The Farm Report

Category: Neko

  • Muffins

    Muffins

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    Tom got up early and made muffins. While I was scurrying around doing morning stuff, Neko decided we should bring the leftovers to playgroup. Tom got her a box and she packaged them up with tape. Then Tom helped her sound out the word “muffins” one letter at a time while she wrote them. Then she added the number ten at the end because she said there were 10 muffins.

    Okay, there weren’t ten muffins and she reversed her one and zero, but it’s so exciting to see her make this huge leap in knowledge. A month ago she had no interest in reading and writing, and now she’s regularly telling us what letter words start with…and usually she’s right.

    At 18 months, when she only spoke six words, I never would have thought we’d be here now.

  • Toad #2

    Toad #2

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    When I arrived home from running errands, I found Tom and Neko sitting at the patio table. Clearly working on a surprise for me, I loudly put bags away until Neko appeared around a corner.

    “I have a note for you,” she said as she handed me this purple paper. In case you can’t read it, it says “Toady” which is the name of the toad that sat waiting for me in her new bug bucket. We marveled at the toad, at how big she was in comparison to the last toad.

    After about half an hour, it was getting dark and it was time to let her go. I love more than anything that Neko is so interested in finding these creatures, but it’s always a struggle when it’s time to let them go. Even sending a ladybug home is a dewey-eyed affair.

    I assured her we probably had not seen the last of Toady, that we were sure to see her again this summer. Finally, we let her go and went inside to read some more adventures of Frog and Toad.

  • The great outdoors

    The great outdoors

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    The weather is perfect these days, so we’re spending as much time as we can outside. With the sunshine, we get nice surprises, like my dad showing up with a snake he found in their yard. Neko and Shep were beyond excited about it, and Neko tried to convince my dad it could come live in the frog’s aquarium. (No thank you.)

    I bought flowers for the swingset flowerboxes, and Neko and I transplanted them into new pots and put them in place. I was amazed that she was so gentle and was able to do it the right way all by herself. I keep forgetting to give her a chance to do these things. But she did great and was so very proud of herself.

    I know the humidity and 95 degree days are coming, but for now, this is glorious.

  • More doodling

    More doodling

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    This is a ladybug dreaming of a party.

    For Pete’s sake, will someone please buy this child some paper!

  • Doodling

    Doodling

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    Why, oh why, does Neko do some of her best work on the Doodle Pad? This is a picture of a man dreaming.

  • Frog and Toad

    Frog and Toad

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    With our obsession of all things amphibian and my attempt to begin a foray into “chapter books”, it seemed a perfect time to revisit some old friends—Frog and Toad.

    Neko was instantly enchanted. Last night we read two chapters, and took a sneak peek at the next one, where Toad loses a button. This morning she sprung out of bed, demanding to know all about this lost button. I caved, and we read the next chapter in our pajamas.

  • Mom stuff

    Mom stuff

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    The first photo is a chalk drawing of me and all of our family surrounding me. Maybe Neko sees us getting a few more pets someday, but this can’t possibly be representative of children.

    The last is the three chickas in Neko’s bed. It might be an absurdly blurry photo, but it’s one of those moments I’d like to remember.

  • Sneak preview

    Sneak preview

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    The facility where Neko takes gymnastics had a special one-day camp today. From 10am-2pm she’d be in camp, and I was free to go. Without her.

    As I left with just Shep and Ellery in tow, I felt a little empty. Whenever I’m not with Neko, she’s usually with Tom or my family. Or the occasional babysitter. But today she was off on her own, which is a big adjustment for her. And me. And Shep.

    When we got in the car, Shep looked around, and asked, “Neko?” He’s never really known life without her. She’s always there, the everpresent leader in each day. When we got to the zoo, Shep clung to my leg. He’s doing this lately, being a little bit shy of new people. But I think this time he was a little shy of being on his own, with no Neko to follow as she charges off to the manatee house or the gorillas. He had to make his own decisions.

    It took him a while to warm up. He didn’t want to wander far without me. But within the hour, he was off and running, pretending to be a bird, with his arms outstretched and flapping. “Flying!” he’d shout as he ran. It was kind of like he was at the zoo for the first time. Instead of keeping Neko’s 4-year-old pace, he took his time. When he caught sight of an animal, he’d point his finger and yell, “Oo! Oo! Ooooo!” He was too excited to find the words. By the time we got on the train, he was positively beaming.

    When I dropped Neko off, she had been reluctant to let me go. I had to take a moment where her attention was turned to a box of crayons to make a clean getaway. But when I picked her up, she was bouncing with excitement. “Would you like to go again sometime?” and she didn’t hesitate to give me an enthusiastic “Yes!”

    The rest of the day was, dare I say, blissfully peaceful. Neko and Shep got along, having clearly missed one another earlier in the day. After naps we all dogpiled on the couch, and where an absurd number of kisses and hugs and snuggles were had by all.

    I think we’re ready. I have no regrets about keeping Neko out of preschool this year, but she’s clearly ready to take that step now. She needs to test her wings and gain a little independence. And Shep needs to see what life is like not always being in her shadow. And I need to be eased into letting her go.

    And I think I’m okay with that. As long as everyone promises to come back and dogpile on the couch when the day is done.

  • Wrapping

    Wrapping

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    Neko is all about wrapping gifts these days. I suppose it’s the surge of birthdays we’ve been through lately, but she’s always gathering items and “wrapping” them for Shep or Tom.

    So when she realized Griffin’s birthday was on Friday she said, “We have to wrap a gift for him!” We got out some white paper, and she decorated it with stamps and markers. Then out comes the blue tape! I love this part, because the tape becomes the “ribbon”.

    What you don’t see in this picture is that the gift was wrapped once, and then she decided she needed to wrap the wrapped gift. So I dug up a box, and she gave that the treatment, too.

    Griffin has some work ahead of him…

  • Puddle jumpers

    Puddle jumpers

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    Tom watched the kids while I got a sanity break with Ellery in tow. The activity for the evening? Puddle jumping. The kids had a fabulous time, but I’m still finding dirt and gravel in the shower.