After physio on Monday Mom and I decided to visit Granny, at work! I was really surprised by this, as I thought grannies didn’t work, but Granny decided to help Aunty Kim with some bookkeeping. It was so awesome seeing Aunty Kim’s offices and I even spotted Shannon there.

Back home in the afternoon, Aunty Birgitt and Uncle Wayne arrived; they were in Jo’burg for a week and were staying with us – I was so excited. Once the customary hugs and hellos were sorted, I presented Aunty Birgitt with a slightly belated birthday present. She was thrilled!

On Tuesday I had music. It was ‘open day’ and dads, uncles, aunts and grandparents were all welcome. Sadly Daddy had a workshop for the entire morning, so he couldn’t join us. Back home Mom and I decided to invite Aunty Birgitt and Uncle Wayne to join us at Smudge. We had a wonderful time; even Uncle Wayne got involved with doing some artwork.

Wednesday morning we all chilled in the back garden drinking coffee and tea. Needless to say, I opted to get into the pool, still in my pyjamas. I played on the pool step but when I got too close to the edge Uncle Wayne jumped into the water with me, fully clothed, to make sure I didn’t fall in deeper. I was so thrilled that he ‘saved’ me. The rest of the day was spent playing and having a good time!

Dad produced an Advent Calendar on Thursday morning. I was thrilled! It meant Christmas was really close. I immediately helped Dad find window #1 and after opening it I shrieked in delight and gobbled up the chocolate inside.

Mom and I spent a good deal of time in the pool swimming on Thursday morning. Dad came home a little earlier; he arrived as Mom and I were leaving for speech therapy. I demanded that Daddy come with, so all three of us headed off to see Vicky. I had a good session. Vicky did crack-up laughing; she giggled so much we practically had to end the session. Basically what happened I was showing Vicky some of my toys. On the back of a Dora The Explorer felt board are advertisements for other felt boards. I didn’t know the names of all the characters, so I asked Mom and Dad; neither of them knew the names either. So I turned to Vicky and said “Sorry Vicky, I don’t know their names”. Well, that almost ended the session!

When we got back home from speech on Thursday there was a really awesome surprise waiting for me at home! Aunty Birgitt and Uncle Wayne had gotten me an early Christmas present – a bike! I was thrilled, especially that it had trainer wheels allowing me to learn to practice my balance.

Friday morning I decided I needed a haircut, so I cut my own hair! Mom and Dad thought it was hilarious. Dad immediately tweeted about my endeavour to all my fans and it resulted in us being mentioned in an article on Partening24! The gist of the article was basically the different perspective my Mom and Dad have on things: where some other parents would have freaked out at their kids cutting their own hair, my Mom and Dad were thrilled, as 2 years ago there was doubt if I’d ever be able to do anything, let alone cut my own hair. See the article here.

Later on Friday I had OT with Lauren. It was a really good session, and she confirmed that cutting one’s own hair was a developmental milestone! After the session Mom took me for a super treat – we went to see ‘Puss In Boots’ in 3D! I loved it. Mom cleverly got Mom and I a ‘nest’ seat in the cinema, which is basically a double seat without an arm rest in the middle. It was a perfect choice, as I was able to sit really close to Mom and be comfortable. It was the first movie that I managed to sit through completely, at a cinema. My last record was 10 minutes from the end.

We popped into Hyde Park after the movie to get some more shoes for me. Although we’d been shoe shopping very recently, I’d lost one of the pair of sandals.

In the late afternoon, Aunty Birgitt and Uncle Wayne invited Mom, Dad and I to dinner. We opted for Primi Piatti at the Lifestyle Centre, as it has an awesome play area. We had a really cool dinner, and I played up a storm! Speaking of storms, we also watched the lightning in the distance, as a thunderstorm was starting to brew. Driving back home I was asleep before we even reached the main roads. I felt Mom top-and-tail me as she changed me into my pyjamas.

We all enjoyed the stunning weather in the front garden on Saturday morning. I played on my jungle gym and even started getting onto the trampoline again, on my own. One of the things that seemed to affect me after my stroke was my desire to jump on a trampoline – fortunately I’m starting to build up that confidence again. Sadly Aunty Birgitt and Uncle Wayne had to leave mid-morning to catch their flight back to Cape Town. We bid farewells and that we were looking forward to seeing each other again in January when we would be holidaying in Cape Town.

At noon we settled down for a snooze. Dad was completely exhausted, so we let him snooze longer in the afternoon. Mom and I had a nice long swim in the afternoon.

Sunday morning we met Aunty Bev and Claire for a picnic at the Haahoo (Delta) Park. The weather looked dubious, with very low cloud and the risk at any moment of rain. Fortunately, the weather held, and it actually proved to be a really warm, even hot, day. I played and climbed hard on jungle gym, and Dad and I went for a long walk. It was a stunning picnic in the park. Needless to say I was asleep in the car before we got home.

Dad and I had a really long swim in the afternoon, with Dad throwing me high in the air and catching me again. Once or twice, because I was wet from the pool, Dad’s grip on me did slip and I went under the water. Although it did give me a fright, I’m starting to handle going under water better and better.

Well, that’s it for this week.

Love,

Jarrod

Photo 1 At Granny’s desk


Photo 2 Playing at Smudge

Photo 3 Cupcakes at Smudge

Photo 4 Helping Aunty Birgitt open her birthday present

Photo 5 This is the life

Photo 6 Early morning play in the sandpit

Photo 7 One guess as to where this pebble ended up!

Photo 8 An early Christmas present!

Photo 9 Loving it!

Photo 10 Perfecting my cutting skills

Photo 11 Tada!

Photo 12 Reading

Photo 13 Ready for 3D movies

Photo 14 Playtime at Primi Piatti

Photo 15 Sliding

Photo 16 Making friends

Photo 17 Doing really well on the rope bridge at the Haahoo Park

Photo 18 High-sky at Haahoo Park picnic

Photo 19 Love the monkey rings

Photo 20 Exploring

Photo 21 Spinning

Photo 22 JB Giggles

1 Comment on Picnic In The Park

  1. Anne Fletcher says:

    What an amazing journey! I have read your blog with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. I look forward to following your progress Jarrod – you go young man! Don’t ever let life get you down and I’ll be adding my prayers to the many that continue to uphold you daily.

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