Monday, February 22, 2016

inflatable world - rainy morning fun

he
He spent the first half of the morning sitting at the cafeteria tables with his friends' Granny, the two of them quietly reading while the rest of us jumped. Eventually he decided to have a try and was hooked the moment his socks touched the colourful vinyl squishyness.

she
She started chanting "Castle! Castle! Castle!" as soon as we neared the entrance and jumped, rolled, pranced, slid and explored excitedly for the entire 2-hour session.

me
Oh my goodness, it was so much fun!

Saturday, February 20, 2016

let them stay

he
At the "Let Them Stay" gathering outside the hospital yesterday evening, he decided to make signs on his post-it notes.

she
She danced and played in the centre of it all.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

empathy?

It's something I desperately want to help my kids develop. But it's so personal. And so complex! And so simple.

he
Earlier this week, I asked him to remind me to grab the lunch bag out of the fridge before we left the house. He said "I will write you a note to remind you!" Which was a lovely idea, except he got distracted and didn't do it. Luckily I remembered the lunch anyway and no one had to survive a morning without crackers and bananas. 
Then, yesterday, I was particularly exhausted. He came out of his room during rest time and found me looking pretty wrecked. He stared at me for a few moments, deep in thought, and said, "I will write a reminder!" I didn't know what he was talking about but nodded. Later, we found this reminder note on the computer desk! He could see I needed some support and came up with his own idea about how to help. 
For years I've been watching him, hoping for tiny hints of evolving empathy. Sometimes I have to look really, really, really hard. Other times, I get a reminder note.

she
After kindy drop-off this morning, she and I wandered down to the vigil outside the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, to show our support for the Doctors and Nurses who are refusing to discharge baby Asha (who's just a few months younger than Little She) to be deported to unsafe conditions in Nauru. We arrived during a beautiful gathering of 'Mums 4 Refugees' and spent the morning with them. Obviously, She was just interested in playing with everyone else's toys, eating their crackers and pulling her hat off but I hope to continue exposing her to gatherings of compassionate, informed people so that she may be inspired by what she sees/hears/learns!

Monday, January 25, 2016

bookfest 2016

he
He behaved predictably and consistently!

she
During both visits to Bookfest last week, she spent the entire time announcing, "Ball! Ball!" when she saw kids clasping helium balloons, and "Quack!" "Moo!" "Baa!" "Woof!" depending on which book I had most recently passed her to distract her from the balloons. Thankfully she was handed a balloon on exit and proudly carried it on the train and walking home from the station with Daddy.

me

As always, I had a super time (twice so far - and there's still a couple more days before bookfest closes...) and was pleased with my loot of mostly young reader chapter books. I'm trying - unsuccessfully - to read each book (and get rid of those I don't like) before he gets his hands on them. I'm also currently enjoying a very silly book by Miranda Hart, called 'Is it just Me?' and 'The Happiness Show' by Catherine Deveny, which I borrowed from a friend at Book Club.
I also enjoyed reminiscing (thank you, blog) about past bookfest fun

Sunday, January 24, 2016

lego

he
Just before Christmas, we went to a lego show and, of course, he was awed and inspired. The inspiration was timely, as he received A LOT of lego for Christmas and birthday. He builds during play time, rest time and eating time. Last night he read 'Lego Ideas Book' (borrowed from friends) instead of sleeping, for much of the night. How much is too much?

she

She roamed the exhibition with her big pal/sis, and enjoyed finding and acknowledging familiar objects - plane, flower, car, hat...
At home she also loves to investigate and eat lego pieces - she's happy with lego, duplo, primo... They all taste the same!

me
 I won a family pass to the Lego exhibition "Brickman Experience" at the Convention Centre (of course, B had already purchased a couple of tickets before we found out...). I loved this collaborative piece.

Friday, January 15, 2016

four!

he




4 days of celebration:
Sunday: Lovely times with his little sis during our family morning at the market. In the afternoon he had a joint birthday party at the park with his pal - fancy dress (of course) with a great crowd and many hours of playing. 
Monday: We met another friend for a cupcake party at a playground, a visit to the dog park and drinks at the cafe (where he chose to sit on his own with his babyccino and read his new Zac Power book). We then picked up Daddy from work (his first day back there after 3 weeks off - he was ready for diversion, and cake) for a special lunch at the sushi train.
In the afternoon he had his first visit to the dentist (the mother of a friend, who ensured it was the MOST positive dental experience a child has EVER had... cheery conversation, playing with the up/down buttons on the chair, a take-home showbag and a 'rooster' balloon made from a rubber glove and dental floss). 
Tuesday: He received some cards and gifts in the mail and took cupcakes to kindy to share with his classmates for morning tea. Later, Nanma and Pa came to surprise him and stayed for dinner and a sleepover! Nanma helped him with some of his birthday lego and Pa helped him with his birthday bike.
Thursday: Our regular Thursday Dinner with friends included three birthday celebrations this week (a 4-year-old, an 8-year-old and a grown up)!


she
 
She relished every bit of every celebration.

me

Much sugar-free baking! 4-layer cake for the party ("four layers because I'm 4!") and cupcakes with homemade sugar-free sprinkles for kindy.