Week of Appointments and a Ceremony

I had the best of intentions of taking some pictures to put in this post . . . but it didn't happen.

• Monday Micah and Drew had well-baby appointments.  Technically Micah turned 3 on April 9, and Drew turned 18 months on May 30, so let's just say I wasn't early with these, LOL.  They were another thing I had all summer to do, just like the tea party!  Fortunately I was able to get 2 appointments together before September.  It was very good to get that out of the way!  Both boys are healthy.  Micah is really big for someone in our family--84th percentile for height and weight.  We NEVER see those numbers!  Micah is also still remarkably uncooperative.  He started fussing as soon as we went back to get weighed and whatnot.  The tech said, "I haven't even done anything yet!"  Yes, well . . . that's our charming Micah.  He did NOT get a lollipop at the end, LOL.  Drew was in contrast very cooperative, so that was good.  He's also bigger than average for us--the 44th percentile.  Fortunately, Drew was the only one who needed shots.  He wasn't happy about getting them, but it was a lot less stressful than if it had been Micah, I'm sure.  Grace tagged along as the designated big person helper, and she did a great job.
• Wednesday I had another OB appointment, followed by my first non-stress test.  The appointment went well.  I saw yet a different doctor, and this one was quite unconcerned about how my fasting numbers are once again hovering right over the cut-off of 95.  It just underscores how different each doctor's assessment of "reasonable risk" is, because I think the doctor I saw last week would have already put me on pills at night.  I'm expecting that at next week's appointment, though.  The non-stress test was fine, although it took longer than it could have, since the baby always sleeps in the morning (after being wide awake all night long, dancing on my bladder).  Finally it was time for my mid-morning snack, and she eventually woke up enough for her to move and have her heartrate go up and do what it needed to do.  The only bad thing is that I have to go back not once, but TWICE a week for these crazy things.  I do not envision having a very productive month of schooling with the girls, with all these trips to Bethesda looming each week.  Less than 4 weeks to go . . .
• Yesterday I had another chiropractor appointment, and then Nathan and I drove out to a centrally-located high school for our county for his driver's licensing ceremony.  Virginia is apparently the only state which does not just give the teens their actual driver's licence once they finish all the requirements.  Instead, they get a piece of paper saying they can drive, which is valid along with their learner's permit, until they go to this ceremony and get their actual license.  Nathan got the letter back in the end of May, but he was scheduled for a ceremony in June, while he was at PJOC.  So I had to call to get him a different date.  We had sort of assumed there would maybe be 50 people there or something, but when we drove up to the high school, the parking lot was full like there was a home football game or something, and there was a solid mass of people lined up starting at the door and wrapping around the building.  We joined the throng of teens and parents, and waited outside for 15 minutes to file inside.  I was melting, but really it could have been hotter.  Thankfully I didn't have to desperately pee or anything!  Inside the auditorium, a judge talked for a bit, and then the county prosecutor, and then the judge came back up for awhile.  What they said was actually quite good and sobering, about the privilege of driving, and how devastating it is if you are the one who harms or kills someone else because of bad decisions.  It was more than just the standard "you're going to die because you are a risky teenage driver" spiel.  Also the judge really stressed how the parent is the one who determines who can drive, and if they ever feel like the teen is not living up to whatever standards they have decided on, even attitude-wise or chore-wise, then it is the responsibility of the parents to take away the license.  After about 45 minutes of talking, the deputies started dismissing the auditorium 2 rows at a time to go to the back, where there were 4 tables set up, divided alphabetically.  There you waited in line, and eventually the clerk handed the parent the license after the teen turned in their learner's permit and piece of paper.  It all took approximately forever, and then we had to wait for awhile to be able to get out of the parking lot!  It was good and all, but the thought of having to do that 9 more times is rather unsettling.  We saw several families we knew, and we sat behind one lady.  Her youngest (out of 8, I believe)  is the same age as Nathan, and he and Jake were in TNT together.  So now she is all done, whereas I am just starting . . .
• And speaking of starting, this morning, Bob took Luke to the DMV at the Pentagon to take his learner's permit test, which he passed with flying colors, not missing any questions.  So it all begins again--first the parking lot, then the neighborhood, then the rest of D.C.!