We took a trip to the Tygerberg Zoo again today (after nearly a year). Fortunately we avoided Grace breaking her leg afterwards 😉 I think the two things Grace enjoyed the most were the snakes and the ducks. Lots of “sss”ing at the snakes – at least at the ones which moved, the others did not seem too interesting to her – and lots of staring at the ducks. Grace seems to really enjoy animals which I think is great. I would like to encourage a love and respect of animals and nature in her.

I enjoyed seeing one of the chimpanzees putting a stick through the wires and manipulated a peanut which was lying close to the enclosure closer and closer. I am not too sure she was going to get it, but she was certainly working hard to.

Today was also the first day Grace went without an evening milk feed, which she handled very well. There was not even a single request for milk before bed time. Just one feed left (pre morning nap) before she is totally weaned.

Grace and mom having a snack break

At 21 months Grace has finally gotten her first pigtails, unlike her cousin whose first recorded pigtails were at 7 months….

Poor little noodle has been struggling a bit with her last 4 teeth for a little while now. Nearly there, then no more teeth to blame if she is grumpy. The two of us? We're doing pretty well. Donné has been getting to the gym regularly and working towards some goals, and I have been grafting away at my work. I am seeing things move forward which is exciting and requires lots of energy and dedication to stay on top of it all. Exciting times lie ahead this year.

Pigtail shots and a hair comparison (from 6 months)

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Duncan to Grace: "take your head out of the toilet"

Today Grace had a great swimming lesson.

It started off with the usual mild I’d-rather-be-back-on-the-swing moaning when we entered the pool area, followed by the common quite-and-watching-everyone look. After about 10 minutes she dropped the toy fish she had in her hand which sunk to the bottom of the pool and she just thought that was hilarious and started giggling. And then she engaged totally, and kicked, laughed, jumped in, went under and even…yes, even…let the instructor take her for a little swim (which until today was a total no-no cry and cling to daddy event).

We are enjoying the classes and Grace is learning about how to look after herself if she falls into a pool. It is wonderful to have her smiling and enjoying it….and Grace always has to end with a visit to stroke the “gogs” (dogs).

If you do happen to be looking for a baby/toddler (and I think even older kids) swim school in Cape Town’s northern suburbs you can try Aquatoads (contact Charlene on 082 550 8045).

Tutu rider (Ghost Rider can quake in his boots)

Even Grace’s clothes have tutus

I am in a very fortunate position – I love what I do. I love that I get to be creative everyday. I love that I get to build my business and meeting interesting people while doing it. I love that I get to help people create things which change the world in some way. Yes, it is hard work and can take huge amounts of effort. Yes, there are days that it would be easier if I did not have to put in the effort required. It is worth the effort though, and I am excited about the opportunities that are available to me.

It has not been an easy road, and for a long patch it was taking more out of me than I had to give. I have had to graft, grind and work through many of my own internal walls (still many to come!). But right now I am embracing the passion that I have and trying to make the most of as many opportunities as possible. I consider myself blessed that I can wake up excited at the start of the week.

Grace modelling her swim cap

After a rough day yesterday, the Cape Town Drennans all woke feeling happy and refreshed this morning.  We started the day with a yummy breakfast, and a wonderfully cool walk on the beach.  Grace enjoyed her walk this morning with her favourite things being patting as many “gogs” (Grace’s current way of saying dog, yesterday it was “doog”) as possible, pointing at the giant rock out at sea and playing in the rock pools.  The rest of today in Yzerfontein was spent relaxing, building puzzles and having fun.  Thank you Mel for a wonderful weekend.

When we got home this afternoon I really had a blonde moment, Grace needed to use the potty which was lying in pieces so I picked up the various pieces and rushed her to the bathroom.  After a few minutes she called me to tell me she was finished.  I was wondering why she was looking into the potty with a strange kind of look, until I looked in and saw that I had forgotten to put the bottom part of the potty on and so instead of pooing into the potty she sat beautifully on the potty and pooped on the floor  😉

Beach Fun

As much as I would like to think I respond reasonably and rationally to situations, I certainly know that is not always the case. I can’t remember when Grace last woke up during the night…but she did last night and was awake for at least an hour. So both Donné and I were on edge to start with today and Grace was a bit grumpy too. It seems like her last 4 teeth are starting to grow and are giving her some discomfort, although it could still be months before we actually see any teeth action. Then Grace gave us a really hard time at her nap time, not wanting to go to sleep, crying, calling for mama and/or dada, and so forth. After a couple of rounds of trying to get her to go to sleep I just totally lost it. Totally and unreasonably, acting and shouting like a lunatic. It was extremely poor and embarrassing behaviour which I am pretty ashamed about.

After calming down a bit and Grace still being awake, tired and moaning I decided that the only way to keep my fragile composure would be to take her for a long walk in the Ergo and hope she falls asleep. After a while, some more moaning and me working hard to remain calm she eventually fell asleep and had about an hour nap on me while we walked. After that sleep we all seemed a bit better – Donné had slept, Grace had slept and I got some down time to process my craziness.

The last few minutes of sleep after arriving back at the house

We had breakfast this morning with a good friend who is visiting from Pretoria (we worked together when I was up there). While we were talking I was saying that there are so many opportunities (I was talking about work) and his response was quite interesting. I can't quite quote him, but I'll try to capture the essence, "It is good to know that there are opportunities out there. Everyone [referring to work colleagues] has a kind of scared attitude – there are companies that close, and it feels like there are lots of people on the market – so people worry about their options and security. So it is good to know there are opportunities."