Book of the Week

I'd love to keep track of which book is the flavour of the week around our house. Meredith is a real book lover, and our trip to the library is one of the highlights of her week I think. She's loved books from a very young age, and would sit to listen to a story shortly after she turned one. I began to worry that Aaron wouldn't develop the same love of books, as he can't sit still to eat, never mind read a book!
Fortunately on his own he seems to have come to a book-loving place! Quite often now I'll feel a sense of panic because I can't seem him and it's quiet. Too quiet. Whereas a few months ago that would likely have meant I'd find him with his hands in the toilet, or disassembling Meredith's CD player, now it's more likely that he's encountered a book and is making friends with it.
This week's flavour is the classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle. I'm guessing someone has been reading it to his group at daycare lately, because about 10 days ago I found him penguin-strutting around the house saying "bown beah, bown beah, da da da see". We scoped out the copy hiding in his bookshelf, and it's been a faithful companion ever since.


While his favourite page is the teacher, he spends a lot of time looking at the green frog too. He's magically attracted to green. He'll choose the green diaper from the stack of Fuzzi Bunz, he'll eat the green Smartie from a group in front of him, he'll choose the green bowl over any other colour. Clearly he knows redheads look good in green.....

My Birthday Girl.

Shockingly, Meredith turned five at the end of last week. We were at Elkhorn Resort for the week, so had a special day for just the four of us on her birthday.

I haven't got a clue where the past five years have gone. And yet, I have absolutely no recollection of what life was like before her. I can't get over how she's changed in five years, and how I've changed too. I still remember clearly the first night in the hospital, when it was just she and I alone in the room for the first time. She was sleeping the well-earned sleep of a newborn and I couldn't fall asleep for fear I wouldn't hear her if she needed me.
Little did I know, I'd never sleep deeply again.
I slept with my glasses on that night, for fear I wouldn't be able to see her clearly.
Little did I know, I'd grown eyes in the back of my head that day.
At her birthday party yesterday with her friends from daycare I was talking to some of the other parents about how magical this age is. She is so capable of thought, and reason, and unending conversation about fascinating stuff. But when she is hurt, or scared, or sick, she still curls into my arms like the baby she once was.

I don't want her to grow up any more. Charmingly, she tells me I don't need to be sad about her growing up, because she's never going to live anywhere but with me. :)

Loveys

I don't remember having a particular lovey as a child. I do have a bear now that I remember from my grandma's house in Deloraine. He's very shabby, needs a bit of stitching up in fact, but is still very special. As I recall, my brothers and I took turns and shared him when we stayed there. And we stayed there a lot as kids while my mom got treatments.

Meredith received a soft white kitty as a gift from one of my coworkers when she was born. It sat in her crib beside her until she became aware of it. Once she was old enough to know it was there, it quickly became a favourite. Not wanting to have it all end in a lost-lovey-crisis I went out to buy another one. Lovey insurance. But the kitty was expensive and I was cheap and decided to buy a different kitty. A kitty from Winners.

Never buy anything that you might want more of from Winners.

Soon the new kitty became the favorite kitty. So I went out to try to buy another one of that kitty. Now would not be a good time to review the math involved in the gas and time spent finding a second new, cheaper kitty versus having bought one more of the original kitty in the first place.

After scouring more than one Winners I found a second kitty. Except instead of saying "My First Kitty" on its chest, it said "My First Teddy".



'Kitty' as she was originally called lived with us. In various incarnations she was named Pinky. This was to distinguish her from the original white cat (still much beloved) named Whitey. Or Whitey-dee-dee-dee when called by her full name. Pink kitty #2 (aka Teddy) lived at our friend's house where Meredith went to daycare. To my knowledge, Meredith never knew she had two pink kittys until around the time Aaron was born and we brought her nap-time things home from the home daycare.

The kitties now tend to travel in a pack, and are rarely separated. They are differentiated by being called "the one with the perked up ears" and "the other one". On letter 'S' show and tell week, Meredith took her kittys because they are 'special' and 'shabby'. They've been to Mexico, to B.C., and back and forth to nursery school enough times to make a map of the route. They've wiped away more tears than I care to remember.

I hope Meredith will look at the pictures I've taken of the kitties some day when she is much older and remember the feeling of world-spinning-completely-as-it-should that she has now the minute she holds them.

Welcome home

I spent some time in Gimli on the weekend at a board of directors retreat. It meant I was away from the house Friday night, and most of the day Saturday. When I got home Saturday, this is what was waiting for me.

So sweet it still brings tears to my eyes!

It's also been a really lovely few days of listening to Aaron learn to say some new things. I said goodnight to the kids by phone on Friday night. When I said "love you" to Aaron over the phone, he responded back "lah looo"! Then on Monday night, it was "Love you Aaron" before I popped him into his crib, only to hear him answer "Lah loo Mommy!"

Tonight while I was making dinner, I caught the two of them in Aaron's room.

Not hiding under the crib, not wreaking havoc. Reading.

These are the moments to hold on to when they're having a tug-of-war over the most lucrative piece of Littlest Pet Shop, or the better bowl of strawberries!

Why?

I don't keep a journal. I wish I kept a journal. Or updated baby books beyond the first month or so. Or printed photos for a photo album. Or scratched notes on a napkin, for Pete's sake!

But I don't.

My kids just keep growing, and as more time passes I want to freeze some moments in time. The good, the bad, and the ugly! It's time to find a way to scratch a bit of a message in the sand and keep track of these fleeting moments. I've already forgotten so many of the little details of the past nearly five years of motherhood, it's time to get started!