Good Times

Yesterday I got to spend the day with my baby sister, Aleana. We just made a few stops to do some things I had been putting off all week then we went to lunch. Aleana has a 2-year old who is going through the "terrible two's", and is feeling a bit discouraged. I just wanted to take a second to tell her how great she is. Aleana, you are a fantastic mom! What you are going through is normal, and trust me...it passes! (Remember, you and Mom held my hand through Caleb's. ;O) You have a beautiful, precious baby girl who we all love and adore. It is normal for them to test us and try our patience. You just keep doing what you are doing and stay strong. And remember that you are not in this alone. You have us behind you, supporting you. WE LOVE YOU!

Ok, sorry for that "public display of affection" (hehe). On to the rest of my day:

Yesterday afternoon I had the dreaded tasks of taking Caleb to the doctor for his shots. He will be starting Kindergarten this fall. I have been reading about other parent's experiences with this the past few weeks. Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck. He was a trooper though. I chose not to tell him ahead of time. I know my son, and that would have been a huge mistake. He was excited to go to the doctor. When we were waiting alone in the room, I explained to him that he was going to have to get a few shots. I told him how they did it and where they would do it on him. He listened carefully and when I was done he said, "That's ok mom". He is so brave. He was supposed to get 5 shots, but they were out of one so we have to go back next week. Great. The nurses did the first 2 at the same time and he just kind of flinched and said oww! When they stuck 3 and 4 in he whimpered a little bit and his eyes teared up, but he never cried. I was so proud of how brave he was. He told me when it was all over that he liked getting "checked up" but that wasn't very nice of them to "shoot me". Too cute!

We spent the evening at my parent's house last night. Had some dinner and then played Canasta. Isn't it funny how some things remind you so much of something in your childhood? That is Canasta for me. When I was 12 we lived in a little town in Oregon. We lived on a 60 acre piece of land that was 1 mile up a dirt road on the side of a mountain. There was not much to do, so when we tired of sliding down the tall hills of dirt, or running through the "woods" (which later always turned out to be more poison oak than anything else), my mom taught all of us how to play the card game Canasta. We would sit in the living room at an old card table, near the fireplace, playing for hours. I can still picture it all so clearly. I'm so thankful to have those memories.