OWWWWWWW!!!

I was introduced to pain as I have never endured before, today. I had just put Joseph to bed for his nap when, starting down the stairs, I stepped on a wasp that had sneaked itself into the house. The sharp pain of the sting, right at the base of my left middle toe, went on and on, burning, until my whole foot throbbed with it. Jonathan ran for Benadryl and hydracortisone cream while Elena stared and Joseph screamed much as I had a second earlier. It felt like the pain would go on forever. I guess I thought it would sting for a bit and then fade, much like an ant bite. No such luck. The worst part may have been how clear-headed I was. I've done pain, worse than that, even, but never without the blessing of the mind-numbing side of pain. We made it down the stairs and I slept for the next hour or so (Benadryl does that). It never swelled up that bad and now my foot just feels like I'm wearing a rubber prosthetic over it--stiff and a bit nerveless, like all the feeling is at a distance. I'm still having a bit of trouble walking since I can't put my full weight down, but I can get around. At least I don't have to carry anyone up the stairs, today. They can both do that by themselves. And even better, Elena now knows why we tell her to stay away from "angry bugs" without actually having to get stung.

Out On The Town

We decided to get out and enjoy what the city has to offer, today. We went to The Domain, just to see what it looked like. All the stores are terribly expensive, but the ambiance is great. There are two little open areas between the stores, one with an armadillo to climb on and a fireplace, the other with a giant whooping crane and a fountain kids can run through. We ate lunch by the fountain and Elena ran back and forth, "feeling the water" and drinking her juice. Joseph took a little longer to warm up to the water, but once he did he liked to trail his fingers through the spurts.



Afterward, we went downtown to see the new children's hospital. We got to tour the inside and see a magic show, play with the lobby's Rube-Goldburg-esque ball contraption that's more than twice the size of my car, and play in the hospital toy room while we were inside. There was also a concert with Rick Trevino next to the food tents on the main drive. We finally decided that Elena would be OK in one of the sock hops by herself--I was a bit nervous because the only other time she'd been in one, she was with her cousins--when who should arrive, almost on cue, but those same cousins.



They wrapped up the night with fireworks (Joseph's first!) and both kids watched with rapt attention.


It was a very fun day, and we're glad we got to share some with our family.

The Wedding Trip

What a vacation! It was great to get away and act like newlyweds, again. No kids, no curfews, just us. Wednesday was taken up entirely with flying, laughing at the ill-hemmed tux pants (there is a hilarious difference between inseam and outseam), and my exploring a couple old small towns while Jonathan was off mini-golfing at the bachelor party. Thursday we went to Kirtland (Jonathan had never been, my visit was before all the renovations, over by the Whitney place) before going to the rehersal.


Dinner was at the Dubrovnick Garden Restaurant in the Croatian National Center--which also contained a Croatian language school, a Croatian Heritage Museum and a Croatian Cultural Center. The food was excellent and not Chefed-Up, but not exactly Croatian, for our meal. I'm sure if Craig chose to visit he could get nearly any home-cooked Croatian food he could think of.


Friday, we headed downtown, hoping to catch Renoir and Picasso at the art museum, but they were closed for renovations so we went next door to the Cleveland Institute of Art for an Ansel Adams exhibit. While there, we discovered that another nearby building was designed by Frank Gehry. The pictures you see represent his style fairly well, though I've never seen that done with brick, before. The other side of the building looks more like the top and is covered in titanium scales.



The wedding itself was beautiful. Chrissy is Catholic and the wedding was in her home parish. It wasn't a full mass, but the ceremony was still an hour long. There were readings from scripture, a sermon on the importance of marriage, vows, rings, presentation of the bride and her prayers to the Virgin Mary, and final blessings by the priest. It was my first experience with anything Catholic, so I don't really feel qualified to comment any further than that.



The reception was amazing. The food was spectacular. Jonathan, as best man, gave a nice little speech with his toast about the importance of friendship in marriage. I have to admit I got a bit teary-eyed at that. We ate, we chatted, and we danced the night away. I didn't get pictures of the amazing bathrooms (mini powder rooms in each stall on one side, gold swan-shaped faucets on the sinks on the other, two huge floor-length mirrors draped in flowing purple fabric...) but I did sneak someone in so he could look at it. ;)





I'll admit that I did have baby withdrawal while I was away from my children. Sariah Croft and Enoch Daniels filled in, for me. Even so, it was a bit of a shock to be chucked right back into mom duties when we got back. Thankfully, there hasn't been too much whining yet, and I've been doing fairly well at retaining the hard-won serenity of my time off. As I said, what a vacation!

Birthday Portraits

We took Joseph in to get pictures taken, last week, and the email from the sitting came back while we were in Cleveland. Here's some of the best. That last is the one we have on the mantle.

Thoughts on Pause

We're flying to Cleveland at the crack of dawn, tomorrow, so the blog will be on hold. I might put in a few things while we're up there, but don't feel upset if you don't see anything until Sunday.

#5 & 6

Joseph's been running a low-grade fever and fussing at things he wouldn't normally care about for about a week. Thursday night, when I picked the kids up at my in-laws (I was up there for a bridal shower), I forced my way past the ever-present fingers to discover that Joseph has two new teeth. One is all the way through, and the other has just broken through. Speaking of broken, his fever broke yesterday afternoon, but today he's got a weird rash on his cheeks , tummy and lower back. And Elena has a fever. Sigh...

At The Park

Our AC is broken again (well, it chills, it just leaks water through our dining room ceiling and managment has painted the ceiling each summer instead of actually fixing the unit) so we went to the elementary school around the corner to get some fresh air and breezes.

One Month

Today marks one month since Elena left the last vestiges of baby-hood behind. I have to say that I love having her potty trained. Even with the accidents, even with her need to announce her trips and the seeming inability to go without us responding to tell her it's ok, it's so much better than changing diapers. I'm a little, sad, though, to see this stage left behind. She's growing up so fast. She's brave, and smart, and clever, and into everything. She loves to dance, go high on the swings, fly through the air as I twirl her around. She wants to fly like Tinkerbell does and goes fast on her tricycle down little hills. She has so much energy, jumping around the floor and off the couch and her bed. Half the time she's sweet and caring, showering me with hugs and kisses and saying please and thank you and sorry. The other half she's driving me crazy, running and shouting and crying over the tiniest little thing. I got to thinking about personality colors the other day, and I think she might be orange. She's adventurous and outgoing, friendly with everyone she meets. I'm very blue, though, quiet and sensitive, and I think this may be where some of our head-butting comes from. I don't know how to deal with her when all the energy comes out. I've tried to channel it, but that only works for a little while, before I get frustrated. I'd love to take her out but it's hard when it's hot, you don't have a car, and you don't have spare cash. I just wish I could find something we could do to give her an outlet to her energy without driving me up the wall.

It's a Party

Due to a battery failure (& failure to find batteries) we only got 4 pictues of the entire party. Here are the other three.Numbers were a bit thin with illnesses around the family (both Nathan and Christina, and Mike and Jeri had children laid low), but we did have a lot of fun. Joseph got several new outfits featuring pirates, fixing cars, and hunting lizards; plus cool new sports dishes and a cup (he lunged for the cup, right away), a lion on a wagon, fish-inside-a-fish, some books and a ball, and a dump truck ride-on that he is totally in love with. We put it together a little later in the evening and he climbed right on and started smiling. We had cake sandwiches (little triangular cupcakes, sliced and filled with frosting) with slices of ice cream (like cheesecake, but ice cream, in a bundt pan). Joseph smeared his face with frosting before washing it off with semi-melted ice cream. We hope you enjoyed your time with us--we had a lot of fun with you!

Garden Fairies

I went out to check on my tomato plants, today, and discovered that some little fairy (likely named Elena) had made a fairy ring on my table.

Sorry this is late...

Regan asked what Joseph would like for his birthday, and it took me a while to figure that out. We're looking for:

*Boy toys: tools, trucks, bugs, fire/police, pirates, etc. (or other toys with said themes on them)
*a push/ride-on toy (preferably with a storeage tray/compartment for him to put stuff in)
*a CD of children's music
*9-12 mo. clothes
*sz. 3 sandals

We're still limiting movies, and toys that blink and sing. Joseph's a little weirded out by noisy toys, anyway.

So Big! (Part 2)

At the doctor's, today, Joseph weighed in at 18lb 2oz and 28 3/4in, and got to practice walking while we waited for the nurse (4 steps in a row, and so smoothly!). Plus he got four shots, a toe prick (to go with the finger prick yesterday), and 2 x-rays. That last was because when she checked his hips they popped a bit. Joseph decided that every one of these procedures was gross child abuse of the worst sort and wanted the whole world to know about it. He even made a break for the door at the radiologists' office. Luckily, they had a fish tank and he had a toothbrush, and that kept him occupied while we waited. Once we got into the radiology lab, my poor little boy had to lie down on a cold hard slab, totally naked. It may not have hurt, but it was uncomfortable and Mommy was not holding him. Once we got home, he slept off his Day of Many Trials, and is now sitting in his high chair munching fresh rolls. It's a good thing they don't remember what we put them, through. It's tough enough as it is--I don't know if I could forgive myself if it traumatized them for life.

So Big!

Joseph went to the WIC office to get certified, today, and they weighed and measured him. He was 19 lbs and 28 in. Most of you will think that's ridiculously small (he's 5th percentile for both) but it's still several pounds heavier than Elena at the same age. Tomorrow is his checkup at the pediatrician (eww... shots).

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

We went to the lake with friends and, alas!, I left my camera at home. Elena played with the two big dogs and rode in both the kayak and the ski tube. She liked going up and down when we bounced on the waves. Joseph swam for a little while, both with Mommy and in his whale-shaped floatie. He also got his name on the birthday cakes as an official Birthday Boy, and got to eat his very own Big Piece of Chocolate Cake. The frosting made a ring around his mouth, giving him chocolate evil-twin facial "hair." We discovered the wonders of continuous spray sunscreen (you can get your own back!) and none of the four of us got burned. We hung out with friends we hadn't seen in at least two years, and caught up while eating cereal on the deck shortly after sunrise. All in all, a good weekend.

A Princess Tea Party

Elena got her first social invitation when she was invited to her cousin Keely's birthday party. We took Elena to the dollar store yesterday and let her pick out anything in the whole store for Keely's Happy Birthday Present, and she picked a furry red purse (with matching necklace!) that said "Princess" on the side. She picked the paper to wrap it, and the ribbons, too. Keely couldn't decide between Princesses or a tea party, so she did both. She even let Elena borrow a Belle dress to wear.


We drank pink lemonade out of beautiful old teacups, and ate little sandwiches and fruit.


Keely loved having friends to play with.


All the princesses (and one prince).

Last Time

Indoor or not, no one goes in the pool if there's lightening, so Joseph's last therapy session was at the gym. He practiced walking with the push toy, did his usual squats to strengthen his ankles, and didn't want much to do with the peanut ball. Mostly he was confused by the total lack of water. We'd only been to the gym twice before--for his initial evaluation, and another reschedule--so the mats, ziplines, climing ladder, and gym balls were all very strange. He had a good time, though, and we're just supposed to keep an eye on his feet for the next three months to make sure he doesn't start rolling in again.