L L L L L L L L L L L L L

Last night, I watched Michael Moore's movie, Sicko. I wasn't particularly surprised by what was in it, but definitely sickened, angered, and fearful of living in this country. I thought it was interesting when someone in the movie said that a difference between France and the U.S. is that the government fears its people in France whereas the people fear their government in the U.S. How can we change this? What will it take? I ended up feeling like I need to find another country to live in sooner or later. But hopefully not too much later...
I had to register to vote for the first time in my life this week. Not because I want to vote...in order to be able to get a driver's license here in WA. I need something else establishing my residency so that I can get the driver's license. I have never been called for jury duty either. I have always wondered if there is some connection there. I guess time will tell.
Johari was practicing her "L" sound this evening. Very cute with that little tongue getting pointy and touching her upper lip. Sing-songing the L sound. So amazing to look into her face while she is discovering and playing and learning. It is a true joy!
Wednesday and Friday, we took a hike that is not too far from the house. (A short drive.) It is a nice hike downhill to the water's edge and then back up again. It is nice because Johari gets to run around and explore on the beach mid-hike before I have to make the ascent. There is a stream that runs next the trail where salmon go up to spawn. It is amazing to watch them struggle against the currents with such purpose. Here is one that was just heading out of the ocean and into the stream. He had some scary teeth!!!
Lua and Johari have great fun playing together. Johari likes to crawl all over her at times and snuggle her. It is precious. And Lua is so very kind and accommodating to Johari's desires and demands. She will read Johari books over and over again. Lua builds towers and Johari knocks them down. What a team!!
Johari's independence and drive to do her own thing puts a big kink in my exercise plan. She doesn't want to get in the jogging stroller and chill out there. Plan B? Or is there some way to get her to want to be in that stroller for a chill out session?
Some nights I really have dreams that stick with me and are strange. They linger for hours after I wake up. The strangeness and the feeling within the dream. I hardly ever used to remember my dreams pre-Johari. I guess I was a sound sleeper back in those days. Dreams can be pretty interesting though. Who pops up in them. What the setting is. And so on.
Johari had her own miniature shopping cart at the grocery store this evening. Which would have been perfect except that it was one of those carts that has a serious pull to the left which she was unable to compensate for to keep it going to straight. And she didn't want me or her grandma touching or helping the cart in any way because she is an independent young woman. She insisted that we needed cans of tomatoes. She kept loading up her cart with canned tomatoes.
Sleep has been a bit off with Johari for a few days. I think for people who are not parents it must sound so mundane how much parents of little ones particularly talk about the sleeping habits or non-habits of their children. But as a parent, it often seems so critical to the child's well-being and the parent's. Just skip the sleep talk if it seems mundane. She was taking these super late naps that would be pretty long and then friends would come to play with her before her bedtime, so she went to bed one night at 10 pm!! Seems really late for a little bean like her. I am going to try to get back into a decent pattern again.
Johari and I went to a trial music class together this week. I want to replace the Wiggleworm spot in our lives. Of course, because we were going to the Wiggleworms classes in Chicago and enjoying them, I kind of expected that this class would be pretty similar and it wasn't. It felt much more hippy and a bit more cheesy to me. Very little guitar playing. More acting and swaying and tapping out beats. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't Wiggleworms. But we will probably sign up for it in January anyway. Just because it would be nice to have some activity for us to have fun at regularly. I am singing with her a lot and playing the Wiggleworms CDs that I have for her several times a day. Whenever we are walking anywhere, she always insists that we do the "Walking, walking, hop, hop, hop..." song and routine. Also, she is starting to sing parts of other songs like the one where you stick out your tongue and sing about catching raindrops, snowflakes and sunbeams. She has got the singing with your tongue sticking out part down pat. She is also always asking for music to be turned on.
Mia and I were talking on the phone the other day. She asked me if I could go to the circus with her on Saturday. It was sad and sweet to me. I wished it was that easy for her to just ask and for us to just be able to show up 3 days later to go to the circus with her for a few hours. My heart went to the circus with her today. She is in my heart as always.