Thursday, September 21, 2017

Safe and sound



He is here, safe and sound! Our third adorable grand child, (DGS2) born in country Victoria. He had a bit of a rough start, and needed to return to hospital for treatment for jaundice, but is now growing and content. I travelled over to Victoria to help out with the babysitting and general support for the family, and as it turned out, it was a good thing I was there. The second child in the family was sick whilst the baby was being born, and things were a bit hectic for a while.

I had plenty of opportunities to enjoy DGD and DGS1 during the past two weeks. We played outside a lot, had 'picnic' snacks on the patio, made pirate hats out of newspaper, did water painting, went on walks, picked flowers and read stories. We played imaginary games: one involved the Three Bears and Goldilocks, where I played the role of Goldilocks and was put in the porridge pot! DGS1 declared it was 'gloopy'!


Can there be anything more sweet than a posy picked by a 5 year old girl for her Nanna? 


I was given a 'friendship Teddy" just like the one my grandchildren found in their op shop. Wales features large in my family history. 


The Campaspe river bank is a great place to walk. 




We made mandarin cookies, using mandarins from the backyard tree.  We used grated peel, and squished up mandarin segments, and a bit of Pa's orange marmalade to make them. They were a huge hit. 


The birth of a baby is the cause of celebration, of course. This little family was shown great kindness by their community. Many of those who brought gifts remembered a 'little something' for the older siblings, which was most welcome as there were times of being without Mum and Dad, and we could use the new toys as distractions. 

I have to admit to being very glad to be back home again. I missed my DH and my DD,  along with my usual grown-up, calm and orderly life! When you are a FIFO grandparent it is a kind of 'all or nothing" experience. It was so precious to be with them at this time, but so different to life at home. 
DH and DD say it is my role to promote the family routines, and that without them everything was a bit wonky. I am therefore resolutely making bread today, and calling people in for lunch at the appropriate time! 




7 comments:

selina said...

congratulations to the family & hope things settle down & smooth out again
your Wales friendship bear is very cute

thanx for sharing

admin said...

Oh what a lovely post to read. Spending time with grandchildren is so important for everyone. Those little daisies reminded me of the flowers I would collect for Mum from the paddock and she always put them in water and on display.
A huge congratulations to all of you for the safe arrival of a gorgeous little boy.
Kylie

Nil @ The Little House by the Lake said...

Congratulations! He is beautiful.

DbrhH. said...

Precious child, grand kids are grand, then you can hand them back. I am glad to be closer to Misses M and E.

Happy Retiree's Kitchen said...

Congratulations on your beautiful new little Grandson. I am a FIFO Grandmother as well, flying over to Perth when necessary, and this last time which was very full on was quite exhausting because everyone got sick, however I have some very precious memories to sustain me until next time, and I really like visiting Perth. thanks for sharing and I love the look of those mandarin biscuits.

earthmotherwithin said...

Thanks all for your comments. It was a precious time. I am now recovering!

Annabel said...

Congratulations! I remember when your first Grandchild was born. Now I know what it is like! Its so wonderful. Just like no one can describe to you how much you will love your children, no one tells you how much you will love your Grandchildren! xxx