A Poem for Ty

I met Rachel online through a local Facebook group. Her posts are always touching, and often hilarious. I convinced her to publish something here at Kids in the Capital. This is a poem she wrote for her son...get the kleenex!

A Poem for Ty, With Love from your Mummy

Make time for me mummy Slow down your pace You know what I need Life isn't a race

Let me feel your touch Breathe in your scent Let me lay with you The way babies were meant

Let me run my hands Up and down your arm Let me snuggle and cuddle Safe from all harm

Make time for me mummy I'm not little for long Take me for walks Sing me a song

Let me be carefree Let me set the pace Let's sit here for a while Let me memorize your face

Make time for me mummy I don't need money or stuff Make time for me mummy Your love is enough

In a time when the world Is running around Make time for me mummy The time can be found

We may have less in terms of material things But you'll soon see what joy The time alone with me brings

Painting and laughing Giggles, a book This is how My childhood should look

I won't remember the house The nice cars or eating out But I'll remember the time spent Of that there's no doubt

So make time for me mummy Because when I get old The memories we're making I'll cherish like gold

Rachel Gill is a local Ottawa photographer and mother to 3 year old Ty. For examples of her work or to contact Rachel please visit her Facebook page  or email her at rachcameron@hotmail.com

Bal de neige

I grew up in Ottawa, I have the requisite pictures of little kid me being pushed around the canal on a sled, I've eaten a fair number of Beavertails in my life and I have fond memories of being privileged enough to grow up walking distance from the canal. But the fact is that I haven't been to Winterlude in years, except for a very short journey with the stroller a few years ago – while putting on my new skates I realized that I had not in fact skated in over a decade. When the kid had a day off school and the weather was forecasted to be just about perfect, the kid and I made the trek to Jacques Cartier Park to see what Winterlude looks like these days.

How was it? In the words of the kid: "Awesome."

We walked through the gate and she saw the ice covered slides and immediately was ready to go. We had barely come to a stop in our inner-tube at the bottom of a hill when she asked to go again.

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(The guy they had at the top pulling those tubes down was awesome, truly, and really seemed to be enjoying himself).

A combination of fresh air, exercise, fun and tasty treats made it a great day.

Quick and easy Valentine's Day craft

Valentine's Day Craft

I asked the kids this morning if they wanted to do a Valentine's Day craft. This was before I had figured out what we could possibly do. I grabbed some construction paper and scissors and started cutting.

Valentine's Day is all about the hearts, so I cut out different sized hearts in red, pink and white, and handed them over to the kids who were eager to colour them. They went wild and when they were done we attached some white ribbon to the hearts using tape.

Ceiling Hearts

I used thumbtacks to pin them to the ceiling. The result? A very festive living room, decorated with hand-made hearts, making our Valentine's Day and the days leading up to it special. Try this for a quick and easy craft to do with your kids. They'll love seeing their handiwork.

Kids' Craft: Bowling at Home

My daughter's been bowling several times now, and loves it! Although she can barely manage to get the ball down the lane, she has a blast knocking over any pins she can. When I noticed empty toilet paper rolls piling up around our house, I questioned my hubby - why weren't they being put in the recycling? He told me he was saving them for a special craft/activity. This is why I love this man - he's the crafty genius in our family!

So yesterday evening, the toilet paper roles got decorated with stickers and markers, and were placed at the end  of our long hallway. We started by using one tennis ball as our bowling pin, but discovered that two tennis balls actually worked best :)

A great indoor activity for these cold and snowy days!

The Soother Fairy Came!

This is my daughter with her soother.....about 3 years ago. She is now 4.5, and yes, still has (had!) a soother. I know, I can hear the gasps now. Trust me when I say this - the timing has never been right. This is a kid who has no other comfort other than her pacifier. She can take or leave any of her stuffed animals, and there is no special "blankie" in the house that is reserved for her. Her only comforts in life have been nursing and "suckie." And since we stopped nursing a while back, suckie took its place. She has been using it only at nighttime for the past year (and very limited daytime use before that).

My husband and I have been talking about removing the pacifier for a couple of years now. It hasn't been done for several reasons:

1. It works! She sleeps well with her pacifier and it means minimal hand-holding at nighttime.

2. Our dentist approved. I know - many other dentists will tell you that it's a problem past the age of 2, but our dentist was ok with us restricting daytime use and trying to encourage her to use it less during sleep.

3. We're lazy tired. We have a 15 month old who has not been sleeping well for a long time, and the thought of losing more sleep scared us!

But alas, the day came. Our dentist told us it was time. Our daughter bites down on the soother throughout the night, which has resulted in a big gap in her bite. This needs to be rectified before adult teeth come in. Plus, she's much older now and able to understand reasoning as to why it needs to go.

So with poking and prodding gentle encouragement from my husband, we came up with a Soother Fairy plan. Just like the tooth fairy, the Soother Fairy comes and takes away the soothers, while leaving a special gift in their place. Hubby went clothes shopping at Carter's and found her some really nice outfits we knew she'd get excited about. He also wrote her a special card, congratulating her on becoming a big girl.

It's now Day 5, and things are going very well. The only problem we've encountered is early morning wake-ups - without the soother in her mouth, she's having a harder time sleeping in!

Did your child use a soother? At what age did you take it away?