What we did today

Cuddling with Daddy at the Olive Garden

I LOVE moments like these!  It just makes my heart melt.

Christina at Sean's hockey game 4/6/10

Spring has sprung!

Last week I was walking with Christina to Fred Meyer for something to do, and I walked past these absolutely beautiful trees that line the sidewalk of a nearby apartment complex. Every spring and summer these trees sprout the most gorgeous pink petals. I couldn't resist taking some pictures, so I can remember how beautiful it is, even when it's winter again and the trees are bare. It may sound wierd, but I really feel like these trees are one of God's ways of getting my attention and reminding me that He loves me.  Even just seeing the pretty petals strewn on the ground makes me smile.

Tiny Dancer

I am tired of walk-in clinics!

Last month I got sick. On a Friday night I started to get chills and body aches. By Saturday evening, I had a fever of 103.3. Sunday night, it was 102.6. So Monday morning, Sean took me to the local walk-in clinic. I was told that I had the flu (which I had already surmised), and that I could alternate Tylenol and Advil every three hours. Other than that, I had to ride it out.

The next couple of days, my fever was a bit lower (the 100 to 101 range), but I was still feeling bad enough that I was couch-bound. Then, Thursday night, my fever went back up to 102.3 (by this point, I had developed a really nasty cough). Friday morning (this is a week after I first felt sick), I got a nose bleed, after which I felt lightheaded and threw up a little. I called Sean and told him about it, and he came home from work to take me back in to the doctor. This time I made an appointment at MY doctor's office, only my doctor was booked, so I asked for another doc that I like there, Dr. Carolyn Sherman. She listened to my lungs and told me that I now had PNEUMONIA. Honestly, I was so GLAD to hear that it wasn't a virus. Now, I could take antibiotics and feel better! The doctor told me that to come back in if I wasn't feeling better in 72 hours. Well, at 48 hours, my fever spiked back up to 102.4. But the next morning, I felt a lot better...and it was all uphill from there.

Today, I still have a lingering cough, but I feel totally better. The fever was the worst part, and I'm SO glad it's gone!

Now for my second story...

Christina started coughing about five days ago. It was a dry cough, like when you have post-nasal drip, so I thought she was just coming down with a cold. On Wednesday morning, she had a coughing fit that lasted a couple of minutes, but after that, it was just intermittent coughing throughout the day. Then, later that morning, I was following Christina up the stairs in our house, and I noticed that her legs were completely COVERED in hives (thank goodness she goes around in just a diaper when she's at home, or I wouldn't have noticed).

I called my mother-in-law, since I couldn't get ahold of Sean at work (He had the car), and she came over and drove us to the walk-in clinic. The doctor said that yes, she had hives, and that I should give her Benadryl every 4-6 hours until they cleared up. I mentioned her cough, and after listening to her with the stethoscope, he said that her lungs sounded clear, and it was probably just a virus. I racked my brain trying to figure out what has caused her hives (new food, new detergent, new clothes or blankets), but I couldn't come up with anything. The doc actually said that in about 80% of cases, there are no obvious causes of hives.

Well, the next morning (yesterday), Christina and I woke up early to take Sean to the vanpool so we could have the car for the day. In the car, Christina had a coughing fit that lasted all the way from our house to the library where the vanpool meets (that's about 15-20 minutes). The longest break in her coughing during that time was maybe 20 seconds. Sean said I needed to take her back in to the doctor, and I agreed.

I called Christina's pediatrician, but she doesn't work on Thursdays, so I scheduled an afternoon appointment with one of the other pediatricians. Then...she got hives AGAIN (this time on her back AND legs). I decided not to wait for our appointment, and, after giving her some Benadryl, took her to the OTHER local walk-in clinic (since the doc the day before had not seemed particularly concerned, and I definitely WAS). Well, this doc also knew NOTHING. She said that Christina's lungs sounded clear, so it was most likely a virus. And she had no idea what had caused the hives. She offered to give me a prescription for an oral steroid that would keep the hives at bay, but ultimately, she said that I needed to get an appointment with Christina's primary care provider. (Keep in mind that we have a $15 copay for each doctor visit, so we're now out $30, and we have NO ANSWERS). I called the pediatrician's office immediately after that appointment and got Christina an appointment with Dr. Debbie Zaret, her pediatrician, at 8AM this morning. And I'm glad I did, since Christina was awake last night from 1AM to 2AM, coughing.

Sean decided to go into work late this morning so he could come with Christina and I to the appointment. I told Dr. Zaret about the coughing and the hives, and after answering all of the same questions I had answered the previous two days (Any new food? New clothes? New detergent?), she asked a new one - had Sean or I been sick recently? I told her about my flu/pneumonia, but that I had been better for a couple of weeks now. The doctor listened to Christina's lungs for quite a long time, and she counted how many breaths she took in a minute. I guess she was breathing a little faster than normal (26 breaths per minute, as opposed to her normal 20). The doctor also said that she heard a little raspy-ness in an area of Christina's right lung (She said that a clinic doctor probably wouldn't have heard it).

Dr. Zaret said that Christina's symptoms were one of two things. It could be walking pneumonia - a kind of pneumonia that gives you an annoying cough (and sometimes hives in kids), but otherwise you feel just fine (the incubation period is 10-14 days, so it's totally probable that she got it from me). Or, it could be a particular virus that's going around, which has the exact same symptoms - coughing and hives that last a couple of weeks.

The doctor said that since I had pneumonia recently, and since she heard a raspy spot in Christina's lung, she's 75% sure that Christina has pneumonia as well. So, we got her some antibiotics. If it IS pneumonia, Christina should no longer be contagious after having the antibiotic in her system for 12 hours (which would be 9:30 tonight). Oddly enough, regardless of if it's pneumonia or the virus, Christina should start feeling/sounding better in about 3-4 days. (If we're right about the pneumonia, the antibiotic should get rid of the cough by then. If we're wrong and it's the virus, it should be getting better around that time.) However, the hives may continue, on and off, anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

I'm just so happy to finally have an answer! I think I'm going to try to swear off the walk-in clinic from now on. With Christina's and my recent illnesses, our trips to the walk-in have been completely useless. It really seems better just to wait until our own doctors (or at least a doctor in the same practice) have appointments, since that's the only time we seem to get any real answers! The walk-in clinic has been a complete waste of time and money!

Gingerbread house

A few days ago, Christina and I decided to put together the gingerbread house that my parents got Christina for Christmas.  Of course, most of the "putting together" was done by me, but Christina enjoyed decorating the house with candy (when she wasn't EATING it!).  The house didn't turn out quite like the picture on the box - I don't know how anyone could squeeze out the icing that neatly!  We made a bit of a mess, but we had fun, and I think it turned out quite nicely.

 

  

  

  

P.S.  The gingerbread house only lasted about a day, since the day after we made it, Christina decided to take all of the candy off and eat it!  So, the house itself is still intact, but it's a bit bare!

Fun at the ice rink

Christina and I went with Sean to watch him play hockey last Sunday evening.  Granted, I never get to actually WATCH all that much, since I'm usually following Christina around.  Since I have a new camera that takes video, Sean wanted me to record as much of the game as I could.  I told him ahead of time that I probably wouldn't be able to get much, but I'd do my best.  So, what I ended up with was a video that shows a combination of the hockey game and Christina playing around.

Watch Sean playing hockey/Christina at the rink in People & Blogs  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

As it turned out, the game was not a good one for Sean (his team lost 1 to 6), but Christina enjoys watching her video!

After recording all I could (until the memory card was full), Christina decided she wanted to wander around the rink and play.  She followed the lead of another little girl and taught herself how to climb up and sit on the railing.

 

When we went to the bathroom, she thought it would be fun to sit in the little baby seat attached to the wall.

I remember when I had to put her in the little baby seat in the bathroom at Babies R Us, when Chrisitna actually WAS a baby.  I remember that as soon as I put her in there, she started screaming, and she didn't stop until I finished going to the bathroom and picked her up again - how things have changed!

Build-A-Kitty!

Christina's Grandpa Larry and Grandma Lindy (my in-laws) took her to the Build-A-Bear store at the Alderwood Mall to celebrate Christina's 3rd birthday, and I came along to take pictures!

I was quite surprised when Christina picked out the Hello Kitty toy (she knows nothing about the Hello Kitty brand - I don't think she's ever seen anything Hello Kitty before), and despite all other suggestions, the Hello Kitty was the one she wanted!

 

 

Then we went over to the the stuffing station, where Christina got to watch the gal fill up her kitty with stuffing, and she got to pick out a heart to put in her kitty.

 

Next, it was time to give the kitty a "bath."  The bath station blew air when you turned it on, and Christina thought that was a bit too loud, so she settled for brushing kitty's fur.

Now it was time to pick out an outfit for kitty.  Christina picked out a Disney Princess shirt right away, and Grandpa Larry helped her pick out a denim skirt to go with it.  At first, Christina wanted her kitty to wear ice skates ("just like Daddy"), but then she decided against it.  She also went back and forth on whether her kitty should have a purse, and she eventually decided against it.  But Grandpa Larry did convince her to get a matching Hello Kitty chair and Hello Kitty slippers.

 

 

 

 

Then Christina sat down at the computer, and I helped her fill out all of the information for her kitty's "birth certificate."  Christina couldn't decide what to name her new kitty, and Grandpa Larry came up with the name Snowflake, which Christina really liked. 

 

The great thing about Build-A-Bear is that if you ever lose your toy and someone returns it to a Build-A-Bear store, they can open up the toy's stitching in the back and get out the barcode, which, when scanned, will tell them your information, so they can get your toy back to you!  So, for future reference, if you ever find a Build-A-Bear toy somewhere, just return it to the nearest Build-A-Bear store, and they'll get it back to the owner!

Once the birth certificate was printed out, we got checked out, and Christina decided to stop by the fountain on the way back through the mall.  All in all, we had a great time, and Christina just loves Snowflake!

 

 

My new camera!

My friend Kristina gave me an awesome gift for my birthday. She gave me an old camera of hers that can be used to record video, along with a new memory card for it. Up to this point, I have no video footage of Christina, but I'm hoping to change that! So here's a video of Christina playing over at Sigrid's house. It's about 10 minutes long because I was checking to see how much video the memory card would hold.

Enjoy!

Skating!

Christina has had a couple of firsts over the last couple of months.  Last month we went to a playgroup with our friends Kristina and Sigrid, and Christina got to roller skate for the first time!  It was a "kids skate" time, so all of the songs at the rink were "kid-approved," like the Sesame Street theme, the chicken dance, and "YMCA" (although I think the moms enjoyed that one more than the kids!).  The wheels on the toddler-sized skates were tightened up, so really it was more like walking than skating.

 

Kristina and I started out in socks so we could help the girls get used to skating, but after a while, we put on our own skates and joined in the fun.  Boy, roller-skating is a really good workout!  I'm kind of hoping that Christina will really come to enjoy it as she gets older, and we can go skating together.

After hearing that Christina had such a great time roller-skating, Sean decided to let her try ice-skating.  We went to the ice rink and she got all geared up, very excited to give it a try after seeing Daddy skate so often (he plays on a hockey team, and Christina and I go to his games when we can).

She got out on the ice, and of course it was much harder than being in the roller-skates, so she kept sliding in between Sean's legs.

 

She lasted about 30 seconds before she decided she'd had enough.  She did, however, like being carried by Daddy while he was skating, and she kept asking to do it again, but we didn't think it was a very safe idea.

I had her practice walking around on the skates while holding my hand, on the floor just outside the rink.  Sean and I tried a couple more times to get her back out on the ice, but she had had enough for that day.  Thankfully, at that particular ice rink, kids under 5 skate for free, so all we had to pay for was the skate rental.  I know Sean is looking forward to when she's a bit older when he can really teach her how to skate.  But for right now, I think we'll stick with roller-skating!

From the monitor...

The other night, I was lying in bed reading my book when I heard this from the bedside baby monitor:

"Mom?...(pause)...

Mom!...(pause)...

Mom!!...(pause)...

*sigh*...Mom must be sleeping...(pause)...(and I'm thinking, "she is SO sweet," until)...

MOM!!!"

Options

Christina's new favorite thing to say is "Can you give me some options?"

Whether the question is "What would you like to eat?" or "What show would you like to watch?", her response is always "Can you give me some options?"

It was really cute at first, and I know she picked it up from me.  I would ask her a question and she would say "I don't know," so I would say, "Would you like me to give you some options?"  But now she says it ALL THE TIME.

Even if I tell her no, I won't give her any options, she'll follow up with "Wanna think, think, think?"  She got this from the TV show "My Friends Tigger and Pooh."  There's a song on it that goes like this:

Now's the time to think, think, think.
If you have a problem, think, think, think.
Look at every clue like the Super Sleuths do
And just think - think - think!

It's really cute, but when you hear it every day, it kind of drives you crazy!

P.S.  After writing the word "think" that many times, it's kind of lost it's meaning!

Halloween?

OK, so I know it's past Halloween now, so it's an odd time to be writing this.  I also know that Christina and I had lots of fun this year celebrating Halloween, so it may seem wierd that I'm questioning it.

Recently I've been catching up on the blogs that I follow, and since many of them are written by Christian women, there have been lots of opinions going around about whether or not to celebrate Halloween.  Obviously, Halloween isn't Biblical.  (Actually, most of our American holidays aren't - nowhere in the Bible does it talk about commemorating Jesus' birth with a Christmas celebration, or His resurection with an Easter celebration.  As I understand it, these holidays were created by the Roman Catholic Church to draw attention away from pagan celebrations that were going on at the same time - note how Christmas is right around the time of the winter solstice, and Easter is at the beginning of spring.)

One blog that I read simply listed some scriptures and directed the reader to pray and follow God's leading.  Here are some of the scriptures that really affected me:

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil . - 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. - Phillipians 4:8

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ... - Titus 2:11-13

This really makes me think that maybe it's not such a good thing to be celebrating Halloween.

One day shortly before Halloween, I took Christina to what we called the "Halloween store" - the old "Circuit City" store, which, since having gone out of business, had been transformed temporarily into a Halloween costume/decoration shop.  While there was a small section of the store with toddler costumes, which is what I was there to look at, most of the store was filled with lots of scary decorations, many of which had motion sensors, so the scary monster or decapitated head would start moving if you got too close.  It was then that I noticed an emotion in Christina that I had never seen in her before.  She was clearly terrified of being in the store, and yet she had such a curiosity about it that she didn't want to leave.  She had me carry her the whole time, and many times she buried her face in my neck, but when I said that we were leaving, she didn't want to go and started to throw a tantrum.  It really makes me think of when I'm watching a horror movie - I'm scared, but I don't turn the movie off - I want to see what happens, even though I know it won't be good.

Even during our trip to the zoo, when we went into the "Boomazium," Christina was really scared and had me carry her the whole way.  On Halloween evening, my father-in-law and his wife took Christina trick-or-treating around their neighborhood while Sean and I went out to dinner with a friend.  It sounds like everything went great until they got to a house with a motion-sensored ghost that was right around Christina's height.  Christina got scared and didn't want to go to that house, and then, to top it off, a lady in a witch costume came out and started playing some spooky music on her guitar.  Suffice it to say that after that house, Christina decided she was done trick-or-treating.

Thinking about all of that "evil" that Christina was exposed to makes me feel really bad.  If we're supposed to "meditate on" things that are "true...noble...just...pure...[and] lovely," then Halloween seems like the exact opposite of that.  The hard part is, of course, figuring out how to not celebrate Halloween when all of our friends and extended family do.  Even my church participates in a local "trunk-or-treat."

I've thought about finding a church that hosts a "harvest festival" or "harvest party" on October 31st, but as this website (scroll to the second article) points out:

The Harvest Party is usually referred to as the Christian alternative to traditional Halloween hijinx. Alternative, however, implies substitute. It assumes our children need something to take the place of Halloween, since they won't be participating in the secular and pagan celebrations. It suggests our kids are missing out on something.

Now, as I said before, I feel torn.  On the one hand, I feel like there are lots of ways to "tone down" Halloween and make it less scary - after all, there are plenty of very cute costumes that wouldn't be considered scary or evil at all.  But...it does seem like it would be hard to get away from being exposed to anything scary on that day, since I'm not in control of what other people wear as costumes or use as decorations.  And ultimately, Halloween is not, and never will be, a Christian holiday...even if churches do join in on the celebration.

In any case, thank goodness I have a whole year to think about it and make a decision!

Teeny Tiny Hamburger!

Am I the only one who thinks these hamburger gummi candies are just adorable?  They don't taste very good, and they're WAY too chewy - but they're SO CUTE!

Are you frustrated?

I've had a tough last few days with Christina.  I don't know what's going on, but she is going through a very defiant phase (which I know I've mentioned before - it comes in waves).  But she's also very good at picking up on my emotions when I'm losing my temper.  When I get upset, I tell her that "I'm very frustrated right now."  So now, when she notices that I'm in a mood, she'll ask me "Mommy, are you frustrated?"  And if I say yes, she stops what she's doing and gives me a hug.

She asks me if I'm frustrated if I'm in any mood other than happy, so I know I need to start putting names to my other emotions as well (sad, bored, etc. - I even told Sean I was feeling melancholy the other day!).  But I'm so glad that Christina can recognize when I'm not happy and that she wants to make me feel better.

I recently picked up a book from the library called No Matter What, by Debi Gliori.  In it, the child fox, Small, is feeling "grim and grumpy" and acts out by upturning the living room.  When the parent fox, Large, asks what's wrong, Small begins to ask if Large would still love him if he were a "grumpy grizzly bear" or a crocodile.  Large reassures Small that he will always be loved, no matter what.

I read that book to Christina last night before bed (and after a particularly "tantrum-y" evening).  I told Christina to always remember that no matter how frustrated Mommy and Daddy get, and no matter how mad she gets or how many tantrums she has, Sean and I will always love her.  I think God must have planned for me to pick up this book when I did, because the timing was perfect.  I don't think I impress enough upon Christina that love doesn't go away just because we're angry.  In fact, the reason we get so angry is because we love so much.

As a parent, I want the best for my child.  I want her to be safe and happy, and I also want her to grow up understanding that she IS under authority.  I want her to choose to surrender her life to God and submit to HIS authority.  And I know that in order for her to understand what that means, she has to know how to submit to parental authority first.  I've told her before, after a time-out, that she has to obey Mommy and Daddy because God put us in charge of her.  Obviously I'm very careful not to abuse the authority that I've been given, but I want her to know that by obeying us, she is obeying God and making Him happy.

So many people just HATE the idea of anyone being in a position of authority over them.  But you know what?  Submitting myself to God's will is so FREEING!  It means that I don't have to worry about my life - God will take care of me.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.  -Proverbs 3:5-6 New Living Translation

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is life not more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life.  -Matthew 6:25-27 New International Version

Brawl at Bartells

Yesterday evening I decided to go for a walk with Christina to our local Bartell Drugs store.  Basically, Christina was having a rough night (lots of tantrums and crying for no apparent reason), and I thought we could both be helped out by getting out of the house and getting some fresh air.

The walk went pretty well, and Christina actually walked most of the way (I brought along the stroller for if she got tired).  She really enjoyed splashing in the mud puddles we came across on our way to the store.

So we arrived at Bartells, and as soon as I walked up, I knew something wierd was going on.  There was a man in a baseball cap (from here on out I'll refer to him as Baseball Cap Guy) standing behind a big pillar and looking into the store's windows.  A lady walked out of the store, and he grabbed her and pulled her aside (she must have known him, because she seemed fine with this).  I heard him say "They're pulling a scam in there!" and point to someone in the store.  Christina and I went inside the store, and shortly thereafter, the lady came back inside (presumably to tell someone about the "scam"), but then I heard her ask one of the clerks where a particular item was and then go to find it...so I was a bit confused.  Christina started looking around in the makeup aisle near the front door.

Then, Baseball Cap Guy came in the front door, pulling a woman along with him.  He was saying something along the lines of "I saw what you were doing," and she was asking him to let her go.  Now I was starting to get really worried.  He pulled her into the aisle next to me, the shampoo aisle, and he motioned for this young guy in a black shirt (from here on out referred to as Black Shirt Guy) to come with him.  The lady was telling Baseball Cap Guy to let go of her, but he pushed her up against the shelves, holding her by the collar, knocking over a bunch of shampoo bottles (seriously, I felt like I was watching a movie).  Then Black Shirt Guy ran over and tackled Baseball Cap Guy, and as far as I saw, everyone fell to the floor.  One of the Bartells employees at the front of the store yelled out "Call 911!"

There were sounds of a tussle, and Christina started walking in that direction to see what was going on.  I told her to come back over by me (my heart was beating so fast!), and just then Black Shirt Guy got free and ran out the front door (thankfully, he was careful not to run into Christina, because she was right in his way).  Back in the aisle, I saw Baseball Cap Guy and a Bartells employee (she was wearing the Bartells red vest) getting up from the floor (I don't know how the employee got in the middle of the fight, but she did).  Baseball Cap Guy ran out after Black Shirt Guy (I have no idea where the lady went, but she wasn't there anymore, so she must have run out at some point).  Basball Cap Guy came back in a minute later and said "He ran over into the Safeway parking lot!"

Now that all the action had died down, I turned my attention to Christina.  She was pretty shaken up, and she started crying.  I kneeled down and talked to her - we talked about how scary it had been, but how it was all over now and wouldn't happen again.  I went with her to the back of the store and we went to the restroom, where she cried some more and then calmed down.  Then we walked around the store a bit, and I saw that a police officer had arrived and was talking to Baseball Cap Guy and some of the employees.  On our way out of the store, the lady employee that had somehow gotten in the middle of the fight said "I hope we didn't scare your little girl too much," and she asked Christina if she was OK.  Christina said yes, and we headed back home.

Christina decided to ride in the stroller most of the way home, and at one point she started crying again.  I asked if she was still scared, and she said yes.  She kept saying "I want to go home."  I told her that we were on our way, and that as soon as we got home, she could tell Daddy about how we saw the men fighting.  That seemed to cheer her up, and as soon as we walked in the door, she ran right up to Sean and said "We saw men fighting!"

Pumpkin Prowl

Christina and I went to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle this evening for their annual Pumpkin Prowl.  It's an event where a portion of the zoo is decorated (the rest is blocked off), and there are lots of designated spots for kids to "Trick-or-Treat" and get candy.  A friend of mine went last year and said it was lots of fun, so I thought I'd check it out.

Man, was it crowded!  I mean, I expected it to be popular - I guess I just didn't expect that such a small portion of the zoo would be open, so there were lots of people in small spaces.  We had to wait in lots of LONG lines in order to get any candy.  Not to say that it wasn't a good time - actually, Christina was surprisingly patient waiting in all the lines.  She really enjoyed looking around and seeing the other kids' costumes.

Christina saw the wandering peacock shortly after we entered the zoo.  It wandered off (naturally!), and she didn't realize it was in the bushes right behind her.

Then, it almost came out of the bushes right in front of her.  Don't worry, I moved her out of the way before he stepped out!

I got a couple pictures of her in front of some jack-o-lanterns.  (In case you can't tell, they've got glow sticks inside them.)

Then, we headed over to the "Family Farm" area of the zoo.  We saw some goats while we were over there (the only animals that we saw the whole time).  And Christina enjoyed playing with the (non-working) water pump, while having a lollypop.

After that we went to the "Bug World" building and saw all the bugs, and by the time we got out of there, it was pretty dark.  We got in line to go into the "Boomazium" (typically called the Zoomazium).  It's usually a play area for young kids, but tonight it was decked out as a (fairly tame) haunted house.  It goes without saying that we had to wait in a HUGE line to get in.  So while we were waiting, I snapped some pictures!

Here's some jack-o-lanterns on spikes!  (And the reason the picture is so washed out is that it was TOTALLY dark by this time.)

A nice gentleman offered to take a picture of Christina and I in front of a huge jack-o-lantern.

Here's a creepy scarecrow that was just outside the building (sort of "Nightmare Before Christmas," I thought).

Once we were inside, it got pretty spooky.  It was one big, dark room, with BIG displays.  Christina was a little scared when we first walked in, what with it being so dark and the noises over the speakers so LOUD, but I explained that everything in the room was "pretend.".  I pointed out that the ghost and the bats flying overhead were attached to strings, so they could only go in a certain path.  That seemed to help her feel better about it.

There was a tall witch decoration that reached nearly to the ceiling, and over the speakers near her you could hear her cackling and saying, "Watch out for my spider friend over there, heee heee heee."  I didn't know what she was talking about until we rounded the corner and saw this:

A HUGE spider!  And keep in mind that the room was very dark - the display was only lit by some spooky blue and green lights.  The only reason the picture is so bright is that my camera's flash was on.  And not only was it a big, scary spider, but it was robotic, so it MOVED!

Christina didn't want to get too close to that one, and I don't blame her!

This scarecrow was quite spooky as well, but Christina didn't seem to mind it very much.

Christina was pretty relieved to exit the "Boomazium."  She said "It was scary in there!"

After that we did some more trick-or-treating and then headed back to the car.  All in all, we had quite a good time.  I'm not sure if we'll go back again next year, just because of all the long lines, but it was definitely worth checking out.  At one of the trick-or-treating "sites," we even got a beanie baby toy (Soybean the pig, whose birthday is January 3, 2007, just a couple weeks before Christina was born.  I thought that was pretty neat!).