On Tuesday, July 31st we had a full day of appointments. We started the morning at the pediatric ophthalmologist for a check up for Lindy. It was the quickest appointment we’ve ever had and a waste of my time and money. He had her read the eye chart with her right eye covered. She did great. He put the patch on her left eye and she didn’t want to do it. It’s by far her worst eye. So he was going to call it quits. I told him no, that she could do it and got the eye chart back and of course she did. You have to get her to focus but she can do pretty good. She doesn’t like to use that eye but she will if she has to. I’m glad I made her prove she can use it. We were out of there in a quick 10 minutes.
The craziest thing happened when we left the hospital. We walked out into the parking deck and I noticed the exit was blocked by a golf cart. A car was sitting there trying to figure out what to do. We walked to our car and I went out another way, since I knew the normal exit was blocked. We got down to the bottom and there were a bunch of cop cars and cops standing there. They stopped me and searched the car to see if I had anyone else in the car with me. Since it was just Lindy and I and they didn’t find anyone they let me go. I pulled up to pay my parking ticket and there was no one in the little house and the arm looked like it had been broken off. I was pretty excited to not have to pay my ticket! I pulled through and got stopped by another police man who had a massive gun. I swear it was a machine gun. I didn’t know what was going on but I was glad I was leaving!! I started searching the news and then I freaked out! About a mile down the road 3 guys robbed and then shot the cashier at a business. They got in their cars and drove off and into the parking decks at the hospital! They were in the parking decks while I was walking in the parking deck to my car! agagag!!! They say they had the hospital on lockdown – so I’m not sure exactly how we got out of there. I’m glad I didn’t know what was going on at the time and I’m glad we got out safe and sound!
We headed home for lunch and then my mom went with me to the kids’ 5 year well child check-ups at the pediatrician. Lindy weighed 33lb and 4oz and was 37.25 inches tall. That puts her in the 0.17% for height and 8.41% for weight. She did grow 2 inches from last year which the doctor was happy about – even if she is just plain short, she is growing! And she gained 5 lbs so she was happy about that too! 8.41% is the highest either kid has ever been on any growth chart! She skipped the vision and hearing test since she is so closely followed by audiologists and ophthalmologists.
Will was 39 inches tall and weighed a whopping 28lb 6oz. Don’t go tipping the scales there, buddy! That puts him at 1.82% for height and 0.05% for weight! He also grew 2 inches which she was happy about. But the poor guy gained almost no weight. His BMI is slowly plummeting off the charts! She wasn’t overly concerned which I was glad about. I told her he eats a healthy diet and that he is not picky, he just doesn’t eat as much as he used to. She told me to start adding Carnation Instant Breakfast to his milk at dinner to help him get some extra calories. We will start that and see what happens. She also told me about an allergy medicine that has a side effect of being an appetite stimulant. She said if we start him back on allergy medicines this fall to call her and she’ll switch him to this one and maybe that will get a little weight on him. I’m so glad she doesn’t freak out about this. He has all strikes against him. Starting out at 1lb 14oz, having a short mom, and having a tall and very skinny dad. He could just grow up to be like Drew who can’t keep any weight on himself. Horrible problem to have, huh?! She did the vision and hearing test with Will and he passed with flying colors.
Overall she was pleased with how they are doing and supported our decision to send them to preschool and not kindergarten this year. They didn’t get any shots this year because we did them at their 4 year check up!
Directly after getting home from the pediatrician’s office we headed out to Ohio. My mom rode with me and my dad drove his truck. We made it there in about 8.5 hours but we got caught in traffic, road construction, rain, and we stopped to eat dinner.
We had a fabulous time in Ohio with my parents. We did fun stuff but we also took it easy. The kids love playing with my parents’ kitchen set. They had a whole restaurant set up in the den. I brought their new birthday presents and they didn’t even touch them!
Wednesday afternoon we went swimming at my parents’ neighborhood pool. The kids had fun swimming and splashing with Nana. Thursday we took the kids and did a little shopping around town. Thursday evening we went with my parents to their usual Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. They eat there every Thursday night with a group of their friends. Friday we headed to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and we took a train ride on the scenic railroad. The train took us to Peninsula, where we had lunch at my parents’ favorite restaurant, the Winking Lizard. We boarded the train again and headed south for about a 25 minute ride. When we got down to Akron Northside the train switched directions and headed back north to Peninsula. It was a pretty neat ride and just long enough for the kids. Will watched out the window the entire time, looking for deer. We never saw one on the train but later spotted one when leaving the park. It was all pretty land out there and the park ranger told my dad that the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is the 6th most visited national park in the US. Who knew?!
Saturday afternoon mom and I took the kids down to Strongsville to the mall to the Build-A-Bear shop. My sister got the kids gift cards for Easter and their birthday so we headed to build an animal. Will chose a wiener dog and named him Max. He dressed him in a soccer uniform. Lindy chose a cat and named him Deacon. She dressed him in a Pittsburgh Steelers football uniform! We showed her every cute tutu or dress and she said no to all of them. She wanted a football uniform. I told her the Steelers outfit was Wake Forest colors and that sealed the deal for her. Her cat is quite the sight! They loved building their animals and they have loved playing with them. They have never been big stuffed animal kids but they are enjoying their new ones. Their animals are almost as big as they are!
Sunday we did more shopping around town and then Monday we headed to the zoo. With all of the residents in Cuyahoga County. Or so it seemed! They get in free on Mondays so it was a pretty crowded day at the zoo. The Cleveland Zoo has an elephant named Willy and a giraffe named Lindy! When my nieces were in Cleveland a few weeks ago they got to feed the giraffe named Lindy but they weren’t feeding any giraffes the day we went. We came home to rest for a bit and eat dinner and then we headed to the pond across the street so the kids could go fishing for the first time ever. My dad is a huge fisherman and I grew up fishing with him. Some of my greatest memories of my childhood are from the times I was out on a boat or sitting on a riverbank at midnight fishing with him. It was neat to see my kids fishing with him. Not to say it wasn’t a little stressful! I was sure Lindy was going to fall down the hill and into the pond and I was sure Will was going to land a hook in someone. Will insisted he knew how to fish and wanted to cast his line. I had to show him the big hook on the end and how dangerous it can be. Much to my surprise, they both picked up worms for my dad and Will actually held a fish. Shocker! They both reeled a fish in! After they each caught one we called it a night. First fish in the books! We headed for yummy ice cream at a Lake Erie park after fishing.
The weather was cooler up there so we were outside almost every evening. My dad borrowed a double bike trailer and hooked it up to his bike. We took the kids for a couple bike rides. We also brought their bikes and they had a blast riding them on my parents’ flat driveway and down the sidewalks. Lindy is doing so much better at pedaling. Will got a cool stomp rocket for his birthday that we spent a lot of time outside playing with. We enjoyed their slightly cooler weather!
Tuesday morning the kids and I packed up and headed home – much to my father’s dismay. My parents were so nervous about letting me drive the kids home by myself. They have never let me do it before. I finally convinced them I would be fine and we headed out. Exactly 8 hours later we arrived at our house, safe and sound. We had a great day of traveling and the kids were amazing. We stopped once for lunch, potty break, and gas and one more time for gas and a potty break. With the car DVD player, I hardly knew they were back there!
It is good to be back home – for a few days. The fun continues this week and next so stay tuned for more of our adventures!
The train station where we got on the train.
Looking for wildlife!
Launching the stomp rocket.
Lindy getting a little help launching the rocket.
Stuffing up his dog.
Stuffing up her cat!
Giving them a bath and brushing their fur.
Deacon, the Steelers kitty.
Max, the superstar soccer dog.
My little meerkats at the zoo!
Checking out giraffes. We told her that was the one named Lindy!
Let’s go fishing!
Holding the worms.
Giving Papa a worm.
Another worm for Papa!
First fish!
I’m shocked he held the fish!
Second fish!
Ice cream face!
On the Lake Erie shore. The kids were surprised to see this little beach in Ohio!
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