We're back!!

So I think I MIGHT have found a way to blog from my phone. We'll see how it goes.

Kittens!

We were going down to the barn the last week and Bel found a litter of kittens. We looked for the mama cat for several hours that afternoon and could not find her. Keeping in mind this was the day before it hit -30 so I certainly could not leave them outside, and thus they moved into our upstairs bathroom. Blah, blah, blah...animals can care for themselves, I have too many animals and um any other objections there may be. WE HAVE BABY KITTIES!!

There are four delightful little kittens that bounce around our house. Fearsa is a little tabby cat, she's a bit fearful but a great pouncer. She's the second smallest of the litter. Callie is a gorgeous calico cat with a black face. She is the largest of the litter (by far) and has the most energy. She runs, jumps, pounces and is crazy full of energy! Skunk is black with an orange stripe down her nose. Her bum is a different color than her body which is adorable and funny to watch. She is a great climber...especially up my legs when she's hungry. It's hilarious because she doesn't climb one paw at a time, she hops up with all four paws at once. Enna is the baby and she's such a little thing. She was so sick and weak at first and could sit in the palm of one of my hands. She is very small and sweet. Bel is very attached to her and tries to carry her around in her mouth.

It's been a week now and the kittens are doing much better. Their energy levels are up, they are eating well and adapting to their new home. The kittens have now become great little escape artists. We had them blocked in upstairs so they could run around when are at home but they've figured out that together they can push through the boxes and escape down the stairs. However, they can't figure out the stairs so they just tumble a bit.

Meux of course was very upset that we brought these little bundle of fluffs into her house. She would puff and hiss at them like crazy. She's now warmed up to Fearsa and will rub noses with her (we arbitrarily call them she cause we can't tell yet) but the others still stay clear. Strider only has a problem with them when they make biscuits on him and Bel tries to herd them around. Scotch is indifferent to everything in life, including the kittens.

We tried talking to the neighbors to discover who the mama cat was and I tried to find her in and around the barn, but I never did find anyone. On friday we uncovered her identity, but when we tried to reintroduce mama to kittens, the kittens rejected her even more strongly than she rejected them. Her owner thinks she's already pregnant again (welcome to the country) so that explains what happened. At least she dropped them off with a safe and loving home.

PS- check under your Christmas tree: there will probably be a kitten!

Aerya's Friend Toby

When I dropped Aerya off at school a couple of weeks ago, one of hte other moms stopped me. It turns out that her son Toby has a crush on Aerya and talks non-stop about her. Aerya is the best thing to come along since Tonka trucks.

Aerya now talks about Toby all the time. They play together, sit beside each other for circle time and hold hands during songs. He is the only friend whom she remembers during the day (whenever I ask her about what she did at school she can NEVER remember what anyone did or even sometimes who was there. Mind you, that's just cause she has something more interesting to do and doesn't want to talk.)

The other day she came home and non-shelauntly mentions that she told Toby they were getting married. I asked her what he said and he looked at her, shrugged, smiled and asked her for more lego. I love that kid.

Spring Animals!

Happy Birthday to Aerya x3

We had 3 parties for Aerya this year. First, with her school friends at the pottery store beside their preschool. They had a great time painting their little animals and running around. The woman who owns the store was so amazing with the girls!






Derek and I took Aerya to Chuck E Cheese and then to see Shrek 4. It was so much fun! Derek always takes Aerya's birthday off from school so it was a quiet weekday at CEC. Many people said we were brave. After 3 hours of crazy kids we determined we were insane! We ended the evening with cake and presents at Grandma's house. Aerya LOVED it!







We also held a big, contified party at Fuzzy Acres. The kids played games, ate way to many cupcakes and wacked away at a Hannah Montana pinata. Aerya was completely exhaused by the end of the day and still has all the decorations up in her room!

Preschool Graduation

Today, Aerya had her last day of Three Year Old Preschool at Les Tournesols French Immersion Preschool. Aerya has grown and matured so much over this year, thanks largely in part to the devotion of her amazing teachers, Mme. Lucie and Mme. Gisele.

Over the course of the year Aerya has gone from crying when I dropped her off and not letting me leave, to saying a quick goodbye as she excitedly played with the other kids. She has learned her alphabet, how to spell her name, numbers and about 75 french words and phrases. She will often slip in a few french words while speaking with us which just excites us so much.

Stations were her favorite part of the day, but she really did enjoy most everything. The kids always came home with great little crafts like ladybugs (out of paper plates), sandscapes, picture frames and of course tons of coloring pages. While at first Aerya was hesitant to join in, she quickly began singing along at song time (and most of them were in french!) and answering the questions to games. The only thing I'm a bit concerned with is that Aerya is easily distracted (gee Derek...!) and her attention will wander from the task at hand. But this usually happens only with group songs and games, and not during stations or craft time - until she is finished that is.



Probably the best part of preschool was the time Aerya spent with the other children. She became much better at understanding sharing and taking turns - even if she still didn't want to do that! She would often take a second to talk to a quiet child, or reassure one who was sad. Aerya would discuss this with me at home, and decide how to handle these situations if they arose again. It warmed my heart to see her reaching out to the other students. Even though Aerya still explains that she doesn't like it when others win at games, or get to go first, she at least now lets it happen without a fit or complaint (most of the time.)
She also clearly came into her own extroverted personality. Aerya would often be heard telling stories to her teachers, explaining just what was what and trying to direct her friends in a game. Her best friend at school was Taylor (in front of her with the purple shirt and no hat), a very sweet natured little girl. The two of them were inseparable! Finishing out a trio was Jaina (beside her with pigtails and the pink/green dress), whom I was so happy to see with Aerya. They both have quite dominant personalities and had to come to terms with each other. There were days that Aerya wasn't thrilled Jaina was there (especially when Jaina was spending time with Taylor) and Jaina often went home with comments of Aerya's bossiness (which we also heard about Jaina!), but by the end of the year the three of them were great friends. Aerya and Jaina both gained a lot from learning to balance each other.





We are so very proud of Aerya and all the growth she has shown this year. She is returning to Les Tournesols next year (3 days a week) and we are so excited for what that may bring.