Cinderella and Andy

We just had national book week in Australia. Most schools celebrate by having a dress-up day when kids can go to school dressed as their favourite book character. At Nicholas and Catherine’s school, this also involved a parade in the hall and the school staff dressed as something from this year’s chosen theme which was Roald Dahl.

Catherine chose to be Cinderella, which was the only princess outfit we had on hand. Everyone mistook her for Elsa because of the blue dress. Nicholas chose to be Andy from the 13-Storey Treehouse but everyone thought he was Andy from Toy Story. Apparently Catherine struck a pose and did a curtsey at the parade. These two are growing up so fast. I still remember Nicholas dressed as the Gruffalo for his first book week at preschool.

We’ve been struggling a bit since we came back from our winter escape. Catherine got sick with asthma and was hospitalised a couple of days, followed by an ear infection. Then I got an ear infection causing vertigo which left me immobile for 5 days. Phil and Nicholas were next with a migraine and some sort of virus respectively. Now I’m back to being unwell, trying to shake off a cough.

We’re not doing too bad though. Life is still going on, managing work, school, choir, swimming, yoga, dance, physio, speech and occupational therapy appointments and family and social time. The kids seem to be coping with everything that’s happening. Catherine’s social life has been busy attending friends’ birthday parties. She’s also started a dance class this term which she seems to be enjoying. Nicholas recently had his year 3 assembly in which he was a dragon and received a merit award. The national testing results also came in last week and he did better than average. He also moved up another level in swimming. It’s very cool watching him do the butterfly stroke and swim across the pool like a dolphin.

It’s nice to report that our little people are still the best of friends. The other day at school, Nicholas used his golden ticket (for good behaviour) to sit with Catherine at the assembly. They often look after each other by making sure the other doesn’t miss out. Although, there are some times Nicholas needs a break from Catherine whereas she would happily do or copy whatever her big brother is doing. This is usually when their big fights occur and their noise escalates.

When screen time doesn't usually consume them, they create different worlds throughout the house and I'm pleasantly surprised. One day they're throwing a fete in the courtyard, the next day camping out, putting on a show or having a dance party in the living room and on another day they've gone fishing and made a camp fire to cook their catch in the play room. It's most entertaining what they come up with.

Other recent developments with Nicholas have involved discussions of time before and after life on earth and “How did Catherine and I get here?” We’ve been expecting these questions but they’ve still caught us off guard. I got a little embarrassed so I left it up to Phil to do the explaining. It’s interesting territory getting insight into Nicholas’ thoughts. When I was interacting with a baby at the supermarket the other day, I remember thinking, wow, it’s amazing how our two were just like this little baby and now they’re these older and bigger beings with their own unique thoughts and personalities.

From Aug2015