Mike...

I'm going to try to get that camera up and running again. This blog is looking dull. And you have to see Joan's cute little curls! Her hair is really coming in - she has her dad's wavy curls.

Speaking of dad, he's down sick. He's been off sick for FOUR DAYS! I don't know if it's the weather, with all this non-stop cold and damp, or if the bugs here are just more stubborn than what we're used to. He finally went to the doctor last night, after taking an obscene number of painkillers for two achey ears and a sore throat. They think both ears are infected, so he's on antibiotics now. Hopefully, he'll feel better in the morning. And more importantly, hopefully no-one else will catch this one! It hasn't been all bad having him around - it's let us tag team with the kids - while he's up, playing video games, I can sneak off for a nap. It's really helped - both the marathon contractions and headaches have completely stopped!

Kids are still doing great. Joan's physio is going well, and she's liking her new hand brace - when she wears it, she brings her right hand in to play a lot more. She tolerates it for about half an hour a day now. We're supposed to work up to two hours a day, and they'll assess how well it's working at the next appointment. But I can already tell it's making a difference. We've been working on the language, too. We're supposed to keep track of her gestures, and she has quite a repetoire. She also has more words than we initially realized - we just needed to listen harder. And get her away from John! He kind of dominates the conversation, to put it mildly. Today, I went for groceries with just Joan and I, while Mike watched John, and she was doing great. She asked for apples! She pointed wildly at the apples and shouted "Ap! Ap! Ap!" So I put some in a bag, and she was happy. She asked for bananas, too! But it sounded more like "ah-AH-ah! Ah-AH-ah!" It was pretty neat. Usually, she's quiet, but maybe she's just letting John do all the talking. Hopefully, we can get more opportunities to have one-on-one time with her. She's learning her colours too! We played a game with her Duplo last night, after John went to bed. I showed her all the colours, then asked her to find certain ones from the bucket, like "can you find another yellow?" About half the time, she got it right. You could really see her thinking. Though a lot of times, she was ignoring me, and just building rocket ships. It was hillarious - she'd build a big stack, then she'd make it fly through the air, with the appropriate "flying rocket" sound effect, that John taught her.

John's doing well, too. He's getting very excited about his fourth birthday. He knows it's coming, and is looking forward to cake! He talks about it all the time! He wants something very specific as a present, but I'm not sure we're going to get it. it's called trap jaws - a truck/shark hybrid thing. Not sure he needs yet another truck, though. Maybe painting supplies. I think he'd like dess-up stuff, too. A tool kit, or a doctor kit. They don't get the attention of trucks at the toy store, but I think he'd get a lot out of something like that. When I went to pick him up at the sibling room today, he was Dr. John - complete with a little plastic stethascope. He had a blast! (Dr. John is one of his favourite personas - followed closely by Worker Man John. He loves it when one of us is sick - we become his patients. He has excellent bed-side manner).

Our building is still unsold, but apparently there was an offer. But it all fell through right at the last minute, according to the agent. We had a second showing a ouple days ago. A very wealthy-looking oriental couple. The agent said the word from those interested, is they'd like to keep it as a duplex, but renovate the neighbour's side (their lease wasn't renewed, so they''re moving at the end of the month), then offer us the other side, and renovate our side while it's vacant. Obviously, it's to get more in rent. It makes us a little nervous - not sure just how high it could go. But we'll play it all by ear, and see what comes our way.

The city is starting to gear up for Stampede - stringing lots of banners and stuff. I think it's the second week in July or something. I'm not looking forward to it - I hear the crowds shut down the city, and we live fairly close to the action. But if anyone wants to see the Stampede, but are deterred by the solidly booked hotels, you're welcome to bunk with us! Mike booked some time off in July, and is planning to rent us a cabin in the mountains, to take John fishing and canoeing, and escape the city before it becomes a bad idea for me to be too far from the hospital. But I don't think the dates completely overlap.

Anyway, Joan is getting bored, and I think Mike is stirring, so better go!