Signs of Growing Up

 Mira has hit some major milestones in her childhood journey. This week in particular, I have witnessed a new Mira. The slowly maturing Mira. The Mira who is compassionate, open, communicative and loving. She makes me so proud. She seems so aware of the things that are happening around her.

Since well before leaving for India, Mira has been playing with a wiggly tooth in the front of her mouth. Finally, Monday morning, the tooth came out while Mira was eating her cereal. I don't think that I have seen her more excited with this little morsel of tooth sitting in the palm of her hand and a newly formed gap in her smile.

Of course, her and I went right to work finding the perfect place for her tooth and writing the perfect note for the tooth fairy. She wanted to make it perfectly clear that her tooth would be waiting for the tooth fairy in a little hand made chest (teeny weeny) she made.

The nice thing about having the tooth fairy visit, is that there is no hesitation on Mira's behalf to get her supper eaten, her pajamas on and her books read in anticipation of having to be asleep. Eager doesn't even begin to describe Mira last night when it came to bed time.

In addition to this very tactful sign of her growing up, Mira has been eerily compliant and co-operative. There is no battles over what we are having for dinner. There are no battles over what to wear in the morning (she normally fights me to wear a skirt). It's like she just knows that it doesn't really matter. As if she knows that they aren't things worth fighting over. We all do things that we don't really want to do from time to time and we just make the most of it. It's really as if her whole perspective on things has changed. She is so agreeable. Not that she was ever overly disagreeable. Not by any stretch. But her outlook is much more "adult". Mature.

I have no idea if this is just a stage, but I'm appreciating it. I'm loving it. I'm loving watching my little 5 1/2 year old girl blossom into this little soon-to-be teenager, where the battles will likely get tougher. For now though, she's still my little 5 year old......with a gap toothed smile.

Huge and Awkward

I couldn't think of a good title for this post. So, I decided to call it exactly how I'm feeling.

I'm 32 weeks pregnant and I know that I still have about 7 1/2 (53 days exactly) weeks to go until my due date....but who's counting....

I am now feeling very awkward and clumsy. To many of my friends, my belly looks small considering in less than 2 months we'll be welcoming our son. But, to those women who have been pregnant before,you know that no matter how "big" or how "small" you measure, being very pregnant makes you feel very large. It's quite amazing actually. The body can stretch and expand and then go right back to the way it was. My hips have expanded and although most people wouldn't notice it, I do. All of this is very normal and I'm not upset in the least. It's part of being pregnant and it's how the body adjusts to carrying a seven or eight pound little person. 

I think that the changes were more shocking when I was pregnant with Mira. This time, I'm embracing the changes with a smile, knowing that they are for a good cause and that things will go back to normal.

Our little man is weighing almost 4lbs (approximately) and has continued to kick up a storm. He's still head down (since 28 weeks) and he's enjoying giving my ribs a good kick every so often. He is certainly going to be our active little guy once he makes his arrival.

We went to the Baby Time Show yesterday and we were quickly overwhelmed by all the mothers, strollers and babies. We also happened to run into quite a few people that we knew. We seem to be pregnant during a time when a lot of our friends are pregnant. Since Toronto doesn't host a lot of baby shows, it seems that everyone who is pregnant or has small children, flocked to this show to see what good deals could be found. There were some great deals and Geoff almost purchased another stroller. His new obsession is strollers. Even when we were in the Dominican Republic, he was asking all of the other families there how they liked their strollers. I love how enthusiastic he's been about his little guy. It's everything I can do to stop him from buying a $1200 Orbit stroller. Our son will not care whether he rides in a $150 stroller or a $1600 stroller. Thank goodness :)

My Baby's Home

 My baby girl is home from India. What an incredible time she had. Judging from the stories she's telling me and the photos I've seen, I'm just thrilled that she was able to go.

She spent a great deal of time with her cousins. Despite the age gap, she had the time of her life with them.

Nine days seemed like eternity to me, but I'm sure it flew by for her. She has done exceptionally well at recovering from the 16 hour flight. Her appetite is good and she has a healthy little glow on her face.

She kept a journal of sorts while she was there. Her teacher at school recommended that she keep one to show the class when she got back.

I hope to keep with the tradition of travel for my little girl. I want her to see the world and take in all its beauty and it's reality as well. I want her to see that not everyone in the world has things as good as she does and that it'll encourage her to be both thankful and generous towards those in need.

So much for her to learn about.....

French Connection

Next year, Mira will be attending a new school. Part of it is that we are moving to our new house in September and her current school will be out of her catchment area. As well, we have chosen for Mira to enter into french immersion. In the Halton board, you can only enter into french immersion in either grade 1 or grade 7. This means that come September, this will be our only opportunity until grade 7 to get her into this program.

I did french immersion as a kid and the other side of her family spent a lot of time in Montreal growing up, so french is strong there as well. This means that Mira will have a lot of french support at home.

Mira has strong language and social skills so I'm hoping that she'll transition to this french immersion program with ease.

Zoe Katherine Tummon

Congratulations to our friends Edd and Heather Tummon and the birth of their little girl Zoe Katherine Tummon. She was born Tuesday April 17th and weighed 5lbs 8oz. Beautiful little girl. Congratulations guys!

India Bound

My little girl is officially on a plane headed for India. She is going to experience the most amazing things. She is going to taste the most incredible, authentic indian food (she's a big fan of indian food) and she'll interact with some pretty incredible people. What a lucky girl my daughter is. She is seeing the world, a very different part of the world, through the eyes of someone young and unassuming. She is still a sponge, a blank slate on which to make an impression. Travelling to a place like India at her age will, hopefully, provide her with an appreciation for different cultures, languages and religions. She will be unbiased in her feelings towards those who come from a different place than her. I am so excited for her.

My heart aches and she's been gone for only an hour and a half. I am re-assured by the fact that she is having fun with her family and that she's well taken care of. The countdown has begun.....9 days left until I can hug my little munchkin....

Easter Fun

This Easter weekend was a BUSY one. Geoff and I have been pretty fortunate to have gotten Easter weekend off together every year for the past 3 years. It means that we've had the opportunity to share Easter with Mira! There is really nothing more exciting than waking up to a kid shrieking with excitement because the Easter bunny has just littered their room with chocolate treats and stuffies!

Friday night we went out with our good friends Jay and Brenna for dinner here in Georgetown. We also spent the day out in Niagara region with our friend Tara and Ron who had offered to replace Geoff's snow tires with his summer ones. It meant that Mira spent about 5 straight hours playing with a toy poodle puppy. You can only imagine how much Mira has talked about this little tootsie roll (he's brown in colour) since!

Saturday, we made our way down to the Seymour residence for a fantastic Easter dinner. I love turkey, ham, stuffing and all the other fixings. Mira met a new friend Madeline and they played wonderfully considering it was their first time meeting!


Sunday we then went to hang out with the Snyckers at their house. It's become tradition to spend our holidays with them. They are from South Africa and their families are still over there. So it means that every Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas, etc we are having a big family dinner with them. Every Easter we hide eggs for all the kids to find and we just have a blast. They are like my family apart from blood. :)
So another Easter has come and gone, with all the traditions that I love so much. The eggs, the chocolate, the stuffed bunnies, the pretty Easter dresses and ribbons.....I LOVE holidays with kids.