12 June - Kindergym

What a crappy day.

Leah felt sick,  Grace is recovering from an ear infection, and it has pizzled with rain all day.

But I did manage to take Grace to Kindergym which today,  she loved.

11 June - Doctors, Snakes, Water & Webbers

A very strange visit to the Dr today for Grace a she has a sore ear.

The Dr was booked out, so we saw a nurse first, and then she 'found' a Dr to see us. Was so much better than just a normal Dr visit to do it that way.

While we waited in the nurses station,  Grace kissed and cuddled a huge toy snake that she just loved.

She also had a bizarre conversation with Mark Webber's Dad about how lucky he was to have a son that raced a fast car and wore a yellow hat!

Then at the chemist she decided she was a big girl and needed a drink from a cup.  Where she proceeded to Walk around like a proud teenager with her first alcoholic drink,  stating how much she loved her big drink.

10 June - Cold Rocks... NOT

Today the most we managed to achieve was a late afternoon trip to Cold Rock as Leah wanted a decent to thickshake.

Unfortunately, it was so completely not decent, it was definitely not worthy of wasting my phone camera.

So no photo.

9 June - New Dancing Dress

Today while shopping for ski gear at Aldi,we found a pink dress that Grace fell in love with.

She had to wear it through the store, took it off to scan and pay for it, and then back on over the top of her clothes!

When we got home, we discovered why she needed it.... Its her new Dancing Dress.
She literally could not stand normally in it, and spent nearly an hour dancing constantly in the lounge!

8 June - NO photo

Grace was adamant today that I did NOT take her photo while she was on the swing.
I won, but it took a few attempts!

7 June - Nice Photo

Clearly not my own photo, but I just loved this shot from the Isle of Mann TT.

Amazed how close to the racing the spectators get.

6 June - Graces Games

I gave Grace my phone for maybe 20 minutes today, with an app that she remembered she liked a while ago installed again for her.

Imagine my surprise when I looked at the gallery and found over 70 photos from the games where Grace has been 'playing'.

5 June - Fun(ny) At the Park

This afternoon Grace and I went to the park for a quick play, where she decided she must roll around and dirty in a 'muddy puddle',  and then tickle her reflection in the car.

But without a doubt, the highlight of the park was the guy who got his head stuck in the garbage bin for around 20 minutes, before he finally escaped somehow!

4 June - Monster Art

Grace's drawing skills are improving rapidly, she now carefully adds eyes, ears hair etc to faces.

But today she took it an extra level by drawing an entire 'monster' without any help at all.

Oh, and we also got a prize in the mail for her colouring skills from the pancake parlour competition too.

3 June - Snow Boots

We bought Grace some snow boots on the weekend, in anticipation of a weekend at Thredbo this winter.

So today, when she and Leah headed to the zoo, Grace grabbed the box and asked to wear them.

This was her idea of posing for me to take a photo of how huge they looked on her little legs!

2 June - Big Girls Bed

We set up Graces toddler bed in her bedroom today, to remove the cot and get her into her (as she calls it) 'Big Girls Bed'.

A few days ago we let her choose her own bedding for it, which is why she has a blue Dinosaur quilt set!

But it worked, she is so happy in it, and we have been able to get her out of some old habits such as having her toys in her bed,  using a sleeping bag,  and her green blanky.

Fingers crossed it continues,  but so far it's looking like a successful bedding move.

1 June - Dancing up a storm

Dance class again today. I'm really turning into a 'dance dad', its actually a little scary!
Then after dance, we had lunch with the Merrys and some shopping in Civic.

Finally I went and did the grocery shopping and scored myself a free tin to keep the spaghetti in. I did have to buy an extra jar of sauce to get it, that we really didn't need, but hey, I couldn't leave a free tin at the shop!

31 May - Tunnel park photos

Today Grace asked for a play at the 'tunnel park' which is actually Hungry Jacks.

So we had lunch there and then a play where Grace decided we must take some photos while inside the slide.

Grace and self portraits always amuse me!
She is so like me when she gets hold of a camera.

29 & 30 May - Lollipops again

Grace loves lollipops play centre,  I think mainly for the teacup ride.

But after a frustrating day at work on the  29th, I decided to take the following day off work and take Grace out for some fun!

Last minute arrangements saw us also meet Jacky, Kahu, Claire, and Hugh.

Another fun day there, and it's so much easier now the kids are older and happy to climb up and play by themselves.

28 May - Clean Pantry

So I actually cleaned the Pantry on Sunday, much to Leahs relief, as she has been complaining about how disorganised and untidy it has been for months now (since I least cleaned it out I think!).

27 May - Dancing at the Park

This afternoon, I took Grace for a play at the vaguely, loosely and ridiculously nicknamed 'Police Station Park', which is barely even near the Police Station.

We took some time to make it to the play area though, as all Grace wanted to do was get up on the stage and dance.

I did teach her a 'meerkat' dance though, which is pretty amusing to see!

26 May - Zoo

An early morning, foggy and cold trip to the Zoo this morning, but the cold weather did mean some of the animals that I havent often seen were out and about today.

I think this is the first time I have ever seen the Red Panda moving!

25 May - Dance Day

Week three of Graces dancing class this morning, and then a performance at the Plaza in the afternoon.

Grace is really loving the whole dance thing, and seems to be learning pretty well.

Im not sure she even realised there was anyone watching her on stage at the Plaza for her performance either!

24 May - Dinosaur Train modelled by a Dinosaur

This afternoon Grace and I went to the shops, where we found a Dinosaur Train onesie, that Grace fell in love with.

When we got home, she put it on, and modelled it for me.

Which required her to be a Dinosaur apparently.

23 May - That Fish Tag again

Again, catching up on blog entries means searching my phones gallery for photos taken on the right day.

I know I blogged this tag already, but this photo was on my phone today, as I took a photo to send to the Japanese research institute that it belongs to.

22 May - Bloody iPad apps

I swear we need to keep Grace away from anyone elses iPads.

All she does after seeing one, is realise that they have apps that she doesnt have (that just must be way better than the ones she DOES have!) , and then she wants them.
It must be an age thing though, as Maddie seems to want the same games that Grace has on her iPad as well.

Hence the reason I had a photo on my phone of the app icon for a game on Graces iPad, that was urgently required in the Merrys household! Which of couse Grace only has on her iPad because she saw it on Abby's iPad last time we were in Hobart!!!

21 May - Anatomically Correct

Today Grace and I did some drawing on her huge animal mat with erasable markers (that I discovered do NOT erase all that easily).

I was impressed that Grace was being so precise, and making sure that the animals were anatomically correct, as she complained that the bird needed wings, and the shark needed sharp teeth!

19-20 May - Nothing Much

So I have scanned my phone photo gallery, and completely racked my brain to work out what I did on these two days, and to find something to post on here. But alas, I have come up with a complete blank every time.

So that means, another blog entry (and this time a double day one) with no photo.

Sorry to anyone who reads this, though I doubt that:

a) anyone DOES read this; and
b) if anyone does, they really care about a missing photo.

18 May - Dancing Class Number Two

Today was the second week of dancing classes for Grace, and boy does she love them!

She its totally in love with her instructor, Casey, and has talked about her all week.

I was glad to see Grace still did well and followed along, despite the distractions of the (many) kids that didn't listen and just ran wild.

I do wonder if Casey thought being in charge of a roomful of wild toddlers was where all the years of hard work and dance training would get her!

17 May - Mawsons Mirrors

Late this afternoon we went to the Mawson club for a hot chocolate, while Grace had a play there.

It was extremely quiet, and she didn't really  find anyone else to play with, so she had to make do with posing in the mirrors instead!

16 May - Questacon

In the years we have lived in Canberra I have only been to Questacon a couple of times, despite us having a Family Annual Membership this year.

Normally Leah and Grace go when I am at work.

So today I decided, while Leah isn't well, to take Grace. Though if I'm honest, I did want to check it out myself.

I thought it was as every bit as good as I remembered, and Grace clearly loves it there.

I was planning on just a couple of hours there, but 4 hours later I finally had to convince Grace it was time to go home!

15 May - Riiiiiiiddde, the Dinosaur Train

Grace has started singing along to the Dinosaur Train theme song, and today I got a decent video of her.

Which means the photos for today are screenshots from the video.

14 May - The Play Centre

For a couple of days now, Grace has been wanting to go to the 'Play Centre with the tea cups' so this afternoon I took her.

I was pleased it was quiet, but pretty amazed when some people left and I realised that apart from staff, Grace and I were the ONLY people there.

It did mean we got some extra privileges, such as virtually unlimited rides on the Tea Cups...Thank God Grace is old enough to ride by herself now. I can't imagine how sick I would have felt after all those rides!

I'm wondering how Grace felt though, as when we went to the supermarket afterwards, all she wanted was a carrot.

To settle an upset belly perhaps?

13 May - Park Play

Another of yesterdays photos...

A quick play at a new park in the afternoon, and all Grace wanted to do was hang off the monkey bars...

12 May - Face Painting

Face Painting with a difference today...Grace decided she wanted to paint my face.

Nice use of color though! :)

Oh and as with any 'selfie' I take, I just couldn't help but pull a stupid face.

I'm starting to wonder if I'm not pulling faces at all, and that this is just what I really look like!!!

11 May - Dancing Class

Grace's first ever dancing class.

I really was impressed with how well she did. She listened, she followed the teacher, and smiled the whole time.

Grace really did love it, and so did I to see her so happy.

She loved the teacher, Casey, a little too much... so much that she has spent the day wanting to have her face painted to look like Casey!

And I have to admit to a little bit of "Proud Dad"  when Casey asked if Grace had danced before...

10 May - 3 Days!!!!

OK, so now I'm officially impressed.

Just over 3 days since my phone saw a charger.  That's 75 hours! Awesome. And its still not flat!!

9 May - 2 Days

Finally managed to make 2 days battery on my phone without a charge.

Very impressed, and still  it will go longer!

8 May - The New Airport

Half of the new Canberra Airport has been open for quite a while now.

But the other half is now open as well, with new Security, check in counters and luggage carousels.

Picking Leah and Grace up this afternoon it was very quiet when I arrived, which gave me the chance to take in how huge and open it is now.

And to admire the masses of glass.

7 May - Babies

Leah asked me to find Grace's little baby dolls and send a photo today.

I tried to be as artistic as possible!

6 May - Random Video

I've had my Samsung phone for some time now.

I've also been using this same firmware on it for some time.

So why is it that today I noticed a new video folder in the Gallery, that contained a video made by Samsung called 'Wonders of Nature'? At least, I THINK it's new? Maybe.

Samsung downloading stuff to my phone i reckon!

5 May - Mushrooms, the Great All-Rounder

Got home today, to discover a new plant variety in our front grass area.

We put down some topsoil/potting mix and grass seeds a couple of weeks ago, and I guess there was an extra surprise in there for us as well...

4 May - Wedding Day

Today was Wedding Day and Grace was pretty excited that she and Abby were wearing the same, and with the same hairstyles.

They were the ring bearers, and I cant believe I didn't think to get a photo of them during the ceremony!

The wedding was great for the kids, there was a balloon guy (who, as far as balloon guys go, was about as creepy and unusual as you would expect!), and coloring and music (which while not technically for the kids, was probably Graces favourite part!).

The balloon guy, I must admit, was pretty impressive. Grace asked for a Dinosaur, and he certainly built her a good one!

There was also a good park next door, though the Tassie weather wasn't exactly cooperating, so Grace only got a quick 10 minutes there.

3 May - Telstra FAIL

I hate mobile websites. Sometimes they can be really good, but usually they provide a small portion of the full website, so much so that 99% of the time, you need to try to visit the full site anyhow, and all you have achieved by using a mobile site is wasting 5 minutes.

Of course, with Tasmanian internet speeds, that's more like wasted 25 minutes!

Imagine my surprise when I tried to load the full version of the Telstra Mobile Phones/Plans site, to see this message!!!

Can anyone say.....Ironic!

2 May - Getting Grace to Sleep

Tasmania means lying on the bed each night for a while, as Grace goes to sleep, since she doesnt like us to leave her in the bedroom on her own.

It does give me a daily opportunity to check out Facebook and Twitter and see whats happening in the world.

Tonight, someone on Facebook posted this pic.

Ratrods seem to be the current 'fad' for old car enthusiasts, and while Im not usually a fan of Hotrods in general anyhow, covering them in rust and making them look really dodgy is an improvement.

Of course, a Ratrod Rotary is a whole different story! very very very very impressive!

 :)

1 May - Qantas Family Time

After many many visits to the Qantas Lounges around Australia with Leah and Grace, they finally decided to let us know this morning that there is a family area, with toys and computers and activities for kids!!

It did mean we couldnt get Grace to eat breakfast like we usually do at the lounge, but at least she was happy!

would have been nice to know when we came back from Melbourne at Easter and spent a couple of hours in the lounge!

30 April - Important Printing....

Well, I didnt print it, but this was a very important document that I needed for our trip to Hobart.

Quickest way to get it on my phone to take with me, of course was a photo.

It also happens to be the only photo I took today!

But due to the confidential nature of the document, I decorated it nicely :)

29 April - Rainbow Dashy part 2

Rainbow Dash got fully decorated today, including wrap around play doh socks and scarves!!!

28 April - Crossing Planes

Tonight Grace noticed the cross patterns in the sky from planes and I thought they looked pretty cool.

On a typically clear Canberra day, there were quite a few of them!

27 April - Rainbow Dashy

Tonight I got the bargain of the century when I found a Rainbow Dash My Little Pony at Woolies and it wasn't on their system.

Grace will surely love it since she is so mad keen on Unicorns and My Little Pony at the moment.

26 April - Swanning About

Grace and I went for a walk around Lake Jerrabomberra this afternoon to feed the ducks from the little jetty.

Unfortunately, there was a very eager Swan that ended up biting Grace on the finger while trying to steal some bread.

So we left, and went to the playground instead.

It always amazes me how much fun she has on a slide. If only life at nearly 40 was still so simple...

25 April - Papa Got a Brand New Bag

Well. Not quite... and certainly not purple.
But for some reason today while I was with Grace and looking at new luggage, she asked me to take a photo of the pink bag for her.

24 April - Milk..... in Milk? Really?

I was highly amused when I noticed the allergy warning on a carton of milk...

Who would have thought you would find THAT in there?

23 April - Android Awesome... again

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the awesome battery life on my android tablet.

Well, thanks to a new firmware, but more so, thanks to a great app I found that cancels background tasks for chosen apps to reduce the activity while the phone is idle, I now have awesome battery life on my phone as well.

God I love Android.

22 April - Walking the Dog

Tonight after work Grace and I took Baxter to the oval for a run.

The only problem was, Grace decided she must be a puppy as well, and kept stealing his Frisbee!!!

21 April - Not scared of Snakes

Today Grace and I went to the Canberra Reptile Zoo.

We were pretty lucky that we had a young staff member attach himself to us, so we basically got a guided tour, which meant Grace got to hold, touch and pat just about every animal there, including the turtles that the boy got out of the tank just for her.

When we walked into a room with a very large python on a tree branch, she was definitely not scared, and asked to get up to it.

As soon as I put her up near it, she wanted to see its head, and nearly hit the snakes body with her own head to find it!

After the Reptile Zoo we found a good little playground where Grace was fascinated by looking through the binoculars there.

20 April - Being a Tree

To get Grace to stand still while getting dressed I usually ask her to stand still like a statue.

But tonight she said she would be a tree, and this is what we got.

Grade 6 drama teachers around the country would be proud.