I recently purchased a toddler table for the kids.

Carissa is an expert at using it.

She is also an expert at climbing onto tables.

…and under them.

Last Sunday before church, in between getting the kids dressed, I paused to take photos of them together on the couch–which were supposed to be nice, look-how-much-I-adore-my-sibling type pictures.

The reality:

This morning I took both kids to the pediatrician’s office. It was Carissa’s 15-month checkup, and the doctor needed to make sure Wesley’s ear infection was better.

Since Carissa’s forehead had a run-in with a metal rod a couple weeks ago and she had to get stitches in the ER, she’s been super-extra clingy to me, and as soon as we walked into the exam room and the nurse wanted to touch her, she was NOT happy. I think she was flashing back to her ER experience.

The good and problematic thing about Wes is that he’s so sympathetic to other people’s feelings. When someone else is upset, he is upset. Therefore, when Carissa is screaming her head off Wes tends to follow suit.

The nurse was great and tried to get through everything as fast as possible. The downside is that some of her measurements were clearly off and the doctor had to do them again (head circumference jumped from 45th at 12 months to 95th percentile…he remeasured and it was the 56th percentile).

She’s doing fine. She’s nearly 21 pounds and about 30 inches tall (that’s one of the measurements that we’re not sure about).

We talked about Carissa’s apparent allergy to nuts (she’s gotten hives around her mouth the two times she’s eaten peanut butter and one other time I cut her food with the same knife I used for hazelnut spread). We’ll be getting in touch with an allergist. But, boy, Carissa getting pricked by nurses doesn’t sound like a good time.

After we finished at the doctor’s (Carissa topped off her experience with three shots in the legs) I took the kids to IKEA. It was a gift to myself.

I had a specific mission in mind: a toddler size table for the kids. We already have four toddler size chairs that we got for free a while ago. I’ve looked elsewhere for tables and knew that IKEA’s prices were very good.

John and I went to IKEA once in San Francisco while on vacation with his family. This was long before we had kids, and we weren’t looking for anything. So I wasn’t really into it.

Today, walking into IKEA, I was a little blown away. It’s the most family friendly store I’ve ever visited.

They got me first with the family restroom right up front that’s big enough for you to take in your whole cart, a child-size sink, complimentary diapers if you forget yours, and a comfy chair for nursing. Not even Babies R Us is so nice.

Then it was the giant elevator that takes you to the second floor showroom that was big enough to fit probably four or five moms with their carts, kids, strollers, and purchases comfortably.

Then it was the children’s IKEA section full of gorgeous little lamps, rugs, toys, storage, and, yes, tables that are not only cute but affordable. I found a two-pack of artist smocks for Wes and Carissa for $5 and a two-pack of big plastic bibs for Carissa for even less than that. Then I picked out the table I wanted, wrote the product number on the “shopping list” printed on the back of the store map (which is ESSENTIAL), and moved on.

We ate lunch at the IKEA cafeteria-style restaurant. I got Wes a kid’s meal for $2.49 and got Carissa some baby food (!!! Who else thinks to sell baby food in the cafeteria? Genius). We ate by a window overlooking the parking lot and busy freeway.

Wes loved his french fries and juice and watching people and cars outside.

Carissa liked her food, too.

The food was pretty good, but it didn’t hold a candle to the food in the Provo LDS Temple’s cafeteria. I’d eat there every day.

We went downstairs to the Marketplace, which is less of a showroom and more of a regular store setup. I walked into the kitchen section and I might have drooled a little. It was fun to walk through. I only bought one thing that cost 99 cents, but I sure thought about more.

We strolled through the rest of the place and ended up in the warehouse part where you go find the product you want to buy. It’s easy to locate the aisle and bin number. The box was so well packed and light that it fit easily under my cart. The checkout is a self-checkout (that actually works, not like Wal-Mart’s). And then, ta-dah! we were done.

The only thing left to do was get the free frozen yogurt cone that we had a coupon for at the Bistro by the exit.

Wes ate it all.

And I mean ALL.

IKEA, IKEA, what a wonderful place.