Tuesday, February 28, 2006
This Is The Way We Watch TV
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Monday, February 27, 2006
You Can Try
Eliana and I were on our way home this afternoon when she says, “Miss F (her preschool director) climbed on the monkey bars today!”
“She did???”
“Yeah, and she hung upside down.”
“Really?!? I could do that!”
“Nawwwww…”
“Yeah. I could hang upside down on the monkey bars!”
“You can try but I don’t think you can do it.”
Oh my gosh. I’m so gonna have to prove her wrong. Or else I’m so gonna get hurt trying.
{extended}Saturday, February 25, 2006
The Poor Child Wore Herself Out
Carmi had another training class at church today from 9 to 4 so Eliana and I had more quality father-daughter time together.We just lazied around this morning. In fact, I think it was probably pushing 11 o'clock before I ever fixed my hair and changed out of my bath robe. That's fun, though.
I was really hoping to take Eliana on a picnic at lunch and let her play at one of the nearby parks. The weather didn't want to cooperate as it was overcast and cool all day so that idea was tossed. We opted instead for Chick-Fil-A and their indoor playroom which suited the Empress just fine.
After eating, she ran and climbed and slid for a good 30-40 minutes before I could coax her into going home. The poor child wore herself out (a really good thing) because she was just about asleep before we made it to the house. She managed to stay awake long enough, though, for us to indulge in a yummy bowl of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream. Then it was night-night time for the rest of the afternoon. {extended}
Lazy Saturday Morning
{extended}
She’s Got Big Shoes
Carmi had a training class at church this evening so the Empress and I were on our own."What would you like to eat, sweetheart?"
"Umm...a hamburger with cheeeeese!"
"No. We're not eating at Ronald McDonald's tonight. What else would you like?"
"Umm...chicken tenders!"
"How about shrimp?"
"At Captain's Galley?"
"Yes, at Captain's Galley."
"OK." and off we went.
We hadn't been seated long when Lana, a lady from my office, sat down with her husband, Eric, in the booth right behind us. Eliana exchanged pleasantries with them until our food arrived.
We put a pretty good dent in the bowl of hush puppies. The baked potatoes were history and a lot of the shrimp had already disappeared when I suddenly realized that I didn't take her to the potty before leaving the house!
"Oh Lord", the little man in my head begged, "puleeeeeze don't let her have to go."
Not 30 seconds later, a tap on my shoulder was followed by the calmest little voice that said, "Dad, I gotta go potty."
Unbelievable. "Sweetie, we'll be ready to go in just a few minutes. Can you hold it?"
"Uh-huh", she reassured me.
Maybe 15 seconds had passed when she piped up, "I gotta go REAL bad!"
"GAAAAAH!"
I definitely didn't relish the thought of taking my daughter into the men's room. I stood up, told Lana that we were going to the restroom and asked her to let our waitress know that we were not finished eating.
"You want me to take her?" she asked.
"If you don't mind, that would be great!"
The two trotted off, hand in hand. As they returned, Lana was laughing.
While sitting on the toilet, Eliana was interested in their next door neighbor. Lana said that she leaned over as far as possible without falling off the throne to look into the adjacent stall and remarked, "She's got BIG shoes." {extended}
Friday, February 24, 2006
Nice To Meet You
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Thursday, February 23, 2006
Singing In The Rain
Carmi bought Eliana an umbrella last night at Wally World. Now the Empress is singing in the rain!
{extended}
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Mashing Bananas
We had bananas that were becoming too ripe to eat so Carmi decided to make two loaves of banana bread after dinner. She enlisted some big help and let Eliana participate in the preparation.While Eliana was busily mashing bananas, Carmi prepared more ingredients for the mix. At some point, Carmi looked and Eliana had banana remnants around her mouth. When questioned, the Empress smiled sheepishly and with a 'hand-caught-in-the-cookie-jar' giggle confessed, "I licked the fork".
At least we're raising an honest child.
{extended}
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
A Summer Picnic In Charleston
I'm stoked!!Can you tell I came of age in the early 80's?
We just received an email from our adoption agency. Christian World Adoption will be hosting a summer picnic in Charleston, SC on Saturday, June 3. It will be a great day of fun, food and fellowship for all CWA families.
I would venture to say that Charleston is our most favorite place to visit.
Oh yeah...we are sooooo there! {extended}
Popping Pills
We're breathing a small sigh of relief today.Our oldest cat, Frosty, simply hasn't been herself the last few weeks. She has been losing weight (which we've encouraged her to do for the longest time with no luck), she was puking every time she ate, she was pooping outside of the litter box and, in general, just very lethargic. We became concerned because the first cat we ever owned exhibited similar symptoms, was diagnosed with cancer and eventually put to sleep. One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do.
Carmi, on her day off from work yesterday, took Frosty to the vet. The doc said Frosty was dehydrated so they hooked her up to an IV and also drew blood to run some lab tests.
I talked with the doc today about the lab test results.
He said all tests came back looking good except for the CPK test which was a little elevated. He described the CPK test as being very non-specific but that it usually indicated muscle damage or, in some rarer instances, a urinary tract infection. We're pulling for a UTI as the lesser of two evils. He prescribed an antibiotic and medicine for an upset stomach so hopefully she'll get back to her old self in a couple of weeks.
Popping pills into a cat twice a day is not fun, let me tell you. {extended}
Monday, February 20, 2006
Happy 4th Birthday
Happy Birthday, Eliana!It's hard to believe that she is 4 years old. Carmi and I have to keep reminding ourselves that she's still just a child because there are moments when she is very 'adult' in her thought processes, speech and actions.
Her smile and laugh will light up a room. It's fun to watch her around people that she knows. She's like a magnet. People are drawn to her. They want to be around her and I often wonder how she will use that charisma for 'good' as she grows older.
She is an amazing little girl and we are so very, very blessed to have her as our daughter.
{extended}
A Lazy Sunday Afternoon
Sunday afternoons have been lazy for about as long as I can remember.My sister and brother-in-law from South Carolina were in town this weekend visiting with Mom. They normally stay Friday nights and go home on Saturdays but this time they decided to stay over until Sunday.
We got together for lunch at Mom's house following church. As soon as the food dwindled, we all eventually wandered into the living room to check out the DVD player with surround sound that brother-in-law installed. I made the (intentional?) mistake of plopping down on the sofa.
I laugh with Carmi because we swear she has a switch in her butt that makes her eyes close as soon as she sits in the passenger seat of a car.
It's the same way with me and Mom's sofa. It's impossible to keep my eyes open when I sit in Mom's sofa. It envelops me and sings lullabys.
So I yielded to the temptation and took a much-needed nap. {extended}
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Third Party of the Weekend
Eliana's third and final birthday bash was thrown at Michael's this afternoon at 4:00. With the exception of one little girl, the rest of the children who came do not attend Eliana's preschool but they do attend our church.I didn't stick around for this one.
All of the moms stayed for the party so I took the opportunity to walk to Target which is in the same shopping center. Since it was quite chilly outside today, I settled into a chair at Starbucks and nursed a delicious White Chocolate Mocha.
{extended}
Second Party of the Weekend
We celebrated Eliana's birthday with her second party of the weekend this morning at 11:00 at our house. The theme this year was Dora the Explorer.This party was attended by members of our immediate families.
{extended}
The Empress Was Special
We went to Lotus and ate Chinese for dinner tonight.As we were finishing up, Carmi mentioned to Sharon (our waitress) that Monday was Eliana's birthday.
"Oooooh!", she said. "I will bring a special dessert for her birthday."
A few minutes later, Sharon comes back to our table accompanied by another waiter that we've never seen before. She is carrying six sesame banana dumplings (yummy) on a small plate. On top of the dumplings is perched one lone fortune cookie. Wedged into the fortune cookie is one lone candle that Sharon lights. How cute and wouldn't you know it! We didn't have a camera. Grrr...
The two then sang 'Happy Birthday' to Eliana in their thick Chinese accents. It was a little awkward. However, we have eaten there many times over the last few years and I don't recall ever having heard the staff sing anything to anybody else.
The Empress was special this night. {extended}