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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
Yesterday we came home from a couple of weeks away (at the most beautiful place in our home state Victoria - Mallacoota) to a wonderful welcome from the two little girls.
Bella can now move from a sitting to crawling position, and is quite mobile! She also has one tooth (upper gum, but neither of the front positions - don't know its name).
Millie gave us her squealing/running welcome-routine, and Bella had lots of smiles.
We'd phoned home from Mallacoota to talk to the two little ones. Bella was looking behind the phone to see where we were, and Millie did her jumping-for-joy jig, and actually talked in a small voice to us.
Two remembrances from the last couple of days before we left:
* Millie's grandma: 'Let's go downstairs now Millie!' to which Millie responded, but then instantly got engrossed with her building blocks. Twelve and a half minutes later (Jan timed it!) Millie said 'Wait for me!'
* The little girls on The Wiggles' Show started dancing and twirling their dresses. Millie: 'Where's my dress?'
Yesterday we joined the little family for lunch on the verandah, which was a beautiful experience.
Happy New Year everyone!
Rowland Croucher
Millie was told by her Mum and it was reinforced by Grandma that she couldn't have a lolly until she had eaten her lunch.
A little later they spotted her standing over there, with her back to the two authority-figures. When they investigated, Millie had opened the lolly-wrapper (lolly = 'candy' for North Americans!) and the sweet was in her mouth.
Needless to say she lost the sweet, and was scolded.
How did she know she was doing wrong? Classical Western/Catholic theology teaches that she was born with 'Original sin', the stain of which is removed by baptism. Recently the Roman Catholic Church has removed Limbo (the place where babies go who were not baptized, to prepare them for heaven) from its teaching/dogma - not before time.
I have a problem with the idea of Original Sin and its concomitant Limbo, because they're ideas not taught specifically in the Bible. They are derivative, inferential, from other observed realities. I have problems with 'theology by syllogism' (see, for example, this article for more...)
Bella and Millie have been unwell in the last week. Yesterday Bella 'sicked up' on my Sunday best as we were taking them both to church (their mum and dad were getting ready for family-Christmas-lunch). Sometimes Millie says 'I'm actually feeling sick grandpa!'
Have I said Bella is progressing at a different rate from that of Millie? She gets up on her hands and knees, but doesn't yet crawl. Yesterday I found her sitting up in her cot: first time she's done that from a lying position. She occasionally makes a 'Dad... dad... dad' sound, but not much more in terms of specific 'baby-words'... Sometimes we've wondered if she will eventually 'get there' developmentally. She also has no signs of teeth yet. But when she smiles with a very big grin, and flaps her arms and legs excitedly in her high-chair waiting for food, she's so adorable!
Shalom!
Rowland Croucher
This morning (Sunday December 4th) I wasn't preaching anywhere so I took Millie out for a couple of hours, attending a beautiful Advent service at the local Anglican Church (Christ Church Heathmont).
We sat at the back with some Sudanese children, and they made Millie very welcome. They helped her draw pictures, trace around her hand, and one of them, Alak, made up a colourful poster with this note: 'Dear Ron (the contraction of my name which I use in traditional cultures, or with folks for whom English is a second language) and Millie: It has been wonderful you coming to Heathmont. I hope you have a fantastic Christmas this year and every year. From Alak Nai'
Millie was intrigued with a Sudanese baby boy (Moses) a couple of rows away, and went and sat down next to him - then followed him around as he was passed from person to person!
During communion I took her forward, and the vicar (Rev. Janet Turpie-Johnstone) gave Millie a special blessing on her 
forehead and gently asked if it was OK for her to have a communion wafer. Of course it was - and because her parents attend a local Salvation Army church, this is probably the first time Millie has encountered communion.
In the children's talk and the sermon Janet spoke of desert-space and the importance of reflection (enriched no doubt by her part-aboriginal heritage...)
Next Sunday I'm also preaching on the theme of Advent, at South Yarra Community Baptist Church, and this morning was good preparation for that event.
When I'm out with Millie we can be sure to attract a lot of attention!
P.S. See our website for many articles about the situation in Sudan: these people have been through hell!
Shalom!
Rowland Croucher
Millie seemed tired at mid-morning and Grandma asked: 'Are you tired Millie? What time did you get up?'
'Ten past o'clock!' she responded!
Bella's still not crawling... but it won't be far off!
We have a beautiful little routine/litany when Millie comes up the back steps: 'I'm here Grandma/ Grandpa!' We respond 'Who is it?' 'It's Millie!' (later she'll add 'Stupid!')
One of the beautiful habits is Millie's dancing and squealing when she sees us. Occasionally she'll say 'I'm so excited!'
Yesterday she dropped the last plate (a soup bowl) of a set we bought in the 1970s, and which has been to Canada and back. Jan picked her up quickly so she wouldn't tread on the pieces (she wasn't wearing shoes) - which gave her a double fright, and she cried very loudly (though briefly when he mum comforted her). So today I went to a couple of Two Dollar Shops to buy some nice dishwasher-proof plastic bowls and plates... And also some Santa Claus stickers she can peel off and play with.
Yesterday she was dancing along with the Wiggles and some little girls on the DVD. She suddenly noticed the little girls were wearing skirts. She had jeans. 'Where's my skirt?' she asked...
Millie loves grapes. They're down to $5-something a kilo so I bought some for her yesterday...
Shalom!
Rowland Croucher
Every parent compares the physical/linguistic etc. development of their baby with others' - or the 'average!' A parent's second-worst nightmare (after serious illness) is about her child not being able to do stuff well, particularly in our Western competitive cultures - but also in traditional societies where healthy children will be needed to help the family survive.
We've been wondering about Bella. She has a beautiful, easy, happy temperament, but she's 'behind' Millie's physical and verbal development at this stage. She rarely makes 'DAD DAD DAD' sounds, and has only in the last week got up on her hands and knees.
But the local infant welfare sister says she's OK, so we all have been reassured!
Millie, meantime, is a bright little person who needs a lot of stimulation - playing, reading, running, jumping (onto and over our lounge chair). She loves outdoors, so Jan and I have to think of toys she can play with on the upstairs verandah. A sand-pit's no good (the sand goes through the flooring and clogs up the roof/drainage), nor are small toys she can push through the railings... Quite a challenge! Last night we bought her a ride-in little car, and we'll soon probably reassemble the 'cubby-house' for her.
Phew! We get exhausted keeping up with energy of two little people. Jan is very tired and looking forward to holidays and a rest. So is John, their dad, who has to mind the kids every weekend morning until Amanda wakes up.
But we have no regrets: they're a joy to live with!
Shalom!
Rowland
Millie loves playing with Rummycub numbers. She sorts them into colours, and other sequences, and puts them into little holders which come with that game. But the little holders have two ‘legs’ which we put in to keep them half-vertical, and when one of these came out and the little set-up collapsed, Millie got so angry that she swept everything off the table onto the floor all over the room!
Her grandma scolded her, and told her she would have to pick them all up.
A little later Millie asked ‘Are you sad grandma?’ Jan said, ‘Yes, and I'm also cross!’ Millie: ‘Are you bery cross grandma?’ ‘Yes I am very cross!’ Grandma had to turn away so that Millie would not see her smiling…
In a little while Millie picked them up, all by herself – quite a job for a little two-something year old!
This morning we were both cross again with Millie, who poked her finger into Bella’s face while grandma was reading them a story. It’s hard to share with your little sister-intruder… And later she threw a tantrum when her ‘high-rise’ pile of lego-blocks fell over!
Such is life!
But then, she and Lockie (our border-collie) and I went for a walk to the bush-trail nearby. She played 'peekaboo' behind the trees, and was quite intrigued by a couple of large fallen trees. 'Perhaps they're asleep Millie?' 'Shhhh!' she responded.
Shalom!
Rowland Croucher
Millie was in front of her mum, and talking (which she does a lot of the time, and does very well). She reached up with both hands, grasped her mother's chin, looked into her face and asked 'Are you listening?' (Now where did she learn that?)Bella was introduced to her other grandparents (the Southwells) today as the most relaxed baby in all our clan; Millie is the most dynamic personality of any of our two-year-olds!Bella extends her arms sideways and 'flaps' them when she's excited - together with kicking her legs. This happens especially when she wakes up and sees one of us, or is being fed!Millie loves hide'nseek: she hides her face, and counts to ten, while the other person runs and hides. Then she excitedly comes looking. Talking about excitement, yesterday I said to her parents (in Millie's hearing) 'I'll take the dog for a run around the block eh?' Millie immediately ran for her shoes and brought them to me and said 'Millie's excited!' I had no idea she knew the expression 'around the block' and of course she expected to come too - like she's done other times!Each time she comes up the stairs we call out 'Who is it?' 'It's Millie!' she cries out excitedly. She now regularly asks 'Upstairs?' to her mum and dad (we're chuffed that she loves coming to visit us!)I'm about to start another Blog on some of my reminiscences. Watch for it! (But for a reason which may or may not surface, I'm not putting my name on it).Shalom!Rowland Croucher
Millie went to a picnic on Melbourne Cup Day last week, and was scratched from gravel, and bitten by some bugs, and needed two bandaids to soothe her pain (and feelings). Next morning Jan was changing her nappy/diaper when she said 'I'm not happy Grandma!' Aren't little people beautifully honest?
For those of you who are Oz-ignorant, the Melbourne Cup is an annual horse-race which stops the whole nation: kind of equivalent to the English Darby/Epsom or whatever it is (I'm not knowledgeable about these things). When a horse-race appears on the news, Millie has to jump off our lap or wherever she is and 'ride' on her 'big bear' (which I bought for her at a Salvation Army Thrift Shop).
Millie's happy now, particularly with an extended verandah to play on.
But Bella isn't smiling so much: she has a cough and runny nose, and maybe some sinus (it's hay fever time in Melbourne). Bella, we're learning, hates a lot of noise, and gets cranky in crowds. Millie likes to go to sleep with music, and Bella doesn't: now there's a challenge for parents whose kids sleep in the same room! But they both love soft music when they're awake...
Millie can now count to 15, she can do a 15-piece jigsaw by herself, and stayed with a little friend and her mum alone the other early evening while her mum played netball. First time - and she didn't fret. (However, the next day when her mum was leaving her to go downstairs she put on a tantrum, and wanted to be with her... ).
Millie while playing near us will suddenly say 'Hello Grandma' or 'Hello Grandpa'. Just to be happy/nice! Isn't that cute?
I woke yesterday with a bad dream. I was in Leeds, England, and some homeless men abducted Millie. As I woke I was figuring out how I could quickly do a metamorphosis to become a homeless person to find her. I didn't go back to sleep after that!
Shalom!
Rowland.
P.S. Here's the wedding talk I gave at Bella's and Millie's mum's and dad's wedding 10 and a half years ago. I'm adapting it for a wedding I'm about to perform today.
We love having a little family downstairs (last night's walk to see the moon with two year old granddaughter Millie was a special part of the day...
Thich Nhat Hanh was with a friend who had a young family, and asked him how difficult family life was. Not giving a direct answer, the man noted that he used to divide his day into time spent with his son or daughter, time spent with his wife, and time for household tasks or work. Whatever was left over was 'his time'. But then he tried to think of the moments he spent with others as his time too, instead of wishing that he was doing something else. The surprising result, he discovered, was: 'I now have unlimited time for myself!'~~Millie rarely has tantrums with us (we nip 'em in the bud quickly), but sometimes when she wants more of her mother she sets up a squealing show! (Isn't it interesting that a two-year-old doesn't know any shame over such antics :-)!~~I came out late the other morning after sleeping-in, and Millie asked 'You awake grandpa?' Good question!~~ We've just complete an extension to our side verandah, with gates fitted. Millie and Bella will love it in the summer-time...~~We're trying to teach Millie not to scare the birds (rainbow lorikeets, doves, crimson rosellas etc.) which come and feed on our back verandah... I think it's working (but wait until summer-time at the beach: will we let her chase seagulls? Probably!)~~We're also trying to teach her not to empty the bag of toys all over the floor. She was scolded for this the other, ran to her room, put a dummy in her mouth, and flopped on to the bed. But she soon came out to help us clean it all up (though somewhat reluctantly).~~Bella's asleep ('Shhhhh' says Millie of anything that's gone to sleep - the moon, the cars in the garage, the birds in the trees last night...) Bella's her usual adorable, smiling, uncomplicated self...Shalom!Rowland.
Millie's becoming more affectionate lately. Her love-language is probably not 'touch', and up until now she stays on one's knee for a short while only, before wanting to resume her play. But now she runs up to me with her arms in the air for a cuddle.Sesame Street 
is helping her learn lots of numbers and letters: she goes to find the plastic version of each to play with while the show is on.And when people are dancing she copies them: she's a 'natural'!A new play area is being constructed at the side of our place - a nice sheltered balcony. A large tree from next door (our son's place) will come down soon to give that area more warmth and light. I took her to the church play-group today (her mum and dad are sick with a gastric bug, which Millie had a few days ago; and Jan has a cold). We had a lovely time. I learned that up to 3 or 4 most children engage in either 'solitary' or 'parallel' play in groups: that explains quite a bit... Bella is still her uncomplicated little self: lots of smiles and occasional giggles. When one of us goes in to pick her up she coyly turns her head to one side then the other. Very cute!She'll be crawling soon.P.S. If you stumbled across this Blog by accident, learn more about us at http://jmm.aaa.net.auShalom!Rowland Croucher
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...
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