An unusually busy week this week. Dad took a day off to go to the Easter Show, then Puff was treated to a visit from Grandragon, so there was another trip to a show. Then it was time for Aunty Chan’s birthday party, and then today, a trip to Manly on the Ferry.
So for once we have a lot of photos.
Lacking courage, Dad suggested driving to the show instead of taking the unknown number of train journeys. This was a good security blanket for Mum and Dad, but meant that there was an extra $20 to pay, and an extra queue to join, before we could get to the show.
Undeterred, we went through the entry gates, and then through something called “Kids World” – more like “lots of people selling things to parents… world” – we lasted about 45 seconds in there, before heading out, with Dad hoping that this wasn’t the main part of the show.
Mum still hadn’t eaten any breakfast, and so we stopped at a giant stall that sold strawberries. Puff was very excited about this, and didn’t even put up a fight about wearing a bib.
After another stop, this time for a hot dog for Dad (Mum, who was aiming to eat all her Show food on a stick, had a Pluto Pup) and we were off to find the “animal walk”. We went through a few stands before we found a place that sold corn for $4 (and provided Puff with a chance to stretch his legs away from the stroller), and then headed for a large building that housed sheep and ribbon-winning wool.
We didn’t grab a photo of Puff’s face when he first heard a sheep say “baaa” at close quarters. Shock, disbelief, and then delight, all in the space of a second.
With a bit of pressuring from Mum, Dad agreed (even though Puff had just had a milk drink *and* a yoghurt drink) to take Puff on the big slide. If you squint, you can see Dad and Puff at the top right of the photo.
There was a lot of fussing after the slide when it was time to go back into the stroller, but moments later, Puff was asleep.
On our way out, we did some more walking. With a big crosswind, this fountain was spraying water everywhere, but we found a spot for this photo, where Puff could practice showing his teeth, and standing still (his two new things for this week).
As we left the Show (and with a 20 minute walk back to the carpark ahead of us), Puff suddenly found Dad’s shoes fascinating, stopping every 20 metres or so to bend over and look at Dad’s shoes. Here’s a sample.
The one thing we forgot to take Puff on at the Easter Show was a merry-go-round. With the Grandragon helping out (and Dad back at work) this was an easy puzzle to solve at the Fox Studios “Sydney Family Show”.
The next high point was chasing small animals. After a time of being scared of them the day before, he was actually following this baby goat around the enclosure!
Saturday featured a trip to buy groceries with Dad (and some walking around the supermarket, and some being pushed in the shopping trolley). With that wrestling trip over, last minute preparations could be made for Aunty Chan’s party – we went lawn bowling in our pyjamas! Puff didn’t try the bowling, but he had a great time walking around the outside of the green.
Other new things this week: increased confidence on the slippery dip, including a new bar technique: standing up just before the slide, then sitting down to slide down (instead of having to shuffle his way forward while seated).
It turns out that bubble wrap is useful for more than just waving around: if you put enough weight on it, it will make a satisfying popping sound. This poor sheet of bubble wrap has been subjected to all kinds of road tests as Puff found the best way to make that popping sound: including throwing himself down on the floor, using the bubble wrap as a mat!
Lastly, today involved a lot of public transport as Mum and the Grandragon went over to Manly by train and by ferry. Here he is with his most recent obsession: the “this books” (which turned out to mean “Seuss books” – a set of six miniature flip-tab books that he has all but memorized already)
For some reason, the above photo strikes me as the happiest Dad’s ever seen him. A good way to end this week’s post.