Enjoying the Activities in Town

Scrolling down, I can see it's been a while since we last wrote. Life
here in the DingoDen is going just fine. We are all healthy and happy
and doing well. With the weather so lovely now (highs in the 70s during
the day), we've been spending a lot of time outdoors -- going on "nature
walks," riding bikes, playing hockey and soccer, and enjoying the
activities on in town.

A couple of weeks ago, Delenn had her six month checkup. She is
hovering around the 60th percentile for height and weight. She has no
problem sitting up on her own and playing with the toys around her. When the midwife asked me if she looked for dropped toys, I said yes -- as she said "Oh no wait, that doesn't really develop until they are about nine months old." So, she took out a pom-pom and dangled it in front of Delenn. She then dropped it on the floor. Much to the midwife's surprise, Delenn looked at her for a moment after the pom-pom dropped -- and then looked on the ground to see where it had gone. The midwife seemed impressed and said that Delenn may develop a bit ahead of schedule.

Delenn still shows no signs of wanting to crawl (but has very strong legs and makes stepping/walking motions when we help hold her upright). She naps twice a day and still goes to bed around 6:30pm and gets up around 6:30am. Sometimes she sleeps well at night, but other times she wakes frequently. We have the feeling that she's having lots of teething pains (since she sleeps well the nights that we give her infant Tylenol). We started Delenn on solids a few weeks ago. She never has liked pureed foods much, but once we started giving her food with a bit more consistency she started eating better. Still, she seems to like holding rice cakes best of all (and really liked the plain graham cracker Logan fed her in the stroller the other day!)

We also started Delenn on a straw sippy cup. It's amusing to watch -- she goes through 1/2 cup easily in about 3 minutes. She sucks up the water and spews it out like a fountain!

There have been a number of interesting town activities lately. We went to the Anzac Day parade last week (the equivalent of the American Memorial Day holiday). Logan loved watching the police car and army trucks as they rolled on by. On Friday evening was the heritage day
celebration at the Telegraph Station. Logan watched a horse getting shoed and enjoyed looking at the exhibits (how to make damper bread, make biscuits and jam in an old-time oven, gather native plants. He also enjoyed looking at the old equipment and tools -- the wagons, washing equipment and so forth). He was especially intrigued by the spinning wheel (perhaps because we have read him Sleeping Beauty?).

On Saturday it was "family day" at Pioneer Park Race Track. Logan rode a horse (on a carnival ride, that is!) and watched his first live horse race. Then on Monday was the "Bangtail Muster" Parade in town. Again, he seemed to like the police cars, fire trucks and ambulance best of all! Still, he enjoyed the floats and got to see the Viking Ship as it made its way down the Todd Mall.

Last week, Logan and Mommy talked about plants and how they grow. Logan got a number of different seeds and "planted" them in glass jars to watch them sprout. He was excited that less than two days later the mustard seeds had roots. The other seeds (pumpkin, peas) have been slower to grow. Logan also got his own patch of ground in the garden and planted some green bean plants. He told Mommy they'd grow really tall overnight (because of Jack and the Beanstalk!). While they haven't grown quite that quickly, he runs out every morning to check their progress and waters them with his spray bottle. He's obviously proud of his plants. (See the pictures below.)

I think we mentioned that Mommy plays field hockey once a week for a team here in town. This past weekend, Mommy's team won 17 to 2! It'll probably be one of the few wins of the season, but we were all pumped up after the game! Both Mommy and Daddy also play soccer on Sundays. We both had VERY sore quads (from kicking the ball) for over a week after our first game! Logan now spends a lot of time in the backyard playing hockey (hitting a ball through a hole cut out of a piece of cardboard) and soccer (kicking the ball and running after it).

Mommy is also getting ready for the Eisteddfod Music Competition as the Alexandria Quartet (wind ensemble) will be playing two pieces next Saturday evening -- the Magic Flute (by Mozart) and Funeral March of a Marionette (better known to the masses as the theme from Alfred Hitchcock.) When Mommy was practicing over the weekend, Logan came into the room, listened for a moment and then said with much enthusiasm "Good job, Mommy!" Hopefully the judge is as pleased!

Mommy, Logan and Delenn started a new Kindermusik class offered this term called Sign and Sing. Logan did really well -- and he and Mommy had been signing/singing the Bear Went Over the Mountain all week. Of course, our song includes the all important verse -- "The ROCKET went over the mountain..."

Our friends Rachel and Tom (parents to Holly who is often shown in pictures here) just had a baby girl yesterday (May 1st). They named her Amanda Louise. Rachel and the baby are doing well. We hope to visit them at the hospital tomorrow.