Christmas Eve 2010

What a great Christmas Eve we had today! 

It was our elves' last morning at our house (Santa takes them back to the North Pole with him when he comes, you know) and they brought a puzzle for each of the kids. So we built a fire and made hot chocolate and put together the new puzzles while we let Papi sleep in. Asher helped me make the sugar cookie dough for Santa's cookies. We ate a big breakfast and went out in the snow and played. The kids were sledding behind the four-wheeler (still in the toboggan sled, which we need to address ASAP) and throwing snowballs.

Jamie went into town for things on our grocery list. We're having lots of people over for Christmas and needed all kinds of little things for dinner. The kids napped (yay!) while I made my no-fail fudge, which finally, for the first time every, didn't fail. I got to sneak downstairs and wrap gifts with a glass of wine while watching Planet Earth. Man, I have a lot of wrapping paper!

I tried my hand at chicken kiev, since it's Jamie's favorite. What a pain in the butt! It took me forever to pound out the chicken, roll the frozen butter ball inside of it and skewer it together with toothpicks so I could bread it. Of course, after giving Jamie such a hard time for using about a dozen toothpicks per piece the last time he made it, I couldn't use a lot so I was handicapped. ;) I did manage to use three or four per, floured, egged and breaded them and put them back into the fridge for a few hours. I have to admit, they were absolutely delicious! I have a feeling these are going to be rotated into our menu a little more frequently. 

After dinner we rolled out and cut the cookies and I baked them. We made lots of different colored frosting and Jamie had bought about seventeen bottles of sprinkles- so they had fun decorating them. The kids then opened up a gift from the Harrants. Each got a nice Christmas book and a two-sided puzzle that matched. We put those puzzles together and then read each book before putting the kids to bed. 

Asher, of course, didn't want to go to bed very badly so ended staying up much later that we'd have liked. We were so tired from our long Christmas Eve day!

Monsters live in Africa

Asher had me laughing tonight at dinner. We were talking about monsters, and he told me they didn't live in our world that they lived in Disneyland. Huh? There are no monsters in Disneyland. Oh, he says, you know where they really live? He leaned over and whispered to me, Africa. Hahaha!!

Last weekend before Christmas

We had a really nice weekend together. It snowed all day Saturday and it was beautiful out. Even better, it was in the high 20s so it was warm enough so that we could go out and play in the snow. 

I went to the grocery store Saturday morning early, before the last-Saturday-before-Christmas crowds came out. When I got back, Jamie and Asher went to the store to buy a rope (for the sled) and the few groceries I forgot to get. The boys came home, we at mac and cheese for lunch and we went out to play in the snow. There's a little hill on the side of the house (not as big as the one in Missouri, mind you, but at least there is SNOW on this one) that we slid down a few times. Then daddy came around the corner with the four-wheeler towing the new sled and after a few tweaks involving rope length here and there we were all off. We didn't go all that fast, but the kids loved it. We decided that a) Asher needs a balaklava and b) we need a tube-like sled (the straight one kept getting stuck in the tire ruts and tilting the sled), so it was a learning experience as well. 

After shoveling off the walk we came in, sat by the fire and played games and picked up the house. We rounded out the night by eating cream of broccoli soup and warm bread and watched the Chronicles of Narnia (again). 

The next day Avery and I went to see the new Chronicles of Narnia movie and had a really nice time together. I surprised her, which was fun. I asked her if she wanted to go eat lunch and after throwing out a bunch of restaurants, I told her I was in the mood for popcorn and asked her where we thought we could get some. I thought that would give it away, but it didn't. We pulled up to the theater and went inside and she still didn't get that we were there to see a movie (one that she's been begging to see, incidentally). When she figured out we were in a theater, I bought some popcorn and asked her if she wanted to sit down somewhere to eat it. She pointed at a table in the arcade and said maybe we could sit there. Poor thing, she's usually pretty quick to pick up on things, but I didn't get her to realize we were there to watch a movie til we actually walked in and found our seats! Needless to say she was thrilled and was really good sitting through the two hour flick (during which we had to wear 3D glasses- I HATE 3D movies!!). 

After getting home and swimming we had a nice steak dinner, cooked on our indoor grill I didn't know we had til the owner of the home popped in on us last week and asked if we liked using it. Well, I do now! Yummo! Unfortunately Asher had fallen asleep and didn't wake up for dinner and subsequently had a meltdown of major proportions when we asked him to change into his jammies. Aside from that, we had a really nice weekend.

Skunks eat coconuts

Last night I was reading to Asher a book in which a skunk was making away from a picnic with a hamburger. When I asked Asher if he thought skunks really ate hamburgers he told me that no, everyone knows skunks eat coconuts. Ha! Where he got that I have no idea, but I sure thought it was clever. I swear, he's always thinking and I think he is going to have an awesome sense of humor when he grows up. He's already telling us how things are magic and teasing us about one thing or another.

Our first real Michigan snowfall

Avery and I were at my mom's house on Saturday with plans to stay til Sunday. Well, we heard a blizzard was going to be coming through within the next half day or so and after a frantic worried call from Greatgrandma we decided to leave early. So Sunday morning the kids and I were getting up and the power went off at around 7 am. Of course it was still dark out so I got Jamie up and we rounded up some candles, stoked the fire and sat and played Go Fish. After a couple hours we'd had breakfast and it was light out. The snow was coming down heavily, but it was soft and fluffy and it wasn't very cold out so we went out to play. We noticed the snow was really wet, which was excellent for making snowballs. I think Asher threw 800 at me and laughed harder and harder with every one. The first thing Jamie did was fire up our new four-wheeler with the plow on the front so he could clear the driveway. We only had three or four inches of snow but since it was so wet it was heavy and it was good he cleared it when he did. The kids rode on it and I shoveled the steps and walkways. We spent a couple hours out just playing in the snow, making snowmen and sledding. Then it was time to come in. The wind was picking up, the snowflakes were getting smaller and it was getting cold fast. We were all a little wet but the power hadn't come on yet so we had to stand in front of the fireplace (which doesn't kick out much heat without the fan!). We managed to warm up and eat cold pizza and played more cards. Jamie took the kids to the mall for a couple hours to play and I piddled around the house picking things up where I could. The day dragged on and the house got colder and colder, with no answer to when our power would come back on. Finally it started getting dark again and I didn't have much on hand for dinner that didn't require cooking. By that time we were all getting a little tired of playing cards and opted to go to a hotel after eating dinner. I hated spending the money on that, but we all got a good night's sleep and by the time we got home in the morning the power was on. It was sort of funny, because EVERYthing was on. apparently the kids had gone room by room to see if *that* light worked by turning it on, then left if on. This was a really good lesson for us. I think we'll start thinking seriously about purchasing a generator. We need to have lots more drinking water on hand as well as food that doesn't require heating. I've heard many people here say that they've lost power for days at a time, and I don't want to get stuck unprepared again. It wasn't an ideal day and it was tough for a while, but we all made some pretty good memories of our first snowfall in Michigan!

Great Wolf Lodge

Today we woke up early and ate breakfast at the Lodge, before heading to the waterpark to play. We were there by 9:30 or so in the morning and mom and Paul were there within an hour. We spent the next couple hours sliding down slides, floating down the lazy river and watching this HUGE bucket dump 1,000 gallons of water onto the people below every five minutes. Asher LOVED watching this and every time that bell rang signifying it was going to dump, he got excited and tried to make his way over to see it. At one point, Grandpa told Asher that he needed to run for his little life, and Asher turned around and said, no Papaw, we aren't supposed to run in here! Ha- good boy! Mom brought lunch and were in the water another half hour or so after we ate. It's warm in there, but after a while you can start to get chilled. Especially Asher, he's such a waif. So, we all went our separate ways- Asher and Jamie went back to Midland, Avery went with Granny and Papaw to their house and I went to the mall to get my hair done (which turned out RID-I-CU-LOUS). By the time I got to mom's Uncle Richard was there and they'd made the kefle dough. Mom, Paul, Richard, Avery and I went to the Apache Trout for dinner that night. The food was absolutely delicious! It was such a nice dinner, and it was fun being with them. Avery was acting pretty tired.. not crabby just silly and a bit weird. But we all got home pretty early and were able to get a good night's sleep before the kefle-making extravaganza the next day.

Avery Rose turns 5

Today Avery Rose turned five today. I can't believe how quickly this last five years has gone by. I'm so proud of the little lady she is. She has her own way of doing things and a generally sweet disposition that makes it fun to be around her. So, today Avery, Asher, Jamie and I went drove over to Traverse City to go to the Great Wolf Lodge for the night. Avery and I took off with Sam (who's been staying with us for the last couple weeks) so we could drop him off at Niver's. Asher and dad followed close behind in the car. We all met that evening at the Olive Garden for dinner. This is Avery's favorite restaurant, and we don't have one nearby so it was a treat. Grandma, mom and Paul all were there and we had a great dinner together. Then we checked in at the Lodge and went up to our room where Avery blew out birthday candles and opened presents. The kids were so excited to swim in the water park that they put their suits and we promised them a half an hour or so. We had so much fun sliding, floating down the lazy river and playing on all the water equipment! We didn't get to spend much time there though because it was getting late. We said bye to everyone with plans to meet back there in the morning. We went upstairs and the kids put their jammies and slippers on just in time to go to the lobby to hear a story and meet Wiley the Wolf (although Rudy Reindeer was standing in for him). We sat in front of the big clock and watched animated animals sing Christmas songs and were very surprised when it started snowing right there in the lobby. Tons of sudsy bubbles came down and it looked just like snow, covering everyone and making the lobby look like a little wonderland. Very cool. Then upstairs, and the kids went to bed without a fight. Of course they were already looking forward to the next day full of fun in the water park. I asked Avery if she had a good birthday and she confirmed that she did and that she wished we could live at the Great Wolf Lodge.

Decorating the Christmas tree

This weekend on the way home from mom's we stopped at dad's and picked up a Christmas tree. It was a little shorter than I thought we should get, but it was perfect in every other way. We strapped it onto the top of our new Explorer and set it up in the living room. Honestly, Sunday was a horrible day for us. Everyone was fighting and crying- especially me! I guess four days of "togetherness" and everyone on their best behavior was just a little much. So, the kids went to their new daycare for the first time today. I dropped them off with their little breakfasts and lunches packed and they were really brave when I left. Jamie picked them up in the evening and I picked up a pizza from Pizza Sam's (my favorite so far). After pizza I got a glass of wine, Jamie got a Kahlua and cream we lit the fireplace and turned on the Christmas music and got to decorating! This was the first year both kids were really into putting things on the tree. Avery especially- she did most of it. We have Sam with us while my dad is hunting, so it was interesting trying to keep him out of things. But overall we had a really fun evening together.

Black Friday

We woke up with plans to drive into Traverse City with mom and Avery to meet Linda and go shopping- until we saw it snowing sideways. So, we called Linda and asked her just to come and we could shop in Suttons Bay instead. Paul and Michael went to SB to shoot pool and Jamie took Asher into TC so it was just us girls. The first stop we made was the candy store, where I watched a euphemism come to life in my daughter. She could not decide what she wanted, and meanie old me only let her have one piece (little turkey picked a sucker that had another candy tied onto it so she got two). We braved the cold wind off the bay and hopped from store to store. The front porch gave each of us four an angel halo we all wore around all morning. We bought fudge at Murdick's and little pieces of art at the Bayside Gallery. We were only gone an hour, but by the time we finished we had all had enough. We went back home and hung out the rest of the day. Mark and Tammy came by and we all ate lasagna and got to taste some really yummy olive oil and balsamic vinegar on our ciabattas. A little red wine and a lot of laughs later we all sat down by the fire and watched Mark play his guitar. What a talent he has! I could listen all night. The day ended with more dessert and hugs and plans to see one another one last time before everyone left to go back down south. What a great Friday- far from black.

Thanksgiving 2010

We all made it up to Granny and Papaw's yesterday afternoon. Granny and Avery made their famous pumpkin pie with pumpkins that I'd spatchcocked (the word of the day) and pureed. I have to get together all the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie pictures I have of those two- they always turn out so great. Linda, Richard and Mike arrived as mom and I were drinking pomegranate martinis and listening to the Black Eyed Peas (I was dismayed to learn of the lack of Christmas music on mom's iPod- but we had fun dancing around nonetheless). Grandma T was with them, and the first thing she said to me (before hello) was how glad she was not to have had to make the 12 hour each way drive to Missouri to see us this year. Mark and Tammy arrived a couple hours later, everyone loaded with gifts for one another and the kids. Aunt Linda had pictures of Granny's last Thanksgiving, which brought tears to all our eyes. Thanksgiving growing up was all about being at Granny and Grandpa's house and seeing the photos made us all miss them terribly. I was the official potato peeler for this year's feast. An honorable job, as aunt Linda informed me that it was a very long time before Granny let any of them do much of the work when it came to the dinner. Of course, Grandma T chided me for peeling a bit too much of the potato along with the peel, but I'm only going to be so careful when I have to peel five pounds of potatoes. Mom, Linda and I worked to warm things through and finish dinner and had it on the table by 5 or 6. What a delicious feast! I ate way too much and actually felt a little lightheaded afterwards, but of course that didn't stop me from eating a piece of pecan pie.

Over the river and through the woods

I'm so excited! Today I am leaving work early and we are headed to mom and Paul's house for Thanksgiving. Tomorrow the whole family is headed up, so Aunt Linda, Uncle Richard, Mike, Mark, Tammy and grandma will join us there. I have such good memories of my Thanksgivings when I was young I hope our kids get to have that too.

Kids are funny

I'm going to have to start writing more often about the funny things my kids say. What's even more funny is that they're so innocent and honest when they say these things. The other night at dinner I said something that was uncharacteristic (not even sure what that was, now) and Jamie said 'who are you and what did you do with my wife?' After about five minutes Avery leaned over and asked me if I had married daddy. I told her yes, why did she ask. She said, 'then why does daddy wonder where his wife is?' And little Asher! Poor bubs, for some reason, has been waking up scared in his room. So, he comes into our room every night in the middle of the night and sleeps with us. It's not bothered me much til lately (honestly, the straw was yesterday morning when I woke up with his foot in my pajamas) so I told him that he really had to start sleeping in HIS bed. He has a nice new bed in a big room that's perfect for him. And there's only room in mom and dad's bed for two people. He looked from me to Jamie and said 'then why don't one of YOU leave?'

Daddy daycare rocks!

So, we've been in Midland a month and I've been working for a week. I was a little worried about Jamie staying home with the kids. They tend to fight a lot when they're cooped up and spend all day together. And if that gets you in a bad mood, they sense it and act up even worse. But, he seems to be doing well with it. He went out and spent a ton of money on easy to make lunches and workbooks for the kids. He spends a little time every day with them doing 'schoolwork' where they use the workbooks to do activities with letters and numbers. They swim nearly every day in the pool, and have quiet time. I'm proud of him for handling it so well. Hopefully soon he will find a job and we can get the kids back in preschool... they do so well with little friends and loads of structure. But for now Daddy Daycare is rocking!

Tired day

I don't know whether it was the full moon or what, but my kids were both up at three a.m. wandering around the house. Avery even asked if she could play in her room (she often asks this when she wakes up before anyone else- but it's usually not THAT much before anyone else). Asher has been sneaking into our bedroom about half the time. Usually it's between 2 and 4, and last night he was right on cue. To be honest, I have a hard time sleeping when he's in there but on some level I don't mind it enough and let him stay. Sometimes I can put him back in his own bed and he'll stay so if he's really tossing and turning I'll do that. But last night, I was laying there wide awake and decided to go into the living room. Asher followed me out there and laid on my tummy. He asked for milk, so I gave him some and put him back to bed (sorry, dentist) and he toddled out again. I put him back again, then went into our room and he followed me in there. By this time it was 4. I had my alarm set for 5 so I could run and I just couldn't see me functioning at work well with 4 hours of sleep. But Asher climbed back into bed. He snuggled up to me, facing me and searched for my hand. He found it and held it tight up against him and kept saying quietly "my mommy, my mommy." I couldn't help but smile and kiss his spikey hair. Today as I sit here, so tired I could crawl under my desk and nap, I think about that and hope I never forget that feeling.

Luck of the Irish

Avery woke up so excited this morning! When I got out of the shower she was sitting in the middle of the bathroom floor ready to tell me what they were going to do in school today for St. Patrick's Day. Apparently they are going to eat green snacks, drink green juice (yuck) and eat pizza for lunch. She also reminded me that she needed to wear a green shirt so that she didn't get pinched, and encouraged me to wear one too. So did Asher... along with, yes, his green Christmas socks.

Asher's hat

I bought Asher a baseball hat today at Gymboree. It has an alligator on it (although he will tell you it's a crocodile). I was so excited, because he loves it! (I really like the kids to wear hats outside and am thrilled when they oblige, which is hardly ever.) Funny thing is that he tries to wear it like Bobby does. Apparently Bobby will throw it in the air and catch it on his head. Asher really needs to work on catching it on his head and not sending it sailing across the living room. ;) Today we also bought Avery another fish. Elle, her first fish (if you don't count the goldfish that died about 20 minutes after we brought it home), died last week. She wasn't sad about Elle, but really did want another fish. So, we went and picked out a pretty red betta which she named Owen. We also learned that Elle had been a male... poor thing was called a she all his life.

Asher is a snuggle bear

Asher is a mover and a shaker and hardly sits still at all. Getting a kiss from him is like getting gold. Except in the mornings. Most every morning Asher wanders into the bedroom, comes to my side of the bed and stands there until I lift him onto the center of the bed. I tuck him under the covers next to me and sometimes he'll go back to sleep. Other times he'll wiggle around and start talking to me. At some point he will grab my arm and hug it close and say "my mommy, my mommy" over and over. He'll snuggle, hug and kiss me until he starts asking for milk (actually he usually has a list of things he wants... today it was 1) milk, 2) spaceman vitamins and 3) to watch Diego). I try to milk the time with this snuggly version of Asher as much as I can, but I imagine soon I'll stop waking to the sound of his diapers crinkling as he walks across my floor.

Trip to the dentist

Some of my most vivid childhood memories are of my going to the dentist. I remember the way the office smelled of cloves, how nice Dr. Shelley was and how we got to pick a pack of Trident gum when we were finished. My mom, sister and I always went together and we'd get to get off school for a few hours. We'd always stop at Dawn Donuts for a nutty donut laughing at how dirty we were going to make our newly clean teeth. Today I took my kids to the dentist. This was our second visit- our first was six months ago. Last time Avery was a trooper and they told her that next time she was going to sit in the big kids' chairs and that she was the youngest kid to do that. Asher was NOT happy. He kicked and screamed and the dentist barely got to even look in his mouth. Today I went alone with them. The whole way there Avery was telling Asher that she would go first to show him it didn't hurt, and that it tickled. Sure enough Asher sat there and watched Avery get in the chair, lay back, put her sunglasses on and get her teeth cleaned. I was surprised at how well he paid attention. He even asked Avery "is it owie or it tickle?" Soon another gal came and told Asher it was his turn. He went into an exam room so I left Avery out in the main room to go with him. He climbed right up in the chair and answered all the hygenist's questions without being shy. He picked a penguin tooth cleaner and orange toothpaste and allowed himself to be laid back in the chair with the big goofy sunglasses. He did everything he was told- opening, closing, tongue here or there and wider. The dentist came in and looked at Asher's teeth. He asked him to roar like a dinosaur and Asher did. He asked him if he had a favorite dinosaur, and to my surprise Asher said yes, the one with the spikes. Dr. Stine asked spikes on the head or back and Asher answered "his tail." A stegosaurus? Yes, a stegosaurus says Asher. When he asked Asher if he ate meat or plants, he answered plants. The densist was duly impressed (as was I) and I overheard him telling a nurse later all about his interaction with Asher. When we went back out, Avery was still in the chair finishing up. She didn't get scared that I wasn't there, and the hygenist told me that Avery told her that she was going to be Tinkerbell for Halloween because her Granny had just bought her a costume. The kids each got to put tokens in the toy tower and got little trinkets for being good. They were so well behaved I don't think I've ever been prouder of them both. I felt good about this dentist and am really hoping my kids have memories of going to the dentist that are as good as mine. Maybe next time we'll stop for nutty donuts.

My weekend with the kids

I had a great weekend with the kids. Saturday I got up and ran, then went to the store but was able to spend quite a bit of time playing. We went out in the snow mid-morning and were going to try to sled but the snow was too wet. We managed to lay down a track going down the hill at the side of the house, but it was too slow and sticky. But, it was PERFECT snowman/snowball building snow! So we built a huge snowman in the front yard complete with a carrot nose, stick arms, sycamore seed eyes and a snowball "party hat" as Asher said. Then we made and threw about 800000 snowballs at each other and we all had a blast. Daddy was inside watching car racing and made us a good lunch. Later on we went outside again and the snow had changed. It was powdery and no longer good for making snowballs. But... it WAS good for sledding! The track that we had laid down earlier in the day was now slick and icy and the kids FLEW down the hill squealing the whole way. I spun Avery and her hat flew off and she must have gone in a hundred circles before stopping. Thankfully there was a patch of grass just before the treeline or they'd have ended up in the woods! Sunday Jamie left for Nebraska so it was just me and the kids. We had pancakes for breakfast then went to Walmart for a few things. They were so good that I took them to Burger King to play in the indoor playground. I was hoping at least one of them would go to sleep on the way home so I could relax a little but hahhahahaha no way. I did try to implement a quiet time during which Avery watched Peter Pan and Asher watched two episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba (incidentally- I wouldn't mind having some of what the creators of that show MUST be smoking) which gave us all time to reset. After quiet time I had a glass of wine and we all sat down on the floor on a blanket and ate shelled peanuts and watched The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Every time one of the kids got up they shaked their laps off onto the blanket, which was hilarious. After a dinner of pizza we were all pretty ready for bed.

Forebba and ebba

Last night Avery asked me if I was going to be her mommy when she grew up. I told her that yes, I would always be her mommy. Forebba and ebba? she asks. Yep... forebba and ebba.

The Christmas socks

I think a lot of kids will find something they like and stick with it. At one point Avery needed to wear a hat. Always. Everywhere. I have a picture of her taking naps in her hat. Whether it is a certain blanket (known as a Bubba in our house), or bandaids, or simply pants with pockets my kids have things they sort of get stuck on. Right now, Asher has a pair of lime green socks he won't take off. They are quite ugly. They are also far too small... size 12 to 24 months, but that doesn't bother him a bit. I think he saw them in his drawer before Christmas and insisted we put them on. He was wearing red pants, so naturally I made the connection between red and green and called them his Christmas socks. The other day he peed his pants and his Christmas socks got wet too. I had to round up a whole load of clothes to wash so he could have them the next day. Asher and his favorite socks- which he calls his Christmas Socks:

A day with my kids

Jamie left town yesterday morning to go to North Carolina to pick up a trailer. I decided to take the kids to the mall. It was so cold here that going outside was out of the question and it's been so cold all week they've been cooped up forever. So, getting out sounded good to all of us. The first thing we did was play in the play area. At first they were the only kids there so they had the run of the place, which was nice. Soon more and more kids started showing up so it was time to leave. That, and Asher decided to take off running sock-footed toward the little island with the candy machines. Then we went and got Asher's hair cut. He's had one professional cut but it was so long ago he doesn't remember. I usually buzz it, but I wanted to keep some of his length on top because it's winter. It ended up looking pretty cute. He was such a good boy sitting there, and Avery waited patiently. Then it was Avery's turn. She went to get her nails done. Of course she picked out blue, and thought it was cool when the lady next to her started talking to her just like she was a big girl. Notice the crown, which Avery has made me start putting in her hair in the mornings. After that, I gave each kid a quarter to put in the candy machines (they both got these disgusting little dog-boned shaped sugar candies) and then to Sbarro's for a piece of pizza. Then, our usual ride on the carousel just before leaving (we have to do it last thing... it's my most valuable bargaining tool). Of course, we sent these to daddy who sent us a voice message telling us how much he misses all of us. After getting home, Asher took a little nap on the couch while I sewed and Avery watched Peter Pan. We had tacos downstairs and watched Toy Story, then all went to bed with a nice, fun day under our belts.

My sweet girl

Last night I was having a rough time. I had a good day with the kids, but just missed Jamie and felt overwhelmed at the week ahead. I've also been a little depressed feeling, probably due to the really cold weather and not getting to get out and work out like I'd like. Anyway... The kids were both watching television and I went into Asher's room to have a bit of a cry. Both of them walked up to the door and asked me if I was okay. I could just see their little silouhettes in the doorway... so sweet. I told them I was okay and that I just missed daddy. Asher says "hey that's my daddy's name" like we were missing two different people named daddy (who he was crying for last night). Avery went and got this little pink bear and gave it to me, and told me I could keep it forever and ever. Then she told me that one time at daycare a lot of kids were being mean to her and her friend Kenley gave her a little airplane to keep, and that it made her feel better. So, she gave me her bear to make me feel better. I was so proud of her and her sweet heart. Sure enough, I felt better after that.