We've had a nice week at Mary's house out in Darfield, and tomorrow afternoon we're moving into Christchurch to start our first round of house-sitting. We went to see the house yesterday and picked up the key. There will be plenty of room for us, and they've left the hot tub on (which sounds wonderful, as I've just strained my shoulder) and thoughtfully left out toys for William (they have grandchildren themselves). They've locked one of the bedrooms, so there are only 2 upstairs for William and us, but the third open bedroom is downstairs with its own bathroom-- perfect for guests. It will be great for my Mom when she comes for two weeks after the baby, and great for Mary when she comes into town to visit. I'm a little nervous about navigating the steep hill and tricky drive to get to the house, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. There's even a little park within easy walking distance down the hill, with swings and a picnic table, overlooking the sea.
Here are a couple pictures of William playing ball... he now distinguishes, visibly and verbally, between "ba-she-ball" "shockah ball" "deh-ni ball" and "rug-bee ball". Anything oval-shaped is "rug-bee"-- even a cracker I pulled out the other day. I took him to visit the Playcentre
here in Darfield twice this week (Playcentre is an organization unique to New Zealand, like a preschool or kindergarten but with a relaxed, Montessori-esque, child-led feel.) Will got to paint and play with play-dough for the very first time (I felt a bit neglectful as a mother!), but his highlight was when one of the caregivers got a whole bag full of balls out of the shed along with a mini "ba-she-ball 'oop". Will immediately identified the only ball colored like a real basketball, and proceeded to "frow" it through the "'oop" solidly for half an hour. What a kid.
You are not a neglectful mother withholding the playdoh. I say, put it off as long as possible ;).
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