Christmas Concert

Katherine, last night was your Christmas Concert at school; it was so special to see you and the fellow students in your school perform. Your class sang a beautiful song “Lullaby of Love” and your class mates and you were dressed as sheep, cows and donkeys for your part of the Christmas story.

You were the most beautiful donkey I have ever seen! I know you have been practicing and practicing your song, and the most special part was to hear you sing your solo! I can’t tell you how proud I am of you!

I remember the moment you told me that you had a solo part in your class song “mommy, I’ll be singing by myself, in front of the whole school – just me!” As the day of the performance came closer, you were a bit anxious about it, and a few days ago you told me that you got it all wrong during your rehearsal. That’s ok; and I want to share a little secret with you… I do the same all the time when I’m preparing for a presentation and practice.

But when the big moment came, I saw you confidently sing your solo, not worrying or thinking; just being present, sharing your love and trusting yourself – and it was beautiful! 

You are teaching me that we can do anything we choose to, we just need to believe in ourselves. I am so proud to see you grow into the confident little girl you are becoming; you inspire me every day! I love you always and forever.

Your First Day of Kindergarten

Katherine, this week was your first day of Kindergarten. It’s a big step, you’re going from casual afternoons a few times a week at preschool to full day Kindergarten. It’s a big step for you… and for daddy and me. It’s your transition to becoming a more independent little human (you keep telling me that you are a “human” whenever we call you a little pup, a little monkey or anything else).

You look dashing in your school uniform, you are so proud as you carry your backpack all by yourself, you are so excited as you line up to go to the class room with your friends…. and I am watching you with a quiet smile, so proud of the confident “little human” you are becoming.

At the end of each school day this week you greet us with a beaming face and wild hair as we pick you up from your classroom – you’re clearly having the time of your life! Each day as I ask you a few questions about your school day the answer is always the same: “I don’t remember – I was having too much fun”. But at night, when we snuggle, you often start telling me little stories about your day… my favourite time of the day!

You are teaching me that you’re ready for bigger adventures in life, it’s the start of discovering the world on your own.

My little wish for you:

May you always trust in yourself,
may you always share your big heart with others,
may you always find fun and joy in all you do
…. every day as much as you do today.

I love you always and forever.

Sparkly Eyed Moments

Katherine, this afternoon you kept asking daddy and me if we could go the playground. It was already late in the day and we were on our way home. The playground wasn’t in the plan, but we eventually gave in and made a surprise stop at the playground for you during the drive. I love it when you tell me “my eyes are sparkly” as your face lights up and beams with excitement (and your eyes really become sparkly).

We agreed on only “a few minutes”… which turned into almost an hour of sparkly-eyed playtime. Daddy and I settled on a bench as you climbed your way up to the really tall slide where you gave us the biggest wave before you raced the way down. Followed by more climbing and more waving as your adventure continued, you explored every structure on the playground and eventually made your way to your favourite… the swing!

Daddy gave you a good push to get you started and then stepped back and today was the first time I saw you keep the swing in motion by pumping your legs. You had been practicing for a long time, but today was your day. You managed to swing as high as the swing would go… or as you put it “watch me fly all the way up to the sky!”. Not taking any hands of the swing, you came up with a creative elbow wave to wave at us with bright, sparkly eyes and I couldn’t stop smiling as I was watching you.

You are teaching me that no matter what time of the day it is, there is always time to play; and there is always time to create sparkly eyed moments. I love you always and forever.

Happy Birthday – The Big 5

Katherine, my birthday girl, my big girl…  you are 5 years old today! I am smiling as I am writing this for you, because I am so proud of you for the person you are becoming. My caring girl, my smart girl, my pretty girl and of course my curious girl. If there is anything to be questioned, you will be there to ask the question. I have lost count how many “why” questions I answer in any given day, but I love it that your questions often make me pause because you ask about a problem I had never thought of.

Santa had brought you a big toy Ferris wheel, and it has 7 little cabins. Part of the toy is a ticket booth where the little toy figures can buy their little toy tickets. The only problem with it? There are only 6 tickets that came with it… that made no sense to you (and after you mentioned it, daddy and I had to agree… and we’ll now have to ask the toy maker). In the meantime you solved the problem – you simply made an extra ticket; and while you were at it you also made some toy money so they little toy people can pay for their toy tickets.

Today was your special day and when you woke up you exclaimed that today was all about you! It was your day, and I feel grateful that I put everything else aside today to spend your special day with you – it became a special day for me too. We made cupcakes from scratch together for your birthday party and I have to say you’re becoming quite a little baker! We had lots of fun decorating them (originally we had planned on blue sprinkles for the blue cups and pink sprinkles for the pink cups, but you had a much better idea in mixing both colours because “it looks like a lot more fun” – and you were right).

In the afternoon you had a very special birthday party with your friends, a Frozen Minnie Mouse party. You couldn’t decide on either, because you like both Frozen and Minnie Mouse, so from that came the big idea to combine both (I am grateful for the master party decorator at the indoor playground – who knew that Queen Elsa and Olaf love wearing mouse ears…). I love seeing that sparkle in your eyes when big ideas become reality… you truly believe that anything is possible. Keep dreaming big!

On the drive home after your party tonight, the conversation became more serious. You were telling me that today was all about you and I told you, yes it was, it was your special day and I really enjoyed spending the day with you. You paused for a moment and told me that you wanted the day to be about me too, it should be special for me too. I couldn’t stop smiling as I was replying to you that it was very special because we got to spend it together.

You are teaching me that days aren’t special because of a special date in the calendar, but because we make them special, with who we are and what we do. You are still little, but already you’re making difference – with every thoughtful question you ask, with every idea you have, with every smile and every hug you share. I feel so blessed to have you in my life; words cannot express the joy you have given me. I love you always and forever.