LGR was very excited to inform us that at school today he did computer classes again. I (naturally) asked him what sort of things he did. "We draw pictures". So I asked him how they drew pictures on the computer - thinking he would tell me they used a stylus and scribble board. It turns out they use something a lot like MS Paint and a mouse. Today they learnt how to use the spraypaint function.I asked him if he would like to show me how he draws pictures. The ensuing yes was quite enthusiastic. What you see below is the 5th or 6th picture. Unfortunately none of the earlier pictures were saved. We'll make more of an effort next time :-)
LGR's school week routine is beginning to take hold. Monday is singing/music day, Tuesday is sport day, Wednesday is computer day, Thursday is news day and Friday is library day. I'm not sure which one he likes most - it tends to depend on what day it is.
He's also finally willing to tell us the names of the kids in his class. It's very sweet to hear him rattle off names. Apparently Ishan is the best looking boy, Ebony is the pretties girl and the funniest person in the class is ...... LGR :-)
Life is slowly settling into a semi-routine type of thing - or so I thought. We found out last week LGR has soccer training on Wednesday afternoons and both kids have moved up a level in swim school - so they how have lessons on Thursday afternoon. In the next couple of weeks soccer will begin in earnest on Saturday mornings. So the 'routine' will be broken but then a new one established.We've had a pretty mellow week - all things considered. The highlight of the weekend was buying LGR his new soccer boots and shin guards. They both look ridiculously small. LGR was far more interested in the soccer balls, cricket bats, exercise bikes and just about anything else he could find in the store.While on the sporting front I should point out that LGR won his first race at athletics on Friday night. He didn't seem to care that much. I don't think he even noticed ....Hayzey continues to be a little princess/ballerina. She dances her way around the house/shops/schools/wherever and thinks nothing of it. She has also started giving me 'dance instructions' - a few days back she was teaching me how to sway my hips.Little Hayz has also started talking in her sleep. Last night she was asking LGR to help her get up onto something and a few times we've been woken up by her mumbling some indiscriminate words.On the weekend we took the pups for their first public walk. It was up to our local park. The puppies explored large expanses of the park (whilst on a leash) and generally enjoyed the little bit of freedom we gave them. The kids took up a soccer ball and kicked it around for a bit and after about 30 minutes we went back home. And the puppies slept for about 90 minutes :-)
LGR showed me some of the school work he has been doing this evening. One of the items was a pre-reading workbook which required him to do some things such as choose the letter that didn't match a reference letter, chooose a letter which did match the reference letter and choose a letter that was a different size to the others ie making sure he had the visual acuity to differentiate between characters (if he can't differentiate he can't read ...)He got everything right in the workbook - 100%. Not a single mistake. I told him how impressed I was and then went a step further and told him that nobody in the entire world could have done a better job than he did - it was as good as anybody ever could and ever would do. His eyes lit up and a massive smile illuminated his face. It was brilliant and if I could bottle it I would make millions. But would never sell it :-)---We had a pretty good weekend. I guess it all started on Friday evening. The Chef's came around for dinner and, as usual, the kids more or less all entertained each other and let the adults have a bit of a chat. Saturday was a trip to swimming lessons and then off to lunch for UA's birthday meal. A large chunk of the family was there and a good time had by all. On the way to lunch we meandered through a caryard and saw a very nice looking Mini Cooper S. LGR and Hayz were so taken by it they told the salesman they would buy it. LGR even offered to do some jobs for pocket money to be able to buy it!!!Saturday evening and Sunday were very mellow affairs - a lot of hanging around the house with not much to do and no real motivation to do anything. Grandma came down for lunch on Sunday and settled into the mellow them quite nicely.
This evening was a parents information night at LGR's new school. I was lucky enough to attend while the kids stayed home with Mrs G. I'm glad I went - it gave me an insight into the curriculum and teaching methodologies that will be used and a bit of a view of the teachers and staff as regular people (versus the 'school teacher mode' that we normally see).It was also a great chance to drive through some enormous puddles and make a huge mess of the car (and those around me). The rains are back and it has bucketed down tonight. Within two hours everything went from being surface dry to completely sodden and waterlogged. And a selection of roadways were flooded :-)
This evening I have finally determined a way to get our extensive library of holiday videos onto the PC in a format which is compatible with my DVD creating software. I am very relieved. Until now I have been of the opinion I would have to create discs with no menus - meaning that if you wanted to view a part of the disc at minute 52 you would have to fast forward through the first 52 minutes to see it. By changing some Handycam parameters (two of them actually - not that the operating guide tells you about the dependency) I can down convert the signal from HD to SD and thus make my PC happier. And me. Much DVD making to come :-)---I can reveal to all who are concerned that our house is safe and sound. After receiving a few phone calls tonight we watched some news and are not sure how our suburb came to be mentioned. The footage we saw appeared to be nowhere near us - but I could be wrong. Suffice to say we have seen plenty of rain as evidenced by the flooded front porch at 03:15 this morning and the flooded backyard as evidenced at 14:00 this afternoon - but the house, street and ourselves are all quite safe. And sound.---Poor Hayzey was a bit crook today. I got a phone call at about 14:50 asking if I could pick her up. She had a pretty good temperature and was quite lethargic. I took her shopping to get some stuff for dinner and while we were in the fruit and veg shop she up-chucked. The clever little button had managed to grab a plastic bag and most of it went in there but a goodly amount still found her shirt and the floor. She said she felt better for it and spent the rest of the trip (all 10 minutes of it) telling anybody who would listen that she 'vominted' in the fruit shop :-)I thought she was getting better but another episode during dinner raised the concern levels again. When she went to bed she was quite chirpy and there was no temperature to be seen.
These are our puppies. The one on the right with the slightly darker nose and (out of photo) slightly shorter white portion of tail is Casper. When we agreed to take Casper it was because we were told he was a very quiet and shy puppy. It would be fair to say he has outgrown those behavioural characteristics. If there's trouble to be had he will find it first.
The fine looking gent on the left is Brutus. He has a white patch on his nose and the white portion of his tail is a bit longer. The only criteria that was required of Brutus was that he be visually distinct from Casper. As it turns out he is far more cuddly than Casper - and very easily led astray.
The kids can tell them apart - but it's cheating in the way they do it. Brutus has a black collar - and B is for Brutus and black. Casper has a purple collar - and P is for CasPer and purple. It works - although Hayz still likes to call them 'dogs' or 'boys'.
LGR's new class is called Kindergarten Kookaburras. He's very proud of his class and his teacher. He has met a couple of friends in his class - and is particularly taken by a little fellow who started school a day late because he was in Fiji and the plane couldn't leave because the weather was too rough.It's quite astounding how much he has matured in the last couple of days. The biggest sign of his ability to adapt (which is not the same as an enthusiasm for change) is watching him catch the school bus in the afternoon. On the first two days we were around to see it happen. He didn't need our help but was aware of our presence. On the 3rd day Mrs G watched from a distance and then today he has done the whole thing by himself. There are teachers watching every step of the way and a designated bus buddy who helps him out but he hasn't really needed any help. It's fantastic - and a long way from the shy little boy most of will remember very fondly.He's also becoming much more protective - particularly of Hayzey. We were at a party on the weekend and he saw a kid doing something with a necklace Hayz owned so he raced over, grabbed this kid and started yelling "Don't do that!! You'll break it!!" It was a bit gung ho but also incredibly sweet. Just like a big brother should be :-)Miss Hayz is also going through her own transitional stages - she's gradually moving from one kindergarten to two (we saw LGR go nuts with the monotony of one kindy and want to spare Hayz the same fate). She's also seen the excitement around LGR going to school and, I suspect, realises something is happening but doesn't quite grasp the significance of it.Mum and Dad are also adapting. Just about everybody who is reading this understands the joy and pain of watching their first born start school. We both desparately want him to have a bundle of fun and learn everything but there are moments (a lot of them) where I think I would give everything away for a chance to do it all over again. Not with new babies - but with the two we have already had.
