It’s Spring! This cascade of blooms greets us every time we walk in our front gate

We had a wonderful time celebrating Nikki’s fourth birthday. I’m continually impressed with her level of understanding, and I value her inquisitive spirit, sweet music, help around the house, and especially her hugs and kisses!

In addition to traditional gifts on her birthday, I also on the spur of the moment gave Nikki a new chore. She loves it! Clearing the dishes from the table after our evening meal and loading them in the dishwasher is now her responsibility. She is delighted, I think because it makes her feel very grown up. Unprompted, she politely asks if I am finished with my plate before taking it away. I guess all those restaurant visits are paying off.

I created and finalised an original colour scheme for the interior of our entire house. Each room will be a different colour! In his evenings and spare moments, Ben has painted the ceiling and has begun painting the trim in our future master bedroom. Two of our friends from church have volunteered to help paint the bedroom walls this weekend. (Does anyone have ideas on how to thank them properly?)

I forgot to read Chapter 4 of How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk. So that’s one item for next month’s list.

My goals for October are to:

• enjoy a week-long holiday away from home
• move into our newly refurbished master bedroom
• sell items we no longer need – I have been letting a few things pile up and it’s time to move them on
• keep tabs on and possibly even harvest something from my no-work vegetable garden
• read and begin to apply Chapter 4 of How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk

Celebrating the beauty of this daily ritual…

Despite the splendid weather, Nikki and Michael decided to host an elevated picnic indoors.

Lake Thetis is significant geologically because prior to the discovery of living specimens in nearby Shark Bay, scientists thought the stromatolites which grow in the lake, and which are seen in the fossil record, had become extinct.

The lake is also just plain gorgeous, and it has an easy path around it for cycling and pram pushing alike.

We made use of this picnic table on the lake’s shore, which we sat on because it didn’t have seats.

I forgot to bring a baby carrier! Vi enjoyed her first ride in a pram.

Our drive north to Lake Thetis was on the first day the Indian Ocean Drive extension was open to the public. The new section was so new that it wasn’t even open when we drove up to the lake, so we traveled on it for the first time on our way home that same afternoon.

First, we had to navigate the under-construction section between Cervantes and Lancelin.

The new section of highway opened at 3pm, and our wheels touched the new road at around 3:30. Since we followed a couple motorcycles, it almost felt like we were part of an official motorcade.

The highway extension cuts about 45 minutes off the drive time from Perth to the Pinnacles and Lake Thetis. We look forward to visiting these lovely locations again and again!

a kind saleslady gave Michael and Nikki the royal treatment at Warwick Fabrics

[Michael offers me some "soup" and waits until after I've taken a "drink" to say]:
Michael: “Mama, it has some sour cream in it, and some paint in it. We can drink it… and we can spill it. Yeah.”

Nikki: Mama, the scooterist and cyclist just bumped into each other. That’s why we have stoplights.

[Nikki has a picture of six piggy banks from a magazine advertisement.]
Nikki: Mama, I’m going to deliver these piggy banks.
Mama: To the market?
Nikki: No, to the butcher!
…
Nikki: Mama, I gave all the other piggy banks! Five piggy banks!
Mama: Who did you give them to?
Nikki: To the church! They need LOTS of piggy banks.

[Michael rolls up to me on his scooter.]
Mama: Hi, scooterist! Where are you off to?
Michael: The orchestra will start soon, so I have to go quickly.
Mama: So, you can’t stay and talk?
Michael: Actually, I can.

[Nikki and Michael are eating lunch. Michael just finished his sandwich. Nikki is eating a banana.]
Michael: Can I have more to eat?
Nikki: Yes, yes! Here you go, Michael. [Handing him a piece of the banana she is eating.] You can have the special bruised part.

[While drinking her yogurt, Nikki was surprised to swallow a lump.]
Nikki: I opened my mouth wide and it swimmed in!

I occasionally ask Ben as he’s walking out the door in the morning whether it’s take-your-child-to-work day. Once Nikki turned four, Ben thought she might enjoy a morning with him at work, so he asked his manager for permission.

Ben’s boss was enthusiastic about the idea and even set aside a meeting table by the window for her and gave her a colouring book. Ben’s colleagues shared orange slices with Nikki and chatted with her around the water cooler.

I walked Michael and Vi into the city to meet Ben and Nikki for lunch at a yummy new French restaurant. Then I took all the kids home for naptime. We think this will become an annual event for each of our children starting at age four.

… but I know it was really an Egyptian motorcycle. Then again, I’m counting six passengers here, and I never saw more than five on a motorcycle in Egypt. Perhaps it is a taxi after all.

Vi could not have been more delighted with her meal.

For the past six weeks, we have been working to memorize questions 72 through 104 in the Young Children’s Catechism; all of them relate to the Ten Commandments. Progress was slow until one morning I had the idea to create hand signals as memory prompts for each commandment.

Ben gallantly demonstrated the prompts on this silent video so I can share them with you.

For anyone interested in hearing Nikki answer the questions, I also created a six and a half minute slideshow of the relevant questions from the Catechism for Young Children. This video features audio of Nikki answering the questions and Michael chiming in from time to time.