Monday, November 16, 2009
October 18 - Ballet Sneak Peak
Lilly had her first ballet pictures. It was adorable. The make-up, I could have done without but she did ok with it all. I was disappointed with the actual picture process as I was used to spending time with the photographer in each costume and doing several poses. For this, they did a group shot and one picture in first position with her arms out. That was it. We would find out later that they then wanted $20 for a 5x7 and Seth never even got to see her individual picture. Hopefully we can get some shots on the day of her performance.
October 12 - Structured Playgroup
When we first moved here, I was always asked if Lilly was on a waiting list for three year old Kinder. Well, of course not, we didn't know anything about it. Kindergarten (just known as kinder) is equivalent to pre-school. Right now it seems as if everyone is determined to get their children into a kinder and start the learning process as early as possible. Three year is usually on one day a week for three hours or two days for a couple of hours. While I am sure that there are learning opportunities during this time, I see it more useful for social purposes (especially having moved from another country). But that's just me, I still have people look at me funny when I say we opted not to do three year kinder.
Well, I figured Lilly needed some more kid time and we did find a group that advertised itself as a structured playgroup for those who did not get enrolled in a kinder (there is a waiting list at most places). It may be structured in the same way as I imagine a day of kinder, I don't know. They do songs and read stories. Usually have some sort of art activity and some play time. The parents are all in there and it is a small group. I don't find it particularly educational, but Lilly loves it and that's what I was looking for.
Well, I figured Lilly needed some more kid time and we did find a group that advertised itself as a structured playgroup for those who did not get enrolled in a kinder (there is a waiting list at most places). It may be structured in the same way as I imagine a day of kinder, I don't know. They do songs and read stories. Usually have some sort of art activity and some play time. The parents are all in there and it is a small group. I don't find it particularly educational, but Lilly loves it and that's what I was looking for.
October 10 - Fairies
Part of the bonus of living near a large city is all the free activities. There is almost always something, you just have to pay attention to where they are as some aren't too close. Our friends went with us to our local shopping center and we met with the cast of The Fairies for some singing, dancing and story reading. Lilly wasn't keen on getting to close but I think she enjoyed watching from a distance.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
September 29 - Melbourne Zoo
Because we got a year pass, it is very easy to just hop on the tram or train and take a ride to the zoo. We can spend a few minutes (yes, we have done this on a rainy day) or several hours. We like to pick an animal or two and then head to the play park.
This day was special because Lilly told me that she thought we should try the butterfly house. The first time we went to the zoo, she went into the butterfly house and completely freaked out when a butterfly landed on her. She was done. She climbed up my leg and into my arms then kicked me until I got out of the house. It was not pretty. Each visit after we would go see the elephants and we would have to go by the butterfly house. Lilly would go into panic mode and tell me she would not go in, some days she would even be in tears. For whatever reason, today was the day she was over her fear. She went in, stood for some pictures and held her hand up for a butterfly to land on. The only almost tears - she was upset when the butterflies did NOT land on her hand!
We went by the elephants. We like to stand and watch them for a while. Ok, I like to stand and watch, Lilly likes to jump up and down the steps and swing from the bars in the area. At least we are both happy!
And of course, what's a trip to the zoo without a trip to the play area. This was the busiest I have seen the zoo but it was a really nice day.
This day was special because Lilly told me that she thought we should try the butterfly house. The first time we went to the zoo, she went into the butterfly house and completely freaked out when a butterfly landed on her. She was done. She climbed up my leg and into my arms then kicked me until I got out of the house. It was not pretty. Each visit after we would go see the elephants and we would have to go by the butterfly house. Lilly would go into panic mode and tell me she would not go in, some days she would even be in tears. For whatever reason, today was the day she was over her fear. She went in, stood for some pictures and held her hand up for a butterfly to land on. The only almost tears - she was upset when the butterflies did NOT land on her hand!
We went by the elephants. We like to stand and watch them for a while. Ok, I like to stand and watch, Lilly likes to jump up and down the steps and swing from the bars in the area. At least we are both happy!
And of course, what's a trip to the zoo without a trip to the play area. This was the busiest I have seen the zoo but it was a really nice day.
September 22 - The Royal Melbourne Show
Lilly and I got our friends, Heather and Alex to go with us to "the Show". I didn't really know what to expect. I just heard it was a lot of fun. Upon arrival, I discovered it was the state fair, with a different name. Everyone asked if I had been to the Show and while before I thought they were talking about the theatre, now I know they were talking about the fair.
We lucked out with the weather. The Show takes place during school holidays so I've heard how busy it gets. The day was warm and mostly sunny but very windy. Every once in a while it looked like it was going to rain and I think that kept people from coming.
Anyway, the first thing we did was check out Elmo. Keep in mind that Lilly is petrified of dressed up characters (it all started with Santa Claus last December and has included a zebra at the zoo and Kung Fu Panda). She was so excited until she saw Elmo and how big he was. She did not want to go up to get her picture taken with him so I carried her and while he tried to hug her, had to ask him not to touch her. She was fine as long as I was in between them!
There were several areas with animals. We watched a lamb be born. That was kind of weird. They bring all these sheep in for the purpose of showing this. We also went into a petting area and got to pet goats, chickens, calves and lambs. One calve was trying to eat my jacket and then my shoe. It took about 5 minutes to get the thing to stop eating my stuff only to turn around and start eating my friends shoes/pants. We left at that point.
The rest of the day was spent walking around and checking out the hundreds of booths/exhibits/foods/rides. We didn't see everything and we ended up staying until almost 8:00 at night. There was a lot of walking but they had lots of things for the kids to do. Lilly planted a flower, dug up potatoes, rode a train (that was the only thing I paid for besides food and entrance fee), colored pictures, and played on a computer. She probably did a lot more, I just don't remember. I was very impressed with how child friendly the entire thing was.
We lucked out with the weather. The Show takes place during school holidays so I've heard how busy it gets. The day was warm and mostly sunny but very windy. Every once in a while it looked like it was going to rain and I think that kept people from coming.
Anyway, the first thing we did was check out Elmo. Keep in mind that Lilly is petrified of dressed up characters (it all started with Santa Claus last December and has included a zebra at the zoo and Kung Fu Panda). She was so excited until she saw Elmo and how big he was. She did not want to go up to get her picture taken with him so I carried her and while he tried to hug her, had to ask him not to touch her. She was fine as long as I was in between them!
There were several areas with animals. We watched a lamb be born. That was kind of weird. They bring all these sheep in for the purpose of showing this. We also went into a petting area and got to pet goats, chickens, calves and lambs. One calve was trying to eat my jacket and then my shoe. It took about 5 minutes to get the thing to stop eating my stuff only to turn around and start eating my friends shoes/pants. We left at that point.
The rest of the day was spent walking around and checking out the hundreds of booths/exhibits/foods/rides. We didn't see everything and we ended up staying until almost 8:00 at night. There was a lot of walking but they had lots of things for the kids to do. Lilly planted a flower, dug up potatoes, rode a train (that was the only thing I paid for besides food and entrance fee), colored pictures, and played on a computer. She probably did a lot more, I just don't remember. I was very impressed with how child friendly the entire thing was.
September 21
We have a bike path that goes fairly close to our house. I usually take it when I go for a run (not that I've done it lately, but if I had, I would take it). It winds around through trees and fields, goes by the outdoor pool and a large play park (that Lilly loves to go to) and goes on to the north and south. I don't know where either end start, I've stuck to a few miles in either direction. Lilly wanted to go for a walk so we grabbed her scooter and left. She also wanted to be a superhero so she has the cape. [This was an awesome activity we did before we left Michigan - a silk scarf and kool-aid, lots of fun!] The first picture is going up the hill to get to the path. Then we have going down a hill that we won't let her ride her scooter on.
After you go around a footy/cricket field, you get to a bridge that goes over a cute little stream. The pictures are looking out from the bridge. And then of course, in complete Melbournian style, the bridge has been tagged.
September 12
We headed into the city for a day and our first stop was lunch at Federation Square. Our budding photographer picked up the camera and snapped a couple of shots of us. Not too bad.Our next stop was the Immigration Museum, but we weren't allowed to take pictures in there. So this was a boring post!
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