Not to be outdone...

Olivia also graduated to the next class this week, with a sterling and rather spirited effort this morning. If swimming ability was earned on enthusiasm and exuberance, Olivia would be a champion by now! So now we have another new set of times for me to remember for classes....my weeks routine is now officially out the window!

Greg also put in a sterling effort over the past little while, and the play equipment we were given is starting to take shape in the yard. A bit to go yet, but it's taking shape - had to be re juggled to allow for some pieces not all being there to the required size, so it's taken more thought that usual to get a workable outcome, but we're getting close.

Dog paddler no more

Ellen graduated from her dog paddler class at swimming today and was very excited to receive her certificate. She assures me that she can swim on her own now!!! - not sure that I'd call it that, but 5m is 5m I guess!
Olivia was happy to congratulate her, as long as there are some strawberries (or any fruit really) after her class she's a happy little chicken...such little things.

Wrap of a week

Forgot to mention that the girls started at their new kindy this week. Far from any problems, they wandered in like they'd been going there for years, and have had a fantastic time. After hearing what they get for lunch each day I'm tempted to suggest that they create takeaway lunch boxes for working Mums!! I'm serious, I checked out the menu and the home cooked food is fantastic...and they are trying some things that I don't normally cook in my repertoire at home, so that's a bonus too. Not that they're picky - more just that I tend to cover the same ground a fair bit.
Greg's been working shifts all over the place as well as being away, so we haven't seen a lot of him this week, but today he was home and apart from discussing strategies forr how to assemble the pieces of play equipment that we've been given, the girls had him occupied for the day with books, bike riding and lots of tickles, cuddles and even some air guitar with Olivia's leg. Then we had a family movie night at home tonight - the first of many I'm sure...
Leg guitar with Dad
Ellen - stopped riding long enough for a quick bite
Rambo rider - check out the ensemble - she loooves wearing skirts and dresses, so I have to get creative at times to make sure that she's warm as well!
And so we head into another busy week - hope yours is blessed!

MOPS

No, I'm not talking about the floors, but rather the great program that we attend every fortnight for the girls and I. It's MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and we all look forward to it, for different reasons. Me - because I get a couple of hours of intelligent adult conversation, good morning tea and a chance to learn something new (the craft bit doesn't do much for me, but that's fine too), while for the girls they get to sing, do craft, learn about God, do playdough, play outside, paint and a heap of other things - all with the loveliest people looking after them. They love it and can't wait to get there - sometimes I get the almost obligatory moan on the way, and then have to almost coerce them to get them to come home - typical kid stuff! And best of all, they sleep like logs afterwards:)

Two very different girls...

Ellen
Olivia

The grass needs a mow...

I can tell, because the girls are out collecting 'flowers' for their bouquets again!

Wedgits

Weird title I know, but thought that I would share one of our favourite toys (for me as well as the girls). It was given to Olivia by Uncle Stephen last Christmas after Mum and I went into a educational toy shop on the coast to hunt for something for one of my cousins girls the same age. We asked what they recommended for a 2-3 year old and were pointed in the direction of the Wedgits without hesitation, and the lady was right - we all love it. The pics are of a couple of the different creations that Ellen made on her own this morning - the best one from the morning was knocked over before I could get the camera, but as you can see that there's limitless options for what you can create. There are extensions (of course), but I don't know that I'll even bother - just this size can keep me entertained for ages...simple minds - I know!

A dip down memory lane

It was my turn to go in the water with Olivia at swimming lessons today, as Greg (who is working nights at the moment) is away at a conference for a few days. It was great - wearing togs in the middle of winter, the smells of chlorine and the feeling of walking in with a bag of towels and an expectation of something to come - felt like I was 15 again and heading into swimming training (something I spent about 4-5 hours a day doing for years)...ah the memories! And then the rapid grounding as I barely got wet to the shoulders!! Still, it was great to be part of it all.

The only thing I did miss was watching Ellen. After only one real lesson, she's going ahead in leaps and bounds, and was doing some solo swimming, backfloating and diving to the bottom today - she's very proud of that, so I've heard about it a few times already. I'm so glad that the girls love the water - I don't know whether we'll do the 12 years of swimming club that I did growing up - yet to be seen, but for now, I'm loving seeing them gain independence in a new area and the pride of achievement as they pick up new skills.

Back to being a spectator from now on - and maybe a touch of reminiscing...

Water babies

Our girls have always loved the water - which was great when we had a pool at the last house, and also for visiting Nanna and Granddad's new place where there's a fantastic resort style pool with waterfalls and a lap lane for me too...sorry, I digress.

Anyway - back to the point, we decided to start swimming lessons again with Ellen and to introduce Olivia to them too now that we are settled in the new house, so we started this week. I was interested to see how they would go, as our last venture with Ellen to lessons last year up the coast was less than successful, with a poor lesson structure and constantly changing teachers, all with different styles - she actually regressed and we were very disappointed with the entire episode. Well, no such qualms this time around - they are busting to get into their togs from the second they get out of bed in the morning, and can hardly wait until the 8.30 lesson (if they were any earlier then we'd be asking for it!). We've seen major progress over the course of only two lessons, so we're looking forward to the summer that lies ahead - be warned Nanna, we'll be visiting often!!

As you can see from the photo, Olivia loves her togs - they're actually size 4 and were in a bag of hand-me-downs from one of my cousins, but she's claimed them as her own, and would live in them alone if we didn't insist on something warmer over the top - at least for the trip to the pool (harsh parents I know!). I really should do something about that mop of hair of hers...
The surf board is another of her favourite things - she can't wait to get it to the beach this summer, one of her more popular toys to play with, pretend paddling out to the back of the break....look out Uncle Grant, this little surf chick will be hitting the waves before you know it.

Catching up

Ages since I've written anything - life does seem to be much busier now that we're in our own home - not that I'm complaining. What we have discovered since the most recent cold snap though, is that our house is currently not very warm in winter - so we've had the fire going a lot more than I think we were expecting - it's chewing through the old hardwood studs etc. quite well, so reducing the piles of wood around the place as well - not such a bad thing!
The girls and I have been keeping ourselves very busy - the only times that I've managed to remember the camera though was a week or so ago when we painted our indoor cubby house (Greg renovated the dishwasher box for us), and today when we enjoyed a trip on the bus into town with my friend Bear and her gorgeous little man to the State Library and the 'whale tunnel'. Girls had a great time, and Bear and I enjoyed catching up too.