This cute little devil will take you back to my wierd little world...
Who They Are...
And twenty...05 May 99
Sam is doing what she did with the walking thing, if she
actually can get down the stairs alone...She does it
behind our backs. Or at least behind mine...I don't
see her trying to go down the stairs alone. We are
going to get her a toddler bed this month, probably,
and then we will lose the last sure cage for the kid...
Rebekah is doing well in school. She has a Mother's Day
Tea on Friday, and in a month or so will be out of
school, and ready to come to Caliornia.
I think that I will start a new page on the girls after
this entry, so that my guests (that's you) won't have to
wait for the thing to laod. So look for that in a month
or so, I guess. That's about it, see you again later!
Number nineteen...19 Apr. 99
We have some new developements out here with the girls,
and while they won't effect most people until this
summer when we visit, those who live with the girls are
currently in a state of fear...Samantha is learning to
get down the stairs...Alone...
Okay, so it doesn't sound too bad...Until you realise
that the upstairs, which used to be a convienient cage,
and kept her entertained, will no longer contain her...
But it is super cute...I found her crawling down the
stair, reverse of how she crawls up them. We have also
found her walking up them...She puts one hand on the
wall and walks up. Brent calims to have seen her use
the same method to get down, although practically sitting
as she tries to get one foot to the lower step.
Other than that, Rebekah is being herself. She is thrilled
that the tulips we planted last fall are coming up, and
today she is going to take one to her teacher...
She is also learning to play read to the cat and her
sister...Also to herself. It's fun to watch, and has
encouraged Sam to take up her own books and do the play
read thing. I'm very proud of Rebekah...Being a good
example already...
That's about it for today...See you later...
Eightteen and counting...04 Apr. 99
Hi! For those of you who haven't noticed the pattern,
here it is, Easter, another major holiday, and therefore,
another update. If nothing else, I manage to record the
holidays...
This Easter was a blast...Sam is old enough to understand picking the eggs up and putting them in the basket, although it did take a few moments to convince her, and she did carry one in hand the whole egg hunt...Rebekah loved the jewelry the Easter Bunny left her (she hasn't taken it off all day except to play in the water), and they have both been eagerly getting sugar highs. We got the girls an 18 inch ball to play with, and it's been a big hit. Literally, sometimes...
Onto other news, Sam is mastering the step down leaving the house...It won't be long before she isn't trapped when she is left upstairs. She has learned to dance nicely with Mushu (the new kitten), and she likes to drag strings around for him to chase. He has learned to tolerate her loving, and it all works out...
Rebekah, on the other hand, has finally cleaned her bedroom (again). She is once again petitioning for an allowance. We were letting Mushu sleep with her, but she seems to be slightly sensitive to him, and in an attempt to lower the severity of allergic reactions on her part, we have kicked him out of her room. He has gotten used to sleeping alone, however, so we no longer stay up all night listening to him cry about being lonely...
Now it's time to say goodbye again...Look us up in a few weeks or so, and there may be something new here...
Hi! Number seventeen...20 Mar. 99
The girls are both having the time of their lives
welcoming the newest arrival of our household...No, not
a baby, but a kitten. Mushu is his name, he's about
eight weeks old, and he's adorable. He is a grey,
shorthaired kitten, with a couple white splotches on
his belly. Rebekah is learning the fine arts of caring
for a pet, and Sam loves to point at him and squeal.
Last night was a little bumpy...He was lonely, and cried
for quite a while. But he settled in well, and seems
to be pretty well trained for litter boxes, so Rebekah
won't have too rough a time with caring for him. Pictures
will arrive eventually...
Ugh! It's the sixteenth entry...18 Mar. 99
Well, I am a little ashamed...I haven't kept anyone
updated on the girls! I think that I shall stop counting
Sam's teeth for you...She has all eight front teeth now,
and while I'm sure she'll continue to get more, I am
finding it isn't quite as novel an experience as her
first few teeth. She now has a mouth full of teeth to
show off when she grins at us, and I think it is
sufficient. So no more updates on Sam's teeth.
Rebekah seems to be doing well in school. She enjoys going, at least. Her temper fits are mostly reserved for changes in her schedule...For example, when the class goes on day long field trips, and she has to go to school in the morning after breakfast, instead of right in time for lunch...She brings home papers she has completed, and her numbers and letters are becoming more legible. She is also getting very good at coloring inside the lines...If only she'd color the whole picture!
That is mostly the news. There's a reason this page has been neglected...There have been no real shockers lately.
And here's the fifteenth...23 Feb. 99
I was checking in Sam's mouth today to see if she had
more teeth in front coming in, when what should my
exploring fingers discover but two tiny molars! Yes,
Sam is getting her baby molars! She has the front two
on top...I was looking for her canines, and found molars
instead. They are pretty big, too. She's had them cut
for a while. I guess her crabbiness of late has been
justified...I think I was crabby when my wisdom teeth
were trying to cut, too...The nice thing is, now we can
start feeding her lots of things and not worrying about
whether or not she can chew it!
Onto other news, Rebekah has her first history report due on the 1st of March...It's rather silly, since she can't read, and her comprehension isn't all there, so even if I read her the material, she will still have the whole thing totally garbled while I write what she says, anyway. I learned something, though...In researching her report, I found a black woman who overcame some massive obstacles in her life to become a three time gold medalist in the Olympics. For those of you who think my family is massive, she was the 20th of 22 children!
That's about it. I'll update on the success of her report...I hope she doesn't get it too screwey...But that's next time...See Ya!
This'll be the fourteenth entry here...19 Feb. 99
Today Rebekah and I went on a field trip with her class. We went to the library and learned about teethcare. For lunch we went to McDonald's and while we were there, we played on the indoor playground equipment. Rebekah had fun, but she was afraid to go above the very bottom level of the play tunnels, so she mostly stayed in the ball pit. After lunch, we went to a local museum where we had a lot of hands on learning experiences. There was a grocery store center, with a register and lots of play food, and a dress up stage, with lots of pretty clothes and puppets. They had a simulated fire station, complete with a pole to slide down, and a police station, with a pannel for recieving calls about emergencies. There was a doctor's office and a dentist, a courthouse and a bank. Rebekah had lots of fun pretending what it would be like to be a grownup in lots of different jobs.
Sam's skills are developing very well. She can say "mama" and "dada", and she is very good at indicating "see". She is a very social little girl, and loves to give hugs to people. She is getting into things more and more, and her investigations are limited only by her reach...Which she expands by climbing on things. She has learned how to climb onto the living room furniture, and how to climb off of it when she's done. Which is cute, as far as it goes, but also something of a pain...We used to be able to clean around her by putting her on the couch, and it doesn't work anymore. Neither does placing her on Rebekah's bed for bedtime stories...She climbs off and tears Rebekah's room apart!
That's all for today. Will update next time something new or exciting happens. See ya!
Oops! Here's number thirteen...No bad luck, though-12 Feb. 99
Today was a totally good day, and both of the girls had a blast and were wonderful to be around. We went on our first visit to the Zoo...We have one about an hour and a half away from here, and it was awesome experience for us all, except maybe Brent, who has been to many zoos before, and so lacks the wonder to see it with fresh eyes.
We saw all kinds of animals...Our zoo has a section for animals from North America, and a section for animals from Africa. We didn't get all the way through Africa before the rain began and we had to take the tram back to the beginnig, but we saw everything they had for North America, and it was great.
While in the North America area, we saw lots of animals. I think we all agreed that the marine animals were the best...The seals, sea lions, and otters. They swam for us and we saw them both above and below the water. The otters were the very, very best...They followed us to where we went and were absolute charmers.
Sam thought the domestic rabbits were best. Rebekah was all go for the big cats...We saw cougars, ocelots, bobcats, merecats, and a few others whose names I can't remember.
We barely scratched the Africa section, but we did see zebras, rinocerous, ostriches, and gorillas. We also saw a lot of birds.
We picked up treats for the girls at a shop on the way out. Sam got a stuffed rabbit, because she seemed to find the rabbits the best. Rebekah, after downsizing her interest in polar bears from as big as herself to almost palm size, finally decided that she'd get some jewelry. She got a necklace, a ring, and a bracelet... The necklace says the zoo's name, and the bracelet is orange and green with glitter. Her ring is red with a butterfly on it. She has been raving about the zoo since we came home. She walked most of the way, and both she and Sam slept the whole way home. They may get the hang of long car trips, after all.
That's it for now, folks. Enjoy yourselves!
Watch out...Here comes number twelve...09 Feb. 99
Now the girls can have great joy in their life, because we have talked their dad into allowing us to have a kitten on a trial-type basis. In other words, if his athsma doesn't act up, we have a kitten! He is grey, and just over a week old. Also the moster of the litter. We have decided to name him Mushu, after the guardian lizard on the Disney film Mulan. And he should be coming home to us in a month or so.
I think that Rebekah has managed to lose one of the caps that were put on her teeth...I'm not sure how or when, but it appears to be missing. This realisation is a little disturbing, and really makes me appreciate the fact that all of her teeth will fall out eventually, anyway. On the bright side of things, I haven't heard a complaint out of her since December, so I think her teeth are all good and causing her no more pain. She is growing like a little weed, and her hair has grown out enough that it really needs a trim.
Sam, on the other hand, is trying to reach new heights in exploration, and has managed to bump and bruise herself a lot. She's still adorable, but not a day goes by without hearing her in tears because she scraped her nose or scuffed her hands. Ouch! Poor baby, at least she'll outgrow this condition...!
And are we ready for number eleven...? 24 Jan. 99
As some of you already know, I was pulled from the field early, so the girls didn't have too long to miss me. They won't have to worry about me going out to the field anytime soon, either, because I am allergic to something out in the woods around here, and I break out every time I go out in them. So the field will no longer have the opportunity for traumatising them that it used to.
Other than that, the girls seem to be healthy and happy... They are developing into very distinctive people with seperate and relatively compatable personalities, and we are very proud of them. I'll update again sometime...
Here we go with ten...17 Jan. 99
Well, I guess that the end of the year review never really got under way...We did have a wonderful time and the girls were mostly great...We took a good drive out in North Carolina today...Sam isn't a good passenger for long drives. And there is no snow to be found in the local area.
Sam is a competant walker...She has a viral rash that isn't chicken pox, but it does look pretty bad and was causing her to run pretty high fevers. The Doctor said she was fine, though, and went ahead and gave her the one year vacines, and while the rash hasn't gone away, the fevers have and she is pretty happy again.
Rebekah has been getting over her dress phase, and now is willing to wear pants and jeans on occasion. She has even suggested that we should get her some snap and zip pants like big girls wear. The only difficulty is that she is very tall and narrow...It's difficult to find anything that fits both her waist and her legs...
That's all for today...I go forth to the field in the upcoming week and will update on how the girls dealt with it once I return.
And the great number nine...25 Dec. 98
Pretty soon we'll be doing the New Year's edition, and the year in review...But today is Christmas, and wonderful things have been happening. The girls had a wonderful time...Many gifts all around. Sam got a GlowWorm, some books, some clothes, and stuffies. One is a Giggle toy, there's a pull-down Winnie the Pooh crib music toy, and a neon stuffed stegosaurus. Rebekah got another Barbie, a lovely dress, and books. She got some beads and a jewelry box. They both filled themselves with candy...Sam loves chocolate, and Rebekah will just eat anything sweet. It was a wonderful day, started with Rebekah trying to break out of the jail we made with a baby gate, and ended with both girls in bed and asleep at their bedtime, miracle of miracles...
This is number eight...18 Dec. 98
Rebekah's party was a success. She got a Birthday Barbie Doll, a Barbie computer game, a Barbie CD Player, a Pretty in Plaid Barbie Doll, a book of scripture stories, and a baby doll. She enjoyed her very rich ice cream cake, but didn't finish her piece of it, and had the house overflowing with children. Now we look forward to Christmas...
And the seventh entry...15 Dec. 98
Today was Rebekah's Birthday! She turned Five Years Old! And she is still her usual, obnoxious little self, whom we all know and love. She took cupcakes to school today, and got to open one of her gifts...Her traditional Christmas ornament, which this year was a little blond ice skater. Really cute, reminded me of her. Tomorrow is the day of her party...She's having a Barbie theme this year, and her cake, which will be from Dairy Queen, will have an edible picture of Barbie on it. More on her party tomorrow!
Sam's latest nickname is Baby Godzilla. For those of you who have seen the latest incarnation of Godzilla movies, you know the noise she can make. It's kinda cute, except when she gets kinda frustrated about not getting her food fast enough. That seventh tooth of hers is starting to show itself...
Here's six...10 Dec. 98
Today was the happy day that Rebekah's teeth were fixed. She went to the hospital at 6:30 this morning, was doped with Tylenol and something else, put into a room, operated on, and then, three hours later, her dentist takes me back to her. She was sobbing madly for about half an hour, but when the sensors and the IV were removed, she was dressed, and she knew she'd be going home, she cheered right up. She couldn't walk for awhile...But when she got home, she ate some oatmeal and drank some water, so she was pretty well recovered by the time we got home. It's now about 5 pm, and the swelling has gone down, she walks right, and claims that her teeth no longer hurt. She had six caps...Four on her front teeth, two on back teeth. She had one tooth extracted...The one immediately behind the molar that was capped. And I have no idea how many fillings, but her teeth look wonderful, and she has been an angel...Those teeth may have been affecting her behavior more than I had realised.
Sam still hasn't got her seventh...She greeted Rebekah with hugs and such, and everything is great. That's the major stuff for today...
And five...26 Nov. 98
It's Happy Thanksgiving...Thanksgiving, Hurray! To quote a poem I once read. This Thanksgiving was pretty good. The girls both pigged out on sweets...We did manage to get a few wholesome things down them, but Sam loved the frosted sugar cookies, and Rebekah stole all the marshmallows off of the sweet potatoes! Sam has mastered walking...She still would rather sit than test her balance, but she is comfortable and competent on two legs, also. Rebekah helped prepare the food some...Putting the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes, putting the green beans in the casserole dish, and snacking on the oranges and pineapple! And for the update on church...We are going for sure...I think Rebekah needs a different outlook on God than the neighborhood kids.
The fourth...23 Nov. 98
Well, the girls have survived a military move...Rebekah's been through one or two, but this is Sam's first. Sam was cranky from lack of sleep, Rebekah was just obnoxious, and we have everything done except the clearing of our old quarters. Sam's latest big thing is she can walk (Brent says she's been practicing behind our backs)...A few, halting steps at a time, but steps in sequence and without holding anything. What wonderful new worlds are opening up for her. And Rebekah got the big room this time...She faces the front of our quarters and has a large closet. Rebekah's decided she wants to attend church, so we'll try it out next Sunday.
Sam's seventh tooth hasn't cut through, yet, so we're still waiting...
This is the third entry...10 Nov. 98
This is another brilliant idea from Laurel...Put the current entries on the top. The entry for Nov. 07 will be the only one underneath its predecessor. That being said, Here's the news for today...
Rebekah visited the dentist today. For those of you who have no knowledge of the events leading up to this visit, I'll try to make this short. I was thrilled to discover one day that Rebekah could eat candy...And when she was good, I would give her some. She'd squirrel it away in her cheek over night, and chew it up in the morning...Six months later I realised it, and stopped giving her candy at night. She still has rotten teeth, though.
She is going to visit the hospital to have her dental care done under general anesthetic...Four caps and several fillings, plus all she'll want for Christmas is her two front teeth! They are getting loose, anyway, and putting caps on them for only a few months is kinda silly. Dec. 10 is the big day, and any condolences or well wishes are certainly welcome for at my e-mail...She'll love having them read to her.
And while we discuss teeth, Sam is getting her seventh, I think. It is on the right side of her bottom teeth. That's really everything major...I'll update again soon!
Day one on this Journal...04 Nov. 98
Rebekah is four years old. She attends preschool at an elemantary school down the street from our house. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Butler, and she is in the afternoon class, which starts at noon and ends at 2:25. Her teacher says she is a delightful child and does very well in school. Rebekah also draws on the walls at home, sets the table and cleans her room for allowance, and loves to play dress up.
Sam is ten months now. Soon she will hit a year and I'll start counting her by years instead of months. She has four teeth...Two on top, two on bottom. She stands by herself very well, and takes a few steps sometimes. She is still very Nervous about trusting herself to walk alone, though. She loves the telephone, even though she is not quite sure what to do with it. She makes messes all over the house that her father, myself, and her sister take turns cleaning up. She loves baths.
07 Nov. 98 Today we went to a platoon party where the girls found out a little about my job. Rebekah had fun riding around in a HUMMV and talking on tactical radios. She also tried out the cots in the sleep tent, and talked to the other soldiers I work with. Samantha wasn't very interested in the Army equipment, but she flirted with a lot of soldiers and their spouses, and tried to eat the grass. I also discovered that Samantha has six teeth, rather than the four I thought... She's got four on top and two on bottom!
