BLISTERS AND LITERARY TERMS

Dear Weeb,

For Home Reading, you brought home a book about Blizzards. It was a nasty little book - it was long and described some of America's worst recorded blizzards and did not cover up the fact that people suffered and that many died.

After we finished the book, I thought we should talk about it. I asked you what you thought about what we'd just read.

You thought a moment, and said, "Momma, did you know that blister books are NON-Fiction?"

"Blizzard books are Non-Fiction, yes. Very good term, Weeb! Where did you learn that?"

"I call them blisters."

"Blisters are sores you usually get on your feet, baby."

"Well I call BLIZards BLISters."

You won't budge on the topic either. And I'm still mighty impressed that you know what Non-Fiction means!

TOOTH LOSS #3

Dear Weeb,

Your top middle teeth have been wiggly for quite some time, but the past week or two, the one on your right had been VERY wiggly. When we were out for breakfast the morning of your birthday party, we realised just how loose this tooth was and I was bugging you, not for the first time, to just pull it out. You'd been having a bit of trouble eating and there was no way I was pulling this one out. I'd been spending days pretending I thought it was gross, just so you'd be amused and want to wiggle it.

So you used a napkin and tried to yank it out. There was blood. You were surprising cool about it, but you have lost a couple of teeth before, you know that some blood wasn't anything to worry about. I felt bad though because it was SO loose, but it was just not coming out.

After your birthday party, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's and hung out with your Aunty M and Cousin J.

As we were getting ready to go home, we went to the bathroom and you wiggled your tooth at me again. It was just barely hanging on. I asked you to try pulling it out one more time. You asked me to do it and I encouraged you to do it yourself. We plugged up the sink, closed the toilet lid and then... it just came out!

You were shocked that it was so easy!

There was much rejoicing!

And your cousin J was thrilled to see it because she hasn't lost a tooth yet, despite being older than you.

It's not going to be easy getting used to this gappy smile of yours. I'm not ready for you to be this grown up already! Plus now your other tooth looks like an awesome fang! Your favorite thing to do now is to grin big and stick your tongue out the little tooth gap. Your new adult tooth is growing in, very nicely, too!

BIRTHDAY PARTY 2011

Dear Weeb,

This year, we decided to have your birthday party in November, to avoid a busy December. However, given that you'd been sick for two weeks, your cousin is having her birthday party early (at the end of November) and that you've got another birthday party to go to on Monday, it's proving to be busier now than December is going to be!

We've not really done a 'big' party for you before. This time we invited 13 kids, including you and your cousin J and cousin C. A few people did not RSVP, which was unfortunate, but we asked an older sister of one of the kids in your class to stay and I got to make a couple of extra shirts for you, which was nice.

Your Aunty M had a wonderful idea for your cousin J's party and didn't mind if we used the same idea. So we had your party at a craft shop. I got t-shirts for the kids coming to the party and some paint. The plan was to paint t-shirts. Sounds easy, right? Only problem is you guys all went nuts with the paint and there was no way it was going to dry so there was a lot of splotchy paint art (read: mess). But you guys all seemed to like it.

You had a lot of fun! The party seemed to go well, though you blasted through the painting much faster than I had anticipated, so we ended up putting paint on the hands of everyone and doing hand prints on an extra shirt for you. That was cool. I wish we'd thought to finger paint right from the start! We had rainbow cupcakes and you got to open presents and then we took some photos of the group. You were thrilled to have a 'big' party for your 6th birthday.

Just about everyone did a hand print on this shirt for you. It worked out quite well. Your print is the red one in the middle. Mine is the dark green one underneath. Your cousin J did a sparkly green hand print right beside you. Your cousin C didn't want to do it. Some of the kids were mixing colors which look really cool, close up.

Most of the group with smiles, some with Raspberry Blue Kool Aid tongues!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the group. I had instructed you all to look as though you were deep in thought over important world matters. And deep in thought you were! Well, for about ten seconds, then everyone got silly again.

You and your cousins. I have to say I was very impressed with how you didn't want out help reading your birthday cards. You'll have another party with me and Daddy on your real birthday, but I'm glad that you enjoyed this party. I think next time we'll do it in the summer when it's nice and warm and we can do something outdoors.

SATELLITES

Dear Weeb,

Tonight, at bedtime, I reminded you that I really, REALLY wanted to sleep in a little bit tomorrow. I'm not asking for much, just maybe something past 6:30AM. Granted, usually you are pretty good about letting us sleep in a little bit on the weekends, but with your recent cough and time change, you've been up early.

You asked if you were allowed to wake me up if there was an emergency.

"What kind of emergency?" I asked.

"You know, like if a satellite fell out of orbit and crashed onto our house and through our roof and onto Daddy?"

After I stopped laughing, I said, "If a satellite falls out of orbit, crashes into the house and onto Daddy, then yes, you can come and get me."

No more Phineas and Ferb for you!

SMURF INVASION

Dear Weeb,

This made me smile.

MY LITTLE SICKY

Dear Weeb,

I think we overdid it last night. You're on day three of a fever over 101. It'll go down when you've got Advil or Tylenol in you, but it's easy to tell when it's worn off.

Home again. Poor thing. I've certainly seen you sicker than this, but you are certainly fighting something rotten.