Recovery, still

Well, yes. I totally jinxed us last Sunday when I wrote that Reina was perky and doing so well. Its Friday and today was the first day she made it to daycare, and she only lasted half a day at that. Its been two steps forward, one step back with this recovery. She'll feel good for a few hours and then we'll cut back on the medicine and BAM! she's back in pain and crying and uncomfortable for the next few hours. I know, I know.... we are dealing with a minor surgery, a relatively short recovery and things could be SO much worse. But it has still been a tough week on all of us. The hardest part is seeing the sad look in her eyes and you know just that she can't figure out what's going on. She keeps asking for a band-aid and when I ask where it hurts, she points to her mouth. Did I write about that last week? I have a little bit of a sleep deficit going on right now.

Last Saturday, Will traveled down to Denver with Pop-pop and spent the weekend with him and Grandma Hansen. It was Will's first overnight trip away from parents and it was a smashing success. On Sunday, he fell asleep in Grandma's car on the way home and when he woke up in our driveway he cried and cried because he didn't want to come back. These are the kind of moments that warm your heart as a parent... All kidding aside, I'm glad he had a good time and I like that he's so independent and willing to do stuff without us. The weekend also resulted in one of his more memorable quotes that's unfortunately not appropriate for the blog. But if you want to know what it is, send me an email! He left our house on Saturday morning with his overnight bag, sword, shield and hair on his forehead.

He came back with all of those items, except one. Check out The Hair. Pop-pop took Will for a haircut and I swear it makes him look like he's 16 or maybe 19 and getting ready for boot camp. The sides are super short and the top is supposed to be gelled into spikes but THANKFULLY Will doesn't like that look. Without the gel and scrunching, it totally looks like a flat top. Pop-pop has already been given strict instructions that he can't touch Reina's hair without prior parental approval. I'd complain about the weather again, but nobody wants to read about that and I don't know that I want to remember how cold and gloomy this Spring has been. Suffice it to say, the sun peaks out for brief periods and then it goes away for really long periods and the wind blows and it rains (and snows on May 19) and we all go a little crazy.

When the sun is out, we pack in as many activities as we can. Like sword fighting with 4-yr olds. Because that's the kind of skill he needs to learn right now. Who needs to know how to write his name when he can wield a broadsword with the best of them? Can you major in Musketeering these days? Regardless, Will loves it. He gleefully asks, "Hey Mom, wanna fight me?" "Who wants to do a battle?!" When he's not battling parental authority, he's also climbing tiny lattices to peer over our fence. This is definitely one of those potential "events that precede a trip to the ER" kind of photos. I don't know how much longer that poor little lattice can withhold 46+ pounds of Will Pauley. Label this one, "Why we live in Wyoming." These antelope are in the field behind our house and will spend most of the summer in view of our kitchen window. They were particularly close last weekend and its fun to see their big bellies and know that little tiny antelope babies (yes, that's the scientific term) will be running around soon.

Finally, I have to record a few funny (and sweet) phrases that have been floating around our house lately. When he wants you to do something for him, Will sweetly asks, "Mom, will you do me a favorite?" (favor) When Reina is feeling particularly low, she just wants to be held and she'll come over and say "I want to snuggle Mommy." You can bet that those words stop me in my tracks and that's one of the main reasons I haven't done much multi-tasking this week.

Well, it is the start of the holiday weekend and here's hoping that we have a few minutes of sun and happy, healthy kids running around. Happy Memorial Day Weekend!