3.1 or, Blue-pers

Dear Miriam,

April made up for March being somewhat quiet.  It's been a really busy month.

Dad was gone for two weeks at the beginning of the month.  He was in China again, and missed two weekends with you.  He almost missed submitting our taxes on time, but we managed to see our tax dude on the 15th.  I tried to keep with my usual schedule, but it's easy for me to stay up much too late when he's not home.

The first week that he was gone was also Corbin's spring break.  My cousin Dave and his family were out to visit people here and in San Diego.  You got to go to the beach and Cabrillo Aquarium with them, which you all enjoyed very much.  Then Grandma and Grandpa took you on a trip for a few days.  You went to see the Grand Canyon, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, and then the Dinosaur Tracks in Tuba City, AZ, which you thought were great.  You even asked the guide if he was a paleontologist.  Then you went to see Meteor Crater, which you also liked.  Their gift shop had a little stuffed t-rex, which you declared was the baby t-rex who you had to bring home to his mommy.  I've already sewed Baby T-Rex up twice.  I don't think he was meant for dance parties, really.

While everyone was gone, I painted your bathroom blue.  It had been brown, the whole thing, even the ceiling.  It was like giving you a bath in a cave.  I didn't like it at all.  We've been decorating it with a lighthouse theme, do I thought I'd paint it a nice light blue.  When you came home, we had this conversation:

You: Is my bathroom blue now?
Me: Yes, isn't it much prettier?
You: I don't like blue.  I like brown.
Me: Why don't we paint your room brown?  Would you like that?
You: Yes!

Which is great, because right now your room is gray and pink and I would be more than happy to change it.

You got to go back to the dentist this month.  This time, you didn't cry at the x-rays, and you did cry when the dentist wanted to examine you.  It's always a toss-up about which part you don't like.  Dentist says everything's looking fine.  Your tooth fragment hasn't moved, and your teeth look good.  On the way out, you wanted to ride in the little robot in the waiting room, and when I didn't let you ride it more than one time, you cried and cried.  You cried all the way home.  You cried when I went back to work.  Grandpa told me later that you cried for almost an hour.  Next time, I'll send Dad with you.

You got a late birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa Thorne.  They had mailed a box the week before our birthdays, but we didn't get it until several weeks later.  I'm not sure why the mail service here is so slow, but at least this box didn't go from LA to Texas and back for no reason, like one box from them did.  They sent a gift card for me, which I promptly spent on books.  They sent you a toy lawn mower that blows bubbles, which you and Corbin think is awesome.  You take turns pushing it around while the other one chases the bubbles.  It's very funny.  They also sent you two new outfits, which you and Grandma liked because they're "girly" clothes.

I think Grandma's afraid that I'll never teach you anything about being a mainstream American girl, and she's probably got a point.  You'll have to depend on your aunties for that stuff.  I will always be happy to help you connect with the other women in our lives, and they will always be happy to talk to you about girly stuff, or anything else.  I, on the other hand, will be the one ironing patches onto t-shirts so that you can have dinosaur shirts that don't come from the boys section.

You got your first hair cut this month, speaking of girly things.  I didn't like it at first, because it got too short to be in side pony-tails.  But now we just pull the front back into a top pony tail and that works well.  When I brush it out at night, you get this little flip at the end.  It's cute.

I did manage to be girly and put a dress on for the fundraiser dinner for Corbin's school.  Dad even put a tie on.  You'd never seen either of us dressed up, so you thought it was all very interesting.  You kept telling us how spiffy we looked.  It was funny.  There are a million awesome things about being a girl; you just have to find the things that you love about it, and not worry about the rest.

Love,
Mom

Bubble mower:

New outfit:

I made you dinosaur shirts:

6.2 or, Caterpillars Are Awesome

Dear Corbin,

April was a busy month.  Dad spent two weeks in China, at the beginning of the month.  He was originally supposed to be gone for 10 days, but they made him stay for two full weeks.  Times like those I am so very grateful that we have Grandma and Grandpa Lam with us.  I'm glad that I don't have to do everything by myself when Dad is gone.

It was your Spring Break the first week, too, so that kept us from missing Dad too much right away.  My cousin David Ross and his family were here to visit us and some other friends.  They came over for a short visit one afternoon, and then you got to spend a day with them at the beach and Cabrillo Aquarium.  You had a lot of fun; it was a good day.

You spent the rest of your Spring Break on a short trip with Grandma and Grandpa.  You went to the Grand Canyon, then Dinosaur Tracks, the Sunset Crater Volcano, then Meteor Crater.  It was a nerdy trip, now that I think about it, but full of the things you've always liked.  You were disappointed not to do some of the hiking trails around Sunset Crater and Meteor Crater, but you thought the dinosaur tracks were really great.

While you were gone, I painted your bathroom blue.  It had been brown.  Even the ceiling.  And the floor is brown tile.  It was like a cave, and I didn't like it at all.  It's much nicer now.  Although I keep saying that in about five years we're going to redo it all and put in a new vanity and new fixtures.  But for now, it's just nice to have it be pretty and bright.  At least, it's nice for me.  You don't seem to care either way.

It was Science Fair this month.  You and Dad put your display board together, Grandma took you to the library for some research, and I helped you write up your research paper.  You watched me type it up, and you thought my typing speed was pretty impressive.  That made me laugh.  The day that you took it to school, Mrs. Hedley let you present it to your class and call on some kids to answer questions.  Then Dad and I went with you to the actual Science Fair and we had fun looking at all of the other projects.

Dad and I went to the fundraiser dinner for your school, with Evan's parents and Celia's parents.  It was at the country club, so we dressed up.  You've seen me in a dress at least once before, but you had never seen Dad in a tie.  You thought it was all very fancy, and you were quite disappointed that kids were not going to the party.  We saw Mrs. Hedley there, and she said very nice things about you, which she always does.  I always like to hear that you're doing well in class.

At bedtime, you've started to read books to me, instead of me reading to you.  I love it.  Then, after it's lights out, you make me tell you stories.  Lately, you've made me tell you stories about a Sharktopus that lives in Never Never Land.  He hangs out with the Lost Boys, doesn't like the Pirates, and plays pranks on the Crocodile.  It's never dull around you.

Love,

Mom

Science!

At the neighbor's birthday party: