Highlights from this week (Susan's version of "Bobby's Sunday Summary")

It's 8:00pm, and Bobby is already asleep in bed. It was an interesting first Sunday as bishop: the sound system in the chapel wasn't working, the bread for the sacrament did not arrive until halfway through the meeting, and the first speaker was too ill to come to church today (luckily, her husband volunteered to pinch hit for her last-minute). The new calling hasn't demanded too much extra time yet, but it's certainly weighing on him/me/us as we figure out this new groove. I'm stepping in for the moment to give a brief summary of the week...

The kids are "in bed", but I hear Alice singing "The Star Spangled Banner" over and over and over again. Her music teacher introduced it to them this week as part of the 200th anniversary of the lyrics' writing. She's been kinda obsessed with it ever since.

Alice's school had "Invite a Friend to Lunch" day and she invited our other next door neighbor Diane P. to come along. Robert has high hopes Alice will invite him next time. I wonder if I could send him unaccompanied...hmmmmm.

Alice wanted to sell her own handcrafted coloring pages door-to-door this week, but I convinced her to start with people we know who might have an actual need for coloring pages. She got our backdoor neighbors to commission a 4-page coloring book for their grandson and she earned a dollar for her labors!

Robert and I took some flowers and tomatoes to our neighbor this afternoon. He apologized for stealing tomatoes from her garden and said he wouldn't do it again. I think the most uncomfortable part of this whole thing was confessing his crime to Diane. One of his extra chores was helping me build up the back corner of the fence so it would be less hoppable in the future. As we worked, we chatted about future scenarios and how he might respond differently if something like this ever came up again. He was cheerful and creative about this problem and suggested we move the large chicken crate away from the fence so people wouldn't be tempted to use it as a fence-hopping stool. Done! Thanks for the suggestion, Buddy!

We had a neighborhood picnic/potluck this evening. Robert ate two plates of potato chips, two hamburger buns with shredded cheese, three cucumber spears, a handful of grapes, three cups of soda/lemonade, and a slice of key lime pie. He's in the bathroom with a stomachache right now. He also got a huge mosquito bite on his forehead that swelled up instantly.

At the picnic, James just kept grinning and pointing at his cup, "O-duh, o-duh." Yes, James, that bubbly drink is called "soda." So glad you like it.

James' vocabulary has recently changed, dropping some of the baby words I adored. For example, Robert is no longer just "Apu". Now he is "Waw-doht" and sometimes "Buddy." James calls Bobby "Dad" more often than "Daddy" now. Water isn't always "bah-bah", sometimes it's actually "wah-duh." And he calls birds "boe-dies" more often than "caw-caws" these days. Sigh. At least his "yes" is still thoroughly a "yeth."

Bobby's work continues to crank up. It's all good stuff, but a lot of responsibility. More meetings. More trips to Chicago. More user group appearances. We both feel like we've been thrust into real adulthood all at once. Out from the sidelines, into the game.

For me, the third trimester "uncomfies" are in full swing (32 weeks along tomorrow!). It's a struggle to sleep through the night and put on my own socks. I feel gigantic. My bellybutton is sore. My pelvis has just started going loosey-goosey on me in a sore and bruisy sort of way. I'm lacking energy and drive. Every day when I wake up, this same tiny conversation pops into my head: "Yikes! Another day in the third trimester." "If I had the baby today, he would probably be X big and be in the NICU for Y amount of time." "Hmm. Best hang on to him a bit longer."

As if I had ANY control in the matter.

Peek-A-Boo is an active little fellow...limbs sliding and spine arching and all kinds of twisty wrestling going on in there. When I wake up in the middle of the night, his antics can keep me just awake enough to hear James' periodic, quiet "sleep shrieks" in the room next door. James has been working on his first 2-year-molar this week...yippee! Once these puppies grow in, he's done with teething FOREVER!

Robert and Alice got their first taste of real Legos today. We've only allowed Duplo up to this point (for several unimportant reasons, mostly cost and mess). They weren't so hot at following the building instructions, but once the cars were made, they easily disassembled them and rearranged all the parts into cool new cars. This might work out after all!

Now it's my bedtime. Gotta get kids off to school tomorrow.