We aren’t even having a big party for Johnathan’s 2nd birthday, but I am still stressing over themed party favors and cake decoration. For birthday number one, I wanted to do Sesame Street- but held off, as it clearly was my choice and not something that he would have enjoyed. We went with bubbles theme. One year old Johnathan liked bubbles. Johnathan has acquired a liking for Elmo over the last year, which made me very happy as I finally got to buy Sesame Street favors guilt free. Guilt free that is, until now, as I realize he also knows Disney characters and veggie tales characters …and the list goes on. Maybe Elmo isn’t a very fair representation of him and his second year. I think I’m going to take back the Elmo party favors and look for dinosaur stuff. He likes dinosaurs. And it will be a way cute cake to decorate too. Plus- dinosaurs are simply, innocently, just dinosaurs. Elmo- well, Elmo has a trade mark. Something about that makes me feel a little uneasy. As much as I loved Sesame Street as a child and wanted our own to do the same, somehow it feels a little like putting a Nike symbol on his cake, or decorating his room with Coke products. I can’t sport the corporate American flag in one room and have corporation symbols in the next, now can I? Or maybe I’m just going to far with it.

Here are some shots that my friend Nik got on his cell phone of Nine Inch Nails last night. Yeah, he called me up around 1pm yesterday and asked me if I wanted to go to a “show”. I’m thinking, “Nine Inch Nails is the only show going on tonight,” and I was right. Nik is not only a scholar, but a generous friend indeed! I never imagined for a second that I would ever see Nine Inch Nails… in the 5th row. It makes me want to play music again (on stage… loud) very bady.

Shae and I are both feeling a bit sick today. Must be bird flu.

I have a solution (see below)

I wanted to shrink in my seat at our Tuesday read and play group when a nice lady from ABC Dental program told us mommies that we should have our babies seen by a dentist by age one. Oops. Dropped the ball on that one. The info sheets she passed out said to have babies seen when the first tooth appears. Ha! Needless to say, at almost two years of age, I immediately scheduled Djai’s very first dentist visit.
He behaved beautifully. I was so impressed. Tooth brushing is a struggle for us about half the time- Cooperation after one meal, and screaming and squirming the next. (At least when he cries, his mouth opens wide enough for me to brush!) He was a little tight lipped in the chair, but he was so still and quiet the whole time. Dr. Eussen and Staff in Salmon Creek were friendly and worked quickly, and told me that we were doing a great job. The first visit was just to have his teeth cleaned and checked; No x-rays or anything electric that might scare him. (Although Johnathan did say he thought that big light over him looked like a dinosaur! Haha) Doc says he likes to have the little ones come in for the first visit just to get them used to going, and have an experience that doesn’t make them afraid to come back. Johnathan’s teeth look great according to our new pediatric dentist (thanks for the referral Merd!) and he said it shows that we brush after every meal. Johnathan got a toy. I got a parental boost of confidence.

Much to my amazement, Djai is drawing faces. He has been drawing circles for months- (January is the furthest back that I can remember) and one night in the bathtub he narrated his water crayon circles as eyes, nose and mouth. I was amazed that he thought to draw facial features.

Within a week, the features are drawn in the right spot, a large circle for the head appears, eyes have pupils and the mouth is a curvey line. They are “Elmo” and “cookie monster” faces according to him, which explains the fuzzy head and lack of ears:) Look at what our little two year old artist can do! I didn’t think anyone would believe me so we have it on video too.


…Oh yeah- and he’s working on his alphabet now too. He can identify about 25% of letters, and can draw an “O,” a “Q,” and a mountain range looking thing for an “M” upon request.
…and did we tell you he knows all the names of the chess pieces? Okay, mommy brag time is over. For now.

I’ve been marveling over the past few days at the really awesome radio advertisements on my favorite AM station, KPOJ. They had aired different spots about how to teach your children to deal with anger by dealing with it appropriately yourself, and how to just interact with your kids. Their mantra is, “You don’t have to be perfect, to be a perfect parent.” I love it.

Well today they aired a different one: “Terrorism forces us to make a choice. Don’t be afraid… Be Ready.” Yes. That’s right. We should all be prepared every day because we might be attacked by a terrorist. Did you know that more people died of the flu in 2001 than in all the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil that year? Including the World Trade Center?!?! But no. We should still walk in fear of a terrorist attack. See it for it what it is. Please. Forgive my broken thoughts here but I’m completely incensed at the audacity of the Department of Homeland Security. A child’s voice comes on the air and says, “Should I stay where I am and wait for you? Or go to Gramma’s house?” Sure kid. Just make sure to look both ways and don’t take candy from strangers because you’re more likely to get killed crossing the street or kidnapped. C’mon guys! How about you fix those damn levies first, eh? Sure would hate to see Willy Wonka 2: The Underwater Chocolate City. Sequels always suck.

http://www.ready.gov/

It’s a very sad week. My debate partner, Nik, and I gave our last fight at a tournament last weekend. We had an awesome year though, making it into elimination rounds nearly every single tournament we competed at. I feel good, even though we didn’t win, because we put up great arguments, had tons of fun, and ended up holding the top 3 strongest records with only a single loss in preliminary rounds. Plus, the team that actually did take the trophy home… yeah… we beat them in prelims. So no hard feelings.

Beyond that I’m also very excited about new beginnings with my debate career as a coach for the team next year. So, although I won’t be taking the class for credit any longer, in the words of Mark Twain:

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.