Well, I didn't get around to formally asking my mom if it was ok to post these things, but when I thought about it, I really couldn't come up with a reason why she wouldn't want me to post this. And since I posted the ones about my dad, it is only fitting that I post the ones I did for my mom. I also believe that affirming good thoughts keeps them coming. I'm sorry I didn't get these out on your actual birthday, but it was a birthday month, wasn't it? So happy birthday month mom!
Here are the 60 reasons why I love you:
1. For being Bubba
2. For keeping an eye on us kids by working at school
3. For being a stay-at-home mom
4. For being so close and open about your family
5. For trying the family meeting
6. For bringing us to the Children’s Theater
7. For making my birthday special
8. For being there to take care of Trevor when Russ and I were sick
9. For being a night owl
10. For the way you make chocolate chip cookies
11. For your love of late night games
12. For letting me see a little of your relationship with your mom
13. For helping me learn from your mistakes
14. For being involved at school as a chaperone for field trips
15. For helping organize and run events like the school carnival
16. For taking me school shopping every year for new clothes
17. For allowing me to date before I could drive
18. For teaching me how to sew
19. For teaching me how to cross-stitch
20. For letting me have my own boy-girl party
21. For not forcing me to do activities if I said I didn’t want to
22. For showing me the value of the Catholic religion
23. For the countless times you have cleaned my house
24. For praising me about what a good mom I try to be
25. For showing me through example that it is important to take time out for yourself
26. For sharing the time of being mother of the bride with me
27. For generally not showing dissatisfaction with any of the guys I dated
28. For not trying to live vicariously through me
29. For taking us on trips without dad
30. For standing in such outrageous lines to be on TV and getting me my own Cabbage Patch doll
31. For taking care of me whenever I was in the hospital, had surgery, or had major testing done
32. For shielding us from your and dad’s arguments
33. For finding ways to keep me learning in school
34. For piano/music lessons
35. For finding ways to continue “Grandma with glasses” traditions with her great-grandchildren
36. For participating in your grandchildren’s favorite activities (currently baseball and playing food)
37. For doing my hair all those years
38. For teaching me about family responsibility and how to clean (I really needed the teaching) through chores
39. For once-in-a-while breaking your own rules – for example food fights
40. For sewing and creating so many of my Halloween costumes
41. For teaching me about pets through Cleo, Corky, and then Rudy
42. For your love of reading and kids books
43. For your love of crossword puzzles
44. For making family videos
45. For the annual Christmas Cookie decorating complaining-fest
46. For organizing and allowing me to take trips by myself: Paris and Madison by train
47. For trusting me enough to let me babysit both inside and outside the home
48. You may not remember this, but letting me play with your jewelry and organize your underwear drawer
49. For taking care of your grandchildren during any previous or future Tiki Bar trips
50. For creating and reciting our evening prayer: “Now goodnight, Jesus sweet, let me kiss thy little feet
51. For singing us lullabies
52. For TV trays with TV dinners!
53. For donations during casino trips
54. For all your words of encouragement to me about being a good parent
55. For creating lunches like a beefstick sandwich
56. For your rice krispie treats
57. For your “love” of playdough yet providing us with toys in order to play with it
58. For your Orange Juliuses
59. For the way you decorate for major holidays
60. From Trevor: How kind and loving you are to people when they are hurt.
Also from Trevor: That you don’t kill people. That you tell us to back up when something is hot like the stove. You read to us a lot.
The story about the Trevor post was that he gave me such a good answer when I asked him what he loved about Bubba I thought I might add a few more. Except when he gave me the few more, I felt like they belonged more to him and didn't fit with my 60 reasons. So he got one, and a few added ideas.
We all love you so much Bubba!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
8 weeks and counting
Granted, counting as in I'm sure it will be here in less time....8 weeks from today is Christmas. 4 weeks and it is Trevor's birthday. Tomorrow is Halloween. As with all other retailers, I'm feeling like although most count the "holidays" as Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm thinking our "holiday season" kicks off with Halloween. The kids are already feeling the excitement of an upcoming holiday, even though I've never made a huge deal of Halloween. Last year Trevor was barely getting over the flu and he didn't get to go to the school Halloween party. I let him go trick-or-treating but he was finally on the mend. This year, we kicked it off with the school party last night and tomorrow is the big event. Pumpkins are being carved tonight and we will be bundling up to make the rounds tomorrow.
I've been meaning to include a little taste into the life of a first grader in our neighborhood elementary school. Someone decided to come up with something called "Cheese Touch". I have no idea how far reaching this game is, but I would guess that it actually might not be in other elementary schools in the area. I could be completely wrong though. Anyway, the Cheese Touch is kind of like a secret tag, probably done throughout the school day. If you are it, you are trying to give the cheese touch to other kids in school. Your first two fingers must be crossed and your thumb must be out when giving the cheese touch. If you don't want to be it, you must cross your own fingers before someone declares "Cheese Touch". Trevor knows all the rules, as I guess you can also declare that you are not playing in order to avoid it. Anyway, it is a good conversation starter with people that he doesn't go to school with and I love to hear about all the rules that may or may not be real. As long as no one is hurt by it, I think it is pretty cute.
And for those of you that were expecting other news when I was talking about 8 weeks...sorry to disappoint. Although I have heard similar news twice in the past two days! Congrats to those special people!
I've been meaning to include a little taste into the life of a first grader in our neighborhood elementary school. Someone decided to come up with something called "Cheese Touch". I have no idea how far reaching this game is, but I would guess that it actually might not be in other elementary schools in the area. I could be completely wrong though. Anyway, the Cheese Touch is kind of like a secret tag, probably done throughout the school day. If you are it, you are trying to give the cheese touch to other kids in school. Your first two fingers must be crossed and your thumb must be out when giving the cheese touch. If you don't want to be it, you must cross your own fingers before someone declares "Cheese Touch". Trevor knows all the rules, as I guess you can also declare that you are not playing in order to avoid it. Anyway, it is a good conversation starter with people that he doesn't go to school with and I love to hear about all the rules that may or may not be real. As long as no one is hurt by it, I think it is pretty cute.
And for those of you that were expecting other news when I was talking about 8 weeks...sorry to disappoint. Although I have heard similar news twice in the past two days! Congrats to those special people!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Pumpkin Patches
As might have been mentioned previously, I am not exactly an outdoorsy person. My enjoyment outside is pretty much sitting in the sun on a hot day or golfing on an equally hot day. While I can think that the leaves do change beautiful colors in the fall, I am often more upset than anything because it means that summer is over and winter is coming quickly. Besides winter, I think that I also don't like fall because of the changing cooler weather, so I guess I'm a bit of a grump when it comes to fall activities. But as a mom, I know that it is much more important to get out and have your kids enjoy the activities in each of the seasons rather than sit in my grumpiness and make them unhappy too.
In this past week, I have been to a pumpkin patch twice. Two different locations, so it was fun to see the differences and what each of them had to offer, as I have not been to either before. On Sunday, we were able to head out to Minnetrista to the Minnetonka Orchards with Derek and Kyrsten. Although their pumpkin selection was a little picked over, the kids still got to enjoy the goats, corn maze, hay jumping, hay riding, and doughnuts. It was a fun afternoon and yes, a little chilly, but I did survive.
Then on Wednesday, Gwen had a field trip to a pumpkin patch in Shakopee. This location was actually someone's home that had the pumpkin patch, corn maze, face painting, hay ride, necklace making, and picking out your own pumpkins within their yard. It was nice to not have to walk such a distance to get from one thing to another and get too chilly. Again, the temperature was not as high as I wanted, but at least the sun made it a little warm.
Trevor has been off of school since Tuesday, and since Gwen has still had two days of school, it has been nice to chat with Trevor and spend some extra time with just him, not having to worry about homework or other "duties". We played some board games and got some more of his series books at the library.
Our family has slowly gotten back to healthy, although this cold bug was a doozy. I think everyone except Gwen has a lingering cough. Trevor just finished his antibiotics for his ear infection yesterday. Of course our house has suffered because of it. I just hope our neighbors don't disown us for our yard work. Perhaps that will be on the list of things to do today since it is going to rain all weekend.
And one last thought for all you planners. Did you know it is 9 weeks until Christmas? All those Black Friday ads are popping up, so you better start your shopping lists! I guess it is time to think about birthday gifts for Trevor.
TTFN!
In this past week, I have been to a pumpkin patch twice. Two different locations, so it was fun to see the differences and what each of them had to offer, as I have not been to either before. On Sunday, we were able to head out to Minnetrista to the Minnetonka Orchards with Derek and Kyrsten. Although their pumpkin selection was a little picked over, the kids still got to enjoy the goats, corn maze, hay jumping, hay riding, and doughnuts. It was a fun afternoon and yes, a little chilly, but I did survive.
Then on Wednesday, Gwen had a field trip to a pumpkin patch in Shakopee. This location was actually someone's home that had the pumpkin patch, corn maze, face painting, hay ride, necklace making, and picking out your own pumpkins within their yard. It was nice to not have to walk such a distance to get from one thing to another and get too chilly. Again, the temperature was not as high as I wanted, but at least the sun made it a little warm.
Trevor has been off of school since Tuesday, and since Gwen has still had two days of school, it has been nice to chat with Trevor and spend some extra time with just him, not having to worry about homework or other "duties". We played some board games and got some more of his series books at the library.
Our family has slowly gotten back to healthy, although this cold bug was a doozy. I think everyone except Gwen has a lingering cough. Trevor just finished his antibiotics for his ear infection yesterday. Of course our house has suffered because of it. I just hope our neighbors don't disown us for our yard work. Perhaps that will be on the list of things to do today since it is going to rain all weekend.
And one last thought for all you planners. Did you know it is 9 weeks until Christmas? All those Black Friday ads are popping up, so you better start your shopping lists! I guess it is time to think about birthday gifts for Trevor.
TTFN!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
I win!
I have been wanting to do a pumpkin muffin of some kind for the past month or so. When I first wanted to do it, I went to our local grocery store only to find out there has been a shortage of canned pumpkin for the past two years. They do occasionally get shipments, but it is gone quickly. Well lo-and-behold, this past week, they got a big shipment in. I had no idea how much I would need for a batch of muffins, so I just picked up three cans. I hadn't even found a recipe to use at the time.
So I went too allrecipes.com and searched for pumpkin muffins. The one with the highest rating had was a chocolate chip pumpkin muffin. I looked down the list, and didn't see anything else I was looking for, so I figured I'd try it out. The recipe only makes a dozen, so I figured it was a good test. The recipe includes seasonings of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves so it really smells harvesty. When I opened the pumpkin can, immediately I was brought back to the time where I was making baby food. It smelled very similar to sweet potatoes. And each recipe called for less than a half a can of pumpkins. Guess I have a few recipes worth of canned pumpkin. But the real kicker is that both kids really enjoy them, I feel entirely good about letting them eat them for snack, and I have already made three batches. I'm getting quick at preparing them, so now that Russ has had one, I think the final verdict is that the entire family enjoys them. It is a great harvest snack, and if we really wanted to, I think I could omit the chocolate chips, but it gives them a nice kick.
So I'm stating, I WIN on this one. So rarely do my ventures into baking or cooking turn out well that it is the reason I rarely venture out to begin with.
On the other front, the family is slowly getting back to the healthy side of the spectrum. After 6 straight nights of coughing from Trevor, he only was coughing for a few minutes last night. Next week is 3 days off for school, but none for Gwen. I guess I'll be getting some alone time with Trevor. He has been really enjoying some of the recent books we have been reading.
So I went too allrecipes.com and searched for pumpkin muffins. The one with the highest rating had was a chocolate chip pumpkin muffin. I looked down the list, and didn't see anything else I was looking for, so I figured I'd try it out. The recipe only makes a dozen, so I figured it was a good test. The recipe includes seasonings of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves so it really smells harvesty. When I opened the pumpkin can, immediately I was brought back to the time where I was making baby food. It smelled very similar to sweet potatoes. And each recipe called for less than a half a can of pumpkins. Guess I have a few recipes worth of canned pumpkin. But the real kicker is that both kids really enjoy them, I feel entirely good about letting them eat them for snack, and I have already made three batches. I'm getting quick at preparing them, so now that Russ has had one, I think the final verdict is that the entire family enjoys them. It is a great harvest snack, and if we really wanted to, I think I could omit the chocolate chips, but it gives them a nice kick.
So I'm stating, I WIN on this one. So rarely do my ventures into baking or cooking turn out well that it is the reason I rarely venture out to begin with.
On the other front, the family is slowly getting back to the healthy side of the spectrum. After 6 straight nights of coughing from Trevor, he only was coughing for a few minutes last night. Next week is 3 days off for school, but none for Gwen. I guess I'll be getting some alone time with Trevor. He has been really enjoying some of the recent books we have been reading.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
An up and down week
It is only Wednesday and it feels like it has been double that. I don't get what is up with Trevor and his cough. He got a cold starting on Friday and it has manifested itself in the form of a horrible hacking cough. The normal stand-by Delsym does not work and he was able to take a nap on Monday, but not since then. He wants to try to go back to school today, but I really wish his cough would hold up. Last night was no better than the other 4 nights. It is tough to think he's going to get better fast if he can't sleep well.
Gwen has probably the same thing but only coughs on rare occasions. She went to school yesterday and her spirits have been fine. I took Trevor to the doctor yesterday in hopes to get a cough suppressant but turns out they would rather give him a antibiotic for his ear infection that he hasn't been complaining about. While the doctor we saw did have kids, I have a hard time believing that they have been through things like this. Or I wonder if they are bound by some sort of statement by the company that they work for that they cannot suggest cough or cold medicine to children under age 12. But I'd love to see how many of these decision makers have children who go hours before being able to cough themselves to sleep.
A wonderful day was had on both Sunday and Monday earlier this week. Bubba had her big party and a nephew was born on Monday. Lots of early October birthdays in the extended family! I have to say that with the lack of sleep, it has been tough to keep my happy attitude, but I have explained to the kids that I do not have a lot of patience because I often wish that it was the end of the day so I can go to sleep. I don't necessarily know that it makes the kids behave any better, but I think it may make Trevor understand that I don't have a lot of tolerance for the normal bickering. I'm only human.
School starts again for me today with two classes, and I'm going to try to get as much done early as I can. We'll have to see how I pull that off. Time to start the day!
Gwen has probably the same thing but only coughs on rare occasions. She went to school yesterday and her spirits have been fine. I took Trevor to the doctor yesterday in hopes to get a cough suppressant but turns out they would rather give him a antibiotic for his ear infection that he hasn't been complaining about. While the doctor we saw did have kids, I have a hard time believing that they have been through things like this. Or I wonder if they are bound by some sort of statement by the company that they work for that they cannot suggest cough or cold medicine to children under age 12. But I'd love to see how many of these decision makers have children who go hours before being able to cough themselves to sleep.
A wonderful day was had on both Sunday and Monday earlier this week. Bubba had her big party and a nephew was born on Monday. Lots of early October birthdays in the extended family! I have to say that with the lack of sleep, it has been tough to keep my happy attitude, but I have explained to the kids that I do not have a lot of patience because I often wish that it was the end of the day so I can go to sleep. I don't necessarily know that it makes the kids behave any better, but I think it may make Trevor understand that I don't have a lot of tolerance for the normal bickering. I'm only human.
School starts again for me today with two classes, and I'm going to try to get as much done early as I can. We'll have to see how I pull that off. Time to start the day!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Absolutely amazing
I really need to take time to be very thankful at the wonderful children we have been blessed with. There are times where I wonder what I am doing wrong, but after the past few days, I know I am remarkably blessed to have two wonderfully happy, healthy, and smart children. On Monday evening, we had Trevor's fall parent-teacher conference. It was a great change from last year where they had been doing conferences in November. Instead they wanted to get a jump start on evaluating and identifying goals to have for the whole year, rather than the last two-thirds.
I thought I had done a good job of filling out all questionnaires that the teacher sent home, and even emailed her making sure that I gave her suggestions on what helps Trevor learn, in terms of his behavior. Although his conference was 15 minutes, it was such a pleasant experience. In Kindergarten, it was kind of a nervous situation for me because I wasn't sure what I was doing, and wanted to see how best to help Trevor in a new situation. This year, it is not new, he knows what he is doing. It is a new teacher, but she is wonderful. He loves being able to see last year's teacher to say hi to her. Academically, he knows all the 1st grade sight words, and only did not know 2 of the 2nd grade sight words. He is challenged with his reading partner, and in math, they are doing timed tests. I'm excited to watch him grow with that. I remember we didn't do timed tests until 3rd grade. We are working on doing extra math homework when we feel like it. He is making good choices in his friends, and as I had the feeling, he really likes the 2nd graders in his class. His only behavior that would be nice to be changed is that if he gets antsy, he starts to want to move around. Totally normal for his age and his temperment. Unfortunately, it isn't a behavior that is something he can really control. It is more of a subconscious thing. So we keep asking about it to continue the reinforcement at home, but there really isn't anything that he is going to get into serious trouble doing. Such a relief!
As we were walking out, we saw his Kindergarten teacher and had a fun conversation with her. We told her how much better he is doing with his behavior and how she was much to credit for that. She said that she loves that he says hi to her every afternoon. And that when she too met with his teacher and tried to give her some hints as to what worked well with him last year, she quickly dismissed it because they were not having any similar issues this year. Who would have thought that he just needed to do some growing up this past year and it would all be behind us? This year is going to be much more fun for him. And we even have some suggested books for him and us to read at home. Anyone who has a similar aged child, check out the Magical Treehouse series. We are almost done with the first book and there are 40 more to go.
On to Gwen: We had her well-check on Tuesday. It tickled me a little bit to get a questionnaire about my concerns with her development, either physical or emotional. I couldn't think of a single one. I do know part of it has to do with her being a second child, but it is nice to be able to have her look forward to and learn about all the check-ups she will be getting. And look forward to them because she is a very healthy girl and isn't going to need shots for another year or so. She got her flu mist, and didn't put up a fight at all. Next I have to get Trevor in for his mist. The doctor and I chatted mostly about kids in school and how everyone was doing. Gwen got to have her first hearing and vision screening. It was pretty cute. She had no fear and got to wear silly glasses. I love that these visits can be quick and almost fun for her. Of course I forgot to ask about her measurements, but the doctor said she was right at 50% for both height and weight. I have a feeling we might have been a little off for her growth spurt. I think she is just about due for one.
My classes are done for this term. I have a week before they get going again. Thankfully I aced both classes no problem. Only three more classes to go. Then what? I'm not exactly sure. I'll have to look at contract-type work that I may be able to do from home. I would like to start making some income but on my own time. I'm not sure how available it will be for bookkeeping stuff, but maybe something else will fall into my lap.
I did want to say an extra-special thank you to everyone that attended the Gwendolyn Princess Party on Sunday. The presents have been extremely fruitful in occupying her time and imagination. Contrary to a family member's thoughts, I have a feeling we won't have any problem finding more things for her to play with come Christmastime.
I thought I had done a good job of filling out all questionnaires that the teacher sent home, and even emailed her making sure that I gave her suggestions on what helps Trevor learn, in terms of his behavior. Although his conference was 15 minutes, it was such a pleasant experience. In Kindergarten, it was kind of a nervous situation for me because I wasn't sure what I was doing, and wanted to see how best to help Trevor in a new situation. This year, it is not new, he knows what he is doing. It is a new teacher, but she is wonderful. He loves being able to see last year's teacher to say hi to her. Academically, he knows all the 1st grade sight words, and only did not know 2 of the 2nd grade sight words. He is challenged with his reading partner, and in math, they are doing timed tests. I'm excited to watch him grow with that. I remember we didn't do timed tests until 3rd grade. We are working on doing extra math homework when we feel like it. He is making good choices in his friends, and as I had the feeling, he really likes the 2nd graders in his class. His only behavior that would be nice to be changed is that if he gets antsy, he starts to want to move around. Totally normal for his age and his temperment. Unfortunately, it isn't a behavior that is something he can really control. It is more of a subconscious thing. So we keep asking about it to continue the reinforcement at home, but there really isn't anything that he is going to get into serious trouble doing. Such a relief!
As we were walking out, we saw his Kindergarten teacher and had a fun conversation with her. We told her how much better he is doing with his behavior and how she was much to credit for that. She said that she loves that he says hi to her every afternoon. And that when she too met with his teacher and tried to give her some hints as to what worked well with him last year, she quickly dismissed it because they were not having any similar issues this year. Who would have thought that he just needed to do some growing up this past year and it would all be behind us? This year is going to be much more fun for him. And we even have some suggested books for him and us to read at home. Anyone who has a similar aged child, check out the Magical Treehouse series. We are almost done with the first book and there are 40 more to go.
On to Gwen: We had her well-check on Tuesday. It tickled me a little bit to get a questionnaire about my concerns with her development, either physical or emotional. I couldn't think of a single one. I do know part of it has to do with her being a second child, but it is nice to be able to have her look forward to and learn about all the check-ups she will be getting. And look forward to them because she is a very healthy girl and isn't going to need shots for another year or so. She got her flu mist, and didn't put up a fight at all. Next I have to get Trevor in for his mist. The doctor and I chatted mostly about kids in school and how everyone was doing. Gwen got to have her first hearing and vision screening. It was pretty cute. She had no fear and got to wear silly glasses. I love that these visits can be quick and almost fun for her. Of course I forgot to ask about her measurements, but the doctor said she was right at 50% for both height and weight. I have a feeling we might have been a little off for her growth spurt. I think she is just about due for one.
My classes are done for this term. I have a week before they get going again. Thankfully I aced both classes no problem. Only three more classes to go. Then what? I'm not exactly sure. I'll have to look at contract-type work that I may be able to do from home. I would like to start making some income but on my own time. I'm not sure how available it will be for bookkeeping stuff, but maybe something else will fall into my lap.
I did want to say an extra-special thank you to everyone that attended the Gwendolyn Princess Party on Sunday. The presents have been extremely fruitful in occupying her time and imagination. Contrary to a family member's thoughts, I have a feeling we won't have any problem finding more things for her to play with come Christmastime.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
It's time for the princess
My darling Gwendolyn,
Who would have known that having a girl would have brought such completeness to this family. Three years ago today you entered the world and nothing has been the same since. This past year has been a year of growing, both physically and otherwise. Obviously your personality is really shining now. A few weeks ago we stumbled upon the home movies from when Trevor was in preschool. I know that everyone says it is hard to imagine life before kids, or even when your babies were babies, but wow. I always knew that you talked early, but I feel like I was a spectacular mind reader compared to everything you talk about and communicate to me now. It is wonderful that you can rationalize even just a small amount, such as being able to predict things that happen. I can tell you something like, at 1:00 (our movie time if we are not out and about) and you know how to look for it. I can explain what we are going to do tomorrow and you know that doesn't mean in a few minutes. You really enjoy playing with people, especially kids around your age. While I do love to play with you, I finally feel happy to have kids over because I know what kind of a joy you get when you have someone to play with.
Your strong independence has been challenging, yet I have found ways to use it to my advantage. It was what caused you to be potty trained in less than a week. I made it as easy for you to do as possible. You used a stool, a chair that made the seat smaller, and you had shorts that were easy to get on and off. If there is anything that you want to fight me about, I often give you the choice to do it yourself or I will help you and that often speeds up the process.
Your kind and caring nature has been wonderful for everyone. Although Trevor isn't that way naturally, I have been using your hugs to teach him that it is a wonderful way to share love between family. You love to dance and sing songs. If I can find a good fit, I would love to get you into dance and gymnastics this year. And swimming.
Your party this year was amazing. It was an all day event that so many of your loving family was able to attend. We will be having a lot of fun playing with all the toys for many weeks to come. Then Christmas will be here and even more toys! (Note to self: Now I really need to gut more toys, or at least make more space for the new ones...) The look on your face as you were opening gifts was perfect. Now we have to duplicate the feeling for Trevor. As he was going to bed tonight, he said he felt sad because it wasn't his birthday. I asked him if we tried to do the same thing for his birthday if he would like it, and he said yes. (Note to family, plan on another all-day thing on November 27th!).
As it is after every party, I'm beat. But I wanted to record on this special day these special thoughts for my princess daughter. I love you Gwen!
Who would have known that having a girl would have brought such completeness to this family. Three years ago today you entered the world and nothing has been the same since. This past year has been a year of growing, both physically and otherwise. Obviously your personality is really shining now. A few weeks ago we stumbled upon the home movies from when Trevor was in preschool. I know that everyone says it is hard to imagine life before kids, or even when your babies were babies, but wow. I always knew that you talked early, but I feel like I was a spectacular mind reader compared to everything you talk about and communicate to me now. It is wonderful that you can rationalize even just a small amount, such as being able to predict things that happen. I can tell you something like, at 1:00 (our movie time if we are not out and about) and you know how to look for it. I can explain what we are going to do tomorrow and you know that doesn't mean in a few minutes. You really enjoy playing with people, especially kids around your age. While I do love to play with you, I finally feel happy to have kids over because I know what kind of a joy you get when you have someone to play with.
Your strong independence has been challenging, yet I have found ways to use it to my advantage. It was what caused you to be potty trained in less than a week. I made it as easy for you to do as possible. You used a stool, a chair that made the seat smaller, and you had shorts that were easy to get on and off. If there is anything that you want to fight me about, I often give you the choice to do it yourself or I will help you and that often speeds up the process.
Your kind and caring nature has been wonderful for everyone. Although Trevor isn't that way naturally, I have been using your hugs to teach him that it is a wonderful way to share love between family. You love to dance and sing songs. If I can find a good fit, I would love to get you into dance and gymnastics this year. And swimming.
Your party this year was amazing. It was an all day event that so many of your loving family was able to attend. We will be having a lot of fun playing with all the toys for many weeks to come. Then Christmas will be here and even more toys! (Note to self: Now I really need to gut more toys, or at least make more space for the new ones...) The look on your face as you were opening gifts was perfect. Now we have to duplicate the feeling for Trevor. As he was going to bed tonight, he said he felt sad because it wasn't his birthday. I asked him if we tried to do the same thing for his birthday if he would like it, and he said yes. (Note to family, plan on another all-day thing on November 27th!).
As it is after every party, I'm beat. But I wanted to record on this special day these special thoughts for my princess daughter. I love you Gwen!
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