Another First for Logan

I took the kids to the dentist today. It was Becki's second visit in the last 6 months. She has a rotten tooth that they tried to take out the last time we were there. She made such a big fuss about it that they decided to leave it in there and told me to come back in a couple of months. While I decided it was time to get another look at Becki's bad tooth, I figured it would be a good time to get Logan his first dental check-up.

I showed up 15 minutes before appointment time to anticipate filling out forms for Logan. I filled them out and turned them in at 11:00am on the dot - just in time for the appointments. They called us into the room at about 11:05. I thought - good, they are keeping their appointments, unlike other offices.

We had a consultation with a nurse, which was very brief, and the nurse set up supplies for the dentist to work with. Becki was supposed to go first so that they could work on her tooth then Logan would get his teeth checked out and cleaned.

We ended up waiting two hours. I was not a happy camper. After the first hour, the nurse started to give me dirty looks. This dental office did not have offices that were closed in but were separated by walls (and no doors). The nurse was giving me looks because Logan was being rowdy. I told him "How do you expect me to keep a 3 year old still for over an hour in a small room?" At this point, I was fed up with the office and didn't care if Logan ran around naked.
After the first hour, I spent another 30 minutes of dealing with Logan and trying to shush him (I gave up after that) and the last 30 minutes just sitting there playing with my phone. I was pretty peeved.

Finally, the dentist came in only to tell me that the dentist who can work on Becki's tooth isn't here today and I have to reschedule her appointment. Boy, was I mad. However, they told me that they can work on Logan... give him his first check-up and clean his teeth.

I was nervous for him, but he did exceptionally well!!! He was scared at first, I could see, but once I told him that it was ok and touched his leg, he calmed down and let the dentist start working. I was so proud of him - so I took a picture!

I'm a Big Kid Now!

When you raise a child, you experience many firsts. Today was a first for Logan.

It was about noon and I was at the computer checking emails and whatnot. My daughter was watching one of her favorite shows on TV. Logan wasn't anywhere around to bother me - which is unusual nowadays. I assumed he was in his room playing with his toys (for once) or watching a DVD on his TV.

After about 10 minutes on the computer, my daughter came running up to me, her eyes wide and said "COME LOOK!" I immediately thought "OH no! What happened NOW!?" I went into the kitchen expecting a huge mess. I was afraid to look.

Logan was standing up on his cute little chair with a pink plate that had two hot dogs on it. There was also a big blob of ketchup. Logan had cooked (yes, cooked) his first meal! I can proudly say that Logan cooked his first meal at 2 1/2 (even though he used a microwave). That breaks my daughter's record. She started making meals for herself (sandwiches and hot dogs) a little after she turned 4. My - what a big boy I have!

I was SO proud of him. He didn't burn the hot dog! Although he put a little bit too much ketchup on his plate, he did remarkably well. I was so excited so I took a picture. Isn't he cute!? All excitement put aside - now I have to really watch out for him. Maybe he won't do so well next time.... I'll find out eventually.

Remember when I was 4?

Kids are cute. Sometimes they're annoying. Sometimes they can be very articulate and sometimes they make no sense at all. My daughter is all of those.

Many times she likes to tell stories. Stories about what she dreamed the night before, stories about what she wants to do when she grows up and stories about what happened at school (and sometimes these are made-up!). Most times, I enjoy her stories. It's like living through childhood all over again. With my two kids, I guess that means I'll get to live through three childhoods.

One of the joys of having children is being a kid at heart. I've swam silly in the pool, I've ridden in a laundry basket, I jumped on my bed (then told my kids not to do again, lol), and watched numerous Disney movies time and time again. My favorite part is reading my childhood books.

My daughter gets into her story-telling mood about once a day. Usually it's just a few minutes and sometimes it's long and drawn out.... and MANY of them start with "Remember when I was 4?" She seems fixated on that age. It seems that whenever she goes through deja-vu or remembers something from her past, she connects it to being 4 years old. Many of them are hilarious. I thought I'd list a few that I remember (or almost remember).

"Remember I was 4 and Logan was 2, we went to Chuck E Cheese?" When she was 4 - Logan wasn't born yet or he was about to be.

"Remember when I was 4, you and daddy got married?" We got married when she was 6 months old.

"Remember when I was 4, you took me and Logan to the library and we saw a horse?" We didn't start going to the library until she was at least 5, but hey - close enough! And we never saw a horse.

"Remember when I was 4, I went to Uncle Al's house?" OR "Remember when I was 4, I rode on the plane for the first time?" Her first plane ride was when she was 6.

I'm sure that for years to come - I'll hear much more of "Remember when..." stories. I just hope they are more accurate as she gets older!

One Tough Cookie

There comes a time when everybody sits back and thinks about what they want to do with their lives and what they want to be remembered for when they're gone. When you're a parent, you start thinking about other people's lives - mostly your children's. Often, I've wondered what my children will grow up to be like, what careers they'll have and how big their families will be (if they have any). Today was no different.

For as long as I can remember, my son likes to bang his head on things - especially on me. He's rough with everything. I guess it's because he's a boy. He loves cars and planes... what little boy doesn't? Playing up to his "big boys don't cry" role, he approached me last night with a bloody leg. He calmly climbed up onto my computer tower, tapped me on the shoulder, showed me his leg and simply signed "hurt." There certainly hasn't been any knives, scissors or anything sharp that he could get into, so when I saw the leg, I was startled. What did he do!? Turns out he scratched away all of his scabs. When he was up in Dallas, he spent a LOT of time outdoors and has lots and lots of bug bites to show for it.

Today, he was my little monkey. He climbed on everything. That's not unusual but today, it was a bit unnerving. Most times, I am his personal jungle jim. If I'm at the computer, he'll climb all over me. If I'm on the couch, he'll climb all over me. If I'm in the kitchen trying to clean or cook, he'll cling to my leg and expect me to drag him all around. Earlier, when I was fussing over a photo editing program, he decided he wanted to play with me. He pushed the trashcan and a bunch of toys out of the way. He dragged the side table over to me. He hoisted my legs up (one at a time) to the side table. At first I thought, "Aww, he's pampering me." Boy, I thought wrong. He was building a playground for himself! For the next 10 minutes, he would climb up on the side table, crawl across my legs, sit on my lap, press my cheeks together (making a fish face), get off then start all over again.

Times like these, I wish I was 3 again.

In keeping up with his crazy energy, today was the day he decided he wanted to swim independently. With a life jacket, of course. He doggy-padded all around the little spa/pool for at least an hour. I figured he'd crash after swimming and that I'd get a little rest... Right? Wrong!

As adorable as he can be, he sure is a lot to handle!