That's Neko, dressed as a Chinese dragon, a costume she created. I wish I had caught the photos of the two of them in the box together, which was even more convincing.
And Shep is wearing a shirt over his new sweatshirt.
These kids are crazy. All the best kind of crazy, but crazy.
Neko's school has this amazing program called "partners." A few weeks after school starts, each kindergartner is assigned a seventh or eighth grade partner. For the rest of the year, this is their big kid helper. The goal is for the little kids to have an older kid to help show them the ropes. They help them read. They take field trips together. They help them make their way to the bathroom and find lost mittens. The goal for the bigger kids is to teach them to give back. To look backwards from where they are, and remember what it was like to be the little one.
Neko's partner has been Kaili, who has been nothing short of spectacular. She plays with Neko at recess, always goes out of her way to be friendly and helpful, and draws her pictures and notes that I uncover in Neko's backpack.
So last night, as our last gift to prepare in the day, we made a paper bead necklace for Kaili. (A special shout-out to the Martha Stewart craft aisle at Michael's for making it all possible.) Making the beads was a little tough for Neko, but she selected the papers and strung the beads. I let her do it all herself, but when she made the pattern symmetrical on both sides, the designer in me was rather proud.
Then Neko carefully decorated and redecorated the box, making it just so.
I think it turned out beautifully, and will definitely be one of the most heartfelt gifts we give this year.
Neko came home from a playdate at Sylvie's house covered from head to toe in tattoos. Tom called it "as sign of things to come."
Our last day in New York we had a funny space of time between the inevitable 6:58am wake-up and our 1:30pm flight. Not long enough to go to a museum. And, strangely, not a Broadway show to be found that starts at 9am.
So we decided to go to FAO Schwarz. I was dreading the chaos and the inevitable melt-down about being in a toy store and not leaving with more than a $5 trinket, but there's just something magical about that store. Upon visiting the Toys 'R Us that has taken over the Times Square location, the uniqueness of the store became even more clear.
So off we went, braving the freezing wind and holiday crowd. No stores were open yet, so we kept ducking into office buildings to escape the cold and warm our hands. The best stop was Trump tower, where they must be used to visitors. We admires their Christmas tree and took a picture in their reflective walls.
FAO Schwartz went surprisingly well. The lure of the Webkin lizard that sat at the airport gift shop helped a bit with that. And we soaked in all the festive spirit, because nothing says holiday like a life-size Playmobil Santa.
In the first hour of this trip, I wasn't sure if it was going to be a good one. On the way to the airport, I told Neko where we were going and that we would be gone for two days. She promptly burst into tears and wailed that she would miss Shep. And then there was the whole earmuff thing. And when she discovered she was going to miss school on Monday, there was more wailing and sobbing.
At first I was a little sad about Neko's reluctance to leave and her lack of enthusiasm about the trip. But in retrospect it's not a bad thing. She really did enjoy our trip. And I think she loved our time as a twosome. But she missed home, family, and school. In the middle of this great big city of opportunity, what she looked forward to most was going home.
A much-needed reminder that maybe we're doing just fine, and we're both exactly where we need to be.
Things I know for sure:
1. Since Neko started school, she and I aren't getting near enough quality time. When she gets home from school, she's tired and cranky and I'm buried under a pile of children and work. We've been trying to make up on weekends, but we were due for some quality one-on-one.
2. Frequent flier miles + my excellent ability to find a killer hotel rate = time away with Neko. It cost the same to stay local or go urban, so we we went urban. I've always wanted to see New York at the holidays!
3. Snow falling does not always mean a flight delay. Broken lavatories do.
4. In conjunction with a stash of markers and paper, modern technology makes a flight with a five-year-old totally doable.
5. Some of the best things in New York are free—the tree at Rockefeller, puppet shows at the public library, and the breathtaking window displays at Lord & Taylor.
6. Times Square in the holiday season is my idea of a living hell. Neon as far as the eye can see and sardine-like sidewalks.
7. I will kiss the person who can tell me how to locate a pair of earmuffs with snowflakes on them (preferably pink) so Neko will stop pestering me about finding them.
8. I can't wait to turn off the lights and snuggle in with my sleeping daughter. I'm so glad we took the time to get away.
I know…lots of posting today. I can't help it. When there's good material and you don't spend the whole weekend in a waiting room, you run with it.
Neko had seen part of Willy Wonka at school. She had been asking to see the rest of it, so I rented it from the library. While we didn't make it through the whole thing (too creepy), she was determined to draw some of it. She made me freeze on the factory and spent a long time drawing it.
It's clearly still a work in progress (filling in that sky is a lot of work), but it's so fun to see her thinking through the creative process.
As part of Neko's kindergarten class, each child gets a turn to take Buddy the Bear home for the weekend. Buddy comes with a full bag of supplies, including extra clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste, bear books, bear coloring sheets, bear counting activities, and Buddy's journal. The kids get to spend the weekend with Buddy, and write about their adventures in his journal.
They go in alphabetical order, and last weekend was Mary Beth. What letter comes after "M"? Needless to say, Neko has been extremely excited about her forthcoming weekend with Buddy.
On Friday, she bounded into the car with Buddy and his big bag. Friday night she frantically ran around the house finding the perfect bed, blanket, pillow, and bedmate (Brown Bear). All of Saturday morning she spent in her bedroom, drawing and counting. Saturday afternoon she made her Panera box house, which was to be Buddy's new home. Buddy even went with her to Barb's house.
I suspect tomorrow morning will involve a misty-eyed speech about how much she will miss Buddy. Until the letter "N" rolls around again, we bid you adieu, our furry friend.
It's taken us a while to get to chapter books. Neko, as we know, is a bit wiggly, and had a some trouble sitting still through longer stories. Especially when they had few pictures.
When I started thinking about the ones that would be a good fit, I ultimately decided on The Littles. In case you didn't read them as a kid, they are a community of people only six inches tall. They live in the walls of people's houses, but the people don't know they exist. They use what the big people discard to live, and in exchange, they maintain the house—the pipes, the wiring, and all the inner workings. They go on all sorts of adventures, all made even more interesting due to their size.
There are about a dozen Littles book. I remember pouring through them as a kid, always thinking that there might be that slight chance a little family was living in the walls of our house.
Neko has been taken completely by the Littles. We finished the first book, and are anxiously awaiting a delivery from Amazon to bring us the next.
Last night was super-fun, but there was a little wrinkle in the evening. Neko finally lost her tooth, and we weren't there to oversee the lost tooth ritual.
Barb was there for the actual loss of the tooth, which I have a feeling was filled with lots of excitement. My mom then took over to handle bedtime when Barb needed to go home. Right before bedtime was when the anxiety set in.
Suddenly Neko was in tears. She didn't want to give up her tooth—she wanted to keep it. And then she didn't want the tooth fairy in her room. She didn't like the idea of someone she didn't know in her bedroom. I don't blame her. Upon reflection, the whole idea is a little creepy.
My mom helped her write the note in the first photo, which they taped to the front door, asking the Tooth Fairy to please leave her tooth. So when we arrived home, we had some punting to do. If I've learned one thing about parenting, it's that curveballs fly out of left field when you least expect them.
I've never been one for perpetuating this sort of mythology, but I felt she deserved an answer that would quell her fears. So I grabbed the digital Tooth Fairy pen, and composed a note. The Tooth Fairy assured her that she could keep her teeth, but maybe she could leave her tooth pillow right outside the front door, and the Tooth Fairy would leave something special.
This morning Neko was thrilled with this solution. She happily carried around her dollar and talked about the Tooth Fairy's new plan.
Of course, I almost got totally busted when she saw these photos on my laptop. I am in so much trouble when she learns to read.
