Monday 28 April 2008

Crocodiles at La Bonheur, Franschhoek

Mommy and Daddy took me to see the crocodiles. I called them dinosaurs cos they look like it. Here's Daddy with me walking with the babies. These ones are under 2 years old. They were more scared of us than we were of them. Mommy didn't want Daddy to take me in. I think she was scared that I would want to walk and that the crocodiles might think I was food, but I was very good. These are the big ones, and they're only 3-4 years old. Did you know that crocodiles don't eat at all in winter because they don't have a high enough body temperature to digest food, and that they can go for 2 YEARS between meals?? The man who told us all about them said that when you see them catching a buck, that will be the only meal they eat in several months, if not for the entire year. Imagine - no snacks at all for an entire year!
These funny crocodiles are Stumpy and Lumpy. They were born without tails. Since crocodiles only use their tails for swimming (and not their legs) they would drown if they went into the water too deeply. In nature, when their mother released them into the water they would drown.
While I enjoyed visiting the crocodiles, I enjoyed seeing the other animals at the farm more. There were goats and a big black pig, as well as a tortoise that was nearly as big as me!

Sunday 27 April 2008

More videos

Here are several videos from the last month or so that Mommy has FINALLY got onto the pooter.

Here's our trip to Kirstenbosch - with us rolling down the hill.



Then here are two videos of me singing. Mommy loves it when I sing.





And here's that video of me and Jess on the trampoline from last weekend. I'm really good at jumping now. Jess is only just learning cos she's still little.

Friday 25 April 2008

Sickness and sunshine

It's been so long since Mommy posted something about my life. That's because I've been very sick (so haven't done very much) and because Mommy is very busy at work.

I was sick for about a week with a very, very bad cold. I was so sick I didn't want to play with any of my toys. I didn't want to go to the park, or even swing on my swing at home. I didn't want to visit my granny, grandma or oupa. I didn't want to sleep, or eat. I was very, very miserable. So Mommy let me lie on the couch with a blanket and watch DVDs. I watched Ice Age. I love Ice Age. I watched it a lot. ["A lot" means what felt like 10 times back to back every day for an entire week. So much so that she, at age 2.5, now knows the entire script - if not word perfect, pretty near enough! Ed]

A little while ago Mommy and Daddy had a party and lots of people came. All my cousins came, and we had great fun playing. I'm a little bit scared of one of them, cos she's bigger than me and bosses me around, but I like having my friends to play. Mommy and Daddy also had a lot of friends who have children, so there were lots of children that I don't know. Mommy said I was very good at sharing my toys, and that she was very proud of me. I like making Mommy happy.

Last weekend we had MORE people come to visit. There was a little boy, Samuel, who came to play with me. I think his Mommy and Daddy are friends with my Mommy and Daddy. He also had a bath with me and we had great fun playing together. I got to race him on my bike up and down the driveway. Then the next day we went to Granny's house and Jessica was there. She's another cousin (I have a LOT of cousins)[she's not actually a cousin, but the family relationship is too complicated to explain to a 2yr old, so cousin will do, Ed]. She lives very far away [Spain. Ed] and is here on holiday. She's younger than me, but she's as big as me., and she can't talk yet. Mommy says that's because she's learning two languages at the same time. I don't know what a language is, but I don't mind that she can't talk cos it means I can talk a lot.

Jessica was lonely, so she came to play with me. We played together in the new fountain that Granny's got. I liked playing with her, but I didn't like sharing my toys that are at Granny's house. I got to show Jessica around the garden and we got to chase the pheasants that Granny feeds. That was a lot of fun, cos Schatzi the Dog chased us too!

This week I got to go to Monkeynastics. It's the first time I've ever been to Monkeynastics. I was so scared that I burst into tears, then the lady gave me a sticker and a T-shirt. [Monkeynastics is an age appropriate movement and music class for kids from 2yrs to 12 yrs. They come to the nursery once a week for a half hour class.] Big Kim sat with me for the whole session so that I wouldn't cry, and I got to watch the class. Maybe next week I'll join in.

Mommy and Daddy bought me a trampoline - a BIG one [only an 8ft one, but big enough that we can jump with her]. Today Jessica came to play at my house and we both jumped on the trampoline. Then we raced bikes on the driveway. We had supper together, and a bath together. I really liked playing with Jessica, except when she stole my Mommy [stole Mommy's attention would be closer to the truth, Ed]. Then I didn't like her at all and I cried, but that wasn't very often, so I still like her. I even let her borrow some of my clothes when she got hers all wet when we were watering Mommy's plants. I'm going to play with her again next week, and maybe next weekend too. I'm looking forward to that.

Mommy took a video of us jumping on the trampoline. If she has time tomorrow maybe she'll post it so you can see us. Here are some photos of me though, in the meantime...

This is how I travel to nursery most days. I like riding on the bike, except that I don't like it when the wind blows in my face too much.This is me and Mommy inside a fish tank at the kwarim [aquarium]. [The tank was built over a little tunnel that had a spyhole inside the tank, Ed.] The fish were Nemo fish, and when we were inside the tank they could swim right around us and over us. They were hungry and were looking for food. We had a lot of fun at the kwarim - we saw sharks and a turtle and a fish with wings that flew [a ray, Ed.]. But best of all I liked the Nemo fish.