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Millie's preoccupied with weddings and marriage lately.
I buy my wife Jan (Millie's grandma) flowers regularly - mostly lilies.
But in the heat they droop, and eventually die...
Grandma was talking to Millie about flowers - and other creatures - dying, and later the little one went to the sad flowers and said: 'When I marry Samuel he's going to give me different flowers, and they will never die.'
About marriage, she talks about a sheep marrying a dog, and various toys being married to each other...
Bella is also getting more gorgeous... She understands most of what we say to her, and her speech and motor movements are gradually improving, though she still suffers a developmental delay. She's very good with her glasses, and obviously enjoys the better vision they give her... I have a beautiful hour each week with Bella: we go shopping together when Millie's in Kinder-Gym. I'm hoping next year to spend a precious hour each week with Millie as well...
Rowland
Little Millie now 'takes charge'. If Jay (her cousin, who lives with us and is 15) wants a toasted ham and cheese sandwich Millie jumps up and gets the ingredients from the 'fridge for grandma.
She now has a habit of knocking on my study door when I'm working inside. Today, as usual, she came to my desk, climbed up on my knee, and we had this conversation:
Millie: what are you doing tomorrow?
Going swimming with Auntie Judy.
Do you like swimming or KinderGym better?
Swimming.
OK what's best - swimming, KinderGym, or your trampoline in the backyard?
Swimming.
Ah, hah, what about swimming, KinderGym, trampolining or playing with Sarah next door?
Oh (and her face lights up) playing with Sarah!
Sarah's about 8 or 9 and is teaching Millie how to skip; they 
draw with chalk on the pavement or road (it stays there until the next rain) and they play a lot of hide-and-seek. We have wonderful neighbours.
Hope it's not so long before I visit here again!
Bye
Rowland Croucher
Last night we saw the full moon eclipse: beautiful!
Millie's having a hard time at Kinder right now: a little boy hit her once, and each kinder-day she doesn't want to go. The staff have been terrific, helping her face this challenge - including encouraging the boy to play with Millie. Please pray for her - and the little guy too.
Bella's got a flu-like wog, and was in Jan's arms for a lot of today. Please pray for her healing. Bella has her glasses, and there's been little trouble getting her to wear them. I took her on our Tuesday shopping expedition yesterday, and she looked so cute with her glasses: lots of people smiled at her. Her mum and grandma always ask 'How was she?' and every shopping-day there's the same response: 'Perfect!' (Helped of course, by some healthy nibbles occasionally of a cheese-stick, or a couple of grapes or beans!)
Here's another shot of the moon from last night: 
It's been a while...
Out littlest one - Bella - and I are very close these days. She comes straight to me with her arms in the air to be picked up, and snuggles her head onto my shoulder. This is related to the special time we spend together - just the two of us - doing the weekly shopping on Tuesdays.
She's probably going to need glasses soon: a trip to the ophthalmologist this past week indicates she's short-sighted. Interesting 
how they work that out when a little one won't easily sit still for a proper examination!
Bella's not a social girl like Millie. At the Thursday music mornings conducted by Amanda (which Jan attends with the little ones), Bella clings to Jan most of the time - except that in the last two weeks she's 'jigged' a bit with the music.
She's very insistent that she share anything Millie's playing with: takes a lot of wisdom and patience to keep them both happy if there's only one desirable toy!
But she's advancing slowly: her verbal skills are behind average for her age: but just now she said four syllables ('Thank you Grandpa') - though not articulated clearly. And she's very good at putting pictures and numbers into their shape-slots...
Millie is becoming more independent. Sometimes she doesn't want to sleep upstairs or downstairs when arrangements have been made to do so. 'I don't want to!' is a favourite phrase these days!
Yesterday, twice, she said when asked to do something by Grandma, and later, her Mum: 'Not now! I'm far too busy!'
We love them both dearly, but they're tiring!
Rowland/Grandpa
Millie's been talking about teeth.
'When I was little I had no teeth. My Mum has lots of teeth, and now I have lots of teeth.
Soon I'll start losing my teeth.'
Yesterday Grandma said to Millie (who was looking at a book while having breakfast): 'Now you don't get down (from the kitchen bench) until you've finished breakfast.' Millie apparently didn't want any more breakfast, so she dropped the book on the floor, and hopped down to get it. Grandma roused at her, so she put her head on her arms on the bench-top, morose and sad...
Bella can now recognize quite a few letters, and she can say more words. It's lovely to welcome her into my arms. This morning she snuggled into my shoulder, yawning...
Rowland Croucher
Yesterday Millie was playing with scissors and cut a swathe of hair from one side... reducing her mother, then Millie to tears. They came up to Grandma to figure out what to do... Go to the hairdressers? No. Grandma suggested a new hair style, which seems to work OK. But during the discussion, Millie went to the tissue box and got two: one for herself, and another for her Mum... and she went over and dabbed her Mum's eyes!
Bella is two-something, but has the developmental age of an 18-months-er. When on Tuesday I came downstairs to take her shopping, I only had to mention the two words 'Shopping Grandpa' and her face broke into the most beautiful smile we've ever seen. We had a wonderful hour together.
Did I mention that Millie saw our Australian Prime Minister on TV and asked 'Is that man God?' (Where did she get that idea from?
Millie and Bella look so cute helping their Mum hang up washing: they have their own little peg bags made by Grandma strapped around their waist, and their own little low-down clothes-hanger
Both Millie and Bella can come upstairs on their own to visit us. Millie comes to fetch something, and it's always a delight to welcome her! And she's very good at finding what her Mum sends her for. (And you should watch her proud demeanour - 'big girl now').
As I write, a little girl Millie's age has been abducted in Portugal. I got an email this morning re-routed from that little girl's uncle, asking the world for help.
You might have wondered why there are no pictures of our two princesses on this Blog... As the Americans say 'Go figure!'
This morning Millie has gone swimming 
with her Auntie Judy: Millie loves that fortnightly appointment. Bella is in the next room occupying Grandma's attention: she can be very demanding sometimes, and it's frustrating for her not to be able to communicate always what she wants. But she has half a dozen sign-language communications, and we're speaking to her in simple ways, emphasizing names of things rather than putting sentences into the form of more complex questions.
Have a good day: and you might like to visit a heap of new Blogs I'm setting up.
Shalom!/Salaam!
Rowland Croucher
Millie has lots of 'Big Girl Now' statements. I've just had breakfast (porridge) with her and Grandma, and this one went like this: 'I don't need nappies when I sleep 'cos I'm a big girl now. Look at my muscles! Are you proud of me?'
A minute later: 'And thank you Grandpa for buying my hair elastics.'
I've just been down to pick up Bella from her cot. She has a cold, and her breath smells awful...
Have a good day!
Rowland
Millie the other day, after Grandma had a difficult time buckling her into her car-seat: 'Perfect! Mission complete!'
She also is very polite: 'Excuse me Grandpa!'
Some Millie-wisdom: 'God made everything and he made jelly!'
There was half a nice biscuit left (we limit the amount of sweet stuff she eats because too much sends her 'hyper'). Millie: 'See that biscuit: That has Amelia Jasmine Southwell's name on it!'
Bella is slowly developing, but not quickly enough (she's being taken to a developmental delay pediatrician this week). One of her favorite phrases 'Love you!'
Bella understands lots of things now, though her vocabularly is limited. When I said to her the other day 'Would you like to go for a walk?' she immediately put her hand into mine. We walked around the block, swapping her hands so her shoulders wouldn't get too tired, and we had a lovely time.
Have a look at the 10 new blogs I'm creating (300 articles) - they're listed here April 22, 2007.
Shalom/salaam!
Rowland Croucher
We joined the little family for dinner a while back, and Millie wasn't well. She had a small bucket with her, and was sick into it. Then she got up from her chair and showed each of us! She sometimes does that after she's been to the toilet too...
Yesterday we took the little girls for a walk to 'Millie's Bridge' - the new freeway being constructed, 
with a bridge over the creek alongside which we go walking regularly. Millie's looking forward to driving on the freeway to the beach with her Dad...
Millie loves talking on the phone. Most three-year-olds are shy with telephones, but not our loquacious little one!
Millie talks a lot about 'when I'm...' - 'When I'm five I'll go to school', 'When I'm a big girl I'll have vitamins too!' The other day: 'I'll have another birthday one day!'
Bella and Millie love 'Cruskits' - wheaty (airy) biscuits. They both love noodles/ spaghetti. Millie has weetbix and milk for breakfast: Bella prefers yoghurt and banana...
They both get 'hyped up' sometimes... hope they're not being too visually stimulated. We carefully monitor the amount of TV they watch (Disney Playhouse channel mostly).
Until next time
Rowland Croucher
(John Mark Ministries)
Today our two gorgeous girls and their parents returned after three weeks away. Bella stayed on Grandma's knee cuddling into her for a long time (well, half an hour or so), and Millie sat on mine for the same time. We talked about the beach, 
and their friends, and Napoleon the DVD (about a dog) they saw in the car as they travelled.
Millie and I went for a walk tonight to see a house that's been demolished nearby - demolished while they were away. When I told her about the 'house that was broken' she replied: 'I can fix it with sticky tape!' She's always positive!
Well, we went to see all the rubble and the pile of timber, and saw broken glass on the ground, and Millie was very thoughtful!
~~~
A few other vignettes:
* Two months ago after Grandma switched off The Sound of Music video, Millie said 'I'm sorry Grandma for making too much noise... It was all my fault!' (that's in the category... 'Where did she hear that?'
* Millie was taken to Beck's wedding (Beck boarded with us for a couple of years) and talked about the one-hour car trip. 'We went through a tunnel!' Someone asked 'Where was it?' 'Straight ahead!' she responded.
The Things They Say...
More soon (that's a promise)
Rowland Croucher
Hi everyone!
It's been a busy time (traveling/seminaring, and a medical condition which hopefully has passed) - sorry it's over a month since the last update.
Little Bella is getting more delightful by the week! But she's not developing in terms of language and walking, though she's quite intelligent in other ways. The diagnosis? Maybe a form of Dyspraxia (more on that below). So Amanda is taking her to special therapy groups, and we have to teach her words with basic sign language. She learns some things pretty well: 'Arms up', 'Blow us a kiss!' 'Bye bye' - and responds appropriately. But she only takes a couple of steps, and apart from 'Dada' has very few distinct sounds.
Yesterday I took Millie and Bella for a walk to see 'Millie's Bridge' - part of the new freeway being built from Ringwood to Frankston. It's Millie's Bridge because her dad says he's taking her on the new road to the beach (22 minutes, vs. about 50 minutes in non-peak times now). Bella looked up every 100 metres or so and smiled at me - gorgeous little one.
Bella has her own little corners in our lounge room where she gravitates to play with familiar toys - books in one place, some round blocks she puts into grooves in another. She loves familiar things.
Millie may be attending a creche while her mum is counselling this Friday afternoon. We all have contingency plans ready! Whenever her mum and/or grandma goes out she asks the remaining adult/s: 'Will you mind me?' She has full sentences and lots of words: even 'diarrhoea' pronounced perfectly this morning (yes, she's been ill the last couple of days). She has the best conversations on the telephone of any three-year old we've known. And she says cutely about her behavior when visitors are about to come: 'I mightn't snatch!' (which refers to how her mum is training her to play nicely with other children!)
~~~
Here's more about dyspraxia:
What is Dyspraxia?
Dyspraxia is generally recognised to be an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement. Associated with this may be problems of language, perception and thought. Other names for dyspraxic include Clumsy Child Syndrome; Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD); Minimal Brain Dysfunction: Motor learning Difficulty; and Pereceptuo-motor Dysfunction.
What causes Dyspraxia?
For the majority of those with the condition, there is no known cause. Current research suggests that it is due to an immaturity of neurone development in the brain rather than to brain damage. People with dyspraxia have no clinical neurological abnormality to explain their condition.
How would I recognise a child with Dyspraxia?
The pre-school child
* Is late in reaching milestones e.g. rolling over, sitting, standing, walking, and speaking
* May not be able to run, hop, jump, or catch or kick a ball although their peers can do so
* Has difficulty in keeping friends; or judging how to behave in company
* Has little understanding of concepts such as 'in', 'on', 'in front of' etc
* Has difficulty in walking up and down stairs
* Poor at dressing
* Slow and hesitant in most actions
* Appears not to be able to learn anything instinctively but must be taught skills
* Falls over frequently
(From http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/info/pr_questions.php )
-- --
Shalom! Rowland Croucher
'It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so' (Mark Twain)
Amelia is three this week (August 8th) - probably the first birthday celebrations she'll remember. We've been as a family to FoodStar (smorgasbord) where they brought out a cake for her with a sparkler on it - and the whole restaurant heard the 'Happy Birthday' music. She was given a dolls' house by us, her grandparents, and a 'jump-a-lene' by her Mum and Dad (and did those little girls enjoy jumping in it: Millie's a natural dancer). On Saturday there's a big party with her little friends.
She comes out with very interesting phrases and questions: 'Is that a baby in your tummy grandma?' (Jan's not too impressed :-) and this morning 'That's not your fault, that's my fault!'
She's almost perfectly toilet-trained now (great relief for all of us!) and is quite 'colourful' (literally) when she describers her 'poos'! Her favorite food - ice cream and sprinkles (but only after she's eaten her vegetables).
Millie is a great organizer - of things and people. And makes comparisons all the time ('Grandma, grandpa, dad, mum... you don't have dummies, but Millie has a dummy!' This response to our saying she's a big girl now and big people don't have dummies!)
BELLA has the most beautiful smile, and mainly gets cranky when she's thirsty. She's getting very cheeky, and assertive. Sometimes she deliberately 'baits' Millie and tries to take Millie's toys off her, knowing there'll be a ruckus!
Bella is being taken by her mum to a speech pathologist, as she has few sounds other than 'dadda' and a few others. But the report said 'There's a wide variation at this age in toddlers' speech and language development.' We're saying all sorts of words regularly to her: she now knows 'light' and 'kiss' and 'nose'.
She's also not walking, though she loves pulling herself onto her feet, stands for a moment or two, then lands forward on her knees. Does that many times throughout the day... I think she'll surprise us soon.
It's my (grandpa's) job if I'm around in the morning to go downstairs and bring the babies upstairs - a beautiful experience. They are very good girls - and were perfect when I had to mind them for two hours yesterday morning while their mum was sleeping and grandma was out at a Prison Network Ministries meeting.
We thank God for them every day and often through the day!
Rowland Croucher
Last night we had a party to celebrate Grandma's 69th birthday. Millie's job was to poke 69 thin sparkler candles into the icing on the cake. She loved doing that. And of course she had to help blow out the candles.
Millie's favourite food is ice-cream with 'sprinkles' on it (we used to call them 'hundreds and thousands' or non-pareils).
Yesterday she had a conquest over some fear. In one of the Wiggles DVDs Captain Feathersword has an accident of some sort (I haven't seen it) and his face is all blackened. Millie didn't like that, but Grandma helped her to anticipate this scene and laugh... later she was drawing with her crayons. 'What's that, Millie' (asked Grandma pointing to a black smudge)? 'That's Captain Feathersword' she replied.
Millie doesn't like shouting preachers. After last Sunday night's service she said to her mum: 'He can stay up the front!'
Bella is not well today. She kept her mum up until 3 am, then her dad had to sleep on the floor near her. Millie was sick for a couple of days earlier too ('I'm not well grandpa!'). Bella has a new tooth: celebrations!
When Millie is embarrassed or fearful she runs to her upstairs bedroom and puts a dummy in her mouth. It happens when we ask her why Bella is suddenly crying, when she drops and breaks something etc.
One of her latest habits is to transfer all the toys within eyesight to one spot, 'for breakfast'. I came into the room recently when she was doing this and asked for a hug. 'No,' she said, 'I'm very busy!'
Last night her Aunt Lindy ('Diddy') slept overnight here, and when we told Millie that Diddy was sleeping in her upstairs bed, she was very thoughtful and silent. Sharing her special things is still a challenge for her! The night before 'Diddy' visited us and Millie asked for her to come and say 'Good-night' before she could settle down to sleep.
Millie is now talking freely on the phone: her vocabulary and speaking skills are amazing. (But Bella is a slow developer in this area... Millie had lots of words at this stage, but Bella still has none, only an occasional 'Da-da-da...').
But Bella has a beautiful little personality. She cuddles into us, especially when she's tired or unwell. Millie's often 'too busy' for long cuddles!
Shalom!
Rowland Croucher
In this morning's devotions from The Message I read 'Let these children alone. Don't get between them and me. These children are the kingdom's pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in.'
Millie is getting more and more independent, and more and more interesting. She now strings whole sentences together nicely...
When she is missed from downstairs she has probably made her way upstairs to us, as she can now open all the doors (except the two child-proof ones...)
She knows rectangle, triangle, square, numbers 1-10...
The other day she wanted to dance so she put her own dancing shoes on the correct feet and velcroed them up!
The other day she came running up the stairs: 'Grandma, Grandpa, come and look!' We had to follow her to her playroom downstairs, and there was a new chest of drawers her mum had bought her. Millie loves sorting things out, and now she can put things in their place!
Yesterday Jan suggested a banana for breakfast. 'No, I need something perfect!' she said. 'How about a mandarin?' 'Yes', she replied.
She prays every night and thanks Jesus for lots of things, and alternates with her mum or occasionally grandma... She: 'Thank you Jesus for butterflies.' Jan: 'Thank you Jesus for mummy and daddy.' Millie: 'My turn! Thank you Jesus for pigs!' (She includes lots of interesting items - including colours - in her thank-yous! She prays every night for an Iranian mother and daughter in their playgroup - Sonya and Marta, even though they left a month ago.)
The other day Grandma picked her up to take her back downstairs, and she announced: 'I might stay upstairs!' (Who's in charge here?)
Bella is very placid and beautiful. Today I took her for a walk 'n talk and she drank in the love! She's now standing up and walking along couches and railings, and stands up on her own for a few seconds. She's very proud of her little self!
Shalom! Rowland
This past week Millie has been so proud of herself: done a couple of #1's and #2's in her potty, for which she is given a special reward - a yellow frog. But she's very private about it: no one's allowed in the bathroom when she's operating!
Bella is harder to get to sleep than Millie, and creates quite a fuss at night. So Millie has been sleeping in her 'Pooh Bear' room upstairs (she's asleep right now down the hallway), and her Dad comes up for her later in the evening.
In the morning's Millie's usually awake by about 7.30, but Bella can sleep until 9.30 if she's had a disturbed night.
They're both well at the moment. Yesterday Jan and I went for a walk with Bella - one of the few times she has us both to herself (Millie was away swimming with her aunty Judy - which and whom she loves!) Bella was very quiet for the first leg of the walk, sitting in her stroller and looking at everything - other walkers, people on bikes, our dog - but on the way home she chortled and chuckled quite a bit. We stopped to feed the two ducks her Dad once released into the creek, and she enjoyed that.
P.S. I've started a new series on Jesus: the first ten articles (of ultimately 100 or more) are in a special section of the John Mark Ministries website.
Shalom!
Rowland
Bella is getting more 'personality' every week. She claps her hands when she greets us (or her mum takes her away), waves to us, shakes her head in fun, and loves sitting on someone's knee for a story-book.
The other day Jan (Grandma) was reading Millie a story, and Bella crawled over to her feet and cried! She wanted to be in it too!
She is now squarking (how do you spell that?) when Millie is too 'physical' with her, or takes her toy. Millie is still sometimes exerting her 'big sister'/'I was here before you' attitude - even to putting the magnetic numbers higher up on the fridge door so Bella can't reach them!
Sometimes we've caught her kicking Bella. Where did she learn that? Probably from some adult with his hands full giving the dog a lesson in obedience. We have to be careful, don't we?
The big 'developmental' phase for Millie now is potty training. It's a challenge not to make too much of it, but also not too little!
Two gorgeous girls!
Shalom!
Rowland
Bella was born on St Valentine's day, and last week she had a couple of parties with each lot of in-laws. She got a nice fluffy dog from us (and Millie got a smaller one!).
The Health Nurse says Bella is in the 50th percentile for length, 90th for head size, 15th for weight (though she looks quite nicely chubby to us).
Bella can now wave good-bye with one arm, and claps her hands. She can sit up from a crawling position. She turns over the page of the book we're reading when we tell her. She has very definite food tastes, and is almost impossible to feed if she doesn't like something (especially weetbix and some vegetables. So we have to mix small pieces of 'vegies' in her yoghurt, which she loves!)
Bella's a very light sleeper, and very alert. We have to creep around when she's having her bottle, 'cos she sits up and wants to watch anything moving. Millie's a sound sleeper: so you can guess the logistics of getting them both to settle down (in the same room) each night!
Most Thursdays Millie goes swimming with her aunty Judy, and loves it. Today she came home tired and threw a tantrum when her mum tried to feed her something before her afternoon sleep. When she woke I was there to greet her, and we had about ten minutes talking together with her on my knee (a long time for Millie) - it was wonderful!
Shalom!
Rowland
This morning Millie sorted out all her wooden jigsaw puzzles, and put them in a line on the floor. 'That's wonderful Millie' Grandma said. 'You happy with me Grandma?' 'Very happy when you tidy things Millie.'
A little later Millie didn't want to eat her porridge so she slammed the (plastic) plate on to the kitchen bench, and a bit splashed around... 'Oh Millie! Grandma said. Millie was still and quiet for a full minute, then said, 'You happy with me again grandma?'
Bella is crawling everywhere, and is a delightful, happy, contented child. She cuddles into our shoulder when we pick her up. Millie will do that if we ask her, but she's not a 'hugger'...
Last night we took them out to the 'piggery' (our humorous name for the food court at the local shopping mall) and Bella and Millie played a game of shaking their heads sideways at each other, much to the amusement of passers-by...
I love Millie's faraway look as I ask her about her holidays, or anything else where she uses her imagination. She's putting perfect sentences together now ('There's a crimson rosella Grandpa').
I took Bella around our housing precinct for a walk the other day, as I've done many times with Millie. I talk to her softly, pray with her and sing to her. When we arrived home and I handed her over to her Mum, she clung to me (first time that's happened: Bella is happy to go to anyone). I was - what's the word? -'chuffed'! Bella's now doing 'high fives'.
Millie now stands her ground sometimes when told to do something she doesn't want to do. Her Dad brought her up the other evening to get one of our high chairs (they had visitors with a small child), and said, 'OK Millie, we've got to go back downstairs now.' Millie stood her ground. I'd been playing a game of Nintendo Ms Pacman and had paused it (it's my half-hour of unwinding some days) and that game intrigues Millie, and she wanted to watch. She didn't rebel as such: just stood there. We encouraged her to go with her Dad, and after about a full minute she did. (PS. Got a score of 329,000 that night - a record).
As you can perceive, these two little ones are a great delight to us!
Shalom!
Rowland Croucher
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