Turkey Trot in Grant Park

It was our first Thanksgiving in Grant Park. And a family-filled fun-and-yum day, it was. Click here for more pics.

Asa's Report Card

Last Friday, Asa had a very big day.  At 8:45am, we went to his 3rd  year check up at the doctor's office.  We were not shocked to find that he is in the 99th percentile in height (39.75 in) and weight (41.25 lbs), but at least he's not off the charts, like last year.  Unlike last year, however, his BMI (body mass index) is also in the 97th percentile --- duh, duh, duhhhh!  Up from the 85th percentile, the doctor asked that we keep an eye on that.  He is and has always been a biggin', but let's not get carried away - or loaded down in Asa's case.  Still, every ounce is sweet as pie, so how can I resist feeding him til his heart's content.  :-) 

For the first time ever, the doc skipped his head circumference (I guess she could tell his head is large enough to accommodate his wonderfully healthy brain) - and went straight for a blood pressure reading.  I was a little shocked that they did that to little people, but his BP was 82/52 - perfectly normal for his age.  All around, a great check up... except that the doctor doesn't prescribe any medicine for what she called, the "testing threes."  She confirmed that the "terrible twos" are NOTHING compared to the "testing threes."  Bummer.  I was hoping for a cure!

Good news for the boy - he wasn't up for any vaccinations this trip, except of course the recommended annual flu vaccination.  Since he wasn't going to have any shots otherwise, we opted for the nasal mist.  The doctor warned us with his history of respiratory issues that the mist isn't necessarily the best alternative, but since Asa hasn't had any respiratory problems in about a year and a half, we went for it.  I didn't want to give the kid a memorable (or regrettable) day at the doctor's office.  The weekend went by without a hitch, but last night that damn mist caught up to us like the fog that covered the city this morning.  Oh well, I'm hoping this will be a 24-hour irritant.

 Also last Friday, we had a parent-teacher conference with Asa's teacher, Ms. Gwen at 10:30am.  I planned to speak to her about the melt-downs that Andrew and I have seen from Asa over the past few weekends.  I wanted to be sure that he wasn't misbehaving at school.  Quite the contrary, she was baffled at the stories we shared.  She said they've never seen Asa "in the zone," as Andrew and I call it.  Ms. Gwen assured us that we have one of the good ones.  She thought we should count our blessings because she certainly has her fair share of not-so-good ones in her classroom (and over her 20+ years teaching preschool).  She said to relax - that we were good parents and Ace is a good boy.  Woohoo!  Recognition and validation!  What a great day!

We are super proud of the boy.  We took the advice of his doctor and teacher and had a slow-paced weekend for once... he responded remarkably and didn't have a single melt-down.  Success!

Not saying we expect him to be perfect, but it sure is nice that he's damn near it.  :-)

Duty Calls

Work has been insane!  Since starting back at GT, I've really been super busy.  Check out my latest production - the ME Annual Report.  I posted the full layout pic and video on my MZatGT blog.

Halloween Vid

Grant Park turned out to be the PLACE TO BE on Halloween.  There were multiple houses that truly competed for best decor!  This was a cool one - with smoke and all!

Halloween Business

We had such a great weekend - kicked off with the school's Fall Festival, followed by Miller's costume Halloween party, and ended with an awesome Grant Park Halloween stroll!  View more pics here.