First, there is the scary part. As Rachel puts it, "no parent should have to experience this." It happened during a play group. The kids were happily playing together near a large wooden box. Suddenly Jack fell in, head first (or maybe he was pushed). He started crying and Rachel went over to comfort him. Then came the scary part. Our sweet little Jackson suddenly started twitching from the waist down, and then went totally limp and blacked out completely. Some people thought he might be choking and started trying to baby-Heimlich him back into consciousness but to no avail.
He was really only out for about 20 seconds, but it seemed like a lot longer. He finally started to regain his consciousness, but maintained a dazed expression on his face. As Rachel puts it, "he was just really mellow...not crying at all but just sort of out of it." Anybody who knows Jack can understand why this was disconcerting. The kid is usually somewhat of a spaz!
Later on, after a visit from the ambulance and a long wait in the ER the doctors said they couldn't really explain what had happened. They took an MRI and everything checked out fine so they dismissed him. The best they could say is that he either has some sort of seizure disorder (not real likely) or he suffered from a concussion (probably). Whatever it was, it scared everyone for a little while but it is over now and Jackson is just fine. And just as spastic as ever! We love our Jack.
Now for the fun part. Jackson is definitely learning to walk. Just watch the video at the end. Need I say more?
Adalie, on the other hand, is completely content to allow us to do the work of moving her from place to place. She is sort of a lazy kid (or a smart one). Sometimes I call her "the beautiful blob." Sometimes the title fits.
The other fun thing about Jack? He's drinking whole milk! I know that doesn't sound thrilling, but little Jack-man has had this horrible milk/soy allergy his whole life. Whenever he has any of these things he breaks out into this horrible rash and starts scratching himself all over and just dissolves into a miserable, red, lumpy mess. We were told that kids sometimes grow out of this, and we were hopping this would be the case. Well, this week we ran out of Jack's super hypoallergenic (and super expensive) formula, and instead of running to the store for more we decided to see how the allergy thing was going. Well, he has been drinking straight whole milk for a week now and there has been no adverse reactions. We can't say for sure quite yet, but we think this means that the allergy days are over. Hooray!
So, we are trying to teach Evelyn manners. It is really cute to listen to her say "peas" (please), "gain-koo" (thank you), "yo-belkum" (you're welcome), and "bessoo" (bless you). We must have gone wrong somewhere though, because the other day she passed gas in a very non-discrete way (I never knew noises like that could come from such sweet little girls!). She looked a little embarrassed and Rachel tried to prompt her by asking "what do you say?" She thought about that for a second, and then her face lit up with a smile, she looked right at Rachel, and she loudly proclaimed "WOAH!"
The other main event of the week is in regards to Rachel. On Friday night we went down to Columbus and stayed in a really run-down hotel. They didn't even provide soap or shampoo. It was pretty ghetto. Anyway, we did that because on Saturday morning, bright and early, Rachel went to take the NIC test. This, essentially, was a test to see if Rachel qualifies for the highest level of interpreter that there is. Passing this test would mean that her certification would supersede any other local or state issued requirements for qualification. Basically, she could interpret anywhere, at any time, and in any situation that she wanted.
So- it's a pretty intense test. She has been studying and practicing for the past couple months for this and it all came down to a few hours in a small room with a video camera. In the meantime, I took the kids to the park and chased ducks.
When I went back to pick her up she had a smile on her face and told me she thought she did really well (even though she's scared to admit this to herself). We won't officially know for another month or so, but it is nice that she at least feels good about it. To celebrate, we all went out to eat at a "real" restaurant-the kind where you actually order off a menu handed out by a server. Rachel got the ribs and an all-you-can-eat ice cream Sunday. I shared a burger and fries with Evelyn. Jackson and Adalie ate orange and green crayons. We all left happy.
Rachel, Enjoying her celebration lunch. I'm so proud of her.
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