Today went well. Deedee insisted on going through three pairs of tights before finally settled on a wild pair of pink & brown camo. As I was attempting to put put her shoes on, I realized that they were getting too small on her. They're vintage and while the length itself is still perfectly good they're getting too narrow. I wound digging out a pair that Charles barely wore, they still look brand new, but they're a bit big on her, at least two sizes too big. I'll have to see about getting her something else but it's what we had. James looked very nice today. He chose a western style gray shirt with black piping, and black pearl snaps with his new ruby red socks and his cowboy boots. He also insisted on wearing the new winter vest that Grandma Sue bought him, as did Charles. Both of the boys are quite enamored of those vests.

James was 10 minutes late to his first therapist this morning which in the end turned out alright since she wasn't sure to expect us today or not. I had to cancel last week because Mister James wasn't back in town yet. This was the first time he'd ever met her and he did very well. It didn't take her long at all to pull him out of his shell and have him sitting at the table talking to her. He did surprise both of us though. I knew he was mechanically inclined, but I didn't realize just how smart he was in that area. There was a small wind up toy, the type that usually comes in a happy meal, that she wound too tight and it wouldn't work anymore. James picked it up, rooted around on the desk until he found a paper clip, slipped it down in against the little gear shaft and fixed it! The therapist wound it too tight again on purpose to try it herself and she was able to get it as well. The point though is that neither of us would have thought of that and the toy most likely would have been thrown away. I'm very proud of my little one. Now, to encourage that gift will be the real challenge.

We had some time between his appointments, so we stopped in for some milk since it was on the way and it's always easier to go shopping with less than four children. He also picked out some yogurt smoothies to share with his siblings; he'd behaved so well that I thought he deserved a nice treat. On our way out, he also got a ride in the little kiddy car. He said it was boring, LOL. I had meant to stop in to say hi to friend who's been ill this week, but there was less time than I thought so instead we went straight to his second appointment. We were right on time and he'd just dumped a small Pooh puzzle to work on when Kathy came out for him. We put it back together before going to her office. It had been so long since she'd seen him that she didn't plan much. She just wanted to see where he was at. The read Hop on Pop and he had great fun with that. They also enacted The Three Little Pigs with a little set and he really got into that one. I also forget the wonderful imagination he has. I finally learned what had happened to her and why she was out for so long. Apparently, she was looking after a friends house and she got locked out on the patio. It had no stairs, and she finally decided that she would go over the side and try to drop down several feet to the ground. Unfortunately, she wound up fracturing a vertebrae. She's looking well though and she no longer has to wear a brace so I hope all goes well for her.

We got back to Carey's parents just in time to meet Papa Stu coming back from the park with the kidlets and Kitty was asleep in the stroller. We got them loaded and home with enough time eat, form the gingerbread baby to pop in the oven and then drop Charles and Deedee off with a neighbor so I could head out with James and Kitty for James' physical. The construction wasn't too bad on the way there, we were only stopped once for a few minutes and still arrived on time. He cooperated beautifully with the doc and his only upset was the chicken pox shot. He wasn't too happy with that one, but was placated at home with a small bowl of frozen yogurt. He weighs 42 pounds and is 46 inches tall. The doc had some small concern with James' fine motor skills, but that could be because James was getting tired and didn't want to play the "games" anymore. Then again, considering that that has also been mentioned on his IEP, perhaps there is a concern there. I was a bit annoyed that it took over 10 minutes just to get out of the parking lot, though. Bleh, if only that was the longest I had to wait, I would have been ecstatic in the end. It took me an hour to drive 8 miles! The construction had traffic backed up so far that I couldn't see the end either in front of me or behind me. Upon entering Moscow again, the oncoming traffic was backed up through almost two lights. Once, I was stopped in one spot for almost 20 minutes, with one of the Moscow's water towers just visible over the hill. It was quite sad that the bikers and runners on the bike trail to the right of the highway were moving faster than the traffic.

After dinner, we read The Gingerbread Boy from The Primer by Harriet Taylor Treadwell. I printed it out on cardstock and Carey read it to the kidlets. James especially got into it since he's the one that requested this whole thing. He refused to do the lessons I had set him. He wanted to read The Gingerbread Boy! So, instead of counting leaves and rocks and stuff, he did math in the kitchen by making his own giant gingerbread boy. We ate it after dinner with cool whip. The kids all thought it great fun.