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Donna's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 5/19/07 -------------------- 4/21/07 3/11/07 2/9/07 1/9/07, Entry 2 12/22/06 12/11/06 11/28/06 11/20/06 11/15/06 11/10/06 11/1/06 10/24/06 10/17/06 10/11/06 10/3/06 9/25/06 9/17/06 9/11/06 9/6/06 8/27/06 8/20/06 8/13/06 8/6/06 7/30/06 7/23/06 7/16/06 7/9/06 7/4/06 6/25/06 6/19/06 6/11/06 6/4/06 -------------------- Donna's Introduction

10/11/06 - Justin's birthday party, 3-year checkup, and first dentist appointment

October 11, 2006

We had Justin's party Friday evening at the indoor playground where we have gone to two other parties over the summer.  It went really well and the kids all had a lot of fun.  I was tired from running around trying to get pictures of all the kids.  They played so much, they were tired and hungry and ate lots of pizza and cake.  The presents are not opened at this place, so we brought them all home, and opened them on Saturday.  He got so many nice clothes and toys, and a gift card for Walmart.  He already has so much, I don't even know what to use the gift card for.  I have printed some pictures of the kids to put in with thank you cards, which I still need to work on.

Saturday morning was his 3-year checkup.  That went well too, although he did struggle with height and weight measurements like last time.  They did blood pressure for the first time too.  He got a vaccine for Hepatitis A.  Apparently this is a new recommendation, because he was finished with shots at 18 months and was not supposed to have any more until 4 years old.  So now he will be going back in six months for the second/last shot of this series.  He ended up walking out of the doctor's office with three stickers, bartered for allowing them to measure height and weight and give the shot.  What a tiny negotiator he is!  So his stats for 3 years are 37 inches tall and 31 pounds.  He gained almost two inches from his last visit six months ago, but hasn't gained any weight since then.

His first dentist appointment was Monday.  Thankfully this went great, not only behavior-wise, but also his teeth are healthy with no cavities.  I was so happy to hear this, with all the tooth-brushing struggles we have.  He has hated having his teeth brushed since I started doing it at 8 months old.  I have found tricks that work for a little while, and then they don't work anymore and I have to find something else.  Sometimes he will go days refusing to brush his teeth or to let me do it.  When that happens, I try to get him to drink some water before bed.  And I always limit his sugar, so that may be a factor in his healthy teeth without regular brushing.  Anyway, he ended up walking out of there with a goody bag including a new toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and three prizes he got to pick out for being so well-behaved and cute.

Since I had to take the day off on Monday for Columbus Day and Justin's school being closed, we did something fun.  We met a couple of cousins at the park to play.  It was three women and three kids all together.  The other two kids were both close in age to Justin, so it was a lot of fun to watch them play.  I got some pictures, but none of them are downloaded yet.  Justin found a box on the ground and started collecting leaves and woodchips in it.  After playing at the park, we took a nature walk in the surrounding woods and pointed out things to the kids like trees, mushrooms, water, squirrels, and birds.  It was beautiful weather for this too, almost 80 degrees and sunny.

Challenge update:  Last week was all about ideas for spending time connecting with spouse, family, and friends.  I realized that the monthly Saturday we have by ourselves is a good thing that I shouldn't feel guilty about.  I haven't felt guilty about it in a while, but I remember last year I did a few times.  We don't always use that time to do anything together, but maybe we should, at least for part of the day.  Another thing last week was figuring out what my values are.  That wasn't too hard once I realized what values actually referred too.  Sounds silly, I know but I hadn't thought about it before.  The most important parts of my life are my family and God, so these would be my values.  Another thing that is important that we need to work on is a healthier lifestyle, diet, and exercise.

Thanks for reading!
Donna and Justin

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