The Train

I am exhausted right now but simply had to write something to mark the day.

I had what was one the most wonderful and memorable moments yet with Ashiah today (apart from her first horseback riding experience a couple weeks ago) as she really discovered the Wakefield steam train today. We heard it coming from a distance and I drove her to the tracks so she could see it when it went by. Of course the Conductor waved at us and she was mesmerized.

For the rest of the day she spoke of nothing else but the train...incessantly! So much so that she insisted on seeing it again so I drove to the end of Chelsea to see if we could catch up with it but we just missed it again.

Fast forward to this evening as we happened to bring Greg his supper at the cabin where he was working hard on the bathroom floor. And in the distance we heard the dinner train. Ashiah and I went barreling down the stairs and she sat in my lap in the car as we drove round the bends to the track and waited for it.

All was still as the sun was setting and we could hear the frogs and crickets and birds and Ashiah was very still. All she kept saying was, "shhh, listen!" And we'd hear the train toot across the river - it was actually a way away yet and I found myself reverted back to a little girl as well; just as excited as my daughter that the train was coming any moment now. I had forgotten that wonderful feeling of anticipation of something and it's wonderful.

Ashiah was in my arms, her little arms clutched around my neck and her lips pursed in a silent "oh" sound as she saw the light appear in the distance. She then became nervous and thought we should go back to the car, "sit in car Mama" yet she was mesmerized and delighted when it caught up with us. She clutched me tightly and watched, fixated with delight.

I have not yet seen her so excited about anything and of the train we spoke all the way home. She kept interrupting me and saying "listen - listen?" "Twain all gone", "maybe in morning" 90,000 times.

It was just a very special moment and I'll never forget it for the rest of my life.

Pee and Pooh

Today was a Pooh day. And I don't mean Winnie.

There were 2 pooh incidents - one not so good, the other simply wonderful. Ah yes, become a parent and you can suddenly have the words 'pooh' and 'wonderful' in the same sentence.

My girlfriend was detained today from picking us up, when her son had a pooh outside and then smeared it all over himself. This would be the 'not so good' incident. Alright, the bloody awful incident.

But earlier this evening, Ashiah asked for the potty and went pee. She then asked again and went pooh. It is the second time this happens in a month and it is quite exhilarating. Never would I have ever thought that I would ever share my daughter's bowel movements with the world at large, but voila, I am at once thrilled and sad that my daughter is beginning to take this new leap.

Counting, ABC's, Potty, what's next? Keys to the car? It's really quite disconcerting how fast this is all going. Sigh.

Time flies with a Toddler

It has ridiculously been three months since I last wrote. Terrible. Time is just flying by. Between renovations (which warrants a separate entry to itself), being laid off work but halfway re-hired and then looking for more work, to moving out to a temporary place only to find it has air quality issues so we went to stay at a friend's in Carleton Place for a few days, to day to day ongoing "stuff" to looking after a toddler - well, I can certainly say that life is ANYTHING but boring!

About Ashiah: Well she's simply wonderful. Being her mother, and father is just the best. She's so full of life and wonder and she amazes us every day.

First of all, she's become a parrot. She repeats everything we say and is very very chatty. (Surprise surprise with the parents she has...) She also nearly made us fall over the other day as she casually counted to 13 in the bathroom while we were getting ready. 13! I can't believe it. Seems like yesterday that we were very excited over the word Dada!

She also loves music, dances all the time and her current favorite artist is now Ray Lamontagne and her favorite song is Trouble. Daddy plays it for her on the guitar and they sing it loudly in the shower. It's very cute. So cute that we're taking her to his concert in Montreal next month so she can hear her favorite song live. :)

Ashiah also attended her first movie a couple months ago and made it half way through Madagascar II. Although she gets bored easily, she certainly loves her movies so we try to keep them to times when she's very restless. She currently loves Elmo and a roster of other animated flicks. She likes to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and knows about half her ABC's now. Her cutest new word is "Okay" - "Ashiah do you want some yogurt?" Okay.

She's also become the ringleader at daycare. When she arrives the other children yell "Ashiah!" and run to the door to greet her. She's taken them on little adventures through the woods to the neighbor's house a couple of times much to the daycare provider's panic and due to her climbing antics, her caregiver apparently had to forge stairs in the snowbank because the other children wanted to follow her. (Bear in mind she's 3 mths younger than her two little friends). Of course she climbed before she walked and this fancy hasn't yet subsided. We find her on top of most everything all the time. This said, we've just enrolled her in an interactive program for toddlers her age in Ottawa to give her a bit of a challenge since she quickly becomes bored and seems to thrive on variety.

Her closest friends (that is those she asks for by name) are two at daycare, Lilou and Iza, her cousin Malik, Abby (my friend's 2.5 yr old daughter) and Rowie (my other friend's 8 yr old daughter). She also remembers her cousin Coco and names him when she see's his pictures (he lives in Vancouver).

She's also completely mesmerized by the geese, chickens and ducks that live in the back of the house we're staying at and goes over everyday to terrorize them. She has no fear and seems to love all animals, especially her "Kitty".

All that to say that she's definitely very active, social and fun and she's the light of our lives. Despite ongoing fatigue and a struggle to balance it all, a child certainly brings a joy to life like no other I've ever known... or ever will I'm certain.