Media poster art collage

Week 206 motherhood with 3 year old 11 month old and 20 month old. 

August 22 to 28, 2024:

• Aug 25:  We are just about 10 days away from the firstborn starting full-day kindergarten!  I believe I am going to be so emotional the day she goes to school.  I never thought I would be one of “those moms” but just the thought of her going to school makes my voice quiver and eyes moist.  We have been with her every single day for four years of her life (she turns 4 next month) and soon we won’t be.  My little girl is growing up.  It’s been another week of her peeing in the toilet (with the ladder for assisting) and pooping in the toilet too!  At least twice she did it this week.  Yay!  She can hold her pee until we get to a toilet.  She has been sitting by herself to eat.  She has been hugging and showing affection to her sister and not minding sitting with her in the double shopping carts.  It’s really true then that they grow up when they reach 4 years old then?
• This past week, I’ve had two dreams relating to her going to school.  The first one, I dreamt of her going to school and gathering with a group of other kids in someone’s basement and putting on their socks and shoes together.  The other dream, it was of myself going back to high school and trying to find my math textbook while at my locker with other fellow present-day friends.  I woke up having slept 7 hours but not feeling rested because I felt anxious.  I can’t believe she’s going to school soon!
• On the Friday, we attended the Move and Groove session with my dear friend and her son.  It was a long time since we met up since the spring and it was so nice to see each other.  Unfortunately, we realized this time that our kids are older and they like to play and go off on their own toys so we weren’t next to each other often for us to catch up properly and chat.  It was once again the 20 month old’s first time at an EarlyON again since I had just been bringing the older one to the summer camp sessions (that’s meant for 2 years old and older).  This one was not a regular Family Stay and Play so they unfortunately removed the kitchen food toys and other toys; those toys are usually the 20 month old’s favourite’s.
• Right before circle time, the 3 year old said she needed to pee and because there was a line-up at the single washroom, the facilitator noticed her holding her crotch and told her we could go to the other unit to use the washroom.  Thus, we put on our shoes and went over to unit 9.  She peed and then she said she wanted to join in circle time there instead.  Thus, we did that and then collected the artwork that she had made the day prior.  By the time we returned back to the other unit, they were also done their circle time there.
• We had lunch at the nearby Hong Kong style cafe after the session since it was convenient (and I wanted to “kill some time” as DH was working in the office that day and we didn’t have his help at home).  The 20 month old was sooo tired (because she had woken up at 7 a.m. that day) but we thankfully made it through lunch (eating quickly and the secondborn sat in her high chair nicely) and got the secondborn in the car seat in the car where she fell asleep quickly.  The 3 year old wanted to run around in the grass and play with sand, so that’s what we did.
• On the Saturday, we visited DH’s friend’s new place.  They have a pet dog and two rabbits there.  The secondborn was so excited and giggled when seeing the rabbits hob about in their play area.  It was so cute.  The 3 year old was hungry so we brought out their lunch boxes for them to snack on their food from home.
• When we had a dinner buffet that night, it was really nice to see the firstborn sitting nicely by herself, using scissors to cut up her own food (that she chose herself from the buffet tables), and eating.  This is our future; we will soon be able to eat in peace because the kids will grow up and not need our help anymore with eating.  Time really flies.  Time feels like it’s gone fast now that the firstborn is almost 4 years old.  The change is palpable because she is potty trained now, can eat independently when she wants to, and will be going to school full-time.  Now we have a young kid and a toddler.  The 3 year old will soon be no longer a toddler.  It’s so bittersweet!
• It’s nice to sleep whenever I want to now that I don’t have to nurse/put the younger one to sleep.  But I also realize that starting September 3rd, I can no longer sleep in because the firstborn has to go to school!
• This past week has been such a draining week because of CNE on the Monday, Creative Chefs 3 days, and then the playdate with a friend on the Friday, and two social events on the weekend.  Too much social interaction tires me out.  I was so glad and thankful that DH took the kids to the playground and park and supermarket in the afternoon so that I could catch a break and recharge (and blog and do some work!).
• I took on two transcripts to help out a fellow reporter friend.  I have a third file to do now.  Every time after a short break and I’m back to stenoing transcripts, I enjoy it so much.  I love hearing what the case is about, the potential juiciness of it, and just finishing a transcript and submitting it.  It’s so fulfilling. ^_^  I still love steno work so much.
• August 28:  This week saw another 3 days of the EarlyON summer camp which was the Little Artists.  I love that we have been here so often and the little one knows exactly the routine that we have here.  She’s so comfortable here now.  She painted a small birdhouse, decorated it the next day, glued seashells on a wooden board and painted it, contributed to a collage (a media poster art) by practising her scissor and gluing skills (impressed with the way she cut out a circle from a magazine almost perfectly), used watercolour paints, decorating a keychain and box, and more.  We read the Color Monster Goes to School book and she enjoyed it, wanting me to read it twice to her for two days straight.  When we got to the part where they introduce the friends in the classroom, she said those were her friends — an improvement from when she used to say that she didn’t want to have friends.  It’s a good book for her to get ready to school next week.  I wish EarlyON had more books like this in their rotation.
• She always eats her food in the car from her lunch box before and after class.  We visited the other unit after class too and would drop in to listen to the end of their circle time if they had it.  I’m going to miss this so much.  I can’t believe it’s the last week of EarlyON for her… 😩
• During circle time, the 3 year old doesn’t participate in it anymore because she doesn’t want to do the songs where we dance or walk around.  She instead opts to sit on a nearby chair to watch (and I’ll sit next to her behind her).  I don’t want to force her if she doesn’t want to participate.  The only ones that she does participate in are Freeze Dance and the Floor is Lava songs.
• We realize that the 20 month old really understands a lot of what we say these days but because her language is still limited to grunts and pointing and limited words, we think she doesn’t understand us.  When I was taking a photo with her and DH asked her to smile, she really did do a toothy smile that was oh-so-cute.
• We took the kids to an AYCE hot pot restaurant for the first time.  The secondborn didn’t want to cooperate and didn’t sit in her own seat to eat so DH had to hold her and take her out often, which meant he didn’t really eat until the end.  I love that the restaurant was so child friendly — they had a dedicated room for playing which had a toy kitchen set and lots of toys.  Even their TV screen was playing Peppa Pig shorts.  The 3 year old wanted to keep watching it when we discovered it at the end (good thing because otherwise we would have spent too much time watching it lol).  I was impressed that the 3 year old (though sitting on my lap) was close to the small hot pot but knew not to touch it or get close to it because it was hot.  She understood that the food had to be cooled off before she could eat it.  I underestimate what she understands (just like the secondborn) because she understands a lot of things by now.
• Thank goodness for public washrooms and places that we can drop into for potty breaks when we are in the car ride for longer than 20 minutes with the child.
• She wore the tie dyed T-shirt that we made last month at Little Artists for the first time.  The facilitators sure were happy to see that.  It’s super oversized on her, but it means she will get to wear it for many years to come.
• She started to lay the toilet paper on to the toilet for the first time (because I told her I won’t be able to do it for her next week when we goes to school).  It takes her a long time because she’s very meticulous and I have to have a lot of patience when waiting for her to do it.  She has to pick it up quickly because next week she will have to do it all herself…
• It seems like all my recent posts are about the 3 year old mainly and it’s because I’ve been spending the most time with her (due to the summer camps).  I can’t wait to spend more time with the secondborn one-on-one when the older one is in school full-time.