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Don King called - he wants his hair piece back.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Souvenirs
Before embarking on vacation, Shawn and I agreed that the souvenirs would be kept to a minimum. You know, one suitcase full and that was it! (Just kidding!) But that Jamie is just a master at collecting stuff. He came home with eight new stuffed animals! And not because we purchased all of them for him. There were two he won in a game, the kids each received a complimentary Shamu from the hotel we stayed at in Orlando, and multiple other goodies. The souvenirs grew out-of-control! We ended up shipping a huge box of stuff home.
But, by far, the best souvenir we returned home with was this:
Baby Bonita - due January 25, 2009
(Okay, not actually "from" Florida, but we found out we were pregnant in Florida.)
(Okay, not actually "from" Florida, but we found out we were pregnant in Florida.)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Easier??
At a recent outing, I overheard someone talking about her recent strawberry picking with her friends. She gushed on and on how easy it was to go out with her children now that they were older and made a comment about how she was "glad that baby phase is over." The funny thing is the first thing that struck me about this woman's statement was the fact that she went strawberry picking. Hmmmm... strawberry picking. That is one adventure we have yet to do. I have never been strawberry picking in my life. Then the rest of her statement struck me, and my mind briefly flashed back to my blueberry picking fiasco of last summer (with a two-month old and non-mobile two-year old). And I realized how easy fruit-picking will be this year. Clare can run around with Jamie now, Simon loves to be out and about, and I don't care how dirty he gets scooting around on the ground. Strawberry picking is definitely in our horizon!
This woman is entitled to her opinion, but I felt pity for her. Pity that the sweet, and oh-so-short, phase of life termed the "baby phase," was something she was glad to be rid of. Am I glad Jamie is now a energetic boy of five who just finished his first season of t-ball and swims like a fish? Of course I am, but that does not mean I am glad to see his baby phase, toddler phase, preschooler phase be things of the past. In fact, it is always bittersweet to me to see my children growing up. Now that Simon is almost 14 months old and Clare is walking (and starting to climb - oh no!), our summer this year will definitely be easier logistically than our summer last year, but that does not translate into better. Just different. Different planning, different excursions, different headaches. (Because, trust me, NO outing is a breeze!) Strawberry picking? Bring it on - little kids and all!
This woman is entitled to her opinion, but I felt pity for her. Pity that the sweet, and oh-so-short, phase of life termed the "baby phase," was something she was glad to be rid of. Am I glad Jamie is now a energetic boy of five who just finished his first season of t-ball and swims like a fish? Of course I am, but that does not mean I am glad to see his baby phase, toddler phase, preschooler phase be things of the past. In fact, it is always bittersweet to me to see my children growing up. Now that Simon is almost 14 months old and Clare is walking (and starting to climb - oh no!), our summer this year will definitely be easier logistically than our summer last year, but that does not translate into better. Just different. Different planning, different excursions, different headaches. (Because, trust me, NO outing is a breeze!) Strawberry picking? Bring it on - little kids and all!
Teary-Eyed
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Simon, that is. He has suffered from clogged tear ducts since birth (in fact, all of my children have had these). But while Jamie's and Clare's cleared up by nine months, and Simon's left eye cleared up, his right eye is still clogged. At his one-year check-up, the pediatrician referred us to the pediatric opthamologist. Now, at almost 14 months old, Simon's eye still is gunky every day. He has battled numerous eye infections, which has led to skin infections under his eye. Simon had his appointment with the eye doctor this week, and we are now scheduled for eye surgery next month. It is a quick procedure to probe and open the tear duct, but my baby still has to go under general anesthesia for it. And, even though we have been there, done that for more serious reasons, it still is not easy to think that your child is having surgery for any reason. But if this does the trick, then Simon's eyes will be beautiful and junk-free once and for all!.jpg)
Monday, June 16, 2008
End of the Year
This is Clare's last week of preschool. Today was her End of the Year Celebration (and the great mommy forgot to bring the camera!). We were in charge of bringing cupcakes in, so when I dropped Clare off this morning, we had our bag of carefully-selected store-bought mini cupcakes with us. (When Clare's teacher asked me to bring in cupcakes, I usually take pride in baking myself, but the thought of making four dozen mini cupcakes was just too much right now.) Clare saw her teacher and started dancing and singing, "cake cake cake!" She was very excited about having a party at school. Mid-morning, I headed back over to the school with Jamie and Simon and met Shawn there for the party.
Clare was sitting on the rug with the rest of her class when we walked into her classroom. She immediately exclaimed, "Daddy!" and stood up to come over to us. Her teacher reminded her to sit back down, and I was proud to see that Clare followed her directions. We watched Clare sing two silly songs with her class (complete with hand motions - oh, I cannot believe I forgot the camera!), then they neatly filed over to the snack table and chose their snacks from the array of goodies (after all that fuss over cupcakes, Clare took a cookie and cheese and crackers). After they were settled on a different rug, we watched a slideshow of the class over the past year. All the children were excited to see themselves on the television screen, including Clare. ("That's me! That's me!") I had to bite down hard to keep myself from bawling. Just seeing Clare be a part of her class, follow directions, and gaining so much joy out of being in school was overwhelming. I think back at how petrified we were as Clare's third birthday and the start of preschool loomed closer and closer. Now all those fears have melted away, and I can see Clare is thriving in school.
Clare will only have two full weeks off school before her summer session starts in July. We are going to take advantage of those weeks by sleeping in (at least, that's my hope - at the very least, not be rushing out of the house every morning!), planning lots of activities, and hosting our first Williams syndrome barbecue.
Clare was sitting on the rug with the rest of her class when we walked into her classroom. She immediately exclaimed, "Daddy!" and stood up to come over to us. Her teacher reminded her to sit back down, and I was proud to see that Clare followed her directions. We watched Clare sing two silly songs with her class (complete with hand motions - oh, I cannot believe I forgot the camera!), then they neatly filed over to the snack table and chose their snacks from the array of goodies (after all that fuss over cupcakes, Clare took a cookie and cheese and crackers). After they were settled on a different rug, we watched a slideshow of the class over the past year. All the children were excited to see themselves on the television screen, including Clare. ("That's me! That's me!") I had to bite down hard to keep myself from bawling. Just seeing Clare be a part of her class, follow directions, and gaining so much joy out of being in school was overwhelming. I think back at how petrified we were as Clare's third birthday and the start of preschool loomed closer and closer. Now all those fears have melted away, and I can see Clare is thriving in school.
Clare will only have two full weeks off school before her summer session starts in July. We are going to take advantage of those weeks by sleeping in (at least, that's my hope - at the very least, not be rushing out of the house every morning!), planning lots of activities, and hosting our first Williams syndrome barbecue.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Fun in the Sun, Part 2
Disclaimer: My slide show is cut off on the one side for some reason, and I have tried numerous times to fix it. I admit defeat! So just enjoy it as you can!
Monday, June 09, 2008
Fun in the Sun
I know, I know, WHERE HAVE THEY BEEN?
We just returned from a fantabulous two-week stay in Southwestern Florida. Oh, it was bliss. We had a condo in a gorgeous town, swam in the incredibly warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico (88 degrees! In the ocean! Coming from the chilly New England Atlantic Ocean, this astounded us every day), lounged in the pool, and explored the sights (like gators in the wild and a trip to Seaworld in Orlando). We even convinced Jamie to try alligator nuggets, and he preferred them over his chicken nuggets!
I have one more suitcase to unpack (it's slow going and we returned to 90+ degree weather in NH, so chores such as putting in the air conditioners have taken priority), and a zillion photos to download, so I promise to share more later!
We just returned from a fantabulous two-week stay in Southwestern Florida. Oh, it was bliss. We had a condo in a gorgeous town, swam in the incredibly warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico (88 degrees! In the ocean! Coming from the chilly New England Atlantic Ocean, this astounded us every day), lounged in the pool, and explored the sights (like gators in the wild and a trip to Seaworld in Orlando). We even convinced Jamie to try alligator nuggets, and he preferred them over his chicken nuggets!
I have one more suitcase to unpack (it's slow going and we returned to 90+ degree weather in NH, so chores such as putting in the air conditioners have taken priority), and a zillion photos to download, so I promise to share more later!
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