September Photo Montage

Sitting on the front steps (watching Daddy mow the lawn).


All the kids (and Panda and Pink Baby) gather on the stairs at L & A's.
J, G, Draya & I.


Watching TV and eating popcorn while Mommy works on the computer.


Eating corn on the cob at Nana's house.


Playing in the leaves at Borden Park.



Reading a bedtime story to Pink Baby

She has a good argument.

Conversation on our way upstairs to bed tonight...
Mommy: You can carry you blanket yourself Draya, you're big and strong.
Draya: (vehemently) No I'm not I'm little!!! I'm small!

Imaginative Play Time

Draya has the most amazing imagination!
She loves puppets and will often use her bare hands as puppets. Now, when she washes her hands in the sink her hand puppets ‘take showers’. Her hand puppets also often initiate conversations with us and with her.
Nana gave her a pink sponge scrubber to use in the tub. She has christened it ‘Scrubby’ and last night she played with it and her water baby for almost half an hour. Mommy moved the scrubber around but it was a silent companion. She talked to it and her baby continuously. At one point Scrubby ‘fell’ while dancing to ring-around-the-rosy and she hugged it and kissed its owie.
She is actually a big fan of playing ‘Doctor’ these days. Usually one of her babies will be sick or have an owie and she’ll insist that Dr. Mommy or Daddy take a look and treat them. I for-see a toy doctor kit in her future… probably for Christmas…
We have a large rock in our front flowerbed and Draya will bring smaller rocks from the front yard to it so that they can see their mommy.
She also stopped on the way to the park recently to assemble a pine cone family with mommy and daddy and grandpa and baby and others.
Draya also enjoys hide & and happily squeals “Can’t find me” as she tries to hide behind Mommy.She also likes to knock on doors to be let in. The she makes her playmate knock on the door so she can let them in.

Alligator in the sky

Our (approximate) conversation today in the car...
Draya: What's that?
Mommy: What's what?
Draya: That?
Mommy: (while driving and not able to see where her daughter is pointing) In the sky?
Draya: Yah
Mommy: Those are clouds.
Draya: An alligator!
Moomy: You see an alligator?
Draya: Yah
Mommy: Ohh... is it a puffy white alligator?
Draya: Yah
Mommy: Sometimes clouds look like things.
Draya: I see a puppy in the sky.
Mommy: Oh, a puppy!
Draya: Elephant
Mommy: and an elephant
Draya: look, stairs
Mommy: Wow! Clouds are very cool!
Draya: Yah

Visiting Nana

Nana's LMS is back and she had her first chemotherapy treatment at the end of August. But, so far, she is still feeling fine so yesterday Mommy took Draya over for a visit.

Gg'pa J built this wooden airplane for Uncle R when he was just two years old. Draya LOVES it and asks to go downstairs and play with it every time we visit.


Draya had loads of fun spinning Nana around on the wooden office chair, playing carousel.


We all went for a walk to visit Mrs B next door. Draya was fascinated by her bird feeder.


Mrs. B fed us tea and cookies and grapes.


When we got back to Nana & Papa's Draya snuggled with Nana and they watched Backyardigans together.


We borrowed this Kermit The Frog puppet from Nana. This morning Draya and Daddy had lots of fun playing with him. Daddy does an excellent Kermit impression!

Quality Picnic Time with Mommy

Draya spent the weekend alone with Daddy because Mommy went away to a wedding. So, yesterday when Mommy got home, the two of us spent a lot of quality time together. The first thing we did was play in the back yard and have a picnic. Here are some photos I took...

First she collected leaves & berries & flowers & rocks & grass in her wheelbarrow.

Then she made salad.

She also made sand cakes and soup & set them out.

She insisted on bringing the highchair out for Pink Baby and fed her sand baby food.

She did sit and eat some real food.

And she relaxed a little bit too.

Later we baked real cookies for Nana & Papa, read lots of stories, made meatloaf, and went to the park. Draya also likes doing laundry with me. I sit her on the dryer and ask her who each article of clothing belongs to. She helps me squirt dirty clothes with Spray & Wash and tosses them into the machine. She's actually pretty good at distributing the load evenly! Then, I hold the release button down and we watch the clothing swirl around and around.