Oh Really?

Hi all!

Wow, just a few days left before I celebrate my second Christmas! I can hardly wait; my sixth sense is telling me that there is some major spoilage heading my way, and I’m not complaining. But before I get ahead of myself, let me chat to you about my past week.

On Monday I had my last OT session for the year. I waved goodbye to Lauren and through my little wave wished her a happy Christmas and an awesome New Year. Mom and I headed to Benmore Gardens after OT, and I walked around the entire centre holding Mom’s hand. Yes, hand and not hands! I only held her one hand. Mom was so proud of me, and I loved the attention and showing off. After our stroll we popped into ToyZone. There Mom introduced me to The Smurfs. I was not impressed by these little blue munchkens and I let her know. Mom was devastated, as she loves The Smurfs. An instant later I discovered, to Mom’s horror, Barney. There was an entire shelf of Barneys, and I grabbed each one and hugged them individually. Mom relented and got me one. We left a scattering of Barneys lying around the store. I shouted to them to run, that they were free, but the quick shop assistants were onto the Barneys and before long they were neatly lined up on the shop shelves again.

During our visit to Benmore Gardens I achieved another first – I stood on an escalator for the first time ever. Now I know most of you take this feat for granted, but for littlelies like us anything new can be a little disconcerting. I triumphed, and actually loved the solid mechanics of the steel snake winding its way up to the next level.

Dad was already home when we arrived back from our day’s sojourn. Mom and I reluctantly left the coolness of the air-conditioned car and headed indoors. Mom related the news to Dad that I didn’t like The Smurfs; Dad was equally shocked, and equally horrified when I presented Dad with a bright purple, big eyed and wide grinning Barney.

In the evening Opa came to visit and after chatting and playing we all decorated the Christmas Tree. Well, Mom and Dad did most the decorating while Opa and I played hide-and-seek around the lounge and dinning room. Pretty soon I tired of running around and together with Mom, Dad and Opa we all stood back and admired the awesome Christmas Tree.

On Tuesday Dad was booked off from work for some oral surgery, so I managed to spend a little more time with him in the morning. While watching CNN in the morning our curiosity was piqued by the mention of new ‘dog food’ at Google’s headquarters. Before I go into details, perhaps its worth explaining what the folk at Google call ‘dog food’ – its in-house product testing, i.e. the staff at Google get access to a new Google product and get to use (and abuse) it with the proviso that they provide objective consumer orientated feedback. Today’s ‘dog food’ was rumoured to be a Google Phone! Not only would it sport Google Goggles, but would be network agnostic.

Ok, enough about Google! Did I mention that Dad miscalculated my Advent Calendar, and as a result I got two chocolates. During the course of the morning Dad went to a chiro appointment with Dr Sonja, and Mom and I headed off for another appointment in Victory Park. We all met up back home mid-morning and then we prepared to take Dad to Morningside Medi-Clinic. En route I feel asleep in the car and was in a deep snooze. I was still asleep when we arrived at Morningside Medi-Clinic, so Mom went in for her dentist appointment while Dad stayed with me in the car (yes, both Mom and Dad had opted for some dentistry on the same day!). After Mom’s appointment we headed to the reception and Dad was admitted to the Head and Shoulder Ward (it sounded a lot like shampoo to me, but who am I to say?). We settled in, taking over just about the whole ward, as is our expertise!

Once we’d settled Dad down, Mom and I headed home where Granny was waiting to look after me for the afternoon. On the way out we met Dr Walsh, my anaesthetist, and Dr Davidge-Pitts, my ENT. As usual, I felt like a celebrity at the hospital! After Mom dropped me off at home, she headed back to the hospital to be with Dad. They both arrived home just as it started getting dark, Dad being very quiet and sporting a set of lips that Angelina Jolie would have been jealous of. I felt really sorry for Dad, as I could tell he was in a lot of pain and discomfort. However, I was also a little jealous of him as his surgeon had prescribed a diet of Coke and ice-cream! What bliss. What made it look really funny is that Dad opted to eat in front of a mirror as he couldn’t feel where his mouth was, so he had to watch himself eat!

While Dad ploughed through his second bowl of chocolate ice-cream chased by Coke, Mom told me about the day’s events. It turns out Dad had a minor vasovagal attack as he was placed on the surgery table. Apparently he passed out twice, both times he asked the anaesthetist if he was being put under. Apparently the anaesthetist was pretty stressed about Dad’s reaction, as his heart rate dropped to a rate so low that it would make even Lance Armstrong jealous. Lots of oxygen was administered, and pretty soon Dad was stable enough to be sedated. As a result of his little episode, his surgery took almost twice as long as planned, causing Mom to feel somewhat perturbed while she waited for Dad to be wheeled out of recovery.

Wednesday was a public holiday (Reconciliation Day), so Dad didn’t need to go to work. However, because he was still recovering from his surgery, we opted for a very quiet day at home.

Mom had a massage planned for the morning, and while she was getting ready I decided to show off a new talent I’d been secretly working on and harbouring. As Mom chatted to me I responded with a loud, resounding, ‘oh really’! This cracked Mom up, and owing to her and Dad’s awesome reaction, I opted to say ‘oh really’ at every opportunity for the rest of the day.

While Mom was having her massage, Dad took me out to the garden where we took advantage of the brilliant weather. I hoped on my Smart Trike and Dad pushed me around on the lawn and driveway. It was great fun, although Dad wasn’t able to say much, nor did he move very fast, owing to his convalescence. I spent most of the afternoon in my sandpit, in the shade, taking full advantage of the hot summer weather.

The summer heat continued on Thursday, so at Mom’s group at Colleen’s place Joseph and I simply swam.

Mom and I had a chiro appointment on Friday morning with Dr Sonja. By the time we got home Dad was already leaving to see his surgeon for a post-operative check-up. He arrived home mid-afternoon with the all clear – the x-rays showed that all the work done on his teeth and jawbone was a success. It seemed that the positive feedback from the surgeon made Dad suddenly feel better, as he was now ready to go out, so we headed to Sandton City in the late afternoon to see Barney! I was thrilled! Even though Mom and Dad weren’t great fans they were prepared to take me to a Barney show and sit through it with me. We arrived a few minutes before the show was scheduled to start, and Mom and Dad made a beeline for the stage. Once we’d negotiated through what seemed like millions of little bodies we arrived at the stage and we seated ourselves on the floor at the foot of the stage. I was bursting with excitement – not only was I going to meet Barney, but I was also moshing in the first mosh pit of my life, and I knew it wouldn’t be my last.

The crowd was electric, with every single eye on the stage entrance, and then, as the music crescendo’ed, Barney jumped onto the stage. The crowd went wild! Kids were screaming and clapping. I was in Jay-Bee heaven. Barney even waved directly at me. All too soon the show was over; I shouted for an encore, but my little voice wasn’t strong enough. Still on a buzz, I headed with Mom and Dad to the Walnut Grove for dinner. That night, as I drifted off to sleep, all that buzzed around my mind were purple dinosaurs with big white grins.

Saturday I woke up to a special surprise – it was my 18 month birthday, or 1½ years, and to celebrate Mom and Dad got me my very own Barney double DVD. It was immediately popped into my DVD player and I started reliving the evening before when I saw Barney on stage.

At about midday, once I decided that I needed a break from Barney, Dad and I headed to Lifestyle Garden Centre to collect my photographs from my first hair cut a few weeks previously (see below). I was impressed with the photos – they looked great. After collecting the photos Dad and I wondered around the store as Dad picked up a few odds and ends he needed around the house. Before we left, Dad let me ride on the mechanical bike and then in the car.

Back home, after my snooze, we all decided that the heat had become unbearable and it was time to spend the rest of the day in the pool. I donned my Poly-Otter and off we went. The water cooled us down to a bearable temperature, and thankfully, before it got dark, a thunderstorm arrived to cool off the Earth.

Sunday morning Dad was on a major mission – filing! There were documents placed on piles, files labelled, papers shredded, others thrown away, and even others placed in a boxed titled archive. In the early afternoon Mom and Dad did some pot gardening, and a little later Aunty Claire arrived for a visit. Unfortunately Aunty Bev was not feeling great so she did not visit with us.

In the late afternoon, after we bid Aunty Claire farewell, we spent some time around the pool. Mom got into one of the hammocks, and seeing that this looked like great fun, I decided I had to join her. It was a really peaceful and relaxing early evening as Mom and I lay on the hammock, staring at the blue sky above. In the evening my bunzy-run took on a different flavour as Dad and I decided to shower together, instead of my having a bath. It was lots of fun, and to make things easier for me, Mom brought me a little plastic chair to sit on in the shower. What bliss to escape the heat and cool down in a nice long shower.

Well, that’s it for tonight. To all my readers, fans, family and friends, have a wonderful wonderful Christmas. Below is a little Smilebox that I created especially for you.

Love,

Jarrod

Figure 1 Click image above to launch Smilebox (enable speakers)

Figure 2 Maestro at work

Figure 3 Giggles with Opa

Figure 4 Our Christmas Tree

Figure 5 Clearing myself of sand after a hectic sandpit session

Figure 6 Self spray

Figure 7 Having a drink

Figure 8 Karaoke! This hand shower also serves as a microphone

Figure 9 Moshing with Dad, waiting for Barney

Figure 10 Clapping for Barney

Figure 11 Proof that ‘I was there’!

Figure 12 Barney, Barney, Barney (I should have brought my lighter)

Figure 13 Mesmerized!

Figure 14 Smiles

Figure 15 Here’s to Christmas!

Figure 16 Sharing popcorn with Dad

Figure 17 My nerdy Dad

Figure 18 Merry Christmas from Jay-Bee

Figure 19 Merry Christmas from The Tri-Leds