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Debbie's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 1/3/01 -------------------- 11/15/00 10/30/00 9/20/00 8/9/00 7/26/00 7/5/00 6/21/00 5/31/00 5/10/00 4/26/00 4/19/00 4/5/00 3/29/00 3/15/00 3/1/00 2/9/00 1/26/00 1/18/00 1/5/00 -------------------- Debbie's Introduction

May 31, 2000

Hello all!! It's been awhile since we've checked in. Nathan is growing by leaps and bounds. People who haven't seen him in just a few short weeks comment on how tall he's getting. We also had to purchase new shoes for the little guy because his feet are growing out of control. His latest accomplishments include learning how to turn doorknobs, inserting keys into keyholes (not necessarily with the correct key!) and a whole slew of new vocabulary words.

We had a somewhat disappointing trip to the toy store recently. For a couple of weeks I've been bugging Rich about the fact that we need to get a tricycle for Nathan. Finally, we went to the store about an hour before it gets dark around here, with the intention that we would dash in, grab a nice-looking trike and still be back home in time for him to enjoy his new toy on the very day he got it. The first problem was that there were about a million other parents who seemed to have the same idea. The next problem was that the pickings were kind of thin, so apparently other parents had the foresight to start this venture earlier on in the season. Then, came the crushing blow. Our hearts sank as we plopped Nathan on trike after trike only to find that his little legs were too short for most of the "regular" trikes. Not only that, but he absolutely does not get the idea of peddling... or even lifting his feet so that we could push him. We would have been perfectly satisfied to buy him a too-big trike just to enjoy the thrill of pushing him around... but even that didn't work because his poor little feet kept getting dragged behind him. We were just about to leave in defeat after 45 minutes and admit that we would have to wait until next summer to enjoy this milestone, when we saw what seemed to be the perfect solution. A trike look-a-like that was made out of plastic with a long handle at the back so he could be pushed, foot rests so his feet wouldn't drag and pedals for when he was able to manage them. Of course this was the exact brand of the exact item that they "JUST RAN OUT OF."

O.K., so it was a frustrating experience, but being the rational beings we are, we were able to take away a few lessons. It was not a good idea to go just after dinnertime when everyone else was there. Next time I'll go as soon as the store opens. Also, how goofy are we that we actually thought we could just plop Nathan down on his first trike and expect him to go peddling up and down the aisles like the big boys. Finally, although I usually enjoy spending time in the toy store, I must remember that the Internet is my friend and I intend to use it to track down the perfect summer mobile for our little fledgling driver.

Some of you may notice the irony (as we did) in the fact just a few short months ago I was bemoaning the fact that Nathan was growing up so quickly...and yet here I was standing in the middle of the bike aisle wishing that he had already gotten past the wobbly days of training wheels and was ready for his first real bike.

Oh well, the evening was not a total loss. We did manage to purchase a really neat bubble maker on the way out of the store and then went to the local ice cream store for a great summer treat. Nathan was most content with vanilla ice cream running down his chin and Rich and I were content to sit back and laugh at our latest escapade in the world of NAY NAY (a.k.a. Nathan).

Take care, and enjoy your summer episodes!

Rich, Debbie and Nathan