A little more conversation

This week at the Raymond Residence:

1) Oliver found his vocal chords. He babbles more than ever now, and has plenty to say to his siblings (seen in the above video). His tongue is almost always hanging out of his mouth; either he just discovered it or he's trying to get some relief from teething pain (still no teeth visible). Oliver throws a fit every morning when I stuff him into his snowsuit for our walk to school; he is so done with winter. We all are.

2) Phoebe told me that ballet tights were too itchy, so she wants to do T-ball instead. This will be our family's second attempt at T-ball; Bruce tried it a few years ago and hated it. I forced him to go to two practices and he still hated it, so we quit. Is it worse to force your children to do something they don't want to do or be a quitter?! We will see how Phoebe likes it.

3) Bruce is building a car for the Cub Scouts' Pinewood Derby, prepping for the MCAS (Massachusetts' standardized testing) next week, and is currently in first place at his school's 100 Mile Club. He just passed the 50-mile mark, which is pretty amazing considering the horrendous weather we have had.

4) I just got my Boston Marathon bib number (13844) and assignment (wave 2, corral 4). It is getting real! This morning I ran seven miles and totally ate the pavement. I tripped on some metal wiring (it's still dark out - I didn't even see it!), did a not-so-graceful somersault, and landed flat on my back. My hands and elbow are bruised, but my legs survived - yay!

5) Scott has been busy in the chest imaging division. He reads chest films all day, then comes home and protocols future studies all night. Every once in awhile, he will take a break to watch a ski movie and then comment on how he needs the mountains. He must have had fun on that Montana trip.