Day 28: Spirits high

Some weeks I feel like there’s absolutely nothing to write about, and some weeks I’m afraid I’ll forget something we’ve done so much. I hope I remember everything this week.

Tuesday night we had dinner at Chris and Shawn’s house. It was beyond delicious—The Best Grilled Steak Ever with a creamy blue cheese sauce and a fruit parfait for dessert—yum. And then we talked and listened to Ellie’s laugh echo through the house while she played with “that boy” (Talmadge) and “that girl” (Courtney, Aubrey, or Ashton—she’s not so big on names, apparently) and Kitten. Moira was also taken with Kitten and miraculously fast enough to crawl near her, pull herself up on the chair Kitten was hiding on, and then vigorously pat her. Luckily Kitten is a patient cat. It was a lovely evening.

On Wednesday Ellie and I went to a pediatric dentist for some x-rays and a cleaning. The office is all decorated with picture book characters and they really know how to cater to kids. Because of that, Ellie didn’t appear frightened at all and held uncharacteristically still in a pair of sunglasses (to shield her eyes from the overhead light) while the doctor found no cavities. (YAY!) Then we looked at x-rays of Ellie’s permanent teeth and found out that she is congenitally missing her lateral incisors:

Which means:

to manage the gaps. I had hoped Chris’s experience with implants would be the end of our family’s foray into oral surgery, but right now it appears more like a primer. For now we’ll just give her fluoride and get the teeth she has as strong as possible.

On Thursday we had our last swimming lesson. During the first week I was able to talk to Ellie about going to swimming lessons and what she was learning and how fun it was, but as this week progressed, she started running away from the swimsuit until Thursday when she threw an impressive fit with floppy legs and incensed crying. Ellie can be pretty dramatic, so I didn’t think much of it, plopped her into the car, and made sure I had fresh batteries to capture her new swimming prowess. Well, that’s not what happened. Here is her wailing through kickboarding:

She also cried during floating and practicing sticks, then sat on the stairs, unconsolable:

She got out of the pool with cries that she needed to go to the bathroom (she didn’t), jumped in two times (WITH HER HEAD UNDER!) and then her crying was too much and we escaped before the culminating popsicles. The funny thing is that as soon as we pulled out of the driveway, she calmed down and said “I miss Sam and Nick” (the teachers). And then when she said the prayer before dinner she said, clear as day: ‘I’m grateful for swimming lessons.” So I’m hoping that she remembers the good moments instead of what I have captured on film.

Marianne has been busy helping Grandma Glasscock and Frank get ready for their move to Texas, so I’ve been doing some of the cooking. I was pretty pleased with my abilities because Moira has been gobbling everything down in enormous amounts—so much food that her little stomach is tight when I pull her out of the high chair. Well, after one of those eating fests, we were playing downstairs and Moira had something in her mouth, so I did the finger sweep and removed—a living bug. With it’s feet moving!! ICK! So apparently, my cooking is at least as good as bugs, which in my mind is not the best compliment. And of course I’ve been imagining how many bugs Moira might have completely digested without my knowing it. Shudder.

We made it to the Whitman Mission yesterday and then tried to go to the Walla Walla sweet onion festival, but the girls fell asleep while we located the fairgrounds. So we drove home and cuddled up with our new copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Add to that ripening peaches on the tree in the back, far too many loads of wet and sand filled laundry, Robert’s return from Russia, and a trip to the squirty park and you have our week.