Justin's Birthday was celebrated with family on Memorial Day, the day before his actual birthday. We picnicked at Stephen's Lake Park and went and played in the fountains afterward. It was a beautiful and fun day. Justin didn't want anything to do with his birthday cake (cupcake)...but I was prepared for that rejection and made him a fruit salad which he inhaled plenty of instead. We are glad so many members of his extended family got to be there. Thank you for coming and for the gifts you gave Justin (and me, since it was sort of a late celebration of my birthday as well).
Justin's checkup showed us he is huge, 95th percentile for height and 60th percentile for weight. He got a bunch of shots and got sick with what turned out to be pink eye the next day. That is the second time I have taken him to the doctor for a well check and he ended up getting sick. So, a week or so later we were right back at the doctor's office, and Brian and I both ended up getting the infection. Fortunately only one other child got it, but that was Kelly, one of our daycare children, and her eyes looked worse than anyone's.
Christian and KellyJustin still is not walking on his own, but we know he can. He walks all over the place as long as he is holding onto something or someone. I really expected him to be walking before our trip to Tybee Island, but it probably worked out better that he wasn't. He is climbing all over everything. He can climb the stairs, climb up on the slide, and climb on chairs and the low table downstairs. He is scaring me with how fearless he is!
Speaking of Tybee Island, I'll jump to that next since I don't want to talk about the failure known as my yard sale. The only memory of that I need is that I resolved never to have another one in my life.
Our trip was fun and such a nice break from our day to day lives. It was also great to spend time with family, but I think we were all glad to be back home. When Christian walked into his room after getting home, he said "My bed! My own huge bed!"
We got to spend a night at the Chatanooga Choo Choo Hotel, and see the old train and a really neat aquarium in Chatanooga where we could pet sting rays and butterflies and see sharks, jellyfish, turtles, and lots of other aquatic creatures. It was beautiful, and we would like to go back there when we aren't so rushed trying to get on to our final destination - Tybee Island, Georgia.
Christian in Shark CageOnce there, we got to stay in a really nice beach house with 3 floors, an elevator, and a backyard pool. We got to see some of Savannah, have lunch at Paula Dean's restaurant, spend some time at the beach, walk in the Atlantic Ocean, see some really big waves, take a trolley ride and have lunch at the Pirate's House (where real pirates used to eat), and visit Fort Pulaski. Our camera is old and holds very few pictures, so we took a lot more videos. My brother and sister-in-law set up a Shutterfly website where we could all share pictures of the trip though, and I think anyone can go look at the pictures by going to this web address: ourtybeeislandadventure.shutterfly.com (if you want to see some more of the fun we all had). The boys were really good on the trip and while we were there. Justin slept all night every night...apparently he sleeps better when he is cold! He was wary about getting back in the car while we were there, so to make things easier for everyone, we started home at bedtime so the boys could sleep while we drove. Brian and I took turns sleeping and driving, and we made it home without any trouble by early afternoon the next day.
Fort PulaskiOur Fourth of July was completely uneventful this year since we had just returned from our trip the previous day and because the 4th fell on Sunday this year. We were kind of worn out, and nobody even stayed up to watch the fireworks. Grant and Christian can't wait until our next trip though. Christian always asks now, whenever we are going somewhere, if we are going to Tybee Island, Georgia. He always adds the "Georgia" when he talks about Tybee Island...but for us there will only ever be one Tybee Island.
The Saturday after returning from our trip, I got to go to St. Louis and see a musical called "Wicked" since Brenda had given me and Sarah tickets to it for our birthdays this year. It was lots of fun, too. The musical is about the Wicked Witch from "The Wizard of Oz", and how she came to be "wicked". It all ends up being just a big misunderstanding, really. It's pretty funny with all of it's one-liner references to "The Wizard of Oz". I will never be able to watch that movie in quite the same way, but that's okay because I was desperately afraid of the wicked witch when I was a child. That movie always gave me nightmares.
So the funnest part of our summer is over now, but Grant started his 3-week long summer preschool last week, and he is having lots of fun there, even if it is only 3 hours a day for 3 weeks. He gets along best when he is eased into changes and new experiences, so this is a good transition for him to kindergarten, which he will begin just 2 weeks after he finishes his summer school.
And Grant probably won't be the only one in our family going to school in August. Here comes the big news - the reason for the title of my post today - I am going back to school myself! I haven't been in college for 12 years, but now seems like as good a time as any to get back to it. Brian is finished with his undergraduate studies, and I have almost exactly 4 years more as a daycare provider before Justin will start kindergarten. In four years, I should be able to finish a Master's Degree, and then I can (ideally) walk right into employment at the same time all the boys are in school. I will have to go to school nights, and Columbia College is the best evening school around...so that's where I'm headed. Now I just need everyone to pray for me that I will know what direction to go in. What do I want to do with my life now that I am 36 years old and have 3 little boys? It's probably completely different than what I wanted to do when I first began college as an 18 year old or even what I wanted to do when I returned to college as a 22 year old after completing my mission. Am I crazy? I have never felt like the superwoman that I see in so many other women I know...but if I can pull this off - full-time student, full-time daycare provider, nursery leader, wife, and mother of 3 - I might just start to feel like superwoman!
~Andi
