i've decided to close down this blog. i have been thinking about it for some months now. surprisingly i've become very attached to this blog and see it as a wonderful archive of our travels with percy. however we are now also travelling with talvin. it suits me better to start afresh. additionally i want to write about more than our lives as they are focused on percy. our lives do encompass other things (sometimes!) i want to include talvin and paul as central characters, not just the cameos they've held to date. to stay true to "travelswithpercy" wouldn't allow that. it's time for a new story.
i thought initially i would stop here and start elsewhere at the beginning of this year, then at the 12 week pregnancy point, then at percy's second birthday, then at talvin's birth... for whatever reason most of these milestones have come and gone with no change. there is nothing particular about today. it's just time and i'm feeling brave enough to do it. i do almost feel that if this blog stops i will be forgetting and denying the amazing travels we've had over the past three years. i know that's not really the case but as i said above; i've become really attached to this blog. maybe i have blog withdrawal!
i hope anyone still reading has enjoyed filling a spare moment with our tale. it will continue, i'm just not sure where or in what form.
travel well... the sun on your face and a breeze at your back...
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
holding hands
percy and rose walked to the park together yesterday morning. they, very sweetly, held hands during most of the walk...
Thursday, April 23, 2009
last minute changes
the manager at percy's day care centre called me today. whenever i see that name come up on my mobile my heart misses a beat as i anticipate bad news- percy's fallen and busted something, they've called an ambulance, can i meet them at the hospital, percy's gone missing, percy choked, percy beat the hell out of another kid... i think i think about it too much. in truth, only two or three of the telephone calls from day care have been negative, even then it's been she's got a cold and we should collect her as soon as possible, and one bang on the head that her gp gave the ok to.
back to today's call. you may recall as of next week we had planned to do a child care shuffle between day care, grandparents and me. well now we need not. yippee! a place has become available for percy to revert to her four day attendance (wednesday's at home) in her new room, from next week. i must say i am very pleased. i was not looking forward to driving 6 hours every week just so i could go to work for 8.
speaking of being in her new room, i think she is taking to it very well. her new primary teacher is very sweet and says that percy is a princess- or is she just being nice to us nervous "newbie" parents? percy has been saying these last two days "stay downstairs" and she hasn't been bothered that her usual routine of putting her nappies in the cupboard and raffles in bed has been abandoned. in her new room the beds are stacked up until they are needed, so it's impossible to tuck raffles in on arrival in the morning, as we had been doing upstairs where there is a dedicated sleep room and the beds and cots are left out.
this morning she took a deal of pleasure and importance in showing me where her new locker is and telling me where i should fold and hang her stroller up out of the way. she hasn't been very forthcoming about what she does all day, or who she played with- we ask her every evening, often over dinner, but i expect that will come with time.
back to today's call. you may recall as of next week we had planned to do a child care shuffle between day care, grandparents and me. well now we need not. yippee! a place has become available for percy to revert to her four day attendance (wednesday's at home) in her new room, from next week. i must say i am very pleased. i was not looking forward to driving 6 hours every week just so i could go to work for 8.
speaking of being in her new room, i think she is taking to it very well. her new primary teacher is very sweet and says that percy is a princess- or is she just being nice to us nervous "newbie" parents? percy has been saying these last two days "stay downstairs" and she hasn't been bothered that her usual routine of putting her nappies in the cupboard and raffles in bed has been abandoned. in her new room the beds are stacked up until they are needed, so it's impossible to tuck raffles in on arrival in the morning, as we had been doing upstairs where there is a dedicated sleep room and the beds and cots are left out.
this morning she took a deal of pleasure and importance in showing me where her new locker is and telling me where i should fold and hang her stroller up out of the way. she hasn't been very forthcoming about what she does all day, or who she played with- we ask her every evening, often over dinner, but i expect that will come with time.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
singing and music
percy loves to sing. she sings while walking to day care or the park, she sings in the car, she sings in the bath, she sings along with paul at nite instead of dropping off to sleep.
her drum kit comes with a headphones and microphone. the headphones are fake and the microphone is crap but she gives it her best shot...
on the topic of singing along with paul at bed time she now insists on her favourite version of words too eg. singing "i've got you under my skin", paul substitutes 'you' with 'percy' at one point. if he slips back to 'you' she will say, "no, pappa, it's percy, sing it properly!"
some weeks back we bought her a cheapo cd player. she has about 6 cds of kid songs and kindermusik class songs, as well as the very favoured "lah-lah" cd that she really enjoys putting in the player by herself. perhaps it's not a good thing but she knows how to turn the player on at the wall and then operate it all by herself. it is a good activity if we want to get other things done and can't keep on eye on her. particularly so because her interest is more in putting the cd's in and out, and in and out of their covers, than actually listening to the music. i believe we've heard the first eight seconds of every first song tens of times, but no more! she's a funny one.
her drum kit comes with a headphones and microphone. the headphones are fake and the microphone is crap but she gives it her best shot...
on the topic of singing along with paul at bed time she now insists on her favourite version of words too eg. singing "i've got you under my skin", paul substitutes 'you' with 'percy' at one point. if he slips back to 'you' she will say, "no, pappa, it's percy, sing it properly!"
some weeks back we bought her a cheapo cd player. she has about 6 cds of kid songs and kindermusik class songs, as well as the very favoured "lah-lah" cd that she really enjoys putting in the player by herself. perhaps it's not a good thing but she knows how to turn the player on at the wall and then operate it all by herself. it is a good activity if we want to get other things done and can't keep on eye on her. particularly so because her interest is more in putting the cd's in and out, and in and out of their covers, than actually listening to the music. i believe we've heard the first eight seconds of every first song tens of times, but no more! she's a funny one.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
changes this week
today is percy's second last day in the baby's room at day care. on wednesday she will head downstairs to the "explorers" room which is predominantly for kids aged from two and half to three and half, meaning she'll technically be a little young for her new peers. however i don't think it will matter. she spent a day downstairs a week ago and by all reports enjoyed it immensely, including happily sleeping in a different room to her usual.
a number of the friends she has made in the baby's room are moving downstairs over these weeks too. she'll be able to play with them all day long now.
it will be a little odd that she'll attend five days this week (mon, tue upstairs, wed - fri downstairs) and then will revert to three days the following week. i'm sure she'll be fine. i'm positive she enjoys day care and loves the interaction with the other children; at home she's stuck with us boring grown ups!
we're not making much progress on stopping the whining when she wants something, or is upset. well, repeat, repeat, repeat! however she is constructing beautiful sentences some of the time. these involve a statement about something, an analysis of the situation and an expression of her desire. not a single example is coming to me at the moment- just trust me! on the hilarious but "bite-your-tongue" side of language here is a few examples of recent statements "jesus, paul!" (copying me), " bugger, bugger" (when she kicked her gum boot off) and "leftie commie" (copying paul.)
a number of the friends she has made in the baby's room are moving downstairs over these weeks too. she'll be able to play with them all day long now.
it will be a little odd that she'll attend five days this week (mon, tue upstairs, wed - fri downstairs) and then will revert to three days the following week. i'm sure she'll be fine. i'm positive she enjoys day care and loves the interaction with the other children; at home she's stuck with us boring grown ups!
we're not making much progress on stopping the whining when she wants something, or is upset. well, repeat, repeat, repeat! however she is constructing beautiful sentences some of the time. these involve a statement about something, an analysis of the situation and an expression of her desire. not a single example is coming to me at the moment- just trust me! on the hilarious but "bite-your-tongue" side of language here is a few examples of recent statements "jesus, paul!" (copying me), " bugger, bugger" (when she kicked her gum boot off) and "leftie commie" (copying paul.)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
random recent photos
with pappa's galsses on,
vaccuumming,
playing her eletronic drum kit, and
a very, very full bath
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
great girl, bad pain
percy is fantastic. (der!) little wonderful things have prompted this effusion.
1.her telling paul to 'sing it properly', when he is singing her a song at bedtime and gets too enthusiastic. she means he's supposed to sing quiet, sleepy songs to put her to sleep,
2. her eating four, i kid you not, four helpings of dinner once this week,
3. her enthusiam for flowers and dogs,
4. her delight that pi cat now comes every evening to be patted and say good night to her,
5. her helping, kind and innovative nature. the teachers in her current day care room tell us all the time that she constantly helps the little kids; even replacing dummies by gently waiting for the babies to open their mouths and 'til they have gripped the dummy properly. plus she initiates new games and ways to interpret the spaces, toys and furniture to make play even more fun. we are told she will be missed when she goes to her new room at the end of the month.
6. her communication is changing. we've told her that we don't accept the whining any more. if she has a problem, request or opinion she must tell us about them in words. slowly progress is being made, and
7. she can jump properly now!
unrelated to percy, the dreaded SPD, or symphysis pubis disfunction, is making a come back for me. i've had some little twinges over the past couple of weeks but today it is with me constantly. rats! tho the odds apparently are if you had this problem/discomfort/debilitation during the first pregnancy it's likely to return for subsequent goes.
SPD is caused by the hormorne relaxin, which is released by a pregnant woman's body to do surprisingly what it sounds like- it relaxes muscles and ligaments to assist in the carrying and birthing of babies. for an unfortunate few the ligament that joins the front of the pubic bone, which generally has a give of 2-3mm, relaxes too much. a further 2-3mm is ok, when it gets up to 10 extra mm, which it can in extreme cases, the pain is unbearable. to get an idea of this pain, stand a little straddled and ask the biggest, muscliest person you know to take the best swing they can manage with a baseball bat at your pubic bone. (never mind the soft tissue damage!) just imagine that impact against your bone and ligament.
so far i'm just feeling a very light version, tho there is more than three months 'til birth date for the ligament to relax yet more, separating this nearly immovable joint...
only once or twice with percy was i actually incapacitated. climbing stairs, each foot on every step, is slow going, but better than not going at all.
1.her telling paul to 'sing it properly', when he is singing her a song at bedtime and gets too enthusiastic. she means he's supposed to sing quiet, sleepy songs to put her to sleep,
2. her eating four, i kid you not, four helpings of dinner once this week,
3. her enthusiam for flowers and dogs,
4. her delight that pi cat now comes every evening to be patted and say good night to her,
5. her helping, kind and innovative nature. the teachers in her current day care room tell us all the time that she constantly helps the little kids; even replacing dummies by gently waiting for the babies to open their mouths and 'til they have gripped the dummy properly. plus she initiates new games and ways to interpret the spaces, toys and furniture to make play even more fun. we are told she will be missed when she goes to her new room at the end of the month.
6. her communication is changing. we've told her that we don't accept the whining any more. if she has a problem, request or opinion she must tell us about them in words. slowly progress is being made, and
7. she can jump properly now!
unrelated to percy, the dreaded SPD, or symphysis pubis disfunction, is making a come back for me. i've had some little twinges over the past couple of weeks but today it is with me constantly. rats! tho the odds apparently are if you had this problem/discomfort/debilitation during the first pregnancy it's likely to return for subsequent goes.
SPD is caused by the hormorne relaxin, which is released by a pregnant woman's body to do surprisingly what it sounds like- it relaxes muscles and ligaments to assist in the carrying and birthing of babies. for an unfortunate few the ligament that joins the front of the pubic bone, which generally has a give of 2-3mm, relaxes too much. a further 2-3mm is ok, when it gets up to 10 extra mm, which it can in extreme cases, the pain is unbearable. to get an idea of this pain, stand a little straddled and ask the biggest, muscliest person you know to take the best swing they can manage with a baseball bat at your pubic bone. (never mind the soft tissue damage!) just imagine that impact against your bone and ligament.
so far i'm just feeling a very light version, tho there is more than three months 'til birth date for the ligament to relax yet more, separating this nearly immovable joint...
only once or twice with percy was i actually incapacitated. climbing stairs, each foot on every step, is slow going, but better than not going at all.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
zac's birthday party
our friends orion and daniel's little boy zac celebrated his first birthday today. we went for a morning tea party at his house in rozelle. what an affair! i'm glad no-one expects big productions from me- at least i don't think they do. there is simply no way on earth i could "keep up with the jones's" in the birthday party stakes. despite percy being a guest she came away with little sandwiches cut in star, heart and flower shapes, a balloon, a bottle of bubble blowing mixture, a big bag of fruit and a box of baby carrots to plant at home. phew! it wasn't just percy, every kid, of which i estimate there would have been at least a dozen, got this jackpot of goodies. plus there was lots of food, balloons, a ball pit and slide, fresh fruit juice, real coffee and lines of cupcakes. perhaps percy will make up for my lackadasical efforts when she's twenty and old enough to organise her own parties.
while a good part of not organising massive affairs is my complete aversion to effort of most sorts, a part of it also rests with knowing full well that i'd never get it right with all members of our family so why try? without doubt i would leave out, offend, forget, tread on the toes of, dismiss or otherwise cause affront to someone. i'm not making this up; i've learnt from bitter experience.
take for instance the one time in all our lifetimes that my very small but widely spread family happen to be or very easily could be in sydney at the same time. i attempted to get them all in one room, for one hour, for a family portrait. that was two hundred dollars i should have just lit and watched burn- far less difficult or painful. this is not an isolated example.
i'm a whisker away from never trying to organise anything again. all occasions for gathering that require organisation or coordination with family can be done without me- just give me some notice and i'll do my best to be where and when you want me to be. but i'm not picking the place, the time or the activity again. (of course i might reserve my right to veto things on percy's behalf.)
anyways, saturday nites shouldn't be spent being resentful and alone.
while a good part of not organising massive affairs is my complete aversion to effort of most sorts, a part of it also rests with knowing full well that i'd never get it right with all members of our family so why try? without doubt i would leave out, offend, forget, tread on the toes of, dismiss or otherwise cause affront to someone. i'm not making this up; i've learnt from bitter experience.
take for instance the one time in all our lifetimes that my very small but widely spread family happen to be or very easily could be in sydney at the same time. i attempted to get them all in one room, for one hour, for a family portrait. that was two hundred dollars i should have just lit and watched burn- far less difficult or painful. this is not an isolated example.
i'm a whisker away from never trying to organise anything again. all occasions for gathering that require organisation or coordination with family can be done without me- just give me some notice and i'll do my best to be where and when you want me to be. but i'm not picking the place, the time or the activity again. (of course i might reserve my right to veto things on percy's behalf.)
anyways, saturday nites shouldn't be spent being resentful and alone.
Friday, April 3, 2009
it's 7:45am
and percy is still asleep!! long may she snooze!
she went happily to bed and sleep about 7:30pm so we are clocking over 12 hours now. wow. without a peep.
'course i had to get up to fed the ravening belly monster but that's ok.
she went happily to bed and sleep about 7:30pm so we are clocking over 12 hours now. wow. without a peep.
'course i had to get up to fed the ravening belly monster but that's ok.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
exciting but difficult news
at the end of april percy is going to move into the next age group room at her day care centre! yippee! we've been hoping this would happen since the beginning of the year. it's just a matter of having a space available. and as everyone doing the day care dance knows space is at a premium.
we've been convinced that since january when lots of new babies, some as young as ten weeks, started in the 0-2 age group room with percy, she has started mimicking baby behaviour rather than continuing along her toddler trajectory. she will cry and whine rather than tell us what she might what done differently, or what is upsetting her. and we know she has the vocabulary to tell us, afterall she's done so in the past and occasionaly does so now.
we hope being in the 2-3 year age group will encourage her to behave more in line with her age. of course we could be wrong! perhaps she's in a crying, whining point of time anyways.
the difficult part of this move is that the place available is for the three days wed - fri. paul works a five day week and i a four day week. this means percy is a free agent for one day! actually paul's parents have very helpfully agreed to care for her on mondays. this of course means driving an hour and half to drop her off on sundays and again on tuesdays to pick her up. i tell myself that the 10 weeks that this will occur for, before i start my leave in july and she can stay home on mondays with me, will pass quickly and i won't miss her too much. i'm sure some bright spark will also point out that this means we will get two nites a week toddler free.
we are on the waiting list to pick up the fourth day again as soon as possible. who know's, maybe that fourth day will happen before july.
no more wednesday parents group get-together for me for those ten weeks either.
despite my hesitation this is a big, positive move for percy. more evidence that she is growing up!
we've been convinced that since january when lots of new babies, some as young as ten weeks, started in the 0-2 age group room with percy, she has started mimicking baby behaviour rather than continuing along her toddler trajectory. she will cry and whine rather than tell us what she might what done differently, or what is upsetting her. and we know she has the vocabulary to tell us, afterall she's done so in the past and occasionaly does so now.
we hope being in the 2-3 year age group will encourage her to behave more in line with her age. of course we could be wrong! perhaps she's in a crying, whining point of time anyways.
the difficult part of this move is that the place available is for the three days wed - fri. paul works a five day week and i a four day week. this means percy is a free agent for one day! actually paul's parents have very helpfully agreed to care for her on mondays. this of course means driving an hour and half to drop her off on sundays and again on tuesdays to pick her up. i tell myself that the 10 weeks that this will occur for, before i start my leave in july and she can stay home on mondays with me, will pass quickly and i won't miss her too much. i'm sure some bright spark will also point out that this means we will get two nites a week toddler free.
we are on the waiting list to pick up the fourth day again as soon as possible. who know's, maybe that fourth day will happen before july.
no more wednesday parents group get-together for me for those ten weeks either.
despite my hesitation this is a big, positive move for percy. more evidence that she is growing up!
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