Hmmm, where have we been?

We had a bit of a sicky day earlier in the week which saw me and Nathan snoozing in front of the fire most of the day and Danielle just pottering around doing her own thing (which is actually a bit strange to see, but it also gives me more of a glimpse of who she is when she's not attached to Nathan).

Yesterday we went to our first pantomime to see Aladdin. Both kids really enjoyed it. Danielle loved all the music and dancing and found it quite funny. Nathan definitely liked it, but more from a "technical" point of view I think (ie this being the form of entertainment before TVs, how the actors played out the story by using such a small space/doors/lighting, interaction with the crowd etc).

We then were able to catch up with friends on the way home for a quick play. Yay for the beautiful weather we've continued to have - so the kids all played out in the street with bats and balls for an hour before heading on home.

Today they started off with them turning the lounge into a house made from dining chairs, sheets, blankets, pillows, cushions etc.

Then Nathan was showing me some miming that he saw on a TV show once. So we youtubed a few and quite enjoyed this one.

Nathan then wanted to make some movies on the digital camera. I thought I'd share one with his house tour... the house is in the state of mess before I'd done any morning chores and the set up of the "house" in the lounge (and therefore dining chairs missing from the table and pillows missing off beds...). And that's his puppy dog Danielle on the floor panting and yapping...

This afternoon Danielle got out the little 12" bike that was Nathan's once upon a time (she's actually a bit tall for it now). She's not really been interested in wanting to learn to ride the bike before, but has really taken to the running/balance bike over the past 6mths. I think with the confidence she's gained from using that has led her to giving the bike a go. Once she figured out where to have the peddle positioned to get herself going (and coasting along for a metre or so) and realising that it was meant to have wobble and require balance she was getting herself started on her own with perseverance (and a bit of frustration). I imagine that she'll pop her other foot up on the other peddle when the time feels right (the bike doesn't have training wheels to rely on).

Late afternoon we went over to Grampie's as he was was having a concrete truck arrive to pour some concrete into their driveway. So that kept them interested for a while (and Nathan continuing to video anything and everything).

Danielle assisted me with cooking dinner tonight...only with a twist to the usual help she gives me. I got out and lined up all the ingredients for our dinner (nachos) and asked her how she thought we'd need to make it with what we had. Was an interesting little exercise chatting about the whys and whats rather than me just subconsciously cooking the meal and getting her to chop or stir while chatting about random things. She's not a huge questioner (and when paired with Nathan who is very much into questioning, she seems to go with the flow and is quite content to just hang out), so it was a gentle way of having her engage with me and thinking about the process that we were going through.