Thankful Thursday

My mom and I with our cat

1. We love our new refrigerator. It is so nice to have a functioning ice maker!

2. Oliver continues to be such a great eater. I have to stop him or he will even eat the rind on his watermelon. He had tomato soup last week in Maryland for the first time in his life, and he asked for some again today. It's such a relief to NOT have food battles with a child. He had his 4 year well visit at the Pediatrician today, and he weighed 37 pounds and was 41 inches tall (means he can ride the Phoenix roller coaster at Knoebels next spring!), which puts him at the 60th percentile for height and 50th for weight - which equals a good BMI (in contrast to Nadia whose BMI is too high and Ian's which is too low). As I've said before, I think Oliver may end up being the tallest of the three kids when he is full grown. Time will tell, but that is my guess at the moment.

3. Oliver learned how to buckle his seat belt last weekend. This was awesome news because Nadia and Ian weren't fond of going into the back seat to help him buckle his seat belt. They are also thrilled that he doesn't mind sitting in the back row. Previously he was in the middle row behind me (so I could buckle him in

his carseat), and the other two alternated as to who sat in the middle and who sat in the back (Ian ended up in the back most of the time). Having one child who doesn't need a booster and two kids who need boosters means it is much easier to switch between vehicles than it has been the past eight years. Ian's prize for learning to buckle his seat belt was a pair of Mickey Mouse flip flops I bought at a yard sale last Saturday. They are his first pair of flip flops, and he loves them. They are a little big so they should fit him next summer also.

4. The pediatrician today said that the hole on the inside of the umbilical hernia has almost totally closed up. It is very tiny now. He said since he is a boy (who won't

ever be pregnant), the surgery could be skipped. It will only be a problem for him if he gains weight in the future and has a large belly. Part of me still would like him to have the surgery because I have seen kids tease him about the size of his belly button, but I also have a strong desire to avoid surgery whenever possible so I guess we'll just skip it. If he wears rash guards when swimming, it shouldn't show very often.

5. Oliver passed his hearing screening but failed his vision screening (they said he was 20/50). They wanted him to see an eye doctor. Thankfully the eye doctor

had a cancellation for Monday because our last day of having vision insurance is next Wednesday. I have had vision insurance for 23 years, but we won't have any starting September 1. The vision insurance we have had through Bucknell wasn't anywhere near as good as the vision insurance I had the previous 21 years so we have already had a taste of what it is like to pay cash for contacts and such. I am hoping Oliver doesn't really need glasses at the age of four. Hopefully he'll pass his eye exam on Monday, but at least we won't pay anything for that exam since we have a few days left of coverage.

On my Grandpa's plane

6. I didn't think of mowing the lawn while the kids were at church last night until a little after 7:00, which meant I couldn't finish it before I needed to go pick them up at 8:00. I stopped mowing, picked them up, and then Paul put them to bed while I continued to mow. I mowed until 8:40 when it was definitely dark outside. I hadn't totally finished, but I had to stop because I couldn't see where I needed to mow. This evening I got the lawn mower out to finish the job and discovered that a neighbor had finished that section for me today. How incredibly sweet! I wish I knew whom to thank. We have some really nice neighbors. It reminds me of the time in 2009 someone shoveled our driveway when I was pregnant with Ian as another random act of kindness.

7. It hit me today while I was sitting watching Nadia and Ian's soccer

practices that I should be getting some exercise during their practice. I had sandals on so I only walked, but I did walk for 30 minutes. I am going to wear sneakers in the future and try to get it one hour of exercise on the field during their practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Nadia also has practice on Thursdays. She doesn't have practice on Tuesdays, but she likes to sit on the bench near Oliver's practice. I am very, very happy that I have found a way to get 2 hours of exercise a week over the next two months. I used to run 4 hours a week, but 2 hours a week is certainly better than nothing. I think I will be too embarrassed to run

Riding our bikes in Texas

there (too many people could see how slow I run), but I can at least walk!

8. Paul came home earlier than usual last night. Normally on Wednesdays he doesn't see the kids until I bring them home at 8:00 pm, but he came home early enough to spend 30 minutes with them before I took them to their musical rehearsal at church.

9. Nadia and Ian really do a great job of paying attention when I read them chapter books. We recently watched the movie based on the book Because of Winn Dixie, and I was very impressed at how they both could easily identify when the movie differed from the book.