SOS

When there's something strange, in the neighborhood, who ya gonna call? Mima & Kory! Well, that "something strange" wasn't really strange at all (I just have the "Ghostbusters" theme in my head). Tessa's daycare was closed Oct. 22 and 23, and since Kory and Mom were planning to visit on Saturday anyway, they made it a day early so that they could hang out with Tessa. We really appreciate any kind of help when we're in a bind - from Mima, Kory, Great Aunt Marilyn, Grandma Beth, etc.! Eric had missed school on that Thursday to stay home with Tessa. She's on a waiting list for a child care center in Sioux Falls, just a few blocks from my office, so it will be nice when we won't be frantic trying to find backup daycare providers.

Anyway, Kory and Mima got their Tessa fix. They brought her to Sioux Falls on Friday, and we went out for lunch. Kory gave Tessa sleeping bag rides around the family room, and Mima taught her how to roar. Too bad she wasn't a lion, tiger or bear for Halloween. Not to turn this into a restaurant review, but we ate at the Original Pancake House on Saturday, and it was spectacular! I highly recommend it. The highlight of the day, if I had to choose, was the pumpkin patch excursion. They had all kinds of farm animals, a country store, and, of course, plenty o' pumpkins. (See the pictures in the next post.)

Tessa, through no fault of her own, was a Debbie Downer after we returned home. She had had a wonderful day, but in the middle of her afternoon nap, she woke up screaming and wouldn't stop. We had never heard her cry like that before, so we brought her to urgent care. Enter: double ear infection diagnosis. Our poor babe. It was quite the episode, complete with an ear-washing apparatus. That seemed to help alleviate the pressure, though, so she was able to fall asleep on the ride home and was back to her cheery self after that. Thank God!