Odds & Ends

Just wanted to say a few things:


NINE MONTHS TIL WE MOVE BACK TO THE US!
We're officially 25% down, 75% to go. So time is moving at a decent pace. It was a rough few months at the start, because we went straight from Spring in Charlottesville to Winter in Auckland. But now we're not only 3 months into our adventures, but it's Spring here. Which means, less rain and warmer weather. Not warm weather. But warmer than it was. So we're not having to use the ultra expensive, doesn't work that well heat; although the nights are still pretty chilly. We're still using the last remaining space heater in Lilly's room at night (after the first two caught fire). And then comes summer (Christmas), then Fall (US's Spring), and then we move back into Summer in Charlottesville. So the next year and a half is good weather. Thank goodness.


Some book recommendations (from the post last week):

• April 1865 - Jay Winik
• The Great Upheaval (America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800) - Jay Winik
• The Lincolns in the White House (Four Years that Shattered a Family) - Jerrold M. Packard

These were great accounts of history, in an interesting and captivating manner. More than we learned in history class, and presented in a way that almost felt like I was reading a John Grisham novel. It makes me realize how, in America's early years, things were politically much more extreme and shaky than they are today, especially in light of this year's election.

On a different note, I also highly recommend Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children with Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives, which is about 50 moms writing a chapter each on their experiences. Very sweet and touching - this is the book that I needed to read 2 years ago - but I think even people who don't have a child with DS will find this a great read.

In other news:

Lilly swallowed two prongs of a "spork" last night. (You know, the hybrid between a fork and a spoon.) I was actually totally thrilled that she could use the spork so easily, as compared with a spoon or a fork, and she was chowing away at her cantaloupe (or rock melon, as they call it here). I was just happy that she was eating something besides toast for dinner. So all of a sudden, we heard a *crack* and - only the outer two prongs on the spork where left. Jon dove into her mouth, as he caught a glimpse of plastic on her tongue - and she bit him! Hard! So he backed off, and me, the laid back mom, said "Lilly honey, can you spit out what's in your mouth?" Because a lot of times she doesn't swallow things right away, and kind of holds them in her cheeks, or plays with food with her tongue... but... a minute passed by and... she started eating rock melon again. With her hands, this time, as we had taken that stupid spork away from her. We questioned if we should do anything (seek medical care, perhaps?), but instead took a "wait and see" attitude. I even checked on her throughout the night, to make sure she was still breathing, and she seemed fine. So let's hope this has turned out ok! (Poor girl...)

And finally, Lilly has a new favorite musical scene from a movie. Not that we were getting sick of watching High School Musical 3 times daily, but she has also developed a great appreciation for "Step in Time" from Mary Poppins. And then we dance around the house singing "Step in Time, Step in Time." I think her new occupation aspiration is to be a chimney sweep. They have all the fun!