Hot Days = Water Fun

Jonah with his good pal, Dietrich



A little grass never hurt anyone!

Cheese!

Little Miss Lydia has decided she wants to talk. She has a rather extensive vocabulary for a ten month old: cheese, kitty, doggie, bye-bye, all done, and hi. Perhaps she's following in the footsteps of Thelma, Ginny, Linda, and Traci....

"CHEESE!"

Jonah's Race

Jonah "competed" in the Highland Festival's annual Kids Fun Run. He had to run about 50 yards to a cone, circle the cone, and run back. It was a big deal. We coached him beforehand, explaining that it was important to run in a straight line. He did well. And he was so proud of himself. You can click on the pictures to see his face close-up.

Our Little Fairy

Dentist Disaster

I go to the dentist today during Mike's lunch hour. I expect to be gone an hour. I'm at the dentist for 1 1/2 hours-- chatty hygienist, chatty doctor, chatty receptionist-- time flies when you're having fun.

I return home. There's a message on Mike's phone from the receptionist. "Traci, please call our office immediately."

I'm alarmed. I payed my bill before leaving the office. I didn't leave my purse. Hmmmm. I call.

My hygienist is on her way to the occupational health clinic. She had an accident involving a tool that was used on my teeth. Because my teeth enamel were on the instrument, I must have my blood drawn at the clinic to show that I have no diseases.

What? Are you kidding?

I call the clinic. "I have two young kids. I'll come and give my blood, but I will not wait, and someone must tend to my kids while I'm in the chair."

They oblige.

The office is filled with bleeding workers. I guess that's what "occupational health" means. Jonah is good. He's dumbfounded by the blood. He keeps staring and saying something about the "bloodstream in your legs" that he no doubt learned from the Magic School Bus video we rented from the library last week. A teenager from church works there and holds Lydia-- with her dripping nose and fever.

It shouldn't be a big deal, but when does one dental check-up ever take 3 1/2 hours to complete?

Note to Self

When you are of childbearing years, people will assume you're pregnant if wearing the style pictured below:

Pardon me, I better do some sit-ups...

Update

It's been a whirlwind. Here's a list of what we've been doing:

- We bought a house yesterday. It's a spec home. We met with the builder on Friday to sign papers. I was able to pick out a few things: the color of the wood floors, faucets, and door knobs. Everything else is finished. I guess that's a good thing. It would have overwhelmed me to choose everything!

- We've had three showings at our house while it's been "For Sale by Owner." We're listing it with a realtor tomorow. Our stress will decrease dramatically when we sell our current home. The housing market is terrible in this community.

- We've worked on improving our current home every night since we knew we were moving. It has been consuming.

- I've been working on paperwork, medical history forms, etc., for Jonah's transition to the special ed. program in our new town. I just finished emailing his new teacher. I've been told over and over and over again that I am my child's advocate, and although it's not in my nature to be aggressive, I know I must be proactive so that he gets the services he needs. I believe wholeheartedly that this will work out in the end. I've said repeatedly that "God isn't going to forget about Jonah in this moving process."

- Speaking of Jonah, he's good. He's obsessed with the tire swing on the playground and will spin on it continuously until someone tells him otherwise. He has the computer skills of a 4th grader-- printing, minimizing, pulling down the Bookmarks menu, and typing his name, my name, and Pop's name without any prompting from me. He's enjoyed watering the flowers, finding "secret treasures" in the yard (pinecones), and Dr. Seuss books. The phrase I hear him say most often is "What's that say?" He ALWAYS wants me to read words to him. I, of course, don't mind a bit!

- Lydia is, well, she's getting older. I turn my head, and she's climbing the stairs. I turn my head again, and she's stuck under the table. I turn my head again, and she's trying to lift the toilet lid. I tried to firmly tell her "no" the other day. She just grinned. It made me smile too. She loves throwing her pacifiers out of her bed, watching Jonah play with his friends, looking at simple picture books, eating tahini sandwiches, and removing everything from my wallet.

Happy Mother's Day!