Grandparents

The kiddos got lots of love from Grandparents this past weekend. Mom Mom came to town for a long weekend and we were finally able to do some fun things! The past three times she had been here we were pretty much house-bound due to sickness, bedrest and a newborn. So this time we got to have fun- the girls went to the nail salon, Mom Mom and I had a day of shopping and a crab cake lunch at Nordstrom's Bistro and we got to search for some pretty house decorations at HomeGoods and a few consignment shops. Mom Mom couldn't believe how much little Huck has grown! He is getting some pretty good rolls on him these days... I had to teach one day while she was here and Huck missed his Mommy :-) I guess he was not a happy guy while I was gone.
On Sunday Grandpa and Grandma Nancy (not to be confused with Grandma with the spiky hair)stopped for the night on their way to Iowa. It was Father's Day, so the Hubby made fish and I made scalloped potatoes, squash and salad and we had a nice dinner. The next morning we went out to breakfast and had some yummy beer biscuits before they had to get on the road again. The kids were thrilled to have so much attention and the grandparents were thrilled to meet Huck.
I promised the kids we could go swimming tomorrow. A friend made me an awesome sling that I can wear in the water and I can't wait to try it out. We are taking a break from swimming lessons this session and I want the kids to continue to practice. Bubba will move up to the next level and become a Guppy but Duchess will repeat the Pike class. Until she can jump off the side of the pool without holding onto the teacher's hand she will stay a the same level. Bubba has taken to wearing his goggles in the tub :-) There is a slide at the community pool that Bubba really wants to go down, but he'll have to pass a swim test with a lifeguard first. To pass he'll have to swim across the deep end twice! He hopes to be brave enough to try by the end of the summer. I did take Huck swimming once. He seemed pretty confused by the whole thing and made his serious face the whole time. We'll see what he thinks of the water sling.

A First, a Last, and Once Again

Big week for Bubba!
He lost his first tooth! For months (a year?) he has been asking when he would loose a tooth. I got the message that it was loose while I was in Chicago and thankfully it did not fall out until I got home. I'd have hated to miss that milestone! It was very un-dramatic. He bit his spoon at dinner and it hurt quite a bit. I looked at it, said it looked pretty loose to me and he reached in and pulled it out. Just like that! I'm not sure his feet touched the floor for the rest of the night. The Tooth Fairy came and left a $2 bill. There were lots of questions about her- How does she get in the house? Down the chimney? Through the front door? How does she carry all those teeth? Is "it" really a girl or could "it" be a boy? Luckily an "I don't know" was a good enough answer.





That First came just before the Last Day of School, so he was able to get his name up on the Tooth Chart. Apparently this is a Very Important Part of Kindergarten. He had a great year and has already mentioned several times that he "misses that old place." His words, seriously. He made some good friends and we met some great families. He got to celebrate his birthday at school along with all the other summer birthday kiddos. Another Very Important Part of Kindergarten.



We celebrated his 6th birthday by going to the new Legoland Discovery Center in Grapevine Mills Mall. I think he could live there and never get bored. Then, Once Again, we had his birthday party at the splash park. It was his choice and I am happy to do it. It is easy for me- just buy cupcakes, drinks, watermelon and sunblock and show up at he park. The kids run around, the grown-ups chat (and sweat), we sing Happy Birthday and have one happy little boy.




This week both kiddos started swimming lessons, Once Again, at the Y. It is almost like starting over since it has been 9 months since they have been in a pool. Bubba is doing well. Duchess, well, that remains to be seen. She would be happy to play on the steps, but I am not paying for her to play on the steps. There were many tears today, but she did well despite the wailing. She swam from one teacher to the other underwater for about 4 feet. She said she is ready to go back tomorrow.

Huck is doing great. He has little rolls and dimples on his arms and legs. He is sleeping well (knock on wood). He is often a bit fussy in the evening, but sitting on the front porch calms him quickly. Too bad for the stinking mosquitoes!

Chicago!

Huck and I went to Chicago last week for the Child Life Conference. We went because I was presenting about working in the Emergency Department. We went with a group of 6 others from the department, all of whom were presenting except our director. We left Thurs morning and because we took Southwest we had to stop over in Kansas City. Huck did great on the plane, either slept or just looked around and smiled at the girls. We all went out to lunch/dinner since it was almost 4 by the time we ate and walked on Michigan Avenue a bit. The weather was not great- cold and rainy- but Huck was happy and cozy in the Moby wrap.






Friday the conference started. Huck went with me to my sessions. He did good- it was fine when he was asleep- but I had to leave one session because he was happy "talking." All over conference people were smiling at me and I wasn't sure if it was just because of Huck in the wrap or if I was supposed to know them! Over my almost 12 years at Children's I've had lots of interns and I know I wouldn't recognize them all!




Saturday Grandma took the train in to the city to help me watch Huck and to get some snuggles in. It was nice to go to sessions without worrying about Huck bothering anyone. Huck welcomed Grandma within 30 minutes with a great big blow-out diaper! He must have been impressed with her diaper changing skills because 20 minutes after I left after lunch he did it again! Thanks, Grandma! Our presentation went well. It was based on a presentation I did 8 years ago. We had somewhere between 170-200 people there. It is hard to judge how it went with that large of a crowd but we didn't see anyone sleeping :-) We have heard from several people that they really enjoyed it and we'll get official comments from the Child Life Council sometime in the next few months. We are talking about submitting another proposal for next year that will take it to the next level. Saturday night we went to Navy Pier and had dinner at Harry Karry's restaurant. It was good but we waited forever! Huck slept through it all like a champ.



We headed home on Sunday after one more session in the morning. Huck slept and/or nursed through it all and didn't make a peep. Our flight was delayed because of weather and we sat on the ground for almost 1 1/2 hours in Chicago. Huck and I slept for a bit and once again he did great the whole way.
The rest of my family had a great adventure in Waco so stay tuned for more on that!