Waiting

Good friends are worth waiting for.

 

He Nailed It

Her First Book

An Un-feel good story "writt" by E:

 

 

 

and name is J and my name E.

 

And I love my brother.

 

And  love my mom and dad.

 

and my whole life has been my brother

 

yelling at me.

 

And they all lived happily ever after, right?

 

 

Bursting His Bubble

J:  I can't wait until middle school so I can bring money to buy more food at lunch.

Me:  Why?  You don't get enough to eat now?

J:  No.  That's why middle school will be so much better.

Me:  You do know that they have a lot of rules about portion sizes and how much kids can eat at school lunch, right?

J:  Seriously, I knew Michelle Obama would get in the way of things.  That (school) is where I count on getting a lot of junk food.  It's awesome!

Just Thinkin'

Eight and almost two months

Happy birthday, J!

Umm, happy belated-by-almost-two-months birthday, J!

 

We had an impromptu party with family at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  J's only input was, "I don't want any kind of theme for this party."  As much as Steve and I love a good theme to work around, having a simple party was much more in line with my winter level of ambition.

 

 

This celebration turned into a month long party.

 

On his birthday...

 



 

He wrapped up the month with a Creighton basketball game with Steve (in a suite!) and also had a friend over for a sleepover. 

 

Lots of fun for a great kid! 

We love you, J!

Metal Mouth

 So J's orthodontic plan was to endure the palate expander for about six months.  We were told he'd have to wear a nighttime retainer after the appliance was removed.  Easy enough.

 

  After a rough (r.o.u.g.h!) few days, he really did adjust to the beast rather well.  He even survived swallowing an inch-long, sharp, metal, rod-shaped piece.  I, however, barely survived because I allowed myself to mentally live out the worse case scenario of our son swallowing a sharp metal object.  Thankfully, my worries never became reality.

 

At a recent check up, the orthodontist started rattling off the plan.

 

I'm guessing the expression on my face was similar to this...

as she spoke of taking out the appliance, placing some brackets on the front teeth, and adding a retainer to be worn at all times. 

 

J did have an entire week free of metal in his mouth, so he immensely enjoyed popcorn, Skittles, and gum.  E also immensely enjoyed popcorn, Skittles, and gum.  She's such a good supporter.

 

On the way home from getting all geared up again, we were discussing the cost of orthodontic care.  I was sure to let J know how important it is to be very responsible with his retainer because we've already spent $1650 and are far from the $5,000+ full set of braces that he'll surely need.

 

J: Five thousand dollars!  I'm so sorry, Mom.  I'm so sorry.

 

Me:  Don't be sorry.  It's not your fault.  But I might require you to wear a retainer for the rest of your life. 

 

It's a Date

E received a phone call on Friday evening.  A handsome guy asked her out on a date.  She thoughtfully chose her outfit and carefully watched as her hair was braided.  Upon taking one final look in the mirror before heading out, she proudly exclaimed, "I'm only five, and I'm wearing lipstick!  Can you believe it?" 

 

I know she enjoyed her dinner and the movie, but there's no doubt that her date stole the show.

Love!

Two Can Play This Game

Approximately fifteen minutes after our failed conversation about hurt feelings, J ran up the stairs and nailed his knee on the corner of the wall.  It hurt.  He cried.  A lot.

Steve walked over to J and said, "Well, sometimes in life you get hurt.  That happens.  That's a part of life."  Then he turned around and walked away. 

Now that was an effective lesson in empathy.