Week 195 motherhood – basement reno, Creative Chefs again, outdoor play

Playing around in the grass

Week 195 motherhood with 3 year 8 month old and 17.5 month old.

June 6 to 12, 2024:

June 6: Our basement reno has begun this week. I explained to the older one what was happening and we visited the basement too throughout the day to show her the progress (all the carpet and extra wall are gone). She isn’t as fearful of the construction guys as the last time we got renoes done in this house.
June 12: The return of Creative Chef classes via the Thornhill EarlyON program! Grandma and I brought both kids there despite the program only being for 2 to 6 year olds. Since there was construction at home, it made sense to bring the both of them while DH stayed home. And it was the first of 4 classes so if we really weren’t allowed to bring the younger one there because she’s not 2 yet, we would know for the next time. But I also knew that the Thornhill staff are usually very flexible and don’t mind (since grandma was there as an extra adult anyway). (A legitimate reason why they might not allow younger siblings is that if one family sees us doing it, they might bring their younger sibling too and then it might not be fair to the rest of the families who weren’t able to register. Another reason is safety.)
It had been a while since we attended a Creative Chef class because none of the locations offered it for around 2 months’ time (due to the addition of the JTK programs, I think).
The kids arrived early and sat reading and playing with limited toys while the staff waited for more kids to arrive. Then we did circle time with the welcome choo-choo train song and a story about making pizza. The 17 month old played rapt attention to the story time.
Then it was time for the kids to line up to wash their hands, collect the plates and utensils, and get the ingredients for the pizza. It was the same format as one of the other classes where we made pizza at the Thornhill main site. I love how they label all of the ingredients clearly and organize it all so well on the counter for the kids. This time, the 3 year old can utilize tongs well now and was able to put some of the ingredients on her plate by herself. She is so used to it by now; we’ve been to so many classes together. To my surprise, she chose yellow peppers to put on her pizza. She usually doesn’t like eating them.
When we gathered our ingredients, we sat down at the table to cut them. She sliced the pepper, broccoli, cherry tomato, and deli meats. Then she put them on the pita bread where the pizza sauce and shredded cheese already were.
We washed our hands and got the materials to make the lemon tea too. I helped her squeeze the lemon with the lemon squeezer because that part isn’t so easy for their little hands. We made lemon tea one time too in a previous class!
We took the pizza to the microwave where the child pressed the number “1” button and watched the pizza spin and get cooked. It was mighty hot.
As we waited for the pizza to cool down, one of the facilitators asked me if grandma and the little one wanted to make a pizza too. Of course! (As long as we were welcomed to, they were into it too. But we didn’t want to intrude or feel obligated to participate because technically the little one is not signed up for it.)
It was actually grandma’s first time making a pizza like this too and she wasn’t very experienced lol. Her pizza didn’t have many toppings or enough cheese haha. But we shared it to eat and it was good. The little one ate some shredded cheese and pita bread and was happy too. She didn’t know what to do with the ingredients or how to “make” the pizza. She held one of the plates so proudly and showed it to me lol. Too cute.
The 3 year old actually ate a bunch of snacks in the car (as usual) on our way there and so didn’t feel hungry enough to eat her pizza. The facilitator said there were more ingredients available, so I made a pizza of my own to share with grandma. My snack/late lunch haha. It was the first time I felt comfortable eating at a creative chefs class. I guess I felt the materials and environment were particularly clean there.
After this, the kids mingled and finished eating and cleaned up and then we slowly waltzed out of the building.
During the program, one of the facilitators commented on how impressed she was to see the 3 year old walking in by herself and wasn’t very clingy to me. She was the same facilitator at the Thornhill JTK program so she knows exactly what my child has been through and how she’s been like. I was glad too.
Such a fun class. The kids also rode in the wooden car thing that they played with their cousins last time when we were at this location.
The 3 year old will show affection to her sister in public places by randomly hugging her.
We picked up some Flashfood items on our way home too.
The 17 month old loves playing with water at the kitchen sink. We let her play with the filtered water because the spout is smaller. She always complains and starts crying when we say it’s time for her to stop.
The 17 month old tried on my blue house slippers. It was exactly like how the older one used to do it too. We have a photo of her wearing the exact same slippers too.
The house is currently a mess and piled with so much stuff from the basement. We have to live like this for the next two weeks or so while the basement is being renovated. This meant that a lot of the toys that we had put in storage/rotation in the basement are now in the main floor too and the kids discovered them and started playing with them too. It’s such a mess.
I was able to have a nice walk and talk with my friend at Main Street Unionville. It was nice to leave the kids at home and get some exercise and fresh air. I miss walking and chatting like this. I don’t get enough 10K steps in these days… (I have been prioritizing blogging over exercise this year. Last year was the opposite.)
The 3 year old can eat quite well at mealtimes depending on what we’re having and what she feels like eating. We had taco night and she ate two taco shells — one of them was stuffed but the other one, she liked to eat plain.
Because the educator for Triple P on Monday was sick, our session 3 was postponed. Thus, I decided to take the kids out to an EarlyON session because we were available. We were the first ones there and both kids were clingy. The facilitator there knows and recognizes us and says the little one now follows and has copied the older one’s actions so she shows clinginess too. But overall, she will be fine at school because she has always been more social and outgoing.
I’m glad in a way that the Triple P session got postponed because we barely have been implemented or had time to read through the week 3 materials yet. We have been trying to calm the 3 year old down when she feels anxious at social events but haven’t tried the breathing techniques actively yet… Too much on our plates at the moment.
Sometime during the program, I again was able to share the unfortunate incident at JTK and what has led the 3 year old to be even more withdrawn and scared than before. The facilitator totally understood where I was coming from (I love it when others understand) and said there was another girl who was in a similar situation and also in the Triple P program too. She said it will take time and baby steps (yes, exactly) and every child is different. I love that the Thornhill staff are so understanding and loving.
The 3 year old played with grandma and built a structure with soft blocks while I chatted with the facilitator and another mom friend. The 17 month old played behind me in the kitchen set so well and independently. Amazing.
Both kids started playing with their straws this week and blowing bubbles when they drink milk lol. Copycats.
The 17 month old can eat a corn on the cob really well! She finishes it off very cleanly. Very impressive.
Grandma always wants the 17 month old to call her “por por” in Cantonese but she can’t quite pronounce it yet. She still keeps saying “pa pa” although I can hear a slight difference in it “b” sound to when she actually calls DH “ba”. It’s too cute.
Also when we are reading the “Mommy loves me 123” book, the 17 month old points to the ball in the book. I ask her to say “ball” and she can almost say it. Too cute.
She loves reading these days and will always bring me certain favourite books to read. So glad.
She also started doing this thing where she will hold a napkin, press it up to DH, and then kiss him. Apparently they’ve been doing this for a while now. I got it on video this week.
The 3 year old finished the Seamless Transitions program. Yay! The end another 6-week program. They had a pot luck party on the last day to celebrate their efforts. The child didn’t do the separation part and we didn’t force her. The educators and facilitator there recognize and acknowledge she has separation anxiety and don’t want to provoke or worsen it. Time will tell when and if she wants to separate on her own… we have 2.5 months and counting…
All the parents brought different snacks for everyone to share. I love how the snacks represented the culture of the community. There were tea eggs (so yummy), Yakult, packaged pancakes, juice box, cheese string, Yoplait yogurt bottle, popcorn, Oreos, fruit like grapes and watermelon, chocolate chip muffins, and DH brought fruit tarts (he was going for egg tarts originally but egg tarts are not cheap lol). You definitely wouldn’t see tea eggs and Yakult drinks at regular pot lucks. They each got a certificate and graduation hat to take photos with too, but the child didn’t want to take photos. They also received a bag of goodies (funky scissors, pipe cleaners, feathers, pom-poms, brown paper bag, paper to practise cutting with, crayons, their name on a piece of wood that they used to sign in every week). She was so interested in the pipe cleaners. She hadn’t played with them before. She immediately used her imagination and stuck them through the baby bottle filter and called them “incense” like how I burn incense every morning for the Gods lol. I like the arts and crafts items they gave the kids.
I’m relieved that we are done this program so that we can set aside Tuesdays for regular EarlyON attendances again. I know DH is relieved too because he’s been the one attending the last 3 to 4 classes with her exclusively. It’s been a big sacrifice on his time.
The child enjoyed snacking on the snacks she brought home from the party. And we tried the tea eggs for dinner (that’s how I know they were so yummy).
On the Wednesday, we had an early National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration with the EarlyON Stouffville staff. Everyone met at Wismer Park for a performance from some Metis dancers. The event was outdoors at the park. It was actually our first time there. All the kids and parents/caregivers sat around in a circle. We did the good morning choo-choo train song, land acknowledgement song, and an earth song (first time hearing it). There were some Indigenous-related books on the tarps too for the kids to read. We did some “paddling” together, clapping, touching of animal furs, and dancing. By the quarter mid-way point, the 17 month old was getting restless and wanted me to walk with her somewhere. We ended up walking across the field (2 soccer fields actually) to the playground. How did she even see that there was a playground so far away? Lol.
I like that this child knew that she wasn’t interested anymore in the performance and then just walked off to do her own thing. She sure is going to be independent.
We swung on the swings, the teeter-totter, the slide. I was waiting for grandma and the 3 year old to finish the program so they could join us too. Alas they did. When they did, the 17 month old was tired by this point. We all played at the playground for a while longer before we started walking back to the car. The older one wanted to run and scooch on the grass. The younger one copied her lol. It was a good opportunity to play outdoors. More outdoor play is good for them (and us adults).
I was able to finish a 1-hour long transcript this week while DH took the kids out to visit his mom and play at the park.
I cut the 3 year old’s hair this week too. She always knows when it’s getting long and asks me to cut it for her. She moves around in the chair as I try to cut her bangs and back hairs but for the most part is pretty patient with me. She looked even more cute than usual after the haircut — like the haircut highlighted her face and complexion more. I did a good job if I do say so myself.
The only way we were able to finally cut the 17 month old’s nails this week was when we went to the EarlyON (which was at 2 p.m.) and she was passed out cold on arrival. Grandma was able to completely trim all her fingernails and toenails. This little one doesn’t like getting her nails cut at all. We finally were able to do it this time.
Another thing that the 17 month old has been consistently doing is wanting to play with my FitBit watch. She always likes to take it off my wrist and press the sides for the “haptic” button. And somehow, she always is able to disable or enable certain functions. The last time, she turned off the reminders and put them to mute. I didn’t realize this until I discovered that I wasn’t getting the hourly reminders to move and it wasn’t ringing when I passed 10K steps. I had to adjust it.
Recently, she’s been taking it to find the “run” screen which displays a person running. She takes joy in seeing it person (just like she does with animals) and likes to press it often to see it. It’s too funny. I say “pow bo” when she has the screen on and she tries to say “pow”. Unfortunately, she also recently turned off the heart rate monitor and despite my best efforts, I can’t get it to turn back on… is it faulty?
The 17 month old shakes her head sometimes when I’m nursing her and singing.. for me to stop singing lol. She finds it funny.