Letters to my Grandchild

Hello my darling Em, I can't believe that you are now a school-girl. One minute you were a helpless babe in arms and now you are this grown up little miss! After a long search Mom found you a lovely school and you have learned to put your hand up when you want to go to the toilet; to say a prayer before your snack and lunch with your eyes closed and hands together, and to sing new songs.  You went on an outing to Mitchell park.  Your carer is away so Michelle Deme has been your carer this month. You get on very well with her and I think she is going to miss you when Shay comes back later this week. My friend Isabel came to stay with me for three weeks in January.  I showed you her photograph a few times before she arrived and when she met you for the first time you met her as though you had known each other for years!  She brought you a lovely little dress and a some make up and nail polish and you had a great time doing each other's nails and brushing ...

Hello my Emily Ann! You are a lucky girl - you are going to have two birthdays this month!  Your birthday is on Sunday 16th October but, because there was a chance that South Africa might be in the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup and because the AmaShova cycle race is on next weekend, your parents decided to bring your party forward to the 8th October instead.  So we had balloons, banners, cake, sweets, chips, and a magician and clown who did face painting at your party.  It was great fun!  You wanted a butterly and Barbie party so Mom made a butterfly cake that had a Barbie doll for the body.  She very cleverly made a skirt for Barbie out of icing so when it came to blowing out the candles and cutting up the cake, you ate the clothes off the Barbie doll!  And then, the following week, on your birthday 16th October, we had a Birthday Tea Party for the family.  I brought your table into the lounge and set it with all your colourful pla...

Whoo-wheee!!!!  Mom sent a message to say you had taken your first steps!!  You stood up, in the middle of the lounge and took four steps unaided!  If I had been there, I would probably have rushed forward and grabbed you as you took the first step!  We are baby sitting tomorrow night and but I don't think you'll be doing much walking on my shift!!

Hello little Em, It was a BIG day for you today!  You attended Day Care with your Mom this morning for two hours, just around the corner from our house.  When Gumpie and I walked the dogs we came back up Heather Road hoping to see you at 8h30 and as we turned into the road, we saw your Mom's car and Dad right behind her.  So, we were able to see you before you went into the house. Mom said that you loved it!  She said you laughed a lot and loved being with the other babies.  Your favourites were Aiden (who is very quiet) and Hannah.  It went really well and you will now go twice a week - Wednesdays and Fridays - from 08h30 to 10h30. I am SO pleased that you are going to be able to socialise with other children Em.  You were 18 monthsold on Sunday and you have never had a friend or other children to play with.  You are always with adults and, as a result, you have a wonderful vocabulary, are quite precocious (in a good way) and you are advanc...

Hello darling Em, Two weeks ago you went in to Parklands for your Pamidronate treatment - but this time it was different. Dr Roos agreed that you could go in as a day patient. The hospital made a bit of a mess with your first appointment though. When Mom and Dad took you at 8am they were told to come back at lunch time as there were no beds available for you. So they went back at 1pm but then Dr Roos was consulting and couldn't get there until after 5pm. The tube and drip only went in at around 5:30pm so you had a long first day, only getting home after 9pm. Mom says that you screamed when Dr Roos put the needle in and then started signing and saying, "No more! No more!" Poor Dr Roos was quite upset! The next two days went much better and Mark and Tam brought you around here on Saturday so that they could have a little rest. You still had the port in your head and a bandage to keep it in place but it didn't seem to bother you.  On Sunday the treatment went very smoot...

You have a wonderful vocabulary for a 14 month old:   Here are some of the words you can say: Hello Bye-bye Mamma Dadda Nana (banana) Up Yellow Purple Boo (blue)      Ball Bubble Bum Moo Bow-wow Num-num Out Hat Pappa (paper) And here are some of the things you respond to: "How old are you?"  You point one finger in the air. "How much does Mommy love you?"  You throw out both arms. "How much does Daddy love you?"  You throw both arms up in the air. "Do you want more?"  You touch fingers of both hand (more sign) and say 'more'. "Do you want to eat?"  You touch your mouth (eat sign). "Clap hands" You clap your hands. "Give me a love"  You come closer and hug, "Where's my kiss?"  You give na open mouth kiss. "What does the dog say?"  Woof-woof-woof "What does the cow say?"  Mmmmmoooo "What does the Hadeda say?"  "Aaa...

      Em - you are such a cutie pie!  You love to play and interact with people.  You shout with glee everytime you see a child; you shout 'hey-yo!' when you see people at the mall or in stores; when a phone rings you shout 'hey-yo", and you are so astute that when someone talking on the phone starts closing off by saying, 'ok then, thank you...' you shout 'bye-bye' even before they say goodbye. You are a bright, clever, fun-loving cutie! 

You love water!  On Sunday at Patty's we sat outside on her lawn and I filled an old cat litter box with water for you to play with. You had such fun with the hosepipe and the water!!  Love you baby Em!