July 13, 2009
We left the beach yesterday in the rain, so it was a good day to be leaving. Apparently I jinxed myself the day before by saying that Linlee was sleeping through the nights. Saturday night she woke up at two AM and sang and chatted for three hours until five in the morning. What made it worse was that my husband was lying next to me snoring through the whole thing. Linlee was five feet away from us on the fold-out couch, sometimes singing at the top of her voice (even though I told her to be quiet because mommy was sleeping). How could he sleep through that? Not fair. This must be the one curse of Cannon Beach because Linlee did the exact same thing last year. Oy. Other than that, we had an awesome time. Linlee called the beach “Tiki beach” the entire time because that’s the name of a beach on an episode of The Backyardigans. Every time she wanted to go down to the beach, she’d say, “More Tiki beach!” So cute. It really was fun to see her enjoying herself so much. Now we are home and I already miss the ocean air and the sound of the waves. (wistful sigh) But it’s really nice to be sleeping in my own bed again (with my daughter sleeping in her own room).
New topic; Linlee’s one-track mind. If Linlee decides she wants to do something, she does not give up. This morning she wanted to put an old serving platter of mine (which she was pretending was a boat, naturally) on top of a stool and sit in it that way. I told her no several times because I thought she would fall trying to get in it. Each time I said no, she obeyed and played with it on the floor. But then while my back was turned (I was still in the same room with her, just facing the other way!), sure enough…
Naughty little thing. (And no, she didn’t fall – this time, anyway.)
P.S. Thanks everybody who mentioned my dad. My mom and I really missed him on this trip. I have to admit that I often let myself forget he is gone and just imagine that he is still at home in Spokane working in the yard or chopping wood for the fire place, etc. While I’m certain he was at the beach with us in spirit, his physical absence could not be imagined away and that was hard. I sure wish I could have seen him smiling on the beach as he watched Linlee play in the waves.
July 11, 2009
Another glorious day at the beach. Yesterday was sunny, but very windy. Today it is overcast, but no wind. Both days have been pleasant. Linlee had one, out-of-the-blue meltdown at dinner last night, but other than that, she has been doing so well on this trip. She sleeps through the nights and is a very happy girl during our days. This has been a wonderful vacation for us.
Waiting patiently to get back down to the beach…
Daddy building sandcastles for Linlee…
Linlee jumping on them:
The grandparents and the grandchild:
Linlee and Mémé…
The whole gang:
July 10, 2009
Rob rented Linlee a boogie board so that she could pretend to surf. She was thrilled!
You can see that we are having a fabulous time! Linlee was still so excited about being at the beach last night that she could not fall asleep until after ten. Then she was up at six (instead of seven, like normal) this morning. So, there won’t be a lot of extra sleep happening on this vacation, but that’s okay. We’ve spent most of today playing on the beach and now we are headed into town (Cannon Beach is the cutest town ever, by the way) for some shopping and dinner out. Ahhh, this is the life!
July 9, 2009
Oh, how we LOVE this beach! This year, Linlee is completely on board with loving the beach. Excited does not begin to describe our little girl. She is being so cute. I did not do a great job of picture taking this evening. We arrived before dinner and made a quick trip down to the ocean before going out to eat. Tomorrow I will try to take the “real” pictures with beach toys and grandparents and everything. But here is a taste…
Rob running after Linlee who is running straight for the ocean…
In this last one, she is laughing because her feet have disappeared.
So much hopping and dancing and skipping and running and squealing and laughing this evening. I predict tomorrow is going to be a good day!
July 8, 2009
So, today was better. Linlee is still on edge. There has been some milder fussing than yesterday; overall it’s been an okay day. Hopefully we’re headed in the right direction as we leave for the beach tomorrow. I suppose even if Linlee falls apart this weekend, it won’t be the end of the world – all three grandparents will be there with us. Rob and I can just hand her off to them and enjoy a little time on our own. Yeehaw!
The social skills group (of two children) was just as challenging today. Actually, Linlee did pretty well listening and following instructions, although she was rather wild (for Linlee, anyway). Her little partner in crime didn’t really participate at all the entire hour. I wouldn’t have been happy having to pay the fee (this group is not free – nothing is) for my child to play on his own the entire hour. On other hand, these kids are autistic. It’s not really like they are being naughty when they don’t pay attention; they can’t help it. And even when it doesn’t appear as if they are learning anything, they are.
Foraging for strawberries:
Looking like such a little girl; no more toddler…
If it’s too cold to swim, let’s pretend!
(The red on her chin is juice from the strawberries that she ate.)
July 7, 2009
Linlee did “okay” at horse and speech therapy. However, anytime she and I were alone today, it was not good. She was fussy and tantrumy and she has developed a temper. When something doesn’t go her way (like most of today) she screams and throws things. I used to ignore the behavior because it happened so seldom, but now it seems to be daily, so the little darling is going to be sitting in time-out for it, which I guess she should have been doing in the first place. The hardest part about dealing with Linlee is that she cannot be reasoned with. Her understanding is still so limited. When she gets in her upset mode, it is like trying to reason with an 18 month old – can’t be done. It is frustrating for everyone. Just one example from today was when I was trying to finish my dinner. She’d had hers. The dogs had had theirs. But she wanted me to draw her a picture during mine. (She always wants me to draw her a picture and never wants to try to draw on her own.) I tried explaining that as soon as I was done eating, I would draw her a picture. Nope, all she understood is that I was not doing what she wanted me to. Huge meltdown, tears, screaming, throwing things and a hysterical child in time-out. Dinner was so fun.
I’m starting to feel nervous about our trip to the beach. After our disastrous getaway to Leavenworth in January, I thought we’d never get to take Linlee on another vacation again. She has improved so much since that time, we felt confident enough to plan this little vacation. Now don’t know. I’m feeling nervous. I hope today was just a bad day.
*** And as I wrote this post, Linlee flipped out again – over I don’t know what – and as she was howling at the top of her lungs, her nose started spurting blood. It was awful and took forever to stop. She screamed the entire time. Calgon, take me away…
July 6, 2009
The weather cooled considerably today. No complaints; it’s a nice break from the heat. The last couple of days have been pretty good for Linlee. She seems more “with us” again. She has been in delightful moods, except when we ask her to use the potty. Tomorrow should be interesting; she has both horse therapy and speech therapy in the same afternoon. Wonder how that will go…
July 5, 2009
Yay, the fourth is over! I have to admit, it is my least favorite holiday. Maybe it’s because we are pet owners and our dogs get very upset all day/night. Having two hysterical dogs kind of takes the fun out of fireworks. But also, our neighborhood sounded like a war zone from nine to twelve-thirty last night. (Fireworks had been popping all day long, but for those three and a half hours, it was ridiculous.) I wish the rule was that people can set off fireworks from 9:30 to 10:30 (I realize that it needs to be after dusk to enjoy them) and call it good. Maybe I’ve turned into a fuddy-duddy, but even as a child, I never understood the allure of firecrackers. The go snap, snap, snap. Why is that fun?
Today was a relaxing and peacefully quiet day. We ran to Toys R Us to get some beach toys for Linlee (beach pictures coming very soon!) and she made a haul, as usual. Rob & I have no self control when it comes to getting her toys. We are bad. Linlee’s most favorite episode of Kai-Lan is about the dragon boat festival (boats, of course). And wouldn’t you know, they had a Kai-Lan dragon boat festival play set. That made for one happy Linlee.
More backyard pictures from earlier in the day…
She’s always having so much fun. It must be nice to be four!
July 4, 2009
I tried to get Linlee to smile and hold up the little flag she made in speech therapy, but clearly the corner rounder for scrapbooking was more interesting.
Oh good, eyes are up in that last one, but the flag is sideways.
Now the flag is backwards and the child is transfixed by the flagpole.
Moving on to the slip & slide misadventure…
We should have known that our delicate flowers was never going to run and slide…
So daddy tried to help, but without a running start, they went nowhere:
(Do not laugh at how pale my husband is; we live in nine months of rain and we are not Chinese, like our beautiful daughter.)
And lastly, Linlee wanted her boat involved, of course…
(Even though we are on a hill, the boat only slid if Rob pulled it.)
July 3, 2009
Rob had the day off, so we took Linlee to a nearby water park this afternoon. It was very crowded. I think Linlee found it overwhelming, but after a while she warmed up and seemed enjoy herself.
On a side note, is anyone else having trouble keeping clothes on their child this summer? I swear our neighbors are going to think we are hippies or something.
