Activities

I have been struck down with the lurgy and have not been feeling very bloglific of late. Nevertheless - here's a sample of what we've been up to.

Aidan and I played the shadow game. One photo shows a chalk tracing of Aidan's shadow at 1.oo. An arrow demonstrates its path between 1.00 and 4.00. (For the second tracing, Aidan is holding a toy plane!). And if you look really closely, the dotted line and question mark shows Aidan's prediction for where his shadow would move next. He was very disappointed when it went in the opposite direction. "But I wanted it to go the other way!"

Isabelle has continued her quest for realism in art. The middle photo shows one of her latest works from school. She has written her name in rainbow colours - I've noticed her doing this on other pieces as well.

And finally, Darth Vader has made an appearance on the concrete outside our house. Note his authentic red light sabre and black outfit. (We saw the last part of episode six just last night). Earlier in the week, Isabelle made a Darth Vader mask out of white paper (coloured with black crayon) and shaped white paper into Storm Trooper armour.

Shopping

Saturday was unusual in that we went shopping. I ended up with three new bras and a new pair of shoes.

I think I bought my last new bra when Aidan was about 3 months old, so this shopping trip was probably overdue.

And as for the shoes...well, I remember buying shoes when I was pregnant with Isabelle. These shoes have now developed large, deep cracks in the soles, and the heels are very worn.

It's not that I haven't tried buying shoes before now. To me, this type of shopping is a job to do rather than a pleasure or a leisure time activity. Shoe shopping has risen to the top of the list occasionally, but I have not been able to close the sale due to:

- being too cheap/budget conscious (I am yet to decide which. Probably both apply at various times over the last five years)
- having too many children attached to me at the time to try on shoes
- being invisible to sales assistants (I am yet to discover how to make myself invisible at will, which would be a useful skill to master. It only ever seems to happen in certain shops).
- being unable to find something I like that fits properly.

However, the planets aligned on Saturday and I returned home with a pair of expensive red sandals that can take my orthotics. I am yet to wear them.

Like the wearing of new slippers, this may take time.

No Show

Today is show day in my home town.

A Day Off.

It is therefore my birthright to have a day off today.

So what would this day off entail?

Beautiful

Isabelle tells me:

"N [a boy in her class] said to me that my art was so beautiful he wanted to cry!".

Modeling literacy

For better or worse, our children copy us. Hopefully this is an example of the better!

I updated my diary this weekend. So Isabelle updated hers. Here we are, sitting at the table, working on the month of November. You can see that Isabelle has headed her pages "November", while covering them in letter-like marks. This is very likely what my handwriting looks like to her!

For many months now, Isabelle has loved to write in her notebooks. She writes quickly and enthusiastically, keeping between the lines and covering many pages. Now that she is learning formal writing at school, she more often practices her letters, asking me how to spell things, writing words she knows, or copying text from books, newspapers, or dvd covers. An example of this work is just above her diary in the photo. Then, she writes carefully and purposefully, sometimes fretting if she feels that the way she has formed the letter is not "correct", or good enough.

So, sometimes she is slow and steady, concerned with getting it right. Other times, she is rapid and joyful, capturing the style of an intense and focused writer.

I think both things are important.

Christmas is coming...

I have just written my first four Christmas cards! These are all to go overseas - the deadline for the cheapest postage is tomorrow I think. I'm confident that two will reach their destination - for the remaining two, it will be a leap of faith that the address I have is correct! (I'm talking to you possible readers in Afghanistan and Tristan da Cunha! ;-) ).

And thus it begins. Actually, Christmas sort of began for me last week when I went to the Kirk's Christmas shop. Usually I would not put a foot in there until 1 December on principle, but my niece was here, and the shop is kinda cool with lots of fancy decorations you won't find elsewhere, so up the escalator we all went. It was a lovely display, and it was nice to walk around unimpeded, in a temperature and humidity that did not resemble a sauna. I even bought something.

Next up will be the New Zealand christmas cards and the christmas wish lists. Isabelle has already done hers. I think I can construct one for Aidan quite easily too. And then there's the Christmas cake baking, which must be due around now. Must consult last year's diary.

Hop hop hop jump hop jump

When I walked down Lambton Quay this morning, I saw that someone has chalked a hopscotch pattern onto the footpath. Next to it were the words "Go on! Do it!".

So did I? Of course!

Hop hop hop jump hop jump.

Aidan continued walking alongside me holding my hand as if nothing unusual had happened.

I hope all the suits walking to work hopped too!

Darth Vaderbelle and Darth Small

Our family viewings of Star Wars have resulted in lots of creative play surrounding the characters and plots. Today I was confronted by Darth Vaderbelle, with red mask and grey breathing tube (complete with noisy breathing sounds). Apparently she is armed with a remote control. I guess even Darth Vaderbelle likes to kick back and relax sometimes. You may notice that she is wearing a pink ballet costume, which contrasts with the classical black interpretation of the character.

Meanwhile, Aidan and I taped together two light sabres (one green, one white) to create a double light sabre (as used by Darth Maul in Episode One). Darth Small has been wielding his light sabre with increasing skill in a taiaha-like manner. In one picture he is about to attack a flying pizza box (light sabres in left hand, gun in his right). In the other, the light sabres whir in a circle.

Dynamic disconnect

Aidan's schema interest in trajectories has met an emerging schema of disconnection to give us dynamic disconnections. A very interesting, but often very inconvenient combination.

Aidan loves:
- swooshing things off tables or out of bags
- throwing or shoveling sand, dirt or small pebbles so that they explode skywards in all directions
- spraying the hose around (preferring a spray to a single stream)
- breaking things into small pieces, preferably by jumping on them, or hammering them
- throwing a number of small items at once.

He showed an interest in our broken-apart-for-a-decent-wash coffee plunger.

Our expandable kitchen table gets sawn in half with a toy saw countless times during the day. Strangely, I feel compelled to put it back together again each time.

I yelled "Stop hitting the glass with your light sabre! Do you want to break it?!"

"Yes" replies Aidan, honestly rather than cheekily. Thankfully redirection is achieved.

And it's not just being destructive. I was surprised when Aidan showed little real interest in helping to demolish a wall when we re-did Isabelle's room. I thought he would love it. Maybe he wasn't fully engaged because making holes is not as satisfying for him as the disconnect, the scattering or piece-making.

Aidan unsuccessfully tried to join a game when Isabelle and two other children were tying each other together with wool. Aidan's play offer was to try and cut the wool with scissors. He was probably quite confused at the negative reaction he got.

He seemed devastated when his toy saw (a.k.a. disconnection instrument) broke. Fortunately it was able to be repaired.

I will watch with interest to see how things pan out. In the meantime, schema theory gives me an analytical framework for watching his development, ideas for suitable redirections/channeling of energy and clues for how he is perceiving his world.

Fun in the shower #2

"Come, Mum, come and see!" Aidan shouts out from the shower. "Come and see my style!"

Aidan is waiting for me in the shower wearing nothing but a plastic bowl on his head, a cup on his hand, and a very cute, cheeky smile!

Fun in the shower #1

Aidan bangs on a plastic bowl after washing his hands in the bathroom.

"Dance Mummy dance!".

Well, why not? I dance in the shower as I rinse my hair. Aidan taps out a rhythm.

"More! More! Make butt prints! [on the see-through shower door!!]

The problem with bunks

The problem with bunks is that when I sneak into Isabelle's room at night (to give her one last kiss before going to bed), I can't reach her. Even if I stand with my foot on the lower bunk, she is too far away from me.

I have to satisfy myself with verbal wishes of love across the mattress, and maybe a quick stroke of her hair.

And when there's someone sharing the room, it's only thoughts that flow through the closed door.

Nice niece

My niece Bethany has been staying with us this week. The photo was taken the day we went on the cable car. We had already been to Te Papa, and had walked back along the waterfront to arrive at the cable car entrance.

Bethany is the eldest of my niece/nephews, and was the only one when I came to live in Wellington. In fact, she was my only niece for almost 13 years. She is also my goddaughter.

I have very clear memories of her babyhood and toddlerhood. It's possible that the memories have stayed so strong because there was a sudden departure and necessarily infrequent reunions since.

I have been angling to have her up here for a while, so it is lovely that she is old enough to travel by herself and that the opportunity presented itself.

One of my clear memories from many years ago is having breakfast with Bethany. We would do this on the days when her mother worked, and she was dropped off at Grandma's earlyish in the morning. She would sit on my lap and pick the best pieces out of my muesli - first the yoghurt covered raisins, then the raisins, then the little bits of other dried fruits, and finally the sunflower seeds. Eventually I wised up a little and taught her to ask by pointing at the object of desire rather than diving in with her hands. Later she graduated to her own little teaspoon. This worked well, apart from one memorable low point when she sneezed loudly, wetly and completely over the freshly prepared muesli.

I had toast that day.

Dentition

I thought I had felt it yesterday. But it was hard to tell for sure. And because it was on the lower jaw, it was almost impossible to get a visual.

But yes! I just spotted that tiny little sliver of white poking up from her gums. Orla's first tooth! Front lower right.

That (somewhat) explains the copious drool of late (only somewhat as copious drool and babies tend to go together).