Didjya Miss Me?

It's been a busy month and so much happening and yet for some reason I haven't felt much like writing so here's a recap of the past month starting with today. Zeth is 15 months old today. Six teeth, 22 lbs, has lots to talk about in his own incoherent dialect but mostly likes discussions involving balls. He is working on his elocution skills. Last night he was especially gassy (too much curry?) and had a rough night. This morning when he got up he let a big one rip then looked up at me and said "Ba-boom". I laughed so hard and said "You got that right." Zana had her final gymnastics recital of the year this afternoon. She's learning skills and enjoying herself but isn't a gifted gymnast prodigy by any stretch of the imagination. She is loving all the performance opportunities her Tahitian dance group is getting this month. All told last month and this, she has something like 7 Tahitian dance performances. Last week she marched and danced in a pretty big parade with her hip-hop dance group. I was skeptical that she'd go the entire 2-miles without begging to be carried but she was energized and rockin the whole time. I'll remember that the next time she tries to 'play' me and begs to be carried. She is looking forward to turning 6 next week and going ice skating with her friends. She is also very excited that my parents are coming to visit next week to spend her birthday and Christmas with us.

I had a pre-cancerous spot removed from my back last week Thursday and while laying on the table asked my Dr about the callous on the bottom of my foot that I've been sanding off for the past couple years now. He told me it was actually a wart and asked if I'd like to take care of it now too. I said 'Sure' not thinking about the implications. I had a planters wart frozen off as a kid but forgot how painful not just the process of freezing it was but the residual effect for the next week. I was going to dance in the parade with Zana but there was just no way I could have done the distance. Hurts like crazy. But this morning, 5 days later, as I was walking into the office I suddenly realized I wasn't limping anymore even though it's still a little sore. Lesson learned. What fun.

Last month I participated in my first triathlon. It was a team-tri so I only did the 1-mile swim which despite the crazy stormy weather system dumping on us, was fun. It was organized by a college student who wanted to do a triathlon but couldn't find one not on Sunday, so he planned his own. The weather really was crazy that week and a lot of the athletes assumed it would be cancelled on account of the conditions so it was a small group of die-hards. I was just glad not to finish the swim in last place. There are plans to do it again next semester and I'm actually considering trying to do the entire thing on my own so I can add Triathlete to my official list of accomplishments. The 10k run will kill me for sure, the 24 mile bike ride is still an unknown factor.
We celebrated Thanksgiving this year with the church singles ward my DH is serving in currently. Actually this was our 3rd year feasting and giving thanks with the 100+ single students and was the most fun by far. The difference? My attitude and contribution had a lot to do with it. I finally convinced myself that I should be thinking less about what I'd like to be doing on Thanksgiving and focusing more on others. Made spending what is a very traditional holiday in an unconventional setting much more fun. The kids and their toys helped liven up the party too.

We just took some new family photos last week with a budding young amateur photographer friend. Now I need to get around to turning the results into Christmas greetings and get them mailed out. I'm feeling pretty unmotivated to rush to the PO still. So sneak peeks are scattered throughout this post in case my Christmas greetings turn into Valentine's cards. :)

I love the fatherly love these depict.
Love that we live in a tropical paradise and this sort of December photo shoot is even possible.