steveprattfamily.com The adventures of the Pratt family in Vancouver - Steve, Lisa, Cedar, Dawson, and Sandy (the dog).

Fairy madness continued past the birthday and into Halloween.  Cedar added on to the original costume with a giant blonde wig and looked Fairylicious. 

This was Dawson’s first real year dressing up and understanding what it was all about.  He wanted to be a hockey player, so we stuffed paper into the shoulders of his sweatshirt, put a helmet on him, and gave him a black eye and the piece de resistance - a handlebar mustache. 

The night was lots of fun.  Maggot and I both took turns taking them out trick or treating.  Dawson was hilarious - he just squeezed through all the other kids waiting at each door until he got to the front, and when the door opened, he just raised up his candy bag until he got the goods, and then tore back to the sidewalk, never once uttering a sound. 

The night ended on a bit of a sour note, though.  We passed by a house in our neighbourhood called the "House of Death."  It featured a giant, one-storey painting of a bloody skull and was designed as a spookfest.  Cedar saw the skull and completely lost it.  She backed into a tree, where a guy from the house was hiding, dressed up in tree parts (like a mask made of bark with creepy eye holes cut out).  She screamed again.  And then someone let off a firecracker in the street and a HUGE band exploded and both the kids basically crapped their drawers.  End of Halloween.

Posted under Cedar News, Children, Dawson News

Cedar turned five last week and it was certainly a birthday to remember, not just for the fact that she was turning 5, somewhat of a milestone birthday, but also for the insanely extravagant party thrown for her by the Maggot.  First, the birthday itself…

On the big day (Oct 26), we got up early and opened presents.  Cedar headed off to school, where she had to wear a giant birthday hat in front of the class.

Later that afternoon, we went to a party with all the friends from our pre-natal group that all have kids born within a few weeks of each other (hard to believe we’ve known this crew for 5 years now!).  The kids has lots of fun (although Cedar got smoked in the face by an unknown assailant and now has her two top front teeth loose and painful) and ate lots and lots of cake.

Finally, on Saturday afternoon, Cedar held a birthday party for her friends.  The theme - Fairies.  Maggot went off the deep end preparing for the big bash, literally working for almost two weeks to get it all ready.  It was like Martha Stewart’s creepy spirit took over my wife and made her create food and decorations fit for high society adults… except they were all for 5 year olds.

I think we spent more decorations for the house than we did on gifts.

In the end, our dining room and kitchen were both transformed into fairyland utopias and the swath of sugar-addled fairies in attendance made mini-fairies as a craft, ate toadstool cupcakes, and beat the hell out of the only adult male in attendance… me.

This was the year of Disney Fairies. Just when you think Disney’s out of tricks and that the Dora’s and Diego’s of the world are leaving them in the dust, they pull another rabbit out of their hat.  There are now loads of fairies in doll, book, video, clothing forms, led by their grand poobah, Tinkerbell.  Cedar has become obsessed with them and received:

-2 large fairy dolls
-4 miniatiure fairy dolls
-3 fairy books
-1 fairy video
-2 fairy pajamas
-3 packages of fairy stickers

Other hit gifts included an art set, a winter coat, a very popular talking doll named Jolie that speaks English and French, and Webkins.

For those not in the know, Webkins are pets that are plush toys that you also take care of online in a bit of a twisted e-commerce land for kids where you have to play games and win money so you can buy food to keep your pet alive. Cedar got one that she loves from Uncle Beef and Aunt Kaka which looks
like it was retrieved from a dumpster and has been affectionately named
‘Hobo Cat’.  Here it is:

It’s a week later and I’m still exhausted.  Happy Birthday, Cedar!

Posted under Cedar News, Children

Man, this is late, BUT… Cedar started Kindergarten almost a month ago and I’ve been so jammed that I haven’t even put up any pics yet.  So far, it’s going really well.  She’s got a great teacher and seems to be having a lot of fun.  Unlike Montessori, where she learned how to polish flatware (!) and other handy things, so far she’s mostly been playing with My Little Ponies. Here’s this year’s first day of school pic, followed by the previous two years. (My widdle girl’s all growed up! Weep) 

Posted under Cedar News

Quite a weekend in the ole Pratt household.  Cedar had her friend Ruby over on Saturday afternoon and after a while playing in the yard while we worked on the garden, they went inside to play with dolls.
Now, sometimes as a parent, you get an odd sense of when things are TOO quiet.  You know the kids are up to something no good.
Well, we went back into the house after about 15 minutes and found giant clumps of hair all over our kitchen and bathroom floors.  Cedar and Ruby had found a pair of scissors and decided to cut each other’s hair off.  Cedar definitely got the worst of it and lost several inches.  As you can see, when we gathered it up, we had a full dustpan full of locks.

So we had a LONG discussion and Cedar said she’d never do it again.
BUT, the next day, Cedar went up to play in her room and I again got a sense something was amiss.  So I went up to check on her and found her stuffing even more hair under her mattress! She’d found another pair of kid scissors and awas hacking at her hair yet again - this time, she told us that she was cutting it to try and make it longer.  So maybe she’s not so smart…  Here’s the clump from the second home hair cut:

Posted under Cedar News

Okay - Cedar is not even 5 yet.  This isn’t supposed to be happening already!  I got  a call while in Toronto on business this week and Cedar excitedly told me that she had a loose tooth.  I came home a couple days later and there were TWO loose teeth, caused by the eruption of a MASSIVE tooth behind the two loosies.  Yesterday, Cedar was off at a birthday party and POP - out it came.  She was the hit of the party, apparently, because no one else her age has lost a tooth.  Needless to say, she was thrilled with the attention.

Lisa and I were put in the awkward spot of realizing that the Tooth Fairy hadn’t prepared very well for a visit, so last night, the Tooth Fairy delivered cash and Cedar was over the moon in the morning.  She announced that she would be using her newfound riches to buy a hot chocolate for herself, a water for Dawson, and a mocha for me.

Early tooth activity is nothing new to Cedar .  She got her first teeth when she was two months old, way ahead of schedule.  I just hope that when it comes to early development it sticks to teeth.   Praying that I don’t have a child who gets her boobies when she’s 6. (dear lord, I sound the grandparents in ‘Sixteen Candles’ - “Look Ed, she’s got her boobies!”)

Posted under Cedar News, Children

Driving in the car minivan today, Cedar was having a massive meltdown and wouldn’t give up.  I used the pathetic parenting technique of threatening to withhold something she likes for the day and got smoked for it.

Me: “Cedar, if you don’t stop screaming, there will be no more treats for you all day!”
Cedar: “You’re too late!  I already had a crepe!”

I got burned by a four year old.  (At least I didn’t lose to her at Wii bowling)

Posted under Cedar News, Children, Humour

Children are warped.  Cedar’s friend from Calgary, Sage, is staying with us this weekend  and they get along great.

However, I just came downstairs to find Cedar lying on the living room floor with her eyes closed.  I asked if Cedar was sleeping and she popped up and said, “No, we’re playing a game called ‘The Little Girl That Died’.”

Then Cedar and Sage got into an argument about who would have to be the little girl that died next.

Cedar: “I don’t want to be the girl that dies anymore.”
Sage: “Well I don’t want to die either.”
Cedar: “How about you die?”
Sage: “But I don’t want to die.”
Cedar: “How about we both die, okay?  You die first and then I’ll die.  You fall off the scooter and die in the kitchen.”
Sage: “Okay.”

I’m now the Big Father That Drinks During the Day.

Posted under Cedar News

Sunday, March 4th, 2007

"My nose just farted"
    Cedar Pratt, 4 1/2

Posted under Cedar News, Humour

Not that it’s in any way urgent - she’s four - but of course we’ve already wondered what Cedar will grow up to be.  Will she be a doctor, an artist, a professional princess?  Well, on Boing Boing this week, I discovered an opportunity that seems perfectly suited to her innate talents…

A four-year-old’s screams killed hundreds of chickens, according to a court in the eastern China province of Jiangsu.  Frightened by a dog, the little boy apparently cried loudly near the hen house for quite a while.

A court ruled the boy’s screaming was “the only unexpected abnormal sound” and that the 443 chickesn tramped each other to death in fear.

The boy’s father was ordered to pay aroudn 117 pounds in compensation to the owner of the chickens.

Of course the only hitch is that this particular chicken killer LOST money on the deal, but I’m sure there’s a creative way to monetize it.  One child screaming has to be cheaper than a rendering factory, doesn’t it?
(The photo is old, but the scene it depicts is not )

Posted under Cedar News, Children, Humour

Cedar’s soccer career began today with her first class, featuring legendary Vancouver soccer teacher, Coach Ronnie.  To be blunt, it was not an auspiscious beginning.  The first exercise was Ronnie in the middle of a circle kicking the ball to each girl, who then kicked it back to him.  When he kicked it to Cedar, she ignored the ball and it rolled all the way to the end of the gym.  She then wandered slowly after it, stared at it for about thirty seconds, and stubbed it into a wall (applause from the parent gallery ensued, clearly showing that they all appreciated her gifted athleticism).

Before the class ended, there was a brief scrimmage, during which Cedar was the goalie.  She needed to be convinced that she had to stay in the net, but never got a shot on goal to further test her ‘mad skillz’.

All in all, it was actually a great first class.  There’s a mix of talent and age, ranging from beginner to fairly good, so I’m sure Cedar will have a ton of fun in the coming weeks and learn a lot.  Coach Ronnie looks like a great teacher, too - all the girls give him a big hug at the end of the class.

Posted under Cedar News, Children, Humour