I realized I never put up memories from our Carissa’s fourth birthday party in August. We had a party with friends (and grandma and grandpa). Carissa picked the theme: Hello Kitty. For the Big Day, she wore her Hello Kitty (pajama) shirt and put a pink bow in her hair like Hello Kitty.

We started with coloring Hello Kitty pages and decorating Hello Kitty sugar cookies. The kids liked this part. Wes liked eating the frosting.

We did “Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty.” John did the terrific job of drawing and coloring Hello Kitty on poster board. I would have just free-handed it, but he made a grid with pencil first so it was all proportional and it looked really good! Carissa still tells me today that she can remember how she could see when it was her turn to pin the bow on. But that’s because she was obviously cheating and peeking.

Next Carissa opened presents. The kids all want to help. She got some amazing gifts that are very reflective of HER: lots of arts and crafts type of things, nail polish, a Hello Kitty umbrella, etc.

Then we moved to the backyard where we had decorated a canopy and had the birthday cake. When I asked Carissa what kind of cake she wanted, of course it was Hello Kitty. I showed her lots of pictures on the Internet of Hello Kitty cakes and she clearly showed me that she wanted a cake that looks just like Hello Kitty. And then I–the non-cake decorator–had to figure out how to make it. I think it turned out really good.

We ran out of time for the pinata, which we saved for Wesley’s birthday. The kids had fun and Carissa had a beautiful celebration of her wonderfulness. We are so blessed to have Carissa in our family. She is full of creativity, full of life, full of opinions, full of surprises, and we are glad she’s here to stay.

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On Tuesday, our last full day in Seattle with John’s dad, we went to the Boeing Museum of Flight. We are glad we did.

We spent a lot of time in the WWI and WWII sections, learning about how flight impacted each war. Very cool.

There is also a neat space section that explored space flight.

Then we went outside to the tarmac where they had a few retired planes we could walk through–famous ones, like the super-fast concord and an old Air Force One.

The funny thing was that just after we exited the old, retired Air Force One we heard a plane landing, we looked over and there, across the street from us in the Boeing Airport, was the REAL Air Force One with President Obama in it. Such good timing as that will never happen again.

We also walked through the final section of the museum that includes a kids’ section that the kids liked.

We met up with John’s stepmom Deanna for dinner at a buffet restaurant with the world’s dirtiest bathroom, but pretty OK food. It was the first chance we’d had to visit with Deanna since she’s pretty busy with running the bed and breakfast.

This is the front of the bed and breakfast. It has beautiful English gardens.

John’s dad is a photographer and offered to take our pictures in the garden. It was late and the kids were getting tired, but it was our last chance so we jumped on it. I mean, I did and John kindly went along with it.

He took some nice pictures of us. I don’t have all of them handy now, but he took some of our family, some of just Carissa, and some of me and John. This is one of our family.

Lastly, Deanna took us on a tour of the Thornewood Castle, which I always enjoy. It’s a pretty popular place for weddings, and we saw at least one while we were there. The kids were super tired by now and John took Wes and Elizabeth back to our apartment to sleep while Carissa continued the tour with me.

The next day, a rainy Wednesday, we said goodbye to John’s dad, thanked him for a wonderful visit, and we were on our way to see my brother’s family in Hillsboro, OR.

We started our Saturday with flu shots for everyone. Boy, it was fun.

Actually, I anticipated that the kids (the two older ones, anyway) wouldn’t like the idea of it, so we didn’t tell them about it until we were almost there. Carissa immediately starts to protest and Wes starts saying, “Daniel Tiger,” meaning that he’s remembering the episode of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood on PBS Kids where Daniel goes to the doctor and gets a shot. (Which, by the way, in no way makes it easier for him to go get a shot, even though it’s “just like Daniel!”)

We were supposed to start with Carissa since she’s the one with an egg allergy and should be monitored for 30 minutes after to ensure she doesn’t react. But the nurses pulled the shots for John and me first, so we went first. Then Elizabeth because she didn’t know any better. She had a sucker in each hand as the shot went in, so even though she cried a minute or two, she quickly remembered her suckers and was OK again.

Wes was harder because he knew and didn’t want the shot. John tried reasoning with him for a while but it didn’t help. He pulled out his tablet and got Wes on Angry Birds. Wes was involved, cried briefly at the shot (super briefly) and then was engrossed in Angry Birds again.

Last of all was our allergic one, Carissa, who during this time was hiding in the lobby. She was effectively working herself “into a state.” We pulled her into the exam room and tried reasoning with her. No good. Her arms and chest and cheeks were flushed because she was so upset. The nurse said it was a good thing we noticed that now so we’d know it wasn’t part of an allergic reaction later. When it came to it we just had to get the shot done, and so the nurse did it.

It did not go over well.

If she was unreasonable before the shot, she was inconsolably unreasonable now. I can’t even remember all the things she was yelling and crying about, but we couldn’t even get her out of the exam room when it was over. She refused to leave. So we left her for a few minutes, but she wouldn’t come out, not even when the nurse tried to bribe her.

Finally John pulled her outside and she did not calm down until we were at BYU, which was our next stop. On Saturdays Wes gets to hang out with different BYU athletic teams, and today it was the gymnastics team–one of Wes’s favorites!

We were actually on time, for once, but the door was locked. The team was trying to get someone over to open it for us. So we waited.

And waited.

And waited more.

Until it opened! Wes loves all things tumbling and gymnastics. He dove right in, literally, by jumping into the foam pit and then climbing this thing.

I’d be scared of heights, but not Wes.

He did it again and again and again and again.

Wes also liked the trampoline.

And the rings.

Carissa found a buddy right away (Sin To) and got to work building castles out of the foam pieces and playing in the foam pit. She loved it.

While I have no pictures of Elizabeth to show, she was equally happy running around everywhere and doing everything an almost-two-year-old can do.

Once we got home I made lunch all around, put Elizabeth down for a nap, and did dishes. The plan was to get groceries but to wait until Elizabeth woke up so I could take her with me and leave the two older (and easier kids to babysit) home with John. But she took a long three-hour nap! By the time she woke up there were other things we needed to do and I didn’t get out for the shopping until after 4:30pm–dinnertime. Dinnertime is the worst time to go grocery shopping, especially when you take kids. I ended up taking Wes and Elizabeth and I admit to buying all sorts of things that weren’t on the list because they kept tossing things in and I was losing the willpower to resist. They were hungry, I was hungry (and I had brought snacks for them, but still), and we were at Wal-mart, which is the black hole of all grocery stores. You could go in and never come out, it’s so big and full of people and lines. By the time we checked out it was 6:30 and we had to wait in line 20 minutes just to pay for our stuff.

Thankfully Wes, who can sometimes be so frustrating to take places, was a great helper tonight. He loves to help, more than almost anything. He helped me put all the food on the conveyor belt, he helped me put the filled bags into our cart, and he even helped me swipe the credit card (his favorite part).

OK, we ended up with cupcakes and Oreos and drumstick ice cream treats we definitely had NOT planned on buying. But after all his hard work, he earned that cupcake with frosting.

I’m letting Elizabeth eat peanut butter. When Carissa was 1 and I started giving her peanut butter I noticed red blotches (hives) around her mouth. I took her to the allergist and found she’s allergic to some nuts and egg whites. So I have purposely avoided nuts with Elizabeth, too.

Wes slipped her a peanut butter cup once and she didn’t seem to react. After that I’ve cautiously given her little bits of peanut butter stuff here and there, or maybe almond milk in a smoothie. I don’t think she’s having reactions. I have noticed red bumpy things around her mouth but they look like acne and not big blotches like hives, and so I’m not sure they’re related to the nuts.

In any case, she is a happy camper with her peanut butter. I hope she’s not allergic.

We started our morning at the dentist. We are grateful to have dental insurance, which we never used to have, and I intend to use it.

Today was maybe the fourth time my kids (the two older ones, anyway) have been to the dentist. The first time was when Wes was about four, and Carissa one or two. It was a total train wreck. Wes had meltdown after meltdown. (Carissa did fine.) After that I stayed away from the dentist and eventually chose a different one to go to. I think I’ve also found my voice as a parent since then, recognizing that for Wesley’s needs I really need to talk to the people who work with him and help them understand and prepare for his challenges curing the visit.

I’m learning that Wes needs consistent exposure to difficult experiences to help him adjust. I have an appointment set for him next month, and every month thereafter, to get him into the dentist and help him get used to being there. As soon as we exit the lobby (fun area) and enter the main part of the dental office (scary area) Wes gets nervous. It’s written all over him. I know it’s because of his previous medical experiences of many kinds (drawing blood, getting x-rays, sleep study, having tonsils looked at, etc. etc. etc.) where because of his unwillingness to do the things he’s asked to do (hold still, open mouth, do this or that) he has been held and forced against his will to do it. Sometimes as a parent you think that’s the only way. The job gets done.

But it has its effects.

So Wes is super nervous and non-compliant at any medical office. Today he did really good overall, but that’s because we didn’t make him sit in the x-ray chair (DEATH! HORRIBLE DEATH!) or even in the chair that leans back where the dentist examines him. He also didn’t get his teeth cleaned. There was a moment when I tried to force him to sit in the lean-back chair for his exam but it was clearly a bad idea and we adjusted. Dr. Ryan just sat next to him and really nicely showed him how he was going to count his teeth. And then Wes complied. And that’s why we’re going back next month too.

Carissa and Elizabeth, on the other hand, did everything they were asked to do. Even Elizabeth! I was shocked that she sat still and obeyed the x-ray tech and didn’t cry or fuss or anything. And the same thing when Dr. Ryan looked at her teeth. No problem at all. And she’s not even 2 yet!

Carissa said she didn’t like the x-rays, which I can understand since she has to hold something in her mouth and it’s kind of big and awkward, but she didn’t cry. The kids all got rewards from the treasure machines at the end and I took them home, relieved.

Until next month.