Birthday weekend!

Jaymi's birthday was this weekend - I can't believe she's 9 years old!

Oct. 22/11

I love ..... her generosity

Jaymi had her birthday party this weekend, and maintained her idea that she DID NOT want presents from her friends.  She only wanted them to bring a small monetary donation as well as an item, both for the SPCA.  She loved her party, loved that they brought lots of stuff for the SPCA, and didn't regret it at all! In fact, she can't wait until we get a chance to visit the SPCA and give the donated items and money to them.

Oct. 23/11

..... that she has friends she has known since she was very little.

Jaymi has three friends that she still considers very good friends, whom she has known for many years.

1 - when we first moved here, and started to get to the know our neighbours, she met Connor.  Although he is two years older than she is, they get along so well, and love to play the same activities.  She was about 2 when she first met him.  They are both quite busy with school and activities now, but they still love to get together when they have a chance.

2 - Before preschool began (when Jaymi was about 3 years old) we met a few people through a local internet site and Gareth was one of them.  They ended up being in the same preschool class together and he was the only one she would talk to.  They eventually both left the school and attended different schools for kindergarten and up, but we maintained a weekly playdate for them since.  She considers him her best friend (outside of school).

3 - Jennica also attended the same preschool as Jaymi, but they didn't talk or play together back then.  When Jaymi showed up at the same school and kindergarten class as Jennica, they remembered each other and began to play together.  They were inseparable for years, and although they go back and forth with new friends, they are still very good friends.

Below is a picture of them in kindergarten (top left), Grade 2 (right), and this year - Grade 4 (bottom left).

Three of Jaymi's favourite things - school (& friends), cats, and taekwondo!

Oct. 12/11

..... her flexibility

She is so physically flexible and energetice, and fit.  It's awesome!

Although I really hate watching all of the new things she discovers she can do on the monkey bars with her friends.  It makes me nervous!

Oct. 13/11

..... her seriousness about schoolwork (while in school, anyway)

Jaymi takes her work seriously while she is in school.  When it's time to do schoolwork, she can always be seen with her head down, pencil working away.

Oct. 14/11

..... her braveness

She is putting her hand up in taekwondo to answer questions now.

She is speaking up when she wants to ask the teacher in school a question.

That's awesome - she is getting much braver now.

Oct. 15/11

..... the effort she puts into taekwondo

They are taught at taekwondo that you should always do your best.

They are taught that you should be "happy but not satisfied" with each accomplishment.

And Jaymi gives her all in the class, for sure.

She does what she is supposed to do, quickly and with as much strength and speed as she can.

She recently entered her first taekwondo tournament.

She entered in the sparring category, the forms, and the weapons category.

She had a fantastic time, and won three medals!

Oct. 16/11

..... her decision to grow her hair this year.

Mark and I have always liked her hair longer.

But in January she wanted it short and we finally said yes.

Now she is trying her hardest to grow it...very impatiently....and it is.... slowly.

Oct. 18/11

..... her nuturing nature.

She came out of her room one night and was worried that Socks had possibly swallowed something he shouldn't have, and was in pain.  She heard him crunching something, then she said his eyes were very wide.  She worried that he was hurting.

I checked him and he was totally fine.

I love that she worries about him like that.

Oct. 19/11

..... her imagination

Jaymi has begun writing a book of her own.  She is fascinated by the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, and has read almost all of the books, and recently she decided to write her own story, using the Warriors characters and history.  I just love the vocabulary she is using and the way her imagination comes out in the story.

Oct.20/11

..... her excitement about her birthday.

Jaymi is planning her birthday.  She isn't letting me do much on my own - it's all her!

It's a Warrior Cats birthday party.

And she DOES NOT want presents (from her friends).  She wants her friends to bring a $3 donation and an item for the SPCA.  None of the money will go to her - it's all for the SPCA.

I love her idea!

So we are making sure that she has a fantastic birthday party and gets presents, of course, from family members.

And we will go to the SPCA and give in the donation, visit the animals and 'tell' them about it, and Jaymi says that will be her present - the warm fuzzy feeling she'll get from making the animals happy.

Oct. 5/11

..... her unconditional love for Socks (her kitten)

We got Socks back in June, and Jaymi is still so in love him.

Every day when she gets home from school, she immediately looks for him in the house, cuddles him and says hello.

Oct. 6/11

..... her love for board games

It was hilarious watching Jaymi and her friend Zoe play Bedbugs together recently!

Oct. 7/11

..... that she's my kid!

Oct. 8/11

..... her changing style

I love watching her figure out her style, and what she likes to wear.

It frustrates me that she doesn't like dresses or skirts anymore (again!).

But oh well.  I do want her to be her own person, right?

She likes pants and shirts.

She loves shoes, especially flats.

She doesn't really like to wear pink that much.

She likes comfortable clothes..pants that stretch - no cords or jeans.

She likes her hair straight and smooth - no poofiness or waves or curls.

She still likes to mismatch her socks, most of the time.

Oct. 9/11

..... her curiosity

Jaymi helped me with the Thanksgiving turkey this year, and also made her own pumpkin pie.

I am always quick to help her learn new things, so when she asked me if she could see the giblets, and inspect them, I jumped at the chance to teach her something new.

We marvelled at how the heart looks just like ours would.

We cut open the heart and noticed the blood vessels and arteries.

We noticed how the liver looks the same on the inside and outside.

We cut apart the neck and saw that there were vertebrae just like ours.

Oct. 10/11

..... her long-standing friendship with Gareth

Jaymi has known Gareth since somewhere around age 3...before preschool!

They went to preschool together, and then when it was time to go to kindergarten, they went to separate schools.

Since that time, they have had a weekly playdate.

They have always been at each other's birthday parties as well.

Gareth turned 9 the other day, and Jaymi was happy to choose two Warriors books for him - she knew which ones he would enjoy.

They both have a love for "Warriors" by Erin Hunter.

They discuss the series endlessly, in detail.

They love to pretend they are warrior cats in a certain clan, and they act out whole scenarios.

Oct. 11/11

..... her interest in planning her own birthday party

Since about 2 years ago, Jaymi has wanted to be in on the plans for her birthday parties.

Here she is, planning her upcoming party (a cat party) while eating leftover pumpkin pie.

:)