First Time Skating

Katherine, today is New Year’s Eve and 2013 has been filled with many special moments with you. You bring so much joy to our lives and we enjoy every day we get to spend with you.

Today was a beautiful sunny and warm day – how perfect to wrap up a beautiful year! Your dad and I had been talking for a bit about going downtown to the outdoor ice-rink to see if you would enjoy being on skates, and looking outside around lunch time, today seemed like a perfect day for it.

Wrapped in warm jackets and gloves we made our way to the skate rental. You were very excited… and your daddy and I? Well, we hadn’t been on skates for many, many years, so the closer the moment came to actually get on the ice, the more silly our jokes became. We carefully put you on the ice (luckily the rental place also had one of those handy push bars for you). At first you weren’t quite sure what to think about the skates and the fact that your legs now slid back, forth and sideways on the ice, but after a few moments you got the hang of how to drape your arms around the push bar while keeping your legs on the ice. Your daddy and I did pretty much the same thing at first – figuring out how to keep our legs on the ice while hanging on to the push bar! But it didn’t take long for your daddy to get his “skating legs” back and he started to quite elegantly move on the ice again (I had never seen him skate as long as I have known him, so I was quite impressed how well he skated!). I wanted to follow, but your plan was different – you asked me to wrap my arms around you while pushing you and the push bar around the rink. Snuggled up together like this we made our rounds around the rink – I loved it!

I couldn’t have thought of a more special way of spending the afternoon of the last day this year.

You are teaching me that when we spend time together as a family life is perfect, filled with love, laughter and adventure. As we look forward to a new year, I hope we’ll have many more days like today ahead of us. I love you always and forever.

Caring

Katherine, you grow so much every day. I am not just talking about your physical size (even though some days it seems we can almost watch you grow - and judging by the length of your pants, you are in a phase where you are growing by leaps and bounds).

I am talking about your personality and character developing rapidly. You are not only growing into a bright, curious toddler, but also into a caring young girl.

A few days ago we were at the office, and in the afternoon you love having a little cup of rice pudding as a snack. The nice thing about the office is that there is a small fridge, just the perfect size for you to independently get what you feel like snacking. We keep your favourites there – cheese, grapes… and of course cups of rice pudding. Your daddy and I were working at our desks and you were roaming around. All of a sudden I heart the fridge door being opened and after a while being closed again. I heard some mumbling and expected you to come and see me or daddy to get some help in opening a package of cheese or rice pudding. Instead, you walked up to daddy’s desk, put a cup of rice pudding beside him, then continued your path to my desk and repeated the same action, placing a cup of rice pudding beside me. When I asked you if this was for me, a bright smile appeared on your face, you nodded your head and said “eat!”. Your expression then turned to a more serious look and you were clearly in thought. You turned around, walked away and shortly after I heard rumbling noises coming from the kitchen area. When you re-appeared, you walked up to daddy’s desk, placed a spoon beside him and repeated this at my desk. Bringing a cup and spoon for you as well, we were now all ready to have an afternoon snack. This was by far the best cup of rice pudding I ever had!

You are teaching me that showing someone we care doesn’t need to be complicated. A hug, a moment to listen… or a cup of rice pudding. I love you always and forever.

New Words

Katherine, you are beginning to talk more and more. It’s fascinating to hear the words you are picking up (yes, we really need to watch what we are saying!) and how you are beginning to form sentences with them.

Learning German and English at the same time, you understand both languages fluently and you have a very simple system for which language you choose for speaking when we teach you a word in both languages: in whichever language a word is easier to pronounce for you. That works!

Some words come easy, and some words are definitely more difficult still for you to speak. When we ask you if you can say a word, you may repeat it or you’ll simply say “no” (while looking at us with a serious look and shaking your head).

You are saying new words every day, and today was a very special day for that. I heard you say “Katherine” for the first time. My little baby girl, you are growing up.

You are teaching me to be a better listener. Even though you are still little, what you have to say matters. I want you to remember that as you grow up – what you have to say matters. Speak from your heart and trust you will find the right words to say what you want to say. I love you always and forever.

Alphabet Books

Katherine, in the evening, just before bedtime, it’s our special time to spend together. You and me, snuggled up together on the couch in the living room, reading stories. It’s a wonderful way of winding down your day and sharing our love of reading together.

Often the reading time also serves as snack time, having some sweet fruit just before bedtime. Depending on the night you may ask for strawberries, apples, banana… or like tonight – oranges. You munch on your snack while I read to you and often you pause to offer daddy and me a piece of fruit as well (yes, that makes us smile every time).

Some nights we are reading German stories, and other nights English ones. I love that you effortlessly understand either language and we can mix it up any way we feel like.

It’s up to you to pick the stories we read every night and right now you are really enjoying alphabet stories (you are so interested in letters). I recently bought a set of little story books, each featuring a different letter of the alphabet – this of course gives you 26 different stories to choose from. Tonight we were reading about Elvin the Elephant, Nate the Newt, Seal’s Silly Sandwich, Rosie Rabbit’s Radish and the tales of the Bubble Bear. If you kept count, there were 5 stories tonight. Why 5? Because 5 is a number you can show really well with your hand and as you were picking different books (by showing me each single theme letter on another book cover), you kept referring back to your handing showing the number 5 until we had 5 books (I tried to stop at 3, but that didn’t fly).

I admit, even if it’s already later than your bedtime, I am easily persuaded to read “just one more book” with you. And you are very good at persuading!

You are teaching me that feeding our mind is as important as feeding our body. There are books everywhere in our house; your daddy and I have been adding to this collection for many years and since you came into our lives, we have added many children’s books. I am excited to share my love of reading with you… and I am grateful for every evening we have together to snuggle up on the couch with some good stories. I love you always and forever.

Cherry Jam

Katherine, we had so much fun today (and didn’t even leave our home). It’s a long weekend, sunny & hot and the cherries on our big tree in the backyard are beginning to turn deep red… a perfect day to make cherry jam.

We started off by picking a big bowl of cherries. We had a great system going – I was picking them off the tree, handing them to you and you put them into our bowl (your little hands are just big enough to hold 5-6 cherries at a time, so were busy running between me and the bowl).

Next, it was time to pit them and after we changed you into some old clothing (yes, it’s a bit messy) we were ready to get started. I have to be honest, I expected you to watch as I was using the pitting machine, but you were “hands on” and pushed the lever down over and over. After a while I could tell your arms were getting tired (after all, our recipe was calling for a full kilogram of cherries), but you weren’t about to quit. When I attempted to take over for you, you looked at me with the most serious look and pushed my hand out of the way. My job was to hold the pitting machine on the bottom  so that it wouldn’t move around, and keep feeding the cherries into the top funnel. You were also very diligent with the “quality control”, tasting a lot of cherries to make sure we were only using the sweetest fruit.

For the cooking portion we (ok, I) decided it was best for you to just watch from a bit of distance (boiling & bubbling jam is just not pleasant if it comes into contact with your skin), but you were right back on duty when it came to tasting the finished product. The final verdict: “Katherine approved!”

You are teaching me that doing anything in life is so much more enjoyable when we do it with people we love (and the jam tastes so much sweeter because we made it together). I love you always and forever.

In Memory of your Grandfather

Katherine, today’s story is a little different… it’s not about you and me, it’s about my dad. You see, today is a very special day, it’s his birthday. Today would have been his 100th birthday and sadly he is no longer here to celebrate this milestone with us. But I was thinking what birthday present I would get for him - and I know that the best present I could give him is to take some time today and tell you about your grandfather.

He was a proud and charismatic man. He was a visionary, an entrepreneur and a gifted negotiator. He was a book publisher and an author, a man who loved to write. He was a runner, a gardener and he made the best potato pancakes.

But above all, he was my dad. My dad, who took the time to have a conversation on the phone with me every night before bedtime when he was traveling. My dad, who taught me how to ride a bike, running alongside of me and eventually quietly letting go when he knew I could do it on my own. My dad, who was so happy for me when I met your dad and we started our life together.

Your grandfather has taught me never give up on my dreams, because he never gave up on his. He taught me that we need to cherish the moments we have together with those we love, because the day came where I had no more moments with him. I know he would be so proud of you, his only granddaughter. In his honour, I’ll give you a special kiss tonight; I love you always and forever.

The Sparkle In Your Eyes

Katherine, this afternoon we went for a walk. You love being outside, I love being outside, the sun was shining, the air was warm… how perfect for a late afternoon stroll with no particular destination.

As we were leaving the house, you walked straight to your tricycle. A friend had given us this tricycle recently – her daughter had outgrown it and you fell in love with it from the moment you laid your eyes on it when she dropped it off at our front door. It’s red, blue and yellow with handle bars that your little hands firmly grip and pedals that your feet just barley reach. And the best part (for you) – it has a long handle on the back so that you can ride while I push as your legs aren’t long enough yet to pedal yourself.

Every time you climb on this tricycle and we start our walk, a big smile appears on your face. You turn your head around, looking at me with that sparkle in your eyes, ready for our next adventure. And so it went today – on your tricycle you climbed and off we went. We walked down the streets and walkways, all the way down to the beach (my favourite place).

You were sitting on your tri-cycle, looking around and pointing at things and people you were seeing. I love seeing you so happy!

You are teaching me that feeling independent comes in many forms and even when we have someone helping us a little so we can move forward, we can feel a sense of accomplishment and freedom. That sparkle in your eyes shows me that you are very proud of what you can do. I love you always and forever.

Independence

Katherine, gaining your independence is so important to you. You want a say in your life and you want to do things by yourself. As much as you’ll always be my baby girl, I love seeing you become an independent little person.

A couple of days ago when I unbuckled you from the car seat and wanted to lift you out of the car, you looked at me (with that serious look you have) and shook your head. You then proceeded to carefully slide out of the car seat until you came to stand in the car. From there you climbed onto the back seat, turned yourself around and proceeded to inch forward to slide out of the car; making sure I was close by, just in case, but making a choice not to take my hand. This wasn’t a quick motion, but you methodically kept moving forward until you made your way to standing in the garage. I closed the car door under your watchful eye and we proceeded to walk into the house, where you walked straight to the stairs, sat down on the bottom step and began taking off your shoes. This isn’t as easy as it may sound; pulling off sturdy winter shoes with your little hands takes quite a bit of effort, but when you are determined to do something, you do it. After you took off your shoes, you put them away in the closet… and then there was that serious look again, motioning me to take off my shoes as well (what was I thinking, we were in the house already – and yes, I admit I didn’t get right on that as I was watching you). Before I could do anything else you took my shoes and put them in the closet as well (lined up just the way they are supposed to) and closed the closet door.

When you turned around to look at me, your face was shining with pride.

You are teaching me that it’s my job to not get in your way as you are growing up; to make sure you are safe, well taken care of and loved and above all to be proud of you every day for what you do and who you become. I love you always and forever.

Together

Katherine, this week has been all about spending time together as a family. At the beginning of the week was a “Family Day” holiday and we spent time together at some family activities at the local recreation centre. And in the true British Columbia spirit that included panning for gold (well, in this case panning for little gemstones)… so Canadian! 

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day and we had a busy day filled with meetings and work projects; but your daddy, you and I spent most of the day together and we shared lots of hugs, laughs and cuddles. In the evening we went out for dinner. A very casual dinner at the end of a busy day – we went to the food court at the mall. Now, this may not sound like a typical Valentine’s Day dinner, but I needed to write you about it, because I wouldn’t have traded it in for anything. We all three shared a (gigantic) plate of Thai food and what’s more important, we shared each other’s company.

You are teaching me that life can be so simple, yet perfect. Spending Valentine’s Day with the 2 people I love most in the world is as perfect as life can get.  I love you always and forever.

Forward

Katherine, we passed a milestone moment in your life! One of those events that we have been anticipating for a while, discussing when you would be ready for it… and dreading a bit (it involved a fair amount of work and we didn’t know how you’d react): turning your car seat forward facing.

You see, for the past 2 years – ever since we brought you home from the hospital – you have been riding the in the back of the car rear-facing. But the time has come (partially dictated by the length of your legs) to turn your car seat around and let you ride facing forward.

And I have to admit, we had been procrastinating a bit – turning your car seat in our car is not as easy as it sounds as your car seat fits very snug into our car. After you had outgrown your infant seat, we let you help choose your seat… and you picked a “luxury size” seat which daddy installed back then with much sweat and “a little bit resistance from chair and car” and he wasn’t looking forward to doing it all over again, this time forward facing. But a few days ago, he handed you to me and scurried out to the garage. When he re-surfaced a while later with a triumphant grin we both knew that he had “won the fight with the car seat” and we were ready for your first trip “like a big girl”.

After a moment of surprise when we buckled you in, you were delighted and giggling as we began to drive, enjoying the new & improved view… until we got the first red light. You don’t like ‘em. And you are very outspoken about it – letting out little screams and waiving both arms. So we explained to you that the red light means we need to stop, and once the light turns green, we can go again. We have explained to you that the red light means stop and we need to wait until it turns great at every single light we had to stop, every day, every car ride since you are driving with us forward facing and there will be likely much more of that in our future. You love to go, not stop, not wait – the faster, the better.  I can already see that one day you will enjoy a fast ride on the German Autobahn!

You are teaching me that it’s much more fun waiting at a red light when we waive our arms wildly… and cheer when the light turns green. Every part of life is more fun when it becomes a game and we don’t take it so seriously. Thank you for that reminder. I love you always and forever.

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl

Katherine, Happy Second Birthday!

It’s only been two short years ago that we’ve met for the first time; and I can’t imagine my life without you anymore. You have turned my world upside down; and I love every moment of it!

Today was a perfect day – your grandma is still here visiting from Germany and she made you a birthday cake; you received some wonderful presents and in the afternoon we took you to an activity centre where a friend joined us and we had so much fun climbing, running, and bouncing around for hours. You were a bundle of energy, exploring and enjoying the adventure. On the car ride home, I still saw a sparkle in your eyes and a smile on your face - just before you nodded off within minutes for a well-deserved nap.

You are teaching me to pay attention to all the special moments in life. I am grateful that we were able to spend much time together during this past year, full of memories, laughs and cuddles. I feel privileged that I get to see you grow up and hug you every day. I don’t know what the future holds, but my wish for you is that it is a bright future that brings you much joy, love and happiness. I love you always and forever.