The First of Many

We see a spectrum of patients at work. You have children that hop right in the chair and open their mouth, no problem at all. And you have adults that cry and whine without anything happening. I've wondered what type of patient The Lime might be? He certainly exceeded my expectations.

We're good about brushing his teeth and giving him fluoride drops and he loves to "floss" his teeth because he sees me do it (he just chews on the floss and will run it in between his teeth ever so often). But I was very skeptical on how he'd be for someone else.

In preparation, we've been reading "The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist" and explaining that the Hygienist would count his teeth and give them a quick brush.

We woke up this morning and I asked The Lime where we were going? He responded with his grunt that means, "who/where/what". I told him the Dentist and he said, "Noooo!" Not the response I was hoping for.

We drove to the office and walked in the door, where he played with toys until it was our turn. When the patient before him walked out with a white paper bag, The Lime yelled, "Nonuts!". Not quite, little guy.

Soon enough, the Hygienist took us back and The Lime hopped into the chair (with Baby right by his side). We started off by counting his teeth, then the stain was scraped off his teeth (which is coming from his fluoride drops...go figure) which I was SO excited for! I've tried brushing it off for months and it (obviously) wouldn't budge. It drove me crazy because his lower teeth looked dirty, despite me brushing religiously. Next, his teeth were brushed and fluoride placed, followed by a visit by the Dentist.

Everything went great and our Lime (and I) survived his first dental visit!

Amarillo by Morning

I've never been a huge George Strait fan, but when The Lime found "Amarillo by Morning" on our iPad, he fell in love.

He calls it the "yee haw!" song and thinks his GrandPop is singing.  The second the song turns on, The Lime starts waving his pointer finger around, just like my dad does, to the melody.  He then proceeds to yell, "BopBop!  BopBop!" and points to the album cover on the screen...

 Now how in the world could I miss the resemblance between George Strait and this guy?

(Sorry Lime...I just don't see it!)

But I do see something that I always wanted but never got; a relationship with my Grandpas.  The Lime is so lucky to have two grandfathers that think the world of him, and vice versa.  He's always been drawn to males way more than females (I'm the exception) and he has a special bond with all of the guys in his life.

After several months of being away and only seeing each other on Skype, The Lime got a nice surprise from his Papa tonight when he went out to welcome Daddy home.  It took him a second to realize what was going on but they've now been outside for a half hour together, and I don't see them leaving the other one's side anytime soon.

The Tongue

Growing up, I remember noticing my Omi sticking her tongue out a lot.  And not in a rude way, but when she was really focusing on something or doing something hard.

Then I noticed, I do it too.

And now, I've caught The Lime sticking his out.

We went to a birthday party a couple weeks ago and as The Lime was playing on the playground, out came the tongue.

A little "over the top"

My hopes are that he keeps that tongue out of trouble and only uses it for cute things, like going up a slide.

Tally Mark 28

-Puts his finger on his chin and says, "Hmmmm" when he's looking for something.
-Went to Nursery for all but the last 10 minutes yesterday (he pooped).
-Likes to kick his basketball and say, "Homerun!"
-Is especially fond of the song, "We Are Young" by Fun.  He even pretended to use the tripod as a microphone last night, which was something I used to do when I was younger!
-Bites the heck out of his "Baby's" tail.  So much so, we're thinking of cutting it off and giving it a nubbin'.
-Loves riding his big boy bike around the block and to the Farmer's Market.
-Will run down the street and around the corner if he happens to get out of the house.
-Would drive by Emma's house and honk the horn all day if we'd let him.
-Loves helping Daddy out in the garden.
-Gets LaVor's wallet, keys, and phone and pretends to go to work on his bike.
-Wears his cowboy boots to church, with shorts.
-Looks forward to Saturday mornings with Daddy to get doughnuts, all week long.
-Made me cry today because he's getting so gosh darn big.

Biggest Post of the YEAR!

I can't believe I've waited 2.5 weeks to post this!  (Actually, I can.  Videos take f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to upload and I have a ton.)

Let's starts months and months ago, when we found out Coldplay was coming to town for not just one, but TWO, shows!  Yes...that's how much the Bay Area loves them!  My sister and I figured that just doubled our chances of winning tickets from radio stations.  We were always THIS close to winning but never got the golden ticket.  Until her birthday, when her sweetheart gave her a ticket to the concert!  She was so excited and I was so excited for her because their concerts are a real "experience"!

Fast forward to April 26, the night before the concert.  My sister called me and said, "Alex isn't going to the concert with me.  Want to come?"  What kind of sister would I be to not accept that kind of invitation?!  Of course I want to go!  And so...we did.

Our seats weren't together but during the opening acts, we sat in her area and then hung out in the lobby while I charged my camera battery (which saved me!).  I also saw a girl that I blog stalk, who came from out-of-state.  It makes me wonder if people blog stalk me and then see me out in public?

I could write a novel about the evening but I think I'll just point out some of the highlights:

-We were given wristbands when we first walked into the concert.  Very confused at first but blown away when we found out what they did.
-The guy I sat next to was alone, too, which made it awkward when people thought we were on a date.
-Thankfully he was nice and sang along with me, the entire time.
-The young boys that were sitting next to my sister asked where I was.  Funny how I never had "it" when I was younger but now that I'm 28 with a 2 year old, and married, boys notice me.
-As I was driving to my sister's house, I was thinking about a song and how it would be fun to go to that band's concert.  I could imagine the crowd singing this song, all in unison, and it gave me chills.  It's somewhat of a spiritual experience that has often brought me to tears at concerts; everyone united, not worrying about what the person next to you believes or what their profession is or what they eat or don't eat.  On the way home, my sister and I heard "that" song and sang our little hearts out.
-Coldplay is AMAZING, which wasn't a shocker.  Just like the last time, I'm in love with the way Chris Martin (and the whole band for that matter) interacts with the crowd.  All of them were so gracious that everyone attended the concert that night, with the economy being what it is.  They're just splendid fellows!
-The drunk guys walking next to us, back to the parking garage, singing "Girl You Know It's True!"

Taken by "the boys", after the 1st opening act.

They were on!  Now tell us what they do!

Wristbands lit up like Christmas lights!  Magical!

The show is over!  Wah!  Our ears were ringing like crazy!

An amazing night with an amazing band and an amazing sister!

To Grandmother's House We Go

My Grandma had a stroke several months ago, which was a complete and utter shock to everyone.  At 85 years old, she was still outside, painting her home, tending to her garden, traveling the world, etc.  Since the incident took place, I've been wanting to visit her but with The Lime being sick every other week, it hasn't been possible.

Finally, besides allergies, we've all been healthy and so we were off!

My dad joined us for the visit, which The Lime loved.  GrandPop is his pal and he loved spending the day with him.

We picked Grandma up at her place and headed to her local Denny's restaurant where everyone recognized her.

Do you see the resemblance?

Notice the guy behind us?  We think he was pretending to talk on his cell phone because he never stopped talking to let the "other" person say anything.  But he spent about 15+ minutes ranting and raving about politics in California, the mafia, transit, where Governor Brown sleeps.  It was crazy.

During lunch, we got on the topic of gambling, and I admitted to doing some on our cruise last month.  I explained my frustration and realized why I don't gamble...it makes me sick to lose my hard earned money!  I said, "You've just gotta learn to stop while you're ahead!" when Grandma quickly replied, "And get the hell outta there!"  The stroke has definitely not done anything to her sense of humor.  She had us laughing all day.

Then we were off to her place, where The Lime ran free, played with chickens, played baseball, and admired many pictures.

 4 generations - Everything is so familiar at this home - lots of memories.

Next, we drove to my Grandpa's grave site, which I've never been to.  He passed away when I was 5 and I believe my brother was sick around the time of the funeral, so only my Pop went up for it.

The Lime made a beeline for the tractor and REALLY wanted to ride it.

With Grandpa.

We then made it back to Grandma's place, where all the old ladies fell in love with The Lime.  If only he was 80 years older.  My dad spent some time video taping Grandma, talking about her life.  The Lime ran wild in her place and was at his wit's end so the visit was a quick one.

The Lime took a ride on Grandma's "Cadillac", to "Mama/Dada har" (car) where we loaded up and made our way back to town. 

Slow down, Grandma!

We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and The Lime slept the entire way home!  Heaven!

As we were pulling out of her driveway, my dad said, "When I say goodbye to you or your sisters, it's pretty much a given that I'll see you the following week or so.  With Grandma, I can't quite guarantee that."  I agreed and patted him on the leg, as we shed a tear or two.