As usual, I boycotted store bought
costumes and put together the perfect duo: Dora and ‘Boots’ (the monkey). I suppose one day Kassiah will boycott
right back and refuse to be a sidekick…but until that day arrives, I thoroughly
enjoy choosing their costumes. In
fact, she should be thanking me, since Ivan’s vote was to make them wear
matching outfits with Kassiah’s belly protruding over her ‘before’ sign and
Mariah rocking her gymnast physique with her ‘after’ sign!
It’s been a record long time since
I blogged in July, so I’ll start with a brief catch-up:
In August, we went home to Ontario
and had a pretty amazing week in nature.
After visits with friends and family, us Calebs hit the road and enjoyed
doing a whole lotta nothing. Since
we haven’t really gone on any family vacations, aside from returning 'home’ each
year, we decided to treat ourselves to the type of vacation Ivan & I love
most – and apparently the type that Mariah and Kassiah now love as well. We rented a cozy little Goldilocks-ish
cottage with a wood-burning stove downstairs and a winding staircase up to the
bedrooms. And most importantly,
it was just steps away from the beautiful dark blue Muskoka water that
we have loved and missed. I woke
up early some mornings, to sneak onto the balcony with a good book in one hand
and a hot coffee in the other (which have both become my ultimate mommy rewards). The days were spent canoeing, swimming,
catching pet frogs, and of course, alternating naps & snacks in
between. Each night ended with a
campfire under the stars, before we all cozied up in one big bedroom together
and telling stories. One night, we
even went to a ‘Drive-In’ theatre nearby, where Mariah not only fell in love
with Ninja Turtles, but also managed to stay awake for the late night show –
and has fallen even more deeply in love with Planet of the Apes!
When our trip was over, our big
girl’s trip had just begun. Mariah
hit the road again – this time with her grandma, Papa & aunt, for a whole
week in Ottawa. My mom and I had
prepped Mariah about this adventure for several months, so sure enough she took
off without hesitation and barely even wanted to chat with mom & dad on the
phone when we called from in Calgary.
She was probably too busy being spoilt and having fun – wearing a pink
boa around her neck just for a casual dinner out, going shopping with the
girls, and having lots of fun with her ‘step-cousins’ : )
September was a pretty smooth
transition ‘back to school’ for all of us. After 6 years of teaching at a school that’s considered a
‘long commute’ for us Calgarians (~45 minutes), Ivan got a Kindergarten
position at a school just 5 minutes away! The girls were a bit extra fussy for a few weeks as
they got back in the swing of things, but now seem to be happy with the routine
again. Their playtime together
continues to grow in length and cuteness.
Last night they crawled under our bed together and sang nonsense songs
that that they made up as they went along. Sometimes when I naturally respond to Kassiah’s call for
‘mommy’, she sharply advises me that she was talking to ‘that mommy’ and points
to Mariah who has a proud smile from ear to ear. When Mariah is in a particularly good mood, she tells me
that she and Kassiah are ‘Chudders’ (which Mariah thinks means bff’s since
there’s a Frozen song with a line about Anna telling Elsa ‘we used to have each
other’). In reality, I’d like to
think Mariah continues to be my bff, since we seem to be attached at the
hip while we argue non-stop. But whenever she wants to do
something crafty, she knows who to ask: “Daddy’s a good maker, right mom?”. She goes around telling people that
daddy is painting her ‘orange house’ (since it’s super outdated with tons of
oak) white…and then reassures herself “but it’s okay, we don’t have to be
sad”.
Kassiah tries hard to keep up with
her big sister, but it is usually apparent to the rest of us that she has a
long way to go. When Mariah
practices her letter sounds, like “mu- mu- monkey”, Kassiah makes several
brutal attempts too like “mu- mu- table” or “ru- ru- Kassiah”, which Mariah
gets pretty tickled about. Maybe I
shouldn’t compare my children (but I do) and I always tease Kassiah for being a
little slow compared to little Ms. Mariah. Kassiah calls any type of bug a ‘mosquito bite’, and
once when I asked her what she had on her pizza, she paused thoughtfully and
then responded confidently “ummm… a plate”. Let’s just blame it on sleep deprivation since Kassiah
resists waking up each morning, exclaiming things like “Turn off the light, I
sthleepin!”. She also went through
a “leave me alone” stage during the day, but that seems to be transitioning
into a more polite “No, I do it aself” stage. I’m pretty sure she’ll catch up to Mariah soon though, cause
Kassiah has become our little bookworm.
Whether in the car, on the couch, or in bed, Kassiah can often be found
curled up ‘reading’ herself a story. If it’s a really good read
(like when she picked up my last Khaled Hosseini novel) she might add some random commentary like ‘Oh my God’…other times, her chubby little fingers just continue to flip the
pages until she falls asleep! And
if you’re starting to feel bad that we’re giving her a complex about being slow
and chubby…please know that she brings it upon herself – her current favorite song
is “All About the Bass”!
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