Daycare Update

After a rocky start Ethan loves his daycare now! He still gets a bit teary when we drop him off in the mornings, but his carers tell me he is easily distracted by balls, music and trucks!

A week or so ago we had a daycare parents meeting where we were able to see our children's portfolios. I took a few photos of Ethan's portfolio on my phone (so sorry about the lack of quality in these pictures).

The carers document the activities at daycare so that us parents get to see what our children are up to! I am really appreciative of this as it means we are still connected. They outline the key aspects of  learning and also note any areas of extension!

Here Ethan is doing some painting and adding glitter to the paint! Check out the concentration! If you click on the pictures you will be able to see them bigger and read what the carers say about each activity.

 This page in Ethan's portfolio talks about Ethan learning to use a money box and how proud he was of himself for working it out!

 Ethan's portfolio of work had some of his paintings in it!

 

As well as the portfolio of work, each day the carers compiles an A3 sheet of the daily activities. This is not as detailed as the portfolios. Its more of a snapshot of the day! Sorry for the quality of these photos but here are two recent shots of Ethan! 

 

I really  appreciate being able to see this information and it makes going to work that little bit easier!

A winter's weekend in Perth

The weekend just been was a perfect example of why we like to live in Perth. The winter weather is totally bearable (the last fortnight has been sunny with temperatures ranging from 16 - 24 degrees) and it is a great place to have a young family (albeit far to far away from extended family at times!).

Saturday was all about getting a few jobs done round the house. This also involved a quick trip to IKEA for some supplies (another good reason to live in Perth). On the way home from IKEA we stopped at one of the many local parks for Ethan to have a good play and get rid of some of his never ending supply of energy!

Sunday started with a running race for me (yip, I am back doing running races - I'm not fit or fast but a weekly running race sure is helping).

Then after Ethan's morning sleep a quick walk to our closest neighborhood playground (we have around 5 in easy walking distance). He loves the playground! He can climb to his hearts content!

 

 After lunch we headed off to the river so Jason could do some canoe polo practice. Ethan and I dug in the sand, stalked sea gulls, watched Jason practice, talked to a friendly dog called Dice and generally had a fun time!

 Jason showing Ethan the kayaking ropes! Got to get them started early!

Even though it was cooler than the week before, Perth still put on a lovely winter's day for Jason's canoe polo training!

I love being able to spend as much time outdoors as we did this weekend just been! Here's to more winter weekends like this one!

Who is he like?

Whenever we see people that I am closer to they always say "Ethan is SOOOOO much like you" and likewise for Jason! I can see bits of each of us in him! So I thought it would be interesting to delve into this a little more.

Ethan is around 13 months old now and we are starting to see personality, behavioral and physical traits that we can attribute to either me or Jason (and some that we have no idea where they come from).

I have tried to get some baby comparison pictures, I have no idea how old Jason and I are in the pictures here:

And here are some recent photos of all three of us. I'll leave it to you to decide who he looks like more!

Here are a few things about our little guy and my opinion as to who Ethan takes after.

• Tall (neither)
• Long arms and big hands (Jason)
• Curly hair on the sides (Jason) and straight/fine on top (me)
• Brown eyes (me)
• Looks quite serious when not smiling (me) - see below 

•  Stubborn (me)
• Knows what he wants and makes sure he gets it (me)
• Cheeky (??)
• Fearless (Jason)
• Nimble/great climber (Jason)
• Likes broccoli and cheese (definitely me)
• Not fussed on meat (neither)
• Good at kicking (while swimming) (both)
• Doesn't like to eat in the mornings (Jason)
• Night owl (Jason)
• Prefers to sleep a little later in the mornings (Jason)
• Gets grumpy when tired or hungry (me)
• LOVES cars, and especially notices any car with a V8 (definitely Jason)
• Likes helicopter and planes (?)
• Like motorbikes (Jason)
• Likes to make a mess (me - haha)
• Likes to put the washing on (neither - haha)
• Loves to explore (both)
• Gets bored easily (Jason)
• Loves tools (Jason)
• LOVES to dance (definitely neither, although we enjoy it a whole lot more these days as it makes our dear wee boy happy)
• Likes computers (especially keyboards and mouses) (Jason)
• Good farter - haha (Jason)

So there's a lighthearted look at Ethan's current traits. No doubt you will have all noticed other things!