Swimming and diving

Last day of term and the traditional diving board fun. Abigail had been looking forward to this up until she got changed into her costume by the side of the pool, then she became nervous and nibbled furiously on her fingers. When the time came (after a short lesson) Abigail needed her teacher Lorraine to carry her and jump in while crying a bit. But then Abi went up on the board again, and this time she was dropped into the water by the teacher. Abi was crying a bit after she got out of the water, probably from being scared of being in the deep pool without a bubble? Her mother praised her for being brave and she smiled a bit.

Lorien's birthday pinata

During this birthday party there was a little pink piggy strung up on the patio that all kids were invited to whack with a stick, accompanied by a few photographers. We were inside for the start but emerged to a scary crowd urging Abi and Pascale to have a turn. Abigail bravely swung the stick a few times but wasn't really keen, unlike her little sister. After the mad scramble for lollies from the broken pig, Abi gathered the piggy and held on to it. She asked if she could take it home, and that it looked very sad.

Since then she has carried it around with her favourite toy dog at least once everyday. It is falling apart (designed to) and the poignant expression in its eyes gives Chris the creeps.

Disagree with the whole pinata business, encouraging violence and mob mentality. Why aren't there more peaceful games?

Skeleton

Prior to going to the library today, Abi said to her mother that she needed to get a book on skeletons. Once we got there and Priscilla had located a simple book with some good pictures, Abi sat on her mother's lap and asked to read through the book. Then she went and read some story books, played on the catalogue computer alongside Pascale, and pushed the umbrella stroller to the borrowing desk. We got home and after lunch Abi read the skeleton book again with Por Por. Then for her bedtime reading Abigail chose the skeleton book first out of the 3 she was allowed to have. This may be a new fascination to replace the ballet books, which she didn't even miss after they had been returned. We did borrow 2 DVDs of full length ballets tho, which Abi was pleased about (Sleeping Beauty and La Fille mal Garde, and Ballets Russe documentary).

PS October 2008
After reading the skeleton book and body book twice, Abi didn't need to read them anymore.  She continues her fascination with ballet and dancing,
and the sound of words too; sometimes repeating "La fille mal gardee" many times.

Favourite foods

Yoghurt and oat flakes/puffed wheat
weet-bix with milk, esp crumbs
Cheese on toast (swiss)
Soy sauce chicken esp skin
BBQ pork ribs a la Gung Gung
Chicken skewers (honey soy sauce)
Sausage (chicken or cocktail franks)
cheesy bake with pasta and chicken (altho Pascale won't eat it)
Won ton by Por Por (chicken and mushroom)
Beef/chicken casserole with sweet potato/barbeque sauce
anzac biscuits or others that she made
cream cheese (and crackers)
vegemite sandwich / vita weet with "worms"
honey bread/toast
raisin toast, croissant (sometimes with ham and cheese for lunch in food court)
apple crumble with lots of custard
carrot (grated or steamed crispy)
round beans
peas
lebanese cucumber
chocolate ice cream / vanilla ice cream with chocolate ice magic - in waffle cone of course

I don't need a nap

Famous last words to tell you she is tired. Usually Abi is left to read in her room, in bed or on the beanbag/woolly rug. Most times she will have fallen asleep after about 15 minutes of reading. Today we went for a walk since the weather was warmish. Abi wanted the double storey stroller (with add on toddler seat). Pascale jumped into the lower seat eagerly, and was asleep in about 10 minutes. Abi took another 10 minutes to get really sleepy, then her head lolled side to side, upright and back, until her parents put an improvised pillow onto her lap and guided her head forward. The lolling was incredible but Abi remained asleep.

Beads

Abi wanted to play with the teeny tiny bead set, but Priscilla kept refusing for Pascale's safety. Finally Abi found the box of beads and took it out onto the deck. She was wrestling with Pascale over something else when the bead box dropped and the contents spilled, some through the slots and fell under the deck. Abi was a bit concerned but since it was getting dark accepted that the ones under the deck would be picked up tomorrow. She helped to tidy the mess on top, and the next day remembered she needed to go downstairs to find the beads. After picking up about 6 she said that she was tired and needed an adult to help.

Building with wooden blocks

At Union childcare, Abigail attempted to build a tower using blocks (not lego which she is used to). As there were no bumpy bits the blocks kept on falling. Teacher Le showed Abigail and a friend (Sophie?) how to stack them and Abigail built a very high tower with satisfaction. Then she knocked it down and put the blocks away all unprompted.

Abigail also did some dancing for everyone, like last week. She played cooking with some boys, with she being the mother and Enzo the father.

Too many!

During Abigail's bedtime reading session, we came across the facts about the spotted quoll which included the female having 30 babies at one time. "That's too many!" said Abigail. How many is enough? "1, or 2 ... or 3, or 4, or 5, or 6, or 7, or 8, or 9, or 10", she said. Abi was also interested in why the sandy mole is blind cos it digs through sand to make tunnels.

Ballet

Abigail is copying poses from her 2 ballet books borrowed from the library. Arabesques were her favourite, but lately she has also asked for her mother's arm to be a barre, her mother to support her arabesques, copying miming of "frightened", copying sleeping beauty's pose while sleeping, barre exercises eg. battlement tendu, arm and feet positions.

Pascale loves to copy her sister, one day she chased Abi to look at the same ballet book, then twirled in her baby way as Abi had. Pascale was very wobbly after a few turns and kept on falling over. Luckily they were on the carpet. Mother and grandmother were helpless with laughter as they filmed the dancing sisters.

Memorial Mass

Abi was briefed by her mother during breakfast on what was going to happen that day, the mass and participation in walking up following Ahma and carrying flowers. During the mass Abigail drew quietly with Lorien and Atticus, and when the time for offertory came she took Atticus' hand and they walked up together. Then at the recessional, Abigail spontaneously ran out to the area in front of the altar and danced (wearing her twirly dress). Suddenly she remembered something and ran back to her pew to grab a tiara and wand. More dancing, then she rushed back to grab a spray of flowers that Pascale had had from offertory. During lunch Abigail continued dancing after her hunger had been satisfied with vegemite sandwiches, despite the temperature being unusually warm at 28deg C.

Rocket Ship

At the end of each bath session, Priscilla gets the children out by singing "I'm a little rocketship flying to the moon. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...Blast off!" Then lifting the child up out of the water, almost to the shower curtain depending on the weight of the child. Pascale loves running away during the countdown, but smiles a lot as she is scooped up. Abigail stands on the edge of the bath and jumps up at the Blast off to grab the curtain rail and hang on for a while. She has been disappointed that Priscilla's sprained elbow prevents her from lifting Abi to that height.

Computer time

As a reward for eating everything in her dinner bowl, Abigail was allowed to play some computer games. She sat with her father next to her, and played from the ABC Kids website. Suddenly the timer rang to signal end of her session. Abi had been wriggling but now was very still. She whispered to her father "papa, I wet my pants". Chris thinks that Abi was holding on in order to keep playing, and the surprise of the timer bell was too much for her. Abi was very quiet and co-operative as they went to the toilet and cleaned her up, including having a bath.

Out of the mouths of babes...

Does it hurt to have a baby? asked Abigail.

Why doesn't Kau Fu have a wife? Maybe he can marry me when I am older.

What is a cousin?

Nightmares

Abigail sometimes talks about her dreams during meal times. One dream is of the family in the house, and a fox / giant comes and tries to get in. Another one of the family is hit by a car (!) probably in response to discussing Arthur with Chris prior to the 10yr memorial mass. She says she has dreams like this a lot of times, sometimes she creeps onto her parents' bed and sleeps there for part of the night.

Crafts and need for independence?

Despite being hungry and tired, Abi started making a mobile hanging scarecrow that she saw in a craft book. She didn't finish as it took too long for her to figure out by herself. On another day Priscilla helped her and they made a card with cut out tulips very quickly.

Surprisingly Abigail lets Pascale into her craft area despite the little one grabbing and scribbling wildly (to an adult's eyes anyway), saying "but I love her and I want her to play with pens/texta/crafts".

Hungry Ballerina

After lunch, Abigail played lego with Por Por while Pascale had a nap. Then at afternoon tea time, Abigail ate 2 anzac biscuits, 6 vitaweets with vegemite and cream cheese "worms" before having milk in a crazy straw.

Time for more ballet dancing, then dinner with ravenous eating of chicken rice and cheese.

Being blind

Abigail asked her mother (at bedtime) what it was like being blind. She had met a blind man once - Pat Downey who Yee Ma helps with shopping, cleaning and going to mass.

Skin Prick Test

Abigail visited an allergist after 8 months' wait listing. After history was taken by a paediatrician she was given a skin prick test for 3 things: histamine (a control), egg white, salicytate. Results were compared with 3mm welt for what is termed an allergy reaction - egg white 20x10mm. Specialist allergist Dr Brynn Wainstein advised that this in combination with Abigail's propensity for asthma puts her into a high risk category for anaphylactic reaction to exposure to egg, so he prescribed an EpiPen Jr. to be carried with her always plus the action plan.

Abigail did not like watching Pascale get the skin prick test then getting one herself. She cried before, during and after. The last prick was deep as blood came out. She said to Priscilla that she doesn't want to come to this hospital ever again. Her arm was held gingerly out, and she didn't use it for a while as we read a story waiting for the welts to develop and be measured. Afterwards we ate dinner at Badde Manors Cafe as a treat - for stressed parents and for children. Abigail had a chocolate milkshake (with ice cream) and some potato wedges. At bath time the welt had blurred into her skin but it was all quite raised and sensitive. Abigail didn't want her forearm to be washed and said that she wasn't going to play in the sand pit tomorrow (childcare day) to keep her arm clean. The skin welt finally dissipated the next day, after Abigail had showed it to a few people at childcare.

Father's Day

Last night Abigail helped to make Anzac biscuits. She stirred the mix a bit before it became thick, then helped to shape the balls of dough and put them onto a baking tray. After dinner she sampled 2 biscuits. We put some into bags as gifts.

She also made Fathers' Day cards for both grandfathers and her own father. On one grandfather's card she drew a face then loops of snot running wild out of the nostrils. For the other card she just drew loops like running writing lowercase "e"s, releasing the texta occasionally to make another pattern on the sheet.

Dying

Abigail occasionally asks about Por Por's mother who she visited at the cemetery. How did she die? Then she says that she doesn't want to get sick, or to get old like Por Por's mother (and to die). Tonight she asked Chris about Arthur, knowing that something is being planned for this weekend (the 10 year memorial mass).

Family in the house

Artwork from this week's childcare at KU Union was 2 pictures of a house with chimney. The first had 4 people in bunk beds with a dark sky over. This was night time, when the family was asleep at home. Note that Pascale is on the lowest bunk and she doesn't have a pillow because she is a baby. The second picture is of an empty house with chimney. This is daytime when the family is out and the alarm is on.

Putting together a drawbridge model

Abigail held her concentration after bathtime for about an hour as she and Priscilla put together a plastic model. Her job was to put about 40 stickers onto the different parts of the model, following a diagram and a photo of the finished item. She was very careful in aligning the stickers to the texture on the surfaces.

Not shy of dancing

Teacher Yuki reported with a smile to Abi's parents at the end of her Wednesday childcare at KU Union, that Abigail danced for everyone today. She had been very interested in doing ballet throughout the home and elsewhere, and today wore a twirly dress to childcare. Abigail was unusually forward in dancing for everyone, giving a concert perhaps like those she gives at home for anyone who will watch.

When her parents came to pick up Abigail, she was observed dancing with a boy Louis (louie). They held hands occasionally as they and a few other children bounced to Play School music. Abigail was laughing.