A Family on Five Acres: August 2012

Sarah had her four-year-old wellness exam Thursday. She is such a different girl than she was three years ago. She strolled into the office confidently and seemed to enjoy every procedure and evaluation the nurse and doctor threw at her. This was her first "big kid" appointment, where she had her blood pressure taken and was given eye and ear exams. The doctor had her draw a circle, an "x," and a person; sing her ABCs; write her name; touch her toes; and stand on one foot. Sarah loved performing and passed with flying colors.

She is now a little over 41" tall (78th percentile) and 36 lbs., 6 oz. (61st). As we could tell, she has stretched out over the last year.

The only concern the doctor had was her articulation of some words. Her language skills (sentence structure and vocabulary) are excellent, but her speech is a little unclear at times. The doctor said that the school will evaluate her and do some therapy, if necessary. I'm not worried about that, because she has been working on saying things more clearly, and I think it will come naturally once she's with other people more often.

Before the appointment, she was a little worried about getting shots, but when the doctor said she needed them, she seemed unfazed. She chose to sit on the exam table instead of my lap and watched with interest as the nurse poked her three times. She caught her breath each time, but there were no tears. She's one cool customer and tough cookie these days, as you can tell from the photo, where she's showing off her bandages.

We headed north last week to Lake W*nnibigoshish for our annual vacation in a cabin at B*wen Lodge Resort. We were blessed with good weather (sunny and 70s, for the most part), decent fishing, and a happy, outgoing little girl. Our first two stays here (in 2010 and 2011) were anything-but-relaxing , since Sarah wasn't familiar with the surroundings, the schedule, and the people, and became rigid and defiant. I was hoping the third time would be the charm, and, indeed, it was.

Sarah has matured in the last year and gained a lot of confidence. She was excited about the trip, and, for the most part, stayed relaxed and flexible throughout. She slept alone in her own room the first night, which amazed me, but then wanted me to sleep in the other twin bed. I obliged, figuring we'd all benefit from her feeling more secure. It was actually kind of fun -- like being at summer camp, which I never experienced as a child (and never cared to because I was such a homebody).

She ventured off to the playground (which is within sight of our cabin) by herself the evening we arrived and greeted everyone we met throughout the week with a cheery "hi." The last day we were there, we passed a man making spinners (lures) on the deck of his cabin. She called out, "What are you doing?" and proceeded to join him and converse for about 10 minutes. The only disappointment of the trip was that the little girl her age who was in the cabin beside us last year didn't come this year. I think they would have had a wonderful time together.

Don was diagnosed with pneumonia two days before we left, which is no way to start a vacation (he claimed he only had half a lung, but I helpfully pointed out he had one full lung). Fortunately, with some quick-acting medications and hits from "Sarah's machine" (i.e., the nebulizer), he was feeling pretty good by the time we arrived and continued to improve over the course of the week.

Sarah and Dad went fishing on their own a couple of mornings, while I kayaked, walked, and journaled (ahhh!). The first morning out, she caught two huge northern pike -- one 6 lbs. and the other 4 lbs. Sure, Don had to reel them in, but she hooked them! And, as she kept reminding us, she wasn't even scared. The next morning, they returned with a bucket full of sunfish. I think I should make myself scarce more often. :) Sarah enjoyed watching Dad clean fish this year. The week's catch included eight walleye, 12 northern pike, and 28 sunfish, and we brought home about 10 meals of frozen fish.

Sarah was much better at entertaining herself in the boat this year (I may be able to read a book in the bow again soon!) but still managed to get into mischief:

Sarah: "Dad, you lost something."

Dad: "What did I lose?"

S: "Your nail clippers [which he uses to cut fishing line]."

D: "Where are they?"

S: "In the water."

D: "I didn't even know you had them."

S: "Let's get them."

And:

"Dad, you don't need all this rope" (as she was untying the anchor, about to set it free).

We took a day-trip to It*sca State Park this year, to show Sarah the headwaters of the M*ssissippi River (which flows less than a mile from our house on its way to the G*lf of Mexico) and some big pines. It was a delightful day. Sarah was in a particularly chipper and chatty mood and sang and talked to herself most of the drive. Always up for a challenge, she hiked the half-mile trail to the 100' fire tower, then climbed the steps to the top. She got many at-a-girls from folks gathered below and beamed with pride. Now that she's 4, there's nothing she can't do!