Swimming

I got to see Kit swim today.
She loves using this bar bell. It helps her to get into a swimming position without sinking.
We ordered her one, which she uses in the bath tub!

Thanksgiving

Kit's friends Sophia and Diane came to have Thanksgiving with us. We made a lot of dishes plus Bora and Kylie brought even more home-made dishes.

I had a lot of fun making everything from scratch, except for the stuffing which was doctored up. Wednesday night we made chicken stock for use in both the gravy and the stuffing and also made a mushroom sauce, just in case the gravy didn't work out. Thursday afternoon we made turkey, gravy, scalloped potatoes, sweet potatoes, biscuits, green beans, stuffing, apple pie (using Aunt Linda's pie crust recipe) and vanilla gelato. Yum!



Kylie, Sunny and Diane.

Bora and Sophia.

And the three of us.

Diane tried lots of foods. I think she liked the sweet potatoes most. They were plenty sweet without adding any sugar.

Sophia also tried many new foods. She sat next to me and allowed me to add things to her plate to try.

Kit had a very nice time with her friends. She didn't try many new things yet she did enjoy the turkey.

Afterwards, the kids played with Sunny. They built towers then knocked them down.

Dim Sum

Plan to post some photos tonight from Kit playing on the rides in the mall after dim sum.

Roleplay

Last night Kit was the mommy and, well, I was the child. She was pretending that it was bedtime and informed me that I was misbehaving.

"Settle down now," she said. "It is bed time. Do you want Mommy to stay with you or does Mommy have to go to another room?"

"I will be good," I responded. But of course I wasn't. "I want to hear another story. Read one more book to me," I demanded.

Kit firmly stated, "No. It is bed time and you are not behaving. Mommy has to leave you alone now."

As Kit prepared to leave the room I declared, "I want some more milk," mimicking her behavior.

Kit instantly replied, "No. You have already brushed your teeth. Are you going to settle down now? Do you want Mommy to come back to bed with you?"

Wow, she is good as the parent. Clearly she hears and understands everything.

Hiking Coe Park

Today Kit and I hiked at Henry Coe park. We started with a picnic featuring blueberries, sliced chicken, pretzels, trail mix and other items.

We hiked to a bench for a second picnic.

It was a lovely day. Dark blue sky. We enjoyed the sound of the chirping crickets.

Kit says this is her happy face.

This bench is a great spot for a picnic.

Kit finally allowed me to carry her on my shoulders. She liked the view.

We went home to enjoy a third picnic.

Gilroy Gardens

Kit's PALs Play Group went to Gilroy Gardens on Saturday. Kit and Sophia arrived first. They were so excited to see eachother. They hugged and started chatting.

Then Diane arrived and the three grabbed hands and started exploring the park. Bryan arrived a bit later.

It rained last night and was mostly cloudy and cool in the morning. We sat here to enjoy the view while eating lunch.

It was nice floating down the river. The kids enjoyed going on the rides together.

Schedule and Calendar

Kit is learning about her routine. Looking at a visual schedule helps.

Monday: Playgroup
Tuesday: School
Wednesday: Playgroup
Thursday: School
Friday: Swimming

We also started making a calendar for her, noting any extra-special days.

Kit is like a mini Tuk. They are so cute together.

School

Kit loves her school. Sure, she complains a bit each morning but quickly accepts the fact that she will be going to school. In particular, I think she enjoys the music portion.

Kit will sing the songs from time to time. We can pick up only portions of the songs as Kit doesn't remember all of the words. They sound like very cute songs though. There is even a school song.

Stratford, Stratford, Stratford
Kit likes Stratford School

Somethink like that.

School - Day 2

Kit was excited to return to school yesterday. She cried only for a moment when Tuk left. Last night she said, "Thank you for taking me to school today, Mommy. I want to go again tomorrow."

School & H1N1

Kit has fond memories of the song they performed at school. She gets excited and animated when we bring it up. Clearly she enjoyed her first day of school.

The Farmyard
There is a duck in the farmyard, duck in the farmyard, duck in the farmyard
There is a duck in the farmyard, duck in the farmyard, duck in the farmyard
There is a duck in the farmyard, duck in the farmyard, duck in the farmyard
dew-dew-dew-dee

There is a pig in the farmyard, pig in the farmyard, pig in the farmyard
There is a pig in the farmyard, pig in the farmyard, pig in the farmyard
There is a pig in the farmyard, pig in the farmyard, pig in the farmyard
dew-dew-dew-dee

There is a cow in the farmyard, cow in the farmyard, cow in the farmyard
There is a cow in the farmyard, cow in the farmyard, cow in the farmyard
There is a cow in the farmyard, cow in the farmyard, cow in the farmyard
dew-dew-dew-dum

Well, at least that is how she remembers it.

H1N1
Kit's doctor received a batch of the H1N1 vaccine. They were working late as our appointment was for 6:40 PM. Just in time as Kit is in school now.

Learning
We have observed that Kit learns through relating one concept to another and through role play. For example, on the way home she noted the streets on the map looked like a spider web. She also commented that the moon must be driving a car as it was following us.

She also acts out situations in role play. Last night she was the parent and I was the child. She dropped me off at school. She said I was a very big boy and she would be back after school to pick me up.

She tried to alter the future by asking me, "Would you like Mommy to stay with you at school?" I responded, "No. School is for children. I will see you after school." She gave me a hug and left, assuring me she would return later.

We use role play to prepare her for situations. It works well.

Her first school work that she brought home to share with us.

First Day at School

Today Kit starts preschool. She has been looking forward to it yet this morning was the first sign of resistance. "I don't want to go to school."

We prepared her by reading books about school. Last week we also started watching Sid the Science Kid on PBS. Every morning Sid wakes up excited about having breakfast then going to school.

She cried a bit at first then settled into the class activities. She likes her teachers yet doesn't know the other kids yet. When a child arrived late with her mom Kit cried for a little bit thinking of Tuk.

Tuk peeked on Kit during recess. She was having fun playing with the other kids. The hardest parts are starting the day, transition between activities and anticipating mom returning.

Kit was happy to see Tuk at the end of class but she didn't cry. Tuk didn't cry either. Everyone had a good time.

Now she is doing her homework (tracing the letter F), preparing her emergency kit, and finding something for Thursday's show-and-tell. This week's theme is farming.

Halloween Evening

Kit awaits her friends to arrive for trick-or-treats. She is a butterfly princess.

The play group came over for a potluck dinner.

Bryan, Sophia, Diane, baby Hana and Kit love getting together.

The girls pose for their photo.

Kit is baby Hana crazy. When Hana isn't here she pretends her doll, Emily, is baby Hana.

We all went trick-or-treating together. Kids were everywhere in a continious parade going from one house to another.

They blocked off a portion of some streets to accomodate people visiting the elaborately decorated houses.

The first stop was at Maria's house. She's a bumble bee.

Tuk dressed up for Halloween too. She was a lovely witch.

Whenever we go out Kit usually picks to go with auntie Bora. They have fun together.

Kit enjoyed handing out candy to the kids who arrived later in the evening.

Kit keeps asking when we can go trick or treat again.

Halloween

Kit posing in her butterfly princess costume. Her dress from P'Ouan and Coleman is lovely.

Kit had a busy Halloween this year. First she had the parade at her new school on Thursday.

On Friday she came to my office.

She went around the company saying hello to everyone. Sometimes it was difficult to pick exactly which candy to pick. Then she would thank them and wave goodbye. She was proud of herself for being outgoing.

(Not hard to be the outgoing one among engineers!)

I escorted Arryan and Kit for a while. We went straight to the executive staff to loot more candy!

We bagged several large packs of candy.