Mr. Nick

When Nicki comes to my house he pretty much gets to do what he wants to do as long as he abides by the rules. We do a lot of negotiating and rearranging of those rules and always come to a comparable agreement, which is mostly on his behalf. But then, I do insist on using big words and he is expected to at least pretend to know what I’m talking about. And he does.

Last month Nicki’s parents went to Hawaii for a week and Nicki, and his older brother and sister, Ian and Olivia, stayed with us. It was nice, and the rules were negotiated and bent and broken a couple of times yet we all had the greatest time. They made their beds each morning, used their cloth napkins at the dinner table, put their clothes in the hamper after baths, brushed their teeth before bed and learned how to be quiet and quieter as the night came upon us. Just like I taught their mother when she was a little girl.

Yesterday, Nicki’s mother dropped him off so I could watch him while she did some errands. Three hours later she was back to pick him up. I gathered his things and walked them to the door. Nicki stood there for a moment, with his snack still in his hand, looked up at his mom and said, “When are you going back to Hawaii?”

That night I sent his mother this picture. It’s understandable why he would ask such a question.

Nicki is only three.

BOO

Surviving Kindergarten

The homework's not too bad
I'm meeting lots of friends
I'm learning how to
print and spell
and even clothing trends
the teacher's very nice
the kids are really cool
there's just one thing
I do not like
about being here at school
everyone goes through it
it's a big part of our youth
but come on guys
it's silly
when you lose your first
front tooth.

OliVia's first day of School

Today was Olivia’s first day of kindergarten. She was given a welcome bag with goodies in it and a first assignment that needed to be completed and handed in by the end of the week.

Included in the bag was a ten inch square piece of cotton fabric with instructions to “draw a picture of yourself with a permanent fabric pen”, for a quilt that is going to be put together and auctioned at the yearly fundraiser this holiday season.

Olivia sat down at the kitchen table and immediately started working on her project. I watched her draw horizontal lines and wondered what kind of portrait she was intending. The perpendicular lines made it even more curious. I caught myself wanting to suggest a few things she could do with her project but decided to hold back.

I took a long sip of coffee and diverted my attention to her younger brother for several minutes.

When I looked back at Olivia diligently working the pen over the fabric I saw little faces appear, with smiles and hairdos, and the name of each family member printed in each square. I was happy to see that one square had “Grandmamma” in it and she even remembered to put my bangs on my hair do.

It amazes me what goes through little minds when they first enter the school process and get  homework. For a parent…or a grandparent…the first impulse is to tell the child how you would go about the project, making clever suggestions or elaborate detailed plans when in fact, the little kids are actually quite capable of completing the project all by themselves.

Olivia already finished the first assignment of her first day at school.

I think I’ll go to the fundraiser and place a few bids.

OliVia's Fave

Sophisticated toys such as computer games, cell phones and convenient music pods entertain our children these days. Kids are very fortunate to have these electronic devices so readily available even though the jury is still out on the positive or negative affect they will have on our children in the future. I suppose the camera is Olivia’s favourite toy, except when bedtime comes and her two twin dolls are tucked in with her. At almost every family function she is curious to try another camera trick to see, instantly I might add, what kind of picture the digital camera is able to produce.

We go to the beach quite often where it’s almost impossible to not take a picturesque photo. One evening at dusk, Olivia had the idea to have her picture taken as she jumped from the Lifeguard ladder she wasn’t suppose to be on. While she doesn’t know the mechanics of speed and focus…at least I don’t think she does…she was very intrigued that the camera stopped her in mid air. Soon, all the other little kids wanted to be “stopped” in mid air by the camera, and a new game began. I like to think that she ponders that thought in the middle of the night and thinks of more photo shoots that create fascinating patterns and compositions for creative artwork and possible venues of opportunity for others to share and participate in.

Naw, most likely she falls fast asleep along side her twin dolls, dreaming about the new tap dance shoes she got the other day. But, it will be interesting to see where her curiosity and fascination with the camera will take her in the future. I’m already impressed.

Ian's New Painting

I gave him a canvas
and told him to paint
anything that came to mind.

Ask him any detail
about Star Wars
...and he'll tell ya.

Ian - age 7

The 4th of July Kids Style

Olivia and her brothers made paper lantern decorations to put up for the 4th of July celebration.

Little Surfers

OliVia's people figure

I love Olivia's figure people!
Especially how she has the arms come from the
side of the head and she always
puts a smile on the faces.
She was only two and half years old
when she drew this picture of her brother.
I asked Olivia if the figure was a drawing of herself?
She said, "it's my brudder cuz he's wearing boo.
If it was me, granmama, it would be ink."
I gave her a hug.

Olivia - age 2 1/2

Surfer's Island

The PARK by Olivia - age 2

The Beach by Ian - age 6

SURFER's Island by Olivia