good afternoon, again! just writing a bit about last night. before we went out on a quick family outing, i took cecelia and lionel to old navy to take advantage of my teacher's discount. lionel REALLY wanted this batman t-shirt, but knew he was size S, and he could only find Ls. so he marched right up to the counter and asked the guy behind the counter to find him an S. after much searching, the man came up with an M from the back, no S. lionel wanted so badly to have it, but first... he needed to know if it was on sale. the man checked and it was! rejoice! lionel asked me if i could just let him have an M and he could just wear it a bit big. how could i say no to such determination? these are the values we teach and try to act out, ourselves. his perseverence paid off, he hasn't taken it off for 24 hours now! then, we headed to crown center and met up with the weidlers for a little interactive Clifford the big red dog action. kind of fun, although geared more towards the 3-5 bunch. then the boys all went home and cecelia, lainey, and i stayed and watched 'julie and julia' on the lawn above the skating rink. the girls had fun feeling so grown up staying up late and eating popcorn while watching a 'parent' movie. we ran into a nurse who used to work at BSP that i was friendly with, julia, and the girls thought it was so cool to talk to someone with the same name as is in the movie. cecelia was REALLY appreciative and loving. very helpful as well, insisting upon carrying the lawn chairs and the keys to the car, sitting/snuggling on my lap, multiple thank-yous, a lot of snack sharing. she is really growing up into a caring and sweet girl. i see a lot of myself in her, even her incessant apologizing and bending over backwards for her favorite people. i would say that i don't want her to inherit all of my insecurities, but i think they have made me a better, stronger person. they are really not debilitating at all... now my faults are a different story and, i'm sure, wrapped up in the insecurities, but that's a different story altogether.

jonathan told me when i got home that upon arriving home, themselves, lionel took some time to teach him how to play some card games. he kept repeating, "i just want you to have a good time, dad. i just want you have fun and to like playing these games." later on in the night, he was sure ralph was awake because he was CRACKING UP!!! when jonathan went to investigate, ralph was fast asleep, laughing in his sleep. i love that! a sure sign of a happy kid living a joyful childhood!

today we went, in 90 degree weather, to a park for emma brown's birthday and ran into an old grade school friend, patrick fanning. a nerdy little brain, but friendly as can be! that was kind-of fun. he insists cecelia is built just like me. lionel was busy making friends with a sweet little year, year and a half old girl. he is a sweet boy who really tries to be good in all things. he works hard to exemplify the rule of the klem house: care!

now i lay on the red couch on the landing at the top of our steps listening to the kids humming either star wars or indianan jones themes while having a bit of 'quiet time.' :)

lionel lost his front tooth! he was very courageous in his fight against the roots of his tooth. finally, he let dad pull on it a little. at the first pinch of pain, lionel stepped back (this tooth has been LOOOOONG in coming out) and lo and behold! the tooth was on his tongue. his face was just priceless: fear, pride, and happiness all at once. what a boy! i'm sitting here lounging in the breeze created by the wind formed by his breath being pushed out of the new hole created by the loss of such an important tooth.

all in all, a happy day!