Today was the Rodeo Mutton Busting Orientation meeting for Mommy and Dad and me.  There were 275 children and their parents at the meeting.  I think they had applications from 2500 children.  Selecting the children for the main arena is partially done by lottery.  In my case, it was thanks to Aunt Jill.

I was well behaved, of course.  All the kids had on western wear.  Our pictures was taken.  They asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up.  I said I wanted to be on a SWAT Team.  We were able to get tickets for Mimz, Grandma, Andy, Kristan, and Barbara.  Tickets were $18.  Mommy and Daddy get in free!    The night I perform there might be around 20 kid mutton busters.  There will be clowns right beside the sheep and as soon as we fall, the clown will pick us up.  We wear helmets and other protective gear.  As soon as I am picked up, I am to start waving.  A DVD will be taken of my ride and my parents bought two of them.  And there will be a professional photographer taking pictures also.

After the meeting we ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant.  I had enchiladas.

Mimz shared more interesting information about Aunt Jill and Uncle Scott and their participation in the rodeo.  She wrote this:
       "Aunt Jill and Uncle Scott are volunteers, all the people who run the rodeo are.  Jill has been a volunteer there for about 20 years on the Steer Committee.  She finds people or businesses to buy the steers that do not make the auction. They try to make sure the kids get enough money to cover the expense of raising the steer.  She and Scott are both on the International Committee and are host to the people in from all over the world.  It is a fun job but they are required to put in a certain number of hours each week. Rodeo is a big deal in Houston. Jill knows so many people from her many years in Rodeo so she was able to make a call and get Mason in.
       Within each committee there are different levels of "management" so to speak, there are hundreds of committees and thousands of volunteers.
        All proceeds go to student scholarships. It is a huge deal for kids."

The rodeo web site is:   rodeohouston.com 

Thank you, Mimz, for that information.

Mimz went to Kingwood to make her first hike with The Woodlands Hiking Club.  In this picture Mimz is fifth from the left in the purple jacket.  The hike was a little more than five miles in a beautiful wooded area around Lake Houston.  She has been hiking around the lake in her neighborhood park while listening to audiobooks in preparation for this. Mimz did not know anyone when she arrived.  She said everyone was so nice and she is going to enjoy this new group of friends.

Friday January 30, 2015
It was a normal school morning.  After Barbara met Kristan to get Anna Kate and took her to her home so GGM could care for her, she came to my house, to take me to school.   On the drive we talked about the sun and the moon, and astronauts, and that Daddy has met at least two astronauts.  I want to be an astronaut, so Barbara told me the first step was to learn to read, and be observant and interested in everything.

We had a fire drill at school.  I wouldn't share any other details about my day.  Some days I just don't want to share my day.

When we arrived home after school, Anna Kate was in her stroller.  She has been fussy, so GGM had taken her for a walk.  Barbara and I took her for another walk.  This time I did walk, instead of riding my bike.

I am pretty comfortable sitting in the little chair of Anna Kate's while watching TV.  Actually it was my chair when I was a baby.

Anna Kate loves to watch Handy Manny, because of the bright colors, the music, and the talking the tools do.  Her three favorite things are: being outside, me, and the Handy Manny cartoon.  It would be hard to rank them one, two, and three.

Barbara and I played our old favorite game of Fireman, while Anna Kate took a nap.  We play it on her bed, with a bunch of stuffed animals.  It is a silly game but I love the acting/pretending.  I do a great job pretending to be injured.  Barbara does a really funny cry.

We took Anna Kate outside to watch Barbara and me play baseball.  I totally wear Barbara out, hitting the ball so far and she has to run/walk to get it.  Then she has to come chase me around the bases.  I wait to start running until she has brought the ball back into the in-field.    I almost always make a home run.

Uncle Brad had company, but as soon as they were gone he came over to see if I had time to go on a bike ride.  Well Duh!  I was on my bike, helmet on, before Brad made it back across the street to get his bike.  We rode for about 20 minutes.  Just a few minutes after we got home my mom arrived and I thanked Brad and I was leaving a tired Great Grandmother and Barbara.

   

I woke up at 7:17a at Mimz and I crawled into bed with her to finish sleeping for awhile longer.  I am her favorite little boy.

We had a picnic at school today.  Mimz let me buy my lunch at school so I had dinosaur chicken nuggets eating on a blanket on the school play ground.  Oh, what fun.

Barbara picked me up and she brought me a container of apple juice.  I recognize the container... it was a chocolate milk container from old McDonald's with the outside label removed.  Barbara likes it because it has a lid and fits nicely into the cup holder of my car seat and it holds just the right amount of juice for the trip home.  We talked about police, sheriffs, and constables.  She doesn't know the difference and she doesn't know what kind of guns they carry.  She doesn't know the answer to a lot of questions I ask.

Anna Kate was awake when I got home so we took her for a stroller ride.  She loves being outdoors and the weather was perfect.  When we got home from our walk, we all watched Barbara clean out the waterfall.... I guess that means it is almost time for PaPa to get home from Nigeria.... He gets home this coming Wednesday.

 I was the look-out, watching for bad guys.

 I didn't get wet helping clean the waterfall, because I stayed up high in the bush.

AK was getting fussy, so we moved to the garage, while Barbara put away the wet-vac she uses to clean the waterfall.  AK likes sitting up like a big girl.


While Anna Kate took a nap, Barbara and I played with Play Dough for over an hour.  When I was three- and four-years-old we used to play with it almost every day, but we play with it less since we built Car Town.  We made several different animals, and a pizza for GGM, and used a press to make many different kinds of rope.

I had a bad spell that lasted about five minutes.  One day I will learn it is more fun to behave properly than to be in trouble.

Anna Kate got to participate in her first orange peel fight.  Really she didn't play but we did put a piece of orange peel on her head so she could think she was playing.  When her mom arrived she had the orange peel on her head.  It made Kristan laugh to see her baby girl like that.  We did tell Kristan that orange peels are the only food we throw.   A funny thing: GGM was cleaning the top of the refrigerator when she found a piece of old dried up orange peel.  She saved it to show me and of course I knew what it was.    

When Daddy arrived to pick me up, I had a handful of orange peel that I threw on him.  He thinks we are pretty funny.

Mimz took Daddy, Mommy, and me to eat at a steakhouse.  Yummy.

****BIG NEWS BELOW****

I woke up at Mimz and an usual thing happened as we just about ready to go out to the car heading to school.  We heard a loud rat a tat tat coming from outside. We both stopped to listen and it continued really loud.  I was a little scared. Mimz told me she thought it was a woodpecker and we should check outside. We headed out the front door with me firmly holding Mimz hand and we heard the sound even louder and Mimz began to think it couldn't be a woodpecker so we peeked around into the front yard. By this time I was holding on real tight and Miz had to sort of drag me with her.  We saw the woodpecker fly off the gutter and onto the big pine on side of front yard. I got a good look and could easily see his red head, then his wife joined him on the tree. They were just a few feet off the ground so easy to see, we watched until they flew across the street. Mimz has heard them peck on the gutters before but this time it sounded like a jackhammer.  Mystery solved, we could then head off to school.

We went to the park after school and I always have a good time when we go there.  The park is only two blocks from my school.

While I was at school, GGF, Anna Kate, and Barbara went for a stroller ride.  We plan to take Anna Kate for a walk every day when the weather is nice because she does love being outside.


Mimz and Barbara were talking about Sally Ride the astronaut, when Mimz told her that my dad, Uncle Scott, Pops, and Mimz had all met Sally Ride.  They went to Florida for a shuttle launch on July 17, 1985.  They went because they knew another astronaut, John Fabian, who is the nephew of Mimz' aunt by marriage.   How exciting!  Maybe I will be an astronaut, you never know!

We got some BIG NEWS today!  It involves the Rodeo and me and mutton busting!  Aunt Jill and Uncle Scott do a lot of volunteer work with the rodeo.  Aunt Jill has some pull and got me into the main arena of the rodeo to be a mutton buster!  Here is the letter we received:

Subject: RODEOHOUSTON® Mutton Bustin’  Orientation Reminder

Good afternoon,

Just a quick reminder that Mason Watson has been selected to participate in the RodeoHouston® Mutton Bustin’ event on 3/10/2015.  There will be a mandatory orientation session for all Mutton Bustin’ participants and their guardian(s) on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at NRG Center in the 600 Series rooms. 

The orientation will include details about the event, procedures, timelines, and a Q&A session.  You will have an opportunity to complete required paperwork, and to order tickets, DVDs, shirts, etc.  Also, your child’s photograph will be taken for promotional purposes which can include, but are not limited to, use in NRG Stadium, the HLSR website, and press releases.  Be sure to dress your Mutton Buster in his/her favorite Western attire!

You must bring a copy of your child’s birth certificate to the orientation so their age can be verified.  The birth certificate copy will remain in HLSR files and will not be returned to you.  In addition, participants will be weighed to verify they meet the weight requirements.

 

Enter the grounds at the McNee entrance off of Kirby Drive.  Please let the security guard know that you are attending a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo meeting, and they will tell you where to park.  The meeting rooms are located on the 2^nd floor of NRG Center.  

------------------

How exciting for me and my adults!  I can't weigh more than 55 pounds... I weigh 43 pounds, so I met the weight requirement.

I have never been on a sheep's back, but I will get to practice in one of the little tents before the main event.  Daddy is going get down on his hands and knees to pretend to be a sheep so I can practice riding.  Mommy has been "my sheep" several times.  I think I can do this.

There are two venues for mutton busting.  The main arena, where the Rodeo is held, and little tents.  Most kid mutton busters preform in the little tents.  Thanks to Aunt Jill, I get to preform in the main arena.  The celebrate performer that evening is TIM McGRAW, who pulls in the largest crowds, so there will a huge bunch of people there to watch him and ... me. Mommy thinks it might be 85, 000 people, but we need to check that number out.  The mutton busting takes place after the rodeo and before the entertainment, while they are setting up the stage. 

It was a very different morning.  Mommy needed to go into work early, so after Barbara got Anna Kate from Kristan at the Denney's restaurant, she stopped at my house to get me.  She took us both back to her house, where I ate oatmeal, brushed my teeth, and took my eye drops all with no complaint.

The other different thing: I packed my own lunch.  I filled a snack bag with two chocolate chip cookies and a sandwich bag with 6 chicken nuggets.  Then I wrote my name on a small brown sack.  Barbara tossed me the two little bags which I put into the bag.  Then she tossed me a bag of jucies. I caught them and put them in my brown bag.  I put that into my backpack.  We made it a fun activity.

Anna Kate woke up just a few minutes before I had to leave for school.  She sure likes me.  If she were older she would probably cry when I left for school because she would want to go with me.

We have seen a picture of a shoe print made by an astronaut in 1969.  It will be there for a million years because there is no wind on the moon to blow it away.  More people watched the Apollo 11 moon landing than any other show on TV.

At school we have a new station called Rockets.   We fly to the moon.



















I told Barbara all my classmates cry sometimes, except me.  Some cry often, some not too much, but I am the only one that never cries.  Barbara told me it is okay to cry, when you are hurt, or if you feel bad or sad.

 GGM, AK, and I watched Superman on TV. 

Anna Kate was having a hard day.  She didn't drink her bottles well and her naps were very short.  She needed a lot of attention but so did I.  So both GGM and Barbara were busy with us both all afternoon.

Barbara and I played Fireman on her bed and we colored and painted on my craft table.  We took Anna Kate for a walk around the neighborhood.  I rode my bike while GGM pushed AK in my stroller.  Barbara walked along side AK.  That was her happiest time of the day. I enjoyed it too.

For fun, I took a bath with GGM holding AK so she could watch me play. 

 Barbara blew great big soap bubbles using a bar soap to get her hands soapy.  I tried, but it will take more practice. 

I used my bathtub markers to mark on the side of the tub and mix the colors.   It was great fun and AK stared at me the entire time.  I guess she has never seen anyone play in the bathtub before.
I was a very good boy all day.  Daddy picked me up at 5pm but AK didn't leave until 6:30p so GGM and Barbara were all tuckered out so they both went to bed very early.

Daddy took me over to Mimz home and I helped him grill some food for dinner.  I spent the night at Mimz' home.
  

It was a routine morning.  Mommy took me to Mimz, Mimz took me to school and then to the park.

 I enjoyed playing with a bunch of kids. 

 Elijah, a classmate, was the only child I knew.  I easily play with children I don't know.

We met Barbara and GGF at Neal's Restaurant to make the transfer of their precious cargo (that was me).   On the trip home, they told me how this morning while driving to Sam's Club they saw a cement truck that had rolled off the road and down an embankment, about 20 feet down, and how they had oodles of trucks, police, men of all kinds, and a fire truck there to figure out how to handle the situation.   They said they had a long wait trying to get past the scene since traffic was down to one lane.

Anna Kate was asleep, so we came up with the quietest thing we could do.... reading.  It just so happened there was a stack of my old baby books nearby and on top was a book I recognized but didn't remember the story:  Are You My Mother?   Barbara read it as quickly as she could, but I still got bored with it, even though I did admit it was a cute story.   We played Car Town.  I played aliens invading the town, while Barbara drove a car to the farm to buy a watermelon.   She is not into aliens and I am not into watermelons.  But we still played nicely together.

 That little dickens!  Anna Kate managed to get off one of her socks!  Notice she is wearing one of my old bibs.  You can tell my bibs from her bibs.  Hers are all pink or girly, while mine are blue or boyish.

I guess the warm milk Anna Kate was drinking made her sleepy.  She fell asleep before she finished the bottle.  GGM was waiting for Barbara to come move the baby to her bed.

I had one bad attitude spell that lasted about five minutes.

 Barbara and I played soccer while we waited for Mommy to arrive.

 Barbara is improving, but she will never be as good at soccer as I am.

I played with Carson and the other neighborhood kids riding bikes and running around our circle.   I went to Carson's football practice and watched for about 45 minutes.  They were far away so I really didn't see much.  After a few minutes, I just ran around the on the sidelines.

In the evening Mom and I played on the iPad, watched TV and did our normal nighttime wrestling.

I was happy when Barbara arrived, eating breakfast, and brushing my teeth, but when it was time for me to get dressed, I was disagreeable.  I wasn't going to wear anything that was offered to me.  In the end I wore a short sleeved shirt (It was 45 degrees outside) and kept insisting that I was not going to wear my jacket to during recess.  When I was dressed, I turned back into sweet Mason.

Oh, I also didn't do well at letting Mommy put in my eye drops.  Last night they went in easily, but today, I was fighting, saying it burned, and in general was not being agreeable.  They think it was because Barbara was there and I had an audience, I was acting that way. 

On the drive to school, I said, "There is a police car.  It is not a sheriff, it is a constable."  It did say constable on the side of the car.  Barbara asked me how I knew this.  I said, "You told me that a long time ago."  How I remember things like that, really astonishes my adults. 

While in Walmart, Barbara said she thought a man was a fireman, (she thought this because his hat said Houston Fire.)  I couldn't see his hat, but I looked at him, and said, "He is.  I recognize his shoes."  Barbara thought, "Oh my.  I had never looked at a fireman's shoes.  That boy is something else." 

At Walmart we bought the ingredients for a Pay Day candy bar dessert and some spicy sausage.
I was going to help make the dessert.

Anna Kate was so happy to see me.  We think she knows I am little, like her.

Not enough room for us both!

I unwrapped the caramels, helped measured the Rice Chex cereal and the peanuts for the dessert.  When we got to taste it, we decided it was just so-so.  

We prefer eating plain caramels and plain peanuts.  The recipe was not a keeper.

We did play a little dodge ball, in the big TV room.  Anna Kate was in the room, but it is a big room and  GGM was protecting Anna Kate and we played on the other side of the room so Baby Girl was perfectly safe.

I played in Car Town by myself for a long time.  It gives Barbara and GGM a break, but oh what a mess I make.  I like to pretend a tornado has come through the town.

Barbara and I played in my kitchen.  We bought a few new pieces of food, so we can make a grilled cheese sandwich, a great hamburger with all the trimmings, pizza, and an ice cream cone.  GGM and Anna Kate came in to eat the food.  Oh, a funny thing:  I like to pretend to trip when I was bringing the food to GGM.  I am very good at falling without hurting myself.  I thought this was hilarious.  Barbara fired me after I did this several times.  She had to explain what being fired meant.

 I was the teacher reading about our Earth and showing the globe to the students, Anna Kate and GGM.

Anna Kate is teething.  She chews on her fingers.

I noticed Mr Brad was in his garage, and I ran like lightening down the stairs and outside, just to find out he was on his way to a doctor's appointment and would not be back until after I was gone.  Bummer.      

Mimz took me to my 10a appointment with Dr. Herce, the eye specialist.  My pink eye is gone.  I still have allergy problems.    I was perfectly behaved, letting the doctor put eye drops in my eyes.  My vision was even better since my eyes were not "sick."  I have very good vision.  I am to come back on April 23, at 10:20am for a follow-up appointment.

The doctor recommended these over the counter eye drops be used during allergy season, twice a day, one drop in each eye.  She said if we use these drops every day it should help prevent the redness from starting and we need to teach me to keep my hands clean especially if I have been outside where I can pick up allergens.   

I enjoyed a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch.  I had great behavior for Mimz these past two days.

Anna Kate was the centerpiece on the table when everyone was eating lunch.  They kept each other entertained. 

Barbara sent that picture to Mimz.  I was so excited to learn that I can play with her now.
I said, "I can be around her, touch her and hold her."  Around 3pm, Mimz took me to Barbara's where I was reunited with Baby Girl.  She was as happy to see me as I was to see her.  She smiles a lot now.

I gave Anna Kate two airplanes to play with.  She likes them.  She is starting to find her toes.

I happily played Car Town with GGM while Barbara attended to Anna Kate. 



   

I was mad when I arrived at Mimz home, so she just ignored me.  When I decided to act right, we started the day by going to the park. Mimz walked, while I rode my bike.  I was helping Mimz exercise.  We went 1.5 miles and it was a nice outing.  There were not children in the park, they were all in school.  (Not me... pink eye)

We ran errands, going to the Post Office, the bank, and Academy.  Mimz bought me some soccer cleats, which I start playing in February.  Last year, we had a hard time finding soccer shoes because they were sold out of my size.  She also bought me some new tennis shoes with Velcro closings instead of tie shoes.    We went to Walgreens to get some Refresh eye drops for my eyes.  Allergies often bother my eyes, especially my left eye.

After school the neighbor kids and I took turns launching a rocket. 

My eye is red again, probably from playing outside where there are lots of allergens.

I like sending "texts" to Mimz and Barbara.  They know it is from me when it looks like this: eksjtean34sdkaja  3kqjladkjfk!

Today was the last day we had to keep me away from Anna Kate because of my bout with pink eye.  GGM cared for Anna Kate almost single handed today from 7am to 5:45pm.  Fortunately, Anna Kate was on her best behavior.  No crying, no spitting up, just happy smiles and sleeping most of the day.  Grandma would have come to help, but the times she could come, Anna Kate was sleeping.  GGM said she managed just fine.

Barbara had me to care for most of the day at my home.  And I was a happy and funny boy all day, without a hint of bad attitude.  We started the day by leaving the house without brushing my teeth.  It took me a while to figure out that we would come back home after eating breakfast at Old McDonald's and then I would brush my teeth.  Barbara kept saying I didn't need to brush my teeth and that was a strange thing to hear her say.

We shared a big breakfast with hot cakes and chocolate milk.  We couldn't eat it all, but it sure was fun to eat out.  That makes about four times in my life that Barbara has taken me out for breakfast.  We then looked at all the bikes at Wal-Mart.  We think Barbara needs a 24 inch bike.  She will discuss this more with Grandma.  We looked at all of the toys, but I knew better than to ask for one because I knew the answer would be no.

I read a couple dozen signs like this: "Four dollars and 48 cents."  I learned about the dollar sign and also the cents sign.

Back home, I brushed my teeth, then we went to my toy room.  

We had picked everything up off the floor when Barbara thought to take a picture.  It was a big mess! I blame my friends, but I don't think Barbara finds that an acceptable excuse for my toys to be in such disarray.  We found a home for everything.

  I don't know why I can't or won't pick up my toys when I finish with them.  I have been shown that that is the way to keep your toys ready to be played with the next time. After about 30 minutes of work, we had my toys in order.  I need PaPa to hang up my dart board.

Sonja Wilson gave me the stand with baskets.  I have used that since I was a tiny baby.  It was a great gift.

That was hard work, but worth the effort.

Mimz reminded Barbara that I need eye drops put in my eyes.  Barbara had forgotten.  The first time I put them in I was a bit skittish but second time, I just took it like a big boy.


We watched an episode of Octonauts, and I played with some super hero action figures while Barbara watched a show about the Texas University wining the 2005 national football championship.

Next we colored two big pictures.  Barbara colored Spiderman.  She has no idea how Spiderman dresses!  I colored a scary bad guy.  Then we played some fun games on her iPad.

At 2pm we drove through the drive-through at Panda Express and bought Orange Chicken for GGF and us.  We drove to Barbara's home.  Anna Kate and GGM stayed upstairs all afternoon, while Barbara and I stayed outside or in the garage.  We knocked on Uncle Brad's doors, front and garage door, but he didn't answer.  I was hoping he was home and we could go on a bike ride.  It was a beautiful day.  I rode my bike,, we played soccer and baseball.  We made an obstacle course for me to steer my plasma car through.  I did it with no problem.  Barbara tried, and she hit the first obstacle and decided to quit.  We sat on the sofa in the garage (everyone should have a sofa in the garage) playing with the iPad for over an hour.  Around 5pm, GGM came downstairs with Anna Kate, who was fussy.  Barbara took Anna Kate, and GGM came out to play with me.

We started playing baseball. Barbara brought Anna Kate out to watch and she quit fussing immediately, loving watching me play ball.  Mommy arrived and she took over the pitching position.  I am a super hitter.  Oh, before Mommy arrived, my first hit was over a tall bush, and we never did find the ball.    It's like it just disappeared.  We should have been able to find it, but it was just gone.  We got another ball to play with.  We left right before Kristan arrived to get Anna Kate.  I like to be there when Kristan arrives because she likes to hear what I have to say about anything I want to talk about.

It was a very good day.  Barbara and I both love days that I am happy all day long. 

Today was a national holiday, Martin Luther King Day, so there was no school.  It was a beautiful day outside, so Mimz and I went to the park.  Mimz counted 23 children playing on the playground.

Hannah and her 3-year-old cousin were there, so I played with them some.  We played on the swings and the slide.  We played Hide and Seek, and Chase.  We played with the little cars I brought with me.

I was a good boy most of the day.

Around 3pm, Barbara and GGF drove over to Mimz.  Barbara had been waiting for a nice day to come over and TRY to ride Mimz bike.  It had been over fifty years since Barbara had ridden on a bicycle.  She was successful.  She rode down about five houses and back, then she did the same thing again.  She had to concentrate but Mimz says with a little practice it will be second nature.  Barbara has been thinking about buying a bike so she can ride around the neighborhood with me.

When Barbara told Mr Brad her plan, he sent her a picture of a bike she might conciser getting.... not that she is old or anything, but to be on the safe side.

 She is taking his suggestion seriously.  She is afraid of falling and breaking her arm or leg and she says she can't do that.  She can't run "an old folks home, a day care, and a baby nursery" with a broken bone.  Those are GGM's words, not Barbara's.


When I saw the picture of the trike, my first comment was, "Anna Kate can sit in the basket, she can go with us. !"

Mommy got off work a little early because today is a holiday.  She got home about the same time Barbara dropped me off at my home.   

Today was a big football game day.  I still wish Dallas Cowboys or the Bengals were playing, but they are out of the run for the Super Bowl.

In the evening Daddy took me over to Mimz home, so I could spend the night with her. 

This was a guys weekend.  
Before Daddy and I left for the grocery store, I wrote out a grocery list of things I wanted us to get. 
I enjoyed spending the day with my dad.
My eye keeps getting better.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Because I have pink eye, Mommy took the day off work to stay home with me.  We want to keep me away from Anna Kate because she is a tiny baby and we sure don't want her to catch it from me.

My eye is so much better.  It is still red around the eyelid and under my eye.  I didn't rub in at all.  We sort of wonder if I really have pink eye.  My symptoms don't quite fit the list for pink eye.  But the doctor I saw is an assistant professor of Ophthalmology at Baylor University.  She should know.   ???

I can't play with the neighbor kids and it was cold, so I stayed inside.  We watched TV and played on the iPad.  I was a good boy all day.

Around 4:45p Mommy dropped me off at Mimz.  She and Grandma were spending the evening scrapebooking.  Daddy and his roommate had to pick up a refrigerator, then Daddy came to get me. I was so ready to start my guys weekend, but I had to wait for Daddy to eat Mimz' leftovers and a PBJ sandwich.  We took some games from Mimz home for us to play.

I was well behaved for Mimz all evening too.

My eye patch came off during the night.  Mimz put another one back on for me.  I only needed the patch at night, so I don't rub my eye.

I slept late and my eye looked much better.  We still want me to see an eye specialist, to make sure I don't have an infection and make sure we treat my eye correctly.

I did not want Mimz to put in the eye drops because it burned some.  I have watched GGM put drops in GGF eyes often, so I know that it is not a bad thing normally.

I didn't go to school.  My appointment was not until 2:40p in Cy Fair which is about an hours drive from Mimz home.  So it may be a long afternoon in the car with a lot of traffic on the drive home.

Barbara worked it out so she could go to eye doctor with Mimz and me.  We invited her to come early and we went to our favorite Chinese food place right down the street from Mimz home.  She happily accepted.  Mimz ordered cashew  chicken and Barbara ordered orange chicken, because they both knew I like those foods and they both shared with me.  

 Dr Honey Herce works in Cy Fair, which is far away.   She checked my eyes thoroughly.  I could easily read the eye chart.  I am a little bit farsighted, but nothing that requires glasses.  The back of my eyes are healthy. 

 Oh, we did have a problem with putting in the eye drops.  I refused to let her put the second drop in my eye even with Mimz and Barbara trying to convince me.  The doctor brought in help, a nurse.  I then cooperated with out much resistance.  That is the first time in my life I did not do everything the doctor asked me to do.  I was afraid it would hurt.  It's called self-preservation.

Let me say this: my eye looks soooooo much better today than it did last night.  Dr. Herce could see the residual stretching and folds of tissue from the blister I had last night.  The conclusion:  I have pink eye or adenoviral conjunctitis or RAD (reactive airway disease).  All three of these are listed on my Summary.  Maybe they are all different names for the same thing.   I can not go to school for a week.  I must come back next Thursday for her to check my eye again and get a release so I can go back to school.  I haven't been told this yet, but I probably can not go to Brant's birthday party.  I will be devastated.

I could be in the same house with Anna Kate, but we want to error on the side of caution.  Mommy will take off work on Friday.  Mimz will take care of me on Monday.  Barbara will take care of me at my home on Tuesday and GGM will take care of AK and Grandma will come help her.  Wednesday Mimz will take care of me and Thursday Mimz will take me to the doctor to get my release to attend school.   Everyone pitches in to help take care of these two children. 

I fell asleep on the drive home.  When Barbara said we are home, I sort of woke up, climbed the stairs, and climbed onto her bed. 

I said I did not want the light on or the TV on.  I was asleep in just a few minutes.  I slept for at least two hours.  I started out with my feet off the bed and my knees at the edge.  I slide down a bit while I was sleeping.

I am to use artificial tears, like Refresh.  The MOST important thing is to wash my hand well and often.  And my adults must wash their hands well and often too.  They can get Pink Eye too.   I should not share towels, pillows cases, etc. 

My follow up appointment is January 22 at 10am.

I had a very good morning and really looked forward to going to school.  I read the temperature correctly (48) and the time (8:57).   I like numbers and am good at them.

 My eyes, especially my left eye, has been swollen and red for the past few days.  Mommy has been giving me some allergy medicine and it is looking better this morning.  We can't decide if we need to go to the doctor or not.  I rarely rub them, unless I am reminded that they are reacting to some allergen right now.

The plan was go get my hair cut after school, but when Mimz picked me up, I was crying saying I had changed my mind and I didn't want to get my hair cut.  Well, I finally realized it was going to happen no matter what I said.  I pouted a bit when Mimz put me in Miss Karen's chair.  She walked away and it wasn't long before I was chatting happily with Miss Karen and all was well.

I saw this elephant statue on the sidewalk next door to Miss Karen's salon and wanted to sit on it.  Mimz told me it wasn't ours but I could stand beside it and she would take my picture.

At Mimz home, I played in my room, as happy as could be.

I ate a good dinner and asked Mimz to play something with me.  She said sure, but first we had to pick up the toys in my room.  I choose to play with the toys in my room some more instead of cleaning up.  I bet before the night is over, I have to clean up my room.  

My eye was itching some after dinner.

My eye got worse.  Mimz noticed a blister on my eye.  It looked much worse than it does in this picture.  My iris looked like it was sunken in because the white part of my eye was so swollen.  Mimz, Mommy, and Daddy took me to the emergency room, where the doctor said it was not an allergy.  It could be infected and he wanted me to see an eye specialist tomorrow.  I had drops to put in my eyes ($170) and needed to wear an eye patch at night. 

The eye patch is to keep me from rubbing my eye while I am sleeping.  I did well at the emergency room, I am always a good patient, doing what the doctors and nurses tell me to do.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

I had another good day at school.  It was too cold to play outside, but we still got to have active play time.  I love the rough and tumble play time we have outside.

Driving home from school, I asked how long before Sunday, the day of Brant's birthday party.  Barbara said, "Oh several more days.  Today is Tuesday.  Then Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and then Sunday.  I immediately said, "That is five days."   Barbara was so surprised and impressed that I could count the days like that.  Later she asked me how I counted the days.  I told her I just guessed, but she thinks I really did count to come up with the correct answer. I impress her and my other adults with things like that all the time.

I was good all day.  While Anna Kate slept, Barbara and I played kitchen in my room, then GGM and I played with Legos.  We all played with a bowling set I have.

We went out to get the mail from the mailbox.  The mail was all for Dan next door.  Barbara and I walked to Mr Brad's mailbox, where we found all of our mail.  We knocked on Brad's door and told him.  He found some of his mail in the next mailbox.   It has been a long time since our mail lady has made that mistake.

I asked Brad if we could go for a bike ride.  Well, besides being too cold, Mommy was about to arrive.  Mr Brad said we would go riding before long.

Next GGF and I knocked on Dan's door, to give him his mail.  He checked his mailbox and it was empty.   Mommy drove up just as we returned home.   

Mommy took me to Mimz.  Mimz took me to school and she picked me up.

I really am a good boy most of the time, but today, I had a major meltdown over the Wii.  So the Wii was turned off.  It didn't take long before I was my normal sweet self.  Mimz and I watched TV together.

 This picture of Anna Kate is a bit blurry, but you can see her two front teeth.

She enjoys laying on my little jungle thing, but after five minutes or so she is ready to move onto something else.  When she can reach the toys she will play there longer.

Before I got home, Anna Kate sat in this little seat (it was mine when I was a tiny baby) for a full hour, just as happy as could be.  GGM, GGF, and Barbara were sitting in front of her and she would watch all of them watching her. 

AK has found her hands, she chews on her fingers much more than she sucks on them.  I guess she is teething a bit.

At 4pm we met Barbara and GGF at Neal's Restaurant for the transfer of me from one car to the other.  Mimz and I got there first.  I was standing with half my body sticking out of Mimz sun roof waving at them when they drove up.

I played race cars on the Wii but not for very long because it was getting late and I wanted to eat some of GGF's orange chicken before Mommy arrived.

I was sitting on the floor with a tray eating cereal, orange chicken, rice, and milk when Kristan arrived to get her baby.  I told her how Anna Kate just sits and watches me all afternoon.  GGM and Barbara tell Anna Kate that she can't play with me now, but in a year or so, she can be right in the big middle of my play.  They know I will be kind to her when she wants to play with me.   They told me how kind Mommy was with both Andy and Bridget when they were toddlers and wanted to play with her.

 A party favor from John John's party was Spider Web stuff or Silly String.

 I used it all up.

This was the last of my Silly String.  I can have lots of fun with little things like that. Notice how red the area around my left eye is.  That is the allergic reaction I sometimes have.  We don't know what exactly I am allergic too.  

I was happy to go home with Mommy.

I got behind writing on my blog.  I think I stayed at home all day.  It was cold and I played inside.

John John was on my baseball team and he lives five houses down from me.  I went to his Mutant Ninja Turtle's themed birthday party.  Lots of kids are into Ninja turtles right now, but so far I prefer Power Rangers and Super Heroes.  John John has a big extended family, so there were children there of all ages.  There were three other boys from our baseball team there: Zac, Cooper and Jacob.  My mom visited with their moms.

 It was a neat place to have a party.  They had all kinds of activities, like soccer and dodge ball. 

They had hired older teenagers there leading all of the different activities. They kept us organized and kept us playing happily.

We had pizza and cupcakes to eat.

The Ninja turtle when around to talk to all of us.

The pinata was lots of fun.  My swings at the pinata were right on target.
This party was lots of fun, the most fun birthday party I have been to so far.