tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70189094462568494802024-03-05T06:45:06.980-08:00Finding MoeThe story of six years of infertility, 2 antral follicles, way too many rounds of Clomid, two failed IUIs, a ridiculous number of needles, eight years of mortgage payments brought back to square one, one last chance IVF procedure with donor eggs, and one amazing little boy.yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.comBlogger248125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-58433392749744563502019-02-19T14:50:00.001-08:002019-02-19T14:50:17.942-08:00Birthday Interview - Nine Years Old - February 2019Q1. What is your name?<br />
(answers with real name)<br />
<br />
Q2. How old are you?<br />
I'm going to say nine because I'm one day away.<br />
<br />
Q3. What is your favourite thing to do?<br />
Prolly hanging out with friends and family.<br />
<br />
Q4. What do you want to be when you grow up?<br />
A video game tester. It's been like that since that time I read that Owl Magazine.<br />
<br />
Q5. What is your favourite food?<br />
Bacon.<br />
<br />
Q6. Who do you like to spend time with?<br />
My mom, my dad, and my best friend Nathan. And my grandmas.<br />
<br />
Q7. What do you do really well?<br />
Skating.<br />
<br />
Q8. What makes you laugh?<br />
My friends when they tell jokes. Actually, Little Petey from Dogman when he tells jokes.<br />
<br />
Q9. What is the best time of the day?<br />
On a weekday, after school or just when I wake up.<br />
On a weekend, prolly when I wake up and Daddy gets downstairs.<br />
<br />
Q10. What are you afraid of?<br />
I'm not really afraid of spiders, but I get creeped out when they are around. And I'll never do a bellyflop again.<br />
<br />
Q11. Who is your best friend?<br />
Nathan.<br />
<br />
Q12. What do you like to do with your family?<br />
I like sledding with you. I wonder if Daddy is ever going to come with us.<br />
<br />
Q13. What do you love to learn about?<br />
Prolly math, because I'm really good at it.<br />
<br />
Q14. Where do you like to go?<br />
Winterlude or Funhaven.<br />
<br />
Q15. What is your favourite book?<br />
Prolly the 13th Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, The Meltdown.<br />
<br />
Q16. If you had one wish, what would it be?<br />
That it would rain anything I want all the time and that I had something that would let me teleport - like a ring or a bracelet.yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-90329795407545636772018-02-20T17:24:00.001-08:002018-02-20T17:28:27.403-08:00Birthday Interview - Eight Years Old - February 2018<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q1. What is your name? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A1. (answers with real first name) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q2. How old are you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A2. I'm turning eight. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q3. What is your favourite thing to do?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A3. Either play video games or play with my beyblades... or watch the Olympics, if they are on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q4. What do you want to be when you grow up?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A4. I have no ideas. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q5. What is your favourite food? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A5. Bacon, tater tots or garlic ribs. Or all of those. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q6. Who do you like to spend time time?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A6. Nathan or my mom and dad. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q7. What do you do really well?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A7. Using my bicycle, drumming... there's one other thing, I'm trying to remember... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q8. What makes you laugh? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A8. Being tickled or seeing something funny. (Editorial comment - butt jokes.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q9. What is the best time of the day?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A9. When I'm having dinner, because after I can have dessert, which is awesome. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q10. What are you afraid of?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A10. Getting lost... sometimes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q11. Who is your best friend? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A11. Nathan or Matthew </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q12. What do you like to do with your family?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A12. Bowling, going to the House of Targ, going to restaurants. (Editorial comment - we have never been bowling as a family.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q13. What do you love to learn about?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A13. Math. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q14. Where do you like to go?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A14. If I could do something for a whole week and then come home and sleep, I would sit in a video game truck with my friends and play Mario Kart 8. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q15. What is your favourite book? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A15. Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and Simone the Best Monster Ever. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q16. If you had one wish, what would it be? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A16. Make it rain candy or anything sweet every day.</span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-27919301851334629392017-02-18T07:44:00.001-08:002017-02-18T07:44:38.471-08:00Interview with Moe: All About Mommy - February 2017Q. What is something I always say?<br />
A. "I love you" and "You're my baby."<br />
(Note - I find this interesting, because it's Moe who often declares that he's still my baby.)<br />
<br />
Q. What makes me happy?<br />
A. Seeing me when you come home from work.<br />
<br />
Q. What makes me sad?<br />
A. I guess not seeing me for at least a year?<br />
<br />
Q. How do I make you laugh?<br />
A. When you tickle me.<br />
<br />
Q. What was I like as a little girl?<br />
A. I don't know.<br />
<br />
Q. How old am I?<br />
A. At least 38?<br />
<br />
Q. What do I do when you're not around?<br />
A. I guess, um, read sometimes?<br />
<br />
Q. What am I really good at?<br />
A. Many things. Doing the dishwasher, vacuuming, cleaning, folding clothes, running the dishwasher. I think that's all for now.<br />
<br />
Q. What do I do for a job?<br />
A. Go to work.<br />
<br />
Q. What is my favourite food?<br />
A. Bacon?<br />
<br />
Q. What do you enjoy doing with me?<br />
A. Playing with you, playing games with you, making up games with you, and playing on my DS with you. (Note - that last thing is something we've never done.)yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-19598667860746757542016-02-20T11:33:00.001-08:002016-02-20T11:33:20.157-08:00Birthday Interview with Moe - Six Years Old<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q1. What is your name?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A1. (answers with real first name) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q2. How old are you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A2. Six. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q3. What is your favourite thing to do?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A3. Watch Pokemon XY.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q4. What do you want to be when you grow up?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A4. Just a normal person. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q5. What is your favourite food?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A5. Broccoli with ketchup on it. NOT RAW BROCCOLI. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q6. Who do you like to spend time time?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A6. Mummy and Nathan. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q7. What do you do really well?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A7. Watch TV. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q8. What makes you laugh? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A8. I don't know. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q9. What is the best time of the day?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A9. When I get to spend time with Mummy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q10. What are you afraid of?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A10. Hmm. Nothing?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q11. Who is your best friend? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A11. Nathan. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q12. What do you like to do with your family?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A12. Give my Mom and Dad hugs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q13. What do you love to learn about?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A13. Talking in sign language. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q14. Where do you like to go?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A14. Grandma's house. And inside my TARDIS. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q15. What is your favourite book?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A15. My Pokemon book. (Pokemon Visual Companion) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q16. If you had one wish, what would it be?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A16. I want to make everything free. (When asked for clarification on "free": Like, not needing to buy stuff.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-87868805185045787152016-02-18T17:08:00.000-08:002016-02-18T17:08:01.633-08:00Interview with Moe: All About Mommy<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moe turns six in two days. I asked him these questions, without any prompting. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. What is something I always say?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. I love you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. What makes me happy?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. When I give you hugs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. What makes me sad?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. When you want me to go to the bathroom and I won't go. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. How do I make you laugh?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. When you show me something funny, like a video or a picture. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. What was I like as a little girl?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. Maybe wearing a pink t-shirt? And with long hair?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. How old am I?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. 24.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. How tall am I?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. 10 cm. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. What is my favourite thing to do?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. Give me hugs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. What do I do when you're not around?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. Clean the house. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. What am I really good at?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. Giving me hugs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. What is something I'm not good at?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. Maybe having to make dinner every night? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. What do I do for a job?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. Clean the house. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. What is my favourite food?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. Hmm. Broccoli. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Q. What do you enjoy doing with me?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A. Playing with you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-56104875759609507312015-12-18T17:09:00.002-08:002015-12-18T17:21:55.727-08:00Dear Moe (Fall 2015)<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Moe, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s been almost four months since my last letter. You are happily settled in Senior Kindergarten, and seem to be enjoying school. I was concerned at how you would do without your buddy Nathan, but you’ve settled into a routine with other kids. You did miss Nathan at first; one day in September or early October I asked you what your best thing was that day, and you said, “If Nathan were still at my school, my best thing today would have been playing with him outside.” It kind of broke my heart. But it seems your class dynamic is quite different this year; you all tend to play together in large groups, rather than pair off into intense friendships. You seem to be happy, which is fantastic. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz1rLmmgWEka0bu4E8oun_bpqZbnnxJ2zILttyULdlQk6DgwtytXFBIIRkjU122qZ00E-gBummyGyWfjZOIgilrMII4vBZup9HK6tquLEPzWh4hq9hBXv3h84J-QNr6PqhyphenhyphenHsep8zYSyP8/s1600/21338532761_671a6ddfd3_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlFyi74KV0LOmqElZ-fhAnh_K2AYjhihAfAgVMcx_0nif7RC9BiltsvIcuzEKmtkfH8RgxAMveOSlCG5YiNZoXpNKffdbz5TWnr5QDPRmdv5DaejxnYeQer30SnZFJ93dLtVbW_A4MTxX/s1600/21499644200_a392347c79_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlFyi74KV0LOmqElZ-fhAnh_K2AYjhihAfAgVMcx_0nif7RC9BiltsvIcuzEKmtkfH8RgxAMveOSlCG5YiNZoXpNKffdbz5TWnr5QDPRmdv5DaejxnYeQer30SnZFJ93dLtVbW_A4MTxX/s320/21499644200_a392347c79_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have had four months of busy Saturday mornings, with a swimming class and then a Judo class. You have worked really hard at swimming, Moe, both in terms of listening to the instructor and improvements to your skills. It has been lovely to watch your confidence bloom. This was, I believe, your third kick at the can for Salamander, and you’ve made great progress, but were quite disappointed when you didn’t pass the level again. But we had a chat with the head lifeguard, who explained to you the different things you need to work on to pass, and reassured you that it’s not about passing or failing, it’s about having fun and improving, which you are definitely doing. You’ll be out of the pre-school levels anyway, and in Swim Kids 1 because of your age. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the start of the swimming term, it was clear you were having trouble listening to the instructor. After some discussion, it became clear that you really just wanted a chance to play around in the pool. We developed a system where on days that you were a really good listener during your lesson, we would inquire with Bambi and Simon about whether we could swim at their place the next day. Your instructor also heard your plea and incorporated more play into the lesson, which helped a lot. There was once incident where you threw a life-jacket into the pool at the end of the lesson, and Daddy came down hard on this lack of respect for your instructor. But you took your licks (no screen time), and apologized to Rebecca on your own the following week. I was proud of you. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You certainly enjoy Judo when you are there, and Sensei Tina says that you’re an “okay listener”… “most of the time,” which I’ll totally take because I know how easily distracted you can get. Judo has been great for you in terms of your independence – you are expected to get dressed on your own and sign in by yourself. Parents are not allowed in the dojo, and I think that’s fantastic. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rOx_aeqd_vjuBxWaXkXytf_-j3pLE1UPfkPiAWBOQ8dYLtUy3qZIgqXw8O1uWPtafowI8O3arU3tDIlPSxIq34dUE1WsCUmNTqWvDtYDyvxpSATvdvTKHWQTmGcqCDtzIZmdADM-0jCa/s1600/20736901423_985435e8f1_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.295; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lately, your favourite toys are your Beyblades, a small collection we have managed to grow thanks to friends whose older kids are ready to say goodbye to theirs. Beyblades are hard to find these days! But you love spinning them (sorry, “ripping” them), doing “battles” and seeing how long they will spin. You also enjoy building things with your Lego, like a park where your Lego kitties can play. (A Lego kitty is two square pieces staggered on top of each other. Bonus if you can find little triangle wedges for the ears.) TV is all about Paw Patrol and Lego Ninjago, although you have recently discovered Slugterra, which I find baffling. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You do love playing video games. We set up the Xbox 360 in the basement when Daddy upgraded to Xbox One (more on this later), and you’ve enjoy hanging out down there on a sumo sack and playing various Lego-based games. The big obsession for a while was Lego Dimensions on the Xbox One, which Daddy threw himself into heart and soul. But I have to say, it is pretty cool to watch you explore Middle Earth with Marty McFly while Batman and the Doctor tag along.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In November, we participated in the Extra Life Game-a-Thon in support of kids at CHEO and you were in heaven having a whole day to play video and board games with people you love. You were also great about helping us raise money. We’ve been giving you an allowance since September, and you donated all your charity money to the cause, as well as a bunch of your pocket money. We were very proud. Uncle Mark might have walked into a bit of a dust cloud when you solemnly handed him your sandwich bag of coins. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In order to get your allowance, you have to participate in our “clean-up time” on the weekend, and take care of a few basic tidying tasks during the week. It’s been going very well, and the house looks a lot better now that we have this designated time to work together on tidying things up. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Halloween was lovely this year. We did two volleys of trick or treating: we did some time around our street with Emmett, Theo and his friend. They moved so fast from house to house that I thought your head would spin. You worked hard to keep up! Then we went over to Aunt Janine and Uncle Mark’s street where you took your time at each house. You’d ring the bell, say trick-or-treat, thank you, and tell them, “I’m the Golden Ninja from Ninjago Masters of Spinjitsu,” and stare at them smiling until they waved at you while slowly closing the door. We had to explain that it’s up to you to end the conversation and walk away. It was pretty cute. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkWrlCUmDxMNFcBFYnarX79Tgu_6NQbrhp8ZBOhkTKdlStwuHp6W9RhsDKB-sUfnd3Mb0JjqrzvGmvHi6-VEUYWXy1NpKmItp0SahpyERwbBswpaaRqw-EMMapSUUuyDYLSS_3fHrB8b05/s1600/22032320783_ab9952ff70_o+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkWrlCUmDxMNFcBFYnarX79Tgu_6NQbrhp8ZBOhkTKdlStwuHp6W9RhsDKB-sUfnd3Mb0JjqrzvGmvHi6-VEUYWXy1NpKmItp0SahpyERwbBswpaaRqw-EMMapSUUuyDYLSS_3fHrB8b05/s320/22032320783_ab9952ff70_o+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your costume did double duty this year when you wore it to Geek Market, which was a big highlight for you. You came with your pocket money in hand, hoping to find a certain Pokemon stuffie, and lo, you found a tiny Squirtle that became your baby for the next month. You do take good care of your stuffies, my love. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96fO7sUeCUebJaVcV0W5wHAuSo9J__5Vwyk3ckMIM5KikJjbQuelaV9S_Zy6grNwYJOtWOtVRSrguuvLSLQxcZ36W7yjWTWqebmSYC-EWeO45BzSP1sTBd1NI4c3ZnAAIhh3zbrjVB3tV/s1600/21922241426_7b1f50035f_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96fO7sUeCUebJaVcV0W5wHAuSo9J__5Vwyk3ckMIM5KikJjbQuelaV9S_Zy6grNwYJOtWOtVRSrguuvLSLQxcZ36W7yjWTWqebmSYC-EWeO45BzSP1sTBd1NI4c3ZnAAIhh3zbrjVB3tV/s320/21922241426_7b1f50035f_o.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Speaking of stuffies, we introduced you to an old friend of mine. You met Maddie, who I have had since 1996. She’s a lovely little cow, though verbally dyslexic (she says Oom instead of Moo), and she was very happy to meet you. You treat her very tenderly. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You’ve been reading on your own for some time now, but it’s been incredible to watch you this fall. You read voraciously. You read on the toilet, you read the cereal box, you read our text messages as they come in and you’re playing on the tablet (that was a rude awakening), you read signs while in the car, you read whole books while in the car, and you read in bed at night. (You have this head lamp thing I bought in an attempt to get better light for cross-stitching – it makes you look like a demented miner, but it works and you love it.) You’ve moved on from Chirp to Chickadee Magazine, and are very comfortable with Level 2 readers. You can do Level 3, too, if you are interested enough. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christmas is around the corner, and your excitement is delightful. You have been enjoying the Playmobil advent calendar Grandpa Will and Grandma Anne sent you, and you wrote and posted your first letter to Santa. Your joy when he wrote back was wonderful to behold. And when he sent you that video message, you were pretty amazed. I wonder if this might be the last year for some of the magic, though. You told me in November that you don’t believe in Santa anymore, but I could tell you weren’t terribly confident in that declaration. I told you that it was up to you whether you wanted to believe, and that Santa was real for anyone who did. A few days later, you said you believed. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmG-Xy2j80BT4wvQck58QDKhhzTAfQ7wUSGW7TiRt0s1vrGWteDG5PZIEXrhGDT7JnYYqXQdpwv5WPKjRXlz8yrS7Kw0rMud1_Wbm3ZvEQnTReLHhSZiDJsRhR8LzfapFbLdF-xw6evRVC/s1600/23162195186_1a8b7c0902_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmG-Xy2j80BT4wvQck58QDKhhzTAfQ7wUSGW7TiRt0s1vrGWteDG5PZIEXrhGDT7JnYYqXQdpwv5WPKjRXlz8yrS7Kw0rMud1_Wbm3ZvEQnTReLHhSZiDJsRhR8LzfapFbLdF-xw6evRVC/s320/23162195186_1a8b7c0902_o.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most of the time, my love, you are a delight to be around. But there was a period this fall where we really had to crack down on your attitude, and in particular your tone. We also had to explain to you that there was a reason we weren’t spending as much time playing with you… the way you were speaking to us made it less than fun. There has been a great improvement, and I find this encouraging. I know these phases will come and go, but it’s reassuring that we can still turn it around with a bit of work. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your recent attitude improvement isn’t the only reason the house is a nicer place to spend time these days. We did a huge junk purge in September, and got rid of so much stuff that the basement is finally liveable, and the living room and dining room are much less cluttered. We have been working hard to maintain this, as it makes me happier and more patient, which in turn affects you. You’ve been a real trooper about moving a lot of your toys out of the living room, and I appreciate it. </span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-5c63e74e-b7bf-e092-d743-b82eaaf2fc4c"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love our time together. Whether it’s reading together, playing Doctor Who Yahtzee, chatting in the car on the way to Judo, listening to Elizabeth Mitchell together in the morning, or cuddling at bedtime, you make my day complete. We love you so much, and you are growing more awesome every day. We didn’t think that was possible, but it seems to be. Overall, you are a thoughtful, caring little boy. Thanks for bringing such sunshine into our lives. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-7627162859049883712015-09-12T16:36:00.000-07:002015-09-12T18:02:16.951-07:00Dear Moe (June, July and August 2015)<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Oh,
my bean, what a great summer we had together. It went by so quickly. </span></span>
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">We
had some lovely play dates. As school was coming to a close, I asked
you if there way anyone from your class or from EDP that you wanted
to connect with over the summer for play dates. You asked me to reach
out to Jojo's parents, and are we ever glad we did. You had two
wonderful play dates with Jojo, one at each end of the summer. We had
a glorious park date just before school was out, and then we had an
end of summer extravaganza celebration with Jojo and her family at
Midway Family Funpark. We all had a wonderful time! We love Jojo's
parents, and plan to get together with them again. If you and Jojo
want to join us, that's super. ;) The two of you play really well
together. </span></span>
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">We
enjoyed a lovely visit from Aunt Natalie, Uncle Darin, Caspian, and
Darin's family from South Africa. Caspian absolutely loved playing
with you and pretty much thinks you're the best thing since sliced
bread. He just wants to do whatever you are doing; it's lovely to
watch you play together. </span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">You
had lots of experience playing with little people this summer. We
took Dorothy on an outing to the park together, and you were
wonderful with her. You also spent a few weeks with Robin, and got to
see the “day care babies,” as you call them. </span></span>
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">We also had some great times with Emmett down the street, and a lovely park date with Wyatt, at which you showed a real talent for softball. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">We
had a couple of great backyard playdates with the O'Donnell's,
including celebrating Hattie's first birthday. You loved the set-up
of sliding down the slide into the wading pool. (We're glad you play well with the O'Donnell girls, because we're adopting their parents, too.) You got to show off
your excellent slip-and-slide skills at Keira's birthday party, too –
they added soap to the mix, which made it even more slippery! </span></span>
</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">You
did three weeks of day camp this summer: two weeks at Starr
Gymnastics and one week at the RA Centre. We will definitely send you
to the RA Camp again; you had a great time, and we can even have you
in swimming lessons at the same time. Daddy especially enjoyed the
four minute commute to pick you up. </span></span>
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Your
reading has only improved this summer. You can read entire books to
yourself as a means of amusing yourself. Jojo and her family
introduced us to the Library Moose and the TD Summer Reading program,
and we blew through that log book in no time. We read some great
chapter books this summer, including Emma and the Blue Genie, Captain
Awesome, Kung-Pow Chicken, and the first three books in the Wizard of
Oz series. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Although
we didn't go on as many bike rides as I would have liked, we did get
you up on your bike and you continue to improve. You even got the
hang of starting yourself off a few times, and shouted happily, “MOM!
I don't need you anymore!” which was kind of like a knife to my
heart when taken out of context, but I was very proud nonetheless. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">We
had two really, really wonderful trips this summer. In July, we went
to Maine with Granny, Uncle Mark and Aunt Janine. We went to the
beach every single day. Unlike in past years, you were right into the
waves from the start. You still won't swim in the ocean, but you are
all about playing in the waves and jumping over them. It was
fantastic to watch you. It was a fun-filled week of ice cream,
sand-castle building with Uncle Mark (and “making natural,” which
is what you called the drizzly towers made out of very wet sand),
playing at the arcade, your first round of mini-golf (you could not
get over how your ball disappeared like magic on the last hole),
walking the length of the beach to get fried clams, kite flying, and
collecting rocks and shells. You and Granny built a lovely rock
garden in the front yard with your booty. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Our
second trip was in August when we flew to Halifax to spend a week
with Grandpa Will and Grandma Anne. Your bond with Grandma Anne is
something to behold. You stuck to her like glue... until David came
home, and then you stuck to him like glue. ;) Our week in Halifax was
really lovely. We did a day at the beach where Heather and her
boyfriend buried you in sand up to your neck (and you loved it), and
you played with the boogie board in the waves. (By this I mean that
you played in the waves while holding the boogie board. You did not
in fact play WITH the boogie board, but one thing at a time...) We
went to the Citadel and you did the Parks Canada Explorer program and
we counted canons, hunted for gunpowder, tried on hats and watched
the firing of the noon-day gun. Then we walked down to the Discovery
Centre, where we had a blast in the bubble room, built a wall, and
played with the whisper dishes. It was all very hands on and very
fun. We went to the Busker Festival at the Halifax Harbour, which was
super crowded, and one of the highlights was listening to a guy play
AC/DC's Thunderstruck on the bag-pipes. We had a great time at home
with the family, too. You and Heather harvested her herb garden, you
had a ping pong tournament with Heather, David and Grandma Anne, and
you loved showing off your ninja skills to Grandpa Will. When you
said you wished you could be a ninja in real life, Grandpa told you
he was actually a wizard and could grant you that wish, but he was
missing his magic wand. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The
highlight of the Halifax trip was the visit to Upper Clements Park in
the Annapolis Valley. It's such a gorgeous location, and it was
amazing to see what you could do this year as opposed to last year.
You played mini-golf, were all over the slides, had a great time on
the rides, but interestingly were not feeling up to crossing the rope
bridge as you did last year. You were good for the log flume again,
though, and we had a great time. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Late
in the summer, we started using screen time coupons, and they have
been working well. You can earn 15 or 30 minutes of screen time for
being a good listener and making our jobs easier. We also recently
started giving you an allowance, contingent on you doing some basic
chores. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">You
made some really great observations this summer, some of which I have
recorded here: </span></span>
</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">At
one point, I asked you if you'd had a big poop or a small poop, and
you said, “I had one big poop and then a whole herd of poop.” </span></span>
</span></div>
</li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">While
driving in Halifax, we were listening to CBC Radio One, and you
exclaimed, “Oh, let's listen to this! It's the same voices that
are on Granny's headphones!” </span></span>
</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">You
discovered Minecraft and spent a few days walking around the house
whapping things with a sword, declaring you were “mining” them. </span></span>
</span></div>
</li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Also
due to Minecraft, you spent some time pretending to be a baby
ocelot. You were saying “oshawat” at first (it was like a
Minecraft-Pokemon mash-up), and that confused us, but we figured it
out. </span></span>
</span></div>
</li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">You
were game to visit the Animals Inside Out exhibit at the Canadian
Museum of Nature, and I did my best to hide my squeamishness. But
when you asked, “What's that?” and I had to respond, “That
is... a cat's brain, eyeballs, and spinal column,” you looked at
me for a moment and then said, “I think we should a visit a
different gallery now, Mom.” Your sensitivity was appreciated. </span></span>
</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">And
suddenly, it was September. You started senior kindergarten a few
days ago, and French immersion. You've only had two days of school,
but you seem to be positive about it all, and I'm looking forward to
watching you learn even more this year. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">Today we began our fall
activities with swimming lessons and judo on the same day, and it
went better than I could have imagined. You loved your first judo
class with Sensei Tina, and you are excited to go back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
hope you had a wonderful summer, Moe. We loved spending time with
you. We often forget that you are only five and a half – you are
well spoken, such a great reader, and very observant. You still love
to snuggle, have a great sense of humour, and a mischievous smile. I
can't wait to see what the fall brings. </span></span>
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yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-5720358979715719192015-06-15T16:24:00.001-07:002015-06-15T16:24:23.392-07:00Dear Moe (March, April, May and half of June 2015)My darling boy, it has been too long! The days and weeks are just flying by and I am not finding time to record notes from our adventures much less write them up. But you are thriving and that's what counts. <br />
<br />
Your friendship with your buddy Nathan has really blossomed this spring. You two have been pretty much inseparable in the classroom, but in April, when Granny went to England for a few weeks, you spent time after school with Nathan and his family for a few days a week. Obviously, we wanted to reciprocate, so we have invited Nathan to join us on a few of our adventures. <br />
<br />
One of those was attending a show at the Centrepointe Theatre called The Great Rhythmobile Adventure. It was like Stomp, but for kids. The two performers made music using all kinds of things - garbage cans, basketballs, plastic bottles. The two of you had a great time, and you were both really good listeners. Nathan's parents often trade off with us on weekends, either taking you for a chunk of a day or sending Nathan our way. It's a great way to keep you occupied! (However, you are starting to understand that this won't last forever, or at least , not in the same way. You know that Nathan and his family are moving to Stittsville this summer, and have started asking if we could change houses and get one next door to them. It will be a sad day when they move.) <br />
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Spring finally came and the snow melted, but it was slow to warm up. One of the ways we amused ourselves outside was with the remote control car that Bambi and Simon gave you. We ran it all around the dead end at the end of the street, and you had a great time both running the car and chasing it. <br />
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We went to Kemptville for Easter and got the balance bike out for the first time this spring. I injured my ankle in April, so we haven't done too many balance bike rides since then. I'm hoping we can get out for more of them soon. Lately, though, you like to spend your after school time outside in our yard - either playing with Emmett or "playing with your balls," which is how you describe playing with your collection of four inflatable balls that we keep in the backyard by the basketball net. <br />
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Daddy organized a table top gaming day at O'Grady's in April (for International Tabletop Day) and we had a great time playing all kinds of board games. Many of your friends came, too, and had a great time playing games for kids. I love how our passions are rubbing off on you. <br />
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<br />
You discovered a passion for art this year. Ms. Nicoll did a unit where you studied famous artists and then made art inspired by their work, and we heard more about this unit than any other one you've done in school so far. It began with a lot of colour work and culminated in an art gallery night where we came to your class and saw all your work hanging on the walls. Daddy, Grandma, Granny and I all came and we were amazed and delighted by your work. <br />
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For me, though, the best part was when you and I went to the National Gallery of Canada for a playdate with Lhotse and Natasha. I was pleasantly surprised as how "not unengaged" you were in the more traditional galleries, and how very engaged you were in the modern galleries. <br />
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At the end of our visit, you and I stopped in to the bookstore to try and find a birthday present for Granny. She loves jigsaw puzzles and art, so I thought a puzzle of a work of art might be a good plan. I asked you to help me pick one out. We saw some nice ones by the Group of Seven, but I worried they might be too easy for Granny (she likes a challenge and I like to drive her crazy). Then you spotted something from across the room, and ran over and pointed to it. "Hey," you said, "this is by Mr. Kandinsky! Let's get this one!" <br />
<br />
And lo, it totally was by Mr. Kandinsky, and we did get it. I was so proud. <br />
<br />
Your television tastes continue to evolve, for better or for worse. I'm all over your love of Wild Kratts and Ninjago, but hope you get over your passion for the old 1980s Mario Brothers TV show soon. I did have a somewhat emotional moment when you watched The Princess Bride for the first time. You seemed to really enjoy it, and didn't even mind that I was saying a lot of the words along with the movie. You've also recently discovered Lego Star Wars on the Xbox. You caught on pretty fast, I must say. Your current favourite song is Puff the Magic Dragon. <br />
<br />
By far the biggest highlight of the spring was Mark and Janine's wedding. You were a gem during the ceremony, were super patient during the photos, and did very well during the reception (thanks to the tablet). Then Grandma came to get you and brought you home, and she slept over while Daddy and I had our first night away since you were born. <br />
<br />
You were not quite sure what to make of Aunt Janine's dress. First you asked, "Does Aunt Janine look funny?" which really isn't that unreasonable a question, since you are used to seeing her in jeans and a t-shirt. Then you redeemed yourself by saying that her dress was very poufy, which was, I believe, intended as a compliment. :)<br />
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Our summer travels began early when we went to visit Samantha and her girls on their dairy farm in Sawyerville for Victoria Day weekend. You had a wonderful time "glamping" in the camper trailer. You played in a shallow river, fed sheep, played with bunnies, enjoyed their play structure, and sat by a campfire until sunset. It was a wonderful weekend, and you have asked several times when we will go back. <br />
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Skills assessments have begun in school, and I'm very proud to confirm what I already knew: you are a very strong reader and love to play with words. You were able to read words off the Grade 3 vocabulary list! And I often think of the way Grandpa Will used to make up nonsense rhymes and it makes me smile to see you doing the same thing. <br />
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You have just about completed your swimming session, and you did finish your gymnastics session. You'll be doing two weeks of gymnastics camp this summer, but that will be it for you and gymnastics. You have started to get pretty bored of it. So we are signing you up for judo in the fall - we visited the dojo together and you watched a bit of a class and are interested. I hope you'll enjoy it. <br />
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The past few days have been very exciting. We got you the next level up from your balance bike - a two wheeler with pedals! You are already making great progress (so great that I can't keep up with you and Uncle Mark's back will probably be stiff tomorrow). I'm sure that if we keep doing a little bit a day each day that the weather is good, you'll be tootling around the neighbourhood on your own very soon. <br />
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I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep up these letters, my love, but I'll try! They are such a nice way to record who you are and where you are with your development. Let me tell you a bit about that. You love to learn, and are eager to help in any way you can. You are chatty and excitable and still have to work on not interrupting us. You are kind and loving and can be quite thoughtful. You get distracted easily when it comes to mundane tasks like dressing yourself. You are fantastic at making up games to play. You bring comfort to friends who are having sad days. You are funny and sweet and overall a wonderful person. It's lovely to spend time with you. Keep being the great person you are, and keep developing into the amazing boy you're becoming. <br />
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We love you as far as a TARDIS flies. Maybe even farther. yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-37769623481694274462015-03-13T11:55:00.000-07:002015-03-13T15:14:35.154-07:00Dear Moe (January and February 2015)<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello, Bean. I’m sorry this letter is so late – we’re just about halfway through March! January feels like it was so long ago. We’ve had a great couple of months, and I wanted to share some of the highlights with you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the things that have made me so happy over the past few months is your amazing progress in reading. Your school readers have become so simple for you that we invested in a set of Usborne Phonics Readers for you, and I’m so impressed with how well you can read them when you put your mind to it. Obviously, your preference is that I read them to you, but we eventually reach a détente and you do a fair bit of the work. Even when we are reading our Jack and Annie chapter books, you often recognize the words while I’m reading them and will interrupt and ask, “Does this say _____?” while pointing to a word. You love leafing through your Pokemon and CHIMA encyclopedias, and surprised me the other day by pointing to a word on the globe and asking, “Does this say Mexico?” (It totally did.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the Jack and Annie books introduced us to Louis Armstrong, so I took a few minutes to show you some videos of him playing the trumpet. You loved them and wanted to watch them again and again. Another one asked the question, “What are you good at? What do you love to go?” and you answered for yourself, “I like to sit and watch the fire in the fireplace.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You have also declared that you would like to be a nurse when you grow up. I think you’d made a great nurse – you are very caring and helpful and are great at taking care of people. You enjoy sending hugs and kisses via text message photos. You are affectionate and loving. You pretty much singlehandedly made cupcakes for Valentine’s Day (with some assistance from Grandma), and generously gave them with people you love. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You worked hard for over a month on printing your name on Valentine cards for every person in your class. (You even wrote one for Asha the hairdresser because we were going to see her on Valentine’s Day.) We were asked to work with you on your printing in the evenings, and that proved to be a great project for you. Now you choose three “sight word” cards from your POP Sight Words game and practice printing those. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We made some changes to your room after Christmas – Daddy built you a TARDIS. The “door” is a shower curtain from Grandpa Will and Grandma Anne, the lights inside are from Uncle Mark and Aunt Janine, and they also gave you your own sonic screwdriver. You don’t use the TARDIS a whole lot right now, but we’re hoping that it will become a nice safe hidey hole for you when you need one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You greatly dislike going upstairs by yourself, even to the bathroom. You fight it every step of the way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some of the games you’ve enjoyed playing over the last few months include: </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Ninja thief” where you sneak around the house “invisibly” (“Don’t look at me!”) and “steal” things, which you bring to your ninja hiding spot under the dining room table; </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cooperative board games like Race for the Treasure and Hoot Owl Hoot; </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Other board games like Mario and Luigi checkers, Spuzzle, Spot It Jr., and My First Carcassone; </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Various Wii games Grandma borrows from the library for you to play at her house; </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your first X-Box game, which is a Cars racing game. (It was pretty funny to hear you tell Uncle Mark – the king of racing games – that you’d show him how it’s done.)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was a birthday party extravaganza for a while – Nathan’s birthday party was in January, then Koen’s, followed by Connor’s, and then yours in February. You certainly didn’t suffer from a shortage of cake. Your own birthday celebrations stretched out over a week! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We all got snowshoes for Christmas, and I had lovely visions of us heading out on happy treks through the snow every weekend. It has been so insanely cold this winter that we got out on them once. And you spent most of that time playing in the back area with Emmett (who was also wearing snowshoes) – you guys didn’t snowshoe much, you just played while wearing snowshoes. I’m hoping for a better record next winter. But you know, you are your father’s son sometimes. I have to be careful when I plan for us to go outside because once you’ve gotten into the house and settled in, it can be like pulling teeth to get you to leave again. It can be frustrating, but at the same time, I’m glad you love being at home. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your behaviour in school has changed over the past two months, and I suspect it’s because you are finally really comfortable there. But you’ve been what your teacher calls “hands on” with other students, playing somewhat roughly. Usually, it’s out of joy or excitement, but occasionally you’ve lashed out in anger. We are working to remind you that there are times and places for “hands on” play, but that school is never one of them. You’ve also gone back and forth quite a bit with potty training regression, which has been frustrating for everyone, but we’re trying to be kind of laid back about it because we don’t want to you to stop telling us when you’ve had an accident. (In the interest of accident prevention, we have put the DS away for a few months.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You completed your first swim session at the Salamander level, and we’ve signed you up for more lessons at that level for April and May. You’ve made great progress, but need to work on coming up for air and then being able to go back under. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We’ve signed you up for another session of gymnastics, but after this one we’re going to take a break for the summer. We decided this for two reasons: we’ll be away so many weekends and you’ll miss classes, and you are losing your ability to focus on the coach when in a group. Your teacher at school has noticed this too – you are really easily distracted when in a group and have a hard time focusing on instructions. We’ll keep working on it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You are still wonderfully affectionate and loving. You play hard, wearing out the knees in your pants, and hug and kiss with as much enthusiasm. You are still a wonderful admirer of beauty, which I hope continues, and enjoy listening to music over dinner. You are fun, love being funny and cute and silly, and you bring much joy to our lives. Sometimes I get sad that you’re getting so big, but every new stage is fun in its own way. Keep trying to be a good, caring person who “fills buckets” of the people around him. We love you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-86236531238996258902015-01-22T05:14:00.003-08:002015-01-22T05:17:23.853-08:00The Lesser of the Weevils<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have a hormonal imbalance, which has led to all kinds of interesting side effects. One of them is ovarian pain. Sometimes it's just a twinge of pain, and other times it just about puts me on the floor. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last March, things got so bad that I went to an ob/gyn to find out what I could do. He put me on HRT. We started with the birth control pill. (The irony didn't escape me.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was on the pill for a few months, but the idea was kiboshed by my internalist, who was concerned that this kind of HRT might play havoc with my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_nodular_hyperplasia" target="_blank">FNH</a> (because there is always a risk that it isn't an FNH). So we moved to a transdermal gel for HRT - Estrogel Propak. The dose was lower, and it wasn't taken orally, so better for my liver. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Estrogel HRT made me really moody (like, I could feel my mood swing throughout the day as I got closer to the next dose or further away from the last one), it made me really tired, and... it made me really, really <a href="http://findingmoe.blogspot.ca/2014/11/wait-whats-that-symptom-called.html" target="_blank">itchy</a>. The itching eventually subsided from "crazy ass insane" to "just kind of maddening and only sometimes," but after Christmas, I decided that enough was enough and in early January, I went off the Estrogel. Result? More stable mood, more energy, and way less insane itchiness. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But the ovarian pain came back today. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I need to do some careful thinking, weighing the ovarian pain vs. all the unpleasant side effects of the HRT. Either way, though, I've spent a good deal of time during the past few months muttering dark thoughts about various parts of my endocrine system. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-5081542717335927012015-01-06T09:18:00.001-08:002015-01-06T09:18:31.952-08:00Letter to Moe (From the North Pole) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-86374580838106249912015-01-02T10:20:00.000-08:002015-01-02T10:20:13.896-08:00Dear Moe (November and December)<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Happy New Year, my amazing little bean! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">November and December of 2014 were a wonderful time. You kicked off November with a slightly belated Halloween party at Robin’s house, which involved decorating cookies, lots of crafts, and even a little bonfire in the yard. It was a magical afternoon for you and all the guests. You’ve had a number of lovely days with Robin the past two months, between PD days and the two first days of Christmas break. We are so pleased that you can continue your relationship with her family. She loves having you there because you keep Alex and Nick occupied, and you love being there because you adore playing with them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Considering that you have been playing with more than twenty other kindergarteners every day, you have remained remarkably healthy this fall. (Knock on wood.) You’ve had the usual sniffles and cough, combined with a blocked nose of epic proportions, but have remained pretty much fever free. You and I went for our flu shots in early November, and you were an incredible trooper. Our strategy of immediate reward by chocolate milk is still working, and I intend to keep that up as long as it works. (It also helps that I don’t call it a “flu shot” – I talk instead about how the doctor is going to give us some medicine to keep us healthy.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You have had some wonderful visits with great friends. We had about three weekends in a row of time with Bambi, and it was great to have her around. You love her very much. I know this, because you told her so. She was getting ready to leave at one point, and said, “It was nice to see you, buddy!” and you said, “Yeah, I actually love you. Do you want to see my Chima Lego?” I don’t know if she saw the Lego or not, because she stood there for a moment like she’d been shot in the heart with a rainbow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We were so lucky to also have a visit from Evan and Megan, who were in town over American Thanksgiving. You greatly enjoyed showing them your room, watching Dooze balance on Evan’s head, and generally entertaining them with your antics. I love that you know who they are and that you enjoy their company so much. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We had a great snowfall in early December, and you “called on” a neighbour for the first time (as opposed to playing with him because you both happened to be outside at the same time). We knocked on Emmett’s door and asked him to come out and play. We spent the better part of two hours outside playing in the snow with him and his family. We built a snowman and a snow slide. I’m glad we had that experience because within a week, the snow had pretty much all melted. But as I type this, there are reports of a snowy weekend ahead, so I’m confident we’ll be out there again soon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, the holidays were also a great opportunity to see and play with friends and family. The Rendells visited from Newfoundland, and despite the fact that you only see Ruben and Jessie once every year or so, I marvel at how beautifully you all play together. You had two fantastic play dates, and kept each other so happily occupied that I barely even minded the play-doh all over my living room. We went to Toronto after Christmas for a quick weekend visit, and you also played very well with Aidan and Maya, and shared your toys very nicely with them. I was very proud of you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You had some great adventures this month. Daddy and I attended a concert downtown one Sunday afternoon, so we drove you and Granny downtown with us, and she took you to the Bytown Museum (you love the model of the locks) before bringing you home on the bus. You had a wonderful time, walked like a champ, and didn’t complain at all about the distance. Granny took care of you for two days during the Christmas break, too, and she brought you to a movie (Penguins of Madagascar) and to the Canadian Museum of Nature. You love taking the bus with Granny. In fact, when she picks you up from school two days a week, you are often a bit disappointed if she has brought the car. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Starting in January, you’ll have weekly adventures with Grandma, too! She’s actually taken you to Funhaven for the day today (she’s the only one in our family who can cope with the chaos of these places – if it weren’t for her, you’d never go, so be grateful), and will be picking you up from school two days a week. I know how much Granny enjoys her afternoons with you and I’m so pleased that Grandma will have this special time with you, too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You and I had our own great bus adventure on Christmas Eve. I brought you into work with me for the morning. The morning commute went beautifully – it could not have gone better, in fact. We rode most of the way sitting on the top floor of a double decker bus, in the front seat. You were delighted to be able to see so much, and from so high up. You had a nice time at the Christmas party for kids at my office, and you and Amelia enjoyed helping me make the hot cocoa. When it was time to go home, though, things got complicated. Because everyone was sent home at noon on Christmas Eve, the buses weren’t able to accommodate everyone. We waited an hour for a bus to taken us over the bridge to Ottawa. We didn’t spend that whole hour waiting at the bus stop, though. We walked to a taxi stand and called for a cab (we bailed on this idea because it was too long a wait), and we went to Second Cup for lunch. By the time we got home, it was after two o’clock. I was exhausted. You did beautifully. I can’t even explain how amazingly patient you were. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Christmas preparations and celebrations seem to have lasted all month long. We attended a Christmas Farmers Market at the Aberdeen Pavilion early in the month, where you fell in love with one exhibitor’s toy train. We broke out the Christmas books. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read Mater Saves Christmas, but still greatly enjoy reading Christmas Wombat. We went to Kemptville for a Christmas festival, and you met Santa Claus there and sat on his knee. This is the first time you’ve had any interest in doing this. You told him that all you wanted for Christmas was a toy Dusty plane. Santa sent you a video message suggesting that you just might get one. Christmas morning was a happy time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Daddy, Granny, Grandma and I were so proud to attend your first school holiday concert. You and 130 other kindergarteners sang beautiful songs in the school gym, and then you took us back to your classroom to show us how you could play the hand bells so nicely. You also built a candy house at school, and enjoyed a “PJ day” on the last day before the holidays. For PJ day, you were allowed to bring a stuffed animal to school, and you chose Sheep. It was with real pride and delight that I listened to you coaching your furry friend, “I have exciting news, Sheep! Today is PJ day so you’re coming to school with me. I know you don’t know much about school because you have never been there, but I know about it, so I’ll show you.” And then, at the end of the day, I asked which stuffie your friend Nathan had brought to school. You said he hadn’t brought one, and that’s why you shared Sheep with him. That, my darling, is the spirit of Christmas right there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You learned more about that through another adventure. I chose the name of a four-year-old boy through my work’s Christmas Wish Cloud Campaign, and you chose his gift. (I explained that you were the expert on what a four-year-old boy would want for Christmas if he could only have one thing.) You very carefully selected a Spider-Man play set. You had lots of questions about this little boy, and I wasn’t able to answer too many of them because I didn’t have the answers. I don’t know if he has parents or where he goes to school. I don’t know where he lives. Although you were disappointed that you would not be able to give him you gift in person, it was a very good experience for you to choose a gift for someone you would never meet. We are already prepping you to choose some of your older toys to donate to kids who need them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We celebrated Christmas Eve at Mark and Janine’s with their families, and you had a lovely time, although the presence of four dogs made you a bit nervous. By the end of the evening, though, you declared you loved them all. You enjoyed hanging out with Fiona, although her father Rog was a bit appalled when she brought you upstairs to show you her bed. Christmas morning was at our house with Granny and Grandma, and then we had a restful day until Christmas dinner at Grandma’s house. It was a casual meal, and you loved opening your Christmas cracker and wearing the crown and sitting in front of the TV table to eat your meal. The next day, we drove to Toronto to spend a weekend with Tia and Tio and Isabel and their family. You and I went for a great walk – in your PJs! – to admire the decorations on their street and hit the drugstore to replace my toothbrush, which I had forgotten. On New Year’s Day, we had a visit from Grandpa Leo and Debi, and had yet another little Christmas. People were very generous, and we’ve tried to make you understand (even a little bit) how fortunate we are. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You will be getting back to school next week after two weeks off. You have had a very successful first semester at school. Daddy and I attended a parent-teacher interview in November, and were proud (and a bit surprised, frankly) to hear what a great listener you are there. You do tend to move slowly and dilly-dally about getting dressed to go outside, and sometimes your play with your friends becomes a bit “hands-on” when things get very exciting. But these comments were far outweighed by those describing how well you express yourself verbally, how much you enjoy being at school, your eagerness to learn, and the other skills you are learning. We are working on fine-motor-skills at home – you love using your “scizzurps” (you know they are called scissors but love saying it that way) and we’ll focus on holding that pencil and writing letters once you’ve back at school and into a routine again. You have come home with beautiful projects – Paperbag Princess puppets (which we used for weeks to read the story), painted dragons, and a great painted shield. There’s even a bag of projects that we haven’t had time to open yet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One interesting thing I keep hearing from you about school is how you draw “water eaters.” The first time I heard of this was when you brought home a picture you had drawn for Thanksgiving. You were asked to draw something you were thankful for. You drew a water eater. I’m not clear whether this is a creature that is made of water or that eats water or both, but I’m curious, and I can’t wait to hear more about them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We read stories together every night before bed, and we also use that time to go through your school “sound book” and have you read your school reader to me. It has been really great to see how well you are rising to the challenge for more complex readers. Another part of our nightly ritual is how Daddy carries you from the big bed to your bed… by your ankles. I don’t know how much longer he’ll be able to do that, so enjoy it! You seem to have grown so much in the past few months. You can reach all the light-switches without using a stool. You take up much more space on the couch and in your bed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You are so sweet and affectionate, little bean. You like to pretend you are a baby creature – a bird, a wombat, a kitten – and climb into my lap for cuddles. The other day, you took a break from play and came and sat on my knee for about ten minutes while I sang “Freight Train” to you again and again. You love giving hugs and kisses, and being “cozy” and warm with a fuzzy blanket and a soft pillow. You also love to be nurturing and sweet to your stuffed animals. You like to play that they are the baby creature and you take care of them. It’s heartwarming to see. I hope you keep that nurturing ability for the rest of your life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope 2015 brings you joy and learning and laughter and friendship, my little love. I can’t wait to savour it with you. </span><br />
<br />yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-82966057256106459572014-11-17T17:31:00.001-08:002014-11-17T17:31:14.989-08:00Wait, what's that symptom called?<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many of my long-time readers know that I've been experiencing menopausal symptoms since I was about 30. And then I took a whole bunch of drugs to try and get pregnant, and I experienced what felt like every other possible hormone-related symptom. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have a new one. If I think about it, it's been coming on slowly for a few months now, but it was very mild and I guess I always assumed it was related to the weather. But I started taking a low-dose HRT (Estrogel Propak) and now I see it for what it really is: a symptom of decreasing estrogen levels that makes me think I'm losing my fucking mind. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's called formication. No, read it again. Right. With an "m". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And it's the feeling that your skin is crawling right off your body. If you Google it (and many of you have probably already done so), you'll see that it is also described as a feeling that there are insects crawling all over your body. It's a symptom that people with the DTs sometimes get.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've had one really bad episode and a couple of somewhat bad episodes so far. The bad episode actually started while I was driving, and that wasn't something I want to repeat. I got home and took an antihistamine - there was no rash, but I was so itchy that I thought I must be having some kind of allergic reaction. Then I had a sudden thought that it might be related to the new drugs I'm on and googled "skin crawling + estrogen" and it all made sense. This also may explain the very random hives I've been getting every so often (like, one hive at a time, on my face, with no explanation) for the past few years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It gets better once I take my daily dose of hormones, which I do in the evening, no earlier than 9pm. The problem is that it often starts around 7pm, and I don't want to keep taking my hormones earlier and earlier or I'll end up taking them at noon, which is ridiculous and ill-advised, as they make me sleepy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So it looks like I just try not to scratch for an hour or so each night. But holy crap, it is maddening. Like, "tie me up in a straight-jacket and put me in a padded cell" kind of crazy-making. And I KNOW what's going on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, ladies, as you approach menopause, be aware of some of the symptoms of decreasing estrogen levels. Because otherwise, you'll think you're losing your ever-loving mind. </span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-86957135842527486972014-11-07T16:25:00.002-08:002014-11-07T16:45:33.959-08:00Dear Moe (September and October) <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My dear, beautiful boy. I can’t get over how much you have changed and developed in the past two months since starting full-day junior kindergarten. Let me tell you about some of our adventures since September.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your debut at school went super well. You were excited, happy and eager to be at school, and the drop-off went well on the first day and every day since. I’m so proud of your self-confidence. You made a friend right away – Nathan – and the two of you have been pretty inseparable ever since. You have other friends, too, and come home with lovely stories about sharing and trading classroom toys and the various games you play on the playground. You bid your Daddy goodbye each morning with a flying high-five, and head happily off into the Early-Day Program.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It has been wonderful to see and hear all the amazing things you are learning. Your class did a unit on butterflies – your teacher had a butterfly habitat in the classroom and you were able to observe first-hand the life cycle of caterpillar to “hanging J” to chrysalis to butterfly. And every week for a few weeks, you had a butterfly release party (complete with lovely paper crowns) where your classmates would send butterflies off into the wild with some great songs (“Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go to Mexico!” and “Fly, fly away, butterfly”). You were very disappointed that you were not one of the children chosen to actually release the butterflies, and it was a sore subject for a week or so. But it was a good lesson that not everyone gets picked to do everything. (You were selected to be the leader to the cloak room one day, though, and were pretty darn happy about that, even if one kid barged in front of you and went in first anyway. I explained that you could take comfort in knowing you were the TRUE and CHOSEN leader. The world is full of turkeys, darling. Try not to let them get you down.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Meet the Teacher Night was lovely, if chaotic. You took great pride in showing us around your classroom and following the teacher’s classroom scavenger hunt. We are looking forward to the Parent-Teacher Interview appointment in the next week or so. It will be nice to see the work you’ve done on projects related to themes like worms, fall colours, and more recently, knights and castles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You have brought home incredible artwork (complete with descriptive sentences!), and it has been so wonderful to see that you write your own name on your work now. In September, you were obviously using a model and the letters were very carefully formed. Now, you work without a model and your signature is fantastic. The first, third, and fifth letters are always backwards. It’s adorable. We have noticed your growing interest in numbers, reading, and French. You can count to ten in French. You understand addition and are getting very good at it. You often quiz me with mental math questions, some of which we work on together. We do your reading homework and your sound book together every night at story-time and it has been amazing to watch you improve each day. For the past two weeks, we have received lovely praise in your communications book from your teachers praising how well you read your weekly reader to your friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In addition to being in the Early-Day Program before school in the mornings, you have been in the Extended-Day Program in the afternoons. In October, we reduced to this three days a week, with Granny picking you up on Mondays and Tuesday. In January, we’ll go down to one day a week and (a freshly retired!) Grandma will pick you up on Wednesdays and Thursdays. While you are at school for the same number of hours that you were at Robin’s, school is just so much more intense, and the days feel very long for you. Also, you don’t seem to really enjoy the afternoon program all that much, for a number of reasons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You have greatly enjoyed your time with Granny, though. You have raked leaves, steamed broccoli, taken bus trips, and played all kinds of games together. Your favourite game is one that most people call Store, but for some reason, you call it World.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You have had some wonderful day-long playdates with Grandma in the past few months, too. She took you to Funhaven (your head just about exploded with how much fun you had), and to the Canadian Children’s Museum to see the Bob the Builder Exhibit. You have great conversations together. I know you’ll be very happy to have more time with her in January.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Autumn has brought all kinds of great adventures. We celebrated your scholastic debut with a photo session with Sara McConnell, who you remembered from the family portraits we had done for your third birthday. You had a great time, and we were really pleased with the results.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I brought you to the Ottawa Geek Market, which was held at Nepean Sportsplex at the beginning of October. You were dressed as Mario, and you were a total hit. They had face painting there, so I had the woman paint you a moustache. People stopped to take photos with you. People were offering us all kind of free stuff because you were just so darn cute. We got our photo taken with the TARDIS and you met (and were enchanted by) a remote control K-9. You did end up with a slight case of the “gimmies,” but you enjoyed watching people play video games and left with a spider man change purse and a great new board game (My First Carcassone). You asked if we could go back again the following weekend. I had to break it to you that the Geek Market is only on twice a year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We had a lot of exciting lead up to a great annual event that Uncle Mark puts together: Game-A-Thon. I explained that Daddy and some friends would be playing video games (and table top games) for 24-hours straight to raise money for the kids who are sick at CHEO. I also told you we would go and spend the day, that our chosen family would be there, and that you could do THREE 30-minute sessions with your DS. You just about lost your mind with excitement. And then a few days later, you were sorting money from your elephant bank and set aside a pile of coins, asking, “Can I raise these coins for geo?” It took me a few minutes to figure out that you meant “Can I donate them to CHEO?” You made a very nice donation to the money pot at the event, and had the time of your life. You played Mario Kart 7 with Loralei, you played Rock Bank with Sean, you played Forza with Uncle Mark, and you played Trouble with Becka. You ate Timbits and Ringolos for lunch. It was insane.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And THEN, as if that wasn’t enough, I took you from there to Gemma’s house for her birthday/Halloween party! I was worried your brain would explode. You made a Mr. Potato Head pumpkin, played with a toy ambulance, wowed people with your costume, ate a plate of lasagna and an entire cupcake, and then left with a loot bag, a glow stick, and a helium balloon. We tied the balloon to your wrist for the trip home. We got into the house, and as I was taking off your shoes (hard to do with a balloon on your wrist), I saw you pulling at the ribbon. I asked you not to untie the ribbon yet, until I could help you. You failed to heed my warning. The balloon sailed up to our stucco ceiling and popped with a spectacular sound. It took you a moment to figure out what had happened, but you understood when I held up the broken balloon. Trying to be brave, you said, “At least I still have my glowstick.” And then you burst into tears.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I explained that it is perfectly okay to be sad about losing something you were excited about having. We sat on the couch and had a cuddle, you took solace in your amazing Potato-Head-Pumpkin, and soon felt better. But you declared solemnly that you never wanted another balloon again because it would pop and you would be sad. I hope you can learn that as painful as it can be to lose something or someone we love, what we gain from loving in the first place can far outweigh the pain of the loss.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our lives have been full of new babies lately! In the past few months, you’ve met Baby Harriet, Baby Dorothy and Baby Rowan. You find them cute, you enjoy “holding” them (sitting with them propped up against you on the couch) and are intrigued by how small they are. You are always really excited when you find out you will be spending time with one of them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Aunt Janine came across another small and cute creature… in her backyard. She found a newborn kitten, which she wanted to bring to the Ottawa Humane Society. So we drove her there, and you watched as she surrendered little Egon (who didn’t even have his eyes open yet). And while we were there and I’d already dosed with you Benadryl, we stopped in to pet the kitties. You LOVED petting the kitties. I think we will have to dope you up on Benadryl and bring you back there again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You greatly enjoyed Halloween this year, trick or treating for longer than you ever had, and making lots of friends along the way. I was very proud of how hard you worked to be polite and say “trick or treat,” “thank you!” and “happy Halloween!” to each person. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In September, we started you into two weekend activities – one on each day of the weekend. On Saturdays, you have swimming lessons. This has been a long time coming. We have all worked really hard to get you comfortable in the water since the Swimming Lesson Disaster of 2012. This has involved trips to Bambi and Simon's large and quiet pool, swimming at Ted and Jen's, swimming at Disney. Things started to look promising in July when you were willing to be in the pool and not glued to me. You had a real breakthrough in August when you suddenly decided that if you were wearing a lifejacket you could actually let go of the edge of the pool. It was amazing. You blew us away with your first lesson – you were one of three boys and the only one who didn't end up crying or refusing to go into the pool. You listened, participated, and did everything asked of you. Within a few weeks, you were dunking yourself under water. You will be graduating from Low-Ratio Sea Otter soon, and we've already signed you up for Low-Ratio Salmander. I worried about having you in two activities at the same time while starting kindergarten, but I have no regrets. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because you're still really enjoying gymnastics! Your coach this session is Flex, and she is very pleased with your progress. We need to work on your stork stand a bit by practicing at home (I forgot this week) and we also need to have you practice front rolls and remind you to tuck your damn head. You keep ending up stuck in a half headstand! But you love your class, and it's been wonderful to watch your confidence and sense of discipline grow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The transition has gone very well, but that doesn't mean you don't miss Robin and her family. We've found a few occasions to see them, and are working on finding more. You had a really long chat on the phone with Robin a few weeks ago, and I think she was impressed with how well you could hold a conversation. She's looking forward to seeing you this weekend. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You are such a lovely boy, Moe. Like Olaf, you love warm hugs. You have always taken great care of me, reminding me to eat breakfast in the morning. But this past few months, you got to really take care of me because I had a concussion. You were very patient with my need for rest, and played quietly when I asked you to and came up to cuddle with me gently if it was time for me to wake up. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your emotional capacity is growing. There have been a few instances this past few weeks where something in a book or television show has made you cry because it is so sad. When Gerald dropped his ice cream cone in the book Should I Share My Ice Cream?, I must have read it pretty convincingly because you burst into tears. And in one episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Jake and his crew lose Bucky and sing a very sad song about how hard it is to say goodbye to someone... and you wept. We always assure you that it's okay to cry at sad things, and remind you that things will work out in the end. The fact that you have been able to talk about your feelings in these moments is wonderful, and we are very proud of you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You've developed a few fears – you have never been a fan of the dark, and for a while you were having nightmares about piranha plants. But your sense of humour is also blossoming wonderfully. The other day I gave you permission to eat your banana while sitting on the couch, and you headed into the living room. Then I heard you calling, in a strange little voice, “Hello? Hello?” I came into the living room and you were talking into your banana, saying, “I'm calling you on my banana-phone to ask you to please open my banana!” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You have grown curious about the concept of death. You occasionally mention, in an off-hand manner, that someday you'll be dead. You ask when we are going to die. It's never done in a morbid way, and it's often hilarious. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And you are getting so tall. You can turn on most light switches on your own, and I marvel at how much space you take up when you lie down in the bathtub or when I see you stretched out in bed. You are looking so much older lately, that I occasionally wonder where my little boy has gone. But then you climb into my bed and put your head on my chest and ask me for a butterfly kiss and I'm reassured that you'll be here with me for a while longer yet. I love you so much. Thank you for being the best part of our lives. </span><br />
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yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-60333616987744878292014-08-28T11:44:00.002-07:002014-08-28T11:45:40.548-07:00Dear Moe (July and August)<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh,
my darling, we have had such a wonderful summer. I can hardly believe it’s
almost over. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We
have had some wonderful get-togethers with friends at various parks. Your summer
has been filled with park play and picnics and wading pools and splash pads. Your
legs are so tanned that your knees look permanently stained. I’m surprised you
don’t sweat sunscreen. And you so rarely use your sand toys anymore – you are
quite content to climb on the play structures, especially if you’re playing
with bigger kids. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You
have really come into your own over the past month or so. Robin reports that
you often befriend other kids at the park, and that you are now standing up for
yourself when someone treats you in a way that you perceive to be unfair. This
is so encouraging, and it tells me that you are more than ready for whatever
the next few months bring. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We
have really limited your screen time this summer, and we’re pretty happy with
the results. You get an hour of screen time each day – that includes the tablet,
your DS, TV, etc. We bought a digital kitchen timer which keeps track of your
time, and it’s great. It can be paused and restarted as often as necessary, and
we aren’t constantly watching the clock. You speak less obsessively about your
various games, and we are all spending less time in front of the TV. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We
went on quite the holiday in July! We flew to Halifax and stayed with Grandpa
Will and Grandma Anne for a week. It was absolutely wonderful. You had the time
of your life – at times, there were as many as six adults giving you their full
attention, and you discovered that your Uncle David can play soccer with you
AND NEVER GET TIRED. We spent a morning at a 1940s heritage village, where you
checked out the school house, ground up chicken feed, and fed some chickens.
You also got a kick out of the water pump. We spent that afternoon at Clam
Harbour Beach. It was a somewhat cool and cloudy day, but that didn’t stop you
from getting soaked in the waves and playing happily in the sand. David took
you out in a K2 at the Maskwa paddling club, and had a great time playing at
that beach, too. We ate pretty much all our meals outdoors on Grandpa’s
wonderful deck, and there were always plenty of cookies. It was your idea of
heaven. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">You
did a day trip to Upper Clements Park with me, Grandma Anne, Grandpa Will and
Heather. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s a lovely amusement park
with lots of trees and fun rides for people your age and size. You impressed us
all with your fearlessness. You climbed up this huge wooden tower with Heather,
and I never thought you’d do it, but you crossed over a rope bridge to the
other side. You adored the rides – the carousel, the airplanes, the truck
convoy and especially the kiddy bumper boats. (Grandpa Will found it
fascinating to watch you learn how to steer them.) I was amazed and delighted
that you were willing to try the flume ride – you loved it! And it involved two
BIG drops!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You
and Daddy and I spent a lot of time in downtown Halifax. We had a wonderful
time at the Discovery Centre, and history repeated itself when you fell asleep
in the stroller as we wandered through the Public Gardens. (You did that with
me when you were three months old – the last time you visited Halifax.) We
checked out the Maritime History Museum, took a ferry ride, and did a lot of
walking. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mostly,
though, I think you loved hanging out with your grandparents. You and Grandma
Anne share an especially sweet bond. It was wonderful to watch you with them.
And you have asked, pretty much every day for the last six weeks, when we’re
going back to see them again. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">You
are just about done your first session of Super Starrs at gymnastics. This is a
more advanced class, for kids who are 4.5 to 6 years old. It is certainly more
challenging! You are the smallest and youngest in the class, but you amaze me
every week with how hard you work to keep up, and how much you have improved
over the session. Your coach, Widget, is really pleased.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We
have signed you up for swimming lessons, starting in September. It’s a
low-ratio class, so there will only be three or four kids. I’m hoping this session
goes better than the last one did (you were about 2 years old – it was an
unmitigated disaster) and that by the end of the session, you will have more
confidence in the water. Having said that, you are doing pretty darn well. You
love being in the water, and you have made great strides swimming with a life
jacket. But it’s time for you to start getting comfortable without one. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We
have had all kinds of interesting conversations lately. The Magic Treehouse
books have raised all kinds of questions about topics like war, slavery, and
natural disasters. Conversations at daycare with Alex have led to discussions at
home about religion. The conversation on religion led to a discussion about
human conception, which led to me trying to find a not-terribly-traumatic video
on Youtube that would show how a woman’s vagina can stretch to accommodate a
baby’s head. (Found one that was done as a 3-D render. Phew.) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We
had a conversation about appropriate nudity. It wasn’t a conversation I
particularly wanted to have with you yet, but something forced my hand. You and
the other daycare kids were playing on Robin’s lawn in the sprinkler, and you
were naked. We don’t have a problem with you being naked in a setting like that
(it was 30 degrees out and you were the oldest child at 4 and a half years old!),
but one of her neighbours clearly had an issue and instead of sharing their
concerns with Robin, they called the police. Long story short, we ended up
talking about how it is fine to be naked with people you love and trust, but
that we probably shouldn’t be naked where strangers can see us. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And
you love being naked. I think your favourite part of the day is after your
bath, when you can run around without your clothes, and cuddle up with your
blanket on the big bed. You love wiggling your bare bum at us, and just seem so
relaxed and innocent, running around without your clothes. Enjoy it while you
can… it is already getting cooler in the evenings. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We
had a really remarkable playdate last weekend with our friends Tash and Lhotse.
They live in Almonte, so we went up for the better part of the day. You played
so well with Lhotse and her neighbour, Tommy, both of whom are four years old. And
then Tash set up her backyard zip line! What a treat! You were your usual
cautious self, not wanting to go too fast, but you had a wonderful time, and
all three of you were really good about taking turns. We’ll have to get out
there again soon. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A
big change that happened recently was that your Daddy got a new job! I know you’ll
miss visiting his store (that was always a very special time for both of you),
but this new job means that Daddy is home with us on weekends. We haven’t quite
digested what this means yet, but I’m really excited about it. He’s even going
to take you to your swimming lessons! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And
of course, the biggest change happens in the next week. Tomorrow is your last
day at Robin’s. On Tuesday, you and I are going shoe shopping, then to your
intake interview to meet your teacher, and then for a haircut. Wednesday, you
get to determine the agenda, and then on Thursday, you start kindergarten. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
know you are going to do great. I know you are going to make friends. I know
you are going to be fine. And hopefully I will be, too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
love you so much that I don’t even know how to express it to you. I am so proud
of the person you are becoming. You have your moments, but overall, you make
the right choices: you are friendly and helpful and fun. Thank you being so
wonderful. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-16819899109672144582014-07-03T09:42:00.000-07:002014-07-03T12:07:18.903-07:00Dear Moe (April, May and June 2014) <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello, my pookiest of pookie beans. It’s
been a while. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What have we been up to since April?
Here are some of the highlights: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When biking weather arrived, we broke
out your balance bike, which was a gift from Aunt Kimmy and Uncle Luc. It did
not take you long to get the hang of it, and now you are tearing up the
asphalt. I am confident that next spring you’ll be able to graduate right to a
two-wheeler without training wheels. One of the things I love about the balance
bike is that it is so light to carry, so when you decide you’ve had enough, I
can sling it over my shoulder as we walk! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the end of April, we ran away to
Disney World together and had an amazing time. Granny came with us and she
greatly enjoyed watching you take everything in. It took you a day to get used
to the heat (which brings out your somewhat unreasonable side), but you totally
surpassed our expectations and once again proved yourself to be a wonderful
travel companion. You happily waited in lines to meet characters (it was often your
decision or idea – and your joy at finally meeting Woody was wonderful to
behold), you loved rides like the Tomorrowland Speedway and the Mad Hatter’s
Tea Party (you went on these ones several times, and would have kept going on
them again and again!), you rocked darker rides like Buzz Lightyear’s Space
Ranger Spin and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (your light-up Mickey
Mouse keychain came in handy for the dark portions), and were an enthusiastic
audience member at the Disney Junior show and the Lights, Motor, Action!
Extreme Stunt Show. You were the guest conductor on the Walt Disney World
Railroad at Magic Kingdom, and you got to say “all aboard!” over the loud
speaker. You love watching water run, and never missed an opportunity to watch
a fountain (and there are SO MANY FOUNTAINS). Imagine your delight when you got
to play in some at Downtown Disney! Since we came home, you have been asking
when we are going back. Our goal is 2017, when you are seven years old. You’d
better build your walking endurance, though, because I think you’ll be too big
for a stroller at that point! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have I mentioned how much you love
watching water? As much as you enjoyed the Easter egg hunt that Grandpa Leo
organized for you on our day trip to Kemptville, I think the highlight of that
afternoon was standing with him on the bridge over the river and watching the
water flow by. Granny and I brought you on a picnic to Hog’s Back Falls, and
you happily sat on a rock watching the waterfalls while munching on a sandwich.
When we went camping with Grandma in June at Bonnechere, all you wanted to do
on the beach was carry buckets of water from the lake to a large hole and fill
it up. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We had a wonderful first family
camping trip. Once again, you amazed us with your versatility. You loved the
beach, were excited about sleeping in a tent, and were all over the idea of
roasting marshmallows (until you realized they are just as tasty unroasted, and
then you stopped bothering and just ate them out of the bag). You were a great help
washing the dishes, and were so delighted when a chipmunk ate sunflower seeds out
of your hand and even let you pet him. You’ve repeatedly asked when we are
going camping again. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We’ve had some very nice days at
Uncle Ted and Aunt Jen’s this summer. You were a big help when I went there to
weed the lawn and clean up the carport area. You were a star at the baby shower
(although I didn’t do a very good job managing expectations because you really
were expecting that a) there would be a baby there and b) we would be giving
the baby a shower), and have greatly enjoyed some of our swimming dates there.
Just recently, you suddenly had a burst of confidence in the water and are now
comfortable swimming on your own with a life jacket. This is amazing for so
many reasons, including the fact that I no longer have to carry you around the
pool. I know this is partly due to our winter swim dates with Bambi at her
pool, and your great experience with a lifejacket in the resort pool at Disney
World. I’m super proud of you and am excited about enrolling you in (hopefully
low ratio) swimming lessons in September. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You are becoming so imaginative in
your play. You love to play “store” (I am a frequent purchaser of various toys,
cars, and piles of sand), to take care of your “babies” (your stuffed animals),
and to pretend to be a baby animal (often a puppy, sometimes a kitty). I am
often informed that you are Spider-Man and I am Firestar and Daddy is Ice Man,
or that you are Mario and I am Luigi. Your sentences frequently start with, “Mommy,
pretend that…” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You are a wee bit obsessed with Mario
and Luigi, my darling. There are three games that you play on your DS that involve
these characters: Mario Kart 7, Super Mario Bros. 2, and Mario and Luigi Dream
Team. And sometimes, the game play is all you want to talk about for what feels
like hours and actually might be (you don’t get to play the game for hours –
you just want to talk about it all the time). We went through a number of weeks
where you didn’t play DS at all, and you spent less time narrating imaginary
game play, but you are back off the wagon now and it is your go-to conversation
topic. But, you know, if it weren’t Mario and Luigi, it would be something else.
When you weren’t playing DS, you were talking Spider-Man all the time. It’s
like you need something to be obsessed with, and maybe that’s ok. It seems that
it’s pretty common for 4-year-olds to develop mild obsessions, and I know it
will eventually pass as you learn other topics about which you can talk. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(As your Uncle Mark said the other day, "Son, you have an unhealthy obsession with that game. Now let me tell you about this car I saw...") </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You started a new level of gymnastics
last week! You’ve graduated from Komet Kids to Super Starrs, and
this new class is much more technical and requires you to pay very close
attention to the coach. You had a great first class, but were completely bagged
by the end and opted to skip a museum visit in favour of going home to chill
out for a while. You were able to keep up very well with the other, older kids
in the class, and I’m confident that your skills will improve as you gain
experience! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Robin’s boys Nick and Alex are out of
school for the summer, so day care is extra busy and you enjoy all your quality
time with them very much. You love playing with the older kids, and have forged
such an amazing connection with them. I’m not looking forward to when we say
goodbye to Robin and her family at the end of August. I know we’ll keep in
touch, and they will remain an important part of your life, but the end of this
era will be bittersweet for sure. They have been a constant for you for three
years. We will miss them very much. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But kindergarten is coming, and it is
going to be awesome. Daddy and I attended an information night, and we met your
teacher and saw your classroom – we are very pleased. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">We are working to build your
excitement about school (it’s not hard) and get you where you need to be by
September. You’re pretty much there, but there are a couple of areas where you
need to be a bit more independent. I’m not worried, because if you don’t figure
it out before school starts, you’ll figure it out soon after. You have already
made huge strides in the past couple of weeks: consistently going to the
bathroom independently (including turning on the lights, flushing and
hand-washing), getting dressed on your own, getting undressed and into the bathtub
by yourself, putting your garbage in the garbage can, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You love books and reading – we recently started reading
chapter books together for the first time, and we ploughed through the first
nine books in the Magic Treehouse series before you asked for a break from
them. And you would listen to those books anywhere, and followed the plot
really well. I’m super proud of you, and am looking forward to introducing you
to more chapter books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What can I say about you? You are wonderfully talkative and you
express your needs so clearly (although we are still working on getting you to
express them POLITELY). You are affectionate and crave hugs, snuggles,
roughhousing, or any physical connection with us. You are smart, cheeky, hilarious,
goofy and witty. You are super appreciative of small gifts, so it’s a pleasure
to give you things. You’re pretty adorable (although you’re starting to know
it), and a pleasure to hang out with. We love you like pancakes, and spend most
of our time </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">telling people how awesome you are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Keep being amazing. Keep loving yourself. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-73309443744170316012014-07-03T08:44:00.001-07:002014-07-03T08:49:44.813-07:00Preparing for Kindergarten - A Primer<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A wonderful and talented friend of ours (who is a great teacher, writer, and parent) took the time to write us this letter, which I would like to share with you. We have found it equal parts helpful and amusing. Her examples are all from her own experience with her amazing daughter. We are so grateful for our village. :) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10 Things to Know When Your Child Starts (Full-Day)
Kindergarten<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. The first day of school (or every day for the first while) will
result in potential tears over irrational things, not necessarily the GOING to
school part (i.e. there could be tears because the backpack is too heavy—with
all the things you need to put in their cubby--; there could be tears because
their shoes are too white; there could be tears because their pants aren’t
stretchy enough).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. When asked what they did that day, he/she will reply with
“nothing.” This is not an accurate description of the day, nor is it indicative
of his/her reluctance to tell you. Your child is simply so overwhelmed from the
plethora of new experiences that he/she simply cannot honestly tell you. This
will eventually disappear. With extreme prejudice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. Due to the frequent inability to tell you what they enjoyed
during the day (see # 2), be on the look-out for random, seemingly “out of the
blue” comments. They will have no context and will be difficult to follow at
first, but they will be little gems of knowledge about his/her day. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. Don’t stress about whether your kiddo is getting enough
activity simply because they are now going to school all day. They are. All
day. Constantly. There will be some structured time for stories, little group
lessons on specific content, but they will spend most of their time at the
informal “play to learn” centers, going to the library, and hitting the gym,
all in addition to being outside for upwards of two hours—each day. This is a
lot for little brains and bodies to internalize. They will be exhausted, and
fully active. So no need to hit the park
after school or go for long walks or bike rides on school nights (unless
requested, of course—be prepared for the consequences for that during the first
couple of months, though (see #5)).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5. Avoid signing up your kiddo for any out-of-school activities,
if possible, for the first “season” (2-3 months) that Fall (especially
activities that may run in the evening). Your kiddo will be bagged. Utterly
bagged. Their brains and bodies are adjusting to a lot of information and new
situations, as well as all the play-based learning. And there will be a distinct correlation
between the evening of said activities and injuries on the playground the
following day—in fact, it’s almost a guarantee. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6. Saturday mornings will need to be a time to “chill” or do very
low-key activities. He/she will need to recharge—big time. If Saturday mornings
are not an option because you’ve got things going on, try to give him/her
Sunday as a “day off”. Eventually, the need for the down-time will decrease,
but this may not happen for months. In fact, it may not happen until the middle
of the following year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7. Your own behaviour will suddenly come under scrutiny in the
most hilarious and adorable ways. Be prepared to be told off (in the amusing
seriousness all 4 year-olds can muster) in language/phrases you don’t use. This
is clearly the language of the classroom, and will actually come in quite
useful when trying to reiterate the same type of messages at home. Often, the kiddo will give you access to
words that better express what you want them to understand. Use them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8. The agenda is the golden book of communication. Do not
hesitate to use it. The teacher (or ECE worker) will read them every day, and
will also write notes to you, as well. This is where you’ll hear about the
kiddo falling off the bikes at lunch, could you please look at the scrape
he/she has on his/her knee?, etc. The agendas also work the other way. If the
kiddo is having a terrible morning because you had to pull out an especially
large splinter, and he/she is upset because he/she doesn’t think he/she is
being brave (because they are crying), send a note in the agenda. Describe what
happened, and ask for help to convince said kiddo that they WERE brave. Sometimes,
your child will not believe you, especially as they develop a fondness and
respect for their teacher—they WILL believe the teacher, though. Said child may
even come home with a special award/certificate for being brave.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">9. Do not hesitate to ask questions. The teacher will appreciate
the transparency, and chances are, he/she gets whatever question you have ALL
the time. You are not alone. The teacher knows this. If there is anything about
the kiddo’s little quirks that help define who he/she is and how he/she
responds to certain situations, tell the teachers. They want to know, and will
probably ask you anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And
finally,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10. You, above all else, will enjoy hearing
about where your child spends their play “learning” time. Some of it may
surprise you; some will not surprise you at all. It’s a source of constant joy
to know/hear about what he/she does when given the free choice, as well, as how
they are forming into a more defined version of themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Love you guys, lots. I
hope Moe loves starting JK in this September. :) </span></span></div>
yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-55475599219841883532014-06-16T11:08:00.004-07:002014-06-16T11:08:52.999-07:00Dear Moe (June 16, 2014)<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi, sweetie. I know I haven't written in a while, and I'm feeling pretty guilty about it. We've had a wonderful time since my last letter, and I'm hoping I can get back to recording all our fun soon. But in the meantime, I wanted to explain something to you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Everyone has a basket that they carry around with them, and that's where they put the various things with which they can cope. The size of your basket will vary throughout your life - sometimes you'll be able to cope with all kinds of things, and at other times, you'll feel like you can only cope with a few things. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My basket is pretty small right now. I'm making sure that there is always room in that basket to put "being a good mommy" and "spending time with Moe" and "creating a safe and happy home." As a result, there isn't much room for things like "writing Moe's letter" or "taking and editing photos of Moe." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The size of my basket is never your fault, and what doesn't fit into it isn't your fault, either. I love you, and your well-being is my top priority. I hope I'll be able to write to you again soon. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Loving you as far as a TARDIS can fly, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mommy</span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-36094385296114595742014-04-09T13:24:00.000-07:002014-04-09T13:24:03.447-07:00Dear Moe (February and March 2014) <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There were times in the past few months that I thought I’d never be able to type this, but spring finally seems to have sprung, my dear! It’s been a wonderful two months with you, despite the stubbornness of winter. Let me tell you about some of our adventures. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In February, we went to Little Ray’s Reptiles with Emma and her mom. We had never been there before, and it was really neat! The show/demo portion was long for you, but you liked walking around and seeing the different animals. You enjoyed the crocodiles, the snakes, and the big tortoises. (Aside – I learned the difference between a turtle and a tortoise at Little Ray’s, and we learned the difference between a snake and a lizard!) We even got to watch a snake eat a rat. But, hilariously enough, the huge highlight for you was watching this pipe in the crocodile enclosure where the water was rushing out. You could have watched that thing for hours. You love running water. What can I say? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">February means Winterlude, and that usually means at least some overtime for me, and this year was no exception! You had a lovely Saturday afternoon with Mark and Janine that included you giving Aunt Janine a ride on your plasma car. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging at Mark and Janine's house. Uncle Mark likes your brains. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You and I went to Winterlude together at Confederation Park. Once again this year you loved the coloured blocks and the ice mosaic workshop. The maple taffy candy also went over very well. Then we headed to the Bytown Museum for some warm-up fun. You loved it there, and you especially loved hanging with Stephanie, who came with us for our adventure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We don’t have cable, but Granny does, so we spent a few evenings at her house watching the Olympics together. We also watched some online. Considering that you’d rather be watching your own shows, you did pretty darn well with it. I think the sports you enjoyed watching most were the snowboarding and ski jumping. The Winter Olympics brought back all kinds of great memories for me, as the last time they were on, they took place in Vancouver, and you had just been born! I remember watching the gold medal hockey game on the tiny little TV in my hospital room, with you by my side. It is actually one of the moments I have felt the most Canadian. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We celebrated your fourth birthday in February, with a family dinner (we had pancakes and black forest cake!) and plenty of gifts from all kinds of people who love you. Aunt Janine outdid herself and gave you a Despicable Me Fart Blaster. We were so grateful. Now whenever you get a bit too excited with the fart blaster, we call her up and let you blast her over the phone. Other highlights included your very own Octopod, and a fantastic Bruder cement truck. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We held <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/yumikid/sets/72157641432133453" target="_blank">your birthday party for friends</a> at the Canadian Agriculture Museum where you took a tour of the barns, made ice cream, and played all kinds of great games. It was a real success, and everyone played well together. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This birthday has been a great opportunity to increase our collection of board games – and we now have plenty that we can all play together! We’ve been playing I Can Do That (the Cat in the Hat game), Hungry Hungry Hippos, Cariboo, and Froggie Boogie, to name a few. You are a very competitive little soul, sir, and you often ask me to “let you win.” I always refuse, saying that if I let you win you won’t learn anything. Once you replied, “But I don’t need to learn! I know how to play this game!” That wasn’t the kind of learning I was talking about. You’ll get there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Although we’ve been anxious to move on from winter, it has afforded us some great times together. I can remember one day there was a light snowfall coming down and you stood outside without your mittens on and exclaimed with delight that the snow was tickling your hands. You love your little red shovel and take great pleasure in helping us clear the driveway. This has also been the first winter where you’ve enjoyed climbing and playing on the snowbank in front of our house. We’ve also been on some great walks around the neighbourhood on the milder days, including a lovely one with Uncle Mark’s parents, Peter and Barbara.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">March brought <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/yumikid/sets/72157641774039663/" target="_blank">Baconfest</a>, the annual <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPU6DlpZjdk" target="_blank">celebration of pig product</a> among our friends. I’m pretty sure you haven’t missed a single one since you were born (you missed that one – you were born on Baconfest morning). You helped me make bacon cheddar scones, and had a great time at the party. You loved playing with the big kids in the basement, and had a blast with Uncle Mark’s new sumo sacks. You were amazing about sharing your Lego with the other kids, and good about expressing when you needed some quiet time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You and Grandma had a fantastic adventure at Monkey Around, where apparently you climbed the bouncy castle “rock-climbing” wall all by yourself, and slid down the other side! You are becoming so brave, Bean, and it makes me very proud to see you overcome your fears. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another example is how well you have been doing in the pool. I asked you if you might be interested in doing swimming lessons, but you said you’d rather do “Graham and Mommy” lessons in Bambi’s pool. So we have been trying to get there a couple of times a month, and each time we go, the more confident you become. You have gone from not wanting to leave the stairs to demanding to be held like superman while I run laps through the shallow end. You love to kick and were even getting the hang of doing some arm movements, too. It has been amazing to watch, and I’m confident that you’ll be in good shape for our big travel adventure later this month. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because at the end of April, darling, we’re going to Disney World. Your Daddy and I reached our limit with Ottawa winter and challenges at work and we’re running away to hang out with Mickey for a week. And we’re bringing you and Granny with us. We are super excited and your excitement is increasing, too, which is wonderful. I can’t wait to share our favourite place with you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You are still enjoying your Saturday gymnastics class. We had a hiccup at the start of last session when Pépé (your coach from the first session) was no longer working at the gym. But you got used to Galaga (just like you are getting used to Blink, your coach for this session), and you and Pépé exchanged some very nice letters where you told her how much you missed her and she told you how proud she was of you. Watching your first crush was pretty awesome. It was also incredible to see your second gymnastics showcase and marvel at how much you have improved over the past months! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Four years old means that you’re a big boy, and that means an increase in various privileges and responsibilities. You have a DS now, but your screen time is carefully rationed (some days more successfully than others). You are expected to get yourself into and out of your car seat by yourself. You go to the bathroom on your own, flush and wash your hands (although you always ask for company, and sometimes I comply because I worry that if I don’t, it will lead to a long discussion and you’ll end up having an accident). You can play much more independently than you used to, but we also have good and bad days for that. But it has been wonderful to see you develop and mature and become more self-reliant. Keep it up! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The DS (with Super Mario Brothers 2 and Mario Cart 7) and “older” tablet games, like Plants vs Zombies, have given rise to some interesting challenges. It can sometimes be very difficult to get you to stop playing without a big fuss (although, you’ve gotten better about it now that we have laid down the law and set timers, etc.) Also, these games demand so much of your focus that you often have an accident. I don’t want to punish you for peeing in your pants at these times because I think the problem is that you’re not quite mature enough to handle the intensity of the games and the focus they require (or, I guess, the lack of focus on other things that they inspire!) So we’re really curtailing when and how you play them, but hopefully in a way that you don’t feel punished. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You’re surrounded by pregnant women, darling. Gemma and Margot’s mommy is expecting a baby (hilarious comment by you: “Why does she need another baby? She has Margot!”), and there are others people in our chosen family who are expecting their own additions. This has led to some great questions on your part, including when we were getting our baby. When I explained that we were not going to get a baby, you wanted to know why. I explained that for some people, it’s is very easy to have a baby, and for others it is more difficult. I told you that I can’t have any more babies. And you wanted to know why. So I explained that the part of my body that makes babies doesn’t work. And you wanted to know why. And I couldn’t tell you. But you had some great suggestions, like perhaps we could take a baby from someone who didn’t want theirs, or get one at a store. I look forward to telling you about why you are so special and what was involved in getting you here. I have never shied away from telling you those stories, but you are also not quite at a point where you will understand the details.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You’re adorable and hilarious. At one point, I was getting really frustrated trying to do something and I was making all these angry, frustrated grunts. You looked at me solemnly and said, “You can say ‘sucks.’” I must have stared at you in confusion because you continued, “When something is really hard, it’s ok to say it sucks. It’s not a bad word.” I declared that the offending task did in fact suck, and was much comforted – thank you! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We have so much fun with you. I love our weekend adventures and our bedtime chats and our frequent hugs and cuddles and the way you call my name when you come into the house after day care. You’ve started calling me Momma, and I actually really like it. You generally seem to enjoy our company, and we really enjoy yours. I can’t wait to see what spring and summer bring. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Keep being awesome. I love you. </span><br />
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<br />yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-38800158560640271872014-04-07T09:59:00.000-07:002014-04-07T09:59:00.677-07:00Playing Guess Who?<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We bought the Disney Junior version of the board game Guess Who? for Moe this weekend. My son is so incredibly, beautifully, maddeningly honest. It was hilarious. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Me: Ok, so you need to pick a character for me to guess. So move your marker to point to someone, but don't tell me who you've picked. Ok?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moe: Ok. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Me: Have you picked someone? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moe: I picked Captain Hook. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(This happened three times.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Me: Ok, Moe... so you have to pick a character for Mommy to guess, BUT YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHO IT IS. When I ask you if you've picked someone, just say "yes" or "no". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moe: Okay. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Me: Have you picked someone?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moe: Yes or no. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Later, after enlisting Daddy to be on Moe's team.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bundy: Ok, buddy, so we're going pick a character - but don't say it out loud. We don't want Mommy to know who you've picked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moe: (stage whisper to Daddy) I picked Izzy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bundy: *laughing* Moe, you can't tell Mommy!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moe: *indignant* I didn't tell Mommy, I told YOU!</span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-23715699074484806302014-02-26T08:54:00.001-08:002014-02-26T10:38:56.172-08:00They Are Still in There<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today a friend shared <a href="http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd?AdId=570091598&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social%2BMedia&utm_campaign=Post%2BTo%2BFacebook" target="_blank">a Kijiji posting</a> on Facebook for a free cradle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It broke my heart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I just about left work and drove out to Carleton Place to get this fucking cradle out of this poor couple's house because I have been there and I know how painful it is to go down to the basement and see a box of broken hopes every time you want to run a load of laundry. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In less than three minutes, I posted the ad on Facebook, I sent it to everyone I could think of, and I emailed the poster to let them know that I was sharing the ad and that I was thinking of them and that I have been where they are (maybe not on that same road, but dammit, I lived on that same small island for years). I was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to do SOMETHING. And I feel totally helpless. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm just about in tears over this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wasn't anticipating this kind of emotional reaction. And I'm trying to figure out where it is coming from. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Is it because the memories of that time in my life are so painful?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Is it because I feel a kind of survivor guilt for having gotten through to the other side when so many couples don't? There but for the grace of something go I? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Or is it just because I'm moved by this person's bravery for trying to reclaim some small space in their house and their broken heart? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think it's all three. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is about so much more than this person's cradle. And I didn't realize I still had all these feelings inside me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Edit -- I've shaken it off, but it was an unexpected and very intense wave of emotion for which I was unprepared. </span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-40435826479951735762014-02-24T08:00:00.000-08:002014-02-24T08:00:01.244-08:00Dear Moe: Birthweek Bonanza<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It finally happened. You turned four years old. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We celebrated early and often. There was a family birthday dinner at Granny's with Grandma and Aunt Janine and Uncle Mark on the weekend prior to your birthday. There was your birthday proper, which you fêted at daycare with a very special gift. And on the weekend after your birthday (yesterday, in fact), we had your birthday party with friends at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Through it all, you have been awesome. You are truly a joy to be around, and I miss you when you're not with me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You are, for the most part, able to listen to reason, and to be reasonable in return. You are kind and loving and sweet. For your age, you are a fantastic listener. I love how you are getting better and better about expressing your needs and feelings. I love hearing about what is going on in your head.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can be amazingly affectionate, and it's so wonderful. I treasure every pat, every hug and every snuggle. I'm glad we can be a safe place for you, but I never expected how safe I would also feel with you in my lap or with your arms around me. My heart sometimes hurts with how much I love you. You are just the most amazing creature. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We've often expressed love to each other in terms of distance. (Thank you, Guess How Much I Love You.) From the moment you were born, I've told you that I love you to the moon and down again and around the stars and back again. This week, we introduced a new expression: </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I love you as far as a TARDIS can fly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And I do. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. You are crocuses in February and roses in December. You are warm butter melting on fresh baked bread. You are pure delight and immense wonder. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When you were very small, I would play this song on repeat for hours while you slept in my arms, and I would sing along. Every word is still true. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Happy birthday, my darling boy. Thank you for four incredible years. </span><br />
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<br />yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-37859791813387408932014-01-29T18:59:00.002-08:002014-01-29T19:11:03.617-08:00Dear Moe (47th Month) <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello, my sweet little puppy dog. It is getting challenging to keep up with these letters every month, so I think I’ll write to you every second month, and we’ll go by calendar month rather than your age. Your next letter will come to you at the end of March, and will talk about all the things we did together in February and March. (I will likely also write you a letter on your fourth birthday, but like last year it will be less about what we have done and more about who you are.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn’t write to you about Christmas in my last letter. You brought the joy to our Christmas this year, my love. It was wonderful to watch your anticipation build – you eagerly opened a new box on your advent calendar every day, and we read stories about Christmas (Mater Saves Christmas, and Olivia Helps with Christmas were two popular ones). You came home from Robin’s with great Christmas-themed crafts and a gorgeous homemade gingerbread house! She baked one for each of you. Noah was home from school that day, and asked if he could help you with yours. You both did an amazing job.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You were a big help with wrapping gifts – you enjoyed stepping on the wrapping paper to hold it in place while I cut it, and putting your finger over the paper folds while I got the tape ready. You selected the paper and gift tags for each gift.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You also gave your own gifts this year. We worked together to make some lovely Christmas ornaments that featured your white handprint on a glass ball, and I used markers to turn the fingers into little snowmen. I think people really liked them. I know we’ll treasure ours for many years until it’s time to give it to you for your own tree.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You managed a huge achievement at Christmas, my love, and left all your soothers in a little bowl for Santa Claus to bring to other babies. In exchange, he left you a second gift. I was so impressed with you. You picked the bowl yourself, and put the soothers in, and chose where you wanted to leave it (on the stairs, so he’d see them as soon as he came in the door). The best part is that you have not asked for a soother since. (You did actually ask twice, out of habit, but as soon as we reminded you, you laughed and said, “Right! I forgot!” and said no more about it.) As a celebration (and commemoration), I gave you a tiny little bunny rabbit stuffie and we named it Soother. I am so proud of you. The fact that you were actually sick at the time makes it an even bigger achievement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We have reaped the benefits of you giving up your soothers. For one thing, it is so much easier to understand you without that plug in your mouth. For another, I think you sleep better because you can breathe better. And finally, you have been forced to learn other ways to settle yourself down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, we were sick at Christmas. You and I both had bronchitis and it was brutal. We tried antibiotics, but the infection was viral, so we had to just ride it out. We went through a lot of honey and watched a lot of TV. You only really got back to full energy and appetite in the last week or so. Robin was also sick with bronchial pneumonia, which meant that we spent a lot of time at home together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Christmas, the excitement and gifts (of which you received many – such lovely things!), the lack of structure, and the bronchitis (yours and mine) all worked together to form a perfect storm that resulted in a terrible holiday hangover, in terms of your behaviour. The dilly-dallying, the badgering, and the whining were becoming pretty unbearable, especially at bedtime. You took dilly-dallying and emotional manipulation to whole new levels, small sir. We have worked hard (all three of us) over the past few weeks, and things are greatly improved. Our home is a much more pleasant place to be. Thank you for all the work you have done – I know you have worked hard, too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another big milestone for you was that we finally stopped the weekend afternoon nap. We dropped it in January during the period when bedtime was becoming exhausting, figuring that if you were more tired, you would fuss less. It has helped, for sure. It has also opened up all kinds of wonderful possibilities for playdates and outings. You attended an afternoon birthday party this month (Koen’s, and Monkey Around – you had a wonderful time), which would have been unheard of before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We are still working on finding a routine for the day that helps you manage your energy. I tried the system my mom used for me - a designated quiet time in your room, where you have one or two toys and any number of books to look through. You play on your bed on your own for at least 30 minutes. I like the idea, but I don’t think this is for us. You don’t excel at playing independently when forced to, and it becomes a power struggle that defeats the point of quiet time. So I tried something new last weekend. We snuggled on the couch for an hour, watching Octonauts. We both got to rest, we enjoyed a really fantastic snuggle, and we both felt refreshed and ready to move on to the next activity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finding a delicate balance with screen time can be challenging. We don’t want you to constantly have your face in the tablet or staring at the TV. Having you healthy has helped immensely. We have gradually reduced the amount of TV you watch, and are more strict about how often you can use the tablet. Some evenings, you elect to skip watching a TV show and instead have what I named a “reading extravaganza” where instead of the usual two or three bedtime stories, we read a crazy number like six or seven! I love these and am so glad you do, too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another thing we are trying to reduce is our use of time out. We got some great advice from Robin, and we have been trying other discipline approaches with good results. We will still use time outs occasionally as a last resort, and we will count-to-consequence as a last resort, too, but we are working on less punishment and more dialogue, and for the most part, it has worked well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have also tried hard to get out of the habit of constantly multi-tasking when I’m with you. I’m trying to be more present, focused on the moment at hand and on fostering moments of connection between us. Constantly multi-tasking - both physically and mentally - has been exhausting, and I didn’t realize how much I was doing it and how much it was draining me. I’m pleased to say that I have more energy, which I’m able to use to actually get things done at appropriate times. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We have had a lot of fun over the past few weeks, Bean. Our adventures have included a sled-ride (you rode, I pulled) to O’Grady’s with a cab ride home, a playdate with Mistlegoo and Proon Joos (PJ's yarn winder was a huge hit), a morning of swimming at Bambi and Simon’s, a plasma-car obstacle-course adventure in Mark and Janine’s new (empty) house, and visits to the Canada Science and Technology Museum. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You inherited the Cariboo board game from Mistlegoo, and we have greatly enjoyed it playing it with you. It has helped you with taking turns and understanding that you can’t win every time. It has inspired us to look for other board games for you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You have been so snuggly lately. One thing you love to do is pretend you are “a little puppy dog” and you make these adorable little puppy whining noises (much cuter than your actual</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">whining noises) and snuggle up to us and frisk around. It’s so sweet. At one point, you even lay on the floor and asked me to rub your tummy! You just want hugs and cuddles, and it’s wonderful that you are so affectionate with us. You are also finally able to lie down on one of us when we’re stretched out on the couch and stay there for a while, which has been really lovely. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the reasons that we are treasuring the snuggly moments is that you are growing so fast. You hit some big milestones this month, my love. You graduated out of your car seat and into a booster during the same week that I attended Kindergarten Information Night. I’ll be registering you for full-day Junior Kindergarten in a couple of days. The information night was really helpful and I am confident that you are going to love school. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You said something the other day that I wanted to record because I was so delighted by it. We have often spoken to you about chosen family and extended family. You were colouring at Mark and Janine’s during their “Come See Our Empty New House” get together (which we greatly enjoyed), and you suddenly looked up and realized that pretty much all the other guests were in another room. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“We’re kind of far away from our team, Mommy,” you said. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love that you see all these adult friends who play such an important role in our lives as “our team.” I didn’t realize it, but that’s how I see them, too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moe, I am amazed at your ability to express how you feel, to call me out on things, and to discuss solutions to problems. For an almost-four-year-old, you are incredibly patient, flexible, and understanding. You are generous, caring, affectionate and loving. Thank you for teaching me so much about myself. It’s an honour to work with you to do the same. </span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-12104764252854054072014-01-10T16:54:00.000-08:002014-01-10T17:04:00.002-08:00I can't see if the grass is really greener because there are too many toys. <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A <a href="http://toddlerspeed.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/the-disappearing-parent/" target="_blank">recent blog post</a> by a friend triggered a discussion on Facebook, which included a comment about how any time a parent says anything deprecating about life-with-kids, they immediately (and somewhat desperately) follow it up with something along the lines of, "but I love them so much, and it's totally worth it," almost as though they are trying to convince themselves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While this comment was made with tongue firmly planted in cheek, it coincided with some soul searching that I have been doing lately. And that led to a number of realizations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have spent a lot of time in the last few months feeling incredibly envious of some of my child-free friends. Like, ridiculously, bitterly jealous. And I have gone through a number of things in the last few months that have had me thinking, "This would be so much easier to deal with if I didn't have Moe." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>If I didn't have Moe, I would have been able to spend as much time as I wanted at Reg's bedside, without worrying that I am away from my child for too long, or that I am asking too much of my partner. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>If I didn't have Moe, I wouldn't be sick so often, and I would actually be able to spend a sick day taking care of myself, instead of taking care of my child (who is also sick). </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>If I didn't have Moe, I would have money to travel with my husband. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>If I didn't have Moe, I would have time and money for personal fitness. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>If I didn't have Moe, it would be easier to spend quality time with friends. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>If I didn't have Moe, my house would be cleaner and prettier and better decorated and I wouldn't feel overwhelmed by all our stuff. </i>(This, by the way, is completely untrue.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>If I didn't have Moe, I could be selfish without feeling guilty. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Every time those thoughts have surfaced, in any shape or form, they have been immediately followed by a huge blanket of shame. (And, as we all know, shame leads to self-loathing which leads to anger and bitterness, which leads to the Dark Side.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The shame comes from the fact that for years, hearing people complain about life-with-kids was a source of pain for me. I admit now, when people complained about life-with-kids (or particularly, life-with-very-young-kids), my thought/feeling process would go something like this: "<i>Why do you get to have children, and I don't? I want a child so badly that I would never think those thoughts. I am more deserving of a child than you are.</i>" Which of course led to the core belief that to be worthy as a parent, you must never wish you weren't one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wanted a child so badly. I didn't just <i>choose </i>to have a child. I moved heaven and earth to have one. I wept and screamed and felt like someone was ripping my heart out of my body. I went through physical hell. I made a dear friend put her life on hold and then put her through physical hell, too. I remortgaged my frigging house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And through the entire journey, the people I love gave me incredible, amazing and unbelievable emotional support. My friends and family held me up through this struggle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So the shame that follows any thought about how life would be easier without Moe is also accompanied by the feeling that I'm letting down all the people who have supported me. <i>I'm letting you all down by not being a good enough, worthy enough parent. I'm not worthy of being a parent, and I'm not worthy of your love.</i> <i>I'm not a good person. I don't deserve my son. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I know intellectually that this is untrue. But I have developed this pattern of automatic thoughts that lead to these core thoughts, and they come from a place beyond intellect. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, tl;dr, instead of feeling envious of people who have kids, I'm feeling envious of people who don't have kids. And those feelings of envy trigger deep feelings of shame and worthlessness, which takes the envy and wraps it up in a chocolatey coating of anger and bitterness. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm in the process of making some changes in my life that will hopefully curb the negative feelings I've been having around a number of other issues. It looks like one of the things I'm going to have to do is accept that feeling that the grass is sometimes greener is totally normal and human, and it doesn't make me a bad person or a bad parent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm working on changing a lot of bad habits right now. Changing several of those habits will help me change this one. It's all intertwined. It's a process. But this little piece of self-examination has brought the troubling core thoughts to my attention. And that is ultimately positive, because you can't change what you don't know is there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(And of course, I'm not sorry I had Moe. Of course I love him, and of course it's all "worth it," whatever that means. If you've read even one of the letters on this blog, that should be obvious to you.) </span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018909446256849480.post-73898525024472254312014-01-03T18:20:00.006-08:002014-01-03T18:20:52.840-08:00Dear Moe (46th Month)<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi, sweetie. I’m pretty darn late with your letter; sorry about that. This past month has just gotten away from me in so many ways. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been very tired and sad, but it hasn’t had anything to do with you. I hope you can understand that. I certainly haven’t been the happy, smiling Mommy you’re used to having around. But through it all, you have been a shining light. Thank you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s hard to believe that when I wrote your last letter, there was no snow on the ground. We have had so much snow in the past four weeks that our snowbanks are almost as tall as I am. The day of the first snowfall, you and I went for a lovely walk in the snow. You brought your little red shovel with you and shoveled up all the pathways as we walked. I remember that you asked if we could go to O’Grady’s, and I said we couldn’t because I didn’t have any money for O’Grady’s, and you said that was okay and offered to pay with the money in your piggy bank. It was very sweet of you to offer to treat us. You and I have been to O’Grady’s since then, my treat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You are a great little snow shoveler, and it is so nice that you finally understand that I want you to put the snow onto the snowbank and not pull the snow off the snowbanks and dump it onto the driveway. Snow shoveling is much more pleasant now that we understand each other. There were a few times last year when I nearly resorted to sticking YOU in the snowbank! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It has been a month of Christmas preparations and getting excited about Santa Claus. Robin overheard some wonderful and thoughtful discussions between you and Gemma about Santa. You were concerned and hopeful about being on the nice list. You were also worried about Santa (and the presents) getting dirty if he came down the chimney. Santa sent you a video message from the North Pole, and you enjoyed confirmation that you would be on the nice list. Several times throughout the month you have asked to write a letter to Santa to make sure he knows you are on the nice list. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You delighted in seeing the Christmas lights outside on houses on our street. There’s one house two doors down that has these great little light-up snowmen stakes that look like lollipops. You are enraptured by them, and love to recite the colours as they change. “Red…orange... green… blue… red… orange…” You still pronounce them “yollypops” and I love it. Our neighbour across the street put lights up in their tree and you immediately saw a horse shape in the way they had arranged them. I love seeing the world through your eyes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Aunt Janine and Uncle Mark came over to help us decorate the Christmas tree this year. You did a wonderful job, helping us. For one thing, we asked you to make sure that only non-breakable ornaments would be within reach of your cousin Caspian, and you took your job very seriously and ensured that the bottom third of the three was Caspian-friendly. The funniest thing, though, was what happened when you found an ornament that you really liked. You had no interest in putting your favourites on the tree - you just wanted to hold them and look at them for as long as you could. It makes sense - once they are on the tree, they are mostly out of your reach! I also brought out the Christmas village for the first time in years, and lit up a lot of the village pieces for the first time. You could not get enough of looking at the different little buildings, and peering through the windows at the scenes inside. It was wonderful to watch you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You have enjoyed helping us wrap and label gifts as Christmas grew closer. It was your job to pick the wrapping paper for each gift, hold the paper down with your feet while we measured it and cut it, and put your finger down to hold the folds in place. You also stuck the adhesive gift tags on each gift, which explains why they were all crooked and kind of randomly placed. (Nobody minded.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our wooden advent calendar came out again this year, and you have greatly enjoyed the daily ritual of opening a little box and pulling out a tiny ornament to hang on the wooden tree. I’m going to enjoy this while it lasts - I’m sure it won’t be long until you figure out that there are chocolate advent calendars out there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You have been playing a lot with language in the past month or so. You like to create spoonerisms, or repeat a series of words with the wrong starting consonants. For example, if I say, “Please put on your coat,” you’ll say back to me, “No, I’m going to sput on my bloat!” and laugh at how silly it sounds. Unfortunately, these playful sessions often begin with name calling, “Mommy, you’re a (insert silly words here).” I keep trying to shift your energies away from the name calling and toward silly spoonerisms. You don’t even know what names you are using - most of them are nonsensical - but when I ask you if you would like to be called that name, you say no, which tells me that I don’t want to be called that name either. It’s a slow process, but we’re getting there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This past month, you completed your first sessions as a Komet Kid at gymnastics, and started your second session. You have a new coach, Galaga, who you like, but you don’t seem to have the same bond with her that you did with Pepe. It’s possible that it will come in time. One lovely thing about this new session is that Emma is in your class! Granted, we haven’t seen much of her because you have both been sick, but hopefully things will get back to normal in the new year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the end of your first session, we were treated to a “gymnastics showcase” where we could bring guests to watch your class. You had a whole cheering section, with Aunt Janine, Uncle Mark, Granny and me. We were allowed to take photos, which was wonderful. It was so lovely to see how your confidence has grown in the past weeks. I look forward to marking the same kinds of changes at the end of this second session. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks to a special uncle with magical technical abilities, we’ve been watching a lot of Mike the Knight in the past month, and you have really finally gotten into the knightly Playmobil set that you got from Robin last Christmas. You love playing with the knights and the dragon. I really like the show, and much prefer it to your other current TV obsession, Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Having said that, though, it is awesome listening to you sing along to the Jake theme songs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You enjoy singing, and in the last month, have really started to get earworms and show more interest in the songs you hear on the radio or on the iPad. You’ll ask who is singing the song, and what the song is called. We recently rediscovered our wedding CD and you love the song Storybook Love. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You are also learning how to use a mouse, thanks to the Dinosaur Train website and its great series of games. I’m going to have to get you a nice little mouse that is a bit simpler to use than mine. I think it would help you to have defined buttons to push and a mouse that fits better in your small hand. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We have had some lovely moments in the past month, darling. But it has been a very hard time for me due to Grandpa Reg’s illness. His health has been in decline for the last month or so, but this month it declined very quickly. He entered palliative care in early December, and I spent most of my time at his bedside. That meant that you didn’t see much of me in the evenings and that Daddy did dinner, bath and bedtime on his own with you most days. I tried to keep things balanced and not be away too often by spending time at the Perley during the day while you were at daycare, and not being away too many evenings in a row. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was very difficult for me to explain to you that Grandpa Reg was dying, but I did my best to make you understand what that means. Of course, you are not even four years old, and while you understand the words, it will likely be a while before you understand their meaning. I did my best to prepare you and explain things to you in a way that was realistic without being traumatizing and comforting without being untruthful -- Grandpa Reg was such a big part of your reality that it seemed unfair to keep it from you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At bedtime on December 18, I gave you the little red cardinal stuffie that you gave Grandpa Reg last year. You asked me why it was yours, and I said because Grandpa Reg didn’t need it anymore because he died. We talked about it a bit - you asked some really great questions and I did my best to answer them. I told you that we could talk more in the morning, if you wanted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The next morning, you told your Daddy, “You know, Daddy, Grandpa Reg died.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“I know, buddy,” said your Daddy sadly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I asked you how you felt about that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Good,” you said laconically. “Because we can still visit Grandma Joan. She didn’t die.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And that weekend, you asked again, so we went. And you asked to see Grandpa Reg’s empty room, so I showed it to you. And when I asked you how the empty room made you feel, you said, “Not good, Mom.” And we went and visited Grandma Joan and you insisted on staying until the PSW came to take her for a bath. And you gave her a lovely hug when we left. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I left the Perley that day, walking hand in hand with you, I was very sad, but also so very proud of my wonderful little boy. </span>yumikidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01504985233575635090noreply@blogger.com0