Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 0 No. 96

2005-09-06 17:31 (Kristen) Jamie is watching Totoro right now, and said "truck" when the truck came onto the screen. Then he said toruku*, which is a more Japanese way of saying it. He was also singing the theme song, and imitating the little chirps of the makurokurosuke*. Very cute.

We are walking zombies today. Jamie slept for close to six hours straight, but was very upset and disoriented when he woke up around 5:15. John tried to calm him down, and then I did, but Jamie was rejecting the bottle and utterly uninterested in anything but nursing. As it was still dark outside, we had no choice but to soldier on. Finally, I took Jamie outside in the stroller, but John followed me and we all walked around the block. Halfway around, John picked up a wide-awake Jamie, and talked with him about why there was "bleah" on the ground (overturned compost bins). He told him that raccoons eat garbage like Cookie Monster (supply your own visuals for this), and the look that Jamie gave him was of horrified disbelief. They looked for raccoons, but with no success. Back at home, I hid in the study while John calmed Jamie down again by letting him curl up in a tight fetal ball on his chest. Eventually he relaxed and uncurled, but stuck close to John until 6:45, when it was light out and time to nurse. He didn't fall back asleep, however, and at 7:45 or so I gave up. I took him for a diaper change to discover a large deposit, and I am now unsure of how much of last night's difficulties were due to a messy diaper. Arrrggh. Today, we are zombies.

He played well with Mio today, and is very much fond of sand in all its forms. I met up with the two of them in the playground on my way to and from the grocery store. It was really nice to observe the two of them playing: Mio is so gentle with him, and they really interact well together. I was inordinately pleased with how happy Jamie was to run into me on the way home, and we all walked to Tom and Michelle's for lunch together.

After lunch, Jamie went for a walk with Ken, and woke up around ten to three. He came in and sat with me, had a snack, and is happily watching Mai play with the Totoros again. We're going to Tom and Michelle's again for dinner, and it's early to bed so that we will all be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for Jamie's dentist appointment tomorrow at 8:00 AM.

2005-09-07 21:00 (Kristen) It was a little exciting last night; John ended up sleeping on Jamie's right rather than his left (I was asleep on a mattress beside the bed on the right side), and Jamie, restless, managed to fall off the bed on the left. We were instantly awake (poor John had only been asleep an hour), and picking up a scared but otherwise unharmed Jamie. We put him between us, cuddling him and talking to him, and realized a few minutes later that he had fallen asleep again listening to us talk. It was a scary way to wake up, but a very nice way to fall back asleep.

He woke up for his morning nurse around 6:30, and didn't fall back asleep. That was a slight problem, as we had been counting on him to sleep through his dentist appointment with Dr. Da Costa at 8:00. However, Jamie was as good as gold: he let Dr. Da Costa look at his teeth, said "cheese" and "aaaaah", and let him even look in his mouth with a mirror. The bad news is that Jamie has a substantial cavity, which may require the childhood equivalent of a root canal (called a "pulpectomy"), although he'll have another chance with the tooth when it falls out (when Jamie will be around 7 years old). Disappointing, but we are told that childhood cavities are on the rise, due in part to the poularity of bottled water. Back to the taps for us.

Jamie was tired, Mio noticed, but otherwise good this morning. He ate a prodigious amount of blueberries, and was more than ready for his nap around 1:00. I thought that we were going to have another enormous fight on our hands when I put him in the stroller, but a few rounds of "The Witch Doctor" and "Purple People Eater" (yay 50s novelty tunes) put him in a good mood, and right to sleep. He stayed asleep for three hours, and woke up cheerfully afterwards.

We went to the Scrabble club tonight for the first time since June, for the beginning of the club season. Jamie was interested in the playground nearby, and was impressing me with his newfound climbing abilities. He is much more sure of himself than he was even a month ago, which I attribute to three hours a day in the Habitrail at the Reno Hilton with Jennifer. Then it was time to investigate the big kid swings, and Jamie loved it when I put him on my lap, facing me, and swung back and forth. He then insisted on getting off and pushing me. Then I put him on the swing, knelt by him, and let him swing gently back and forth. He was utterly delighted, and his face was transformed by a quiet, excited glee. It was the best moment of today, and probably in quite a few days. Then we played in the sand until I saw a mosquito and we talked about mosquitoes on the way back to the community centre. He is sitting on John's lap right now eating guava out of John's salad and watching Totoro on the computer as I type.

2005-09-08 24:41 (Kristen) We're off to our friend Jane's cabin on Manitoulin Island tomorrow, where there will be no electricity or running water,and no cell phone access. We are told that neighbours have electricity and internet, so we will be posting erratically until Monday night. Our tenants are kindly guarding the fort for us (it's nice to have built-in house sitters!) until then.

It was a reasonable day today. Jamie slept until 8:00 with only one wake-up, and we spent most of the day getting ready to go while Mio and then Ken watched Jamie. I took Jamie with me on some errands after he woke from his nap, and he was very good for most of the journey. He got a little grabby in the card store, so Gary's card is of a rather twee-looking kitten than Jamie had planted kisses all over, ensuring that I had to buy it. (It's Gary's birthday on Sunday). Then we spent some quality time at the park, and he had a good time playing on the slides and with other children. There was a little boy, a year or two older than Jamie, who definitely know him, and called out to him by naame. I think that they must have met when Mio took him to the park, because I don't remember him at all. It's strange to think that your son has friends that you don't know about!

It was dinner at Browning, and lots of horsing about with Ross and Daniel. Then We came home, did our usual evening routine (somewhat later than usual due to trip prep) and he was asleep in less than five minutes after the lights were out. Sweet, sweet boy.

2005-09-09 22:00 (Kristen) The next few days were written on paper while we were in the Internet-free zone of Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater island in the world.

We were up at the ungodly hour of 6:45 or so so that we could get up to Tobermory and onto the 1:30 ferry to Manitoulin Island. It's about a four hour drive to Tobermory, and a two-hour ferry ride to the Island, and we were prepped for a long trip with Jamie. As it was, Jamie slept in (in part thanks to Mio, who came and looked over him while we packed the car), and stayed sleeping in the car until just past Owen Sound (10:00-ish). We stopped for donuts just past Owen Sound, and while Jamie enjoyed his plain old-fashioned donut, he liked the fresh apple so much that he pitched it for more. He likes to reassure his mom and dad sometimes. We looked at cows, sheep, horses, and various birds on the way, including a flock of migrating hawks. At the ferry docks, he ran around, up and down, and all around in an effort to burn off his unused morning energy. We had ice cream, which is one of Jamie's favourite things, and he wouldn't stop saying his version of the word once he heard it might be a possibility until he had the ice cream in his mouth. Even then, he had to comment on it (ice cream!) while he ate.

On the ferry, there was a room with some plastic slides and climbing apparatus for kids, and Jamie spent the next two hours playing on it with a family of five kids (ranging in age from 12-ish to 7 months). The kids were rambunctious but very comfortable with little children, and the older kids (older than Jamie) were always aware of where little hands were. It was a pleasure to watch them play, and Jamie had a great time with them.

Jamie fell asleep in the car almost instantly after we got off the ferry: he grabbed my arm, clutched it, and crashed out. We got to our friend Jane's cabin half an hour later, and Jamie continued to sleep in his car seat in the car for the next two hours. When he woke up, there was a rabbit outside the cabin door, and Jamie was beside himself with excitement about the rabbit ("rabbit!"). He talked about the rabbit for the next two days. Then he stuffed himself silly at dinner, and we went looking for Jane.

We found Jane at her friend Phyll's house nearby, and Jamie made Phyll's acquaintance, as well as the acquaintance of her small dog, Mitzi. We all went down to the lake, and John swam in the (very shallow) bay while Jamie ran up and down the shore, experimenting with the sensation of walking on sand. It makes me realize that going out for Jamie for the first few snows is going to be slow going, and that I shouldn't plan on going anywhere quickly those days. Jamie also used a goose quill feather that John found to write in the sand, making many train tracks for the densha*, of course.

Back at Jane's cabin, there is no electricity and so we have to use candles to light our nights. We took Jamie on walks to look at the moon, and it was a little late, but Jamie was not tired. After our first attempt to get him to sleep, we fed him more food, as he seemed to be hungry again. After that, we all fell asleep until the false dawn, when Jamie woke and needed soothing back to sleep again.

2005-09-10 22:00 (Kristen) This entry was written on paper while we were in the Internet-free zone of Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater island in the world.

Jamie started to settle into Manitoulin life today. We went to the Farmer's Market in the morning, where Jamie was more interested in the nearby playground than he was in what was going on in the market itself. He also enjoyed running around the arena, and we talked about the fact that bees eat pollen, causing him to imitate bees with much loud smacking of lips and stuffing of nose into flowers. He fell asleep on the way home, but only slept for an hour in bed before waking. I was knackered, so I let him nurse for an hour while I dozed (which I hope I will not do again, but he hasn't brought it up either). Then he ran back and forth between the couch on the other side of the cabin to the bedroom where I was, ferrying potato chips one by one for me to eat. He did this at least five or six times before he stood by the side of the bed, ate the chip he was holding, and had to run back for more to give to me. He's been enjoying feeding me lately, either as an amusing role reversal or because he recognizes that it is a way of caring for another person. Probably a bit of both, knowing Jamie.

Then we went to the beach, and spent much time digging with sticks in the sand, en famille. We met Bonni from New York at Phyll's and had tea, and also visited with Bob and Kathy at their retro Airstream, while Jamie decorated their rocks with crayon markers.

For dinner, John cooked whitefish in foil with garlic, onions, tomatoes and peppers, and some zucchini as well on a hibachi (his first time!). Jamie was very wound up, and there was much running before and after dinner, though during dinner Kristen was kept very busy with Jamie's requests for "more fish!" as soon as each mouthful touched his lips. He read books with John, and fell asleep very quickly, but not before making it clear that it was very important to him that John and I were both there. Later that night was the best display of the aurora borealis that I have seen since I was a child in northern Alberta. The entire northern skyline was lit up like the glow of a city was behing it, and a line of dancers was right over our heads. John and I rushed out and watched them for ten minutes while Jane kept an ear out for Jamie, and then we came in so she could see them. They were spectacular.

2005-09-11 22:00 (Kristen) This entry was written on paper while we were in the Internet-free zone of Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater island in the world.

Jamie woke up unhappy at 5 AM, and it took until 6 AM to calm him down again. We're unsure if it was gas or thirst at first, but he finally settled down when I took the nipple off the bottle and he drank from it that way. We all slept in past 9 afterwards, in great moods. Jane went to church for 11:30, and we made it downtown only by noon, and so Jamie played at the beach playground while we waited for Jane to get out of church. We all met for lunch at Cedar's in Providence Bay, where Jamie enjoyed chicken soup, a bit of my egg sandwich, and a lot of milkshake (vanilla).

He was getting awfully rangy, and so John took Jamie for a drive to get him to sleep while I went for a walk around Providence Bay with two people that Jane introduced me to. Once Jamie was asleep, John took him to Phyll's and let him sleep in his carseat in Phyll's spare room. John then went swimming while Phyll and Jane looked after a sleeping Jamie. Jamie woke up not long after I got back from my two and a half-hour walk, and played for a good long time with his new favourite person, Mitzi the Dog. It was such a wonderful thing to see: Mitzi is a small but enthusiastic dog, and it really (for the first time in my life) made me wish that we could give Jamie a dog. John is too allergic to dogs, unfortunately (for him too: he'd love a dog), but we're thinking seriously about what kinds of (sturdy) pets we might be able to get for Jamie since he obviously loves animals dearly.

(John) Today Jamie managed to read his first word: the Japanese colour "ao". As I have repeatedly done this week, I wrote the character "a", then the character "o", and this time without prompting he shouted out "ao!"

(Kristen) Jane cooked dinner and invited a number of people over, and we had a great time. Jamie especially liked the apple pie and ice cream for dessert, again chanting "pie! ice cream!" before and during the course. We left soon after dessert, as Jamie was tiring. He managed to floss his own teeth a little, and went to bed.

2005-09-12 23:56 (John) Several of today's photos may seem a little oddly cropped and include a note referring to this blog. That's because they include our friend Jane, who has sound reasons for needing to protect her privacy. You can view the uncropped versions at my Flickr web site if you're on my list of and family there. Sorry for the inconvenience.

(Kristen) Today's animal to observe was a leopard frog that managed to jump into a pail of water near the back door and needed rescuing. Many photos were taken, and Jamie really had a great time chasing the poor frog around the property. We've seen rabbits, and frogs, and many many monarch butterflies, John even saw a white-tailed deer yesterday: there is an amazing amount of wildlife around here if you know where to look.

Jane painted a little sign for a chair that she thought would be a great chair for Jamie when he visited, with the word "appo" on it (the way that Jamie pronounced "apple"). It was very sweet, and we spent most of the morning outside running around, talking with Jane, chasing frogs, and trying to make the most of our last day on Manitoulin. When it was finally time to go, we went over to Phyll's to say goodbye to her and her friend Bonnie (and, of course, to Mitzi). Jamie said "bye bye Nane" (bye bye Jane) and "bye bye Mitzi" (he kept talking and talking about Mitzi today after he played with her yesterday), as we drove off to the ferry docks. Jamie fell asleep on the way, and during the wait in line, but woke up as we were getting on the ferry. We went back to the play area, and he played a little, ate a peach, and was fascinated with the car driving video games in the arcade right nearby. I played a little for him, but he found my driving scary and moved on. It was too breezy to spend time on deck, and John and Jamie quickly came back in. The trip was rougher than the last time and John and I felt a little green, but Jamie was fine.

We headed off for home, and Jamie coloured, played with his truck, and had me read a number of books to him at least five times each. When it was finally dark, we pulled out the mini DVD player that we'd bought for our next big plane trip and were playtesting on this trip for the first time. It worked, and he fell asleep just as we got home around 10:00. He's asleep now, crashed out , and due for a bath in the worst way tomorrow morning as he has not had one in four days (definitely a record).

We really enjoyed our trip away from televisions, computers, radios, DVD players, and cell phones. It was lovely to see Jamie blossom: he played quietly by himself a good deal of the time, exploring little ideas and using his imagination in fun and surprising little ways. We read books together, looked at Nature and found it good, and John and I were able to lavish joint attention on him in ways that we aren't able to do at home. And everyone said what a wonderful little boy he was...and he was/is. I think that is the hardest part of coming back home: that we will soon slide back into tv watching and reading less, and spending less relaxed time together. We'll be going back, I think, and sooner rather than later.

* For the benefit of Scrabble players, words that are not in the Scrabble dictionary are marked with an asterisk.

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