Cry Room Chronicles LX

Going to church this week was a little bit of a different experience. My wife wasn't feeling well and wanted to go separately so she wouldn't have to wrestle with the kids in the pew. So Jacob and I went without Mommy and Lucy to our usual 9 a.m. Mass.

We arrived early and went potty as usual. Walking into church, I grabbed the crayon box for Jacob. He decided he didn't want a crayon but did take a hymnal. We sat mid-way up in the church.

Jacob did a great job during Mass. He sat quietly. He tried to sing along with the hymns, none of which were familiar to us. So he did a mixture of making stuff up and imitating the real lyrics a beat late (after he heard the rest of us singing it). He knelt at the appropriate times. He prayed the Our Father. He put money in the collection. He didn't shake hands at the sign of peace, however. When we went to communion, he walked behind me as if he was going to communion himself. He did not want to hold my hand or walk beside me. He really wants to be an adult, I think. Or at least behave like his parents in church.

We did light candles after Mass and made up for our lack of cash last week. Jacob prayed for me, which was touching. We headed home after that to check on Mommy and make sure Lucy didn't drive her crazy. We'll have to make it up to the tea and treats after next week's Mass.

The sermon was quite good. The gospel was the famous scene of people trying to trip up Jesus by asking about paying taxes to Caesar. Father brought out a different aspect of the reading than the usual relation of church and state issues. He emphasized the importance of being honest with the Lord. The Lord's inquisitors slyly fawn over Him as a wise and learned man who shows no partiality. Then they try to get Him to show partiality that will cause trouble one way or the other. He has none of it and famously answers with "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's." We too need to take care that we approach the Lord with humility and sincerity.

Mother's Day Delayed Pictures

I took the kids to JCPenney for Mother's Day photos, which was a lot of fun. Jacob and Lucy were pretty well behaved and actually did what the photographer asked! She asked Jacob to get on the floor and Lucy immediately copied that with any prompting. The only bad thing was the pictures weren't available until May 9, the day after Mother's Day. Oh well, you can't have everything in life.

We bought a new scanner, so I've been trying it out on the pictures we did purchase. I'm also testing out uploading pictures to Picasa Web Albums, part of the Google/Blogger suite of products. Here's the pictures we bought:

Jacob and Lucy in their 2011 Easter outfits!

Am I cute?

No, I'm cute!

Didn't crop this one quite right!

Lovey dovey siblings (I can't believe I just wrote that!)

Lucy had cute shoes but wouldn't wear them!

New Playground in Columbia!

We've discovered a new place to go for indoor play time fun, right here in Columbia, Maryland! I saw an email from one of the parent groups I belong to that mentioned Play N' Learn has open and free playtime on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Knowing next to nothing about it, we decided to go anyway.

Jacob and Lucy had a great time. The store sells mostly outdoor playing equipment, including swing sets, trampolines, climbing walls, basketball hoops, and other fun stuff. They also provide pool tables, ping pong tables, air hockey, Foosball, and other indoor entertainments. The children played almost entirely on the outdoor equipment and had a grand time of it:

Jacob slides so fast he comes out blurry!

Lucy slides even faster. Eat you heart out, Flash!

These chains can't hold me!

Lucy loved climbing, though it made Daddy nervous.

A race to the top!

Even the outside of the store looks cool.

We definitely recommend going if you are in Columbia or finding one near you if you aren't in Columbia.

Valentine's Day Craft at the Library

Tuesday night's Pajama Time at the library included a craft. Now that Jacob and Lucy are going to PJ time, we get twice the craftiness to bring home. I didn't go to the library, but I got to take these sweet pictures when Mommy and the kids got home:

Lucy is unsure of how to present her craft.

Jacob also doesn't seem to know which end is up!

Close up of the floor model.

 The theme was Hugs (as a lead-in to Valentine's Day, no doubt). Both children had a good time and Mommy reports that they were well behaved too. Hopefully we'll get to PJ Time on Thursday and have another craft to show off!

First Library Visit of 2011

Friday we went to story time at our favorite branch of the Howard County Library, Savage Library. And our favorite librarian, Miss Ellie, ran the show. We were very happy for the old, familiar things.

"Snow" was the word of the day. One of the books Miss Ellie read was Ezra Jack Keats' "The Snowy Day," which Jacob immediately recognized. He shouted out, "We have that book." Jacob was happy to hear that story again. If only he had some enthusiasm for singing songs and dancing during story time. But at the end, we had a craft to do. Jacob was super enthusiastic for it. We glued a tree and snow flakes to a plate. Then we went to a sparkle station to sprinkle glitter on the plate. The glue pick up quite a bit and it came out pretty well. Jacob looks pretty serious about it. Lucy helped out too. She pointed to where we should put the snow flakes.

We look forward to many more visits to the library this year!

Lucy's 18-Month Checkup

Despite the snow from last night, we made it to Lucy's 18-month doctor's appointment this morning. All is well, she is 24.6 pounds and 33.5 inches tall. She was pretty excited to stand on a scale and to stand against the wall to get measured. Jacob was excited for her, though he thought the scale was his! The doctor was pretty happy with Lucy: she is physically fit and she was pretty easygoing about him poking and prodding and looking at her with his little light. She received only one shot, for which we were all grateful. She cried for about 20 seconds, which doesn't sound long unless you are a witness.

Following our usual post-pediatric tradition, we headed off to Chick-fil-A. Jacob asked to go to the "globe" Chick-fil-A, which is not our usual nearby restaurant. But it is on the way home from the doctor's office, so I approved. The good thing about that was it was empty, so the playground area was all ours. We, I mean, the kids played for almost 45 minutes! The bad news is that they took out the globe in the play area. I suspect Jacob will continue to call it the "globe" Chick-fil-A regardless. He was not distressed by the absence, but he did mention it a couple of times. Since we stayed so long, we had a yummy lunch there. Jacob and Lucy split a 6-count chicken nugget kids meal, with milk and fruit cup. The only problem is they hardly drink the milk (especially when they realize I have lemonade) and they could easily eat two fruit cups. We may have to try something new next time.

Lucy's First Sledding

Today snow fell in sufficient quantities to make it hard to drive up the drive way and, more importantly, easy to go down the hill in the backyard on a sled. Of course, the front yard is much steeper but has a rather inconveniently placed street at the bottom. So we sled in the back yard. Here's Jacob and Lucy suiting up for the first adventure of this winter:

Jacob wears his coolest hat-his own name AND tractors!

Lucy's supercute snowsuit

Jacob loved his gloves; they're as great as a craft!

Outside, we had lots of fun:

Jacob drags his sled back up the hill

Lucy is smarter--she gets someone to drag her!

View from Mt. Reninger

 Back inside, Lucy decided to try on Daddy's hat. The only problem was the size difference:

"I feel like a character from Fat Albert!"

Jacob wanted to get in on the fun and wacky head wear:

The pillow wouldn't stay on his head so he decided it was a camera

Busy week at the library!

Actually, it's been a busy week at several libraries. We started with with the end of last week, where Jacob's latest craftiness produced these wonderful sheep at Pajama Time:

Jacob has to protect the sheep from the hungry dinos on his pj's

Jacob's picture shows the sheep a little better & juxtaposed with a random toy on the floor

Our next library adventure was on Monday. We went to Storyville in Woodlawn with Granny. See the photos here, since too many were taken to post on the blog. Jacob had a great time in spite of accidentally biting his lip while removing the drum. He got a little bloody. The family bathroom was no help since it was too environmentally friendly to have paper towels or tissues. I had to use a wipe from our diaper bag to clean up the blood. He really enjoyed working the grill and the cash register, which I guess means a fast food restaurant career is not out of the question. Maybe it'll be his day job to support his drumming passion.

Today (Thursday, September 30, 2010) we went to 3, 2, Fun at the East Columbia Branch of our local library. We were supposed to get a ticket from the children's desk to let us in, but we went the wrong way so Jacob could see photocopiers and the globe. An announcement on the library's PA system caught Jacob's interest and we ran into one of the children's librarians who helped convince Jacob it would be fun. We made it to the room a little late--Jacob still had to stop at every copier along the way and got two drinks from the water fountain before we made it to the right room. The theme was zoos. A story about ordering a pet from a zoo kept both Jacob and Lucy enraptured. Jacob also played along with "Old MacDonald" and a couple of other songs. At the end, he got his usual hand stamp on a piece of paper. While Jacob and I were busy negotiating that with the librarian, Lucy started cleaning up the room! She took all the bean bags that were on the floor and put them on a table. Lucy probably got us a guaranteed ticket to come back to story time at any time, ticket or no. Good job, Lucy!

Jacob Plays with Fire, or at least the Remains of Fire

Jacob was a little disappointed today that we didn't go to his favorite "car" park by Lake Elkhorn. In stead, we went to the playground in Savage. He did remember that park and had a good time riding the slides and such. Lucy also enjoyed climbing up the play equipment and riding on the swings.

After a while, Jacob decided to investigate outside the play area, which meant exploring the picnic tables and grills. Lucy kept playing on the swings and I figured she needed me more than he did, so I let him have freedom to explore. He was fascinated by the grills and played a lot with the charcoal, becoming quite charcoally himself. I didn't realize this until it was far too late. He admitted that his hands were dirty,

I'm a boy, what did you expect?

but he refused to believe that his eye was dirty. Luckily no other parents were there or I probably would have been reported for having a child with an unexplainable black eye:

you should see the other guy!

Thankfully, diaper wipes work on more than just baby's bum. He was cleaned up in time to make a respectable appearance at the grocery store. Let this be a lesson to parents out there, even a cold grill provides a hazard to your child!

Taken Home from the Library

Last week Jacob made it through another craft and came out smiling. The theme of pajama time was Grandparents. The craft was a hug:

The barely visible text is "I love you this much!"

Jacob tried to model it for me when he got home:

Check out the heart hiding behind the left hand!

It's a little big to hold out easily but he was very proud. He hasn't decided which grandparent to give it to. Possibly he'll forget about it before he sees any of them.

The day after Jacob's craft, I received an email from the staff at East Columbia. I had been participating in the summer reading program, submitting the titles I've been reading along with short reviews. At the end of the summer, they drew for prizes, and I won a tote bag full of books and other fun items:

What a haul!

Six books, three post-it note pads, a reading light, a lanyard, two CDs of audio book samples, a notebook, a key ring, a free ticket to Toby's Dinner Theater, a bookmark, a carbine clip, and (of course) a tote bag. Pretty awesome! I'll definitely participate next year.

New playground discovered in Odenton!

Since Labor Day is a holiday, many events during the week are pushed back a day. Our recycling and trash pick ups are all delayed (the poor garbage men will have to get our trash on Saturday; it doesn't seem like they really get a day off). Another effected event is new comics day, which is usually on Wednesday, but this week is Thursday. So we went to Annapolis to get some fresh reads for Daddy.

Usually the kids are inclined to fall asleep on the way there (even though it is less than half an hour to the comic shop), so I've been looking for stops along the way to entertain them. There's a library we've gone to a couple of times; sometimes we go early and hang out at the Annapolis Mall playground; we've gone to the  National Cryptologic Museum; we've gone to the National Vigilance Park at Fort Meade. Today, we discovered a hidden playground in Odenton, Maryland, thanks to this list.

The Seven Oaks Community Center Playground is just a stone's throw from Route 175 and Fort Meade. The parking lot enterance looks like it's for a row of townhouses, but off to the left is the community center and pool. Driving up to the pool, careful observation shows the playground on the far side of the pool. After walking around the empty pool (Labor Day is usually the cut off for swimming in these parts, especially weekday day time outdoor swimming), we found the playground. It had a fair amount of equipment,

Jacob loved the merry-go-round til Daddy went too fast

including a ride on plane and bus,

Keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times

Jacob's first school bus ride!

and a swing set!

Lucy's favorite part of any park

The children enjoyed it very much and we had it all to ourselves, presumably because no one knows about it. Hopefully it will stay that way unless some idiot starts blogging about how great it is. We will probably go back again in the future.

Reading is Fun for Everyone

Today, Jacob and Lucy decided to read books in her room. Or should I say read a book in her room. Pat the Bunnywas their selection. Conveniently we have two copies of the book and two rocking chairs next to each other:

We love to read and pose for cute photos

At one point, Lucy discovered that they were both reading the same book:

Hey, I hope he doesn't give away the ending!

Alas, she wasn't too happy about this and decided to take it out on the book:

Too bad she didn't realize Jacob had moved on to another book

Is this another sign of competition among them? I hope it leads to more reading, not less.

Snack Attack!

Jacob's post-dinner snack was the last of the zucchini muffins. He loves them, surely not realizing the main ingredient is a vegetable. A green one, no less. They are tasty and the green is barely visible. Much more visible are the raisins, a food that is a delight to every child.

He was down to his last chunk of muffin, so I asked if I could have a bite. I leaned over with my mouth open. He passed the chunk in front of me and put it straight into his mouth. He laughed through a full mouth. I put my head down in mock sorrow. He patted my head in sympathy. Looking up, I asked him, "Did you get any muffin in my hair?" Jacob replied, "No, I didn't get muffin in your hair." "Oh, my hair is clean, then." Jacob's response was, "No, I got crumbs in your hair!" We all had a good laugh at that.

We may have to bring Lucy to the next craft...

Has jealousy reared its ugly head in our home?

Two weeks ago, Jacob made a craft at the library's pajama time. The theme was reptiles and the craft was making a snake. Snake making turns out to be quite easy, following these four simple steps:

1. Take a colored paper plate.
2. Cut it in a spiral. 
3. Paste on two yellow circles for eyes.
4. Paste on some red yarn for the tongue. 

The helpful librarians completed the first two steps for Jacob. All he needed was a little glue and the gumption (and help from Mommy). He brought the snake home, as proud as could be.

The next day, Lucy got a hold if it and tore him limb from limb. At least it would have been limb from limb if snakes had any limbs. Here's a reconstruction of Snakey, post-Lucy:

Okay, maybe treading on me wouldn't have been so bad.

Try as I might, I could not put Snakey back together again. It's just as well, since we probably would have a strict "No Reptiles" policy in the house if we thought about it.

Tonight, pajama time was craftless. Jacob still managed to come home with something, though. He habitually checks the vending machine slots at the library. My impression is that he thinks they are buttons needing pushing. Today, he found two cents:

Watch this magic trick!

Jacob's will probably ask to go to the mall tomorrow so he can throw the pennies into a fountain. Surely that's a better fate than what Lucy might have in store.

Cry Room Chronicles XI

This week we were back on schedule, walking in three minutes before the beginning of 8 a.m. Mass at St. Louis. In the children's chapel we discovered our old friends James and Colin with their parents (the mom is still pregnant). We said our hellos before the Mass started. Colin even said Lucy's name!

James is on a new program where he is following along the parts of the Mass, giving responses and standing or sitting at the appropriate times. It gives me hope for Jacob. Colin was carrying around a blanket with his hand up by his shoulder. His mother took this as a "ready to strike" stance and was very watchful when he was around Lucy and Jacob. Jacob and he had a lot of near interactions. Colin was generally peaceful. So much so that he even gave the sign of peace early to everyone in the room. Jacob did his usual wandering around the room and reading out loud from any book he could find. He asked to go see the violins, not realizing that we weren't at the 9:30 Mass.

We did go upstairs a little early for communion. I gave Jacob a nickel for the poor box. He just wandered around with it. Putting coins in the poor box has lost its appeal for Jacob but has gained appeal for Lucy. She took a couple of coins from me. Not able to reach it on her own, I had to hold her over the box while she put some spare change in. At least one of us is financially supporting the church.

After Mass we went to the playground where we caught up with Timmy and his parents Kim and Luke. We hadn't seen them since August. There wasn't much news to report. We were all bummed about the canceled pool party in the neighborhood (you know, the one I didn't write a blog about because it didn't happen). Other than that, the summer has been quiet. Then we headed home for special muffins (Jacob and Lucy still don't know that the green vegetable zucchini is the key ingredient) and some fun outside.

The sermon was a bit of a blur since we were trying to convince Jacob he needed his diaper changed. He countered with his need to read more books. Finally, we gave him two minutes to read and then he'd get the diaper change. Lucy didn't want me to leave the room so Angie wound up with diaper duty. Heaven help whoever went into that bathroom after us! Anyway, the gospel had the famous line, "every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 14:11ish) I do remember the priest talking about how we need patience and understanding, especially in situations that we can't control and feel are extremely annoying and inconvenient, like a delayed or canceled flight at the airport or being stuck in a grocery line behind very chatty and seemingly slow checkout attendants. That touched me because I have felt umbrage at the grocery store checkout before. I hope to mend my ways in the future.

Cry Room Chronicles X

For the past three Sundays (since the last Cry Room Chronicle), we've varied up the Sunday worship routine.

Back on August 8, we were up in Boston for the Catholic New Media Celebration. Boston is also the home of Leslie, maid of honor at our wedding four years ago. Sunday morning we joined her at Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a very beautiful church near Boston College. Lots of wood carving, good stained glass, etc. adorn this church. The vestibule is separated off from the rest of the church by wooden doors that were open throughout the service. When the inevitable came and Jacob had to wander around, we could still hear the Mass. I'm sure people inside could have heard us but Jacob is getting better at whispering in church. On the other hand, Lucy started practicing her vowels, at first whispering, "Eee ahh, eee ahh." She slowly gained confidence and increased her volume slightly each time. Angie had a hard time deciding when to take her out. We wound up drifting in and out during Mass, mentally and physically. In spite of the kids' shenanigans, we had a good time at church and seeing Leslie.

Last week (August 15) we went to the Saturday vigil at 4 p.m. at St. Louis. The children woke up early from their naps and we had Sunday morning plans, so it seemed like a good plan. Uncle Brian (godfather to Lucy) was a lector for the second reading. When Jacob heard him talking through the TV, Angie asked who it was. Jacob shouted, "Uncle Brian!" and smiled. After Mass we got to see Brian and Teresa along with friends Kevin and Amanda, who happened to be volunteers at the blood drive I went to that day. Sunday morning plans were a bust since the kids were a little under the weather the next day.

Today (August 22) we again did not go to the usual 8 a.m. Mass. Lucy slept until about 7:30, which made it extremely tight to get her fed and to church. As a result, we decided to attend 9:30 Mass. Thinking we had plenty of time, we dawdled at the house and wound up late getting to Mass. Another dad (or maybe grandpa?) was in the children's chapel with a boy and a girl. Later, a mom and dad arrived with a boy who seemed just a little younger than Jacob. He and Jacob did a lot of wandering around the room. Occasionally they'd be interested in the same item, but luckily parents were there to defuse the situation before it became critical. Also Jacob pretended to push buttons on the ethernet outlet in the room. The outlet cover had no buttons; this did not deter Jacob. He was so distracted he almost missed his chance to put money in the collection basket. Jacob hardly ever gets to do that at 8 a.m. Mass because the usher doesn't come through the children's chapel. He clued in just as the usher was leaving. I handed Jacob a dollar and he stopped the usher just before he left. Jacob gave his usual fist-clenching bow of excitement after his success. After communion, we stayed upstairs so Jacob could watch the musicians and choir. He truly was in awe.

Hopefully next week we'll be back to the regular Mass time, but you never know what will happen.

Jacob's favorite part of the trip

Tonight at dinner, we asked Jacob what was his favorite part of our trip to see Uncle John and go to the CNMC and visit Leslie in Boston this past weekend. He concentrated on Uncle John's house: "I liked cutting fruit, playing piano, going downstairs to the basement." Uncle John has a basket of plastic fruit in his living room which Jacob would pretend to cut up and feed to all of us. John also has a piano which Jacob tried to play, with halfway decent results for a two-and-a-half year old with no training at all.

I take requests! (and tips)

 And the basement is home to the big movie screen. We watched the beginning of many fun movies with Jacob. It's not that he fell asleep while watching but his attention span needs to grow longer. During the trip, we watched the beginnings of Finding Nemo and The Lion King many times. Someday, we'll make it to the end of one or the other, I'm sure.

On a side note, visiting Leslie was lots of fun and I had a lot of new inspirations and encouragements at the Catholic New Media Celebration.

Crafts at the Library

Jacob has wholeheartedly embraced making crafts at the library. Tuesday night he went with Mommy to Pajama Time at the Savage branch. This week's program included an ocean theme and a craft. Consider the result, dubbed "Jellyfish #1" by the artist's wily PR department:

It's a fine piece of work if you ask me, not even considering the two and a half year old nature of the artist. Consider the undulations of the tentacles and how the eyes follow you where ever you go in the room. The masterwork has already found its place on the highest shrine of pre-school art, the refrigerator. Jacob was quite enthused about the results as well:

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever--J. Keats

On Thursday, Jacob went with Daddy to Pajama Time, again at Savage library with the ocean theme and craft included. Here is his second effort, captured from the artist's own perspective:

The highchair may not have had the best angle

Lacking inspiration from his Oahu t-shirt and the guiding hand of Mommy, this work is considered less accomplished and thus is named "Jellyfish #2." Notice the muted colors in the tentacles and how the eyes follow each other. Nevertheless, he swims with his older brother on the refrigerator.

The time has come, I suppose, to expand Jacob's craft experiences beyond the library and onto other venues. Lowe's and Trader Joe's awaits. Recommendations are welcome.

Fun at and after play date

This week's play date was a big one for Lucy, even though it is Jacob's play group. She showed off her walking skills both outside on the grass (why did I forget to bring shoes for her!!) and inside on the hard wood floors. She also got to ride on the big kids' swing and down the slide (both with daddy constantly holding on to her). Jacob was rather aloof, hanging out by the rocks or watching from a distance. He became more enthusiastic when we went inside.

Inside plenty of toys waited for us to enjoy them. Lucy and Jacob loved Caroline's play kitchen. Jacob even microwaved a cucumber for me. I pretended to enjoy eating it. What will happen when he starts cooking for real at home!?! Lucy dropped a lot of the dishes on the floor. Chloe was quick to pick them up. Lucy also climbed up to the top of a toddler picnic table, presumably to get to the dishes Chloe had stacked there.

The real action was afterward during lunch at Pasta Blitz. I ordered a couple of slices of pizza and a lemonade. I brought some lunch for Lucy: Gerber peas, Cheerios and a banana. I cut up some pizza for Jacob and offered Lucy a piece. She loved it. I could barely get any spoonfuls of peas in her and not one Cheerios. All she wanted was cheese pizza. Jacob was too busy looking out the window to focus on eating. Lucy might have eaten more pizza than Jacob did. Jacob finally ate the banana along with a lot of my lemonade. Lucy totally amazed me. It may be time to give up the Gerber.

The Longest Drive Ever!

Now that enough time has passed, I can talk about our morning excursion last Wednesday. The original plan was to go to the Savage Library and then on to Annapolis to hang out at the mall there, go to the comic shop and buy some groceries (Lucy and Jacob go through milk faster than light through a vacuum). Jacob had a completely different agenda in mind.

Jacob spent the morning begging, whining and flat out stating that we were going to the "Millis Mall," which translates to Arundel Mills Mall. This continued through breakfast and snack time. Eventually, he started throwing toys to make his point. I told him after the second toy that he'd get a time out if he threw another. He picked up another toy. He smiled. He threw it. Then he said he wanted time out in mommy and daddy's room. He was pretty smug about it, too. So I put him in his own room. Then he really pitched a fit about being in the wrong room. Lucy and I hung out for the two minutes then released him from his prison. Now he was upset and we were running late for running errands.

So I decided to concede and draft a new plan: we could go to the Elkridge Library and the Mills Mall. So we loaded up in the van and headed out. After about 10 minutes of driving, Jacob fell asleep! At 10 in the morning! Quite annoying, so I decided we would just drop the books that were due in the outside box. Not having been to the Elkridge branch before, I drove past it and had to turn around. So it eventually worked out. Then I saw a Shell gas station, which is offering a gas discount with a grocery store frequent shopper card. The card didn't work, so I had to pay full price. After that, I told Lucy we would head home and put Jacob in his bed.

Driving back down I-95, a truck with a smoking engine was pulled over on the curb. Everyone in front of me had hit their brakes to slow down and look, so I had to hit the brakes too. I braked hard enough to wake up Jacob 5 minutes from home. He started crying and demanding the mall again, so we turned the car around yet again and headed back north to the mall.

We finally got there and followed our usual routine. We visited the coin-operated ride-on machines, riding them without coining them. Lucy rode on some of them for the first time. Then we walked over to the book store and hung out in the kid's section, which features a Thomas train table. On our way back to the car, we looked at the waterfalls and the fish tank in Bass Pro Shop. Jacob was finally satisfied and we headed home for lunch.

Lucy was very patient through the whole affair and got to eat a quarter of a slice of bread with her lunch as a special treat. Jacob had his usual peanut butter sandwich with fruit on the side. I was worried that nap time would be delayed since Jacob slept in the car, but everything went normally.

Changing plans constantly was a challenge. I'm glad I rose to the occasion, but I hope the occasion does not arise again.