Moral-Flexibility.Net

Today, after a few weeks of prodding by Lisa, we took a trip to African Lion Safari (located a mere 45 minute drive from us). We skipped the option to have the baboons attack our car and instead took the “safari bus” through the animal areas, followed up with some wandering around, some bad nachos and a train ride before we called it quits and headed home.

Jillian is finally old enough to enjoy herself through these sorts of activities, and it was entertaining to watch her flash through fear, fascination, love and right back to fear of the animals in the petting zoo in the course of a few seconds. Naturally I had to drag her kicking and screaming away from the animals, but as the train ride immediately followed the petting zoo Jilly got distracted from her disappointment almost immediately.

All in all a good trip, activities in the park seemed a little sparse but I’ll chalk that up to the fact that we arrived as soon as the park opened for the day, and we’ve just entered their off-season. Fun had by all, and no bataan death march like our last visit to the Toronto Zoo.

Yesterday I took my daughter to the hospital.

She had been playing “ring around the rosey” with my sister at daycare and had crashed head first into a corner causing a nasty 1cm long gash on her forehead. When I arrived I found Jilly in good spirits, but on taking a peek agreed that this was likely going to require stitches and braced myself for a trip to the ER. Stopping off at our house long enough to grab Jillys health card we drove down to the local hospital and prepared to wait a while.

Three and a half hours, two stitches and one freezie later we stepped back out into fresh air just in time to meet Lisa, who had been driven down by a co-worker at the end of her shift.

Jilly is fine. She was a trooper through the entire ordeal, tears only surfacing when it was time to lie down on the stretcher and let the strange man in scrubs wave stainless steel objects in front of her eyes. Daddy did ok too, but while this was hardly the first time I’ve restrained a patient, it was significantly more taxing this time around.

We’ve been pretty good about getting our portraits done, certainly easier now that everyone offers some sort of portrait package so we’re spending (typically) somewhere in the neighborhood of $30-50 each time. We’ve been getting a family portrait done every year just before Christmas, and Jilly gets her own pictures done around June or July. This most recent visit was a little more labour intensive than the last, with Jilly not being particularly cooperative but the results are still fair.

This isn’t my favorite pose, but I thought I’d save the best for those relatives that are receiving their own copies.

One of my days off each week is typically reserved as a “Daddy” day where Jilly is in daycare and I can take care of some minor administrivia. The second day off is a “Daddy-Jilly” day where Jilly and I entertain each other (well, truthfully I entertain Jilly). Usually this involves a trip to the local park (a small park a block away), but yesterday Jilly was adamant that we go to the “big park” beside the library.

Sometimes there’s just no arguing with a 2 1/2 year old so we wandered the neighborhood following Jillys directions (which led us in circles), until I eventually became a little tired and steered us back to the house, and took the car the short distance to the “big park”.

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There’s a catch-22 when it comes to cleaning firearms around my house. If I clean the firearms after the house has gone to sleep I typically get complaints that the “clicking and banging” noises travel right upstairs and disturbs those sleeping. If I clean the firearms during the day my daughter wants to get involved in the process, and quite frankly I’m a little leery about gun-schmutz and CLP being handled by a 2 1/2 year old.

My reservations notwithstanding Jilly wants to be involved, so (like most parents) I’ve come up with diversionary activities that offer little or no harm. While I’m cleaning the dirty rifles I break down the AR15 and leave it on the couch, provided Jilly with a plastic pick or some such so that she can mimic what Daddy is doing on the floor nearby. We have a little group hand-washing session as soon as she begins to lose interest (typically 10 minutes into the activity) and then Daddy resumes cleaning while Jilly takes on another activity.

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We haven’t really had a Jillian update in a while, so to bring the rest of you up to speed here’s the Coles Notes version.

Vocab is increasing by leaps and bounds, we’ve progressed well beyond the word “Zombie” here, Jilly mastered “Ayy-arrr Fiteen” some time back. Structure and comprehension advancing well too, still the “terrible twos” frustration when she cannot express herself properly, but I think the progress is amazing.

Toilet training? We’re still working on it, the concept seems to register but we’re having trouble seperating the legitimate efforts to use the toilet and the “I want Mommy and Daddy to pay undivided attention to me” episodes.

That’s it for now. Do you believe she’s two and a half already?

It looks like Jilly caught something nasty, and for the past few days has been suffering through a mild fever and more recently a minor case of hives. This, naturally, has not made for a happy Jilly, nor as a consequence happy parents.

Sunday night saw Lisa pulling beside duty, and last night as the nocturnal festivities commenced I stepped up and took over so Lisa could get a little sleep before going to work. I had managed to get about 4-5 hours sleep coming off my Sunday night shift, and was ill prepared for an all nighter with Jilly rapidly alternating between playful and whiny.

Admittedly I passed out around 0300hrs with Jilly climbing off me to find more exciting entertainment. I stayed awake long enough to make sure the gates blocking her access upstairs (Sleeping Lisa) and downstairs (Basement fraught with peril) were in place, and then collapsed. According to the living room clock I awoke every 20 minutes or so to check Jilly, and around 0500hrs both of us collapsed into a fitful slumber on the couch, to be awakened at 0700hrs when it was time to take Lisa to work.

We’re not at our best today, but I’m doing my best to prevent any epic naps on Jillys part (and as a result on mine as well) so that tonight might bring fitful sleep for both Lisa and I.

[This post was rewritten after my second cup of coffee when I came to the realization that it made no sense in it’s previous form.]

Last week, amidst my usual night shifts, we took delivery of a tiny bed for Jillian. Deciding that it was time she graduated from a crib to something a little bigger Lisa went ahead and ordered a “princess bed” for Jilly.

Assembly was fairly uncomplicated, my fatigue aside, and Jillians initial excitement (which seemed to be built up entirely around the fact that this bed was for her stuffed animals and not herself) faded only slightly when we eventually tucked her into the new bed and insisted she go to sleep.

We had some concerns that she would get up on her own and wander the second floor, but one week in and she has been well behaved once bed time is announced.

I mentioned that when I experimented with the calendars I tried some other stuff, right? No?

Ok then, this is Jilly in her “I survived the zombocalypse and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” shirt. I know, I know…I’m having way too much fun with this stuff.

[Yes, that would be her expression for “Daddy, you are beginning to try my patience.“]