Growing up fast

I'm learnt a lot of new things this week.

Our brain is our engine. If a car has no engine, it can't go anywhere. We use our brains to walk and to talk and to sit and to look.

I like to listen to music to go asleep. I decided this because we were pretending to go asleep in creche and then we drew pictures of our dreams. I dreamt about fairies. But for some reason Mammy and Daddy didn't think I needed to listen to music to go asleep tonight.

We did acting to elves and the shoemaker in speech and drama. Ciara told the stories and then when we did the acting she was the shoemaker and all the little children were the elves.

There are three lovely dress shops on our way to creche. Every day we look out the car windows on the way to creche and on the way home again to see if the clothes in the shop have changed. And when they have we get very excited and pick out the nicest ones. It's easier if we're stuck in traffic and going very slowly. The shop with the ballet dresses doesn't change very often but the other two are pretty good.

Apparently I "understood the concept" of addition and of subtraction this week! I get a little card like this every week to tell Mammy what I've learnt.

But mostly I play - that's the proper work for children. Last weekend, we wnt to the park with Susan and Peter and their Mammy on Saturday morning. Riodhna had her trike, I had my scooter, Susan had her bike and Peter had his buggy because it's a long way from the car park to the playground in Marlay Park. We played for ages - I learnt how to slide down the pole properly and Riodhna went up to the top of the big slide loads of times. We got to have a snack before we came home too. We spotted Emma and Jamie and Clare out for a walk on our way home. They're back from Australia. Then we saw them again in Jill and Mark's house in the afternoon. We had to go to see the cats again. It was still a lovely sunny day so we went out to the garden but the cats aren't allowed out yet. Riodhna shared her rainmaker toy with Clare. It didn't make rain that day but there was plenty of rain today (which is good for our flowers but not for us). Also we got flip flops from Australia. Mammy thought I wouldn't be able to wear them with my socks but I can. Still she made me keep them for my holidays.

Which is in 5 weeks time. Yaay.

I played in Ruthies house on Sunday. Joanna and Estella were there too. I cycled there on my bicycle and I cycled home again. And then we got in the car and we drove up to Emma and Jamie's house to have a yummy dinner.

4 days of Easter

The first day of the weekend was Friday. That's pretty unusual. We brought loads of easter things home from creche on Thursday. Riodhna made a card. I made loads of pictures - one with a chick that pops inside an egg. But we also did cooking in creche. We made birds nests with shredded wheat and put little eggs in the nests and got little tiny yellow fluffy chicks to put on top. That was a good start to the weekend.

On Friday we had to do lots of work in the garden. I know we planted grass last year but since then we got rid of more trees and lots of ivy on the shed. So we had to help Daddy plant some new grass and put lots of flower bulbs in holes in the ground. Mammy wasn't helping at first but we were very glad when she came out and showed us the right way to put flower bulbs in the ground. I think we might have done some of them the wrong way around the other week. I don't know how she knew that - maybe Mammo taught her when she was a little girl. Our shed looks very bare now so we put some new plants in front of it too. And Daddy put some big wooden trellis up - he says the little plants will grow up there but I don't know how they are going to reach.

On the second day of the weekend, we did some baking in the morning. Jill and Mark gave me a chick shaped cookie cutter. So we made some dough and cut out the cookies. While they were cooking in the oven we made three colours of icing - yellow and red and blue. When the cookies were cool, we iced them. We took turns with the different colours. They looked really good when we were finished.

In the afternoon, it was Emma's party. Not my auntie Emma, Emma from creche. She had a party in her house. Loads of my friends were there and there was a Silly Billy there too - just like at Séan's party. When Mammy collected me, I had loads of treats and a balloon and I took a balloon home for my sister too. Daddy and Riodhna had gone into town on the bus so when Mammy collected me, we drove in to meet them. We went to look at some pictures but we didn't buy any. We did go to a restaurant though. Riodhna and me shared some yummy pasta and even ate the sauce - it was nearly as nice as the one we had at Phoebe's christening. And while we were there, we could look out the window at the river and at all the buses driving by. No eleventy-levens though.

On the third day of the weekend, it was actually Easter. We already had some easter eggs. But the Easter Bunny hid some in the garden because it was nice weather. The first two weren't hidden so well - there were two tiny rabbits sitting in the middle of the trampoline. Then I found some in the flower pot where we planted the sunflowers. Riodhna found some chicks in the apple tree, I found some by the dog food, I found some in an empty flower pot and she found some in the watering can. So we had a little bag of kinder eggs and chicks and rabbits each. We all popped into the car and drove to Mammo's house. It's not such a long way on a lovely sunny day.

And when we got there Uncle Ross was there too. We had dinner and then we went to Johnstown castle again. This time we saw one peacock but he wouldn't put his tail up for us. We had our wellies on so we were able to walk in the water. We also found two princess towers - they were very mucky inside - you could nearly get your boots stuck in the mud. I walked in a stream for ages but I forgot to get out and the water got a bit deeper so then I got my tights and the inside of my boots soaked. I had to take them off and Uncle Ross and Daddy took turns giving me piggy and shoulder backs and letting me pick flowers.

Riodhna walked all the way around by herself - she's going through her independent phase! We had our tea in Mammo's too and we met Ray and Pauline and great uncle alfie. It was nearly bedtime when we got into the car so I had a snooze but Riodhna was wide awake the whole way back to Dublin - in my dreams I could hear her sing loads of songs over and over again (baa baa black sheep, wheels on the bus, but mostly "abcd" over and over again - she loves the wxy&z bit but she always skips qrstuv to get there faster.)

On the fourth day of the weekend, we had to finish the gardening. We cleared our the front flowerbeds and put all sorts of flowers in there. They were full of stones so we're not sure how many of the plants will grow. I'm betting the tiny seeds that I just had to sprinkle over the soil and water have the best chance.

McGrath Feet, Dunphy Feet

Last weekend I finally got to go to Mark and Jill's house too. And to meet the cats. Last time when Riodhna and Mammy were there they didn't have their couches or their bed or their couch upstairs or even their tv unpacked. Now it doesn't look like a house someone has just moved in to. It looks lovely. The cats hid from me at first but eventually tyra let me practice my hairdressing skills on her.

So I got new runners today. Again. I got some that I didn't have to get measured for last weekend but they tore so mammy brought them back. Then today we went to the normal show shop to ask the lady for runners. There was a bit of a queue but while we were waiting Riodhna and me tried on all the shoes we could see. I have my eye on a pair of very practical sandals with lights. But today wasn't a day for shoes with no toes. It was a day for runners. With toys hidden in the heels. Mammy let me pick. They didn't have the bright pink ones in my size so I liked white ones with pink and blue and orange and green on them best. It's just as well I went in to get measured. I take size 10F now. My last shoes were 9F so that's a whole size. Mind you I do have them since before Christmas. The lady checked Riodhna's red shoes too. She got those in January and she's still a size 5 so they fit her. So Mammy bought her red polish to see if we can make them look like new again.

We had a busy weekend. Yesterday I had a play date where I got to invite all the girls - Joanna and Estella and Ruth. I made a late pitch for some extra people to be invited too but for some reason Mammy thought that would be enough. I did a list of all the games we could play but then Estella arrived first and went straight for Peppa's house which wasn't on the list. So Mammy wrote it on. We hid under the stairs when every new person arrived. And then we played loads of games - dressing up, dollies and teddies (unfortunately we only had 3 buggies and we really needed 4), trampoline, bubbles, aquadraw, and then we pretended the whole house was a boat while we played on the beds. No-one wanted to go home so they all hid when their Daddies arroved to collect them.

Uncle Ross minded us last night but we were tired out so we were very easy! Then today we had loads of messages to do. First we had to bring Daddy to get mammy's car and go to softball. The car was in Dun Laoghaire and I saw a river but it was really the sea and there were loads of boats. So when Daddy went, Mammy parked the car near the pier and put money in the machine and then we went for a walk down the pier. The three of us. With no buggy. She only put in enough money for us to go half way but we wanted to keep going so we walked all the way to the end. There are loads of peep holes where you can sit on steps and look out to the sea. And you see lots of dogs and puppies and children on bikes and trikes and scooters and roller skates. We were very good and hopped and skipped and danced the whole way and the whole way back. We didn't go near the edge and we didn't go near the dangerous steps. And Riodhna didn't want to be carried - she wanted to say hello to every doggy and to talk the whole way and run and look at everyone. We were a bit late back and although Mammy was worried we might get clamped, we didn't so she was wrong.

Then we had to go to get more plants for the garden and dog food and compost. We picked out all the ones with pink flowers. Then off to Dundrum for my runners, and a potty for Riodhna for her to get used to the idea of and food colouring so we can make biscuits and ice them and wrapping paper for Emma's party next weekend and Easter eggs. It's just as well we had a list. Of course while we were there, we had to have an ice cream before we came home.

Can you believe that we did all that lovely walk in gorgeous weather and Mammy took no photos?