midnight swim, anyone?

Yes, I am the WORST mom! He's been ill with a runny nose today, so depressed because he didn't feel like doing anything. We tried to cheer him with movies and pizza. And when I put him down for his nap, he said "I can't go to sleep, Mom, there's still so much to do!". But he did go to sleep, and I had to peel him out of bed three hours later, so drowsy and grumpy. We had periods of happiness throughout the day. David let him pick out a Redbox movie last night and he chose The Superhero Squad Show. This meant that he periodically donned his Batman cape and 'flew' around the house (largely by jumping on our bed and turning somersaults, bouncing up to strike his superhero pose) today when he was feeling up to it. He had periodic bursts of energy, but then he'd feel bad again and snuggle in on the couch or in his beanbag chair. He went to bed sad, and I went in later to snuggle with him and check on him. He was still awake, had the covers pulled up over his head, told me his Daddy was mean because he picked him up and took him to bed. And here's the Bad Mom part: I asked him if he'd like to go for a "midnight swim" in his kiddie pool. David saw us walking to the door in our swimsuits and looked at me as if I'd grown a third head. Technically, it was 11:08, NOT midnight, but way past his bedtime on a day when he's been sick with a cold. We had a ten minute pool party before coming inside and bundling up in towels and then pajamas. He's going to sleep happy now. And he never got any part of him north of his belly button wet, so no wet hair or wet head to make him feel worse. And we made a fun 'summer night' memory.

Earlier today I researched some things about the Appalachian Trail while Dennis attempted to punch computer keys to distract me. David is hiking a section next month with our pastor and I told Dennis we were all going to Virginia to support Daddy while he hiked. Dennis said "Virginia? We can't go there! There are polar bears in Virginia!". I corrected him, although maybe incorrectly--I never researched to see if there are any zoo polar bears in Virginia. Hmmm....

Memorial Day fun

Dennis and I enjoyed a lazy day at home today. He said his ear was sick this morning, so we might be making a doctor visit this week, but tonight he says he's fine. I sure hope so! He had a super time splashing (me) in his kiddie pool, playing with his bath toys and demanding that I move his pool to the shade every few minutes. It IS in the shade for much of the day, but he wasn't a fan of the couple of hours of brightness.

Tonight he was tossing "why, Daddy" questions at David, dozens of them, when David finally said "I don't know everything, Dennis." Dennis asked "well, does Mommy know everything?". David told him I didn't, and Dennis said "well, don't worry--I do!".

Skipper D

He captained a couple of different types of watercraft today. After he swam with Allison and me, he asked for a break for a minute. We were sitting on the dock and he said "hey, Bob, can you take me for a boat ride?". He agreed to do so, and we all finished up our Freezer Pops and took off on the pontoon boat. In a surprising turn of events, Dennis drove us the entire voyage! Bob stood behind his chair most of the way. He did come and sit beside Dennis in the Captain's chair when we got into heavy boat traffic, but Dennis soon informed him "hey--this is my seat--you need to get up!". When we got out to a big open area, Dennis turned the wheel to the left and held it there. We turned about 6 good circles in one direction, all of us laughing hysterically, before Bob convinced him to turn the boat toward home. He turned a half circle in the opposite direction and then aimed it the right way.

When he got back in the water later, he piloted this makeshift 'kayak'. He climbed on the float with the idea that he'd use the noodle as a paddle. He didn't get far, but he had fun trying!

grocery store pirate

It was Pirate Day today. I don't know why. Dennis put on full pirate regalia and we visited Winn Dixie and ate at a Mexican place. He got lots of looks, lots of compliments, and he spent the majority of the time standing in the shopping cart with his arm extended, finger pointing out in the direction he was ordering me to go (in his best pirate voice, of course). I love his creativity!

He was scheduled to have a Man Night with his Daddy tonight, but we completely wore him out swimming in the lake. On our way back to town to drop him off with David, he fell asleep in the car and didn't wake up once he changed cars and got home. So David and I both had easy nights!

potty mouth

Gran reported to me that Dennis told her some rather disgusting jokes about pee and poop. Tonight I asked him about it, wanting to know where he learned to talk like that. He asked "do you know where I talk like that? In the bathroom. With my friends." I asked which friend and he said "my imaginary friend named Ironhide (name of his newest Transformer)--we talk about poop and Decepticons." I asked him if Decepticons pooped. He said "I don't know, Mommy--do they have butts?". I asked him if Autobots pooped and he said "yes! They have Auto-butts!" (then cracked up at his own wit).

During his toenail trimming tonight, he closely watched David (who was handling the clippers), and when he got to the little toe, Dennis yelled "NO! DON'T CUT MR. TINY!!!". Oh, the torture!

before my head explodes

I'm sensing the immediate arrival of what must be the 8th migraine I've had in the past month. I was helping Dennis clean his room, and I'd reached my limit of Lego retrieving effort, so now I'm stretched out in bed and considering sleep. Dennis is pounding on my closed bedroom door currently, and David is exercising in the den. I'll leave you with this tidbit of Dennis behavior. I was sitting at the table, eating lunch with Mom, when I heard Dennis yell from the bathroom "MOMMY! COME IN AND SEE THIS REALLY BIG POOP I JUST DID!!!!!". Such a nice thing to think about during the meal!

Note: 2 of our butterflies emerged from their cocoons this morning! We're still waiting on the third one to pop out.

gnomeo screeps, do you?

We had a little Family Night tonight after choir. David was completely exhausted from his day at work, and I was pretty worn out from cleaning up and having a very long planning meeting at the preschool. We went from the church to Wendy's and from there to buy a kiddie pool for Dennis (on sale for $8.95 @ Fred's--woohoo!) which David strapped onto the car Griswold-style for the ride home. Allison called me and while we chatted, Dennis sat in the backseat mimicking every sound I made on my end of the conversation (causing David to laugh uncontrollably). And he invented a new word at Wendy's. While he was slurping a bite of shared Frosty from his Dad's spoon, he said "listen--I'm screeping it off the spoon!". I asked what 'screeping' was and he told me "it's scraping and eating and slurping at the same time." I might have to notify the Webster's folks.

We concluded our day with a movie night, all snuggled in (but apart from each other because hey, it's HOT) and watching Gnomeo and Juliet (very cute, pretty funny).

happy ending

It was the last day of his first year of school. We stayed all day, even for after-school care. He played and played today, so much so that he was more exhausted and more filthy than I think I've ever seen him. It was bittersweet today--I'm so glad it's summer break, but I think we're really going to miss it! I'm going to let him go to 2 vacation bible school programs in another week and a half, one at our church and one at the church that's walking distance from the house (and where his preschool teacher and music teacher attend and will be helping with VBS). We have some things planned, but he just loves school. When we got out to the car, he told me a bit sadly that he was going to miss Mrs. Linda. She's been an incredible teacher! He came home with a bag full of sentimental things--handprints and a poem, a photo album of his year, and another poem on a page with his pictures at the beginning and ending of the year. He's grown so much!! He also came home with another perfect report card. I'm so proud! He was proud, too, and had me read every bit of the progress report to him. I wonder if we'll meet his summer goals: to learn to tie his shoes and "to finish learning to read." He can sound out many words. His teacher recommended that I teach him the "sight words", so I suppose I'll have to find out what they are and work on that! I'm more a fan of phonics, but I want to also teach him the way his future teachers will.

We released the school butterflies today, and Dennis enjoyed watching them go. We have 3 cocoons in our habitat at our house--it was so amazing to watch them grow from tiny little specks to big fat caterpillars and then harden into chrysalids! I wonder when they'll emerge. I hope we get to do lots of nature exploration this summer (and I'd love if some of that happened at the beach!).

his own language

As I was turning off the lights after putting Dennis to bed, he came out of his room and told me "I need to turn my lamp on because I might get a head fright in the dark." I let him, and now I'm hearing random bellows and giggles from his room.

While David was home for lunch, Dennis came in and said "it's radiant! Radiant means 'hot' so it's a radiant day today." He's right--it was a hot one today! Not only is he learning actual language, but he's also picking up colloquialisms. Today, he decked himself out in his hard hat, SpongeBob backpack, and slung his wooden rifle over his shoulder. He came and struck a pose, then asked "how do you like my sweet costume?". Loved it!

kodak moments

There are those hallmark moments in life, those unforgettable events that we'll hear about again and again. And Dennis provided the preschool folks at the closing ceremony one such memory today. Between their next to last and last song, just when the music stopped, I heard a voice say "Mommy? Mommy, I need to go potty!". The voice was very familiar to me, and sure enough, Dennis came over from the center of the stage to the side where I was sitting. He had made his announcement loud and clear, centered between two microphones, and everyone in the audience chuckled as I held his hand and we walked offstage together, all the way through the audience to the back of the gym to the bathroom. Once there, he said "you know what? I don't think Miss Angie even noticed that I left the stage!". I told him that I was pretty sure that EVERYONE knew he'd left the stage but that it was completely fine. I'd much rather him go offstage to the restroom than have an accident, and I'm pleased that he was confident enough to take care of business!

I'm told that he sang every song and did every hand motion before that, so I suppose his stage fright has abated somewhat. He sure does like to steal the show! He had a wonderful day today--we went to a dinner party with many of our favorite people from church and Grace was there along with her little brother Lincoln. He played with them and the other children for hours! He told me the only bad part of his day was "when we had to leave the eating party--I didn't want to leave because it was so fun there!".

tri-partisan

It was a THREE party day! The soccer closing party happened at the City Pool, and Dennis wasted no time jumping in and swimming with the kids there. He seemed to have the most fun playing in the kiddie pool with his teammates, jumping on the coach and wrestling him down.

He also had a wonderful time at Chloe's and Gran's birthday parties (as did we). In the car, he asked us if we thought he was smart, sweet, good, wonderful, etc. He was pleased when we bolstered his confidence! And tonight on the way home, he asked "Mommy what are you doing?" and I told him I was riding in the car. He said "well, I'm back here picking a booger!" and when we laughed, said "I'm just kidding!!".

The Transformer count is rising. I think we're up to 6 Autobots and 2 Decepticons. He is thrilled, of course, and I'm learning how to transform the ones that are still a bit complicated for him.

NO! keep out--this means you!

We live with a funny little person, one that loves to laugh and sees humor in so many things in life. He also creates a good bit of humor around here. Tonight we were in Winn Dixie (having walked there from Goosepond Park by way of the new under-bridge sidewalk connecting our parks) when Dennis began grabbing all kinds of food off the shelf. I asked him if he was a little hungry and he said "no, actually, I'm a BIG hungry." We ran into David then just as he was getting off work and Dennis told his Daddy "I'm a bunch hungry, Dad." We bought dinner and snack stuff and came home.

On our walk this afternoon, Dennis delighted in climbing all over the rocks lining the creek. He did ask, though, "what is that TERRIBLE smell?" as he wrinkled his little nose. Yes, that creek has always been somewhat fragrant (and never pleasantly so). And, come to think of it, I've NEVER seen anyone wading in it!

We were having Separate Movie Night (wherein we were watching the latest Harry Potter in the den while Dennis watched The Little Engine that Could in his room), but Dennis' movie had a scary part and he turned it off. He came to interrupt our movie, saying "I made a sign for my door that says "No, KEEP OUT, This Means You. Do you want to come and see it?". David told him no, but I wanted to support his latest creative endeavor, so I agreed to come and see. It's lucky I did so. As it turns out, he had indeed created a sign and posted it on his door...with Elmer's glue! I was impressed with his resourcefulness, but we had a talk about how we use tape or thumb tacks to attach signs to doors and walls (and glue is for paper to paper!). We praised his ingenuity and then cleaned the door and re-posted a new sign with a tack. He had spelling assistance, of course (by yelling out and asking us how to spell the words he wanted), and the drawing depicts "an octagon with a person in it with a line through it, so no one will come in." I thought we'd have a few years before this happened, but I like his little expressions of individuality. We heeded the sign. He made sure to say "I'm going to the bathroom--be sure and pay attention to my sign. Okay, kids?" when he left his room. We told him we wouldn't come in unless his door was open. He had to come and ask us to put him to bed (and we gladly did).

and that was it...

The Stingrays celebrated their final victory today! It's always nice to win, but it's especially nice to end your season with one. Dennis got somewhat decent at soccer this spring and might play again sometime. He has expressed interest in football, but I'm not sure I'm up for that. Football, even PeeWee football, is taken pretty seriously around here from what I've heard, with yelling parents and super strict coaches, whereas soccer was all about having fun!

Tonight Dennis sat one of his Transformers up on my shoulder and said "squawk! I'm your parrot! Polly want a cracker! Squawk!". So we had some pirate fun for a bit. And then I turned on Superman 2, and he seemed interested at first (he really liked the first movie). David had his back to the television, but in true guy form, he knew from the music that we were watching a Superman film (and it wasn't the main theme music that was playing!). When a bad guy appeared on the screen, Dennis said "I don't want to look--I'll just turn my eyes away." He turned completely around, though, and said "look! Now my butt is watching it!". It seems his rear end wasn't as afraid to watch. I turned it off then (didn't want to scare either end!), and we put on How to Train Your Dragon, a movie that we all quite like, and snuggled up together to watch it.

Tomorrow should be an easier day for us, as we have no plans! Today was fun at preschool, though, with the outdoor play centers (sandbox, water tables, giant bubble wands and tubs, "stilts" made out of small buckets with rope handles, shovels and buckets...). Only one day left!

busy day accomplished

I checked a lot of activities off the list today. My teaching gig this morning was difficult, but it started off well. It went a little wacko after the watermelon project, but I made it through. Dennis was especially horrible at school today, not listening in class and then earning himself three time outs during playground time (for throwing rocks, pushing, and kicking another kid). I was embarrassed that he behaved so badly!

I got a good bit accomplished at the Vacation Bible School meeting while Dennis played with Grace. And we attended the last soccer practice (last game is tomorrow) before heading over to the church cookout and picnic and then going over to the church for preschool choir practice. We concluded our day at Walmart, and when we got home, Dennis said "whew, this was a REALLY long day, Mama!". He's right--it was! He only had time for about 45 minutes of nap, and he cried when I made him get up so we could get to soccer. I would have felt bad, I think, if he hadn't protested and procrastinated his naptime for 45 minutes. I'll bet he gets some sleep tonight! I hope we both do. Tomorrow is outdoor and water play day at school, and he is very excited. I'm counting down the days. Just two left now, tomorrow and Tuesday (and a closing program this Sunday).

I think I'd like a day with less drama tomorrow!

news report

First item to report: David took Rusty to the humane society today. They loved him and assured David he'd be adopted most likely within 48 hours! They know he is not to go to a home with small children (and hopefully one without chickens as well). Dennis, who has been avidly avoiding Rusty for DAYS, cried buckets when he heard the news and wanted us to go get his dog back. He was exhausted from preschool and had already been crying when he got the news, and I had to haul him to bed for a nap when we got home. I had to pry his shoes and socks from him as he screamed--he was having the kind of meltdown we've rarely seen in his 4 years. I held him and sang to him and he calmed down, fortunately, and he negotiated how long he wanted to lie there awake before he got up. I told him I'd check on him in 30 minutes and if he was still awake, he could get out of bed. He bargained "how about 30 minutes, no, 40 minutes; I know--50 minutes! No, check on me in 25 minutes." I sat there for a few minutes, making sure he was alright, and he said "you're not leaving my room fast enough, Mama." I hastened my departure. He fell asleep immediately.

In other news: this might be the busiest week I've yet had! Tomorrow we (Dennis and I) are substitute teaching at preschool, then we have a lunch meeting, soccer practice at 4, a church picnic at 5, and his choir practice at 6. We will probably fall exhaustedly into bed tomorrow evening to prepare for Thursday. Preschool is quickly coming to an end (Tuesday the 24th is his last day), and I bet we'll both really miss it!

Last item to report: Dennis' team endured defeat today at the hands (well, feet) of the Green Lizards. Dennis' good buddy Colden is on that team, and it was that team's last game (so I'm glad they won it!). Dennis and Colden hugged several times in the opening quarter but were slugging each other by the end. I'm sure their friendship will be mended before they see each other at school Thursday.

ice cream celebration

Cheers! He's enjoying a celebratory chocolate ice cream cone at Peach Park after his soccer team's victory this afternoon. It was a particularly hilarious game today because they played it indoors in the gym due to the high wind and chilly weather. The soccer ball moves a good bit faster in the gym than it does on the field! They had to play with a partially deflated ball to have any control over it at all.

This morning, I was brushing Dennis' hair back from his forehead with my fingers and I hit a tangle. He asked me what I had done (because it was "ouchy") and I told him some of his hair was stuck together. He asked "why did my hairs stick together? Do you think it's because they love each other?".

Tonight he's gotten out of bed twice so far with some creative excuses. First he told me "my heart told me it doesn't want to sleep ever again." Just now he came in with a dramatic gesture of pointing to his head, saying "my brain had a really bad thought about bad guys." Our poor little insomniac is going to be so sleepy at preschool tomorrow!

cousins rock!

We enjoyed our last day with my brother and his family. Dennis had so much fun with his cousins all weekend, fishing, boating, playing Transformers, golf cart rides, pedal boat rides... There would have been more water play fun if we weren't having a cold snap, but I think they really enjoyed themselves anyway. He will probably cry buckets tomorrow when they leave town.

Dennis got so much playing in today--when Gran took him to the lake after Sunday School, the neighbor girls greeted him at the car. He played with them and with his cousins for HOURS today from what I hear! He and Caedmon got brand new Transformers and they watched a Transformer cartoon or two. Dennis and Mirella played outside for quite a while, hanging out with the girls next door on their swingset (and getting some golf cart driving lessons from Gran). It's so nice when he has kids around to play with--he loves that more than anything, I think.

TP ninja

Dennis went into the bathroom at the lake and after a considerable amount of time, I began to hear lots of commotion and giggling. I asked if he needed any help, and he yelled back that he didn't. I eventually had to brave it and go on in only to find toilet paper spread all around. He was in the middle of tying a band of it around his head when I opened the door. He announced that he was a ninja and made appropriate karate type noises (with accompanying chops and kicks) for the next half hour. We saw him out on the screened porch climbing on top of Gigi, and when she came in she told us they'd been playing "bunk beds" and she was the bottom bunk.

He had lots of fun with his cousins again today. They all got new fishing rods from Gigi and had casting lessons, and they fished this afternoon and I believe Caedmon and Dennis both caught fish today. They pretend-fished from the boat tonight as we took a sunset cruise. Dennis and David and I ended our day with a late night Waffle House run with Uncle Michael. After Dennis ate his sausage (wrapping it in a napkin first) and the sections of his waffle that had the most butter, he fell asleep on one of the booth benches.

Today he stopped eating things that make his hands all dirty, turning down Doritos and Cheetos because he didn't want orange hands. I presume this is why he wrapped his sausage patty in a napkin to eat it. I wonder how long this particular phase will last.

Today's weird car discussions: "Mom, the real Elvis is dead, right?" (completely out of nowhere--to my knowledge, we haven't discussed Elvis); and "Mama, who is Aunt Kristin's mom?". To this I replied "Nana Gaynell" and he said "so Aunt Kristin came out of Nana Gaynell's tummy? Did Nana Gaynell cry?". We went on to have the briefest and most innocent pain-in-childbirth conversation that I could think of. He told me "Eve should have listened to God when they were in the garden!". Wouldn't that have changed the world?!

village people

Today Dennis anxiously awaited the arrival of his cousins Caedmon and Mirella. We told him they were in Dothan visiting Granny, and he asked "why are they visiting MY Granny?". We told him that she is their Granny, too. He said "SHE IS???" and then "that just kills me!". I don't know what he meant, but it was funny.

The cousins had a fabulous time running around together, and the sound of nonstop giggled permeated the air for an hour after their reunion. They played happily together, Dennis and Mirella playing Transformers or with the construction toys, Caedmon reading Dennis' new Transformers books to him. They enjoyed each other until bedtime, and as we loaded Dennis into the car, he asked "are we going back to our village now?". We told him we were. Then he asked "is Taco Bell in our village?". We stopped there and had a snack at his request, and when we got home, he went right to bed, insisting that I carry him there because he was "all out of energy." I did so, and he asked for the book that came in his kids meal. I put him to bed with it, and when I passed by his door later, I saw his light was on. He was reading in bed, so I told him to make sure and get some rest. He assured me he would as soon as he was finished with the book. I gave him a half hour and got up to go turn off his lamp, but when I got to his room, he'd turned it off himself and was sound asleep. He's getting some real maturity about him these days!

his new school question response

I was sick today and didn't get to go to preschool.  When David brought Dennis home, I asked him what he did in computer class today.  Dennis looked me straight in the eye and replied "nothing--I just sat there and picked my nose." I asked "REALLY?" and he dissolved into giggles, saying "no, we played a hospital game on the computer." Oh boy!  He's really going to be a witty one!  I laughed quite a while over that.

Tonight we were teaching him some hand slap games.  He laughed and giggled and pounced on us, and we ended up having a big family tickle fest on our bed.  David picked him up and Dennis yelled "unhold me, Daddy, UNHOLD me!".  I suppose it's a new way to say 'let go' or 'unhand me'.  Pretty funny!

cough fest

I had a day of very limited interaction with Dennis. I only spent a total of 3 hours out of bed today, but he did come in often to visit and/or jump on me! I don't feel sick until I'm up--being vertical seems to trigger intense coughing spells and those resort in serious fatigue. It wasn't the best day, but I do seriously appreciate that David was around to take good care of us. He took Dennis out with him to a repair job this morning, and Dennis spent some time chatting up the renter at the place. The visit to the hardware store went from joy to dismay--he was thrilled to see all his friends but was heartbroken to discover that they were out of popcorn. It just ruined his mood. He did enjoy his newest activity tonight: choir practice at church. They started today in preparation for a patriotic musical they'll perform toward the end of June. I can't wait!

Here's hoping for some health improvement REAL soon!

the joker

As I made sure Dennis was buckled into his seatbelt, he told me the following joke: "Why did the chicken cross the playground?" (pause...wherein I replied that I didn't know) "To get to the other slide!". Pretty cute! I'm impressed by his comedic timing, too. Kid knows how to tell a good joke!

He's also getting witty with his replies to our requests. David told him to go and put on his pajamas and he said "sure--as you command, Daddy". I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. And earlier this evening, I heard David talking to him seriously about something, and I asked "what did he do?". Dennis heard me asking and yelled out "that's unimportant!!". I guess it was--I never found out what it was that he did.

Today was "Muffins with Moms" day at preschool. Dennis and I shared breakfast with his classmates and their moms for a bit before I headed over to my own class. The kids could tell I wasn't feeling good. Several of them gave me hugs and "I love you, Mrs. Christi"s. How many people have jobs where they get hugged every day?

banned

The Stingrays claimed another big victory today over the Green Lizards. Dennis had some actual time with the ball today and was so proud of the kicks he made. As we were getting out of the car to go to the game, he demanded that I leave Hailstorm (the Decepticon) behind. No evil Decepticons were allowed to watch him play soccer. After the game, he said "it sure was a good idea to leave that Decepticon in the car--that's why we won today!".

There's nothing else to tell about our day today. I'm sick (yet again), and I've not done that much. It was 90 degrees today, but I had chills until I sweated out my fever at the soccer game! Oh, and none of us slept much last night because Dennis had a terrible nightmare at 3:00 am and cried out. He said he was scared of "the things on the other side of the window blinds." I brought him to our bed to calm him, and he promptly developed a nosebleed. It stopped quickly, but it took him a while to calm down (and for us to as well). Let's hope tonight is more restful.

a very happy Mother's Day

Wonderful and insightful church sessions bookended my fabulous Mother's Day this year. In the middle of those, I enjoyed a super awesomely delicious meal prepared by Gigi and served to Gran and me by Dennis (and boy was he adorable carrying plates to the table oh-so-carefully!). Dennis got his first lake swim of the season this afternoon when a gaggle of girls came from next door to fetch him. He had some cold, splashy fun with the neighbor girls and a family from church that we love (with 2 daughters that swam today with Dennis and Laura and Mary Beth). Dennis gets along scarily well with the "older girls"! Gigi gave Dennis his first Decepticon, which thrilled him so much that he took it to church with him tonight to show it to everyone. He was, of course, way too busy to nap today. Even so, we were very surprised when he announced a few minutes ago "I'm ready to go to bed." He meant it, too, and didn't even want a bedtime story!

One of my life goals: to be the kind of mom that MY mom is. What a wonderful, Christian example she always set for us! And she knows how to play and have fun and laugh and be creative... She's the best!

good for something

Dennis is eagerly anticipating Mother's Day. He has been asking me "is it Mother's Day yet?" all day long. He sang me a special Mother's Day song even, and has been freely dispensing hugs all day. I didn't feel all that well--whatever seasonal thing I'm allergic to really gave me a hard time today--and David and Dennis brought me supper in bed, shrimp and a veggie tray, and even had a special cake for me. We had my celebration tonight, as David will be working tomorrow. I do feel cherished, especially since Dennis told me his list of what mommies are good for: "hugging, tickling, help wiping, and reading stories". I sure do love that little guy (and I sure do love the big guy that lives here, too, and takes such good care of us!).

chicken chase!

Rusty got away from us this morning and headed down the driveway. He almost came back (he turned toward the house), but unfortunately one of the neighbor's chickens decided to poke her head through the hedge. There followed a hectic 15 minutes of Dennis and me chasing Rusty chasing chickens around our neighbor's house. Tabasco and Marzipan watched the fun (probably the most excitement they've had in years), and stayed mostly away from the action (though Basco did try to sniff a chicken once). I didn't know chickens could move that fast while simultaneously making that much noise. And had the episode ended better, I'd be laughing a bit harder about it now. I had to go back home and get the car so that Rusty would come to the car. He came up to it, but then he turned back to hunt chickens again. I went up to fetch him from their porch, and he came to me and sat down, but when I reached for him, he rather savagely bit my thumb. I walked back to the car and opened the door, and the little devil followed me. I opened the door and told him to get in, and suddenly a soaking wet Tabasco reappeared and launched himself (100 lbs of stinky, dripping, muddy wet dog) into the car. He was an equal opportunity dripper, soaking each seat and occupant the same amount. I decided Rusty could fend for himself and went around the car to haul Tabasco out of the car. And this is when Rusty jumped in the car! I drove him back up to our house, hoping to get him safely into his crate so Dennis and I could finally head to the lake. But he refused to leave the car when we got back home, and we refused to attempt to make him do so. We left the car door open and hid in the house until he came out. Then we jumped in the car and left, with the dog still wandering in the yard. I disinfected my thumb and I think it'll be fine, and I hoped the chickens would give him hell while we were away. David found him while on his lunch break and scooped him up and brought him home and crated him (and doesn't have a tooth mark to show for it). Clearly, he has to go. He's a cute little dog, but I can't have a pet I can't trust around my child.

The rest of the day was happier, thank goodness! We spent it at the lake with Gran and Gigi and had a wonderful time. Dennis spent some time cuddling with me, sitting in my lap and snuggling. I savored the moment, knowing the time will come when he will decide he's too old for such. And he and his Gran planted some tomato plants together this afternoon, and he helped haul boxes and cardboard around--he was thrilled to be so important!

red light remote

Just now, as we're watching a pre-recorded Transformers episode, a commercial came on. Dennis handed me the remote and said "green light" which I correctly presumed meant that I was supposed to fast forward through the commercials. When I got to the show, he shouted "red light" and I resumed his show for him. Can we say spoiled? DVR rocks, sure, but it rocks even more when you don't even have to work the remote yourself!

Dennis was full of witticisms today. He told me in the car on the way home from soccer "Mom, did you know you're terrible when you're mad? Sometimes I hate you when you're mad." I assured him that I NEVER hated him, even when he was mad, and he remarked "Wow! You love me even when I'm mad?". He was pleased that I do, indeed. So we drove on a while, and I asked him about school today, and he said "Mom, shut down." Since I was driving, I didn't want to do anything resembling shutting down, and I started talking again. He repeated "I said SHUT DOWN!" so I asked him what he meant. He said "you said it wasn't nice to say 'shut up', so I'm saying 'shut down' instead."

Today at his soccer game, he was the kid that pulled his jersey up over his head to reveal his ribs and belly (repeatedly). He also grabbed his teammates and coach and may have prevented his own team from scoring a goal or two. He REALLY should have taken that nap this afternoon instead of singing and howling in his bed for an hour!

no stage fright tonight

I don't know why Dennis was able to perform tonight with his fellow AWANA Cubbies at the closing ceremony with no trouble, but he did great. No stage fright or anything, and he happily placed himself between two cute blondes (Grace and Ava Claire) and performed his little heart out. He also used his points to buy two toys at the little store they had of donated toys as rewards for all their hard work this year (he chose a Batman action figure who isn't Batman and a little race car). He was so proud of himself! When it was over, he went to the cookie reception afterward and sat with Grace.

The AWANA ceremony was just the end of our busy day--we also taught the preschool science classes this morning and then had soccer practice! At soccer, Dennis just did his own thing, as usual, and assigned all his teammates special Transformer named. They had to argue this back and forth for a while, further detracting from practice time (but certainly adding to the humor that is forever present with the tiny soccer crowd). And though I had hoped that the Rusty-induced scratched on his nose would heal in time for soccer pics on Saturday, I was a bit dismayed that picture day has been changed to tomorrow. At least he'll look like he plays hard!

Tonight I heard the dog play-growling in another room, and I asked Dennis if he was okay. He said "don't worry, I've got everything under control." I saw them then, Dennis and Rusty, happily playing fetch-and-tug. Rusty sure loves Dennis and was super excited to go to soccer practice today. Dennis is learning how to play not too roughly with Jim and also has learned how to walk him on his leash. He's getting to be a responsible little dog owner! I sure hope everything works out.

sacred exploration

As we were leaving the preschool today, we ran into the pastor. He is attempting to find someone to hike part of the Appalachian Trail with him sometime this year, and we chatted about hiking for a while there at the door to the church. Dennis got bored with our conversation and headed up the stairs. I gave up trying to call him back, and I was surprised a few moments later when he appeared coming from the cafe area under the sanctuary. This means he climbed the steps, walked around a corner, walked through the sanctuary, came down the back stairs to the cafe and then came back to where we were standing. He was so proud of himself that he immediately did it again. The pastor and I concluded our conversation, and I waited for Dennis to reappear. He didn't. The pastor poked his head around the corner and said that Dennis had stopped in the office to chat with the administrative assistant if I happened to bs looking for him. She poked her head out to tell me he had stopped in to tell her that he was planning a big trip to Toys R Us today and also planned to go eat somewhere good ("like San Marcos" he said). He was still all suited up in his fireman raincoat and Transformer sunglasses, and as we were finally leaving, he announced to Brother Larry "I'm all prepared for the rain AND the sun!".

The wound on his nose is quickly healing, and it is now apparent that what actually happened was a scrape rather than a bite. David and I think the dog was playing a little too hard. If he'd wanted to bite, the injury would be a hundred times worse. There's not even a puncture, thank goodness, and I think the whole thing will be gone in a few days.

zoo field trip

We joined a herd of preschoolers today at the Montgomery Zoo. Dennis had a great time looking at all the animals and playing on the playground. He led us through the zoo, grabbing the map to decide where we'd go next. We had a picnic lunch at the playground and lingered there quite a while and watched him play (huge playground at this zoo!). A highlight for him was getting to feed the giraffes (this was a highlight for me as well!), and he also had a big time arguing with us that the bison was a "BUFFALO!!!!". We attempted to show him the sign that said "bison", but he wasn't interested.

He had another soccer game this afternoon, and they merged some teams together for one big game. They attempted to teach the kids different positions to play, and Dennis' position was that of "lawn ornament". He was supposed to be defending the goal, but he ended up doing a lot of running around in circles and daydreaming. In his defense, he did get in a couple of really good kicks, and he did a great job of cheering on his team!

This morning, Dennis wanted me to read him a library book while David drove us to the zoo. I had the book on my lap and asked him if I could finish my drink first. He spied the book on my lap and said "first, you turn the book OVER so you can open the front; then you open it and READ it, and you have to hold it up so I can see the pictures." He also told me I was too bossy today, but David reminded him that I AM his boss!

soda can evangelism

We were on our way to church tonight for my Alpha class (and, if you get a chance, take an Alpha course somewhere--it's incredible!) when Dennis drank the rest of his Sprite. He held the empty can in his hands and said "this can is like the tomb where they put Jesus when they took him down off the cross--it's empty because Jesus isn't in the tomb any more." Profound! I agreed, and he said "I think I'll tell my friend Marshall about that tonight." I'm so proud of the way his mind works!

After church, we shopped at Winn Dixie for a bit, and we found that Zyrtec was on sale (well, the generic brand, equally good), and that's the new allergy medicine the pediatrician wanted Dennis to try. We bought it and tonight I gave him a dose just before putting him to bed. He made a face and said "wow, that tastes as bad as my Allegra did." I hope it helps him, though.

Just after I put Dennis to bed, as I was about to sit down for a few quality minutes with my Tivo, I heard a scream from his room. He and Rusty had been tussling, and Rusty bit his nose. It wasn't a serious injury by any means, just some scratches and one little dot of blood on the end of his nose, but Dennis and I both freaked out. We loaded up in the car and went and fetched David from work and, because the scratches were so close to his eye, we headed to the ER. Now, let me assure you here that Dennis is perfectly fine. No shots, no medicine, nothing except a cleaning and a glance by the doctor happened to him there. But while we were there, Dennis was pretty entertaining. He was the only patient in the waiting room, so we went straight to triage. The nurse asked if he was allergic to anything, and we replied "no" and Dennis added (in his best Eeyore voice with heavy sigh) "not even monsters." And he asked the doctor if he had to get a shot and the doctor said "do you want a shot?" and Dennis shook his head vigorously that he didn't. He didn't need one, though, thank goodness! When they came back to clean his nose, he closed his eyes when they told him to and didn't flinch, and then he demanded "I need a Band-Aid." The guy that did the cleaning told him he couldn't put a Band-Aid on it until it was looked at again but offered a sticker instead. As he was leaving the room, Dennis yelled "and tell them I need a Band-Aid!". He wasn't happy with the SpongeBob sticker, so he got to go to the nurse's station and choose from what they had. We heard him telling them that they needed to order some Transformer stickers. He settled for Toy Story stickers (telling them "I really like Toy Story 1 the best"). He was a model patient, didn't cry or fuss or anything, and when we left, he said "thank you Mommy for taking me to the emergency room." And as far as ER visits go, this one was quick and painless, easily our best visit ever as such things go. The nurses told Dennis they'd have Transformer stickers for him for next time, but I hope there's not a next time! He has been there more often than I'd like for him to have gone for sure!

For the record, Rusty isn't doomed or anything. His crate has moved to our room, and he'll be sleeping in there now. Dennis learned not to be so rough with him, I hope, and we'll see what happens. I am fairly certain that the fault was not entirely with the dog, though Dennis can't exactly describe what he was doing to Rusty when it happened (we think Rusty was licking him and Dennis shoved him a little hard to get him off the bed, from what we can piece together from what Dennis said). If it turns out that Dennis is in any way afraid of him or emotionally scarred, Rusty will be moving out, but Dennis says he is sure they can be friends again in a few days. I hope so. They've really been enjoying each other.