Our time with the grandchildren turned out to be quite eventful last week. You never know what a day will bring!
"Normal day, let me be aware of what what a treasure you are" is a wall plaque that I have in my dining room. Many years ago, my mother-in-law also had the same sentiment in her home and as a young bride I just didn't get it. I looked at that so many times and thought it just didn't make much sense. Now I "get it", after many years of raising a family, being married, and just experiencing life.
Our week started out pretty normal, Papa brought a small bag of Jelly-Bellies for Claire and Chloe and we created a game that allowed each girl to make a choice of one jelly bean for her cup that would then be put up in the cupboard for treats during the week. Below you see them enjoying the game.
Later that day they put Papa in a wig, which, as you can see was quite becoming. :)
We took a fun trip to the park later on and Claire helped by pushing the stroller to our picnic table.
Papa enjoyed pushing the girls on the swings and after we were back in the car one of them asked him when his "bad" arm was going to get better so that he could push them with two hands. He explained to them that it probably wasn't going to get any better, and after a few more questions they seemed satisfied.
If you would like to see a little video of Chris enjoying the swing and being pushed by Claire click
here. He also just enjoyed being outside both in the stroller and the swing.
As I have mentioned in previous weeks, there is no stopping Chris' exploring. Here he is under a kitchen chair. He did need a little help getting out of that space but I watched him yesterday crawl in a straight line through two small child size chairs, under a table, and out the other side just like he was going through a tunnel. He acted like he knew exactly what he was planning. And sure enough, he was going after some electrical plugs that fortunately were capped.
On Thursday, early in the morning, my normal day suddenly disappeared. I had just carried Chris into another room and there was a loud sound and then frantic crying. Claire (who was at that moment a "bucking pony") and Chloe had collided and Chloe fell face first on the carpet. They both told the same story, but I didn't see what had happened myself. How she could have hit that hard, I just don't know, but when she got to me she had lots of blood coming from her mouth and she was in pain. I could see that there was a problem with her bottom front teeth and the more she cried the more worried I got. The more she cried, the more Christopher cried, and Claire was broken hearted. I knew Paula and/or Nonie should be coming soon, so I gave Chloe ice to hold against her mouth and prayed that Mommy would get home soon. Sure enough, once Paula checked things out she discovered some broken teeth. Oh my! Thankfully, Nonie arrived soon as well, Paula called the dentist and I took off with Chloe to the dentist where Mike met us. What a trooper Chloe was. She had to have one tooth repaired and one extracted. The third one was loose and is expected to be fine in a few days. She did not cry one tear nor let out one peep during the procedure. She has a wonderful children's specialty dentist and they certainly do a fine job at keeping things calm and manageable. Here is a before the dentist picture.....
And an after the dentist picture.....
We are very thankful that things worked out well and that it wasn't anything more serious. I, however, do not want to have any more accidents on my watch! It certainly wasn't a life or death matter, but there were a few anxious moments for all of us. Some good things did come from this episode. Both Kathy (Nonie) and I totally enjoyed some one on one time with each of the girls. Nonie reported that when Chris went down for a nap that she and Claire accomplished several things together and had a great time. I reported to her that Chloe and I had a great time
singing in the car, having frozen yogurt, and going to the grocery store after the dentist visit to get some soft foods for Chloe to eat. Had it not been for the tooth incident, it would have been a great Chloe and Grandma day. Chloe did mention several times that she missed Claire but possibly we need to arrange some time for them to be apart every once in a while.
Following that eventful week, Papa and I spent a great weekend attending a friend's wedding at Lake Tahoe. What a beautiful setting, a beautiful event, and a great time with great friends. We couldn't have asked for a better way to end our week.
This little Dora car was always one of the favorites of the girls. Thankfully, the batteries aren't still working so we don't have to hear the constant chatter and singing when the buttons are pushed. In all fairness, however, I think we better replace those batteries and give Chris the same thrills the girls had. :):)
Some Papa and Chris time. We are really able to give him lots of attention when the girls are at school during the morning hours.
I don't think I mentioned that when we went to Oregon a couple of weekends ago that we saw and purchased some African frogs in a supposedly "perfect environment" tank. The girls, without hesitating one moment, named them Yoko and Rosie. Yoko and Rosie are doing well and spend most of their time on the kitchen table where they can be observed while eating or passing through the kitchen. Below the girls are having a morning snack, not long after breakfast, I might add, and talking to and about Rosie and Yoko.
Claire sits in Daddy's chair.....
