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Caitlin - New StuffNOTE: This page tends to get long as I add more to it on a regular basis. Be sure to scroll down to see everything! This is where I'm adding new stuff for Caitlin. Check back often to see how much she's grown, what new skills she's learned, and how fast she learns how to get into trouble. :-)
Grandmom and Grandpop Rowand paid us a visit in August 2009 and Caitlin had fun helping Grandmom bake pancakes and then later, help us all do some cleanup work out in the yard.
Caitlin was asked to be a "junior bridesmaid" in my sister Jennifer's wedding in November 2009, and this was the test fitting of the dress before we packed up and left to fly back to NJ for the wedding. We think she was a very pretty junior bridesmaid, but Mom and Dad might be just a tad biased...
On the same extended trip back to my sister's wedding, we visited some old friends of mine, Roy and Kathy Wescher, in York, PA. They took us to a small county park named Nixon park (yes, named after that Nixon). It was very pretty and had lots of neat stuff, including a live, working, indoor beehive under plexiglass. The next to last picture is the entrance to the hive that extends through the building wall - it's the small pipe below the "streak" on the wall. We couldn't figure out what the streak was from, but it seemed bee-related. There was a small pond, and a fairly complete indoor exhibit of stuffed animals (aka, prepared by a taxidermist) set up in life-like displays with descriptive plaques on all of them. The land for the park was originally donated by Bob Hoffman who was quite famous in the weightlifting circles and who started York barbell.
While visiting with the Wescher's, they took a few pictures on their camera. The first was when we helped them get a fresh Christmas tree (what a hike!), the second when we visited Gettysburg (very cool!), and the third was at Nixon park (see above).
Preparing for Christmas 2009 at the Rowand's. Caitlin and Mommy decorated the tree this year, so it's very plain. At least Daddy thinks so. :-)
The 2009 Rowand Family Christmas tree, loaded with gifts.
Opening presents Christmas morning, 2009. This year Jon was home, so we had a lot more fun sharing the joy of Caitlin ripping into presents and shrieking with joy and thanking everyone for the gifts. The camera apparently had trouble focusing when the flash was off, so we had a choice between waiting for the flash to recharge and getting off-timing pictures, or getting darker out of focus pictures. Hmmm.
The Christmas feast of 2009, with Debbie belatedly getting into the second photo. It was as delicious as it looks. We used our china/crystal/good silverware for the first time in years, and this time Caitlin was old enough to use it too. She did very well with only a couple of "scary moments". The red tablecloth and red napkins were one of the gifts Caitlin got for Mommy this Christmas. Very pretty! The multi-color candles were made (yes, made) by Caitlin on our recent vacation to Williamsburg, VA. They had a small shop outside of town with all sorts of candles and related stuff, including an area for kids to make their own colored candles. It was nearly too aromatic for my sense of smell, but Caitlin enjoyed it, and we all enjoyed having them at Christmas dinner.
A few movies of Christmas morning 2009.
One of Caitlin's Christmas gifts was a new bike, to be purchased the day after Christmas so she could be there to make sure it fit her, but was still a surprise Christmas morning. We wrapped up a picture of a bike and gave it to her to unwrap Christmas morning. This is her riding it around for the first time. It has a small punch on the front with a battery powered (more batteries - yay...) speaker and amplifier that can be plugged into the headphone jack on a portable MP3 player. Now Caitlin has a boom-box on wheels.
Our son Jon was home for Christmas this year, and he brought his camera and took a bunch of pictures and some videos of Caitlin on Christmas day. Many thanks to him for taking them and sharing them with us so we could post them here.
Caitlin fell while running around at AWANA on Jan 13th and broke her arm. She wasn't horsing around, it was a relay race, and she just slipped and fell exactly wrong. Fortunately it was a non-displaced break and was not horribly painful, though it's the worst she's ever experienced, so she didn't like it too much. Here's Caitlin in her splint and sling after visiting the ER.
Here's Caitlin in her spiffy new glow-in-the-dark fiberglass cast.
For the medically astute and just curious, here's the x-rays. Can you spot the break? It's in the humerus, specifically the medial epicondyle. Fortunately, there was no nerve damage. There was some swelling initially, but it went down overnight.
Cast removal day at the doctor's office, waiting in the waiting room with Mom, Dad, and Grandmom Rowand.
Getting ready to remove the cast. What's the power tool?
It tickles!
What's this non-glow-in-the-dark flesh-colored thing?
Taking the final X-Rays to confirm all was well.
Here's the final X-Ray's. The break is healing nicely, so no more cast. She still need to take it easy for another five weeks, though... The bright white new bone growth is clearly visible in the second one.
Caitlin's Keepers of the Home group met at our house and made miniature dollhouses out of shoeboxes and household scraps. Some of them were pretty cool.
Caitlin drew a picture of herself and named it "Flat Caitlin" for a school project and asked Grandmom Rowand to get pictures with it all over the place, and back in NJ as well.
Doing schoolwork out on the deck on a particularly nice February day. The nicely freshly cleaned deck that Daddy worked so hard on... :-)
We went to a "Homeschooler's day at the State Capitol" event to show our legislators that we're real people who do just fine without government oversight. We heard some lectures on current bills, had some of the state legislators talk to us, and learned a lot about our state government. Some of the pictures were shot by Caitlin on our camera. She's getting better, but still needs to learn how to properly compose a good picture. The capitol grounds were very impressive; we all learned a lot on the tour. The monuments out in the grounds in front of the main capitol buildings were very informative.
Daddy got a new lawnmower, and Caitlin wanted to see what mowing the lawn was like. So, we let her take a pass up and back with it. Since it's self-propelled, she did alright. Still not quite tall enough to mow the lawn; maybe next year. Daddy will like that. :-)
Caitlin did a report for one of her classes at co-op school, specifically on learning about the US. She created a drawing of herself, named it "Flat Caitlin", and asked Grandmom and Grandpop Rowand to take it around NJ and take pictures with it. Caitlin used those details and pictures to learn about NJ and give her report. Daddy even took part of the day off work to help her give the report - he got to run the laser pointer and help carry and set up the boards. Caitlin did an awesome job! This was her first time to stand up in front of a group and give an extended talk on something. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring the camera to school so we got no pictures or video of the actual presentation, so these pictures of the boards and Caitlin at home afterwards, and a short video thanking Grandmom and Grandpop Rowand will have to do.
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Comments? Kudos? Got some parts you'd like to buy/sell/barter/swap? Nasty comments about my web page so far? You can email Mike or Debbie. Pretty much everything on this website is copyrighted, if you want to use something, ask first.
Page last updated 04/26/2010 08:01:52 PM |
