Graduation

We attended Lizzi's 8th grade graduation last night. We sat on the edge of the crowd, but GG seemed fairly unfazed by all the commotion. He met Grandma and Grandpa for the first time and enjoyed the Gum Game. What's the Gum Game? Why, it's when you chew one piece of gum til the initial flavor wears off (this starts at 15 minutes with piece #1, then 10 minutes with piece #2, then 1 minute with piece #3) and then you ask Grandpa for a new one. GG's only downfall during the ceremony was that he was positive that one of the balloons in the balloon arch had his name on it; when balloons would fall off the arch it was all I could manage to keep him with me and not have him disappear after a balloon.

After the ceremony, LilDude, GG, and I, escaped the crowds by heading to the playground. He LOVED it there. My only problem was keeping up with him. Right at the end he was approached by a small crowd of people and he buried his head in my shoulder, obviously uncomfortable.

We returned to the house where we enjoyed Grandma's cooking, then headed outside to play. And, ooooohhhhhhhh, did we play. The kids ran and ran and ran. You'd have never known that Grandpa and Grandma were new to GG. He fed them all his funny faces, teased them, threw balls with them, and laughed and laughed and laughed.

Last night, however, was not good, sleeping-wise. I'm not sure why. He definitely was struggling with nasal congestion. It's really hard to suck your thumb when you can't breathe through your nose. It was much worse last night, but it's been fairly bad ever since we met him. I'll be interested to see what the pediatrician says. He also repeatedly woke up, with a slightly panicky edge to his voice/cry. We haven't had that much since our initial days in China, so I'm not sure if the crowds last night were too much or what???

This morning we return to school for Anakin's 6th grade awards ceremony and LilDude's "summer birthday" kindergarten event. By noon today we'll all be ready for a NAP!

P.S. Since this is titled "Graduation" I need to mention how proud we are of Lizzi. She gave a speech, sounding and looking so grown-up. I could have burst with pride. (Or maybe that was the balloons that kept exploding behind me??) :)