Days of The Dragon

Just some recent things I’ve run across that I wanted to briefly comment on.

• The whole lead paint on everything from China issue. While I completely agree that lead is harmful to animals and should definitely not be anywhere near children’s toys, I have to wonder why all the blame is on China. Don’t get me wrong, China has woefully inadequate environmental and health regulations, but still not all the blame lies with China and Chinese companies. The toy companies here have an equal or greater responsibility in the matter. Why were none of these toys screened by Mattel or Hasbro or whoever? Don’t these companies have quality control systems so that unsafe toys don’t make it to market in the first place?
• I thought this was a cool story, about a teenage single dad who is attending college with the help of a really innovative program. I don’t encourage teens to go and have kids, but if it happens it’s nice to know that some places are willing to help them succeed at parenting and life in general, instead of just calling them sinners or irresponsible and immature.
• Did you know that crocs and other non-skid shoes can cause serious injuries on escalators when combined with children? If your kid is wearing crocs, make sure they stand in the middle of the escalator, not on the edges.
• In 2008 Vietnam is instituting a helmet law that requires riders to wear helmets on their motorbikes. It’s a great idea, and I’m sure will save lots of lives, but an enforcement nightmare if you’ve ever been to the country and seen the mass of motorbikes in the cities. The average cost of a quality helmet in Vietnam is about $10, many places are reportedly selling out nearly as soon as shipments arrive.

A small Parker An update:
Today he figured out that he could kind of free-fall sit to get himself back to the ground after pulling up to stand. Previously, when he wanted back on the ground, he would kind of wimper and look around for me, needing help to safely get back into a sitting or crawling position. He has also cruised one or two steps along the side of his crib, but he’s pretty unsteady and unsure of it at this point.

Cleveland is having the first annual Dragon Boat Race Festival this weekend. I am thinking of going up with Parker on one of the days, but I haven’t made up my mind for sure, yet.

Parker had a yeasty diaper rash about a week ago, which went away with Nystatin. It’s come back just yesterday, so the doctor recommended Activia yogurt, as most likely the Augmentin he was on two weeks ago has messed up the balance of bacteria and fungus in his intestines, causing him gas and the diaper rash. So, I’ve started putting the Nystatin on again and begun to feed him the blueberry Activia yogurt, which he likes but you can tell it’s a bit over-sweet for him. Can someone please remind me again why on earth every food needs to have sugar and corn syrup added to it? Doesn’t anything taste ok the way it is naturally? It’s rather sickening, actually!

Finally, some pictures.

My awesome sister Lindsey at her OSU graduation:

Our family at lunch the day before graduation:

Parker An in the pack-n-play at the hotel:

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