In the sunshine

Did you know I was teaching Kien Tai Chi?

Kien has just started noticing that his hands can get dirty. It never used to register or bother him. But now when he falls over or puts his hands into something that sticks to them - like mud, gravel, bark or dirt, he examines his hands, then come over to show me, then shakes them and "complains" to me via a string of annoyed sounding jibber-jabber. He doesn't actually need me to wipe his hands off thoroughly - just enough to show him my acknowledgement of his hands' dirtiness.

Kien looking at what's stuck on his hands after toppling into the wet mulch.

Cornwall park is so beautiful any time of the year, and on Saturday morning was no exception. We were lucky to have a break from the dreary rain that graced us during the week.

I am often surprised when I observe Kien walking so confidently, because it wasn't so long ago that he developed this ability (actually only 3 months ago when he started walking unaided). Now he runs, walks backwards as well as on tip-toes, up small stairs, and (in the last week or so) down stairs.

The guttering was more to his liking than the path.

We had a brief picnic of honey sandwiches - Kien however only wanted to feed and chase the pigeons rather than actually eat his.

Sunday turned out even more radiant weather, so it was inevitable that we would end up at a playground or beach - hey, how about both? Kohimarama was where it was all happening and most of Auckland parents were thinking along the same lines and were out enjoying the sunshine too.

Jef and I made shadows on the padded ground.

I think the council did/does an excellent job with re-sanding and maintaining the beaches along the waterfront. If Kien could talk he would say so too.

I love Rangitoto and the yachts in the background.

Kien is such a great climber, and is fearless [it seems]. He will always make an attempt at climbing whatever objects he fancies.

I enjoy watching Kien fixate on the seagulls as they swooped and frolicked, scavenging whatever is available.

We came home and did some carpark art.

I'm liking the sidewalk chalk - it just adds such vibrancy to our parking space. I hope the neighbours feel the same way, because the canvas is slowly expanding beyond the borders.

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Playgroup is awesome! It's our third week in a row for attendance, and the majority of my coffee group pals also meet up there. Despite the craziness of having so many kids and parent(s) there it is actually quite relaxing. The place really is an oasis of joy.

There is just so much for the children to do - and all kids love the sandpit, as evidenced by it's popularity here.

Kien was patient; he ventured around the grounds for a while.

And when he returned the sandpit was empty, and he was able to play to his heart's content.

Then there's the tunnel slide - oh boy does Kien love tunnel slides! He went up, and down, and up, and down etc etc.

The one thing he spent the majority of his time on though was this padded thing with the hole in the middle:

...with his 2 new found best buddies - they are 3 years old.

After fighting it out with them for his spot on the padded thing they all eventually started playing very nicely together. Lots of joviality indeed!

We visited my aunt in the afternoon. He was such a character at her place; playing hide-and-seek running around the rooms and us saying "where are you?", and when he sees us he runs away laughing.

He saw there were wooden ducks inside the barrel, and pointed them out to us.

And after he walked the fluffy stuffed dog around by it's ear he climbed on top and bounced on it's back.

My aunt had cooked some yummy meatballs with water chessnuts and fresh tomatoes, and she fed that to him with some baguette and rice noodles. He ate quite a bit at her place, and then when we got home he wanted more dinner, so he had a second helping! He had a good eating day today too, which always pleases me immensely.

Back to work tomorrow, OY. Here's hoping Kien sleeps through tonight (yeah, right - like that's ever going to happen!).