Snakes, Strep, and Stitches

Isn't that a fun title? C'mon, I know you just got the willies. Or maybe the heebie-jeebies. But don't run away just yet. It's not nearly as bad as you might think, I promise;-)Last week the Head Start program put on a big event. It was all about Dinosaurs, so Cameron was really in his element (I think he takes after his daddy!). There were lots of activity booths were he could make fun projects, like a spiffy dino headband and necklace. He loved helping me make the model dinosaur (he insisted on a velociraptor). The model was made out of this stuff called Model Magic by Crayola. It's very soft and moldable and extremely light weight. It was fun!
At the end of the night they had a guy come in and do a reptile show. He was great! he really knew how to connect with the kids, but made it just as fun for the adults. I loved the baby Green Anaconda the best, but Cameron was excited about the giant tortoise and the albino python. BTW, he said that python is still quite young, so still has some growing to do! It was a lot of fun, we learned a lot, and best of all, it was free. We love having Cameron in Head Start because it gives us an opportunity to share fun things with him that we would otherwise not be able to afford.
So last week was Valentine's, but neither Craig nor I were much in the mood to celebrate. We had Strep! Craig was actually pretty lucky. He eats yogurt almost every day. All those probiotics really helped his immune system, so his Strep was pretty low-key - just a sore throat and some soreness. But I HATE yogurt. Truly nasty stuff, IMO. Sadly, this meant nothing to help bolster my immune system, so when the Strep hit, it hit BAD. Muscle soreness everywhere, fatigue, fever, nausea, headache, sore throat - the works!
Fortunately, we were both able to get the antibiotic rump shot. OUCH!!! This actually caused another problem - my neck muscles felt very tight and very painful. It felt like all the vertebrae had been fused together.

We're all better, now, though, thank goodness! We suspect that Craig and I got Strep from Cameron, who had it a couple of weeks ago. He has a very strong immune system, though, and the Strep went away on its own, without the need for the antibiotics.
Speaking of Cameron, we just took him for his five year check-up. He is FINALLY over 40lbs - weighing in at 43lbs 0oz! I can't remember how tall he is. He has excellent vision, and the doc was very impressed with his development. He's a smart cookie! We have been a little worried about his social behaviors, and we are working with a behaviorist to try and find ways for him to interact more with other children. The hardest part for Cameron was getting all his five year shots. There were four of them, and he was NOT happy about it. I had to hold him down, and I think this was the first time I cried when he got shots. It never bothered me before, but his screams this time were just heartbreaking. Fortunately, it will be a good long while before he will need any more shots.
And finally, the stitches! No, not the boo-boo kind. I have recently started learning how to knit! I have some friends that do AMAZING things with knitting and crochet. I have been crocheting for some 20 years (wow, that makes me sound old, doesn't it?), but I have never learned to knit. But I decided to give it a try. And it is HARD! Or at least, it was hard at first. I had no one to show me how to do the stitches. I just had my guide book. So I was basically self-teaching, which is tricky when learning something so detailed. But, I kept going, and I made this:
Yup, that's a cable knit, folks:-) I won't tell you how long it took me to make that, lol. I have also knitted my very first baby hat, which is very cute. But I want to add a knitted flower, so I will post a picture of the whole thing when I get it finished.

I still think I prefer crochet, but it feels good to learn a new skill.