiotics by injection – I choose the 00h00 wake up, over needles for 5 days. 

Baking scones

I wonder if Grace will grow up to be a peace loving child. She has always been sensitive to other people hurting themselves. She has a sign for hurt – she puts her hand to her mouth, pulls a distraught face and moans a bit. If someone falls, or hurts themselves in some way she always does this action. At the moment she is a bit sick (think it is teething related) and a bit more sensitive to things than usual.

Today Donné burnt herself on an oven dish while making some vegetables and Grace just totally fell apart. It was at the end of the day, and she is not well, and her teeth seem to be bugging her, but she had a mini-meltdown. I was in the bath and she came running and crying, signing her “hurt” sign. Poor little girl, she really seems to be concerned about others hurting themselves.

Although, she does enjoy throwing her dolls and bears down the stairs….

Taking Andrew for a walk in the garden

Supper time outside: eat some rice, eat some veges, drink some juice, drink some water…yum

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Yesterday there was a butterfly sitting on our rosemary plant and just gently fanning its wings, which gave me a chance to take a decent photo. I also noticed the clouds and got some photos full of texture which gave some interesting results.

I know many people NEED their cup of coffee in the morning for their caffeine kick, I certainly don’t get my caffeine kick from coffee since I have been drinking decaf for nearly two years, but my day is incomplete without my one decaf Cappuccino. My daily Cappuccino is important to me because it represents family time.

Our guys at our local Vida e caffé know our order, they know our daughter by name and we are referred to as “mama Grace” and “baba Grace.”  Before Grace we were D and D.  Vida is my place in the sun, my home away from home, and time to just be with my family.  Sometime Duncan and I discuss our future, other times our meal plan for the week and sometimes we just sit quietly together watching Grace. Some of our joys and heartaches have been shared over a Vida Cappuccino, come rain or shine.

Vida is definitely one of my happy places and when I think about it, it gives me warm fuzzy’s.

The Willowbridge Vida guys on Grace’s 1st Birthday