D'Arcy Developments

"...in the summer I might've drowned,
But I held my breath, I kicked my feet, and I moved my arms around. I moved my arms around." (Louden Wainwright III, for those of you interested)

There has been major action on the swimming front here as it's been so hot. I say here, but I really mean there. The beloved and I are in the US, D'Arcy is with his dad. So, in fact, it's really cold here. I'm currently having my knees sniffed by my friend's Bulldog, and trying to figure out what I'll do today. Eugene is a nice place I reckon.

So, more about the swimming. He's been having a go for a while, but couldn't get the hang of floating, and didn't like having his face/ears in the water. So just wasn't into it. We'd bought him a snorkel and mask when we went to QLD in July, but even that didn't excite him. So last week we went to the sporting goods shop and bought him the floaty vest (there's a better pic in Flickr) which was an enormous confidence booster. He got into the water, and the look on his face as he discovered, and annouced "Mum! I can FLOAT!!!" was priceless. He was using his snorkelling mask, so it covered his nose, and that was great.

He was so happy and confident that he set off to swim the length of the pool - 50m and, with a few rests, achieved this easily. His next challenge was to go to the 'medium pool' where the water is only .5 to .9m deep. He abandoned the floaty vest and started swimming around underwater - putting his whole head under! It was fantastic. In 2 days he'd gone from being a kid who wouldn't even put his face in the water, let alone his whole head, to one who could dog paddle under water and come up to breathe. Of course it is just the beginning, and I wouldn't dream of letting him do stuff on his own, but he's now happy to jump in, and with his vest on, in control in water of any depth. He's so much more confident, it is fantastic!

I never learned to swim properly as a child, and only took it on as a goal as an adult, so I'm happy he's making such good progress. Conquering the fear is a big thing! The beloved, who really likes to swim and is good at it, has been really helpful in this project.

Check it out folks!



Since Christmas when he got the new bike he's been powering along. He can't start himself off yet, but he's almost there. The other performer in this vid is Jan (my mum). Cinematography by Pete. I'd like to thank all involved.

OK, so D'Arcy is a member of The Double Helix Science Club with the CSIRO courtesy of Auntie Laura. He gets a magazine every second month or so, and there are competitions. This issue has lots about Dinosaurs in it, including various competitions. The one that caught his eye was to win a DVD of The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs (Narrated by Bill Oddie!) you need to draew a pic of your favourite dinosaur. So he set to work, and what we have here is a pterosaur flying along, having eaten some prehistoric fish (you can see them in its tummy) and another fish jumping to get away. He drew the pterosaur in biro, and the rest in texta, so it's a bit hard to see in the photo. I gotta get me a scanner. I've pointed out to him that he might not win, but also I'm aware that he's forgotten about it anyway, now that it's in the envelope, if not posted yet.

D'Arcy folded some paper into a cone shape, and started talking about all the things he could use it for: drinking; hat; poking mummy's tummy... I pointed out that he could use it for a cornucopia and then had to explain what one of those is. He then got the plastic grapes and filled it up. So here's a photo of the cornucopia with a silly photo face. Notice the Anubis necklace - we're on an Egyptian kick lately. Also at Flickr there are Christmas photos, just click on the photo here.

Finally, one last boast - this photo is one where I wasn't worried about where to take it. The house is tidy! The holidays are a good thing!