12/17 We had to take Nathan to urgent care because he hurt his arm playing laser tag at Funtasticks the day before.
12/19 Dawn went to Winterhaven by herself because her family didn't want to go.
12/21 Dawn and Nathan went to the Desert Museum.
12/24 We attended the candlelight service at New Testament for Christmas Eve.
Christmas was low key. No ornaments on the tree. Going to Chicago for a funeral during the holidays put added stress and less time to get things done for Christmas. Nathan got nerf guns and a few other things for Christmas. Paul decided to purchase a camera for Dawn for Christmas/Birthday. At first he said it was too expensive. Then he changed his mind. Her parents put in half, $1500. She got the Nikon D850. Paul made breakfast, but Starbucks was closed. Dawn did some cleaning and went for a walk only to find out she left her Fitbit charging. Dawn bought some Honey Baked Ham for herself. We watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
The next day Dawn convinced Nathan to go to the Reid Park Zoo Lights.
12/27 Dawn and Nathan went up to Scottsdale to go to OdySea and to eat at Grimaldi's. Nathan always like visiting Jalapeno, the pufferfish.
12/28 Nathan had his annual pediatrician check up.
He is 5'6 and in the 70th percentile for height. We actually thought he was even taller than that because he doesn't seem that much shorter than dad who is 5'11. However, he is taller than most kids his age. Of course he told me that there is an 8th grader at his school who is 6'9 and another one who is 7' tall! That is just crazy! He passed me up shortly after he turned 12!
He weighs 133 lbs and is in the 79% percentile for weight. She said that is just about right considering his height. His BMI is 21.3 and in the 76th percentile. She said height and weight look good. He really had a growth spurt in the last couple of years. He grew 4 inches between 12 and 13 and another 3 inches this past year. He just turned 14 on 12/15. We just keep warning him that if he continues to eat the way he does he is going to have problems later when he is no longer growing taller. He eats like he is a bottomless pit! Sometimes I think he doesn't know how to control his eating, especially when it comes to candy! His favorite food these days, though, is steak!
He has mild scoliosis which they discovered at last year's visit. She still doesn't seem concerned about it at this point.
Last year they also heard some wheezing and asked if he had asthma. We said not that we knew of. This past year he says he notices he gets winded running long distance or with extreme physical exercise. She said she didn't hear any wheezing this time around. However, she sent over a prescription to our pharmacy for an inhaler. She said to give it a try the next time he feels out of breath and see if it helps. If it doesn't help, then he doesn't have asthma. He says he is a fast sprinter, but has trouble with long distance running.
She asked about his vision. I told her he gets an eye exam every year with an optometrist and that every year he has close to perfect vision with no need for corrective lenses.
She asked how he is doing in school. We told her that he doesn't like school, but that he is smart and gets good grades. We mentioned that he has switched schools a couple of times trying to find one that he likes. I think because he is so smart he gets bored sometimes at school because he already knows a lot of what they are teaching. He also gets frustrated with other peers who don't care about school and their grades, especially when he has to work on group projects with them. He also just doesn't like some of the teachers.
Not much else to report. All in all, he is doing well. Today's visit was actually a lot better than previous visits. There was hardly anyone there today being the holiday break. This is the first year that they didn't have me fill out lengthy paperwork regarding how many servings of vegetables and fruits he eats, how much screen time he gets, how much physical exercise he gets, etc... Last year they even had us answer questions about mental health, sexual preference/identity, etc... I was in shock last year about everything they wanted to know. I was relieved that they didn't ask us any of that this year.
12/30 we went to the Phoenix Zoo as an early celebration for Dawn's birthday. We ate at Rainforest Cafe.
New Years Eve was boring as usual.
Dawn's New Year's Resolutions:
5) Start using my new camera and keep improving my photography skills
1/2 was Dawn's 49th birthday. She spent the day by herself in Sabino Canyon.
Nathan got all As the 2nd quarter and got the Principal's Pride certificate. Dad promised him that he would take him to the Brazilian Steakhouse if he got all As so that motivated him.
Dawn went to the zoo 1/16. Tried out her new camera. Tried to take pictures of the baby zebra that was born on Christmas Day, but she was laying down the entire time.
1/16 We had to take Nathan to urgent care. This time he had a headache and his eyes were sensitive to light. They thought it could be the start of a sinus infection. We are hoping it is not the start of migraines.
1/24 Dawn went to Catalina State Park.
1/25 Dawn went to the Desert Museum to take pictures of the raptor show with her new camera. She also stopped at Sweetwater Wetlands, but didn't see much there other than a bobcat.
2/3 Dawn went back to Catalina State Park. She ended up buying an annual pass. Paul and Nathan went to the Kino Gem & Mineral Show.
2/5 Dawn went to Reid Park Zoo to photograph the baby zebra and and the baby giraffe who was born on Martin Luther King Day. She also went to the Tucson Botanical Gardens. She found out that the baby zebra died the following day after running into a fence.
2/9 Nathan went to a nerf activity at Sun & Shield Baptist Church.
2/10 Paul and Nathan went to the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center.
Dawn managed to maintain her weight during the holidays . As of today, she is about 143 pounds. Hoping to lose another 20 pounds before she turns 50 next year, but that is unlikely to happen. Perimenopause is working against her. Going on a decade now.
