Nine creatures

We bought a new aquarium and today bought fish. As Kenzie said to Aunt Carol, "we have seven fish and two frogs. That makes nine creatures."

We have three neon tetras, four rasboras, and two African dwarf frogs. The kids LOVE the fish...and, more importantly, the frogs! Mason, in his naturally LOUD voice, screams "FWA!!" whenever he enters the kitchen. (That means frog.) They both pull chairs up to the counter and just watch their new friends. Kenzie named the frogs Harley and Barley...we'll see if that sticks.

Fall

Teacher conference

We had a conference today with Ms. Janet, Kenzie's teacher. She said "cognitively, Kenzie is doing very, very, very well." She went on and on about Kenzie's abilities to write and even begin to read. She mentioned that Kenzie is the youngest in her class and a bit beyond most of them. When she makes an assignment Kenzie always gets done first, so Ms. Janet has extra work ready for Kenzie while the other kids are still studying.

But then....

"And," she said, "socially....we're doing....fine." The report card says it all. She excels in: recognizing numbers, patterns, sorting, spacial relationships, following complex directions, relating ideas and experiences, and communicating own needs and wants. She has "opportunities" in seeking attention appropriately, not disrupting peers, lining up and waiting, and playing cooperatively. Janet called Kenzie the "alpha girl" in the class. She also said that "Riley is her best bud" because Riley lets the other kids boss her around, and "Nathan is her guy." Janet mentioned that he is always right by Kenzie's side, ready to do what she says. Yeah, that's great news.

Click on report card for larger view.

Firefighter

Mason went to a 3-year-old's birthday party today. They each got a firefighter hat and then visited the fire station. In the picture above he's sitting in the firetruck.

He came home, put on pull-up rubber boots with the hat and started playing with his toy firetruck. He wouldn't let me take a picture. That is...until bath time.

The start of capitalism

I told Kenzie that we were thinking of starting to give her a weekly allowance. I described that as part of being a "contributing" member of the household now, she deserves to get some money each week. We talked at length about the concept until I finally said, "I think that most four year olds earn about a dollar a week."

She said, "how about if THIS four year old gets twenty?"

Ah, yes, she is my daughter. But, she still gets just a buck.

Do you love me?

Sometimes when Mason wants something (like, in this case, he was cold and wanted to get out of the bath) I can get him to admit he loves me.

Turn the other cheek

The kids were bathing and there was a lot of laughing. I got the video camera and snuck to the corner without being noticed. Instead of capturing a tender moment, we see the sinister, yet oddly compassionate, side of an older sister.

More questions about Taylor

Kenzie: "Mom, when are the big cats going to die?" [referring to Zeke & Madison]
--------------
Kenzie: "What happened to this part of Taylor? [referring to Zeke's body]
Me: "The vet is taking very good care of it."
Kenzie: "But, is it still down HERE?" [referring to Earth]
Me: "Yes, her body is still down here."
Kenzie: "Where IS it?"
Me: "It is going to be put her with other cats and dogs who no longer need their bodies."
Kenzie: "But WHERE?"
Me, feeling broken: "They buried her in the dirt."
--------------
Kenzie: "When all the people die, will Earth still be here?"

Field Trip

Kenzie had a field trip today to Remlinger Farms. Cindy, Bob, June & Mason all escorted with her full class. Here is her account of the events.

Eric Ode was there and Aidan was there. I followed Aidan. We went through the hay maze. It was a lot of fun. And I just liked it that I wanted to do it again but I couldn't because they said only one time. And I sung the Barn Cat song. And it was a lot of fun and we picked out our pumpkins at the very, very, very, very end. That's all.

I liked seeing Eric Ode because I like his songs. I just like him for some reason. He's my favorite singer. And I hope he has a lot of fun and he likes me. And Aidan gave him two high fives, I think. I saw him give him two high fives. I like Aidan.

Plan of escape

1. Mason hollars for help, "OUT!"
2. Kenzie retrieves frog chair to soften the blow.
3. Kenzie encourages him, "jump, Bud, I'll catch you."
4. Mason carefully balances on the top of the crib rail.
5. Mason falls, Kenzie giggles.

Kitty Taylor

We told Kenzie a few days ago that Taylor wouldn't be with us for long. "You mean she's going to die?" She's been trying to figure it all out and we've been trying to give her honest answers, without stressing her out too much either. It's on her mind. She's said all sorts of things. "Where's Taylor? Maybe she died?" "How is she going to die?" "When is she going to die?" "So the doctor is going to KILL her?" Ugh, tough questions and even tougher answers.

Tonight Taylor started crying and it was apparent that we needed to relieve her of her suffering. We took her into the clinic and had her put to sleep. I'm worried about how Kenzie will react tomorrow. Mason's too young to grasp the concept. He'll just miss the opportunity to chase the one cat that actually runs from him. Lately as she'd been slowing down he'd taken more of an interest, because he could actually catch her--and pounce on her frail little body. She is taking full advantage of the term "rest in peace" as she is not being hunted by a 2-year-old and two bully tomcats...and is once again with her buddy Claire.

Sunshine

Kenzie: It's getting dark out.
Me: Yes, the sun must be getting sleepy!
Kenzie: No. The sun is in China right now. It's early in the morning there. Maybe we should look at a map...

Gone but not forgotten

Kenzie's school had a field trip to Seattle Center earlier this week. They watched a play that got mixed reviews ("great" from Kenzie and "snoozer" from Grampy). Anyway...when I asked Kenzie about it, her first words were, "Aidan was there!!" I tried to not roll my eyes, still she continued. "He wore a blue shirt!" How thrilling. Come on - he's not even in her class. When will this end??

Last night when I was putting her to bed I asked, "how was your day?" She said, "remember the other day when I went to the theater? The place that had a cotton candy machine? Aidan was there!!!" Indulgingly I said, "did you talk to him?" Her reply, "No. I made noises so that he would see me. I did baby talk so that he would turn around. But he didn't." I replied, "why didn't you just say 'hi' to him?" She blushed and threw the covers over her head. Oh boy. Four years old.