Palm Sunday

Hooray, hooray for the BIG EGG DAY! While this production occurs at our house every year, Nana and Papa are the egg suppliers. Orange for Nedy, pink for Bop, green for John John, yellow for Samuel and blue for Josiah...each stuffed full with money, candy and gadgets galore. The big kids love the egg hunt, mostly because a) unlike the community model, there's no competition for the loot and b) they can pretty much buy a car with the proceeds.

Augustus is our resident over-sized chocolate rabbit. I adore his plastic self.
So does Ned.
"Egg open! Yook 'side, Mama!""Mama! Throw egg you! YOOK Mama!" (notice airborne orange egg)"Oops, Mama! Egg open all self!" (don't pay any attention to that guilty expression...)The start of the mass opening. Since Nedy previewed her findings along the way, she decided to take the opportunity for her favorite outdoor activity--raking. (Although watching her cousin climb into the birdbath was a close second...)Don't ya just love a good over-sized chocolate rabbit?Can you tell who is very excited about sitting at the kid table while Mama and Baba sat in the dining room?

Stuck in water.

Hank (a.k.a. 'Mao Mao') is...how shall I put this...seasoned. He's not a spring chicken anymore, and Dan and I frequently remind Nedy that Mao Mao is old and "set in his ways."

Tonight Mao Mao was staring into his half-filled food bowl, doing his usual refusal to eat until his bowl is topped off routine. Dan noticed him sitting there and told him to just eat what was in his bowl, followed by a reminder that he never goes without food and his "scarcity mentality" was wholly unnecessary.

To which Ned responds with the most genuine look on her face, "Mao Mao...old. Set in waves. Stuck in water."

I mean, seriously?!?

Linz-meier and general eye irritants.

This morning was Ned's 24 month well baby check. (Yes, I know she's 27 months. Why take a kid for a well baby check in the midst of swine flu madness, I ask?) So we've been preparing Ned for this doctor visit because a) she'd have to get naked for the doctor (c'mon, that is traumatic) and b) it involved a shot--her second seasonal flu. In preparation, we told her that doctors help to keep us safe and healthy, and that it's important to tell your doctor if something with your body isn't working quite right so that maybe she can help.

This morning Ned woke up and I asked her what she was going to do today. She thought about it for a few seconds, eyes darting back and forth and said, "Hmmmm... Oh, I know! Doc-or Linz-meier!" Ned likes Dr. Linsmeier. She's a really nice gal and will even take the time to check out Turtle at appointments. Ned always announces herself (patting her chest) as "Doc-or Linz-meier" when she addresses our near-daily wounds ("Ooooh, Mama, leg hurt?") with her little plastic medical kit. Recently she's taken to wrapping our appendages in an ACE bandage that somehow found its way to the kit. ("All done. Feel bett-uh?") But I digress.

So today at the office, Ned found herself a bit concerned about the shot but quickly forgot when Dr. Linsmeier entered the room. She (Ned, that is) was a little shy at first, but managed to blurt out, "baby naked" just in case the doctor didn't notice, I guess. Anyway, after the usual appointment stuff, Dr. Linsmeier asked if we had any questions. And Ned says, I kid you not, "Linz-meier, eyes watering, all time." So I guess--in light of our instructions about telling the doctor when your body's not working quite right--she decided to address her annoyance with her very occasionally watery eyes with the good doc. And that fantastic "Linz-meier" didn't miss a beat and informed Nedy about allergies and general eye irritants. With a straight face.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, this little former light-weight is now 28.4 pounds (50th percentile), 35 inches (50th percentile again), and 48.something for head circumference (50th percentile yet again.) Dr. Linsmeier said, "You'd never know a year ago this kid was just learning to crawl--amazing."

You go, baby girl. :)

Poor baby.

Recognize this kid?


Yeah, me neither.

A week following our trip to San Francisco, Ned came down with a nasty nose-running, eye-bulging, phlegm-induced coughing virus. Okay, okay, so I tend to over-react and suffer a *bit* (ha!) from the overprotectiveness that I hear frequents first-time Moms. So, we did all the right things: humidifier on high all day, steam time in the bathroom three times daily, nose sucking, fluid forcing...you get the picture.

So why did Ned wind up waking up 4 days into this virus looking nearly unrecognizable?

Simple answer, thank you Doctor. "Whoa! Her right ear is a mess!" Yep, Ned's first ear infection and first course of antibiotics are under our collective belt.

Think she's feeling better?