We had Kadie's appointment at the allergist last week (which didn't go so well -"This won't hurt," my ass...) and came back with all negatives on the tests. So she's not officially allergic to anything but the doctor explained that the post-nasal drip and congestion could be caused by a sensitivity to something. Since the problems started 'round about the time we moved up to Hampstead, it's probably something that's found within the country (trees, flowers, weeds, etc.) that's not as prolific...

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To all the fathers out there...we hope you had a nice day"off" yesterday. Jeff didn't get one as we were finishing up Kadie's play area, but we're taking Wednesday off to wander around town and/or the mall, get some breakfast and lunch and a movie. It'll be like an extended day date as we are unable to have dates during the evening or weekend hours.As I just mentioned, Kadie now has a beautiful play area out back. We put timber down around the swing set that Jeff and his dad put up last summer...

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Last night was Kadie's last swimming class for this session. They don't start up another class until June 18th, so we're considering paying for a few private lessons, which cost $40/hour (they can be taken in half-hour increments for kids w/ attention span issues, aka Kadie). I figure a couple of those might pay off well if we're clear with the instructor that we want her to learn to survive in the water, versus teaching her to"swim" as they do in the group classes, practicing the backstroke...

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Nothing much is going on right now, but I thought I'd pop in to say hi to everyone and send out some quick well wishes for everyone's health. Jeff and I have been pretty busy lately with work - personally, we had a short suspense build in my office (normally, we have a deployment every 3 months, but this one is less than 2) and Jeff has so many side projects going on I'm surprised he can keep track of what he's done for which. I think it's rubbing off on Kadie a little. She hasn't been sleeping...

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Taking a short lunch break, so I thought I'd log in to say hello to everyone. We're still freezing our buns off over here but it's supposed to get up to a wet 57 degrees today. They're calling for sun and 60 tomorrow so I guess I need to break out the shorts again. Kadie's first swimming lesson went okay. There was a moment that came straight out of our nightmares - Kadie stepped off the steps into the deeper water (3 feet) and went under. She was pulled out but she was still pretty traumatized...

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Say your prayers...for the instructor. I'm sure Kadie will be swimming circles around him/her 10 minutes after she gets in the water, but since we paid for the full 4 weeks, we'll see what other things she can learn. Kadie has never had a problem with water. She loves getting wet and, from her first summer with Ms. Tracy, she's been the first in the pool and the last out. Last year, when Ms. Tracy put her in with the arm floaties Kadie was swimming around by herself. Now, with summer coming...

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Ms. Tracy took the kids out into the big pool today. She has an above-ground pool in her back yard. She said that Kadie could reach the bottom (the water came up to her chin) and she had a gay, ol' time. We've always known that Kadie loves the water. Even at bath time, when most kids hate getting their hair washed, it's never fazed her; she doesn't even close her eyes most of the time. She apparently kept dunking her head under the water and coming up without issues (she'd just spit the water...

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