CRYING AT SCHOOL

Dear Weeb,

I know that your teacher is not as affectionate as your preschool teachers, but you have to understand that she has over 20 kids and she can't always help you immediately, when you need help or attention. The same is true of the Librarian and your computer teacher.

You are an emotional girl, like your mother. I hope to teach you better ways of expressing your feelings and frustrations, though at 41, I'm still having a hard time figuring out how to do the same. Sometimes we just need to cry.

Part of me desperately wants to teach you to act the way that is acceptable, and the other part of me wants you to be yourself and if you have to cry, then you go ahead and cry.

Let's work on understanding WHY you are crying before we tackle how to handle the emotion. I'm pretty sure it's because you're an 'only child' at home and you're used to having as much attention as you'd like. Now you're at school with a much higher kid to teacher ratio than there was at the preschool (there were 50+ kids at your preschool, but there was one teacher or aid for every 5 or 6 kids). You're not the center of the universe anymore. I'm so sorry it's proving to be a hard lesson.

You'll always be the center of MY universe!

READING

Dear Weeb,

Yesterday, Daddy and I heard you talking to yourself in the bathroom.

Upon closer inspection, we realised that you were reading to yourself from your most recent Chirp magazine.

I don't even know how to tell you how proud I am that you are reading so well before you're even 5 years old! A sticker on your calendar just doesn't seem to be enough.

This makes all those times we had to read the same Dora stories to you over and over and over again ALMOST worth while!

I hope your love of reading and being read to continues!

SNOW BOOTS

Dear Weeb,

I do not quite understand why you are so attached to snow boots that you've worn seven times. They were cheap boots and that is why they got holes in the soles so quickly. You needed new boots. Crying in the car, all the way to the mall, and then dropping into a starfish position in the shoe store and crying your little eyes out was not going to solve the boot problem.

I also don't quite understand why your mother, who was NOT mad at you, was not able to calm your boot tragedy, yet the woman at Pay Less had no problem getting a smile out of you and finding boots to appease you. You even agreed to part with the old boots that you had earlier insisted you were going to miss so much that it was making you cry.

I'm very proud of you for not crying at school today. I'm beyond thrilled that you saved it up for me, for after school.

WEEBY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

Dear Weeb,

You did a very good job of singing your new song today. It is a perfect very cold day song to help you remember what to do before you go outside for recess and lunch!

*singing*

You put on your boots, then your coat, then you zip, then your hat, then your mitts!

DREAMS

Dear Weeb,

I'm sorry that you only dream about ghosts and not about Christmas.

Ghosts are not real, even if, as you say, they are real in your imagination.

BATS

Dear Weeb,

There are no bats living in our townhouse attic.

Really. I promise.

GAPPY SMILES

Dear Weeb,

Your tooth finally came out! That thing was wiggly for more than a month!

We were in my bed reading a story and I was bugging you to wiggle it some more. You'd been stressing about it for a couple of days because it was SO loose that you were having trouble eating. Your lunch box would come home with little blood marks around the sandwich crusts that you'd leave. Poor thing.

Finally it came out. You were really upset about it because you saw some blood but we quickly rinsed the tooth off and then you thought that was pretty cool!

I was severely grossed out at how manky your gum looked after the little tiny tooth came out, but I couldn't let you know that, so I kept telling you how cool and awesome this was!

You drew a picture of the Tooth Fairy and a tooth on a little cup with a lid. We put your tooth in there and waited for the Tooth Fairy that night.

For your very first tooth, the Tooth Fairy left you the DVD of Ponyo. It had a little stuffed Ponyo doll with it. Then you noticed something was inside the cup! Your tooth was gone and there was a two dollar coin and a couple of quarters! Awesome!

This is your first baby tooth and my wisdom teeth. Yours is SO tiny! I wonder when the next one will come out.