Naturally Optimistic

Last Sunday when we were in the Cities, we decided to take on Underwater Adventures. We went with my parents, the Johnson 5 (minus my sister) & my sister-in-law Allison & her son Anders. It was SO COOL! I had never been there before & had a great time! I've often heard Peder & Sarah talk about it so was anxious to check it out. The weather was crappy outside so it was perfect to enter the darkness & see all the cool creatures living underwater. I loved the "tunnel." What a great concept! It was amazing how up close & personal you could be with fish, sharks (oh my - the teeth!), huge HUGE turtles, etc. I loved the atmospheric music. I could've stayed there for hours, meditating. The sea horses were also VERY cool. They're so cute. Dahlia really liked them. August loved seeing everything overhead in his car seat. Pefect! We went through at the beginning of the day & at the end of the day (what a great concept!) & of course Dahlia ha...

After a Thanksgiving feast last night of all the classics, I think I am still full. Egads. We had a great time at my Mother-in-laws - Steve's whole family (minus sister Laura) was there! Dahlia & Anders had a ridiculously good time playing together. I swear those two have the same silly sense of humor. We stayed up WAY too late but Dahlia slept til almost 9am this morning, so that was cool. Today Anders (& his parents) visited & we played & played. First with the toys, then we got out the parachute (and the cackling laughter of 2 2-year-olds began) THEN we suited up & went outside to play in the snow. They had a blast. There were tears when Anders had to leave - from both of them. Tonight we're going to eat (again!) pizza & tour Bentleyville (the amazing lighting display at Bayfront). It is BEYOND COOL. I am a sucker for things like pretty lights and THIS is AMAZING. It's free (for one); they give you FREE hot chocolate & cookies, free popcorn ...

On Monday morning I am doing a reading at my nephew's funeral. Words that are so sad I hoped I would never say them. My sister-in-law & brother-in-law were expecting their baby to arrive in March; but sadly the wee one was plagued with problems. They found out the baby had Downs Syndrome, which is sad but of course it is a challenge that just has to be met. Unfortunately there were other problems with the baby's heart - including a calcium build up in the left ventricle (which is usually only present in the right ventricle) of the heart (or I may have gotten left & right mixed up). This was only documented 4 times in the US & Canada. Most likely this baby would need an immediate heart transplant upon his birth. If the pregnancy went full term. There was also the potential for brain damage - something that could not be determined during pregnancy. Sadly, it did not. The baby was born on Saturday, October 23rd. 23 weeks (I think?). He was named Owen & he lived for...

Well, guess I'm not going to make my own self-imposed NaBloPoMo - ah well. I will try to stay more on top of things...we'll see how that goes... So - August is 6 months old! October 27th! What? Where has the time gone?? How is it possible that I have a 6 month old? Crazy. He had his appointment one week early as it was also the follow up for his Upper GI (which showed nothing, btw). He weighed in at 14lbs 5.5oz! 7th percentile! (up from 4th - whohooo!) Height - 26 1/2" 61st percentile!! (what?) Head Circumference - 17" 39th percentile I stopped giving him his meds last week to see how he would do & he's doing great! He hasn't taken Prevacid or Carofate now for almost a week. He's a happy boy! He hasn't really seemed in pain at all. It's awesome. I'm so glad. He is such a good-tempered child! He laughs & smiles; he loves to play; babbles all the time. He learns new 'vocalizations' often & likes to repeat them OVER & OVER....

Dang it. My modem died on Sunday & I was unable to officially participate in NaBloPoMo. I think I have done this every year for the past 5 years! Hmph. Oh well. I will TRY to make daily posts from now on through November. Not sure that I'll be successful but at least I will try!