My granddaughter, C, has just gone down for a nap after I read her the book she requested, Thanking the Moon, Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival by Grace Lin. This takes me back to September when her friend, B, invited us to celebrate the moon festival with her Chinese family. We were introduced to different foods, especially pomelo which is a gigantic grapefruit and moon cakes. The children made and decorated lanterns and received the above mentioned book. C and B are now attending different preschools and I make sure that they still have time to be together and play. Fortunately, the weather in September was warm and sunny and the girls spent hours playing outside and also at this time they were harvesting their gardens. C pulled miniature carrots and needle sized beets which any gourmet restaurant may have been proud to serve. The most successful vegetable in the garden was the pea. This was our first attempt at gardening and we look forward to planting again in the spring. C is saving pumpkin seeds for planting, also in the spring, after reading the book, Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington which tells the story of a little boy Jamie who watches a pumpkin grow through the seasons from spring to fall.
We took C to the farm to pick a pumpkin. As we arrived there was a school class leaving and we then had the farm to ourselves so we enjoyed wandering through the gardens, including the children’s garden, discovering the fruits and vegetables and saying hello to the chickens and rooster. We were introduced to the Cinderella pumpkin which prompted me to tell C the story of Cinderella for the first time. We returned home to carve the pumpkins, roast the seeds and make pumpkin cookies and soup. C enjoys wearing her fairy princess costume at home but is reluctant to wear it at the preschool and she doesn’t know why. We are pondering this one.
Our baby, IJ, is now three month’s old and growing beautifully and she even has a puppy Halloween costume. C is really enjoying her baby sister and is so sweet with her exclaiming how much she loves her. She is showing empathy towards her and can understand what she needs and can even tell me to burp her, or change her! Naturally, C wants more of her mother’s attention. We enjoyed a family occasion when we celebrated the baby’s christening and Grandmama and her godparents flew in from Quebec. IJ wore the family christening gown which her father had worn many years ago.
Preschool is a new experience for C and she has had a challenge separating from us when we drop her off. Fortunately, the teachers are very nurturing and understanding allowing us to stay a while to settle her in and she is now enjoying the activities and making friends as well as bringing home songs she has learned.
It is a very busy family and I am so grateful to be a part of it.