Thanksgiving and Aunt Kathryn's Birthday

October has so far been a very busy month and we've had Aunt Kathryn home for two visits.

The first visit was for Thanksgiving. Kathryn was home for 2 nights that weekend. The weather here in Toronto was remarkable on Thanksgiving with temperatures in the near 30 C.

We shared a wonderful dinner, if as the cook I do say so myself, on the Saturday evening. Turkey is the usual fare for Thanksgiving, but roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is the favourite in my family.After dinner Denis insisted on doing the dishes. Hmm, I am raising a lovely child. Now, just to figure out how to keep him doing the dishes when he's a teenager.That Sunday I brought Kathryn out to mass and back to her group home. And in the evening Denis and I joined my cousin Donnie and Chantalle at their new house for a wonderful turkey dinner. Denis especially loved running in and out the balcony doors.

This evening we celebrated my sisters 47th birthday. I always find marking her birthday to be so bittersweet as 7 years ago I packed up her belongings and helped her move into her group home. It is hard allowing someone else to care for Kathryn, but she is ever so wonderfully cared for at the home. And I always remind myself that it is because of the group home I was able to adopt Denis, as I could never have considered adopting if I was Kathryn's full time caregiver.

Here is a picture Denis took of his aunt and I. It is a wonderful picture.October 31 is fast approaching and that will be my first day back at work. What a great day to start in a Senior Kindergarten /Grade 1 class. I will have a great day and that evening I will be taking Denis out for his first trick-or-treating. It should be fun.

By Any Name Still The Same

Suddenly last month Denis started calling my brother Un-Con. From the time Denis came home he has been able to say Uncle John. I guess he just decided it was too long of phrase and he has shorten it down to Un-Con. At first I thought he was saying uncle in a strange way, but no, it definitely is Un-Con.

After just a few months Denis decided not to call my sister Aunt Kathryn, he shortened her name down to just Ka, which exactly what Kathryn calls herself.

My brother said he'd always heard of children changing a person's name, but most times it is because the child has difficulty saying the word. In Denis' case it was to make the job easier. That's my boy, look for the easiest means to the end.

Stay Home

Denis likes day care, but he'd prefer if I'd stay with him all day. If I can't stay with him he thinks that he shouldn't go at all. So he's come up with a couple of plans to get out of going.

First he says that we shouldn't go to day care (as his day care is in a school, we just say he is going to school). Denis said to me, "Stay home, no school, watch DVD". Needless to say it didn't work and he ended up at day care.

Last week he took his play phone and when it ran he answered it. Then he acted really sad and said, "Nobody school, Denis stay home, okay". Then he turned to me and told me that school was closed because there was no one there. That didn't work either.

This morning Denis told me we should stay home again but this time he said, "Stay home, Mommy knit." I laughed so hard. Right, so if staying home to watch DVD doesn't work for me, then maybe letting me do what I enjoy would work. Unfortunately it didn't work either, poor lamb.

It would be really funny if he didn't act so pleased at the end of day when I returned to pick him up. He also always says, "Mommy came back." And last week he said thank you. Does he think that one day I won't come and he'll have to stay forever at school. Only time will show him the truth.

A Snowsuit Forever

The other day, Denis and I went out to Zellers to look at snowsuits. The snowsuits were on sale and we found a 'Cars' snowsuit. Denis wasn't interested in buying it, he was more interested in riding up and down the escalator, but we bought the snowsuit anyway.

So the other night I was putting the snowsuit into the cupboard and suddenly I was so emotional. The new snowsuit in some ways represents Denis staying with me permanently. It is hard to explain, but in many ways having Denis at home seems so . . ., for want of a better word 'temporary'. In many ways it feels like Denis has always been here, but at the same time it is hard to imagine the future. But that evening as I put the snowsuit away (for what I hope will be a LONG time) I could visualize a future with him wearing this new snowsuit.

It certainly is strange the things that bring home the future of our lives together.

Help! The couch is eating me!

Happy 6 months home little guy, it has been a wonderful ride so far.

We have many more crazy days, months and years ahead.

My little man, I love you heart and sole.

Hugs and Kisses from Mommy!