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Journal Key:

Green = Steve | George = navy | Janet = Purple | Evelyn = Black

12/7/06 (Thursday)

Cara and I had another nice visit to the "sheep" this evening; they were very happy to see their "baby." Kisses all around again. At home, we had a snack of dried fruit and generally ran around and had fun. I let Cara wash her hands in the sink, using her stepstool. I really have to do that more often. She likes it and it's a good thing to learn. Cara gave the kitties treats again. Poor Buster! She really eats too slowly for Cara.

This week, Thursday was playdate night. We ordered Chinese, and when it came we had to tear the children away from the keyboard, which they were blasting. It was sort of a preview of what it might be like when they're teenagers. Both kids sat nicely for a long time and ate. Cara ate almost all of Ron's chicken, after I explained to him that she doesn't eat chicken.

I got out the exersaucer from when Cara was an infant--Casey loves it! We'll be lending that out and gaining back a little bit of storage space. PJ tried to climb into it, and I got a little bit nostalgic about some of the toys, but Cara wasn't really interested.

Cara stayed up a little late tonight, but we got her down. I plan on sneaking into her room to put a blanket over her. I've never gone in when she was sleeping except when I wanted her to wake up, so I'm nervous. I've always been convinced she would pop right up! However, I want to get her sleeping under a nice, warm blanket so that we can feel safe turning the heat down. I'm not scared she'll freeze, I'm scared she'll wake up! There is some evidence that cold in the night may bother her.

12/8/06 (Friday)

Unfortunately Evie's fears were well founded and Cara did wake up when the blanketing attempt was made. She was read to and put back down. She slept through the night, but we kept the heat on. She woke up in the morning and I went in and got her, which I again have to get back into the habit of doing on days when George is here. It's probably not good for her sleep patterns to get her up at 7:15 on Susan days and let her sleep until 8 or whenever on George days.

Date night was a no-go tonight, and Evie had her school's holiday party, so I left work a bit early and arrived home at a fairly reasonable time of 5:15 to see George off. Cara and I had an uneventful evening. I was told that her nap had been a short one of about 90 minutes, and we ended up watching some TV and she lazed in my lap. She was definitely tired. I turned off the TV after a while and read her some books, then decided on an early bath time. I managed to put her in the bath at around 7:30. Her bath was absolutely miserable. She did not want me to even run the water and wailed through the whole experience (Evie had the pleasure of arriving just as I placed a wailing Cara into the tub), then wailed as she was dried off and put into her pajamas. She was running a temperature and is probably getting whatever Evie had/has.

It was back downstairs for some calming Curious George episodes, then multiple cheese sticks, after which Cara was much happier. She went and washed her hands in the bathroom sink like a good girl, and got out her stroller, and made her Mommy carry it up the stairs. Eventually she was coaxed into the bedroom for a late night reading session and now all is quiet. She has had some Advil. We'll see how she feels in the morning.

12/9/06 (Saturday)

Cara awoke early this morning, around 5:30, but seemed pretty much her normal self apart from some sneezing (not wet sneezing, thankfully). She immediately started her morning by eating many of her little mandarin oranges (she later finished the container of them at lunch). Evie left for her special "Lady Day" pretty early in the morning, and Cara and I played around until her grandparents arrived. Cara stayed with her Grandma for a little while, then got fed her lunch and put down. Her nap was very short, perhaps as little as one hour, and when she woke she was unhappy and flushed and clearly a bit feverish. We gave her some Advil and plopped her down in front of Curious George episodes. Almost immediately she was bopping her head to the Clifford theme song. In a little while she was laughing at the TV, and in a little while later she was running around again.

You'll be happy to know that the deers have returned to Nancy Circle, and we all had visual proof of it this afternoon. There was a small bunch of them on the left side of our front yard and down the side of the ravine, nibbling on the bushes along the side of our property--Cara got to see them out back and then got to point and laugh at them from the bay window.

Cara's grandma was impressed with all the many words Cara is saying now. I was impressed to find that Cara is quite well versed in animal noises, and almost without prompting will tell you that a cow says "moo" and a sheep says "baa"--I think she even tried to say "gobble" when presented with a picture of a turkey. This morning when Evie and I were with her and we had the Little Einsteins on, they were singing one of their typical songs from the program, which tells how they are going on a mission and have to "start the countdown." Cara immediately started counting: "wee, tew, wee!" Later in the day I found myself singing that line from the song and she started counting again.

After Cara's grandparents left Cara and I both crashed. It didn't happen immediately--I think I gave Cara a hot dog and a little bit of other food first--but we very soon ended up propped against each other on the couch watching cartoons on TV. (As for the hot dog, it was very greasy and I was a little worried about having to wipe Cara's hands. But Cara unprompted lifted a washcloth off of the back of the chair and wiped her hands, and then wiped down the tray!) Eventually I managed to turn the TV off and I realized that her fever was back up again, so it was more Advil for her. We went into the glider and read some books. She curled up against me and let me read every single word on the page. But after a little while she felt better and climbed down and started playing with her toys.

Cara and I shared a brownie from a bunch that Grandma had brought. She would sit in my lap to get brownie pieces, then climb out and into the chair next to mine so that she could reach her sippy cup and have a drink. (Before the brownie she had been sitting in the chair like a big girl, eating goldfish crackers off of a plate.) Eventually her mouth had a chocolatey ring around it and it was time for her bath. She was better about it than last night--she eventually came upstairs with me and threw all of her bath toys in one by one, saying "splash!" every time. We had a disagreement when I tried to rub the chocolate and crustiness off her face with a washcloth, and as usual she very much disliked having her hair rinsed, but then she got into her pajamas and got to brush her teeth.

While we were in the hall brushing our teeth, we spotted Shelby the cat down the other end of the hall. Cara edged around me and approached Shelby with her toothbrush held out, commanding: "Buhsh! Buhsh!" Shelby wisely ran away. Cara turned around and walked back to me, saying "Kitty buhsh, kitty buhsh," as though shaking her head in disappointment: why didn't the kitty want to brush her teeth?

12/10/06 (Sunday)

My cold is definitely making the rounds of the family: now Steve seems to be starting. Cara didn't sleep well, but she made it through the night, sleeping until about 6:30 this morning. We had a lovely long morning in our pajamas. Steve made us all some eggs and toast, which we all enjoyed, and we read the paper with varying degrees of comprehension. Cara may have been a little bit feverish when she woke up, but I think it was down all day. Her nose is starting to run, though, which is not fun for anyone.

The day's highlights: Let's see, we did a lot of reading, we did some dancing and some jumping. Cara said plenty of words. I gave her a cheese stick on the couch, and she took the wrapper from me. Off she toddled and put the wrapper into the trash, spontaneously. Cara may possibly be saying "thank you." Her usage is not quite right yet; she sometimes says it as a reply when someone says "Thank you" to her.

It's not just their teeth that those cats need to brush. Steve got out the comb to groom Buster, and Cara took it from him. She went after Buster, who swiftly escaped through the cat door. Cara sat down, calling to the kitty, banging the door open with the comb. Sitting on the Elmo couch I could see Buster sitting on the other side of the basement door, watching with horror. When Cara got bored and left Buster began to cry for help, apparently believing herself to be trapped. Steve opened the door and showed her that he was there, and she emerged. Poor cat! Cara went after her again and in fact got to comb her. She didn't do any damage, but she didn't do any good, either. She held the comb as if she were trying to part Buster's fur.

Cara and I went to do groceries. I always bring some toys in my bag, but today Cara brought a toy also. She chose to bring her bouncy little octopus ball. I realized that this would be bad, but I let her take it in the car. When we got out, she made me put her down and the first thing she did was throw that ball in the parking lot. Wonderful. It didn't go far, and I caught it and put it into my pocket, from whence it did not emerge, no matter how many inquiries I heard from Cara. "Ball?"

12/11/06 (Monday)

Today Cara's cold is quite apparent, mostly from a sore on her face. I had the joy of watching the sore go from red and rough in the morning to less intense at noon to almost gone at 3:20 in the afternoon. Such recuperative powers!

Being a sick child Cara had a few books, favorites from her mommy's childhood, read to her. Tell Me a Mitzi was quite appropriate--the whole family has and then recovers from a cold.

After Cara woke up (too early) from her nap she was inconsolable so I tried to show her Blazing Saddles but that didn't fly so we had the umpteenth showing of Winnie the Pooh, a constant favorite. Right now Cara is playing with her stepping stool and a cat toy--she seems a little better, a hopeful sign.

Cara does not have a sore on her face! It sounds like she's oozing pus. She had a low fever the other day, and her nose is runny. Her little face got a bit red and sore from her nose running in the night and from all the nose-wiping she's been through lately. Anyway, Cara and I went outside with Grandpapa to help him put a big office chair into his car. We were a Big Help. Cara cleverly tricked him; she saw that he was in his car with both front doors open, so she walked around behind him and said "hi!" Eventually he left and I broke her heart by bringing her in from the cold.

In the kitchen we found a box addressed to Cara! It was from her great-grandma in Florida. Through her tears, Cara was able to be excited about it. I cut the tape. We sat on the floor. I pried open the box. Inside, we found bubble wrap! Cara greeted it gleefully. She was gleeful about the card. She read the card, sort of. She opened it and then turned it over so that it was right-side up. She was gleeful about the foam peanuts. She was heartbroken all over when I threw them away. Eventually we got to the content of the box. At the time, Cara found this less exciting than the packaging. It is a beautiful tutu; it is light blue and has flowers inside it. It is really the stuff of fantasy. Cara got to wear it tonight with her pretty beads over her ballerina sleeper; she was a pretty princess. I got pictures.

The two of us made a quick run out to the grocery store before dinner. In the parking lot and all through the store, Cara kept picking people out and saying either "hi" or "bye" to them. I don't think that even one person was paying attention.

For dinner I made French toast, hot chocolate, and bacon, and we had strawberries, blueberries, and canned peaches. (I was being nice to poor Steve, who now has my cold.) Cara tried all of it with gusto. Her only difficulty was in communicating what she wanted next. It's interesting that she knows very few food-related words. Does she know any? I'm not sure she does. She got her points across, though, and spent ten minutes after dinner walking around eating strawberries.

Upstairs, Cara was pushing her laundry basket. I stood in her way and they both went between my legs. Cara thought this was hilarious. I moved, and she did it again. I moved, and she did it again and then turned around to go back through. And back through.

Even with his cold, Steve gave Cara her bath and is now reading to her. She carried Sleeping Beauty upstairs on purpose, as a special request.

12/12/06 (Tuesday)

Cara has been wearing mittens at Susan's. It's one of those things that I thought really wouldn't work, so I left it to Susan to try. Of course, it works beautifully. Cara walked into daycare this morning holding her mittens, which are now very dirty from being played in. When I picked her up she worked hard in an attempt to put her shoes on and then stood up and reached for her mittens, which she eagerly let me put onto her hands. She loves them.

I am a person who likes to make complicated plans. Here was tonight's: Cara and I would go down to Barnes and Noble to play with the trains and buy a gift for the twins. We might make a stop at Michael's,and then we would walk down to Panera and get their new pizzas to take home for dinner. This was a poor plan.

Cara was made to leave her mittens in the car, but she was happy because she brought her beads. (Last night, she was unhappy when Steve took them from her, just before he put her down. This morning, when he put her down, they were the first thing she went after.) In the book store, Cara played happily for a long time. Then we looked at books. Cara excitedly picked out Go, Dog, Go!, which my wonderful mother-in-law has at her house and Cara recognized. She sat herself down at a table and listened while I read her the whole book. After a little bit more running around we bought some books, waiting impatiently through the long line.

At Panera I ordered dinner and then we had to wait. They have to make the pizzas, and it takes 15 minutes. I got us a lemonade, which cheered us both immensely. Cara ate some bread. She ran around. She turned around and around. She tried to climb on chairs. After a long time, I asked what time it was. It was half an hour after I ordered. I got a refund on one pizza, but then we had to wait another 15 minutes! After a little bit, I realized that I had a full bag of books. Duh. I read to her and she sat happily. The worst flaw in my plan was that I had to carry Cara, the books, and the food all out to the car. I lived.

I got Steve some soup, since he's sick, but he generously fed it to Cara. After dinner we read some more of the books that are not really ours and played with the new toy I bought myself. It's a "phlat ball." We got to play with one at a playground a few months ago. It is sectioned sort of like a soccer ball, but it can be pressed flat and then it pops up in a few seconds. There's a suction cup involved. We all had fun. Phun?

One of the books I bought which is going to be very difficult to give away is my old favorite, Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. It turns out that I still like it. It's about a lot of monkeys drumming on drums. Dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum! I read it to Cara in the glider and then she started to leave and I asked whether she wanted to see it again, and she laid her head right back against me. Later, I discovered that Cara's tummy makes a great drum. Dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum!

12/13/06 (Wednesday)

Cara is a sick little chick. She was up at 4 A.M. along with both her parents who read to her, fed her and changed her. When I arrived, she clung to her daddy, whining all the while out of his arms.

We watched the usual TV with Cara mostly sitting quietly but then she turned restless and none of the usual things would soothe her. Not being fully aware of her sickness, I thought a trip to the park would be a good idea so we piled into the car just it began to rain. A quick change in plans--a run-around at the mall would be better. But by the time we reached Woodbridge Ave, she was already drowsy. As we waited for the first traffic light (Plainfield Ave.), Cara was asleep! At 9:45!

I turned the car around, took her into the house, running between raindrops. I cleaned her face from the results of her runny nose, medicated her, changed her and put her into her crib where she at first complained but now (10:15) she's been quiet for a while.

I had a workshop and didn't get home until about six. Cara was very very needy and delicate. At playdate she cried as if the world were ending if any little thing happened. PJ, taking toys away from her and pushing her around, didn't help. We came home and had a quick bath, got into pajamas, had a snack, and went to bed. That is, Steve is putting her to bed as we speak. She did perk up when she came home and ate a little, but it was a tough night.

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