New / Cool Stuff

Julia got some "beauty stuff" from our neighbor and she was happy to pose.

Kelden got something new too, from Special.

Papa got something from Grandpa Bruce.

I have actually been stealing that jacket. And Kelden caught me!

Julia also got a new skirt from Special. A skirt that makes you want to dance!

These two have been getting along quite well lately. Kelden can't wait for her to come back home so he can share with her what he did at school. Julia realizes that he can now understands what she does all day!

May Long Week-End

The excuse for the May long week-end is Queen Victoria's birthday. Of course, her birthday can't always be on a Monday, but that doesn't stop Canadians (who really prefer their days off to be Mondays). So, in the 50s, they decided that they would always celebrate on the Monday before her special day, which is May 24th. (And, no people, I will not be making a cake tomorrow. Remember, I was proudly born and raised in a Republic!)

Anyway, we started the long week-end by going to the cottage on Saturday. Julia had been waiting all winter and she wasn't going to wait another day for the trampoline, so while Keld and Uncle Jeff were doing their best to put it up, she-and the others- enjoyed other toys.

Kelden likes to drive too.

And he got lots of playground time, like he needs :)

Another thing Kelden really enjoyed was playing with water.

At that point, we knew we had to get the small pool out. The "big pool" (as Kelden calls it) was a little bit too cold...

You may not be able to tell from the picture, but Zack did not enjoy the pool at all. I knew he wouldn't. He never sits down in the bathtub and since he had a hard time staying up in the pool, he quickly asked to be taken out. He enjoys water at a distance.

And he played inside.

We were going to go back to the cottage on Monday, but forest fires changed our plans. Instead, Julia and Kelden had a sleepover at Grandpa Bruce and Special's.

It's now back to school. Kelden seems to be doing all right this week. He still asks for his parents and the lady said he will probably need another few days before he feels more comfortable, but he's been coming back quite excited about his mornings. He tells us all about his activities: stories, songs, playground, painting, playdough, cars, puzzles... He is having fun, he just wants to make sure I know he still misses me. Julia likes to talk to him and share "school stories." Only one month left!

1 week down, 5 more to go

As might have been expected, Kelden didn't want to go to "class" yesterday (I guess you only go to "school" if you take the bus). Once again, the teacher told me to just leave him there crying. I met a lady in the hall who was going back to the classroom saying "that sounds like my kid." I told her not to worry, it's mine. She seemed relieved but then I could tell she was wondering why I wasn't worried. Well, I knew he would be fine; there was a bus ride on the schedule.

The teacher told me it took him 45 minutes to settle down and decide to participate like the others. It wasn't raining (for once this week) so they went outside and again, Kelden seemed to not be as good as the others. Mme Michèle told me I should bring him on playgrounds. "We go practically every day" was my reply. She said she was wondering about his motor skills and that he should especially practice jumping. Julia has a hard time with jumping (especially on one foot) so I'm wondering if Kelden does too or if he's just being lazy. I have brought him to the school playground before and it's true that he can't do everything on his own, so with lots of other kids around, he might be too intimidated to even try what he can do (I'm counting on his Utah cousins to show him how not to be scared this summer).

As I had thought, Kelden enjoyed his bus ride even if it was more "boom boom!" than he had imagined it would be. They also did the numbers that day (they had practiced the shapes the day before and colors were the first day). The teacher didn't say that he was the only one not being able to recognize the numbers, so maybe he's not too far  behind there :)


 

You can tell what his favorite color is.

Today, Keld decided to bring him because it was raining. Since "class" only starts at 9 but work at 8.30, he first brought him to work with him. Kelden obviously prefers work to school. He was ready to go back in the afternoon.

School, however, wasn't so bad today. He settled down faster and when I came in he wasn't ready to go! It was his turn to paint. He had to tell what body part he wanted to paint, but he kept saying the color he wanted to paint with. He finally said "ventre"  and Mme Michèle asked me if he was left or right-handed. I told her to put the paintbrush in his left hand as I think he uses that hand better when he writes.  

He did a bit better today then, but he still has to be forced to speak French and Mme Michèle told me that  as soon as there is something that presents a little bit of a challenge, he's calling for Maman. I really am too nice and need to help him be more independent. But despite all his difficulties, he still graduated. Yep, he even received a degree!

And a T-shirt!

Congratulations!! We are very proud of him! I know it wasn't easy for him but he did it!!

I think this week was a first good step for Kelden, and for myself, as we get ready for school. I know he is "behind" compared to kids who have been going to daycare their whole lives, but I expected that and don't mind it at all. The program for the next 5 weeks only takes children who don't go to daycare, so it should be easier for him and hopefully it will be another good step toward September!

2 videos

The first video is Julia singing with her class. They had a special show last Thursday, called Rock Vedette. The principal introduced their song by saying that the children had learnt how to express their "wonder" to God, author of all life, and how to appreciate each other's importance. It's too bad that they put the music with the words so loud.

The second video is my attempt at filming Zack walking.

He's not giving up crawling just yet.

And for those of you wondering how Kelden's second morning went, here's the update.
He was again disappointed that he couldn't take the bus with Julia. However, on our way to the school he was already asking if he could go home. At the school he was crying and screaming "maman maman" and the teacher told me to just leave. When I came back to pick him up, she wanted to talk to me. First, she said he will only speak English.  Then, she told me that he doesn't do anything on his own. He won't unzip his bag, take things out or put things in, etc. She said he's far behind the others as far as independence goes. Since she knows he doesn't go to daycare and is not used to a routine at all, she told me that I should check the programs at the Early Years Center and I told her that he was registered for their "Get ready for school" program. Starting next week he will go to school from 8.30 to 11.30, Tuesday to Friday for 5 weeks. She seemed relieved as she hopes it will help him catch up and be more prepared for September. I also told her I was going to try to make sure he does more things by himself. So, when we got home, after Kelden took off his coat and his jacket and then lied down waiting for help to take off his shoes, I told him to do it himself. Of course, he said no, that he needed help, etc. I said I was going to check to see if we had Smarties, for people who take off their shoes on their own. In two seconds he had taken his shoes off and put them in the basket...

Kelden's First Morning at School

Today was the day Kelden had been waiting for for weeks. The day he can finally go to school. Indeed, the school he is registered to has a program called The Little Spoon. They invite the future students for 4 mornings. The kids get an idea of what school is going to be and the teachers get to see how many difficult kids there will be (and then try to split them between the classes in September).
After such a long wait, Kelden was ready. At least he thought so.

He was first quite disappointed not to be able to take the bus with Julia. Then, when we had made it to the school, he wanted to go to the library and buy books (which is what we did last week as they had a special sale). He started pulling me towards the library screaming: "It's not too expensive!" His teacher (who is actually Julia's teacher, Mme Michèle) told me what classroom they were going to use and to just bring him there when he was ready. She knows me and my shy kids! So I told Kelden that there would be books in the classroom and he reluctantly led the way. I pointed to some books and as he was going to check them I left. Mme Michèle was coming in with the other kids and she made sure he wouldn't see me. (I told you she knows how it works with my kids). I stayed in the hall for a few minutes (changing Zack from the back seat to the front seat in the stroller) and, since I couldn't hear Kelden screaming (at least not over the other kids) I decided I was safe to go.

He wasn't crying when I went to get him at noon but he wasn't smiling either. Just like Julia, he prefers to stay with his Mom. Mme Michèle told me not to worry. Just like Julia, he'll get used to it.
As you can see in the above picture, they made necklaces. They didn't get to go outside as it was raining, but instead, they colored.

I'm not certain coloring is his thing.
One thing's for sure, school is tiring!

Mother's Day

At 7 this morning, Keld and the boys had a pancake breakfast ready for me but I was still waiting for Julia to come "wake me up" with a song. She had been asking me all week if it was okay to come and wake me up on Mother's Day by singing to me, which is what her teacher had told them to do (having taught them a song). However, she slept longer than the boys (having gone to bed late since we had just come back the night before from our ward Temple trip). When she did get up though, she wanted to go eat right away-the smell of pancakes I guess...
This is the song with which she was supposed to wake me up.

She had already given me my gifts. On Monday, she had mailed a letter (they've been learning about addresses) and I received it on Wednesday.

Translation:

Dear Maman
You are beautiful.
I love you.
I give you a big kiss
on the cheek.
Julia XOXO

Notice the specification on the cheek. 


In the envelop, there were also two pictures. Other gifts for Mother's Day. Food and flowers.

Then on Thursday, she gave me this:

 Translation:

Beloved Mother
To you a cup of tea I offer
To recover
From your day's labors

Happy Mother's Day

It's actually caffeine free. I thought it was a cute idea. My mom, a herbal tea fanatic, would surely like it. I should ask Julia to make her one for me to send to her for Mother's Day (which is June 3rd in France, so I'm not late yet).

And finally, today, both Kelden and Julia were invited to sing with the Primary during Sacrament meeting. Of the two, only Julia sang. Kelden did go up and stood with the other kids, but he did not sing a single word. Instead, he put on his best unhappy face. Something like that...

...but ten times worst. This is what he was supposed to sing:

But trust me, Kelden is still pretty proud he did not sing it.

Zack may not have sung either but at least he was a good boy all day. And being good is probably the best gift you can give your mother.

Because if you're good, you can be with her forever !

Happy Birthday Keld (Round 2)

We celebrated Keld's birthday on Sunday as he was finally home. His Friday night flight was cancelled and he only arrived on Saturday afternoon. So we fasted from supper to supper and James waited for us for the cake. He waited and waited and waited and waited. (Others waited too, but for some reason, the wait was only excruciating for James). Keld even opened his present (a nice sweater from Mom) first. Finally, James' patience was rewarded. He even got to eat two pieces of cake (there was enough since Jeff and Becca never came).

We heard that Linda helped make the cake. I wonder if she saw a difference between a birthday party for a kid and one for an adult. I think she still had fun with her cousins.

In this last picture, she is laying eggs with Julia..I know... By the way, Simon doesn't lay eggs any more and her feathers are growing back. She has been adopted by a new family and we hope that she's happy.

Waiting for Keld

Keld told the kids that he would bring them too McDonald's if they behaved while he was gone. So Julia has been perfect (well, almost). Kelden didn't understand at first and thought I had to bring them to McDonald's every day...Zack must have thought the house was too quiet because he started a new ritual: scream, scream, scream and bite everything around. We were able to calm him down a bit by going outside every day. He loves playgrounds. Kelden too.

I should mention too that Zack took his first step yesterday and walked a bit more today. Let's hope he will use this new way of moving to get his energy out instead of screaming.

Julia had energy too this week. She built her own robot and also played "chef."

She made a toque at school as they were learning about cooks. That's her favorite job so far. Might be her French side (but if she's got the talent, it sure did skip a generation).