A progress report..

OK.. Kylee

1. can handle a computer well and is exceptional on an iPad.
2. can remember important phone numbers and is able to call them.
3. can make a creditable peanut butter and jam sandwich and cut the crusts off.
4. can help and plays a large part in kitchen stuff generally (not the hot stuff).
5. can sing the first verse of ‘Oh Canada’ in FRENCH.
6. can reach the ‘floor 2’ elevator button.
7. can get on and off an escalator unaided (but watched carefully).

The list keeps growing and she is surpassing some of the stuff that she thought she might only be able to do when aged six.

Re. school, she is still not the biggest fan and is not averse to avoiding it if possible. If learning from play and general observation was enough, she would be star of the show. Unfortunately, structured learning is necessary. It will get better.. 

Re the home front, you couldn’t wish for a nicer kid. If you give her a set place to take off her shoes and hang her jacket up, she will do it. Kylee likes to know what is ahead such that she can plan ahead.

Re routine, if the process is in place, she will utilise it.

Kylee is progressing well, not top of the class yet, but could easily be if she applied herself. It will come..

Granting a wish..

There is nothing worse than always having to look through a window at folks having fun, knowing that you can’t join them.

So it was with the Build-a-bear store in London Ontario’s most prestigious mall. Kylee looked through the window on more than a few occasions, and sometimes wandered into the store to get a taste of what it was all about.

A few months prior, we were in a store and she had seen an alarm clock, the type with bells on, that had a kitten face on it. She told me that she would really like an alarm clock, so I told her that I would write to Santa and make sure that he didn’t forget to make her one.

Sure enough, Santa remembered, and late on Christmas Day, she unwrapped an ‘Hello Kitty’ alarm clock complete with two  shiny red bells.

But hey, this story is about a bear, not an alarm clock.

We had also been to the mall with the build-a-bear store, and she had watched a young girl get one. I asked her which bear she would like best, and she pulled the multi-coloured bear out. I made a promise that I would tell Santa about the bear too, but that I might be too late.

On December 31st, 2012, I drove her to the mall, walked her to the front of the store, and I told her that her wish was about to come true.

Build-a-bear is no ordinary teddy bear store.

First, she picked her favourite bear out of a bin, then she picked a voice for it.

Next, she took it to a bear maker, where she pressed a pedal to fill it with stuffing while the maker guided the stuffing into the bear’s extremities. He let her briefly hug the bear to ensure that it was nicely stuffed ,

Then he asked her to pick a small red heart out, and make a big wish. The heart was placed into the bear, and the bear was sealed up.

The next stage is fluffing up the fur of the bear, and Kylee had no problem with this task. She had watched it being done on more than one occasion.

No self-respecting bear owner would ever let a bear out without being dressed. A Ballerina outfit, ballet shoes, and two pink bows were selected, and she dressed up the bear.

Lastly, when a bear is born, there has to be a certificate. The Build-a-bear registrar helped her fill out the details. Kylee gave the name ‘Rainbows’ to the bear.

Kylee exited the store with a bear that she had longed for since she was a little beyond a year old. Getting the bear was an obvious thrill for her, but it was more than that. She finally got the whole experience from beginning to end, just like the kids she had watched many times before.

That is why I didn’t get the bear for her as a Christmas present. I wanted her to be there for the whole trip..