A visit with grandpa

I realize it's been ten days since I updated this blog and I apologize, but Kaitlyn had a really nice visit from grandpa last weekend and I couldn't tear myself away from watching them bond.

When Kaitlyn was born I was shocked at how much of a softie my dad became. In fact, he started getting protective the first time I went to visit my parents while pregnant. He wouldn't let me go shooting because the sound might scare the baby. And after she was born it just got worse (well, better really, I love it). She can do absolutely no wrong in his eyes. When I was visiting with her at three months, he was the one to get out of bed laughing at 4 am when I was threatening to throw her out the window because she refused to sleep. And when it came time for her first birthday party, he and Keith took charge of the decorations and cleaning up the house.

This visit, grandpa jumped in to play with Kaitlyn every chance he got. I could see them growing closer as the weekend went by and it warmed my heart every time I saw them laughing together. This isn't the relationship that I had with my dad when I was younger and I've never seen him have so much patience and tolerance with someone, but maybe that's the difference between being a parent and being a grandparent.

When some visitors leave, you sigh with relief that the pressure of having a guest is over with and your life can return to normal. When my dad left this week, I wished we had booked him a longer trip and I just hoped he'd be able to visit both his little girls again soon.



Kaitlyn teaches grandpa how to colour on her new dry erase crayon board (his idea!)




Kaitlyn and grandpa enjoying the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous festival.



Potty training false alarm!

Kaitlyn's fascination with the potty has been short-lived. After two sessions of pooping on the floor because she doesn't want to actually sit on it for more than a few seconds, I'm going to declare that the move into potty training was a false alarm. I can't help but sigh with relief because I wasn't quite ready to go there yet. Not only have I not done a single bit of reading on the subject, I just don't feel like I'm up to the challenge of reinforcing these habits yet. We'll keep the potty in the bathroom, where I manage to trip on it daily, and see how she does with it later on. At this point, familiarity is good enough for me.

In other news, we had a house full of stomach flu this weekend. I was the last to get it, last night, so I get a sick day all to myself at home. I should mention that for me, flu means just feeling nauseous and tired, rather than actually getting sick. For Kaitlyn and Keith, it means, well, what flu usually means. Arguably, I could have suffered through a day of work but after a weekend of dealing with a sick household, I could really use the rest.

Eleven of the kids at Kaitlyn's daycare also reported having flu over the weekend, which makes me want to pull her out of there asap. Some people argue that daycare is a great way for kids to get exposed to all the germs so that they build up immunity, but I call BS on that one. I didn't go to daycare once in my life and I have great immunity. It's rare that I actually get sick and when I do, it's not nearly as severe as it seems to be for everyone else. Hopefully, they don't all pass it back to each other again today.

Singing solo after all

So it seems that I'm getting a second chance to try my hand at singing solo in the choir, or rather as a duet. I got the part! I'll be singing the opening to Memory along with one of our other, more experienced choir members. I'm super excited but not as much as I think I would have been if I had done better at the audition and felt like a really deserved it.

As it turns out, the girl who blew me away during the audition studied voice in university and has aspirations of singing opera professionally. She isn't singing this part with me but she has many other solo parts in the show. And that's the beautiful thing about a community choir, you get all types of experience and you don't have to be the best to get a chance to shine.

True to my word, I'm investing in voice lessons and had my first one last week, with the aspiring opera singer. I had a great time and gained a lot of confidence just in that first short hour. And I know that I wouldn't be putting this effort in if I hadn't both done poorly and then gotten the part, an opportunity to prove myself. Thanks to our very understanding choir director for that!

Happy lessons learned this week!