My girl

Daddy keeps bugging me to write more letters.  He wants to make sure we don’t forget any important Ekko events.  Especially as it gets close to baby coming and we get busy with the new baby.  We love our little big Ekko too! 

Last week one of the days was nice and cool so we went raspberry picking.  At the farm they had a few animals for kids to look at.  You really like animals.  I think you’d be a good farmer.  The thing that pleased you the most was milking a  cow.  Okay, it was a cut out cow with a pail of water instead of an udder but they had realistic teats for kids to feel what it was like to try to milk.  Most of the big kids were squeezing wrong and couldn’t get any “milk” out.  So I showed you how to slide your hand and milk.  The delighted squeals were heard all over the farm I think when you got “milk”!  It was great.  You were so excited you had to try milking all the fake cows.  You also really seemed to like the ducks because they were swimming in little turtle pools like yours.

You were a super helper with raspberry picking too.  What a great kid.  The lady gave us a basket with a string to put around our necks so we could use two hands to pick.  Every time you got about four berries in your basket you would tell me it was getting too full and needed dumping into the big pail.  We filled up our big pail pretty quickly.  You ate lots of them too.  Your legs are still healing from all the scratches of the raspberry canes because you had to eagerly dig into the bushes to find the ripe ones.  You would tell me numerous times that the berries were too ripe and needed to be eaten or they would squish.  Another thing that was funny was that you wanted carried.  I told you that I had to carry the berries because they don’t have any legs and you have two legs to walk with.  So you made up a song about Ekko is a two legged girl.  Also I thought it was funny that you ended up with about ten stickers.  All the other kids were each getting one sticker.  For some reason all the staff thought you were so cute so each one of them snuck you a sticker.  By the end you were saying “Mommy, I don’t want anymore stickers”.

Last week we had a different doctor to check out our baby because our’s is on holidays.  She hadn’t ever met you before.  Dr M asked you what she needed to do with me and you told her “measure mommy’s tummy”.  And so she asked what was in my tummy and you told her “a baby”.  Then she asked if you had any names picked out for the baby and you giggled and said “Cedarvale.  It’s a boy.”  Of course we don’t know what it is and Cedarvale is the name of our old street but you sure thought you were funny.  The doctor was amazed at how smart and polite you were.

On Sunday when we were walking to church you belched a big one.  Then you grinned at me and said “the baby in my tummy just tooted”.  I think I need to try using that excuse!

Yesterday we went to Alana’s third birthday party.  You and Lani were giggling like fiends.  Last night when we got home you told me that you and Lani are “tickling cousins”.  All week you were so excited about Alana’s birthday party.  At one point you wanted to call Auntie Hiroko and remind her that she needed to have a cake and candles.  Good thing she remembered!  You would have been rather disappointed.  You sure ate a lot of cake too.  And you had fun playing with all the girls.  At one point though  I realized that you and Alana were giggling over things together and all the rest of the girls were wondering why you found those things funny.  I guess you both must have got a bit of the Shepherd sense of humour.

Last week we drove Daddy to volleyball.  You love watching him play and pretending to do it too.  You put on  your “knee pads” and bump the ball.  I should make you some knee pads.  I bet you’d love that.  Afterwards we stopped at a store to get newborn diapers for when our baby comes.  You loved it.  You helped me find them and when we got home, you helped me pack our bag to take to the hospital.  Then to your great glee, you realized that your puppy from Ada is the perfect size for newborn diapers.  So now puppy has a diaper on and you are convinced that he needs to share in all the baby items.  Yesterday you told me to cuddle him because he was my favourite girl.  Almost every day you get the baby bag at some point in the day and ask me if the baby is coming today.  Hard to understand time isn’t it little girl!?

Well, I’m getting tired again and I can’t remember what else to write so I think I’ll stop for now.  You are eating noodles and I should go help you.  I love you beauty. – Mommy