Fun in the sun!

With a recent spell of fine weather we have had the hammock up again and Alana has enjoyed using it and sharing it with Paige as well.

Paige's 1st Birthday

Paige's first birthday was a quiet affair - she wasn't entirely certain what all the fuss was about but by the end of the evening she was getting the hang of ripping open the parcels she was handed.  Mind you, that's if she got a chance to with other members of the family being eager to open them for her.  Think they were actually more excited about her birthday than she was.


A big highlight was making Paige's cake.  All participated in some way and everyone was thrilled with the result.  Not entirely sure Paige appreciated all the effort that went in to it but she certainly enjoyed eating it.


Paige has recently started going to a Music Grp which she absolutely loves.  On her birthday, some of the group were attending a Rest Home to entertain the residents with one of our fun music sessions.  As she loves her music session, we decided to go along and help.  The group sang her Happy Birthday too which was lovely.  Thinking we were brightening the lives of these frail elderly, I went up to a couple of gentlemen afterwards to say hello and introduce Paige to them.  They both landed up being very grumpy and not at all impressed with the entertainment forced upon them.  Oh dear!

Getting around!

Recently Ann bought a sling to make it easier to have Paige with her when on the move. This is so much easier than the front pack we have, which needs a licence to drive!

As you can see Paige just loves it!

Paige's progress

Paige is doing so well. She is really starting to explore her environment and almost crawling now. She is able to sit and is perfecting her ability to sit unaided for longer periods of time.

She is so much more on the move as you can see from these photos and she loves to play with us - the other day it was by hiding in the curtain and playing peek-a-boo!!

THE RETURN OF PAIGE

On our way through to Cromwell the weekend before last, we received a phone call from CYF  to say that Paige's long term placement had just fallen through and would we be available to care for her again.  (For those of you that don't know - Paige was with us for 10 weeks over Dec-Jan while she waited for her long term home).  Several phone calls later, we arranged to meet the social worker and Paige at Alexandra on our way to Cromwell.  We now joke about how we went to Cromwell with 3 children and returned with 4.  What a weekend!

When we picked her up, Paige was very flat and had no life in her eyes.  We were shocked.  But within half an hour, particularly after seeing the children, a switch flicked for her and she remembered who we were.  She has been remarkably good ever since and we have had none of the problems the previous family had had.  It sounds like she had been distressed from day 1 and things went from bad to worse over the 7 weeks she was away.  

What is her future now, I hear you ask.  We are not sure.  We have been asked if we would consider a long term placement and we have said yes to this but Paige's birth Mum is apparently going to fight this.  And if extended family come forward, it is our understanding that CYF are obliged to give this a go, despite the last placement having fallen through.  We personally believe this would be very detrimental to Paige but have no power over the situation.  We just continue to pray that God will be in control of her future. 

Paige leaves us!

After 10 weeks, Paige left us yesterday to go to her new family.  They are a wonderful family who already have 3 sons and live on a farm so Paige will have to toughen up a bit. 

We will also need to toughen up as we are missing her terribly.  She has certainly stolen our hearts and left a gap here in the family. 

Newest Addition to the Family

Just to let you know that we have welcomed another member to the family for a short time. Her name is Paige and she is 3 months old (although her adjusted age is 6weeks as she was actually 6-7 wks premature). CYF rang us on Friday asking us to take her short term and we agreed. She arrived on Saturday. She is staying with us until mid/late January while they assess extended family for the role of caring for her long term. She is adorable and is winning our hearts already. She hasn't attached well to her Mum so we are working hard at helping her feel secure and loved. Life is never dull in the Donkin Family. Here is a photo of Samuel feeding her.