New bike

Another recent purchase on Louka's behalf is my new bike. The front-mounted seat was getting too small for her and I'd borrowed Mum's old bike because it had the right kind of stem to mount it on. But this was an excuse to get a new one.

I only looked in two bike shops, but I really liked the Avanti Discovery 8 step-through from Cyclery Northside (and I liked that they gave me a discount because I'd once bought a bike from them in the past). Louka now sits behind me, in a nice big comfortable seat. She seems fine there, but I have to keep looking round to make sure she's really there.

Fashion boots

Yesterday while we were shopping, Graham was distracted by some display and Louka wandered off and found my favourite shoe shop - Camper. And they had a sale. They don't have children's shoes in different widths, but their shoes are reasonably wide, which is probably why they are so comfortable for me. The young lady there suggested a pair of girls' boots, and Louka tried them on. By this time Graham had caught us up, and saw how cute the boots looked on Louka, so of course he bought them.

Louka's play-dough sculpture

Lunch with relations

Yesterday we were invited to lunch with Graham's aunt Clara and his cousins Anthony and Tania, and Tania's husband Rob and baby Amber. Clara had made a delicious vegetable lasagne and pavlova with strawberries and cream. It was sunny, and we ate on the front veranda.

Louka ate a few mouthfuls, then noticed the wide open spaces. First, down the steps and round and round the lawn. Then she found the letterbox and practiced opening and closing it. Beside the letterbox were a few more steps down to the footpath, so when she'd mastered the open-and-close routine she thought she'd try them out. Aha! now she could run down the nature strip, as far and as fast as she liked. So from then on, Graham and I took turns running after her while the other one ate.

The cream with the pavlova enticed Louka back for a while, then she found she could open the front door. And inside was a bowl of lollies, to which she helped herself (actually she only got three). There were also pens and things to draw on.

All the same, while it couldn't be called a relaxing visit, it was very enjoyable.

Curlilocks

Curlilocks, Curlilocks, wilt thou be mine?
Thou shalt not wash dishes (well, not just yet) nor yet feed the swine (but perhaps the chooks?)
But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam (yeah right)
And feed upon strawberries, sugar and cream (definitely!)

They grow up so fast!

Recently, when I've asked Louka how old she is, she answers "twenty-four"!