Knee update

Samantha had her update with the orthopaedist this morning. Dr. said her knee looks great. He isn't sure what is wrong, but if the Naproxin is working, keep using it, just titer it down to as low a dose as possible. He feels very strongly that whatever she does have is benign in nature and she is very likely to grow out of it, given that we have already been able to lower her dose of pain meds as she is getting bigger. That is a good sign.

Samantha had a great time at Drumlin Farm Camp run by the Mass Audubon Society. She got to milk cows, make ice cream from the milk, win the tallest weed prize and gather eggs from under the chickens and make yummy cookies from the eggs. She came home covered from head to toe in what I hoped was just mud and a big smile on her face. In addition to her two cats and two dogs, she now also very much wants a kitten, a puppy and a chicken, a hen chicken. Good luck with Daddy on that one. At least she isn't asking for a pony, although that is probably only a matter of time. She seemed thoughtful about a snake too. She said the corn snake she got to hold (all three feet of it) was very beautiful and soft.

Ella's birthday was yesterday. We took her to the Fells to run around in the woods and picnic with us on the flat rock. Sam ran right with her through the woods and only fell once. Some good clean blood to take care of the dirt and she was good to go. Ella got a hamburger from Burger King (plain) as a birthday treat, and was generally very happy. After she came back from running with Chris, she laid down on the patio outside. Joshua laid down right on top of her and sighed in happiness. Ella didn't move a muscle. Josh has such good doggies for friends.

Joshua's language is exploding. He says all kinds of words now. All gone, Okay, elephant, all done, go away, mine, me done, me eating, nap nap. And more. If you say it, he will repeat it. Sit unfortunately is still coming out as Sh -it. He also skips the l and r in blueberries which earns him some odd looks from strangers. Of course blueberries are his favorite food, so he is apt to ask for them at any time.

We picked blueberries a couple of weeks ago and Josh ate whatever we picked for him. I tried to show him how to pick his own, but he insisted on eating only what we picked. Not a bad safety feature, I'm thinking.

Sam's cousin, Dylan, came to visit last week. It rained most of the time. Sam and Dylan and Josh played with the train set and built cities out of the blocks. Sam didn't ask for tv once. She and Dylan fought about everything, wouldn't sit apart and had to sleep together too. They are like two peas in a pod. They even look alike. Sam is really impressed that Dylan can tie his own shoes, and she hopes to do her own laces soon. We did go to the Aquarium and petted sharks and rays and looked at penguins and sharks. There was a diver in the great tank. I accidentally took a detour through the airport on the way to the Aquarium, which made Dylan very happy. Lots of airplanes and lots of tunnels. I had to take 93 South from the airport and then take 93 north once I was in the tunnels to get from the airport to the Aquarium. I must be a true Boston driver, because at the time this just seemed the obvious thing to do.

All for now. I'll try to update with shorter notes more often instead of such long posts infrequently.