Kaitlyn chooses a nickname

When we mused on all of the various options our daughter would have to nickname herself when we chose Kaitlyn Elizabeth, we never imagined that she would come up with the nickname that she has apparently, at the age of one, chosen all on her own.

For a little while now, Kaitlyn has pointed to herself and repeated "Keiki, Keiki," as she named the various members of our family, which includes "Mommy, Daddy, Bopper (Chopper) and Kitty." I thought it was cute that she couldn't quite say Kaitlyn and had come up with an alliterative alternative. This week, though, I got suspicious and asked her to say Kaitlyn. "Kaylen," she said, easily. Then she looked right in my eyes, pointed to herself and said "No, Keiki." So there it is; she can say her name but has chosen to call herself Keiki. I've fallen into the habit myself now and it seems like it's going to stick.

Keiki is the Hawaiian word for baby, or little one, so I have to wonder if she remembers being called this more than a year ago when we visited Kona for three weeks. It's amazing what their minds can process and remember as they learn so much every day. I don't mind Keiki but it's going to be hard to find things with her "name" on them as she gets older!

Keiki and Keith help untag ducks after the Canada Day Rotary Duck Race

A coffee shop encounter

I was in Tim Horton’s this afternoon drafting a blog post when an elderly lady came up to tell me how much she enjoyed seeing that some people still write by hand.

We ended up chatting for a little while and our conversation ranged from penmanship, (mine is poor but she admired that I had any at all) which has declined since the introduction of the ball-point pen, to the role of women (we both agree that the women’s liberation movement has gone too far and now ties women to their desks rather than their kitchens, and far too early in their children’s lives), to the education system in Yukon (she quit teaching as a professor at the college because she felt it didn’t qualify as a learning institution), to parenting values (too much emphasis on being perfect, not enough time showing our children how to live values, and too much pressure on educators to pick up the slack), to the dangers of homeopathic remedies, to the politics in her senior’s home.

We agreed in opinion on each of these topics and she admired the decision we are making to move away from Yukon in order to pursue the life we want as a family. It was nice to have this validation, especially from someone of that age. Most of the time when I tell people we are moving, they ask if I have a job lined up or what I will do for work. When I explain that I will be at home, the question of when I’ll go back to work inevitably comes up. It’s clear that my choice to be at home, for however long, is hard to accept for the women I talk to in the work force.

One last little note from our conversation: She spent her post-children years as a cultural geographer, focusing on how cultures compete for power and she defines culture as “how you understand the raw stuff of life.” I thought you might like to ruminate on that interesting definition.

Baby Update

It has been far too long since you've seen a post from me, but that's because we are well on track to achieving a couple of big dreams, (including being an at-home mom!) and getting there has been all-consuming for a little while. I can't be the only working mom out there who spends all day in front of a computer and after dinner-bath-bed-no, really go to bed-okay, I'm serious now, go to sleep-Okay fine, I'll get dad since he's the only one who can actually put you to sleep,  just wants to sit down on the couch for ten minutes rather than writing a blog post. Sorry.

However, we are excited to announce that Baby #2 will be a girl! Kaitlyn is going to have a sister and we are both thrilled about it. Having a little girl has been such a good experience the first time around and we're hoping for something similar this time. So far Kaitlyn's understanding of the situation has increased to the point that she waves "Hi" to my belly and promptly says "Bye-bye baby" and pulls down my shirt. Here's a couple of photos from our recent ultrasound along with a promise for more posts soon.

Baby #2 sitting quietly

This one is a little creepy, you could say she's laughing or getting ready to  take a big bite out of mom!