the sidlingers

This morning, the mother of one of Daniel’s preschool friends called and wanted to know if we wanted to meet them at the zoo.  It was a great suggestion as all I really had planned was to pick up the house, go to the grocery store and continue check on hurricane coverage throughout the day.  We hopped up and got ready as quickly as we could and headed off.  We looked at animals, ate fruit snacks and played on the playground.  Then we stopped for milkshakes and french fries and ended our visit by watching elephants play baseball.

It was a nice day.

We made it through our tropical storm warning with a steady rain, but luckily no problems.

I don’t know what to say about the people and cities that were affected by the hurricane.  It’s heartbreaking.  David and I got to travel to New Orleans a couple of times pre-Daniel and we both loved that city.  I’m so saddened to see what has happened to it and to hear about the new problems occuring hourly.  I really can’t comprehend what it must be like down there right now and how frightening it must be for those who were unable to leave.

If you’ve been keeping up with this like I have and need a little happy distraction, here you go.

Tomorrow was supposed to be the day to go meet Daniel’s new Pre-K teacher, but schools are closed due to now Tropical Storm Katrina.

We stopped and picked up some batteries and water this afternoon and David and I cleared out the backyard and put everything in the garage.

Hopefully it won’t be too bad here.  Our thoughts are definitely with everyone who was in the path of the storm this morning.

Daniel is now a Junior Gold Belt!  He did so well at graduation, we are very proud of him.

Here’s the pictures.

His allergies/sinuses are really bothering him today, so he was a little spaced out on Benadryl, but still did an awesome job performing his stances and kata!

I’ve been so used to seeing the older kids (like 6-8 year olds) with gold belts that Daniel looked a little older when they put his new belt on him. I think he is very pleased with himself.

He’s napping (sleeping the said Benadryl off) right now in preparation for his "No Parents Allowed" party tonight with Grandma.  They are having pizza and brownies and I think Daniel mentioned something about trying to teach Grandma how to play video games.

Depending on what time we get home tonight, I’ll post an update of how that and our reunion went.

It’s a big day in the Sidlinger house today.  This morning Daniel graduates to the next belt color in karate and tonight David and I will be attending our ten year high school reunion.

Stay tuned for pictures!

For those of you who have spent anytime around Daniel, you know that he is constantly moving and talking and doing something.

Today I witnessed something unusual.  If only but for a short time, Daniel slowed down.  He showed fatigue.  He actually wanted to sit still and rest.

What, you may ask caused this?

Karate class.  Physical training week.  Running non-stop for eight straight minutes.

With about two minutes left to go, Daniel slowed his run to a jog and then his jog to a walk and then his walk slowed down.  When instructed to sit down and stretch, Daniel did so with great pleasure and enjoyed his time being still.

I am confident that he will sleep well tonight.

This summer, Daniel and I have spent every Tuesday morning at the library for storytime with Miss Katie.  There are two children’s librarians, but Daniel prefers Miss Katie.

Next Tuesday we go to meet Daniel’s new Pre-K teacher and the Tuesday following is his first day of school.  So today was our last storytime.

This is a picture (and transcript) of the letter Daniel wrote to Miss Katie.

Click the picture to make it larger.

DEAR.MISS.KATIE

I LIKED ALL THE STORIES WE HAVE. READ. STORYTIME. IS FUN. I LIKE ALL THE VIDEOS TOO.

LOVE

DANIEL SIDLINGER  AGE 4.5

This morning is gray and cloudy and David had the air conditioner turned way down, so the house is a little chilly.

It’s very fallish.

Update: 11:02 am The moment is over.

Austin’s Not-A-Party Birthday Present Delivery Visit

Click the pictures for larger images.

The front of the card.  It says; "From All of Us:  This birthday card was a group effort in the truest sense- together we picked it.  Together we paid for it.  Together we signed it…"

The inside of the card.  It says; "We drew the line at licking the envelope however.  Happy Birthday!"

Since getting 28 signatures from two different cities was a little tricky, I signed for everyone, hope no one minds.

The following sequence of pictures is Austin realizing that there is actually a computer in the box, he thought that it was just a regular present in an old Dell box he had seen at our house before.  Honey even said "Dude you’re getting a Dell," in the driveway when he first saw it and he just said "yeah right".

We also have video, which truly conveys the confusion, suprise and shock, which I will try to get David to post here once we get it off the camera.  I can also burn it to a DVD for whoever wants one, just let me know.

Thanks to everyone for contributing, I think Austin is very happy with his gift!

Anyway…Happy Birthday Aus!  We love you!

Shmumpy never got any bigger, but he got redder and now he’s ready to eat.

Here’s the happy grower.

It’s still the only tomato that our indoor plants produced.