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Piet's second birthday
On the 5th February, we celebrated Piet's second birthday. Despite having been a bit feverish the preceding days, he was off to an early start (5 am) and we opened the presents at 6 am. His main present was a ride-on-trike. As it came with a green trailer, Piet calls it his
'tractor'. He
drove off right away, not afraid of
toppling over. He already had a trike, but his legs are too short for the pedals, and a balance bike, but his legs are just too short to reach the ground. But we reckon that the 'tractor' is just a stepping stone for Piet to go on to his trike and balance bike and that Emma will soon claim her share of the 'tractor' playtime.
An equally favourite hit were his sandpit trucks. In the previous months, he had been taking virtually all his other cars and trucks into the sandpit (and back into the house), which we hope to reduce. But unwrapping the other presents with a helping hand also proved immensely interesting, while others watched from a distance. No party is complete without a birthday cake, which mum had made in the form of cars, which Piet rather appreciated, both in looks and taste. After the party, his main concerns was to make sure his sister wouldn't touch his new toys.
Bendoc
On Monday, we drove up to East Gippsland for two weeks with the grandparents. One of the nice things of staying with them is the large garden, where Piet enjoys playing with mum's and aunt Kel's
truck and bulldozer and where Emma can
sit, crawl and
stand on the lawn as much as she likes. We wonder when she will try walking, as she can already stand for half a minute, pick things up from the floor while standing, shuffle her feet and cruise along the furniture. Mum's
trampoline was resurrected from the back of the garage and proved as
much fun as in the past, mostly for Piet, but cautiously also for Emma. Piet could help grandma and grandpa for hours in the
vegie patch, or have fun on his own with a
broom. Emma enjoyed the space, the softer, wooden flooring and - like her brother before her - being bathed in the
laundry tub.
Grandma baked a big cake for mum's birthday. We jointly lit and blew out the candles, while granddad helped Piet with the eating. As a present, mum received an interesting book about cakes.
About tractors and wheelbarrows
Another attraction of Bendoc, for Piet at least, is the presence of a real tractor. Granddad was happy to get it out of the sheds and Piet's excitement started when he
saw it coming. He admired it driving around for ages, but could only be tempted to get on the seat with
granddad and
dad after the engine had been switched off. A real ride will have to wait until a future visit. But plenty of scope for male bonding remained. Piet and granddad had a paddle in the river, a
walk through the paddock and a read through the
car book. Mum had a look in the storage sheds and found her old
wheelbarrow. Piet walked it around the garden and
further afield; it came in handy for
loading branches.
We had four rainy days in a row with 70 millimeters of rain in total; this is highly appreciated in a region with average annual rainfall of only 600mm. After the rain, it was again nice to play in the garden. Piet and Emma discovered the lemon tree's soil, investigated our hands and the lemons, and continued to play. For Piet, it was pure joy, while Emma had both lighthearted and serious moments.
Back home
Back home, Piet immediately got back to
business. He also went for the second time to"
Socatime Joeys", which is a playgroup for two and three year olds that revolves around the theme of football, but mostly involves ball games that do not require
feet. He is much shyer than the other kids and often watches from the sideline, but he remembers and plays the games when he comes home. For that matter, the name soccer has been replaced with the proper football
five years ago.
The last weekend in February, we went camping near the beach at Barwon Heads with a friend's mothersgroup. Nobody had meaningful camping experience, so it was only Saturday night. As the kids kept each other entertained most of the time, the spirits were good, despite the cool weather.
