Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 2 No. 1

2007-09-11 09:35 (Kristen) I forgot to mention that Jamie has been missing Grammie, Becky, and Anna most particularly lately, and has been asking to go to Ottawa to visit them. It has been a strong enough impulse that he has said that he will go to Ottawa by himself. John and I pointed out that he would have to sleep with Grammie, since we wouldn't be there, and he said that that would be all right. Understand that Jamie has never slept on his own, and never without one or both of us around. Grammie, are you listening? You may be getting an overnight Jamie sometime sooner than we thought!

2007-09-11 22:23 (Kristen) Jamie had a good morning at school, and Liam and I picked him up at lunch, after we had bought a card and present for Gary's birthday. We went to Browning for lunch, where Jamie wrote (with some coaching) "To Gary, love Jamie" in the card. Gary was appropriately impressed. Neither boy was particularly hungry, but both had a good time. Afterwards, I put Liam in a stroller and picked up some library books to return, and headed out with both boys for the Pape library. We stopped for a pee break at Treasure Island, where Liam woke up to the melodious sound of swords being thwacked against each other; the store was unaccountably crowded for that time of day. He didn't fall asleep again until after we got home. Sigh.

Jamie enjoyed the library, and we got a few books out, but not the garbage truck one (it's coming from another branch). We met up with John at the Second Cup, where he and Jamie did Jamie's Japanese homework. He ripped through two sheets without a thought before John stopped him, because his mother was looking forward to doing some of it with Jamie too. John reported afterwards that Jamie was almost all done his homework for the week. Yay, Jamie! Liam napped until John and Jamie got home around 6:40 PM, when he woke up disoriented and crabby. He snapped out of it, thank goodness, but Jamie was very tired by this time and just wanted to watch television.

After the bath, Gary and Ayami wanted to give the boys some items that they'd bought for them on their trip last month, and to give Liam his birthday present. The boys received two Christmas tree ornaments with their names on them, and Jamie got a book of Thomas the Tank Engine stickers (hooray!). Liam received a book with a lovely night light called Tell Me Something Good Before I Sleep, which will go over well, I think. Liam was wound up, and so was Jamie, by this point, and when Jamie went back upstairs finally, it was 9:30. He messed about until 10:00, when I brought Liam upstairs again for another try at nursing him to sleep. Jamie first wanted to sleep in the hall on the floor, but balked when I said that I'd have to turn out the light if he did. He then asked if he could sleep on the floor in the green room while I nursed Liam to sleep, and I said he could sleep on the rug only if he made no sound and went to sleep for real. I really didn't expect him to go to sleep, but when I got up out of bed where I was with Liam, Jamie really was asleep on the floor. Wow. He stirred a bit when I put him into bed in the white room, but went right back to sleep. What a guy.

2007-09-12 23:22 (Kristen) It was a harder day than usual, as it was both a Hakobune and a Jackman day. We all woke up a little late, and raced to the school to, once again, get Jamie there in just the nick of time. Liam was happy but tired when we got home. I thought that it was just a mid-morning slump, and tried to keep him awake until after we left Jamie at Hakobune; no dice. He fell asleep just before we picked up Jamie, slept for his usual 90 minutes, and woke up as I'd had a chance to work for only 20 minutes. Sigh. Instead, we visited Gary, and played in the area outsdie Hakobune before John came to meet us with the car. Jamie seemed to have a good time, and Liam enjoyed running in and playing with the new toys that he usually only gets to look at. He's really wanting to go there himself.

We got bubble tea for the ride home (Liam had some of mine in his juice box), and I was surprised that Jamie didn't fall asleep. He was very very tired, and we had three separate meltdowns caused by Tired Boy Syndrome. Liam slept for an hour between 5 and 6, and was otherwise OK. He is, if it is possible, more stubborn than Jamie, and utterly and completely destructive. Any room stays clean for less than 20 seconds if there is a Liam in it: books off shelves, contents out of cupboards, DVDs off shelves, toys strewn about. I confess that I don't sit on him in the same was as I did with Jamie, but I'm more worn down than I was with Jamie, too! Liam had better appreciate the work Jamie has done for him...

Aften dinner, our friend Junko came by with her dog Rusty. Jamie opened the door to Gary's apartment and yelled up excitedly, "Rusty's here!" I kept saying in my best mock authoritarian tones, "No, that's not possible," until Jamie was able to show me, delightedly, sitting on the steps leading into Gary's basement, one poodle (name: Rusty). As I explained to Junko, I knew that Jamie was telling the truth because he doesn't lie about things like that, but it was fun to tease him and give him the pleasure of being proven right. And it was unusual for Gary to have a dog in his apartment, even for a moment. Rusty and Liam got along very well, as Liam likes dogs and Rusty likes small boys with sticky fingers (lick, lick...). Soon it was up to bed, and I thought it a good idea for Jamie to go to bed early. We were even in bed with lights out early, but Jamie was so wound up still that he didn't fall asleep until 10:20 or so. He fell asleep on the floor in the green room again, which makes me just shake my head in amazement. Liam was wide awake, possibly because I tried to put him to sleep initially in the same bed as Jamie, and finally fell asleep an hour later in the green room. Tomorrow, we'll try again to have a good day.

2007-09-13 22:45 (John) We're still trying to get the hang of being school parents. We haven't yet been late for school, either dropping off or picking up, but we couldn't quite manage to get Jamie's knapsack to kindergarten this morning despite three attempts. I hustled Jamie out the door and into the wagon, handed him the rest of his breakfast and his new speaking hiranana toy from Junko Adachi, and forgot the knapsack by the door. Kristen followed a few minutes later with Liam, again sans knapsack, then went to pick him up at the end of the morning, ditto, so I had to run back home and then back down to the subway station because the knapsack had his Hakobune lunch. I don't think this will be the last time.

I also don't think we will have any trouble sending Liam to Hakobune next year, as he already bolts from our grasp when we arrive to pick up Jamie and makes a beeline for whichever toy he thinks Jamie is most interested in right now.

Liam has discovered that he can open his baby gate, which has up until now kept him in the Green Room so that he doesn't escape and fall down the stairs. All he has to do is rattle it until it loosens, then pull on one side to pop it out. Clever lad.

The boys are asleep relatively early tonight, at 21:45 (Jamie) and 22:30 (Liam). Jamie has decided that if he doesn't get to sleep with Mom because she's putting Liam to bed (or more likely, recently, just trying to keep the teething toddler quiet), he will sleep on a pillow in the hall so that he can be a little bit closer to her. We're just happy if he falls asleep.

2007-09-14 23:24 (Kristen) John was up early, and so was Jamie, who slept for 10 hours last night. They got off to school with a minimum of input from me, which was just great as far as I was concerned; I'd gone to sleep at 2:30, after working late, and was just about as worn out as they come. Liam was sleeping peacefully, and didn't wake up until 9:30 or 9:45, which suited me just fine. When Liam woke up, he was the happiest baby in the world, full of smiles and telling me all about his world. He's started to sign "bird," which looks a lot like "nurse nurse" but is accompanied by gestures up at the sky, and he told me that there were birds in the sky, and planes too. It's a great, wonderful, busy world when you're Liam.

We got up, had breakfast, talked with my mom by speakerphone (Liam was very interested in her voice, and was staring intently at the speaker), and destroyed the house. Sorry, Liam did: he pulled things out from cupboards and bins, and made sure that everything was strewn about to maximum effect. As the mother of two, I'm much more sanguine about that than I was when Jamie was little; if it keeps Liam happy and out of trouble, and lets me do the dishes, then he can play in the tupperware. John picked up Jamie from kindergarten and took him to Hakobune, and they stopped by to pick up Jamie's lunch, giving me a chance to kiss Jamie before he set off again. Ken walked Liam, and I had a good hour or so to get work done before Liam returned, still the world's happiest baby.

After a walk along the Danforth and a stop at the library, we went home and met up with our neighbours Karen, Michelle, and Thomas. We stopped, and John and Jamie arrived, fresh from Hakobune, not long afterwards. It turned into a classic swarm soon after, with kids roaming in happy melees all over the front lawns and adults chatting while making sure that blood was not spilled. Liam and Jamie were in the thick of it, pouncing on John, playing with the other kids, and running about for the joy of it. Jamie and Thomas, our new, six-year-old neighbour across the street, played tag when the play got too rough for them. Liam enjoyed his ability to roam. We finally called time on the swarm when the rainstorm that had been threatening for hours finally unleashed itself, and we went over to Browning for dinner.

The boys were good at dinner, but they were extremely tired and asking to go home (both of them) by 8:45. We acquiesced, and the boys were both asleep by 10:00. Tomorrow, we go to Nisshu Gakkuin. John had fun (?) buying Jamie his school supplies, including a very cool Lilo and Stitch pencil case. All of Jamie's supplies, even each individual pencil crayon, had to have his name on it. John spent a good part of the afternoon putting labels on all of Jamie's things, and teaching Jamie how to pack his backback, and what was in it. It was quite the thing.

2007-09-15 22:31 (Kristen) John drove Jamie to Nisshu Gakkuin this morning, and they made it just on time. Liam woke up just before they left, and we had breakfast together before John returned to take Liam to the market. John reports that Liam continued to be the sunniest boy in the world all through the market, and returned a Liam covered in California roll. A happy Liam, however. Liam stayed outside in the bracing wind to look at birds and planes, and to play with Sam, Ben, and Luke. He ran around happily, and even tried to kick a soccer ball around. When Jamie came home with John, we all went inside and played in the train room. Jamie was happy but very tired, which didn't stop him from colouring, eating, and working on his addition. He's really a scholarly little boy, with excellent focus. He's got a hard schedule, but he seems to be rising to the occasion, and I think that it is going to be a great way to keep him mentally stimulated. The down side is that I don't get to see very much of him, or at least not as much as I'm used to, and I'm starting to miss him a good deal. It's just me and Liam a lot of the time, and Liam can't wait until he's off to school and daycare just like his big brother. It means that I'm going to have to get the most out of the time that we do have together.

Otherwise it was a quiet day. Jamie spent the evening (after we had to wake him up at the dinner table) watching Ewok cartoons, and both boys were tired and wanted to go to bed early. Liam was asleep a little before 9:00, and Jamie was asleep by 9:45. How strange! I should add that Jamie came into the bedroom where I was with Liam after Jamie got out of the bathtub, a towel draped around his head and shoulders. He declared that he was Darth Tickle, as he'd been attracted by the sound of Liam laughing as I was tickling him, and joined in. Liam thought that this was The Best, and Jamie said that I was Darth Mummy. We decided that Liam was Darth Ototo (Japanese for "little brother"). Heh.

2007-09-16 24:55 (Kristen) Liam woke me up at 8:15, and Jamie heard his brother chirping away in his relentlessly cheerful way, and came to join in the party. We played until Jamie declared he was hungry and Liam was bored with this place, and we trouped downstairs for breakfast. I asked John what the plans were today, as we had almost none for once, and our day quickly filled up. We had a lovely brunch with our friend Wilma and her colleague Phil, who are on a business trip and visiting from Australia, and played around and had coffee before they left. Liam and Jamie both played a good deal outside, much to their mutual delight, as Liam hates going inside when he can be outside. Liam slept early - all through lunch, in fact - and was crabby, we think, because of teeth, lack of food, and general fatigue by the end of the day. He fell asleep at 8:15 or so. Jamie got the full attention of both of his parents for his bedtime routine for the first time in I can't tell how long, and he enjoyed it a good deal. We talked about superheroes in bed, and he asked me who Batman was (after I mentioned him in a list of superheroes). Guess we're looking into Batman tomorrow... John says that he avoided a potentially tricky conversation when Jamie, inquiring how he got into Mummy's tummy, asked how we knew he'd be Jamie. A tangent about hereditary first names led him away from a conversation that we're not quite ready to have yet, but is a reminder that the conversation will be coming sooner, and not later. Liam continues to narrate the passage of birds and planes, and is at a point where the word 'no' causes him to arch his back fully back as he wails in outrage. He's quite the drama queen right now.

2007-09-17 21:55 (John) We remembered everything and got everyone to the right places on time today, hurray. It was Jamie's turn to be Mrs. Schofield's helper and show-and-tell person. He appears to have enjoyed the former and forgotten about the latter; I have to ask his teacher why he didn't bring out his Shinkansen to show his classmates. (Kristen: Jamie tells me that being Mrs. Schofield's helper means that you get to be first in line (clever Mrs. Schofield!) and pick the book. He picked a book about Clifford, the big red dog.)I have started making Jamie help me read his Japanese bedtime stories, which he does with some understandable reluctance when tired. We're starting with the first five hiragana (the vowels), along with the additional hiragana needed to spell his name (chi, ji and mi). Yesterday I drilled him on "i" and "u", today on the more similar "a" and "o", and made him read the high-frequency word "ojiisan" (old man) every time it occurred in his bedtime story.

Liam does not like sweet food. He loves vegetables of all sorts, especially if prepared with any sort of salty recipe. He grossed out Daniel and Ross tonight by eating a whole slice of eggplant (grilled with soy sauce, ginger, honey and oil) with gusto. Both our boys love broccoli, which is just weird. Yesterday, Liam was eating Miss Vickie's brand potato chips when Tai-Tai offered him first a cookie and then a slice of guava. He politely pushed them both out of his mouth and insisted on more salty chips.

(Kristen) Jamie was telling me that he has a friend named Nieve (I'm unsure of the spelling, as it's an Irish name, I think) who likes to play trains with him. She's the only one he's really mentioned by name, but she wasn't at school today. I will try to look for her tomorrow.It's very clear that Jamie is enjoying school. Liam only slept for an hour in the morning, and was somewhat unsteady when he woke up. He stayed awake for the rest of the day, through our ramblings in the afternoon to parks, our chance coffee with Tai-tai, and dinner at Browning. He's definitely working on new teeth, as he keeps waking up at night even with some Advil in hhis system. The drool is also a giveaway. I forgot to mention that we saw Anna Mae, my cousin Jeff's girlfriend yesterday, as she saw us out on the lawn and came over to say 'hi.' Apparently she looks for us whenever she walks by, and we were finally out at the same time as she passed by. She played and talked with the boys, who like her, and we hope that she'll drop by again soon, and maybe even drag my cousin along. Jamie is getting more confident at reading, but still cheats a lot by guessing or looking at the picture, and not the words. However, he read a few words in the wild, so to speak, with only a bare minimum of help, so it seems that something is sticking.

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

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