No Air Conditioning

We'll lead off this post with a photo from our evening at Pirates @ Blossom. We'll be submitting this photo to the Chinese government to prove that we are real and that we socialize in public with friends and family. The photos have to be relatively recent, so our photos from vet school and early marriage won't suffice. This is one of several photos that we'll be submitting, as there is a specific number that we must compile. I say all of this quite roboticly and half-jokingly because it's an example of all of the details that we (mostly Jenn) have been keeping track of over the past number of weeks as we compile our documentation.Our air conditioning needs replaced. That's right, on the hottest stretch of days northeast Ohio has seen in several years, we have no air conditioning. Thankfully, my parents have opened their home to the four of us to stay, and it's much more comfortable there than here. The first two nights weren't too bad, but the house doesn't have enough time to cool at night before it gets up into the 90's outside again. In fact, it's in the 90's upstairs during the day. Yikes! All of this will be fixed today.

Lincoln's swimming lesson on Wednesday was a bit of progress and a bit of a setback. He was doing great, not crying, following Miss Hannah from the start, and then half-way into the lesson he got water up in his nose and he cried the rest of the way. Kudos to Miss Hannah for keeping him engaged in the lesson even when he was upset. Afterward, Lincoln and I talked about how all swimmers get water in their nose at least once, and that it happens to Daddy lots during water skiing.

In the Stage of Life department, Lincoln is definitely showing more of a 3 year old attitude. We're working on talking in a pleasant tone of voice and remembering our manners. Also, we've been stressing the importance of always at least trying and not giving up without a try. This has been especially relevant to swimming lessons and learning to dress himself. Lydia has been laughing more and is rolling all over the place. She desperately wants to pull herself up on tables and chairs, but has not yet been able to do so. She's also crawling backward, which suggests that crawling forward is not far off.Our second visit with the social worker went well. It was very routine, though quite hot being the third day without air conditioning. Our house checked out well from a safety standpoint. I suppose moving the paint-thinner and rusty nails from the middle of the family room floor was a good thing to do at some point in time. Our next visit is in two weeks and at that time we'll talk about our childhood years, our parenting philosophy and influences, and our history as a family.

I'm off to work... Stay cool out there!