Think we have it!

G & I made a second visit to a day care today, and I was again impressed. We talked about G's situation; how we could handle his transition, and how they would cope with the special challenges he'll bring. I liked all of their answers & their attitude!

The teacher is dreamy-perfect. The class size is small. The mood is peaceful but busy. The staff & teachers have degrees in Early Childhood Ed. They have lovely acreage outside.

The biggest drawbacks are cost (so so so expensive!) and that the teacher is pregnant and leaving in August. Regarding the teacher, I've decided it's still our best option. This lovely teacher will help G transition into day care. Based on every teacher I met there, the next teacher is sure to also be good. Regarding the cost, I've decided that God would not bring me this far and then let me down. He is going to provide.

If this really is IT, it is a HUGE relief to have settled.

In between today's day care visit and a doctor visit, we also found time for a visit to the park. Loving this weather!!!

IMEA

Joseph and his friend Scott found a piece of music they really liked, so they decided to play in an IMEA festival. I didn't understand the point. They practiced, got dressed up, went to the competition, navigated swarms of other student musicians, played in a classroom in front of a judge, and were back outside again in 30 minutes. huh?

I asked him what the point was. Was it an audition for a bigger festival? Were the best players going to get together and put on a performance? Would he get remarks from the judge to help him improve his playing? Anything?

Being Joseph, he didn't know. He really didn't know if there was a next step or a tangible "payback" for participating. He just felt like playing. This is a slightly different perspective than I might have. All he knew was that he & Scott had made some mistakes; they should have practiced together more than they did, and he wanted to play video games.


Friday he brought this home:



... inspiring him & Scott to decide: "Even when we're really bad, we're still the best."

Mercy.

Papier Mache

Watching G work reminded me of how Joseph is - very deliberate & purposeful with his artistic endeavors. G spent at least 1/2 hour painstakingly gluing newspaper strips onto the balloon (and smearing glue all over us both). Today it took him about an hour to paint the creation (and paint us both). He probably would still be painting, but Mama was done. He's very proud of the finished project. I wish I had a photo of that for you, but this is all I took...

Now I Get It

I've spent the last 7 weeks feeling overwhelmed and guilty over all the things I haven't been doing. But a "new normal" seems to be emerging. It's putting those last 7 weeks into perspective.

In my new normal, G's poop does not coming in overflowing waterfalls every 1/2 hour. It can be contained by a diaper and only comes a couple of times a day. I've just realized that G is not constipated. This is normal.

In my new normal, G does not demand to be held every single second. In fact, he is content - occasionally - for brief periods - to play by himself.

In my new normal, I am not exhausted & coughing nonstop. I can't believe what a difference it makes now that I feel better.

I like my new normal.

Firsts

Today we experienced G's first successful HOP! There have been many attempts at hopping since we read about kangaroos. Mostly those have involved G's knees bending while his arms swung wildly upwards. But today there was actually air between the floor & his feet. A real hop.

(Shoot. Now I'm wondering if a hop only involves one foot at take-off & landing. So this may have been his first jump. Whatever.)

An even better first happened after his nap. Since he got home, whenever he wakes up & I'm not there, he CRIES & SCREAMS - that crazy siren scream I've written about before. Each time I've reminded him (in Kreyol) that he doesn't have to scream; if he calls "Mama," then I will come. That's our little routine from the past 6 weeks. Yet, after today's nap, I heard a precious call of "Mama!" coming from the room... without tears. Sweet progress.

The Boy is Odd

Proof in two parts.

Part One:
This morning we were sitting in the rocker, watching the SNOW, when I noticed a spider climbing down the window. In a minute, G noticed it too. He slid off my lap, used his hand to smash the spider, gave the carcass a look of disgust, and crawled back up on my lap.

Part Two:
Also this morning, we saw two dogs running through our backyard. They were tiny little things, clearly newly escaped & going berserk with their freedom. I tried to get my shoes on, but they were already gone before I got to the door. Not long after, G pointed out their return - only this time, they were trailed by a frantic man. I opened my back door & called out "C'mon! C'mon puppies!" It worked! They ran straight for the door... until G caught sight of them and started SCREAMING, like only he does. It's not like one long extended noise. It's like intermittent SIREN BLASTS of terror & anger combined. Needless to say, the dogs did a U-turn and the man chased on.

Who do you know who has a calm disgust with spiders and a raging terror of quiet little fluffy dogs?

Today's Doctor Visit

While driving home from G's doctor appointment today, I wrote a funny post for you in my head. It was about... how mindful I am of the gawking & comments G & I will receive in Chicago... so how mindful I am to make sure that he looks his best before we set out... and how the gorgeous weather allowed me to drive into the city with the windows down!... and how I had to take my 3-year-old into the center of attention with him not wearing shoes because, when I arrived his shoes had disappeared. I figured out that while I was driving, he was throwing them out the window! When confronted, he laughed at me as if the whole thing was hilarious.

Only, when I got home, his shoes were just inside the door. Where I had apparently left them.

At least he had pants on.



He had his first vaccination today (plus two miserable blood draws), and seems to be doing well. He is no longer terrified to stand on a scale - and he's up to 27 pounds! The doctor gave me a growth chart from WHO, which shows the average size, worldwide, for children - not just the average size of US children. G is nowhere near the bottom of the US chart. But on the WHO chart he has a nice head size (important), he's in the bottom quarter for weight, and he's off-the-charts-low (still) for height. We learned lots at the doctor... including that it's time for me to obtain more stool samples! I'm feeling confident in my newly-developed abilities to accomplish that task. We shall see.