Jocelyn has always been quite cautious with physical challenges, and bike riding has been no exception. So, at the age of 6 1/2 she has continued on training wheels. Last week as Jocelyn rode to the park (while I half jogged half walked behind her), I got the inspiration to suggest to her that quiet wheels were what we were looking for. The training wheel make quite a racket when they are rolling on the ground, and so we started listening for times when we couldn’t hear the noise of the training wheels. Anyway, as often happens with us, it turned into a song, or really a chant, for QW or “quiet wheels.” Read the rest of this entry »

For the umpteenth time, we have damaged our child.

Tonight, after a few weeks of preparation, we practiced getting out of the house. When her Girl Scout Daisy Troop visited our local fire station, Jocelyn learned that it is a good idea to have an emergency plan that includes two exit routes and an outside rendezvous point – and it’s important to practice.

So, after much discussion, Jocelyn psyched herself up for a practice climb out her bedroom window. After Felicia was asleep, we showed Jocelyn how to open a locked window and remove the screen. She climbed onto the window sill, carefully spun around to slide down the outside wall on her belly … and banged her arm on the metal frame as she fell straight down. The bruise on her left arm is a doozy.

But, all’s well that ends well. After a lot of tears and some anger over the process, Jocelyn decided that a little bruise was better than third degree burns. She even laughed about it afterwards, and declared that the bruise is “almost like a tiger scratch” … which apparently is a good thing .

It may be time to start a category just to describe how different two siblings can be …

We spent most of the winter months trying to get Jocelyn to dress more warmly. “Are you sure you don’t want to put on a coat?” we’d ask. “Let’s wear some warm tights under that skirt,” we’d command. “Aren’t you cold?” we’d wonder aloud. Actually, we’d say these things on a daily basis.

Well, a strange thing has happened. It’s almost summer (finally), and it’s really warming up outside. There is no need for Jocelyn to put on a coat.

So, of course, Felicia wants to wear one of her coats … all of the time. One of her favorite things to do when we’re home is to wonder into her room and pull her sweaters and jackets down from the rack on her wall. She’ll grab one, and insist (in her own unique way) that we help her put it on. Yesterday it was 85F outside; she was wearing a nice purple fleece. Last week, she insisted on putting two different sweaters on at the same time. Go figure.

Happy birthday to Jocelyn and Felicia’s cousin, Kiana …. turning three today! Her birthday party has become an annual beach party, traditionally at Natural Bridges State Beach, celebrating her own personal “summer ocean.”

OK, enough is enough. As I have said many times about our time in Seattle, “I could handle the rain when it was winter and it meant more snow in the mountains. But when it was still raining in May and then June, it got to be a bit much.”

It’s officially a bit much. This morning, Jocelyn came dancing into our bedroom holding this morning’s local news section in her hand. On the back page is the weather forecast, which she now checks religiously. She was truly in heaven. It’s been a pretty wet Spring here, but the five-day forecast (including today’s) was for nothing but sun and pleasant temperatures in the high 70′s. Not a chance of rain projected.

“April Showers are done! It’s time for May flowers!” she happily proclaimed. She was truly ecstatic.

Long story short: It’s been raining all morning. Seriously. Poor kid.

He’s 35 now, just a year younger than I am!