Louise has only a handful of understandable words. Not that she doesn't try - it's just that the rest are all a little redundant. Ba means ball, book and more I think... nanna means Nanny or Candy, Mamma means Mummy, Cmon and.. well I'm not really sure what else. So I was a little taken aback when she came up to me the other day, pointing at me saying, very clearly "turtle". Where is the turtle I asked. She pointed more enthusiastically to my belly - "turtle!". Hmm thought I... "Does Daniel look like a turtle?" "No". "Does Daddy look like a turtle?" Head shake. "Does.. (hesitation here).. Mummy look like a turtle?" She jumped (as best she can), threw her hands in the are well shouting "Yaaaassss!". Hmm... when a 20 month old is pointing out your belly I think the cat's out of the bag...

Other disjointed notes: Louise for some months now has loved doing somersaults - too bad she occasionally somersaults off the couch. Didn't wanna forget to mention it. Also this last week (mid Jan 2011) she's been pushing her second two-year molar. No wonder she's been tantrumming a bit (ok, a lot) - thank goodness that's over for now! Also she doesn't hit or bite or hair pull as much anymore - so that's really nice for Daniel - who has taken to reading her books :)

Oh, and Daniel can recognize how many numbers are in a set, and match it to the digit - so now it's time to start on music flashcards (hah hah) :) I'm relieved to hear he can sing in tune already :)

**First grammar correction round complete :)


Hier a été la première journée d'école pour Daniel. J'avais tellement inquiète. Nous l'avons inscrit dans une préscolaire francophone (Les P'tits Lutins) pensant qu'il apprendra mieux le français que sa mère et que commençant tellement tôt, qu'il aura une chance de l'intégrer presque comme langue maternelle. Cependant, jusqu'à ce que nous lui avions enregistré, il n'a jamais laissé Maman lui enseigner ou lui parler en français - seulement pauvre Papa avec ses quelques mots Français ! Alors, avec dix jours de l'enregistrement jusqu'à la première classe, coïncidant avec les célébrations de Noël Daniel a trouvé son enthousiasme et a vite appris a compter jusqu'à 10 en français. En dépit de cela, j'avais tellement inquiète la première journée. Soudainement, il ne me semblait pas assez âgé pour aller en classes toute seule, avec 15 enfants, sans maman, dans une langue complètement inconnu. Qu'est ce qu'on avait fait? Toutefois, Daniel a maintenu son enthousiasme. Est-ce que c'est parce qu'on lui a toujours promis qu'il pourrait faire des choses comme monter les échelles quand il avait assez âgé pour aller à l'école? Quand on est arrivé à la classe, les choses semblaient changer de mauvais en pire. La prof, Mme Christine était surprise que Daniel avait seulement trois ans - personne ne nous avait dit que la classe de trois jours par semaine était pour les enfants de quatre ans. Heureusement pour nous Daniel est assez grand et mature. Deuxièmement, je crois qu'il était le premier étudiant 'francophone' qu'elle avait rencontré sans un seul mot français! Également, la plupart des enfants avaient commencé en septembre, Daniel a seulement trouvé une place quand ils ont accepte cinq plus d'étudiants avec l'addition d'une nouvelle prof (une marionnettiste maitre!). Je crois que les autres nouveaux étaient dans la classe de deux fois par semaine mardi & jeudi au lieu de lundi, mercredi, vendredi comme Daniel (la seul horaire qu'on pourrait faciliter avec nos boulots). Après avoir déterminé son âge, Mme Christine, déjà un peu appréhensive, m'a demandé s'il avait été en préscolaire auparavant. "Non" je lui ai dit. "Dans une garderie?" "Non" j'ai dit encore. Au moins dans le "Franc Depart?" elle m'a demandé incroyable. "Euh.. oui, quelques fois... mais en anglais ('Strong Start')". Son visage a tombé! Toutefois, elle a vite décidé de faire de son mieux et nous sommes quittées pour le programme de "Franc Depart" dans l'autre parti de l'école, nerveuse mais trusting that Daniel was indeed growing up, and would probably figure it all out just fine. At the strong start Louise and I enjoyed ourselves well enough, glad to be close in case Daniel needed us, but I laughed when people would ask if Louise understood French. From all appearances she understands French just as well as English, and just as well as pig-latin so long as you are pointing to what you want her to do! We'll see how the adventure continues. I was happy to see Daniel smiling at the end of class, with the only two crisis being that he had not got to do enough stuff yet (next class sweetie!) and that I didn't pack him a juice box like the other kids (sigh – cool metal water bottle not enough I guess!). I quickly promised to remedy it for the next class, and we went to Earls to celebrate with a Rasberry Sunday (before lunch!). When I asked if and why Daniel wanted to go back again he said “Yes, so I can learn more French”. Hmm.. do you think that's the real reason, or is he again guessing what he wants us to hear?

Hah hah. On to more adventures with my grown-up 3 year old.


Mummy.
(PS Wishing I'd brought my camera)

So while Steve is away in Korea, the kids and I have decided to start Christmas preparations. This includes setting the lights up on the tree. With their help. Did you know that you can stand on, sit on, and drive your riding toy over Christmas lights on a hardwood floor - and they still survive? Thank you Louise for teaching us something new :)

Lou has got quite a few new words now, and has started singing to songs in the car, much to her brother's annoyance. He's busy soloing, and trying to hear all of the words - and surprise - is singing in key :)

Louise wants so much to be a big sister. Whenever I ask Daniel to put on his coat or shoes, she runs over to grab it, and holds the coat open for him, or bends down to help him put on his shoes. It's so sweet to see. Daniel doesn't have any choice but to listen!

Daniel these days is the big scholar. He's got it in his mind that if he learns everything they're going to teach him in school now, particularly addition, then the teacher, after calling home to confirm that indeed we taught it, will send him back home to play. Where did he get the idea that school isn't good? Ahh well, we shouldn't disillusion him now if it motivates him to learn!

Hallowe'en

The kids were so cute on Hallowe'en. Louise was dressed as a cat, Daniel as the cat in the hat. I dressed in a bright animal print with a crown - maybe queen of the jungle? At least that's how it feels most days.

Louise had to be the most enthusiastic trick-or-treater out there. Once she discovered that she could hold her own bag (swinging it wildly with candy flying out), and that people would put stuff in it - she was off and running. Or at least running as well as she could - which is barely without the costume, and even more limited with it. The moment the door closed, she was toddling quickly off down the next driveway. Since we were only visiting friends, we had to run to keep up with her for frequent redirection. Fortunately she would get stuck at every set of stairs, (she needs a hand) so we could catch her.

Daniel, had somewhere learned "trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat" and wouldn't be persuaded that it was ok to stop at "trick-or-treat". We compromised by teaching him to add an enthusiastic PLEASE at the end of the poem. Of course he could only manage to squeek it out, in a tiny high-pitched voice if I held his tail so he could be brave. So sweet.

Now, 7 houses - how are we going to get through the candy?

It's been the Summer of the beach.
Alice Lake, Rolley Lake countless times, Buntzen Lake, White Pine Beach, Tswassen Beach, Bowen Island.. there must have been more. I'm proud to say that we finished strong with a day at Buntzen Lake Oct 1st. The water was cold, but it didn't stop the kids & I from swimming - or at least it didn't stop the kids - and they weren't about to let me rest on shore. We finished off with playing in the fallen leaves on what's left of the shore (the picnic tables are in the water this year), feeling almost ready to embrace Fall & Winter. Of course we don't have snowsuits yet...

A one year old's world is a funny world. In Louise's world all animals except dogs (which say Woh woh woh) say Roar. This includes the fish. In Louise's world "Nya Nya" will call anyone if she yells loud enough. In Louise's world "yahh" means yes - silence means no. And when in doubt just say yes to every question - even if you don't mean it. In Louise's world she is an adult who can help her brother get dressed (it was really funny to witness her response to us nagging him to put on him pants - she went & got them, knelt down at his feet & held them open for him). In Louise's world, she is also Daniel's mirror & gets to do (or eat) everything her brother does - preferably at the same time. We're seriously considering renaming her "MeToo"...

What's really fun is seeing her hit the same milestones that it seems like Daniel has just passed. Daniel our ever so grown-up boy who is such a loving big brother. Having two really is awesome.. unless you're in a hurry.

The pic above is of Lou feeding deer at Auntie Singne's & Uncle Ron's place on Bowen Island.