The Adventures of Clover!

Goody

2012-01-27T00:33:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 29th]

This morning I really didn't want to still be sick. Despite my slight cough and my really runny nose, I begged and pleased with Mommy to let me go to school. Maybe the past few days of the two of us cooped up together made a difference, because she relented and took me to school, and made a deal with my teacher to send me home if I seemed too sick or miserable.

I'm so glad I went to school! It was totally awesome! So many of my friends were really happy to see me, having missed three days of school. It was actually out 100th day of the school year, so we had a little '100 days' party. I made a special necklace to commemorate the day.

Also, since I was so well behaved, I got to pick a treat from the 'goody chest', which is a thing in our class for the kid who is best behaved (or something). I picked a couple of gel pens. Cool! Gel pens!

In The Blanket Fort

2012-01-26T00:06:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Pinkeye and head cold, day three. So... Mommy and I picked up where we left off yesterday and simply re-built the blanket fort in the living room. Of course, then Dennis decided to trash it, so we re-built it, so he trashed it again, so we re-built it, and put Dennis in his box.

I ate my lunch in that blanket fort. Soon after that, I had a tea party for a bunch of my toys in that fort. Mommy thinks that maybe spending so much time in there with me is giving her my cold.

After dinner, I was feeling well enough to go with my parents to the mall so that we could pick up Mommy's contact lenses, and then stop by Claire's house to get the food co-op order. I was pretty upset that I had to wait in that car.

Eyedrops

2012-01-25T23:57:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Still have pinkeye. Still have a cold. Still would rather go to school and play and hang out with my friends, but I stayed at home with Mommy and Dennis instead. Actually, I was especially clingy with Mommy, and really didn't even want her leaving my sight.

We did manage to keep busy, though - the two of us actually sat down and built a pretty cool board game, which we painted and decorated and stuff. We baked some bread and some cinnamon rolls, and to top things off, we completely took the living room apart and built a massive blanket fort!

Daddy got some new eyedrops for me when he got home - I made a massive dramatic fuss about putting them in my eyes, but we managed.

Bingo

2012-01-24T23:48:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 25th]

So, I still have pinkeye. And a cold. So... I stayed home from school, which kinda sucked. I really would have preferred to see my friends and hang out and stuff and do schoolwork, but it just wasn't meant to be.

In the afternoon, Grandpa drove Mommy and I do the Doctor's Office. Dr. Vaezi made sure not to get too close to me, but basically just told me to stay home and take it easy. Me - I was just happy that he didn't stick me with a needle.

After Daddy came home from work, he played several rounds of Bingo with Mommy and I. You can tell I was still feeling down and exhausted, because I didn't even feel like eating.

Pinkeye

2012-01-23T00:30:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Welcome to the world, Scarlet Barker (see photo above), born just a few short weeks ago!

Today wasn't great, but I made the best of it. I had something of a rough sleep last night... I have a pretty brutal head cold, plus Mommy and Daddy think I have some mild case of conjunctivitis in both eyes. Needless to say, I was feeling pretty brutal all day long.

Mommy was pretty good about keeping me busy... we played video games together, I drew lots of pictures, and we even made a big puzzle, which was lots of fun! Daddy ran some errands during the day, and when he came home, he brought me a Star Wars action figure, which made me really happy!

I made a special request of steak and mashed potatoes and Yorkshire pudding for dinner, so Mommy obliged. It was quite delicious! I was hoping we could get all dressed up and fancy for it, but it was kinda late and I'm, like, really snotty.

HAGGIS

2012-01-22T00:31:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Most of this morning was spent in a near frenzy, as I was really jazzed about going to my friend Anton's birthday party. I was even careful not to eat too much lunch, so that I could save lots of room for pizza and cake.

Daddy drove me over to the pool where the party was - I had a great time, swimming, playing, and eating pizza (which wasn't even gluten free pizza!). My friend Finley took to shooting me in the eyes with a watergun, which was annoying but funny. My Mom is now worried that I might have conjunctivitis. At least I had fun in the process.

I came home to learn that we were to be eating a haggis for dinner. Needless to say, I had some serious reservations (actually, we all did). I think I actually enjoyed the fried bits of organ lining that Mommy made me as a snack instead of the actual haggis itself - which honestly wasn't bad, but the smell of that haggis will most likely be lingering in our home for days.

O Canada

2012-01-21T00:21:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 22nd]

It snowed today! We still haven't got the crazy massive whallop of winter that we usually see once a year, but at least it was something. I couldn't keep my eyes off of the window while I was at school - I loved to watch it snow!

After school, Mommy and I did some birthday present shopping for my friend Anton, who is having his party tomorrow. We got him a bunch of stuff, and a few little things for ourselves as well.

Daddy was home from work at an (almost) normal hour today, with NO work to do over the weekend! He and I actually sat down and played the piano together a bit. He taught me how to play 'O Canada', which made me happier than you'd think.

The Ontario Conservatory of Music

2012-01-20T00:10:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 22nd]

Poor Daddy... I feel like I haven't seen him in days. He's been so busy with all of these projects at work! When he is at home, he's at his computer, working away. Or, take today, for example... once he got home from work and joined us for dinner, he completely passed out on the couch. Mommy and I left him there to sleep. Dennis snuggled with him and kept him warm.

As for me, I had a special meeting at the Ontario Conservatory of Music after school. Mommy brought me in to meet with a piano teacher, who sat me down at the keyboard and asked me to "show him what I know". I played a few little ditties here and there - the man gave me a sticker and told me he'd take me on as a student. Fun times!

Pastel(s)

2012-01-19T00:02:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 22nd]

Mommy started off my day by showing me scenes of gigantic trolls from a movie she watched last night. Pretty weird, but whatever.

Anyway, at school we learned how to draw and colour with pastels. I thought my teacher called them 'Pastel' (singular) so when I got home and wanted to use Mommy's pastelS, I got pretty confused about what to call them.

The temperature totally dropped today. Despite this, I got a really awesome playground session in with Claire. I sure wish I had elected to wear snow pants... but whatever, I got hot chocolate when I got home, which was awesome.

Grandpa's Birthday Cake

2012-01-18T23:52:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 21st]

A famous illustrator of kids' books came to school today and gave us a big presentation and stuff. Since she makes all of her artwork using plasticine, I got pretty excited and spent a lot of time making plasticine art. After class was band class, which was absolutely fantastic! I had so much fun - looks like I'm gonna be playing keyboards in the band!

Once I got home, it was decided that I would be the one to make Grandpa's birthday cake! I carefully planned and then baked the cake in my Easy-Bake Oven.

Once Daddy got home, we had a little birthday part for Grandpa (who also retired today)! There were presents, a lot of laughs, and of course we all enjoyed the cake that I made.

Welsh Heritage

2012-01-17T23:37:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 21st]

Even though I had a relatively boring weekend, I still found the inspiration and effort to fill two pages worth of prose about it today in school. What can I say... I just love to write.

I had a pretty decent swimming lesson after school, but it was pretty clear to everyone that I'm really strong swimming on one side of my body, and the complete opposite on the other side. I guess I need to work on that.

Mommy and I struggled with the bus on the way to Sparks (something was messed up on the Woodbine bridge), but once we got there, we had a blast. We learned all about heritage - I did a presentation about my Welsh heritage, and then we ate some delicious delicious samosas!

An Hour at the Toy Store

2012-01-16T01:01:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 17th]

I was definitely feeling a little bit better today - or at least if I was sick, you wouldn't know by my attitude or anything. I was as happy as a clam to see the Sunday morning sun!

After lunch, Mommy and Daddy and I decided to cake of some important errands. First off, we went and got Grandpa his birthday present for this coming tuesday. Then, we bought Dennis a big bag of dog food. Then, we drove down to the toy store, so that I could spend some money...

...and it took me an hour to decide what I want, much to the chagrin of my parents. The money was burning a hold in my pocket and I wanted to buy SOMETHING, so I settled on a paper doll kit. Next, we hit the art store to buy some adhesive, the bulk food store to get some flour, and a few other places that I can't recall right now. All I do remember is that I was happy to eventually come home.

Once we arrived back at the house, instead of use the paper dolls that came in my kit, I made my own! I also sat down with Daddy and spent quite a while helping him with storyboards and visual concepts for his job.

Sick Weekend

2012-01-15T00:53:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 17th]

Well as expected, this morning I woke up with a cough, a stuffy head, and a serious case of the sneezes. I requested that we just keep things simple and stay home today, so we did.

I played with my toys, did a lot of drawing, and managed to watch movies and stuff on television. Mommy and Daddy joined me for a fun game of Pictionary, and Mommy and I sent Daddy out for food and orange juice and stuff.

At dinner time, Mommy made another enormous batch of her special chicken noodle soup, which we all love. I went to sleep a little bit early, due to being sick, tired, and perhaps a little bit bored.

Snow!

2012-01-14T17:50:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I awoke to an amazing surprise - overnight it totally snowed! For real! This pretty much makes it the first actual honest-to-goodness snowfall this winter! And it was cold, too! I was dressed and ready for school really early, so that I could actually spend a bunch of time playing outside in the snow before class started.

School was pretty good... I got invited to my friend Helena's "BFF Club" and I got invited to my friend Anton's birthday party, which is pretty cool.

After Daddy came home from work, Mommy and I got our gear together so that we could go out for Japanese food. The three of us totally pigged out and ate a rather large amount of sushi! Once we got home, I whimpered in a nasaly voice: "Mommy, I thig I'm gedding your code".

Mississauga Missing

2012-01-13T00:16:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Daddy was up really early this morning - he had a meeting early in Mississaugua. I was pretty sad, and missed him terribly while he was gone... which turned out not to be very long. Mississaugua isn't really very far from home. I was under the impression that he'd be gone for a day, and not for an hour or two.

We had a pretty good day at school - I made some really lovely get well cards for Mommy and brought them home for her. She's starting to feel a bit better, but we still kept things quiet around the house.

Mommy liked her get well cards so much that she offered to take me out to dinner - something that made me really excited - but Daddy took a little while longer than usual to get home from work, so we'll just do it tomorrow or something.

The Adventures of Indy-Nana Jones

2012-01-12T23:50:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Early this morning, I came up with a pretty neat idea for an adventure movie starring my Nana and her quest to clean the dark, cobwebby basement... "Indy-Nana Jones". I drew a picture of her and everything. It's pretty cute!

At school today, we set up a nice little school-wide mail system, in which we can write letters and postcards and stuff to people in our own classes or in other classes and stuff. In fact, I got a letter from my friend Amelia, which was really nice! I came home for lunch but then rushed back so that I could send letters to friends and teachers.

Back at the roost, Mommy is still pretty sick. I made sure I let her get plenty of rest, and drew an awesome picture of a Hesperornis while she slept.

Polar Bear Clover

2012-01-11T23:29:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 12th]

Today at school, my class gathered together with our fifth grade 'buddies' and planned a pretty large and expansive and complicated game outside... we were all given animal identities (in the form of paper hats, which we made) and had to 'survive' out in the wild and stuff. It was pretty fun! I got to be a polar bear, which suits me just fine. Apparently, our class was so awesome and we were so good at the game (which is what I was told, honestly) that they bussed in other teachers from other schools to come and watch us and take notes. It's like we're part of some big experiment.

Perhaps my favourite part of the whole experiment was the fact that we got to have hot chocolate afterwards.

Anyway, it really seems as though Mommy is getting Daddy's brutal cold from the weekend, but she's determined not to be "as much of a wimp" as he was about it.

A Very Long Monday

2012-01-10T00:22:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Happily, today was the first day back to school since the Holidays. I was so happy to see all of my friends again - especially Anton, who told me that his Mommy bought some gluten-free food for the next time we have a play date.

As if school wasn't enough, as soon as it was over, Mommy came and picked me up and then we took the bus over to my swimming lesson, which is now scheduled for Monday nights. It was pretty good - I like my new instructor.

And then if THAT wasn't enough, Mommy and I rushed home for a quick dinner and then headed out for Sparks! We had a good time and made popsicle stick crafts. Things got a little out of hand at the end, however, when Claire and I started spitting water at each other. What can I say - it was a loooong day.

Not a Dead Frog

2012-01-09T00:05:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 10th]

Daddy was still sick today, so Mommy and Dennis and I decided to let him sleep in. The two of us had a nice morning of waffles and television, and then got our gear together to go over to Claire's house.

At Claire's house, Claire and I played with our dolls while our Moms planned the upcoming Sparks meeting. Claire's Daddy played Skyrim in the basement (which is exactly what my Daddy was doing at the time) and at one point I got really excited when I thought I found a dead frog outside. Alas, it wasn't a dead frog - it was a rock. Mommy practically pry me away from Claire to take me home.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty quiet - I did a lot of artwork while Mommy and I poured chicken noodle soup and orange juice into Daddy.

How To Watch Raiders of the Lost Ark

2012-01-08T00:32:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 9th]

Daddy was really sick today, so it was up to Mommy and I to totally take care of him today and just let him rest. First, we let him sleep in. I drew him some pictures, and even made him a little card that told him that he was the 'best Daddy in the World.'

At one point in the afternoon, Mommy went off to do some grocery shopping, so I agreed to watch Daddy's favourite movie with him. I loved it - Raiders of the Lost Ark! I thought it was pretty amazing how Han Solo managed to fight those bad guys. The part with the melting face at the end was pretty creepy.

Mommy made comfort food (hot dogs!) for dinner, and I made sure I drew lots of Indiana Jones pictures. I even drew a nine-page instruction manual on how to watch the film, which includes a step-by-step pictogram about taking the DVD out of the box.

Ken's Tux

2012-01-07T00:19:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 9th]

Not much to report on from today, unfortunately. Daddy ended up coming home a bit early from work due to something of a pretty bad head cold that was a full-fledged fever by the time he got here.

Even still, he was able to help me with a little project. So I have this old Ken doll (to go with one that Gammy's friend Dia got me a few days ago) that came with some dumb clothes. I decided to make my own clothes for him. Gammy lent me a scrap of black fabric, which I took to my room. Along with a pair of scissors (Daddy made a few cuts for me) and a whole lot of tape, I made a tuxedo for my Ken doll.

When you look at it, it's kinda more scotch tape than tuxedo, but Mommy was so impressed that she broke out the sewing machine and helped me make a few additional adjustments. Pretty cool!

Jenna's Spilled Hot Chocolate Record

2012-01-06T00:17:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Mommy and I had a morning of dress-up games... both online and in real life. We had a really good time trying on a bunch of outfits... both virtual and actual.

Today I discovered amongst GG's things that she left behind was a sketchbook from when she was taking drawing lessons. We decided it was s shame to let it go only partially filled, so I decided to continue her work.

In the afternoon, George and Ursula came by, and they brought Jenna along! She and I had a blast - I made a whole lot of noise, which kept making Jenna spill her hot chocolate (on the dog, even). Honestly, I think she literally spilled her hot chocolate five times.

Clover's Café

2012-01-05T20:07:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

For a special treat this morning, Mommy made cheese grits for breakfast, which she then served to me in my own room, which I did up all fancy as 'Clover's Café.' It was quite lovely... once she was finished being the waitress, she joined me and had coffee and a grapefruit.

It was still pretty cold outside, but during the day we did find the time to throw on some snowpants and run around outside. We got Dennis to the point of exhaustion, then came inside and watched movies.

At the end of the day, Mommy and I got stuck playing video games and never got around to making dinner, so once Daddy got home from work, we ended up going out for pizza!

Puffy Coat

2012-01-04T00:32:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Mommy wasn't feeling very good today, so I decided to really tone things down and be cool. Instead of being a spaz, I kept things nice and quiet, and let Mommy have a pretty quiet day. I made lots of crafts, drew pictures, played video games, watched television... it was good!

After Daddy came home from work (with a really short haircut!), we were all gonna go for a drive to do some shopping, but I took one look at my puffy winter coat (because it is minus a million degrees outside) and freaked out. I absolutely did not want anyone to see me in that coat. To prove my point, I drew a cartoon of me in the coat and emphasized its puffiness!

At bedtime, Dennis was being really silly and kept jumping on me, making me laugh. My giggles could be heard echoing through the whole house!

Jurassic Park

2012-01-03T00:59:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I was up and full of crazy at a pretty early hour. I played in my room and I played in my parents' room and played in the living room... I had a great time! Television, snacks, you name it, it was a great morning.

This afternoon Daddy drove off to finally do some uninterrupted holiday shopping. Meanwhile, I watched Jurassic Park, which Zoe got me for Christmas. I LOVED IT. I was so thrilled I could barely contain myself - I immediately went into my bedroom and made my own little Jurassic Park playset!

I went grocery shopping with my parents in the late afternoon, which was fine - I had to be spoken to fairly sternly about being too crazy in the supermarket. Dinner was good, and then I had a late bedtime, as well... due to all the craziness.

Joanna and Rob

2012-01-02T01:36:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

This morning I played in my room a lot - once we got home from our trip, MORE Christmas presents appeared in the form of a new floor (and new furnishings) for my doll house. Pretty great! The new year started off nicely.

After lunch, Mommy and Daddy and I drove through the horrible, drizzly and cold weather to meet up with our good friends Joanna and Rob, who are visiting from the UK. I haven't seen them in so long - we had a nice chat, I got some snacks, and I kicked everyone under the table with my rainboots.

Mommy and Daddy and I stopped by the bookstore on the way home, had a quiet afternoon, and then joined Nee-Nee and Gammy and Grandpa for dinner, who also brought along two of Gammy's former students, Richard and Dorothy. We had a lovely big turkey dinner! By the end, I was totally exhausted.

Flying Back to Canada

2012-01-01T16:10:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Mommy and Daddy and Dennis and I left out litle Motel in Altoona nice and early this morning - man, was it ever cold and frosty outside! All the time spent in the south really made us forget what time of year it is.

Surprisingly, we flew through the rest of our drive through the States... I guess with it being New Year's Eve, nobody was doing much driving. Even the car seemed eager to get home, and consumed gasoline verrrry slooowwwlly. The few wrong turns we made barely affected our arrival time. We got back to Toronto way earlier than we thought we would!

I was pretty happy to see Gammy and Grandpa. It felt like it took Mommy and Daddy three times longer to unload the car as it did for them to load it. I made sure I helped out by staying out of the way.

For dinner we had a lovely meal of fancy pasta and sparkling peach juice to ring in the new year! Here's looking forward to 2012. My resolution this year is to learn my multiplication tables.

Trunk Tetris

2011-12-31T16:02:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 1st, 2012]

This morning I made sure I got in a lot of quality time with Nana. I had a nice breakfast with her, and we managed to have a pretty decent walk in the forest and stuff while my Mommy loaded the car. I didn't want to leave... I love Nana so much, and had such a great time with her. We all really appreciated the time we spent with her and Jim this trip (not to mention Trina and Zoe and Papa!).

Anyway, we finally got going at about one in the afternoon. The car was packed so tight it took all of Mommy's expert Tetris skills to properly load all of our gear into it! If a border guard wants to look in the trunk, we're in some trouble… everything will come tumbling out!

We stopped at Lynchburg to hit up the bookstore, but I was pretty rowdy and just wanted to run around - Daddy didn't actually get any browsing in. Ah well… maybe when he gets home. He let me get a good run in at the bookstore, and then we drove off, heading for Altoona, and stopping in the middle of West Virginia for some dinner.

Marshmallows > Star Wars

2011-12-30T15:55:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 1st, 2012]

I decided to take a break from sugary cereal for breakfast today, which came as something of a surprise to everyone. I did manage to have a good morning, drawing pictures and playing with toys and hanging out with Nana and Jim and Mommy and stuff.

Once Daddy was out of bed, he went to Wal-Mart with Mommy and Nana and I. I had it set in my head that I was gonna buy some Star Wars toys with my spending money, but I decided to buy a box of Junior Mints and two bags of flavoured marshmallows instead. Food beats toys today. Once we got home, Mommy made us some gluten-free waffles for lunch!

In the afternoon, Mommy took Dennis for a walk in the forest, as did Nana and Charlie… but Dennis isn't exactly getting along with Charlie, so we had to keep some space between us all. Daddy and I followed along behind everyone. Actually, Nana and I had a nice evening together - she put me to bed as Mommy and Daddy went out to see a movie. I was on my best behaviour. Also, I absolutely love spending time with Nana, who is pretty awesome.

The Checkered Pig

2011-12-29T15:38:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 1st, 2012]

This morning Nana made a big batch of bacon for breakfast. The second she would take it out of the pan and onto the table, I'd eat it. Before anyone realized what was happening, I had consumed about a half a package of bacon. Delicious!

The bacon apparently gave me superhuman energy, because soon afterwards I could be found doing somersaults in the living room while everyone else just kinda sat around. Eager to have me burn off some energy, the bunch of us drove off for Danville in he early afternoon.

Nana and Jim took my parents and I to the Checkered Pig - apparently a popular barbecue joint here in the area. I pigged out on delicious ribs, and everyone else ate so much they wanted to pass out. Apparently eating a smoked chicken and hush puppies makes Daddy speak (and moan) with a southern accent.

After a quick trip to the mall and a stop for some frozen yogurt, we all had a pretty quiet evening (sans dinner) at home. I'll be sure to dream of roasted pigs.

Shopping in Danville

2011-12-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 1st, 2012]

I was up and excited for the day at a pretty early hour - I made sure I played with lots of my new toys, including my Barbie car, my art stuff, my vintage Strawberry Shortcake stuff, and I got to eat a lot of my new cereal. Pretty awesome!

Once Daddy was out of bed, Nana drove us out in the pouring rain to Sam's Club to do some grocery shopping and browsing for odds and ends. After that, we went to the Red Lobster in Danville, where Daddy bought us all a lovely seafood lunch. With the rain having stopped, we went to Target for more odds and ends.

Daddy's back was pretty sore once we got home, so we took it easy for the rest of the day. Nana and Mommy and I set up my Easy Bake Oven, and I made a little cake, which we all enjoyed after dinner. I had lots of leftover energy to expel (probably due to all that cake frosting) so Mommy took me for a run around outside before I went to bed.

Back to Virginia

2011-12-27T12:49:00.001-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 1st, 2012]

This morning, Nana and Jim took me from our Motel and back to Papa's house, where I got to hang out with Papa and Trina and the baby goats and stuff. I had a pretty good time… once Mommy and Daddy arrived, Mommy and Papa and I took an awesome ride on the four wheeler. The sun was out, the weather was warm, and we had a blast!

We said good-bye to Papa and Zoe and Trina and headed back to Virginia. Man oh man, it was a long drive… we stopped at a Waffle House on the way for lunch, and to watch the staff operate was a model of confusion, laziness and inefficiency. Still, it was great to watch, if not to eat. We made it back to Virginia just as the sun was going down.

As soon as we got back to Nana's house, I was back in my room, drawing. We had some leftovers for dinner, and unfortunately, Dennis did NOT get along with Charlie, who is back from the hospital. As a result, Dennis had to spend the majority of his time locked up in his box ("Jail" as Daddy calls it). Also, it looks as though Dennis picked up some fleas and a nasty tick while he was in South Carolina.

Christmas in South Carolina

2011-12-26T02:34:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 1st, 2012]

I was up and at 'em pretty early today - Santa ate all the cookies I left out for him and replied to the note I left (he appreciated the lip balm I gave him). As hoped, he brought me what I asked for for Christmas - a box of Count Chocula, a box of Franken Berry, and a box of Boo Berry! I had a bowl of Count Chocula for breakfast… it was everything I'd hoped it would be!

Soon afterwards, I headed off for South Carolina with Nana and Jim (Mommy, Daddy, and Dennis drove off separately to pick up Zoe in Raleigh). I yammered and sang and chattered the whole drive over, which really stunned Jim, who asked if I had been vaccinated by a photograph needle.

Once I got to South Carolina, I was full of beans, having eaten a candy bar and a whole big box of Junior Mints. I played with Aunt Trina and Papa for quite a while - I got to feed a baby goat, I got to go for a ride on the four-wheeler, and I jumped up and down on Papa! When Mommy and Daddy and Nana and Jim arrived, Daddy didn't think he had ever seen me be so spastic.

Dinner was delicious - Aunt Trina cooked up a veritable feast. Happily, Dennis was a good boy, and played nicely with all of the other dogs. We opened more presents - I got more art stuff and books and movies. By the end of the night, I was totally exhausted. We went back to Florence, where I collapsed at our Hotel.

Christmas Comes Early

2011-12-25T02:23:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on January 1st, 2012]

We left Altoona at a relatively good hour and zoomed our way through the rest of Pennsylvania, not to mention Maryland and West Virginia. The weather got pretty warm, and the roads were completely empty! We stopped here and there for bathroom and food and gasoline breaks and stuff.

Just as I was starting to get seriously cooped up in the car, we finally made it to Nana's house at the southern end of Virginia. I haven't seen Nana in a year - she has lost so much weight, while I've gotten so tall! We were so happy to see each other. Charlie is sick in the doggie hospital, so any nervousness we had about him being with Dennis is temporarily alleviated.

After a lovely dinner, we opened a ton of presents, seeing as how we have to head to South Carolina pretty early tomorrow. I got all kinds of awesome stuff - toys, clothes, drawing stuff, play-dough… you name it! I even got a Barbie Car and an Easy Bake Oven! I left a letter for Santa before heading off to beddy-bye!

The Drive to Altoona

2011-12-24T01:45:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy On January 1st, 2012]

I was off for my last day of school before the holidays - Mommy joined me for our massive school pizza lunch, which was a lot of fun. Santa even showed up - given the reaction from the kids, you'd think he was Justin Beiber.

Once lunch was done, Mommy and I came home and joined Daddy in finishing the final prep for our big trip South. Before long we were all packed and ready, and headed out on our lengthy odyssey, with a nervous Dennis along for the ride. Of course, we were stuck in local traffic for close to two hours.

Once we were out of the GTA, we flew to Altoona, PA… only stopping for dinner and gasoline and a few odds and ends. We went through the border so fast I barely noticed. Once we arrived in Altoona, we started to get worried about how the rest of the trip was gonna go - Dennis was completely freaked out by the hotel and started barking every time there was the slightest noise from the hallway. Mommy had to stay up with him almost all night long, to prevent us from getting kicked out of Altoona.

Listening to: Creditor 40 - The Songs of 2011

My own camera!

2011-12-23T22:44:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I took some presents in to my teachers today - gingerbread loaves for Mr. Sheffle, Mrs. Mills-Fields, Mrs. Kirby, Mrs. Remish, and Ms. Belvedere, not to mention an assortment of coasters, food items, and other fun stuff for Mrs. Bradley! They were all very happy and appreciative.

Also at school, I made a special present for Mommy which I haven't told anyone about... Mommy will find out what it is in a few days on Christmas. Hopefully she likes it as much as she likes the pop-up cards I learned to make.

Gammy and Grandpa came over after we all had our dinner to open some presents (since it'll be difficult to travel to Virginia with so many gifts). They got me new hair elastics, drawing stuff, and my very first camera! So awesome! I took a few photos, including one of Gammy's pants.

No Tonya Allowed

2011-12-22T22:25:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on December 23rd]

School was fine today - nothing major to report aside from the fact that I brought chocolate covered marshmallows as a present for Holly, the high school student that helps out at our class.

Anyway, after school, Claire finally came over for that visit. It was pretty awesome! We more or less stayed confined to my room - actually, we stayed confined to my closet for some reason. We put a 'No Tonya Allowed' sign on my door to keep Mommy out, and ended up getting pretzel crumbs everywhere.

After Daddy got home from work (somewhat on time for once), he took us for a drive through the neighbourhood to check out the Christmas lights! even though there hasn't been any snow on the ground this year, it was extremely festive.

Invitation

2011-12-21T22:15:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on December 23rd]

This morning my advent calendar told me to "invite someone over for milk and cookies." I was pretty excited to invite Claire over - but was upset that she couldn't come over today. Mommy pointed out that the instructions just said that I had to *invite* someone, and that they didn't have to come over today.

Anyway, after school Mommy and I made a pretty amazing batch of peanut butter balls, which turned out to be totally delicious. Anyone who was fortunate enough to eat one knows what I'm talking about.

Also after school, Mommy and I did a ton of Christmas shopping, including for Daddy. Obviously, we can't go into detail here, because that would mean spoiling the surprise for Daddy, since he's writing this blog entry.

Faux Phở

2011-12-20T22:05:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on December 23rd]

Back to school today after the busy weekend. It was a pretty regular day of learning and fun. We still make sure to sing a lot of holiday songs during class!

Once I got home, things amped up as far as activity went. Mommy and I had a lot of prepping for Sparks to do - but the cool part was that Mommy made Phở for dinner! Actually, we ended up calling it "Faux Phở" since Mommy didn't like it.

At Sparks, we decorated cookies and we even made our own snow globes! What an awesome craft that turned out to be. Luckily for everyone, us kids were waaay better behaved than we were last week.

Fancy Dinner

2011-12-19T22:28:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on December 21st]

Daddy and I made up for lost time (which was what, a whole day?) by being pretty joined at the hip today. The first thing the two of us did today was drive Mommy over to the butcher to buy food and stuff.

Once we had lunch together, Daddy and I drove over to the outdoor mall to find a Christmas present for Mommy! We hit some of her favourite stores - at one point I had an armful of merchandise picked out that would have cost us about three hundred dollars. I had to make some hard choices, and put a lot of it back. Also, while we were at the mall, we saw Santa! AGAIN!

A few days ago, I requested that we all have a fancy dress-up dinner. So tonight Mommy made a really fancy roast with all of the fixings, and we all god into our nicest clothes and sat down for a fancy, candlelit dinner. So much fun!

Foiled Plans

2011-12-18T22:20:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on December 2st]

This morning Mommy and I sat down, took a long hard look at the day ahead, did some tidying and cleaning, and made some serious plans for what we were going to do. We were going to run errands, do some grocery shopping, buy Christmas presents for Daddy, take the dog for a walk... we had a pretty immense list.

Of course, then we went outside and discovered how surprisingly cold it was out there. I tried playing in the back yard, but came in a few minutes later. Man oh man, was it ever cold. Kinda a let down. So much for all of our plans!

Instead of doing anything on our list, we hung out at home and waited for Daddy to come home from Montreal. we DID manage to make some latkes for dinner, which was something I've been wanting to try for ages.

Cold Mud

2011-12-17T22:10:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on December 21st]

This morning I bid a sad goodbye to Daddy, who headed off on a train with his co-workers for Montreal, where his company Holiday party is happening. I know he'll only be gone for a day, but I'll really miss him.

After school today, I played with Claire out in the field behind the school. The two of us ran around and played and eventually ended up in a huge mud puddle, making mud pies, muck slides, and dirt piles. Neither of us really took into consideration how cold it would be of course, so I ended up with frozen muddy hands, which brought me to tears!

In the evening, Mommy and I went over to the local Middle School, where they were selling gingerbread houses and gingerbread house kits and stuff. Not only that - but Santa Claus was there! Man... I keep seeing that guy everywhere!

The Hockey Song

2011-12-16T01:59:00.000-05:00

The Hockey Song a video by Clover_1 on Flickr.

[As transcribed by Daddy on December 19th]

I got some DVDs and colouring books in the mail today, so that was pretty awesome. When I wasn't at school, I watched a bunch of movies and stuff - all while drawing and colouring in my colouring book! Mommy even helped me out. I think she secretly likes colouring, too.

At the end of the day I had to go back to school with Mommy to get ready for our big school Holiday concert. My friend Anton didn't show up, so I was promoted to a pretty important role - I had to hold up the 'scoreboard numbers' while my class sang The Hockey Song. As you can see from the video above, I did a pretty amazing job.

Anyway, as is customary in our family after school concerts, Mommy and Daddy and I walked over to Swiss Chalet for a big crappy chicken dinner. We pigged out and somehow managed to walk home in the cold.

Holiday Treats

2011-12-15T23:43:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I brought a Rice Krispie bar to school... my friend Cheyenne thought they looked delicious and asked to have a bite, so I gave her a good-sized bite. Then my friend Helena noticed that Cheyenne was enjoying my Rice Krispie treat, so she asked for a piece. Once I gave her a good piece, I realized that I had given away 100% of my Rice Krispie treat to my friends. Darn!

Today at school, we also practiced our class' big number for the Holiday concert. I was fitted for an awesome San Jose Sharks hockey jersey for our rendition of The Hockey Song. I think it's gonna be good... I've been singing the song at home a lot, and putting it in everyone's heads.

Mommy and I did an awful lot of colouring together today. I made a really nice Christmas card for Daddy, which I almost forgot to give him! Luckily I remembered before I went to bed.

The Talking Latke

2011-12-14T00:27:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I wrote a letter to Santa, put it in the mailbox on the way to school, and honestly expected there to be a reply by the time I got home from school. Obviously, I have some learning to do about the speed and efficiency of the Canadian Postal Service. Oh well... they DID manage to deliver an awesome talking Christmas card from Nana.

Mommy and I made some Christmas cookies today, during which I also managed to write a massive seven-page opus about a talking Latke (I suppose because I'm learning about Hanukkah in school).

Back at the monkey bars in the playground, a friend told me that in order to concentrate on climbing, I needed to think of my favourite thing. I told her that my favourite thing was my Mom.

Monkey Bars ....again?

2011-12-13T00:12:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Please forgive Daddy - when he transcribes these blog posts, he has to get an update on my day from myself or, usually, Mommy (seeing as how he isn't with me throughout the day). Anyway, he kinda feels like he's reported this several times in the past, but here we go again:

Today, I was able to make it all the way across the monkey bars for the very first time.

So... were these different from the last monkey bars I was able to climb along? In a different park? A different playground? Daddy has no idea. All he knows is that he's writing about it on the blog again, even though he feels like he's done it a bunch of times already.

Oh, and, uh... I misbehaved at Sparks tonight.

Seaton Trail XIX

2011-12-12T00:32:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

This morning I made sure I woke up my parents by kicking them in the spine while they slept. Ain't I awesome?! Also this morning, I noticed that there are, like, a ton of Christmas presents waiting for me under the Chiristmas Tree. How awesome is that?!

Once we were finished lunch and Daddy played some Skyrim (which Mommy loves to watch, which is weird because *I* sure don't), we drove out to the Seaton Trail and went for a pretty good (if not chilly) walk. I was somewhat full of beans for most of it... Mommy had to ask me to be quiet at one point so that she could enjoy the sound of the outdoors.

Once we got home we had a delicious dinner, and I played on the computer while wearing Daddy's headphones (which I honestly thought were plugged in, but apparently were not).

Listening to: Birdy - Birdy

The Miserable Toy Store

2011-12-11T10:11:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I let Daddy sleep in a bit this morning, which is an error I promise to rectify tomorrow morning, mark my words. I spent the morning drawing, playing, and using the computer.

After a nice lunch, Mommy and Daddy and I drove over to the mall where we did some shopping for odds and ends... Daddy got a present for his company's gift exchange, and we checked out the new toy store. Then we drove over to the BIG toy store, which was a total zoo - mostly parents buying Christmas presents for their kids and arguing with each other. I really wanted to buy a Star Wars toy, but the shelves were bare. That plus the overall vibe got me kinda sad. I picked out a toy after much miserably hemming and hawing, and then we hit Starbucks on the way home.

Once we got back, my mood improved a bit. I drew lots of pictures and played with my new toy and stuff while my parents went about their business.

Listening to: Trent Reznor And Atticus Ross - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Soundtrack

Nutcracker Disappointment

2011-12-10T21:05:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

It was a PA day today, which means I got to hang out at home with Mommy all day. Fun stuff... I think I spent about ninety percent of it drawing pictures in the sketchbook I got at Daddy's party last night. I've started trying to draw objects I see around me, be they still life objects or other cartoons and stuff. Dunno what prompted that.

Can't say much else happened today, but after dinner there was a performance of "The Nutcracker" happening at the nearby church. Mommy and I headed over (Daddy was out late again) and it was PACKED. I could barely see anything! The dance parts I liked, but it turned out it was also some weird community center holiday talent show or something, so we left early and disappointed.

To make it up to me, Mommy downloaded the recent movie version of The Nutcracker. We watched a bit of it before I went to bed... I enjoyed what I saw. Mommy thought it was terrible.

Christmas at Euro RSCG

2011-12-09T17:14:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on December 10th]

School was pretty good today - we have a PA day tomorrow, so it felt like a Friday, even though it was a Thursday. Confusing to all of us, believe me.

The cool part of the day happened at the end, when Mommy and I took public transit downtown to go to Daddy's office, which was throwing a Christmas party for all of us kids. There were crafts, snacks, and Santa Claus - I patiently waited as he handed out gifts to all of us kids. I was near the end of the list, but I got some awesome art supplies which made me happy. Amazing... it's like someone told him what I wanted.

I went downstairs into the Creative Department area and drew a huge mural on the wall, which blew the minds of my Daddy's co-workers. Finally, Mommy and Daddy and I met up with our friend Ray and went out for Korean BBQ. I had a good time, even if my parents weren't all that impressed with the quality of the food (and the lack of veggies).

A Star is Born

2011-12-08T00:02:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Today was the big day - my play! After months of rehearsals and practicing, my co-performers and I gathered after school for a quick run-through before the actual performance to our friends and families. We were all pretty excited and nervous beforehand, but once the show started, it was pretty awesome.

My scene was early on in the play, but I made sure I delivered my line ("FORK!") with lots of gusto and gravitas. Some of my co-actors were a little bit scared and nervous, but we got through it. Mommy and Daddy (who was almost late) and Gammy and Grandpa all attended... even though none of them could really tell what was happening on stage, everyone seemed to enjoy it!

The best part of the play was that there was lots of candy backstage. I ate a whole lot of it, so when Mommy and Daddy took me grocery shopping as soon as the play was over, things got a little wacky.

Gingerbread

2011-12-07T23:41:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Today was pretty decent. I had a fairly good day of school... I drew a picture of a Loon covered in spilled oil being cleaned by an environmental worker. My teacher thought it was pretty great, and my friends did, too. I was pretty proud about that for most of the day.

Anyway, after school Mommy and I sat down and decided to make a gingerbread house! We spent a decent amount of time on it, and while I wanted to eat the candy decorations, I refrained. We even made our own icing, since the stuff our kit came with was too thick.

At the end of the day, I did a lot of colouring with Mommy, and after dinner I hung out with Daddy. Then he fell asleep on me, so I got annoyed and left to go play in my room.

Growing Pains

2011-12-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Man, was it ever cols and dreary outside. I was kinda cooped up, which would affect me all day long, pretty much. Anyway, at school today I asked Mrs. Bradley how old she was, and she'd only answer with the phrase "A Hair past a mole." I've been trying to figure out what that means ever since.

I had Sparks after school today with Mommy... it was fun. We took the group photos and decorated them... I smothered mine with glitter. Lots and lots of glitter. I love glitter. Aside from that, I was actually kinda difficult and misbehaved for the better part of the meeting. It put a strain on Mommy.

Speaking of strains, I had a tough time sleeping, due to intense pains in my legs. I ended up sleeping with Mommy, who thinks I may be suffering from early growing pains. I guess it makes sense... I AM kinda tall for my age.

Happy Birthday Dennis!

2011-12-05T23:35:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

We were up and out of the house pretty early today (considering that it's a Sunday) so that we could line up at the mall to see Santa before it got too crazy. Sure enough, once we got there the line was pretty long... but I'm extremely happy to report that I was the best behaved kid there. Seriously, some of those other kids were having a tough time adhering to the general lineup concept. I saw Santa - gave him a picture I drew, talked with him a bit, told him what I want for Christmas. You know the drill.

We went for a dim sum lunch right afterwards, and had a hard time figuring out the menu, as did our server. We did a little bit of shopping, came home, and took it easy - Mommy didn't feel to well, and Daddy had some video games to play. I drew pictures and played and stuff. It was really rainy and mucky out anyway.

Also, today is the first anniversary of Dennis' arrival at hour house! What a year with him it's been. We were gonna go and buy him a treat or something, but we didn't feel like it. He doesn't care though. Because he doesn't know it's his "birthday". Because he's a dog. And we love him.

Listening to: The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream [Deluxe Edition]

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-04T17:38:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Mommy and Daddy and Dennis and I had a pretty leisurely morning of video games and sitting around in out pajamas. Anyway, after lunch, the three of us drove out to Aurora, where we found a lovely little Christmas tree farm. We had a nice time walking out into the little forest, selecting our tree, and easily cutting it down, before dragging it back (through the mud) and into the car. Hot chocolate and a tractor ride followed.

On the way back, we bought some groceries and had some car problems, but everything resolved itself nicely. Once we got home, Mommy and Daddy got the tree sawed and into the house, and Mommy and I decorated it!

I had a kinda difficult time sleeping, due to this annoying and persistent cough I seem to have picked up somewhere. Hopefully it goes away soon.

Listening to: Datarock - California

Advent Calendar Coupons

2011-12-03T17:24:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on December 4th]

'Tis the season for the old advent calender, so Mommy's filled the one she made for me a few years ago with little gift cards and homemade coupons and stuff. For example, today's card informed me that I'd be enjoying a fancy hot chocolate by the end of the day.

School was interesting... we had a big assembly for all of the students. I don't really have much to say about it (which means it wasn't memorable) aside from the fact that my friend Ava got to throw a pie in the teacher's face. I liked that part.

I played in the playground a little bit longer than usual after school, and then came home and drew some pictures with Daddy before my promised hot chocolate. I drank it down right before bedtime, which made going to sleep kinda difficult.

Listening to: The Black Keys - El Camino

Sleepwalking Again

2011-12-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on December 3rd]

I was pretty overjoyed at school today when the first real actual honest-to-goodness snowfall happened. We could all see it out the window - a massive torrent of pure white snow, which unfortunately didn't stay on the ground when the temperature warmed up soon afterwards.

Mommy and Grandpa took me to my final piano lesson of the season as soon as school was done... it was fine. While I was there, Mommy and Grandpa checked out the vegetable garden, only to discover that pesky bunnies or something ate all of our veggies!

Finally, long after I was in bed, Daddy was playing video games on the couch when he turned to see me standing there, sound asleep. Yup... I was sleepwalking again. It's been a while since I did that.

Back in the Thick of Things

2011-12-01T19:44:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on December 2nd]

When I woke up this morning, there was no strong sign of a fever remaining, so Mommy made the decision to send me to school and test the waters. The plan was that if I was feeling well enough, I could stay for the rest of the day. If not, I'd have to leave after lunch and then Mommy and I would go to the Doctor's office or something. Thankfully, I felt well enough to stay at school for the whole day!

It was good to be back... had I been sick longer, I really would have started missing important things. For example, today I had my school play dress rehearsal. It went well, but once Mommy took me home, it was like someone flipped a switch, and I became grumpy, whiny, and cranky. Daddy noticed when he got home from work how downright exhausted I looked. I guess being sick for a few days and then throwing yourself back into the thick of things will do that to you.

Broken Thermometer

2011-11-30T23:57:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Once I was out of bed this morning (I slept poorly last night) I was pretty eager to go back to school after have been sick yesterday. As soon as I refused breakfast, however, Mommy knew I wasn't much better. She checked my temperature, and it said I was fine. So... Mommy checked her own temperature, and the thermometer told her that she was really sick, which she clearly wasn't. So... that means we have a broken thermometer. I ended up staying home all day.

Mommy and I spent the day together crafting and drawing and playing video games and stuff. I barely ate anything, and during the second half of the day, I really seemed to run out of steam. We took it easy and watched some Christmas programs.

Once Daddy came home from work and we all ate some dinner (I barely touched mine) he and Mommy went on a quest for that new thermometer, so I stayed at Gammy and Grandpa's place. We had a nice time together, even though I was really sick.

Missing School and Sparks

2011-11-29T00:25:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Bad news... I'm still feverish and a little bit 'off' today, so there was no heading back to school for me. Instead, I had a long, quiet day at home with Mommy and Dennis.

We drew pictures together, made some crafts, watched some television, played some video games, played some board games, and read books together. I helped Mommy make a big batch of vegetable soup, which was really delicious!

Mommy had to go to my big Sparks enrollment ceremony... alas, I was too sick for that, too. Instead, I hung out with Gammy and Grandpa and Nee-Nee, who fed me dinner and drew pictured with me. Once Daddy got home from work, he and Dennis and I fell asleep together on the living room couch.

Cinnamon Bunny & the Brown Astronauts of Mars

2011-11-28T01:14:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

We all got up this morning so that I could go to my last swimming lesson of the season, only to learn that it was cancelled. Then they called back three minutes later and un-cancelled it. Soooo we went to my swimming lesson, which was great.

We spent the rest of the day at home. I was a bit bored and needed some entertaining (my fever from last night kept me waylaid), so Daddy and I started making a comic book together... a story about Cinnamon Bunny, a magical carrot, and brown astronauts on Mars. Also, I made some Christmas decorations and helped Mommy make Christmas cards while Daddy cleaned the kitchen.

I wasn't really all that into having dinner... my fever came back and made me pretty exhausted and kinda grumpy. I accidentally dumped a whole tube of glitter on the living room floor, and kinda lost it. Oh well.

Muppet Fever

2011-11-27T23:51:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Today was the big day... the day of my long-awaited surprise! We had a pretty nice morning, and then we got ourselves all ready and drove downtown. We walked over to the new location of the Salad King restaurant (the previous one fell down) and ate a massive and delicious meal.

Next, we did a little bit of shopping before heading over to the movie theatre, and all my hopes were confirmed if not exceeded... we saw the new Muppet movie! I loved it! The huge cola I drank beforehand only made me about a trillion times more excited. I could barely sit still! Mommy and Daddy and I had a great time.

If that wasn't enough, we hit up the Marble Slab on the way home and got some ice cream. To end the day, we decided to buy some groceries... but by then I had developed a fever (probably due to my new teeth coming in) and didn't feel like eating or grocery shopping much.

Listening to: Washed Out - Within & Without

Mayim Mayim Mayim

2011-11-26T01:33:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on November 27th]

I had my spelling test at school today, and I'm happy to report that I scored perfect marks! Hopefully that's a good sign... my first ever test, and my first ever 100%. Not too shabby. Spelling is cool.

Later on in the day, we all learned a complicated dance where we all hold hands, walk in a circle, and chant "Mayim Mayim Mayim." I have no idea what it's all about, but Daddy tells me it's something Jewish or something.

Anyway, tests and dancing aside, I'm mostly excited about the mystery surprise that my parents are taking me on tomorrow. I know we're going somewhere, and there may be lunch or dinner involved, and we'll be going downtown. I have a few suspicions as to what it could be... I'm kinda thinking that maybe we'll get to see Kristin.

Fourth Bar

2011-11-25T20:16:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I had my regular piano lesson today after school. Not much about it to mention aside from the fact that it's kinda amazing how well I do and how much I seem to enjoy it, given that I barely seem to ever remember to do any practicing. I really need to try to get on that. We bought a keyboard for me to practice on and everything.

The biggest news of the day was the fact that I actually made it to the fourth bar of the monkey bars at the school playground. Given my success a few weeks ago over at the lower monkey bars in the park, it was only a matter of time before I was able to make it past two - let alone three - bars at the big playground at school!

Mommy thinks I probably could have made it all the way across, but I was so excited after reaching the fourth bar that I dropped to the ground and ran around to tell everyone.

Antennae

2011-11-24T19:53:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on November 25th]

Today was a pretty good day... nothing too out of the ordinary happened, really. Once again, it's cold outside. No big stunner there.

After school I had my drama class, where my friends and I went back to prepping for our winter Christmas performance... showtime is fast approaching! December 7th is only a couple of weeks away! We did a lot of practicing, and we even started getting our costumes ready. I play a Martian, and I have to practice all of my lines - "Fork!" and "Oh No!".

There was some confusion about costumes. I was under the impression that we had to be all painted green and stuff for each rehearsal - turns out that it's only for the performance itself. Mommy made me a pair of floppy antennae, which I wore to school today... and impressed everyone!

Playdate with Anton

2011-11-23T23:18:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Man, it was cold out there today. I wish the weather could just make up its mind... it's either unseasonably warm or seasonably cold. It keeps messing with my head! I can't wait for it to snow. Once it snows. I'll be happy.

Anyway, school was pretty good today... nothing too out of the ordinary happened. Mommy came to pick me up afterwards, and when I came out of school with Anton, he surprised Mommy (and his Mommy) by telling them that I was invited over. Our Moms conferred, and agreed that it would be fine.

Hanging out at Anton's house was fun. We ate rice cakes, played some video games, and we played 'spies', whatever that is. Anton's Dad also helped me tied my shoes, which is noteworthy because my funky curly shoelaces have broken.

Mommy was happy to have me home afterward. She missed me!

sing king ring wing thing went

2011-11-22T23:48:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning, only to discover Cool Uncle Gareth in the living room. Turns out his flight from Calgary to New York got held over, so he stayed the night! I was overjoyed, to say the least... I spent as much time with him as I could before he had to leave for his flight.

School today was pretty good... I actually brought homework home, which is rare this year. I've got a spelling test coming up - I need to know how to spell 'sing', 'king', 'ring', 'wing', 'thing', and 'went'. That last one is a bonus word.

Mommy and I had Sparks after school... it was pretty fun. We all took turns talking about friendship and what it means, and for some reason every one of us used being friends with Claire in our examples.

Happy Birthday Jena

2011-11-21T00:22:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on November 22nd]

This morning I had my swimming lesson, and it was joyous. Poor Mommy had a real headache, and the cacophony of the pool put her in a veritable tizzy! Once it was done, she was happy to get out of there.

We all went home and had a nice lunch, and then it was time to go over to Jena's grandmother's house in Scarborough to celebrate Jena's seventh birthday. I was happy to see Max and Ursula and stuff, and I had a pretty good time, even though some of Jena's cousins were, I thought, somewhat mean. Probably because they were much older.

Anyway, I brought home some pretty good loot, including some awesome candy... which I may have filled up on a bit, seeing as how I had a tough time finishing the delicious Thai soup Mommy made for dinner. Oh well!

Congrats to my friend Leo, who became a big brother to newborn baby Alexa today! High-five to Alexa's Mommy, too.

Listening to: Adele - 21

Seaton Trail XVIII

2011-11-20T19:03:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Mommy's back and headache were both pretty bad this morning... luckily she had a chiropractor's appointment scheduled, so we went over there. The weather was startlingly warm and lovely, given that it's the middle of November. Once that appointment was over, we hit up the big toy store to buy some gifts for Jena's birthday party tomorrow.

In the afternoon, we played some video games and then drove off to The Seaton Trail, which we haven't been to in some time. The sun started coming down and the wind really started howling, which made the hike pretty spooky, but overall, it was an awesome awesome hike. We even managed to take on a chunk of the trail we hadn't seen before.

Before bed, I watched a movie about the Incredible Hulk with Daddy, which may have been a bad idea... I kinda got really wound up by it. Going to sleep was difficult.

Listening to: Mister Heavenly - Out Of Love

A Day Off

2011-11-19T18:50:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on November 20th]

There was a P.A. day today, so... no school. Oh well. While perhaps I'd rather actually be in class, learning and drawing and writing and doing math and stuff with my friends, I can deal with having a day off. Mommy and I stayed in our jammies for an extra long time as a result.

While Mommy cleaned her bedroom, I did some colouring - shortly after lunch, George came over to do some repairs and adjustments in our bathroom. He brought Jena along with him, which was awesome - the two of us spent the whole afternoon playing together.

Actually... I really just wanted to draw for several hours. Eventually Mommy put a movie on for the two of us to watch, so that Jena didn't get too bored. We ordered some chicken for dinner... overall, a pretty good day off.

Bunny Left Behind

2011-11-18T00:44:00.000-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Today was pajama day at school! All of my friends and I came to school in our jammies, armed with our blankets and teddy bears and stuff. I brought Cinnamon Bunny along, who also wore his jammies. We had a pizza lunch, which was pretty cool... Mommy came along and made sure that there was a gluten-free option for me.

Unfortunately, as soon as Mommy and I left at the end of the day, we realized that I forgot Cinnamon Bunny in the school, which had been all closed up! I panicked at the thought of a weekend without my bunny. Luckily, we tracked someone down and they let us in. Cinnamon Bunny was rescued!

Grandpa drove me to my piano lesson this afternoon... during the time it took for us to walk from the house to the car, we had a very very very brief snow flurry! The first snow of the year! I was so happy.

Report Card

2011-11-17T00:13:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

A pretty good day of school today... I brought home a pretty awesome report card, with high marks across the board... but extra-special kudos for my artistic and creative abilities, not to mention my amazing leadership and co-operation skills. My parents are extremely proud. Actually, Daddy is more proud of that than the multi-million dollar ad campaign he sold through yesterday.

When spelling the word 'Christmas', I asked Mommy while the letter 'T' is in there. She told me it was for "Christ", as in "Jesus Christ", and so we talked about him for a bit. I've heard of him before... basically Mommy explained that he's the baby mentioned in all of the Christmas carols. "So... is Santa his Dad, then?" I asked.

At the end of the day, Mommy told me that I could either have more Halloween candy, or get some hot chocolate at Starbucks. I chose the candy, and then immediately regretted my decision.

Listening to: The Temper Trap - Conditions

Cancelled Playdate

2011-11-16T00:43:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I was pretty jazzed today, because today was the big day of my play date over at my friend Anton's house. I marched off to school and hung out with him... we did some origami and stuff, which was pretty neat. I also started work on another opus of a story all about a café.

After lunch, when I went back to school in the afternoon, Anton wasn't around anymore. No big deal - I managed to have a good time without him. However, our scheduled play date after school didn't happen either, as Anton was sick. I was prettty upset about it... Mommy took me over to the school's book fair though, and we looked at some Star Wars stuff to order.

Also to cheer me up, I had an extra snack before dinner, which was yummy. Er, the snack was yummy AND dinner was yummy.

Sappy

2011-11-15T00:39:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I was up pretty early and in bed with my folks, which in turn got the two of them out of bed pretty early. The weather was weirdly warm, so there was lots of fun in the playground at school. I did get into something of a heated discussion with my friend Anton regarding whether or not the Muppets are for babies.

Speaking of Anton, his Mommy ended up giving Mommy and I a ride home from school when we got hit by a rainstorm. On the ride, Anton gave me a pine cone, which was a lovely present... except anyone who touches is it immediately covered in sap.

Mommy and I had Sparks after school... it was great, but my friends and I were a little bit crazy and full of beans. We had fun though. By the time I got home, I was exhausted.

Listening to: Idlewild - Warnings/Promises

Empty Pool

2011-11-14T01:10:00.002-05:00

Jawa Movie a video by Clover_1 on Flickr.

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Today was a fairly quiet one. Mommy and I took the bus over to my swimming lesson while Daddy slept in a bit... I dunno what happened to all of the other kids, but there were only, like, two of us in my class. All the better... more one-on-one time with my instructor.

After a quick lunch, I watched Daddy play some video games and then proceeed to do a lot of drawing and colouring and crafting and stuff. I even got some time in to play video games myself. Once Daddy was finished the bulk of the work he brought home for the weekend, he drove Mommy and I over to the toy store, where I got more drawing books and craft stuff!

I was a little bit cranky and moody in the afternoon... we picked up some groceries for dinner and watched some television before I had a long bath and went to bed.

The highlight of the day, however, had to be receiving the Jawa video from Ray - see above (of course, Flickr will only allow the first 90 seconds to be shown... we'll get a YouTube link up soon.

Listening to: Mates Of State - Mountaintops

Broken Leash

2011-11-13T12:12:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

We were all up and awake pretty early this morning... we're all out of coffee, so we had to have an emergency coffee run. While we were out, Daddy exchanged a whole bunch of old video games for some new ones while Mommy and I looked at soap.

After lunch, we all went for a nice hike in Rouge Park. Dennis' face leash is kinda broken, so we had to attach it to his neck... which meant that he pulled and tugged in every direction, making it somewhat difficult for my parents to walk him. But whatever, the weather was nice - I was happy. On the way home, Daddy and I got a video game for Mommy and some headphones.

Daddy's tummy wasn't feeling good at dinner time, but Mommy and I enjoyed a nice dinner before bed. I got to stay up a bit, which was nice.

Listening to: Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

11-11-11

2011-11-12T18:57:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Today at school, we had our big Remembrance Day celebration. This year it's a big deal, because it's falling on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year. My class went down to the gymnasium for a big assembly, and at 11:11am, we had a minute of silence. The kindergarten kids had a hard time being quiet... but that's okay. They're not as mature as us older kids.

After school, I played with my friends outside, even though it was really cold. Mommy brought me home and I watched a movie while continuing to work on writing lots of stories, including one about Cimmaon Bunny. I also had a long-overdue bath, which meant I got to stay up past my bedtime a bit. That's pretty awesome.

First School Fight

2011-11-11T00:45:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

School was fine today - once again, I read yesterday's massive story to class, and from all accounts, it impressed quite a bit. Mrs. Bradley talked to Mommy after school and told her I was pretty awesome, which we already know, but hey.

Of course, then I got into a fight... with my chair. At the end of the school day, we're always supposed to put our chairs on top of the desks... I leaned on mine, and it fell off and hit me right in the face, bruising my eye! I was very brave, and kept my composure so that I didn't burst out crying in front of my friends.

Carrieann came home with me today - we played in my room and had dinner and stuff, and then she walked Dennis to the vet with me! Dennis had to get a needle, and was very brave about it (but not as brave as I was with the whole fight-with-a-chair incident).

"Lile Rose"

2011-11-10T00:13:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

School was awesome today - I read that story I wrote yesterday, and I received a standing ovation as a result. When I came home and told Daddy this, he was pretty impressed... but then I explained him that we give standing ovations all the time, so no big deal.

I then wrote this story (reproduced here in its original phonetic English):

LILE ROSE

Thar wus a grl namd Lile Rose and wuns shee wus wocing hom frum scool and shee got lost in the forist but shee faoond a path and shee woct along the path and shee faoond hr haoos she un pact hr bacpac and went to bed the next morning shee got up at brecfist and got hr cot and went to scool and wen scool wus ovre shee did finde a brd with a brocin wiing and she tc it to hr haoos shee pt a bandij on the brds wing and shee cept the brd with hr and avtr a fyoo days the brd got bedr and shee let the brd go and aftr a looooooooooooooooooooing sumr scols starts shee is in grad 8 and shee macs noo frens and shee plas jump rop and wen it is hr birthday shee gos to flordu and staseat a hotel neer disneland and gos on lots uv rids and gos on a watr rid

The Teddy Bear in Ottawa

2011-11-09T00:10:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

At school today, we started a unit all about war and peace... probably because Remembrance Day is right around the corner. They read us a fascinating story about a kid who mailed a teddy bear to their father, who was fighting overseas in World War One... the father died, so the bear is now in a museum in Ottawa. I was so moved by this story that I planned a trip to Ottawa to see the bear, and slowly retold the story to my parents later in the day.

We also were asked questions about War and Peace... I was asked to answer "What peace tastes like." I said it tasted like my Mommy's homemade honey cake. When I got home, I told Mommy this... she was so happy, she made me a honey cake.

I also wrote a fantastic four-page story about my life, just for the heck of it. I plan to read it in class tomorrow.

Sparks

2011-11-08T00:35:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

So, while I was at school this morning, Dennis got away from the house and decided to go on a little excursion. Mommy came to get me from school, and when she got back, he still hadn't come home! Eventually we found him at the neighbour's house... and I almost let him escape again.

After school I played with my friends, and then Mommy took me to my first ever Sparks meeting, which was a lot of fun - Mommy and Claire's Mom and another lady named Leah helped run the thing, and my friends Claire and Sarah were there, which was great. We drew pictures, sang songs, and helped the grown-ups pick 'Sparks' names... I tried to name Mommy "Jellybean Head" but she chose 'Marigold' instead.

Muppet Surprise

2011-11-07T00:41:00.002-05:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Looks like the daylight savings thing messes us all up last night... we all woke up at weird times. Once we were all up, Mommy and I took the bus over to my swimming lesson. It was good!

Daddy picked us up as soon as it was done, and then we all took care of the grocery shopping (something we had all been putting off for days). Once we got home, we had lunch (except for Daddy, who has some sort of stomach bug). We watched cooking shows and went for a walk.

Daddy took a break from his stomach bug and took me shopping for french fries late in the afternoon... we also came across a really awesome set of Muppet toys, which was an unexpected and awesome treat. It was Daddy's way of paying me back for having such a fun afternoon together.

Listening to: Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones

Ray Day

2011-11-06T01:17:00.001-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

This morning I spent a good chunk of time playing 'classroom' with my toys (Cinnamon Bunny needs help with his math), and then Mommy and Daddy and I got all set for our big day out with Ray!

We drove downtown and picked him up, and then we all went out for a Dim Sum and sushi lunch. Pretty much from the get go, Ray and I were into shenanigans, joking and being silly. Let me tell you - that guy is pretty awesome. He's so much fun!

We drove out to the Bruce trail right afterwards... the drive was way faster than we expected. We had a lovely hike for about an hour and a half, but didn't cover too much ground - mostly because Ray and I were goofing off. Once that was done, we drove over to the Cheltenham Badlands.

I got into my Jawa costume and played for close to an hour as Ray filmed me (like he did a few years ago with my Pink Batman costume). Actually, Ray wasn't the only one filming me - all of the other people there took a lot of interest in my amazing costume. I'm sure photos of a Jawa in the badlands will emerge all over the internet within the next few days. Anyway, I had a blast.

We drove Ray back after a quick stop for donuts. I was sad to see him go - I had an amazing day with him! We're all pretty grateful.

Listening to: Matt Pond PA - Spring Fools

Lilly Rose

2011-11-05T00:29:00.001-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on November 6th]

Today was the last day of apple sales at school. They may not have been that successful at raising money for the school, but boy oh boy, did I ever eat a lot of apples.

After school, I had a really nice surprise - Julie and Sarah stopped by with Mommy to pick me up! I haven't seen them in so long... so long, in fact, that they brought birthday presents for me! I got a new doll, which I totally love... it's name is Lilly Rose, and she's pretty awesome. Julie and Sarah and Mommy and I then took a walk over to the toy store, which was also a lot of fun.

The plan was for us to do some grocery shopping tonight, but while she was putting me to bed, Mommy kinda fell asleep. So... maybe we'll do that tomorrow. One thing's for sure - I'm gonna be playing with Lilly Rose a lot more.

Monkey Bars Accomplishment

2011-11-04T00:09:00.000-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on November 6th]

Mommy really made me practice on the piano this morning, because... well, to be honest, I haven't practiced much this week.

At school, my friend Anton was paying a little bit too much attention to another girl at our table. By the end of the day, he had made me a small card with an apology in it. My parents can infer from this that I must have expressed my displeasure beforehand, which would in turn have demanded the creation and delivery of said apology card.

The biggest development of the day occurred prior to my piano lesson, when after THREE YEARS of trying, I was finally able to cross the monkey bars from one end to the next without stopping or touching the ground.

Unfamilial Likes

2011-11-03T01:30:00.002-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

The weather today was nice and surprisingly warm. School was good - we cooked and ate potatoes and beets (which we had purchased at the farm last week). I loved the beets... which indicates that perhaps Mommy isn't my real Mommy.

I had drama class afterwards, which was pretty cool. Once I got home, I voluntarily did a whole bunch of math worksheets, which I think are pretty fun and awesome... which indicates that perhaps Daddy isn't my real Daddy.

I watched a movie before bed, and had a nice quiet lunch with Mommy and Dennis... Daddy was late at work tonight - but he made it home just in time to kiss me good night!

Making up for Missed Math

2011-11-02T00:25:00.002-04:00

Playful Jawa a video by Clover_1 on Flickr.

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I woke up in a pretty groggy state, as did Mommy, whose headache was blisteringly bad. We both figured it would be okay for me to spend the morning recovering from Halloween, so I stayed home from school until after lunch. I spent the morning drawing cartoons...

...which I brought to school to show my friends, but I don't think anyone was all that impressed (except for Anton). I made sure I found out from my teacher about all of the math stuff I missed in the morning, and then after Grandpa and Mommy took me home from school, I had Mommy take me through the math stuff.

Nobody put me up to that - that was all my idea. Before bed, I had Daddy play his new video game, which I quite enjoyed!

Jawa!

2011-11-01T21:07:00.003-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

All year long, I look forward to this very day. The anticipation of sheer awesomeness was so high... just think of all of the planning, the parties, the endless television Hallowe'en specials, not to mention all of the sewing and costume-making Mommy had to do. Wow.

School was fine - I wore a variant of my costume without the light-up eyes (just to be on the safe side) and still looked like a Jawa. We got to have our big costume parade through the neighbourhood, which was fun! Mommy came and photographed it and stuff.

Once I got home, I could barely contain my excitement as we prepared for trick or treating. Daddy came home from work a bit early - we had a little photo shoot on the front yard with Grandpa, and then Cheyenne and her Dad came by and asked if I could go trick or treating with them again.

We had a great time - Mommy wore her clown costume and Daddy wore his Dexter outfit. Even though it was a cold Monday night, we stayed out long enough to bring in quite the candy haul! I was really thrilled when other trick-or-treaters recognized me. With quite a lot of enthusiasm, mind you. Once I was done, Mommy and I sorted through all of my candy, I had a bath, and passed out. Phew!

I can't wait to do it all again in 365 days!

Hallowe'en Party!

2011-10-31T20:45:00.000-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on November 1st]

Today was the big day... the day of my annual Hallowe'en party! So exciting! I was up and out of bed at a pretty early hour and headed out to my swimming lesson, which wasn't much more than a passing distraction before the party.

Once I got home, Mommy went to work in the kitchen while Daddy and I tidied the apartment. Carrienn arrived about an hour early, followed by Claire, Vanessa, Anton, Cheyenne, Jenna, and Max. Claire's Mom and Ursula stuck around and helped as we played games, ate lots of snacks, and had a blast! The excitement became a bit overwhelming and I had a few meltdowns while playing outside, but overall it was pretty great.

Once the party was over (Ursula was a big help in tidying up) we took it easy. Daddy took care of a lot of work, and Mommy and I went to bed a bit early. Tomorrow is Hallowe'en! So exciting! I can't wait!

Empty Apartment Picnic

2011-10-30T00:47:00.000-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on November 1st]

Today was the last day for cleaning out GG's old apartment... once Mommy and Daddy were up and ready, we headed out for Guelph (for the last time, perhaps) so that we could finish off our work of the past several weekends. As usual, we stopped at the Subway along the way for sandwiches.

Once we arrived, we ate lunch on the floor (see photo above) in a little picnic. Denny was pretty thrilled to run around in the empty apartment... I picked up a shammy and cleaned off the baseboards throughout the whole place. Other than that, I was bored. Mommy cleaned out the tub, Daddy washed walls, the stove, and the insides of cupboards, while Gammy and Grandpa vaccuumed and finished everything off.

Once we got home, we did some Halloween shopping... all the stores were a zoo! Daddy had TONS of work to take on over the weekend... so he drew pictures and painted stuff on the computer while I danced around him.

Listening to: Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

Awesome Goats and Bumpy Rides

2011-10-29T00:45:00.000-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on October 31st]

Today was a pretty big day - the day of the big field trip to the farm! Mommy joined me on the trip to school and then the lengthy bus ride to the farm. She was happy to note that I was the sanest child on the journey. It was a veritable wall of noise.

I got put into Mommy's group, along with Dani, Jason, and Homsa. We got to play on large bails of hay, we got to run through the world's muckiest corn maze, and we got to see lots of cool animals - alpacas, sheep, ducks, chickens, calves, and the most amazing billy goat Mommy or I had ever seen.

One of the day's highlights was the big wagon ride, which was the bumpiest I've ever been on. All of the wet weather made the farm so muddy that it was like off-roading in the jungle. I got to pick a gourd to take home, so I chose the weirdest-looking one... Dennis stole it once I got it home again.

Dennis plays Soccer

2011-10-28T00:16:00.000-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on October 29th]

I'd mention that the weather was miserable and wet today, but anybody reading this blog must be getting sick of me going on about that, so I'll leave it there.

I had piano class this afternoon after school... once again, it was great. Inexplicably, there were huge piles of snow piled up outside near the skating rink, which got me excited for about five seconds.

Once we got home, Dennis turned into a real pain in the butt. He went into my room, found my soccer ball, and started throwing it around the house! We took it away from him... so he went into the kitchen, stole a pumpkin, and started lobbing it around the kitchen! He trashed the place!

Going out for Donuts

2011-10-27T23:55:00.000-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on October 28th]

Another day, another rainy mess. At least it's not freezing cold... but the amount of rain and mud and darkness is somewhat frustrating. I mean... come on! This is autumn! Our favourite time of the year!

School was pretty good today, and when it was over, I got to go to drama class. In the upcoming school play, I have a teeny bit part (I have a line!) - so we practiced. I had a bit of a disagreement with one of the other kids, but no big deal.

After school, Daddy and I were watching a television program about donuts, which made us really want to go out for donuts (even though Daddy doesn't like donuts and I can't eat them). We had a great evening, just the two of us... we eventually found some (stale) late night donuts and brought them back for Gammy and Grandpa and Nee-Nee and Mommy!

Listening to: Justice - Audio, Video, Disco

Hiding from Mommy

2011-10-26T23:53:00.002-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

Mommy walked me to school pretty early this morning, which was kinda fun... I got to play in the playground BEFORE school, which was a change, even if the weather was kinda miserable and wet.

When school was over today, I went over to Claire's house! I had a great time... the two of us did a lot of playing, and I even got to use her new Nintendo DS. Of course, I only ended up drawing pictures on it, but hey! That's what I do. When Mommy came to pick me up, I didn't want to go, so I hid from her. It was pretty funny.

Once Daddy got home from work, the two of us did some drawing. Mommy was gonna make a pot roast for dinner, but the roast she bought from the butcher went bad (and to rub salt in the wound, when she called them to complain, they were pretty rude).

Sulking in the Closet

2011-10-25T22:22:00.002-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I guess things were going okay st school today, but when I got home for lunch, I dunno... I just kinda turned into a major grouch on Mommy. I was short with her, snappy, and even downright obnoxious. I even went off to sulk in my room at one point (I actually sat down in my closet and slammed the door). Mommy had it out with me... on the walk back to school I broke down and cried, but we made up.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful. I got to stay afterwards and play in the playground, which was pretty cool... I made a play date with Claire for tomorrow.

After dinner, I hung out and drew a lot of pictures with Daddy and stuff before he had to head out for his dentist's appointment. I was hoping to go with him, but it was so late!

First Hike in a While

2011-10-24T00:41:00.000-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy]

I was really hoping that we could have dim sum for lunch today. However, we wanted to go for a hike, and didn't want to have to leave Dennis at home only to come back and get him again, so we went to Jawny Bakers for lunch instead. Our meal was so-so.

We headed out for what I THINK is our first major hike of the autumn... all of the bad weather and weekends in Guelph have made it tough to go walking in the woods this year, but not today! The weather was great, Dennis had a lovely time, and Daddy and I spent a good amount of time talling each other made-up stories and stuff.

Of course, once we got home it was back to the drawing board... or rather, the drawing book. Aside from eating dinner, I think I spent the entire evening drawing.

Listening to: Mayer Hawthorne - How Do You Do

Not Guelph

2011-10-23T00:49:00.000-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on October 24th]

Today ended up being something a little bit of a surprise. We thought we were gonna be making another long trip to Guelph to help finish cleaning up GG's apartment, but seeing as how Gammy and Grandpa and Uncle Ed and Aunt Diane were taking care of it, they didn't need us!

Instead, we decided to go to the mall in Markham so that we could get some odds and ends. We were stuck in traffic for quite a while... we may as well have gone to Guelph.

I got some shoelaces and some bubble tea... and that was about it, really. We headed home, stopped for crafty stuff and groceries on the way, and made dinner once we got back to the house. Soon after that, Gammy and Grandpa and Ed and Diane got back to Toronto... we helped them unload loads of GG's furniture. Mommy then spent the evening re-arranging the kitchen.

The Sleepover that Wasn't

2011-10-22T13:18:00.000-04:00

Wickaninnish Beach a video by Clover_1 on Flickr.

[As transcribed by Daddy on October 23rd]

Today was pretty good, even though once again the weather was the pits. I had a nice day at school, and when it was all over, Carrieann came over for a sleepover at my house! We've been planning it for a while... so exciting!

Anyway, the two of us spent a lot of time playing, reading, snacking, and drawing pictures at the dining room table (clearly my favourite activity). We had a nice dinner, even though Carrieann barely ate any of it. Same goes for all the snacks and desserts.

We both got to stay up late and stuff, and when it came time for bed, I was out like a light! Unfortunately, Carrieann wasn't able to sleep... she was up for about three hours before we sent for her parents to pick her up. When *I* woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't find her, I was so upset!

The White Keys

2011-10-21T01:11:00.000-04:00

Wickaninnish Fun a video by Clover_1 on Flickr.

[As transcribed by Daddy on October 23rd]

Man, the weather was awful today. It was cold, blustery, and wet. The wind was really blowing out there - our back yard is now a huge mass of sticks and twigs and fallen trees. Heaven if you're Dennis.

Today I brought home a lot of the 'books' I'd written and illustrated at school, including a lovely little pastiche about a Dinosaur who lost, searched for, and found his missing tooth. Everyone is pretty impressed by both the quality of the illustrations and the emotion conveyed through the characterization of the dinosaur.

After school today I had piano lessons - I was happy to move from the black keys onto the white keys! I feel like I've graduated to the big time!

Listening to: David Bowie - Toy

Mystery Sadness

2011-10-20T20:24:00.000-04:00

[As transcribed by Daddy on October 21st]

I can't say that I had the best day today. The morning was fine and good, and then school was fine... but for some reason, once the late afternoon rolled around, I just kinda... sad. Not really sure why. It might be because I didn't get an invitation to my friend's birthday party (not her fault - back when she sent out the invitations we weren't really friends), but I'm not certain.

I had drama class once school was done, but due to being pretty sad, I actually wasn't all that into it and was happy to be home. Luckily, Mommy had spent a good part of the day making my Hallowe'en costume, which I got to wear! It was so awesome and fun!

I went over to Grandpa's house, and he took some photos of my in-progress costume, which really helped improve my mood even further. Mommy and I ordered pizza, seeing as how Daddy had to go out to see our friend Rebecca perform stand-up comedy.

Listening to: Real Estate - Days