Jaq's second ear tube operation

We got a chance to put in a second round of ear tubes for Jaq. I was pretty sure that one side was no longer working after a few infections and some general challenges with health. Of course, the challenge was that we were about to go on a ski trip and I didn't want her getting sick while we were away from home.

We were lucky to get a cancellation and decided to make it happen. We had to get up early and she had to fast, while not easy this time, compared to a year before this was a breeze. She woke up in an excellent mood and was charming the entire waiting room with her singing and pledge reciting.

She was happy through all the pre-op checks and left with no issues to go get the procedure.

It was a little heartbreaking to see her so sad and weepy when the procedure was over. We spent a little extra time in the post-op area getting organized before going home.


On the drive home she was more dazed than weepy which was better.


She spent most of the rest of the day on the couch taking it easy. By the time I got home from work in the evening she was doing pretty well and the next morning it was like it never happened. I was so glad we did this as we had a great trip and have been trouble free (ear wise) ever since.

Bob's Birthday

Bob's birthday this year was pretty low key but I did need to get a post written up to show the beautiful cake Judy made. Nice to get multiple bottles of wine for your birthday.



The girls were willing to stay up to share cake and sing to daddy. Oh, the sacrifices!

Ashton rocking the kinder-scene

This week was the second Parent-teacher conference for Ashton and it was clear by all accounts that she is loving her Kindergarten. She enjoys her friends, her lessons and her teacher to no end. Jacqueline is also convinced she is a "Lincoln Lion" in prep for her own experience in two years time.

Of course, a big part of the study in Kinder is pre-reading and writing. She is writing a lot of stories in class attempting to work on her penmanship, her storytelling, her illustrations and her reading. In January, Bob and I were able to attend her writers workshop and hear one of her stories which was a total kick for us.

Ashton has taken to leaving notes for us around the house on a regular basis. Messages of love, prompting us to hurry up, to stay out, etc. On Judy's birthday she made a point to leave several messages on the door for her wishing her happy birthday.
Last weekend I was able to see Ashton rocking the playground as well. You can tell this is her regular "stomping grounds" and her new goal is to learn to get all the way across the monkey bars. Knowing Ashton you will be hearing of that accomplishment before too much time passes as well. It really took me back a bit to see her on the playground, she is so growing up. There just isn't any more baby in her (most days).
One other bonus of attending a local kinder is the ability to find friends from school at random parks around town. Sunday morning walk home from breakfast lead the girls and I to a park that happened to have a friend from school to play with.

I also broke down and let us eat at the counter at a local diner. While I happen to hate sitting like this myself but I realized that it did allow me to be in the middle of both girls and I totally remember being excited to do this myself at her age.


Which gets me to my final point. I seem to remember myself at six not being "small" and yet I somehow feel she is still so little. I'm regularly amazed at what she can do, at how broadly she can reason out logical conclusions and how she even is getting rather sophisticated at how she can hide things from us she doesn't want to share (mostly around candy so far).

Blanket Love

I'm sure you all know that Jacqueline is the only Bear girl with an official Lovey. Her blanket was a gift from Judy when she was born and now she has three of them (backup plan A and B). Ironically, she has moved from using her blanket as something to help comfort her at bedtime to a part of her day-to-day play.

It is not uncommon for her to need to wrap in her blanket after a bath and/or while getting ready for the day. Essentially a blanket-streaker.
She insisted I take a photo of her vs. getting dressed for school. Cuddling with her blanket and mom or dad is a cause for smile.

Of course a blanket is also a great cape, a shawl, a picnic ground cover a toga, something to wrap a gift in, something to wrap in paper as a gift to others, and so on and so on...

In addition when you are sick (with yet another ear infection) a blanket helps make you feel better while you sleep on the couch. Or as this case might be, when you fall asleep at the counter eating dinner and your mom puts you on the couch.

So, thanks again Judy for our favorite Lovey. While it is getting more worn it is even more regularly loved. I'm guessing this blanket might even be going to college someday so stay tuned.

______
PS interesting that while this blanket is light pink Jacqueline calls it "white" sometimes... not sure what that's all about.

New Bunkbeds

The long-awaited saga of the bunkbeds became a reality. This journey took two full weeks to accomplish actually with the first weekend involving Grandpa Bob coming to help disassemble the crib and bed and move out the change table, all the toys, books, etc.

Our neighbors were able to use the crib and were kind enough to store Ashton's bed for us too. The girls got to "camp" on the mattresses in their disassembled room which was an adventure.


Monday the bed was delivered on Monday as planned and the movers were able to assemble it for us (which was great!). The only casualty was the carpet which was making things off-balance and proved more trouble than it was worth.

It took another solid week to get everything organized, moved back and a new rug ordered. Of course, there were a few toy casualties along the way (all the better for goodwill of course). But we were able to keep the bookshelf which was not a given. What we love about these bunks is the clothes storage and the stairs vs. a ladder. It's quite a large piece but it fits them perfectly.

The first night we realized we had to bring back the guard-rail from Ashton's bed (which didn't really go over well with our oldest who is "past" princess and on to Hello Kitty). Bob watched Jacqueline bounce off the top bunk right in front of him!

As you can see the mural on their wall still looks great with the new bed (a fact for which I'm VERY relieved). The chest is now where the crib used to be and we even have more floorspace than we did before.

So, while this was a big project, that had a few rough spots

• Lots and lots of organizing and re-work of toys, god do those girls have a LOT of toys
  
• convincing Jaq that the top bunk was not hers (and that "yes" she did have to sleep in her new bed, etc.)
  
• Making rules that no friends are allowed on the top bunk
• A few watchful days to catch jumping and dancing on the top bunk
• etc.

I am so glad we did it. It really is no longer a baby room at all but a little girls room instead. One thing that is not clear from the photo is that Ashton's bed is all Hello Kitty now and Jacqueline's is supposed to be Tinkerbell (in a cute purple and green) but somehow she thinks it should also be Hello Kitty and occasionally reqests Dora. Frankly Jaq really only cares that her Lovey is there with her.

Love on Valentines

More Park City romance for the Bear's valentines day celebration. For Bob, this is the best place to celebrate any occasion.
Grandma and Papa Terry sent a new movie that Ashton was happy to watch (over and over again) on the tv in her room. At least this trip we were not complete sleep failures. Both girls slept in their own room which was a huge stride over the last trip.
Ashton and Daddy got mom a HUGE balloon to make sure we were all in the mood for the holiday. Both girls are getting to be such good skiers with this trip introducing Ashton to the all day [on the mountain] 6-YO program. They were total troopers given that we had a few significant snow days this trip.
Of course dad also sent flowers to moms work and got flowers for both girls before we left. It's good to be a Bear girl at Valentines that is for sure.

Celebration of John's life

Yesterday was the service for Uncle Johnny. Instead of a traditional funeral the family chose to do a Celebration of Life. So we all came together to remember stories of Uncle John.

As often happens, we found ourselves also seeing family that we don't see as frequently as we should.
Natasha was smart to take the opportunity to take a photo of her, Jordyn and Grandpa Bob. What a shock to see that Jordyn is so grown up (and sooo tall!). I should note that Natasha has on heels and Jordyn flats. What pretty girls.



Dad closed the service with several stories of John and a recognition that he has had a full and accomplished life. In fact, in looking at it, anyone would have to call themselves blessed to have enjoyed the love of so many family and friends across a life so well lived.
Suzie took a turn sharing John stories including her love of his Banana Pancakes (I think Jack Johnson owes him a royalty actually).
Kathi and Linn did an outstanding job bringing the whole event together and holding up throughout. Although there were a few mishaps (audio system went on the fritz and color guard were sick), the important things were all accounted for.

Everyone got a chance to remember the best (and the most interesting) of John's life and share that with those who loved him. As you might expect there were a few tears but even more laughs shared. One surprising discovery (for me) was a common thread of several concrete mishaps, who knew?

The recurring themes of loyalty, friendship, Semper fi were hard to miss. There was also a recognition of a strong will with strong opinions (it's a family thing), a love of music, fun, vineyards, family, duck hunting, golf and various other kinds of mayhem.

Linn was presented with a flag in recognition of his service which was very touching.

And as promised, here is the photo of family that was all too long in the taking.

Left to Right. Dad, Suzie, Me, Kathi, Linn, Jan and Tim.

Nice to see the cousins after quite some time. Sadly, I would like to share more photos, but I've hit the limit for this entry. As events go, I would say this was a very successful one. As events go, I'm hopeful to not do another one for a very long time.

Love to Linn and Kathi as they adjust to holding John as a memory. As one of the quotes I shared at the service said

We never forget those who, having ceased living with us, now live within us