Oct. 24/11

I love her ..... increasing compassion for others

Jaymi is finally reaching an age where she is beginning to think a lot more about other people's feelings.

She has been dealing with an issue with a friend, and has been trying hard to deal with this issue in a way that doesn't hurt the friend's feelings.  It's so nice to see her putting herself in someone else's shoes.

Oct. 25/11

..... her love of simple things

We studied eyeballs (eyesight, eyes, etc.) and had a lot of fun attaching eyes to everything, including food.

Jaymi had a kiwi snack with eyes,

a pumpkin milkshake with eyes,

a stuffie eyeball,

a piece of pumpkin pie with eyes as well as a vitamin with one eye (that's when she learned a new vocabulary word - cyclops)

Oct. 27/11

..... her dedication

Oct. 28/11

..... her generosity

At a friend's baking birthday party, Jaymi made tons of cookies and set aside quite a few, including the biggest heart cookie, for me! :)

Oct. 29/11

..... her role models

The people she looks up to right now, are awesome role models.  They are mostly taekwondo black belts, who are good students, hard workers, and people with great values and determination.

Isn't that awesome?

Oct. 30/11

..... her ability to get right into a holiday

We always go to a pumpkin patch and choose pumpkins, before Halloween.

We always carve or decorate our pumpkins to have them ready on the doorstep on Halloween night.

This year, Jaymi decorated Mark's pumpkin for him, and it included 'blood-dripping fangs' and a screwdriver right in the eye!  Ack!

Oct. 31/11

..... her ability to look pretty in a hamburger costume ;)

LOL

Nov. 1/11

..... her understanding of money and how to save it

She had $20 of birthday money and decided to spend it on some new stuffies.  At Carlton Cards, she knew (from buying a friend's birthday present recently) that these big-eyed stuffies were on sale for Buy One Get One Half-Off.  So, she calculated it all out and figured out that she could buy 3 of them (and we bought one more for a future birthday present for a friend).  Of course, she decided on 3 of the same husky stuffies.

Because, of course, 3 is even better than 1, you know!

Oh, and thanks Gramma & Papa John, by the way - that was the $20 that she received from you!

Nov. 2/11

..... her love of cats

Since Jaymi was little, she has loved cats.

She has almost always had a hoodie with cat ears.

:)

Nov. 3/11

..... how I can re-show her something that we used to do, after she has forgotten it, and she loves it all over again.

We used to play this game while we were inside Tim Horton's, at the window near the drive-through.

We watch the cars driving through, and interpret the logos, trying to see if we can figure out the make and model of each vehicle.

Nov. 4/11

..... her intensity

Last weekend was Training with Black Belts weekend.

It happens twice per year at Jaymi's taekwondo school, and she loves it.

This time, she had the opportunity to train for an hour on Friday night with the black belts, then for another two hours (one of taekwondo and one of grappling) on Saturday morning, then back in the early afternoon for another hour (weapons training) with the black belts, and finally she watched for two hours while they tested for their next belts/stripes.  Arriving on Saturday at 10am and being there until 4pm, she was all upset that it was over.  She wanted to stay longer!

Nov. 5/11

..... her love of literature

For her birthday, Jaymi received play tickets to "Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the The Wardrobe" from Granna & Grandad (thanks!), which was perfect, because Jaymi has read the book.

Seeing the play was great - she loved it!

Nov. 6/11

..... her 'good feeling' when she donated to the SPCA.

For her birthday this year, Jaymi insisted on her friends NOT giving her any gifts, but instead, bringing money and an item for the SPCA.  So we finally got around to bringing everything to the SPCA.

We brought tons of old towels, leashes, collars, cat & dog toys, and $33.

Jaymi said that she wished more kids would do this, and that her present was the good feeling she would get inside, from doing this.

She also loves visiting the cats when we go to the SPCA.  If she could take them all home with her, I think she would.

:)

Nov. 7/11

..... her spontaneous nature

After school one day recently, it was finally not wet outside, finally sunny, and we finally had no plans for the latter half of the day, so I decided to take Jaymi for our annual autumn photo shoot.  She was happy to do this and had lots of fun playing in the leaves.

Nov. 8/11

..... her continuing responsibility with Socks (her kitten)

Socks was neutered this week.

We allowed Jaymi to help bring Socks to the vet, and help pick him up as well.  She was fantastic with him.

Nov. 10/11

..... her new interest in piano

Jaymi has recently asked me to teach her piano.

Every time I have tried to teach her in the past, she hasn't been interested at all.

Now that she is older though, I am finding that she is picking up the basics sooo easily!

In two days, she has already learned the first three songs in the book, the C scale with both hands separately, and done a bunch of ear training perfectly and theory as well.

Hopefully, she stays interested!

Nov. 11/11

..... her age

Jaymi is 9 years old now.

Every year, I love her age and the things she can do.

I am loving 9 so far.

I wanted to start a "Pay It Forward" club with Jaymi, eventually maybe extending it to her school and making it a bigger club.

Having an only child especially, it's important to teach her to think of others, serve others, and do things for others, to make them feel good - not just ourselves.

So we had the first meeting of our very own club, at home.

We brainstormed ideas, made categories, found a bible quote to go with our club, and made a list of members.  And, of course, we made a dismissal routine too.

July 16/11

..... I love her toughness. 

Jaymi got to be in the parade for Langford Days in July, with her taekwondo school.  It rained pretty hard that morning and it was still raining (although, barely) during the parade, but this group didn't care.  They walked through the whole parade, soaked by the end, but wearing t-shirts, no jackets, and no umbrellas!  So many of the other groups were huddling under umbreallas or with hooded jackets protecting their heads from the sprinkling rain.  Not my kid - she's tough!

:)

July 17/11

..... I love her endless imagination.

We bought a new garbage can and before I knew it, she was begging to play with it before we began to use it.

It was hilarious to see this blonde ponytail flopping around at the end of a rolling garbage can.

She had the best time with it!

July 18/11

..... I love the 'girl' things I can share with her.

When she asked me to blow-dry her hair recently, after a bath, she asked me how to keep her hair from flipping up at the ends.  She likes her hair very flat and straight.  

I found myself teaching her (while lying in bed) how to flip her hair from one side to the other, and smooth it down, so that it doesn't bunch up at her neck.  

It's fun to teach her 'girl' things. :)

July 19/11

..... her good reasons

Jaymi attended an SPCA summer camp last week - a full day, week-long camp.

She loved it so much.

But even more, she loved a couple of cats that were up for adoption.  She begged us to adopt one of these cats.

But these aren't just everyday, cute cats.  They were the ones she felt that no one will adopt because the kids even called them "ugly".

One cat had one ear.

And one cat was born with brain damage.  His brain has trouble with the message the tells him where the floor is, so he stumbles a lot.

But get this - here was her completely serious reason for why she should adopt him.

She said, "we have kind of the same thing in common - with the brain.  And I can help him because I understand."

How's that for a good reason for adopting that cat?

July 20/11

..... her compassion for animals.

In SPCA camp her group learned a lot about animal testing, and the companies that do it.

She is constantly checking products now, and telling us all about the companies we have to boycott and the ones that are okay to buy from.

July 21/11

..... her simple interests

I love how something simple like an inflatable oblong exercise ball (that cost us 50 cents) was the source of so much fun last week (and still is)!

She found a ton of different things to do with it!

July 22/11

..... the spot in her heart for her daddy.

When he says yes to dancing with her, or doing one of her made-up games, or watching a performance of hers, she just lights up.  She loves him so much, especially when he does something that an adult doesn't usually do (like dancing on the front lawn).

July 23/11

..... I love how everyday things can be exciting when you change one thing.

We found this 2-person tent for $2 at a garage sale and it made everything so much fun for Jaymi!

She wanted to eat dinner in there, start a club in it, play with the kitten in it, eat freezies in it.........

July 24/11

..... the way she's growing up

No, I hate that she's growing up - way too fast!  But, sometimes I look at her and I just love how she's growing up so beautifully.

July 25/11

..... her consistency with what she care about.

She has been amazing with this new kitten, Socks.

And she insisted on helping him out by comforting and holding him during his vet visit for vaccinations.

I know that she had a hard time doing this, because she doesn't like watching any animal get hurt AT ALL.  But she did it!

July 26/11

..... her sense of humour (again)

Jaymi had a playdate with a friend (at our house) and they were outside playing together.

Suddenly, my doorbell rings and I open it to be faced with this - a walking, giggling garbage can.

This went on quite a few times.  They thought it was hilarious, and especially when they walked around and bumped into things.

:)

July 27/11

..... how well she plays with her friends

July 28/11

..... her friends

She has such a variety of friends, and she plays with them all so differently.

Some are quieter, some are louder.

Some are leaders, some are not.

Some like to play "doggie" or "cats", some like to colour, and some like to bounce or build forts.

July 29/11

..... her willingness to stop for a picture once in a while.

I've been taking pictures of Jaymi since she was born, so of course, she's sooo used to me snapping pictures of her.  And I like the fact that if I ask her to stop for a second and look over at the camera, usually, she will.

More Spring Break Fun!

Mar. 25/11

..... I love her way with words :)

Mar. 26/11

..... I love her giggles

I took this while she was putting on a performance with a friend, for us.

Mar. 27/11

..... I love her fascination with books

She is speeding through this wonderful series of books, and loving it!

Mar. 28/11

..... I love her passion for causes

(this was taken on a visit to the SPCA)

Mar. 29/11

..... I love her craziness ;)

Her newest stuffie 'germ' (they're actually called giant microbes) - this is a giant brain cell (next to her regular-sized one)

Mar. 30/11

..... I love her joy for the little things in life, like free fudge samples

Mar. 31/11

..... I love her dancing

Apr. 1/11

..... I love her friendships

Connecting with an old friend, after not seeing them for over 2 years!  It was like no time had passed at all.

I missed two days - Apr. 2nd and Apr. 3rd.

Apr. 4/11

..... I love her dedication

This was her first private lesson at taekwondo since surgery - 1 more month and she'll be allowed to be back in the full taekwondo class!