Bree’s New Sand Box

Bree always receives something fancy when Grandma Ettie comes for a visit. During her recent visit, Grandma Ettie came empty handed! Well, if you compare this visit with previous occasions, she did come almost empty handed because she brought only two long sleeved t-shirts. Apparently she had been asking the little tot what she wanted over the phone and apparently, all Bree wanted was to go to the beach to build sandcastles. I totally believe that too. Since the sand was removed from her sandpit earlier this year, Bree has been asking quite regularly to go to the beach. We haven’t been doing much of that recently because it has been too cold. Although she loves the sand and would stay in the sandpit for a long time, it’s not quite the same as when we visit the beach. At the beach, Bree not only loves playing with the sand, the cheeky little one also loves chasing after the waves. After that ear infection, none of us are too keen for her to get soaked outdoors until the return of warmer days.

I heard that Bree thanked Grandma Ettie for the two t-shirts without being prompted. Her parents were happy with how Bree behaved around Ettie. Bree’s parents prefer smaller presents because they wanted their daughter to appreciate simpler gifts but the t-shirts weren’t the big surprise. So, while I was away taking my short break, the whole family visited a large toy shop because Grandma Ettie wanted to buy a sandpit for Bree. It was the first* time that Bree visited such a large toy shop. (By first*, I meant that she was walking on her own two feet and the toy shop is bigger than the typical toy shops.) Before the shopping trip, her parents wondered if Bree might run around like a wild child and discussed possible ways of handling the situation if she became uncontrollable. Grandma Ettie was more positive. She already knew that Bree could behave like a perfect little lady when expected. She had apparently taken Bree to an even bigger toy shop when the tot stayed with her in Sydney late last year.

The trip to the toy shop was a success. Her parents decided at the last minute to leave the buggy in the car and the little girl walked maturely like the rest of the family. She was happy to hold the hand of an adult most of the time. At the toy shop, she wanted to ride a tricycle that was left on the ground but for some funny reason the pedals weren’t working. After picking the blue plastic sandpit with her mum’s help, they walked past a short table displaying Thomas the Tank Engine trains. There was already a little boy playing with the trains and Bree joined him and attempted to start a conversation. LOL. The little boy was painfully shy and kept to himself. Before parting company, Bree decided to not only say ‘Bye’ but offered him a hug as well. The little boy got so frightened that he cried.

Ettie made a big fuss of the delivery time for the sandpit. She wanted to make sure that the store would deliver it while she was still in Melbourne. She also complained about the model they picked because she wanted something more expensive. Bree is not complaining. She is super happy with the sandpit. She plays in it almost daily. I am just glad that this one has a proper lid to keep the sand clean.