Balloon Animals, Chocolate & Birthdays

Feb. 24/11

..... her ability to learn new things

I love Jaymi's love for learning and how easily she learns things.

We looked up how to make balloon animals, after first learning about the states of matter.  We got to the part about how gas behaves, and started playing with a long, skinny balloon.  Then we pulled out some more of those balloons and 'googled' how to make balloon animals!

Feb. 25/11

..... her rituals

Her nightly ritual involves reading in bed for about an hour on school nights, 2 hours on non-school nights, and she would (and has) done way more if we let her, or forget to remind her about lights-out.

Feb. 26/11

.....  her effort

I forgot to take a picture this day, but I had this picture of a paper she wrote about how chocolate is made.

Feb. 27/11

..... enthusiasm

Still studying chocolate.  This particular morning was all about taste testing different types of chocolate-covered foods.  We tasted (and rated) chocolate-covered raisins, cranberries, almonds, peanuts, and goji berries.  The consensus between the three of us was - our favourite was the raisins. 

Feb. 28/11

..... her love for Mark & I

Today was Mark's birthday and Jaymi had gone shopping with me, to spend her last $6 on presents for him, from the dollar store.  She bought him some gum, a bunch of electrical tape, an orange construction cone, and his favourite chocolate bar.  She also made a beautiful card with a drawing of his car, saying "Best Car Ever", a colouring page of a birthday cake, and displayed the whole thing on the table, all wrapped up individually.

The reason for the unhappy look in this picture, however, is because ever since surgery, Jaymi hasn't been 100% happy.  She seems sad, or depressed, some of the time.  We are hoping that it will resolve itself when things get back to normal (school full-time, back to ballet & taekwon-do, etc.). 

Sass & Snow

Feb. 21/11

..... her sassiness.

Feb. 22/11

..... her creativity.

Jaymi was registered in a library program about snow on Tuesday.  She was supposed to be creating a picture of a snow scene, and she spent the whole time, very carefully composing a picture of Mark's corvette (complete with glitter rims and accurately portraying his blue calipers) with snow around it.

Feb. 23/11

..... her resilience.

This morning began with a surprise wake-up for all of us.  Jaymi woke up with a very bad headache.  This is a worry right now, of course, because she is still recovering from surgery and we have to watch for certain signs.  Fortunately, after some Tylenol and rest, she was fine again, and everything looks okay (we are watching pretty closely).  

So she took it easy for most of the day, resting, watching movies, etc., and then before it got dark I hoped she could get outside and play for a bit in the surprise snow that we got overnight.  Even though we have to be careful of her head, she did great and we managed to have fun out there.

Keeping busy this weekend

Feb. 18/11

..... her self-awareness

Jaymi is one of the few children who is so aware of herself.  Since she was way younger, she has seemed to know more about how her mind works, than other kids.  She is learning, as an 8-yr-old, how to express herself properly, and it's amazing how she knows what she needs at times.

Feb. 19/11

..... her concentration

Feb. 20/11

..... her uniqueness

Hey - if she decides that she wants to slap a giant flower in the middle of her head...she will!  I love that she likes who she is and isn't afraid to experiment.

Recovery

I have found photos from February 6th and 8th (I thought I had missed those two days).  And I also have the continuation of my 365 of things I appreciate about Jaymi, now going through her recovery from surgery.

Feb. 6/11

...her love for animals

Jaymi has always been an animal lover.  She especially loves cats.  She always has.  When we saw this Sphinx cat in the mall, we had to check it out.  Our family has always been interested in the Sphinx cat, but has never seen one in person.

Feb. 8/11

...her love for carbs ;)

If she could, Jaymi would live off of pasta and bread.  Those are two of my favourites as well. :)

Feb. 14/11

...her love for family

In the hospital, she could have laid there forever, having someone read to her.  She literally listened for hours!

Feb. 15/11

...her drive

She wanted to get out of that hospital, and she finally did.  She was so happy to be leaving, a few days later than we (and the doctors) had expected.

Feb. 16/11

...her craftiness

She has been busy since she's been home, because although her body has to stay still much of the time, her mind still needs to keep active.  She has been doing things like reading, making bracelets & necklaces, colouring, playing on the computer (Webkinz World), playing card games, and making things out of felt.

Feb. 17/11

...her concentration

After a Break...

I had to take a break from posting my 365 project because we were in Vancouver, at BC Children's Hospital, for Jaymi's second brain surgery.  We are now back home and she is recovering very well, I am happy to say!

Somehow, I think I missed a few days, although I did try to take a picture every day.

So...to continue with 365 things I love about my daughter:

February 5/11

...her femininity

Feb. 6/11

I somehow missed taking a picture the day before we left for Vancouver.  I guess we were too busy packing and thinking of the upcoming surgery.

Feb. 7/11

...her bravery

Jaymi had no idea (neither did we) that she would be having a blood test this day, and she was so brave.  She definitely DID WANT to let the nurse take blood, and she got through it so well.  She amazes me every day.

Feb. 8/11

I missed this day too.  It was the day that she had an ophthalmologist appointment we also found out the official time of her surgery the next day - 8:15 am.

Feb. 9/11

...her fight

Jaymi is such a strong little girl.  Both times she has had surgery, she has surprised the doctors and nurses by fighting the drugs that keep her asleep and fighting against being 'down'.  She tries to pull tubes out, she struggles to stay awake with strong drugs that keep most kids asleep, and she fights to get going again.  This fight helps her to recover quickly - I believe that.

Feb. 10/11

...her friendship

She connects with certain people, and it's wonderful to observe.  Her favourite camp counsellor from Camp Qwanoes last summer was Sarah.  Sarah happens to live in Vancouver and visited Jaymi in the ICU.  She brought her a special book and they had a good visit.

Feb. 11/11

...her inner strength

Jaymi is so strong, and she pulls that from inside of herself.  After both surgeries, she has gone into herself and almost disappeared a bit, becoming very quiet, and almost seeming depressed.  But then she has manage to pull out of it, and emeerge her usual self, if not even stronger.

Feb. 12/11

...her sense of tradition

Each surgery and each difficult medical test/experience, we have made sure that we either do something fun, or have something (like a new stuffie or an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen).  Jaymi loves and relies on these traditions.  She knew that while in the hospital, someone would go and get her a Dairy Queen, double-dipped ice cream cone, even if she couldn't eat it all.

Feb. 13/11

...her indomitable spirit

One of the frustrating things about surgery for Jaymi is how she is weak and unbalanced and has to work at walking, sitting, holding her head up, jumping, running, etc..

365 Things I Appreciate About My Daughter

I started my 365 project on January 1st, 2011.

Yes, I know, I'm late in posting this.
I have been taking a picture every day, of Jaymi (my 365 subject) but I finally got around to starting a new blog to post them on.

Also, Jaymi herself is doing a 365 project.  But she skips days a lot.  That's okay - she's 8.
LOL ;)
I will start up a site for her 365 soon.

This time, I am planning my 365 to show what Jaymi's life is like in the year 2011.  What she is interested in, her personality, etc..  I also want to try to name each photo, something that I love and appreciate about her.

I would love to hear any comments that you have - just click on the comment button on any post, and go for it!

Jan. 1/11

...her love of reading

Jaymi is a total bookworm, and it always great to find a new series that she can get absorbed in. This series "Tales of the Frog Princess" is an awesome fantasy series - right up her alley. It takes about 2 nights for her to read one of the books, and I think there are about 8 in the series. She is loving it!

 Jan. 2/11

...her imagination

She decided to dress up as a bat, after reading a bunch of the "Frog Princess" books, where there is a character called "Lil", who is a bat. So we came up with this costume, which I fashioned out of a garbage bag. :)

Jan. 3/11

...her style

Jaymi loves to dress up in fancy dresses lately, and this one was a Christmas present from Gramma.

Jan. 4/11

...her silliness

 Jan. 5/11

...her innocence

This one was taken right before she went to sleep, because I almost forgot to take one.

Jan. 6/11

...her playfulness

Jan. 7/11

...her sense of humour

One of her favourite pretend games - to act out the Snow White story, especially the part where Snow White eats an apple (usually for Jaymi, it comes after apple bobbing) and immediately keels over.

Jan. 8/11

...her joy

More Snow White fun (she wore this dress at home, for 4 days in a row!)

Jan. 9/11

...her beauty

Pretty girl. Sometimes I catch a glance at her and realize she is growing up so beautifully!

Jan. 10/11

...her devotedness

Off to Gramma's house for a sleepover.  It turned into a two-night sleepover when there was a snowstorm here on the island.

Jan. 11/11

...her wonder

Gramma has an author friend (Carola O'Brien) who recently published a book that Jaymi just loves. She invited her over to her house for a tea party, to meet her, and she got to see where the book was written. She also got a manuscript copy of the next book in the series, as well as a bunch of original drawings to colour in, drawn by the author! AND her next book is dedicated to Jaymi! Wow!

Jan. 12/11

...her tolerance

She had a headache when this picture was taken.
It's pretty much an everyday occurrence right now, as her tumour is growing and we await her 2nd surgery.

Jan. 13/11

...her persistence

Big smile! She loves her new short haircut. She has been wanting it for so long, and we finally (after making her wait months) said okay.

Jan. 14/11

...her focus

Jaymi is loving taekwon-do - she goes to as many classes as she can. On this day, she was accepted into the Master Club, and received her special black uniform. She is thrilled!

Jan. 15/11

...her pensiveness

Jan. 16/11

...her independence

She made her own dinner (while dressed in a purple gymnastics bodysuit LOL). A cheesy quesadilla (with as much cheese stuffed in as she could possibly get) with an applesauce face and applesauce dots around the plate. She insisted on the 'presentation' because it was important. ;)

 Jan. 17/11

...her sense of fun

Jaymi has been such a fantastic help lately, in the kitchen. She helped to bake bread last week, and this week she was a great help making our own pizzas from scratch. Her favourite part (besides eating the shredded cheese) was cutting out circles of salami and pepperoni from the slices we had.

Jan. 18/11

...her interests

Zhu Zhu pets are one of the newest fads right now, and Jaymi got lots of Zhu Zhu stuff for Christmas. They're pretty cute! One of her favourite toys is her Zhu Zhu princess castle.

Jan. 19/11

...her excitement

Mark built Jaymi this awesome little zipline for her stuffies. It was Jaymi's idea, and he made her draw out a blueprint for it, and then she helped to make it as well.

Jan. 20/11

...her sweetness

Jaymi's headaches go on and off...some nights are worse and some nights are pretty good. This was one of the not-so-great nights.

Jan. 21/11

...her happiness

Jan. 22/11

...her expressions

Jaymi had a pretty bad headache on this evening, and was actually trying to strap an ice pack to her head and hold it there while eating dinner.

Jan. 23/11

...her sense of fun

Acting out Rapunzel - pretending to be Rapunzel locked in a tower.

Jan. 24/11

...her ideas

She is getting more independent, learning how to make her own snacks. She was making graham crackers with cream cheese or peanut butter and fruit on top.

Jan. 25/11

...her inventiveness

Jaymi made her own soup from scratch, for dinner!
Chicken broth, peas, meatballs (that I made), and alphabet noodles. She spent some time on garnish as well, using chocolate wafer sticks. :)

Jan. 26/11

...her work ethic

Homework time - spelling triangles today.

She works so hard in school - I love that.

Jan. 27/11

...her talent

Jaymi's class did a dance presentation in school today, so we got to watch.

Jan. 28/11

...her adaptiveness (sometimes)

"Multi-Tasking" - this is what ends up happening on a busy day for Jaymi. She was dressed in her taekwon-do uniform (ready to go to class), sitting under a hairdryer after a bath, reading a book, and eating dinner. :)

Jan 29/11

I forgot to take a picture on the 29th.  Oops!

Jan. 30/11

...her friendship

Playdate with Connor - our neighbour.  They have been friends for almost 7 years now.

Jan. 31/11

...her sweetness

She came downstairs dressed in her Cinderella dress tonight, ready for a banquet (dinner) and a pretend wedding - complete with a veil, and two rings on a pillow. Ready to marry Prince Charming (Daddy).

Of course, he said yes!

Feb. 1/11

...her loyalty

Jaymi's school went skating today at our local rec. centre. She had so much fun.

These are three of her closest school girlfriends, and herself.

Feb. 2/11

...her intelligence

Doing a spelling game for homework, with Daddy.

Feb. 3/11

...her goofiness

Feb. 4/11

...her persistence

Jaymi earned her orange belt today! Just in time, too. She has to take some time off for her surgery & recovery, so we took this picture of her and the staff at her taekwon-do school.