Cape Town Day 5: lazy day
Dec. 9th, 2012 08:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aryanhwyOr morning, at least.
I'm really glad that I only made plans for the afternoon, because we've been all go go go and especially after the event and braai last night, not to mention not being able to roll over and beg Joel to get up with Gwen occasional mornings, I'm getting pretty exhausted. Of course, Gwen woke up at 6:20am (earlier in the trip she'd been doing 7:00-7:30 regularly!), but luckily let me lie in bed moaning about how tired I was for 20 minutes while she played in the bedroom, before I had to get up and feed her.
We spent a quiet morning at home, and it continues to be so much fun to watch her explore and discover all the fun things in this house. This morning I got a sign that we're soon in for lots more trouble: in the span of less than 10 minutes, she (a) figured out how to climb onto the little plastic kiddie chair, (b) pushed it across the room to where a tall light-fixture stood, (c) climbed up on the chair, and (d) grabbed for the top of the lamp. Clever, clever girl. You could just see the synapses firing and the neurons connecting as she pieced it all together.
I'd hoped to get a good nap out of her, and even though it was a bit of a struggle (the curtains in our room only block out some light, so she doesn't have her usual trigger of darkness = sleep, which has made naps at the house here difficult), she played in her crib for awhile and eventually drifted off early enough to get a 2+ hour nap in before Ameline and her mother-in-law, Mary, came to pick us up. I also got an hour's nap on the couch. Bliss. The four of us then went to one of the weekend craft markets, so I could do some Christmas shopping! We had lunch there; Gwen got a pancake blackcurrant jam:
Someone commented as Gwen ate it that she thought I'd cut it up before giving it to her, but my response was along the lines of "That's way too much work!". I don't keep a knife and fork on hand to do that. Besides, Gwen's got to learn how to do this someday, why not start practicing now?
Gwen sported her new pacifier:
which cause lots and lots of people to comment on it, to us and to each other. It's rather strange how having a baby turns you into public property, in a sense, especially when it is a cutely or unusually dressed baby. Also in the above picture, you can see Gwen's new buddy. There was a stand selling these handmade dolls, and I realized that I've been buying presents for nieces, nephews, cousins, babies of friends, etc., but nothing for Gwen, and I figured she needed a good keepsake from our trip. I showed her one, and she sort of looked at it, then I showed her this one, and she reached out her arms for it, and gave it this big hug when I gave it to her, so I knew I had the right one. :)
Afterwards we went to the Rhodes Memorial which has a little cafe behind it, where we had tea and scones. There was also a playground where Gwen got to play. But nearly as much fun as the playground, if not more, were the stairs coming down the memorial:
So much fun.
Unfortunately, the rest of the afternoon, once we got home, wasn't quite so nice. She had a screaming meltdown (only the 2nd or 3rd time this has ever happened) which, as they do, seemed to last interminably, before she finally chilled down enough for me to take her out of bed. We sat outside for a bit and had some juice, and she calmed down enough for me to keep her awake long enough to have dinner, a bath, and then go to bed around 6:45. This time she went to bed MUCH easier, and this also means that now it's only 8:30 and I can go to bed myself soon! Just need to scrounge a few more leftover mushroom pasties. :)
I'm really glad that I only made plans for the afternoon, because we've been all go go go and especially after the event and braai last night, not to mention not being able to roll over and beg Joel to get up with Gwen occasional mornings, I'm getting pretty exhausted. Of course, Gwen woke up at 6:20am (earlier in the trip she'd been doing 7:00-7:30 regularly!), but luckily let me lie in bed moaning about how tired I was for 20 minutes while she played in the bedroom, before I had to get up and feed her.
We spent a quiet morning at home, and it continues to be so much fun to watch her explore and discover all the fun things in this house. This morning I got a sign that we're soon in for lots more trouble: in the span of less than 10 minutes, she (a) figured out how to climb onto the little plastic kiddie chair, (b) pushed it across the room to where a tall light-fixture stood, (c) climbed up on the chair, and (d) grabbed for the top of the lamp. Clever, clever girl. You could just see the synapses firing and the neurons connecting as she pieced it all together.
I'd hoped to get a good nap out of her, and even though it was a bit of a struggle (the curtains in our room only block out some light, so she doesn't have her usual trigger of darkness = sleep, which has made naps at the house here difficult), she played in her crib for awhile and eventually drifted off early enough to get a 2+ hour nap in before Ameline and her mother-in-law, Mary, came to pick us up. I also got an hour's nap on the couch. Bliss. The four of us then went to one of the weekend craft markets, so I could do some Christmas shopping! We had lunch there; Gwen got a pancake blackcurrant jam:
Someone commented as Gwen ate it that she thought I'd cut it up before giving it to her, but my response was along the lines of "That's way too much work!". I don't keep a knife and fork on hand to do that. Besides, Gwen's got to learn how to do this someday, why not start practicing now?
Gwen sported her new pacifier:
which cause lots and lots of people to comment on it, to us and to each other. It's rather strange how having a baby turns you into public property, in a sense, especially when it is a cutely or unusually dressed baby. Also in the above picture, you can see Gwen's new buddy. There was a stand selling these handmade dolls, and I realized that I've been buying presents for nieces, nephews, cousins, babies of friends, etc., but nothing for Gwen, and I figured she needed a good keepsake from our trip. I showed her one, and she sort of looked at it, then I showed her this one, and she reached out her arms for it, and gave it this big hug when I gave it to her, so I knew I had the right one. :)
Afterwards we went to the Rhodes Memorial which has a little cafe behind it, where we had tea and scones. There was also a playground where Gwen got to play. But nearly as much fun as the playground, if not more, were the stairs coming down the memorial:
So much fun.
Unfortunately, the rest of the afternoon, once we got home, wasn't quite so nice. She had a screaming meltdown (only the 2nd or 3rd time this has ever happened) which, as they do, seemed to last interminably, before she finally chilled down enough for me to take her out of bed. We sat outside for a bit and had some juice, and she calmed down enough for me to keep her awake long enough to have dinner, a bath, and then go to bed around 6:45. This time she went to bed MUCH easier, and this also means that now it's only 8:30 and I can go to bed myself soon! Just need to scrounge a few more leftover mushroom pasties. :)
no subject
Date: 2012-12-11 10:08 am (UTC)Ha Ha Ha! That statement was totally you...
It is amazing to see how the infant figures out things we take for granted...
Great pics!