OK...Here goes my attempt to transcend the spring fog and relate the almost two months that have passed since our last entry!I'll start off with the excuses: Pierce and I have been in the doctor's office more in the last two months than we care to count. Pierce had multiple double ear infections back to back. The doctor treated with antibiotics. We were beginning to worry that he might need tubes in his ears. We had been told several times by several people to try taking him off dairy to avoid the ear infections, but we were wary of doing so due to his need for the milk fat. Finally, it seemed like the last thing left to try and we switched him to soy milk. He despised it at first, but is getting used to it now and we haven't had an ear infection in weeks. As for me, I had doctor's appointments and blood work done in March to determine the cause of my Thyroid problem. The doctors and lab technicians finally determined the root of the problem. I am on medication for it now and am feeling quite a bit better already, although I believe most of my relief stems from not having to go to the lab or doctor's office every day! One funny thing that did come out of all of of this occurred during an office visit. Daniel was watching Pierce for me while I was at the doctor's office. He called me with a bit of fear in his voice and said that Pierce was ok, but he had gotten into a permanent marker while Daniel was cleaning the kitchen. He drew on his face, hands, shirt, and the playroom table. It was quite a sight when I got home. The funniest part was that he put the cap back on the marker and put it back on the table where it was before Daniel ever discovered that he had gotten into it!
In the midst of all of our medical intrigues, Daniel did a couple fun interviews for XM radio. The first was Aaron Wilburn, a song writer and comedian who has to be one of the most riotously hilarious people I have ever met, even when he is just sitting quietly. And then in March we had dinner with Mark Lowry, also a comedian/songwriter. Mark is equally funny, and has recently become a theologian of sorts. It is interesting to listen as his thoughts unfold in sometimes incomplete and seemingly irreverent form, when he is actually a very conservative and God-loving person. Sometimes the things that come out of his mouth almost seem to concern him, which adds to the humor. Pierce really loved Mark and they got all up in each other's faces at dinner. Pierce started throwing food and wouldn't listen to me when I told him to stop, so Mark got down to his level and told him, "Obey your parents that you may have a long life." He stopped throwing food and started chatting with Mark for a while.
Easter was fun, since Pierce was able to hunt for eggs on his own with a little coaching from Dad. He had so much fun hunting for eggs that we have started doing it weekly in the house now. There are no surprises in the eggs though, just the thrill of the hunt. His Easter Basket was mostly filled with children's Bible stories and a few small toys. We read the Easter story to him out of one of his books. Even though he is too young to really grasp the concept, he memorizes the Bible stories and does appropriate sound effects/ says key words when he "reads" them.
Shorty after Easter, Pierce's friend Owen came to the house to play. Owen has just started potty training and Pierce was keenly interested in that. He has been overly interested in the toilet for a while now, but now he seems to know what goes on with the toilet. So we bought him the fanciest throne on the market. It sings and has sound effects for everything. The first day after we bought it, he was so enraptured with it that he insisted on being completely nude while he sat on the pot for about 3 hours, producing nothing. After the three hours we decided that was enough for one day (or one year!) and made him get off the pot. He promptly went into the living room and pottied on the carpet! Now we just let him try before he gets in the bath. We haven't had any luck yet, but he's not even two so we're just excited that he wants to go in there.
We discovered "SciWorks" late in March. It is a children's science museum/recreation facility. Pierce had so much fun with all of the gadgets and displays. He couldn't even keep his eyes open on the way home after all the excitement.
On April 7th our beautiful niece was born to my brother Matthew and his wife Mary-Stewart. They named her Liana and Pierce calls her "Baby Lala." She doesn't seem to mind so far. She seems to have a very sweet disposition already to match her precious little face. Matthew and Mary-Stewart have just magically donned the parental mantle with the greatest of grace and ease. We spent a weekend with them and got to know their darling bundle a little. We can't wait 'til "Baby Lala" comes to visit!
While we were in Georgia visiting with the new parents, we went to Perry, Ga to visit with Daniel's side of the family as well. Pierce had fun with his "Tutu" (Grandma Elaine) and Grandpa Charlie, who he was calling "Pa Wee" on the way home. Aunt Haley showed him the kittens that Aunt Ashley's cat had. They were so cute...and tolerant. It took Pierce a couple minutes to warm up to them, but once he did, he was determined to "rescue" them all from their box. Most of them came out upside down, held by their hips with their bottoms in the air.* Grandpa Charlie and Pierce sat for most of the afternoon putting together and playing with the train set they got for Pierce and then they went out for Pierce's first tractor ride. He was a little scared (I was a lot scared) but Daniel got up there with him so he did end up riding. By the end of the ride he didn't want to get off, so they made a second trip. Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Green came out to see us as well. Pierce showed off some of his newest words and accomplishments and was passing out smooches left and right by the time they had to leave.
Before we hit the road back to North Carolina, we had lunch at Pierce's Gigi's house. I had instigated the lunch so that we could see everyone before we left, but I didn't know that they had turned it into a surprise early birthday party for me! We had yummy lunch and super yummy birthday cake with fresh raspberries, my favorite (I still can't believe you found that many fresh raspberries, Grandma!). Thanks everybody!
We came home that evening to a colorful surprise: all of the tulips and daffodils and iris in our yard had come to full bloom. We have had some beautiful spring weather and are finally able to get out of the house and play outside. We are loving it!
For my birthday weekend we went to Virginia and saw Appomattox, and Monticello. Both were beautiful areas, but I thought Monticello was absolutely gorgeous. The grounds of Thomas Jefferson's home and the view from it were amazing.
As usual, I have posted many pictures in the album. ** The label will be "Marchril." We hope everyone is having a great spring!
Love,
The Britts
*No cats were harmed in the making of this blog.
**Enter at the risk of saying "aww."
