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Journal Key:

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

7/10/08 (Thursday)

Instead of even thinking about putting on the TV this morning, we put on the stereo. I've taught Cara which button to hit (the squiggly one) when her song ends to get it to come on again. She has mastered the technique; I wonder whether she'll remember tomorrow. We jumped, danced, got dressed, did Cara's hair, and even brushed her teeth to "Video Killed the Radio Star." Then we remembered to take it along in the car on the way to Susan's.

Tonight when I came home, George was on TV and Cara had all the couch pillows off and lined up on the living room floor, where she commanded Evie and me to bounce along them on one foot. Coming to dinner was very traumatic, because not only did Cara get a blue plate with bears on it (her least favorite one--and, somehow, the only clean one left!), but Daddy cruelly paused the DVD! But then when Cara apologized and asked politely for a pink plate, and I explained that the DVD was only paused and would come back on after dinner, she settled down and had a few bites of food. She is more interested in meat courses lately, and had quite a bit of pork chop, which was nice.

After dinner, PJ, Em, and Casey came over. I think it had something to do with getting some numbing medicine for PJ's foot. Em is hoping that the numbness will make it easier to pull out the GIGANTIC splinter he has. It truly is a large object, not a usual wood splinter. Very impressive. PJ seemed entirely unconcerned about it. Casey wandered around with some of Cara's toy babies, which, she firmly asserts, are "My baby." She is very happy with baby dolls.

I spent almost all of bath time trying to get sand out of Cara's hair. I theorized that perhaps she had allowed the other kids at Susan's to bury her in it--that's how much sand was in her hair. There was a layer of silt in the tub after she got out. After combing, brushing, washing, conditioning, and rinsing it, we might have gotten most of the sand out.

Cara got some nice new library books, and at her insistence, Mommy read a couple to her. She still tends to insist on "Just one" book being read to her, but I think she's beginning to realize that reading two books does not imply that they get read simultaneously.

7/12/08 (Saturday)

Yesterday Cara and I went to visit a friend of mine from work and her son, Nicholas. He'll be two around the same time as Casey. A few highlights: He has a Thomas tent in his playroom. Thomas, of course, basically has two parts, the cabin part and the lower engine part. The best part of the day might have been when the two kids were in there, standing up in the parts better suited to their heights, jumping. Later they were both off in the living room, out of our sight. They were noisy. They were meowing. It turned out that they had some flashcards and were going through them and making appropriate noises.

After a great morning, Cara and I drove to Middletown. I figured she'd fall asleep in the car, but she stayed awake. We picked up Aunt Claire on the way and then we ladies had a pleasant afternoon. Cara and Grandmama went in a new kiddie pool, and then Cara had a prolonged naked frolic in the house. She slept over at Grandmama's, and Grandpapa brought her home this morning.

Steve took the initiative and went outside to weed, and eventually Cara and I joined him. We brought Cara's empty dollhouse outside and she played with some animal toys while I weeded. Cara also, of course, ran around and sort of helped and sort of didn't. Her favorite part was when I dumped the bucket of weeds down the back slope.

We went to Grandmom's house today! Cara slept on the way there, and then, in between playing with about five different sets of toys she got out successively, told us frequently that she was tired. She wanted to sleep on the couch. She wanted to sleep in a bed. We put her down in one bedroom, and then later again in another. We read to her in the bed. She just loved it, of course, and popped out of bed promptly when she was done. Eventually Puma went to sleep in a bed, and we all had to be quiet and Cara had to go check on him every few minutes.

After all of that elaborate fatigue, I figured she'd fall asleep in the car as soon as we started rolling. Instead, we were halfway home before she was out! The evening wasn't nearly as bad as others have been when she slept in the car. She perked up and acted like herself. So did Puma.

7/13/08 (Sunday)

The morning was unexciting; we just did yard work. Cara was not particularly thrilled that we weren't playing with her, but she made the best of it. Juliana and I did a lot of weeding, while Steve trimmed her hedges. We got to say hi to Gene across the street, who was out working on his lawn. Cara told me she wanted to say hi to him, too, and then she did. "Hi, Gene!" she called, waving. He was facing the other way. This happened several times, but Gene reports that he did see her once.

When Cara woke up from her nap, PJ and Casey were over! It was date night. We mostly just had a good time. Cara and PJ and I played hide-and-seek upstairs for a while. They hid and I counted. The first time, I opened the door to Cara's room and there, she was, hiding on her bed. The closed door was the hiding part. PJ popped out of the closet. Then I suggested that she try hiding under her bed. OK. When I opened the door, there she was on the floor, with her head under the bed. PJ popped out of the closet. After that, Cara hid in a few different places. She always announced where she was planning on hiding ahead of time, just in case. PJ popped out of the closet. A few times, he popped out before I was done counting. I popped him back in.

While I was changing Casey's diaper, PJ, whom I had just changed, decided he had to go on the potty. He did. He put the seat on, got on, got off to get some toilet paper, and got back on for a while. Then he flushed, and I think he wanted to start all over again. I don't think he did anything, because the diaper I'd just put on him a few minutes ago was a little wet, but it was a good try and excellent initiative. Casey discovered Cara's bed and decided to take a nap. This led to all five of us trying to take naps in Cara's room. It also led to pillow fights, that is, fights over pillows.

7/14/08 (Monday)

This morning, Grandmama came up and took Cara to gymnastics! I was a little nervous because it was Cara's first class without PJ, but apparently she did great. She was in a group with two other little girls, with, according to Cara, the same teacher she always had. I have no idea whether that is true. They jumped on the trampoline, and they went on the swinging rope, which Cara had never tried before. She told Steve all about it this evening, so I think she liked it.

Of course Grandmama stayed for a while afterwards, and she got to play computer games with Cara. How thrilling! I had given Cara Cheerios with milk for the first time for breakfast, and she had them for lunch as well. I'm very pleased that that worked out.

Poor Cara got no nap. It was past two when Grandmama left, and we had to go out to pick out tile for the bathroom. In the showroom, I mostly just held Cara--and Puma. A nice elderly man came out of the back room to give Cara a gold dollar coin, which she carried home and insisted on putting into our big jug of coins rather than her piggy bank. She did fall asleep on the ride home, and we spent the rest of the afternoon very quietly.

As we were getting ready for the bath, Cara and I somehow decided to do gymnastics tricks. In the upstairs hallway. It wasn't particularly clever of us. Cara did a somersault and bumped her tush against the wall. I did a cartwheel and bumped my leg against the wall, leaving a nice scuff mark at about light-switch level. I didn't hurt my leg, though! My wrist may be sore. Somehow Steve weaseled out of taking his turn to do a trick while we watched.

7/15/08 (Tuesday)

It's Tuesday! Aunt Claire came! Her muffin was blueberry this time. Very exciting. We didn't get out to do much. We did listen to the Boom Song a lot. Cara remembers how to press the zigzag button on the remote to make it repeat, so whenever it ended she exclaimed something and went running to make it start again. Then she would be triumphant at having done it and come running to us for hugs.

We ordered lunch and tried to get Cara down before it arrived. I snuck downstairs to pay the man, and when I came back into Cara's room, where Claire was reading to her, Cara said, "I want some pizza!" We had to explain that it wasn't pizza that had come, but sushi, and then we had to let her come downstairs and see and maybe share. She didn't share, but she did play while we ate. Then we put her down again. She had a good nap.

There are a couple of things I've forgotten to put in lately. Yesterday, when Cara did her trick before bed, she described it as "fabulous." Also, she got some string yesterday and I taught her how to play with the cats by laying it out where they could see it and then pulling it slowly away. She's never had so much success in playing with them! The biggest problem is when Cara decides to pick up the other end of the string to move it nearer to the cat. They don't enjoy that.

When Cara realized that Aunt Claire needed a chair to sit in at the dinner table, she jumped from her seat. "One chair, coming right up!" she cried. She couldn't really get it herself, but it was a lovely sentiment.

I had trouble getting Cara to let me floss her teeth this evening. She used all of her delaying tactics, and finally I just said OK and all of the adults left her room and I turned off the big light, leaving her with her night light. We waited. It took a few moments for the reaction to set in. I told her she could just come out whenever she was ready to be flossed. There was some wailing, and then the door opened. The teary little girl came out, announcing, "I have to go to time-out!" She sat on the stairs for a minute before letting the flossing proceed.

7/16/08 (Wednesday)

We're going to Florida tomorrow! Poor Cara is crazed with anticipation, but we did get her to go to bed happily; having a routine really works! I went out today and got her a backpack. Of course, it's pink with Disney princesses on it. I also picked up two nice hats to keep the sun off of her head. When I gave them to her, she put them both on and insisted on wearing two. Later, she announced that she wanted to wear one.

Thank goodness it's Wednesday and Em's turn to make dinner! I was very frazzled by trip preparations, so it was nice to get away for a couple of hours. The kids played on the lawn with dump trucks. Cara and PJ each had one, and they pushed them up and down the slope of the lawn, dumping imaginary dirt at the foot of the stairs.

Cara will tell anyone who asks her that we're going to Florida to see her great-grandma Anne. She's thrilled. I'm excited too; we're going to have a great time. If I can just finish packing . . . .

See you Sunday!

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