From August 6th to August 28th

O.K. I know it has been way too long. There has been a lot going on, and either I haven't had the time to post a new blog, or haven't really felt like it.

To start off, following my last blog, Natalie and I took a trip with Connie, Alex, and Chloe to Ocean City for a one night adventure. That was really fun, though really, really, hot! We got to OC just about dinner time on Tuesday, unloaded the car, and went off in search of food. We finally settled on a nice Italian place, and the kids were amazing. We then walked to the end of the boardwalk so that the kids could get on the rides. Connie mentioned it was 18 blocks, but it truly wasn't that bad on the way down. I am really glad we didn't have to walk back though! The kids loved the rides, and Natalie enjoyed them even more having her cousins there to ride along. They took turns picking which ride was next, and riding with one another. Alex and Natalie rode this rocket ship that zoomed round and round, and would also lift up and down as one of the passengers pulled on the handle. It took a bit for them to figure it, so the rocket sort of bumped and skidded until it took flight, which they both thought was the best. We could hear them laughing out loud as they came around. I found myself laughing out loud just watching them. We all got on the ferris wheel. That was a little much for me, it wasn't a very large one, and went kind of fast. My belly barely fit in there, and the heights were freaking me out a little, but in the end it was nice to be able to ride at least one ride with Natalie.

That following weekend we received some bad news. My grandfather's wife has been battling liver problems for years now, and we received a call Saturday that she was back in the hospital not doing well. By the next morning I had messages that she had passed. It was completely unexpected, as she has been really sick for some time. But, she had been going back and forth, and I think everyone just expected her to come home, even if only for a little bit, this time. We haven't visited as often as I used to as a child, but they are the only grandparents that I really have. This is a huge change in our family, and while I am glad that she is no longer suffering, I'm a little nervous about what this means for the future of our extended family. My grandfather, as expected, is not taking this well at all. Not only has he lost his wife of 31 years, but his whole way of living must change. We went to Petersburg, WV this past weekend for Donna's memorial service. It was nice to see the family all together, especially since that rarely happens anymore and is probably even less likely now, but I wish it could have been under better circumstances. Natalie went with us this time, so I tried to explain to her before we left about the memorial service. We haven't really had big talks about death, even though Natalie has recently lost her Great Pop-Pop on Dan's side of the family. I told her that Donna was very sick and the doctor's tried to help her but she couldn't get better. Natalie suggested we try to give her Ginger Ale, but I explained that we couldn't because she died. Natalie was very sympathetic, as if she understood, and said, "Oh, I am very sorry for her." I told her that Donna would be with God, and about the memorial service. I wanted to explain that people would be sad because they would miss Donna. She actually slept through most of the service, but in the end really enjoyed seeing the family even if it wasn't under the best circumstances. As a family we are still trying to figure out what we can do to help one another, and keep my grandfather on his feet.

While we were in WV, we stayed with my aunt Lisa. She has a grand-daughter about Natalie's age, so there are toys and things for Natalie to get into! Almost immediately Natalie latched onto this stuffed white tiger. She loves animals of all kinds, particularly stuffed ones. She has taken to naming her animals. We have a cat named Lucifer, after the cat from Cinderella (her new favorite movie), a horse named Molasseees (yes, it's eees on the end). Well, this tiger she found at Lisa's is no different. Normally, we can decipher her names pretty well (she has been talking for a long time), and can normally figure out where she came up with the idea. This one was a little more tricky. Natalie named this tiger, and I truly have no idea of the spelling, Scionwistisis!!!!! We had to laugh every time she called the tiger!

Something else that happened in these past few weeks is that Natalie has declared that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. She was watching a bit of Barney (I know, I forbade that show in my house when Natalie was first born, but she hasn't formed a great attachment, and she loves singing and dancing, not to mention dinosaurs in general), and the kids were discussing what they could be when they got bigger. She came up to me and said, "Mommy, I want to be a doctor when I grow up. Daddy can be a firefighter when he grows up." I had to laugh, and we talked a little about how Mommy and Daddy have been firefighters. She then grabbed a doctor kit that goes with one of her dolls, and informed me that I needed a check-up. Evidently I didn't have a temperature, but I did have throw-up in my heart. I was concerned, but Dr. Smith gave me some medicine and I felt much better. She still likes to check out Mommy and Daddy, or have us give her a check-up. This really has made it nice for visits to the Doctor and Dentist. We are so blessed that she is an easy going child when it comes to these visits. In fact, she had a dentist appt. last week. The hygienist asked her if she could brush her teeth with some red stuff, and Natalie simply said, "Sure" picked out a toothbrush and let the lady go to work. The lady turned to me and asked, "Is she always this easy going?" As a flurry of temper tantrums and other impatient outbursts (which she gets from me no doubt) ran through my head, I had to still answer yes. We have never had a problem with her at the dentist or doctors. I hope that keeps up, especially after her 4 year check-up next year. She will be receiving 4 shots!!!!

Last Wednesday Natalie and her cousins, along with Pop-Pop went to visit the Science Center. The kids love that place since they can touch everything, and we've all had a membership that has been going to waste. Natalie did well, and didn't even want to stop for lunch. Finally, at around 2 or so I had to tell her we needed to eat (Mommy and her brother were starved), and then we could come back for just a short while longer. I think both Natalie and Pop-Pop enjoyed the exhibits.

One of the things that Natalie has really started doing a lot lately is turning to me and saying, "Mommy, I love you." It's got to be the best feeling in the world. She has really shown a lot of compassion and empathy for others, whether she sees someone who is sad or just not feeling well. Mom-mom was sick last week, and Natalie was devastated that she couldn't go for a visit. She was talking to my mom on the phone and said, "Mom-mom I will do magic, and say the right magic words so that you will feel better." She was very excited when my mom called the next day and was doing much better, so Natalie got to spend the night. She's always very quick to take care of me too, if I don't seem to be up to par. If someone squinches their eyes, because of pain or thinking, or makes some other gesture that indicates in any minute possible way that they are not happy, she will say, "What happened to your eyes?"

As for me, I am doing pretty well. I am getting huge, and I will be getting a t-shirt that says, "No, I am not having twins!" With Natalie I got large all over. So far, I have only gained about 5 pounds (at least that's what it was at my last doctor visit, so it could be more now), but really it's mostly in my belly. My heartburn is getting really bad, and it's hard to breathe after I eat, but we're hanging in there. I am looking forward to doing some substituting now that school is back in!!! I don't have an updated pic of my belly just yet, but I will post one later this evening...promise ;)

Dan and I are looking into buying a minivan. We'll keep you posted on how that goes!

Well, I think that's about it for now. I promise weekly updates now that things have settled a bit. Hope you are all well!

Here's a link to pics from OC (thanks to Connie):

http://picasaweb.google.com/constance.phelps/OceanCityAug2007