That constant drone of the cicadas is seriously driving me mad! Luckily, today it was on the cooler side, so they must have taken a break, and they weren't quite as loud. But, over the past week, if I was to go outside I could not carry on a conversation with someone over the phone. They are that loud! Here's a pic of the tree across the street completely covered with the little guys. The bugs themselves don't bother me it's just they're mating call, which goes continuously from around 9am-5pm (I guess they work a normal day). I read somewhere that an entomologist measured their noise to be at 96db - that's similar to a jet engine! Needless to say, I've had to turn Peanut's hearing aids off a couple times during the afternoon.On a happier note, the cicadas have provided us with some degree of entertainment. Charlotte and I would go outside for "Cicada Watch 2007!" every morning to see how many had emerged overnight. We probably have somewhere between 4-5 weeks left of this. Luckily it only happens every 17 years.
The weather around here has been pretty warm over the past few weeks and Charlotte got to take her first dip in the kiddy pool. She loved it! Unfortunately, we couldn't get Bart and Amy to join her. They just weren't interested. I'm glad she loves the water because I was hoping we could start taking some "swim" lessons in the fall.
Brian and I went to go check out that school, Child's Voice, a few weeks ago, and it was fantastic! One of the staff members took us around on a tour of the classrooms and individual therapy rooms. The kids seemed to really be enjoying themselves and the staff was amazing. Of course, there's always the chance that the whole tour was rehearsed and they shoved the sad kids in a closet, but we're probably going to start going there for therapy sessions in a few weeks, so we'll get a chance to see if it's always such a happy place.
I have really noticed a difference in Charlotte's day-to-day responses to noises since she's had the hearing aids on. She's starting to look around to see where noises are coming from. Sometimes I find it frustrating when I don't get responses from her, but then I have to remember that at this age, I may not get a response from a baby that doesn't have a hearing loss. Plus, sometimes I feel like she's been small for FOREVER! I'm sure very soon I'll be surprised at how fast she's growing.
Isn't this image just horrible? I usually have the TV on at certain points of the day (The View, Dr Phil, etc.) until I noticed that Peanut was actually watching the shows. Brian and I then decided that maybe we should limit her TV viewing to 1 hour/day and try and stick to educational stuff (Baby Einstein, Blues Clues, the occasional Sponge Bob Square Pants). Well then I read this article, that says that "40 percent of three-month-olds watch television for an average of 45 minutes a day". OMG, we're over the average!! So, now it's NO MORE TV! Thank God Rosie O'Donnell's not on The View anymore, cuz then we would have had a problem.This weekend I'm off to Kansas City for my friend Kara's wedding, and to see my college roommate, Reba. Kara and I were (are, I guess) sorority sisters. I'm excited to see her and the other gals that will be making their way there, but I have to admit that I'm nervous about leaving Peanut for three days. Not that I don't trust Brian's abilities, but he's not me, plain and simple. I have to keep telling myself, "Good Night Sleep" and "Bloody Mary Bar", and that will help me get on that plane! Brian's parents and sister arrive on Friday night, shortly after I leave. So, he'll have some company and some help during my trip.
