The final days of summer and back to school

So, the last few weeks have come and gone, and were mostly full of fun.

We went to Vancouver for Jaymi's MRI, and got good news - her tumour is stable.

What that means, is that the MRI looked exactly like the last one, 3 months ago, and we don't have to back for another one until January.

So, we decided to have some fun and enjoy Vancouver.  It was kind of a celebration of the good news and I think, we deserved the fun.

And after the last couple of weeks of August were over, of course, it was time to get ready to go back to school - Grade 4 this year!

So...on with my 365 project.

--------------------------

Aug. 16/11

..... I love that she likes to go to plays.

We don't go to nearly enough of that kind of thing, and I have always had a love for theatre, so it's so much fun to take her to see a play.

Aug. 17/11

..... I love that she doesn't mind getting wet.

Aug. 18/11

..... her collection of reading medals.

She has quite a few of these, from the library summer reading club.

She does it every year, and always gets the medal at the end.

She also has tons of reading medals from taekwondo - they award them for filling out reading charts every day.

Aug. 19/11

..... her ideas

This waterpark has a big puddle in the middle, at certain times.  And Jaymi just loved jumping from the play structure right into the puddle.  It was pretty deep, too!

Aug. 21/11

..... her opportunities

While we were at Ronald McDonald House, Jaymi got to meet an author named Candace Weimer.

Candace was diagnosed with leukemia 4 years ago and was given 2 years to live.  She made the decision to fight it and get better and beat the cancer, and she did!

She wrote a book that is basically her journalling, and tells about her feelings from diagnoses through treatment to recovery.

Jaymi got a free book which Candace autographed, and they talked a lot.

It was a fantastic opportunity for Jaymi.

Aug. 22/11

..... how she helps me remember how to be a kid!

In the Ronald McDonald House, she just loved her bed!  It was a tiny room, but her bed was like a little fort, and she invited me up there one day.  Fun!

Aug. 23/11

..... her choice of toys

We got passes for Science World, from the Ronald McDonald House, and after having a lot of fun there, Jaymi got a stuffie platelet and a mango popsicle.

She reeeeallly wanted the stuffie platelet, after seeing how cute they were and learning what they do (clot blood).  Even now, when she gets a cut, she yells, "Platelets!  Do your job!"

:)

Aug. 24/11

..... her lack of fear

She has no fear of heights, which is awesome, because she thoroughly enjoys things like this Vancouver Lookout, where the glass elevator rides along the outside of the building.

Aug. 25/11

..... her connection with animals

Jaymi is in love with cheetahs right now, and when we went to the zoo, she was ecstatic that they had a cheetah!

He came right over to us, laid down and purred as loud as he could.

She just purred right back at him, inspected him, adored him, talked to him, and sat there for over 1/2 hour, until I dragged her away.  (We visited again later, and he was still there!)

Aug. 26/11

..... her fishiness ;)

She is such a fish.  Always has been.  She loves water, loves swimming, and will stay in there all day if she could.

She swam every single day, and sometimes twice a day.

Aug. 27/11

..... her childhood wonder

This was taken as she ran back to me after going on her first ride at the PNE in Vancouver.

She loves fairs so much!

She especially loved going on the roller coaster and all of the spinniest, scariest rides.

Aug. 28/11

..... her love for hotels

I love that there is so much about staying at a hotel that she loves.  It makes the vacation so much fun, before we've even done anything!

There's the ice machine,

building forts in the room,

watching a movie in the evening,

room service,

riding the elevator to the top of the building,

the front doors (if they're rotating or automatic)

the pool,

the hot tub,

exploring around the hotel,

practicing using the room key card in the door

and of course, bed jumping!

Aug. 29/11

..... her daring

We found this great free suspension bridge just near Abbotsford.

We even happened to be there while a large group of firefighters were doing some practice rescues down below.  So much fun to watch!

Aug. 30/11

..... her ability to make me experience things out of my comfort zone

Jaymi so badly wanted to ride the chairlift when we went up to Grouse Mountain.

So, we did it.

We had done a chairlift before, but it was way smaller.

I didn't realize this.

This one was long (about 15-20 minutes) and HIGH!

I actually got pretty nervous on it, and I don't usually get like that.

It was freaking me out a bit, and at the same time, I was thinking how awesome it is that I stepped out of my comfort zone to do this so that she could experience it.

Aug. 31/11

..... her willingness to pose for pictures ;)

Sep. 1/11

..... her new obsession - cheetahs

Sep. 2/11

..... her love for home

Home, sweet home!

Sep.3/11

..... her love for twirling

This is her new 'character skirt' for ballet.  She needs a character skirt for Gr.1 ballet this year, as well as ballet shoes, character shoes and her leotard.

She thinks this skirt is amazing, and loves to have twirling contests with me.

Sep. 4/11

..... her new food obsession - mangos.

Yuck.

I do not like the taste of mangos.

But Jaymi does.  Mango anything.

Mango smoothies, mango ice cream, mango juice, mango yogurt, fresh mangos, dried mangos, mango popsicles......

Sep. 5/11

..... how cute she is! 

;)

Isn't she cute?

I just love this picture.  It was her last swim of the summer, before school started up.

I just thought she looked cute, with her goggles, swimsuit, towel and flip-flops.

Sep. 6/11

..... that she likes school.

She started Gr. 4 this year - wow!

We always celebrate the first day of school by going to Dairy Queen afterwards.  This year we deviated from our regular tradition of ordering dipped cones, and she wanted to try a milkshake.

Sep. 7/11

..... how she makes me laugh.

Sep. 8/11

..... her empathy for Cookie

Cookie got into some kind of fight outside recently, and came home with some injuries.  They seemed to be fine after a few days, but about 2 days ago she was limping.  It seemed to be getting worse today so we took her to the vet.

Jaymi was very concerned about Cookie.  She kept reporting new symptoms to me, like her breathing rate, etc.

So the vet gave us some antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medecine because she has an abscess.

Hopefully she feels better soon.

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.

The end of Gr.3 and the beginning of our summer

June 19/11

..... her similarity to her dad!

Jaymi is so much like Mark.  And although it drives me crazy sometimes, I love that she is like him.

They are both perfectionists.

They are both extremely stubborn.

They both have the same sarcastic streak and sense of humour.

They are both so smart!

They are both disorganized and scattered sometimes.

They are both so distractable.

They are both the loves of my life.

:)

June 21/11

..... her love for school.

She especially loves being with her friends, now that she is older.  This picture was taken on a field trip to a garden, during the last week of school.

June 22/11

..... her love for pretty things.

These are new shoes Jaymi just got.  She is wearing out shoes more than anything lately!

June 23/11

..... her courage to try new things.

Jaymi auditioned for a ballet this year, and she got a role!

She will be in a real ballet with a real ballet company in December.

She will be a snow flurry in The Nutcracker.  She went through an hour-long audition process and was so happy when she got in!

June 24/11

..... her recovery this year.

Her teacher awarded her a certificate of courage at the awards ceremony.  It is still unbelievable to us that she had her second brain surgery, still lives with a brain tumour, and has now graduated from Gr.3.

She has accomplished so much this year, besides recovering from surgery.

She has run a 1.5K, earned a role in a ballet (and finished her Primary year in ballet - ready to move on to Gr.1 ballet in September), made up for 3 months of lost time in taekwondo and has now earned her purple belt, and has also done a lot of growing socially & emotionally this year.

June 25/11

..... her enthusiasm

Ever since we discovered McHugh Rd we just HAVE to visit it when we are nearby!

June 26/11

..... that she likes to get wet.

It's so much fun to have a water balloon fight with a kid who WANTS to get wet.

June 27/11

..... her fun ideas

We declared this week "Fort Week" after Jaymi built this fantastic fort.

She has hung out in it, read in it, played in it, and eaten meals in it.

We ate dinner in it on this day.

June 28/11

..... her adaptiveness (recently)

Jaymi has never been great at accepting other people's ideas, but this year she has improved so much with it.  She let me change up her fort and tweak her ideas, and she liked the changes too.

June 29/11

.... her perseverance

I have been wanting to do a study of Virtues for a while now, and decided to do it this summer.

We began with Perseverance for two reasons.  One - because she used a lot of perseverance building her fort (it took hours and kept falling apart).  Two - in taekwondo right now they are discussing perseverance as well, so it fits right in.

One of the activities Jaymi is doing is lifting these cans (as weights) a certain number of times every day, and increasing that number.

June 30/11

..... her sense of responsibility.

Okay, here is the newest member of our family.

We adopted the cutest, tiniest kitten two days ago.

Jaymi named him Socks.

He is nine weeks old, he is very playful and very cuddly.

He is a rescue kitten (he was fostered after he was born from his mother - a cat found in the wild).

He is Jaymi's kitten and right now (until he is big enough to meet the other cats) he lives in her room.

She feeds him his wet food twice a day, she makes sure his dry food is filled up and his water is fresh, and she empties his litter every day.

She loves him so much, and is so amazing with him!

July 1/11

..... her sense of tradition.

She insisted on going to Fort Rodd Hill as we do every year, and we always take this family picture as well, on Canada Day.

She feels that tradition is very important.

July 2/11

..... her artistic ability

Jaymi has been wanting to be an artist for years now.  (She also wants to be a black belt in taekwondo and to work at an animal shelter.)

She loves to paint, draw, and colour.

She is turning her room into a cat-themed room right now, so she painted two canvasses for her room.