Let’s talk summer – it’s my favourite time of the year and I think it’s yours too. Summer 2022, you turned 3 on June 11. We finished up music class and gymnastics that month. In gymnastics you have really improved. You are more confident on the balance beams, pulling your body weight up on the bars, turning somersaults and you are an excellent trampoline jumper and do the best “seat drops”. 99 percent of the time you pay attention and do what you are asked but I must say at our last class you were a bit of a pack leader taking some of your buddies where you weren’t supposed to go. In music class, you really started participating. You love to get up and dance with the other girls your age and especially with Cindy, your teacher. We have been playing the CD’s from our classes (this is our 4th session) in the car. You insist on choosing which one you want to hear and you sing along. In the car you also love to pretend to fall asleep. First you close your eyes and bide your time. Soon you start some very loud snoring that never fails to crack me up. You like to pretend to wake up too. I love your abundant sense of humour.

We’ve eaten out regularly. Your favourite is a DimSum buffet (955 Chinese Food) with a robot that does the serving. You like the food (dumplings, noodles, and chicken wings) but you LOVE the robot. We went with Tamar to a French cafe on the Danforth (Patisserie La Cigogne). I ordered you the continental breakfast – croissant, orange juice and coffee (the coffee was for me). I ordered a croissant breakfast sandwich for myself. Yours came first and out of the blue, you became very upset (big tears) and cried “I want dinner, I want dinner”. These little mood swings are all part of being 3 – our little threeanger. Anyway, we solved it by sharing my sandwich with you. Another day, we went to my favourite Greek Restaurant (Astoria) with Kenana and things went very smoothly. You played on the patio checking out the greenery and having a very good time. Finished that little outing with chocolate ice cream at Avoca. We do love ice cream. Yummm. Uncle Peter took us to a Middle Eastern restaurant for Falafel and french fries. You just love being around Uncle Peter and usually the two of you are up to some shenanigans involving laughing and dancing!

Let’s talk birthdays. Your 3rd birthday in particular. 2 birthday parties!! Your Mommy would have definitely got behind that plan- she loved parties, birthdays and celebrations. She didn’t care when it was, in fact, she took me out for my May birthday once in August. Daddy planned 1 with your friends and family. There was even a pinata!! Auntie Raya planned a birthday bash for you in London a few weeks later! We even managed to attend Uncle Ben’s Annual Baseball Extravaganza. You told Auntie you wanted a black and white colour scheme with a kitty theme and 2 cakes – chocolate and strawberry. Lots of kids, lots of adults and tonnes of food and fun. It’s so good to have special events to get together with our London pals – they knew and loved your Mommy. There were so many great presents, we couldn’t bring them all home on the train. Speaking of trains. What a great traveller you are. The VIA train to London is about 2 1/2 hours. You never fuss. You play with your toys, talk to strangers, eat (obviously), watch shows and once in while take a nap. It’s the same in the car – no fuss, no complaints, no trouble. You are born to travel. I never have to think twice about taking you anywhere. Your mom and auntie were the same.

We went away for 5 days to New York state with Auntie Raya and Cousin Oscar. We stayed at Cousin Hartley’s cottage and we had the best time. We went to the Niagara Power Plant where we got to see how electricity works, see a 4D film which was a little scary with water spraying, wind blowing and the chairs moving!! We went to a little town called Olcott with a great playground and splash pad and we went to Whirlpool State Park that also had terrific play equipment. In the evenings all 4 of us played board games, read books and had a good night sleep. You and Oscar laughed and played a lot. You didn’t leave his side. On our final day, we crossed the border and spent the morning in Niagara Falls, Canada. We had breakfast in a diner and then took a trip on the Maid of the Mist. You were so brave and we all had a great time.

We still love cooking even in the summer. We just made a batch of fresh spring rolls with peanut sauce and took them to the beach for our lunch. We filled the rice paper wraps with avocado, cucumber, green pepper, tofu and snow peas. You tasted each ingredient to make sure it was all good. That’s my little trick to get you to try or retry foods. I’m always asking you to sample things and you love to gently dip your finger in a variety of sauces from mayonnaise to maple syrup. We’ve made oatmeal muffins with applesauce, peanut butter cookies without flour, sweet potato muffins, and 2 ingredient bagels. You still do not like loud noises like blenders, hair dryers, hand dryers, etc. so we work around that problem with you going in the bedroom and closing the door.

So many memories. On my birthday, we took the Go Train to Port Credit to meet Auntie Raya. We had lunch in a Mexican restaurant and spent that night at hotel. We swam in the pool and jumped on the bed. You told us you loved staying in hotels and so do we and so did your Mom. I promise lots more of that.

There is so much more to tell and to remember. We had a lot of play dates, several visits to Great Bubby. She turned 101 on her birthday May 5th. You really love being with her and you bring Great Bubby so much joy. We are sharing a little garden with Cousin Lisa and Cousin Hartley. You love to water it and to eat the tomatoes. You love crafting and it looks like you have your mother’s hands and her excellent small motor skills. You love to cut paper, you can write H for Harper, you love reading books and love to visit the library. Your favourite toys right now are your baby dolls, your stroller, your tattoo parlour, your doctor’s kit, your ice cream truck and your Barbie sized bathtub (both of the latter we found on the street and you love to find “something nobody wants”). You have had a few manicures and pedicures at the salon. You are a favourite there and always get spoiled.

You are so caring, so helpful and so darn smart. You have decided that you will be an eye doctor. You love playing doctor, you love tending to your babies. You introduced us to your twins, Emma and Ethan. No one knows where the names came from or how you knew about twins. A few days ago, we were at the beach and heard a clap of thunder so we packed up and headed for the bus. We saw a water filling station and went to fill our water bottles when we realized we had left them on the beach. I said I didn’t have the energy to go back for them and we should leave them. You said you were going to get them and took off running down the boardwalk. I, of course, followed behind you. You were so proud when you found them. You told several people on the way back and said you were tired from running. One young man said he totally understood about being tired and something about knees hurting. We continued on our way and missed the bus by a minute. You were waving at it and asking it to stop. I said maybe we should walk but you said no and that you wanted to wait the 15 minutes for the bus. We sat down and you announced that you had to pee really bad!!! I said we had better go somewhere but you insisted that we stay and that you could hold your pee for a very long time (true but as I have said several times not a healthy choice, lol). As we waited I said, I’m I really worried about you and you answered with your hand on my cheek, “Don’t worry about me, I’m worried about you.” I then said but what does Bubby tell you and you answered that you shouldn’t worry about me. Kitty Kat, you are my best friend and my sweet love.