|
| day-to-day pregnancy |
| ||||||
|
[ Wednesday, June 24, 2009 ]
More fun quotes from Kate. Last week I picked her up from school and she said, excitedly: "Mommy, I need to tell you something really funny. It's hilarious!" She sounded just like David!
[ Tuesday, June 23, 2009 ]
Here's a photo of Kate enjoying some pasta in Paris. 
[ Wednesday, June 03, 2009 ]
We spent the last week in Paris. The entire family traveled for the celebration of GrandDad Jim and Grandmother Elsie's 40th anniversary. Kate was a real trooper most of the time, despite what she called "back and forth, back and forth" of subway trains, a lot of walking, and many places to visit. We took her to the very top of the Eiffel Tower, the Tuilerie gardens (she loved the trampoline) and Euro Disney (where the lines were so much shorter than Disney in Florida). It was a great trip, and it taught us a few things about traveling with a 4-year-old to a place with a big time difference. Besides being a good traveler, Kate also surprised us with some hilarious quotes. The first - and in my opinion the best - came at the end of a busy and tiring day, when she started getting whiny. Jeff picked her up to go down the subway stairs and she shouted, very offended: "Put me down! This is ridiculous!". When we laughed, she got even more upset: "Stop laughing. It's not funny!". I disagree. The other funny quote came the next day, when we were all gathered in a hotel room watching her play with her Disney dolls. When she took it upon herself to wake up the Sleeping Beauty doll with a kiss and we asked her why, the justification was "I couldn't find any good men!". GrandDad Jim and Jeff, both in the room, took notice. [ Monday, May 18, 2009 ]
In early May, Kate moved up to the pre-K class with her friend Willa. She seems to really enjoy the new class but that came at a price - a few days ago, the teachers told us that Kate would no longer be allowed to have Bunny with her at school. I envisioned this heart-wrenching scene where she would cry and I would have to take away her most precious possession. To me that equaled waterboarding for 4-year olds. Much to my surprise, after just a couple of conversations, this morning Kate voluntarily told David she would like to leave Bunny at home. I've been keeping an eye on the phone, waiting for a call from school telling me to pick up my distressed, wailing child, but so far only silence. If she indeed is ready to let go of Bunny, I think I will be the saddest party involved. I've come to regard Bunny as a symbol of Kate's childhood, something she's carried her entire life with such devotion, it is almost like a part of herself. I can't think of many pictures of Kate taken over the years where she isn't clutching Bunny. In almost 5 years, she has never - not once! - gone to sleep without holding Bunny. The thing even had his own birthday party not too long ago! Bottom line, if she really is ready to outgrow Bunny, how do I explain that I am not ready to outgrow it?
[ Thursday, April 23, 2009 ]
Inspired by a conversation with Jeff and a product in a catalog, I decided to write here my life wishes for Kate. 1. I want you to fall in love completely - at least once - and do something crazy because of it. And if things don't work out, I want you to accept it as a life lesson and feel that it was worth it. 2. I want you to travel the world with an open mind about the people, history and cultures you encounter. 3. I want you to experience the extremes of nature, where humans were not supposed to be: climb a high mountain, dive deep into the ocean, cross a desert, walk through the jungle. 4. I want you to learn as many languages as you can because you will realize the importance of communication and understanding. 5. I want you to be politically engaged - vote, campaign, organize - because the world sometimes requires loud voices. 6. I want you to see extraordinary beauty in ordinary things. Appreciate sunrise and sunset, enjoy making food from scratch, watch a tree grow, take time to really listen to a piece of classical music. 7. I want you to place your happiness above all else. There is no higher duty than the one we have to ourselves - to arrive at the end of our lives with wonderful memories and few regrets. I want you to defend and never sacrifice your own happiness for anyone or anything. 8. I want you to know that you are loved unconditionally and that although I will encourage you to reach high, my love for you will be the same whether you fail or succeed. 9. I want you to love yourself and see you as I see you: a beautiful being with many facets that include qualities and flaws. A single flaw or quality will not define you, because you are a sum of those things. 10. I want you to always know the difference between who you are and what you do. During the inevitable low moments of your life, when your job is awful, your relationship is damaged, you can't seem to do anything right, money is short, or whatever else may happen... I want you to remember that you are still you, amazing and special and worthy of enormous love. 11. I want you to be kind and generous to people, animals and the world around you. There is always a chance to leave the world a little better than you found it, always a chance to make someone's day or life a bit better, always a chance to exercise your power to do good. 12. I want you to measure your life in memories, not things. Remember that the only true measure of success is happiness. Those are my strongest wishes for Kate... joined by my deepest hope that she will also not be a model, an actress or a spy! [ Monday, April 20, 2009 ]
Kate gave us the scare of a lifetime last week. She goes to math and reading classes twice a week after school, and her grandparents pick her up at the end of the lessons. On Thursday, because they were a little late, she decided to simply walk out on her own while the school teachers weren't looking. She took the elevator down, walked out and sat on the curb to wait. In the meantime, people noticed her missing and started a manhunt in the building. I only learned of the incident after she was picked up safe and sound, but the "what if" thoughts kept me up all night. Elsie tried to explain to her why it was dangerous (a concept she didn't have) and ended up scaring her with the notion that a stranger could take her away and she would never see her family again. My heart broke at the thought of her being so scared, but if it helps to keep her safe, so be it.
[ Thursday, April 16, 2009 ]
A few weeks ago Kate (out of the blue) said to me "It's going to be Bunny's birthday, he is going to be 5!". Bunny is the stuffed animal/blanket she's had since birth and continues to be her most prized possession. I went along and asked when Bunny's birthday was (Easter, obviously) but then Kate asked me to throw a tea party for Bunny on his birthday, with cake and guests. I was envisioning a pretend party with other stuffed animals and empty tea cups but Kate was dead serious. We ended up with 10 real guests, printed invitations, an Easter egg hunt in the backyard and - for me - a weekend filled with baking. The cake decorating tip and I became best friends and I don't think my fingers will ever be the same. It was well worth it, though. Her party was a great success, she had a lot of fun and we even brought all the replacement bunnies together (they live in Gigi and GrandDad's house and Daddy's house).
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
