One tough son of a gun (sort of)

Hunter had his 18-month checkup today. Everything went smoothly, and his stats are so close to Wilder's at the same age, that I now know I should go ahead and start a savings plan solely for things like bread, milk and whatever else it is that teenage boys consume with wild abandon to make them grow and help their frontal lobes develop into something resembling a non-window-licking individual. Anyway, here they are -- I record these only for us. No one else cares, but I like to remember how giant my babies are, so that when I'm 75 and my back aches and they don't visit me, I can remind them how I carted their mutantly huge heinies around for a few years. You know, load my mama barrels up with guilt-trip and fire away.

So:

WEIGHT: 27 lbs, 11.5 oz.
HEIGHT: 34.5 inches
HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE (I have NO idea why we note this): 49 cm

Anyway, the best part of the doctor story is when Hunter got his shots. The office was unusually busy and backed up today, so we had to wait a fair amount of time, and after the doctor came in, it was probably another 20 minutes before the nurse came in with the flu shot and three other vaccinations. Of course, the waiting was hurting. I hate knowing that my kid's about to go through some serious pain, and I was anxious to get it over with.

So the nurse comes in and, as always, asks me to hold my kids arms and hold him down. I hate it, too, when they basically ask me to be their heavy. I know it's impractical, but I wish doctor's offices would employ someone else to do this. Anyway, I've got him pinned and she picks up the first needle and sticks it into his thigh ...

Hunter looks at me like: "What the hell?" but does not cry. Second needle ...

Another look, this one says: "Dammit now! That HURT!!" Still no tears. Third needle ...

The boy just turns a bright shade of red and his eyes go wide. I think he's more pissed than in pain. Fourth needle ...

"Whhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The tears finally come, but c'mon! My kid is pretty friggin' tough, no? I mean, jabbed three times and nothing but righteous indignation? That's some seriously thick skin!

So, here's the kicker. On our way out, Hunter wants to walk instead of being held. He's still wimpering a little, but mostly over it. Until we pass the doctor. When he sees her, he affects a limp. I mean, it's so obvious he's faking it, it's comical. The doctor notices it and calls him a drama queen.

So much for the stoic reputation, little dude.

Pictures from yesterday and today

Just a few quick photos from the past couple of days. After hitting about 90 yesterday, a cold front hit today and we're having much cooler temps. Just in time for the first day of fall. Please enjoy the pics. Hope everyone is doing well. Hope to be writing more soon ... just kind of crazy around here lately. xo, k.

My future little WWF champ

Happy Grandparent's Day!

Funniest thing ... Wilder had been talking about his grandparents all day today. For example, sample conversation frome earlier today:

Wilder: "Where's my grandpa?"
Mom: "Which one? The tall one or the surly one?"
Wilder: "Surly one. Heh heh heh."
Mom: "He's in Arizona."
Wilder: "Let's go there."

Anyway, so this went on a few times today, until it finally hit me: IT'S GRANDPARENT'S DAY! So, on that note, here's a short video we put together for all of our wonderful grandparents in Arizona, Tennessee and Florida ... We love you all, even you surly ones. :-)

Some recent photos

A few pics, from Wilder's first day of school and today, Labor Day:

First Day of School + Labor Day 2009

A recent lunchtime chat