We Have a Swimmer!

My cousin MB is visiting from WV. We had a lot of fun this afternoon at a water park near our house called Palmetto Falls. Andrew observed the other kids in the toddler area for quite a while and then decided to just take off swimming himself, legs kicking and everything. Granted, he helped himself along with his arms on the bottom of the pool most of the time, but we still feel like this is the biggest step he's taken yet.

I'm up. Why not compose a Haiku poem?

Heartburn, bad dreams, snores....
All my men have kept me up
(you do the matching).

We've Been Followed!

On his way to rehearsal this morning, Jon was greeted by this guy. We knew from experience (click here) that he's a Saint Andrew's Cross spider: extremely large (body as big as your big toe - not kidding) and menacing-looking but harmless to humans and an eater of bad bugs. So, he's allowed to stay....outside, that is.

Tales of an Insomniac

It's almost 4 am.

I am having a rough time sleeping these days. Did when Andrew was in the womb, too. I must have pristine sleeping conditions in order to get a full night's worth and if, God forbid, anything goes awry at all during the night (bark from a dog, train in the distance, violent kick from the inside), I am up for good and can't get back to sleep.

So, speaking of our resident two-year-old, he's had a rare, rough night and was up at 2. It's now after 3, and Jon has graciously moved to the guest bedroom to allow me free roam of the big bed tonight. After an hour of calming a child and surprising (and battling) a bug in the kitchen, I was finally ready to attempt to turn in (again). Here is how I just found our bed. Thanks, hounds. Thanks a lot. Please don't let me disturb you or anything.

Tomato Love and Bath Toy Insanity

(Yes, I suppose I am reaching for a post title there.) We picked the first tomatoes off our two scraggly patio plants the other day and plan to enjoy them today. Those of you who enjoy home-grown tomatoes know what I mean by ENJOY - there is just nothing like the taste of a tomato you've grown yourself. I have no idea why the store-bought ones have such a completely different taste..... no matter how organic or vine-ripened or expensive the fruit is, it just does not compare to the taste of your own.

And in completely unrelated news, our bath toy situation has gotten out of control. Last night I dumped them ALL in and sorted/stored. Andrew had a great time going through all of them again.

Wanna play "Where's Elmo?"

Ben and Andrew

Ben came for a visit today so Jon and I took the boys to the zoo. It was the birthday wagon's inaugural trip out in public, and it worked out famously - easy in, easy out, lots of space for hauling sippies, sunscreen, and the like. Everybody seemed to have a good time. The sea lion exhibit was being renovated, and watching the construction vehicles in action seemed to be the day's highlight for the boys - gofigure.

First Visit to the Dentist

Andrew saw his first-ever dentist this morning. It did not go exceptionally well; he was a little wigged out by the chair and the equipment so there was no cleaning to be done, just a little exploration of the torture devices tools with the very patient hygienist and then a quick once-over by the dentist himself. We'll take him back again when he's three (and is able to reason) and hope for the best then.

We are really impressed with our dentist, though... we weren't charged a penny for this visit since nothing really got accomplished (the crook we went to in Texas would have billed us for the office visit and probably the souvenir toothbrush, to boot). The office staff called it a "happy visit" and said its purpose was mainly to begin the process of getting him comfortable with the whole dental thing in general.

Thanks Miss Melissa and Dr. Finkel!