Daniel finally got over his own shoulder and rolled from back to front Saturday morning. He's been half/three-quarters of the way there for more than a week, but never could figure out that last shoulder hurdle. I missed the first performance while in the shower, but there were many repeats throughout the day. It's still a somewhat arduous process that takes several minutes, so we'll spare you the video until he becomes a bit more practiced. (Our camera battery isn't up to the current challenge!)

I wanted Edward to have some new summer sandals so we took him to have his foot measured. The only place locally that still provides this service is our Von Maur department store, but the shoes there start at $30, which is a bit pricey in my opinion given how fast kids grow out of them. He walked in wearing a size 6. The saleswoman said in a sandal he'd take a 7. For a closed toe shoe she said an 8 would work "with room to grow a bit." Oops. Guess we were a bit late in remeasuring. But since that was the extent of her help (she brought us a pile of boxes and then walked away, helping a series of other customers and never returning to us) we left without buying any. A trip to Target later in the evening produced a perfectly serviceable pair of $10 sandals. For that price he could have another pair before the end of summer if he wears these out (or grows out!)

We had a fun visit with cousins on John's side of the family when we all gathered at his grandparents' place yesterday. John's cousin's kids are 2, 5, and 7 so it was fun to see them all play together. Edward was exhausted by the time we left, but decided to stay awake until only 40 minutes remained of the 2-hour drive. When we arrived home, he was not happy to be awakened. John set him in his bed thinking he'd calm himself with "paci and teeny blanket" and then move on with the evening (it was about 5 p.m.) Instead, he was sound asleep when I looked in on him 5 minutes later. We let him sleep until about 5:45, but then figured the pain of waking him would be less than the pain of him waking us at 4 a.m. if he was asleep for the night at that point. In hindsight, I still think we were right, but it was a painful two hours for all involved. Edward just could not get himself under control and was just crying pitifully. Everything we suggested (park, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, food, drink) was met with a wailing "No!" We finally persuaded him to sit and eat something. He agreed to mac&cheese, but then started crying "No" again when we put it in front of him. We finally settled on applesauce and a leftover ham ball. We kept offering the mac&cheese, but since it continued to bring tears, we finally took it away and John ate it. About one minute after John finished the bowl (out of Edward's sight) and put it in the sink, Ed asked, "I want mac&cheese?"

We didn't have any more. The tears started flowing again. Two parental heads banging against the wall.

So those tears led straight to the bathtub, which was only saved by the emergence of a set of bath toys that arrived at Christmas, but were put away for just the right occasion. This got him to stop crying and get in the tub, where he played happily for about half an hour. (Another reason this was not in immediate use--a half-hour bath in January could lead to hypothermia!) Then we only had to survive the tears about not wanting to leave the toys and get out of the bath. (Side note: first thing this morning he asked to take another bath!) Pajamas, stories, a bit of milk and then back to bed. We all sighed with relief. Then we had to laugh when about 40 minutes later we heard him belting out "The Farmer in the Dell" from his bed.

Another funny moment to remember when things seem to be spiraling out of control. During a late-afternoon thunder storm this week, this empty wipes box provided either protection or distraction for Edward. I couldn't quite tell what led to this headgear choice, but it helped him get through the storm, so no argument here. We also tried the trick of counting between the lightning and thunder. He doesn't understand about using that to estimate distance, but it did seem to help distract him from his worry about the thunder. Daniel was unfazed by it all.