I cannot tell you how many times I have picked up Christian from daycare and his face is filthy, drives me crazy! I mean if it's not dried milk, it's some kind of food or even dried snot. Now tell me, is that not
disgusting or what. I know kids get dirty and I'm not one of those clean freaks by any means (people who know me are saying right now, "yeah that's right!") and I get that they spill stuff on their clothes. But supposedly the afternoon snack is at 3:45, which means they do not wipe his face off from 3:45 to 5:00 or 5:15 when I pick him up. I'm sorry but that annoys me.
The weather has been terrible here lately, like other places, but today we had sun and it wasn't too wet from the rain after work today. So on the way home, I thought we'd stop at the park to play for a little bit. As expected, Christian just wanted to swing which was fine with me. Then the freak fit hit when I told him it was time to go home. The dark clouds were rolling in and I didn't want to get caught in the rain. So he writhed in my arms as I trudged back to the car, yelling at the top of his lungs the entire time. I'm surprised someone didn't think I was kidnapping or something, as much noise he was making :) He cried, loudly, all the way home until about 4 blocks away. There was a terrible accident with police cars and ambulance lights going, and his crying stopped, just like turning off a light switch....little shit. At least the hollering stopped :)
We had a tickle match after dinner and as usual, I got bonked on the bridge of my nose, which brought tears to my eyes. I surprised I haven't gotten a black eye from him yet :) I got him a recorder whistle thing for Easter and he knows how to blow into it to make it whistle and then he just smiles. I loves music so much, I thought this would be fun. At least it is until he blows a little sideways and it gives a high pitched shrill noise, but he doesn't do that too often, thank goodness! I'm going to try to get his bucket swing to hang from our one lone tree in the back yard. I haven't figured out how I'm going to get up that hight, as my ladder is too short, but hopefully I can thing of something. Here's to not falling and breaking a hip or something :) :) :)
~Amy
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Easter
My laptop wireless connection freaked out and of course it took me a while to figure out how to fix it.
Friday was another immunization shot day, which went as expected; thrashing, tears, screaming followed by a yogurt treat because I feel so bad afterwards. While waiting in the doctor's office, a hail storm came through but luckily no damage to my car. Then during our Walmart stop on the way home, more hail, wind and rain but it calmed down by the time we left, just had to dodge the river running under my car.
We made the drive to my hometown and stayed with my sister Beth this time. I alternate between staying with her and my parents, to give each a break :) Saturday we decided we HAD to get Christian's photo with the Easter Bunny at the mall, so off we went. Just my luck, 5 minutes after getting in line and the bunny takes a break. What??? The upside was that four groups decided to come back later which bumped us up to the third group in line. We waited until Aunt B and cousin Abby came back so Aunt B could hold our place in line while Christian, Abby and I rode the carousel. Christian was scared at first but warmed up to it fast and loved it. He threw a major fit when it stopped and we had to get off......good sign that he liked it :)
The photo with the Easter Bunny was a bust. He liked him and kept saying, "bunny, bunny," until it was our turn to sit on bunny's lap, then it was a different story. I thought if I sat by bunny with Christian on my lap it might work out but no way! Christian would look forward at the lady trying to get him to smile, then over at the HUGE bunny with HUGE eyes and would freak out. He was terrifed so after about 30 seconds I just knew it wasn't going to happen so we bailed. Aunt B managed to get a snapshot with my camera from the side, so that's good enough for me. Then we rode the Bunny Express train ride, calmed down, and loved it. Abby was a great cousin to play chaperone on the train ride too.
We had a HUGE Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's house Sunday after church. Cousin Alaina was in charge of the egg "hiding" and being a rookie, spread them ALL over the HUGE yard! It took us about an hour to pick them all up and that was with the help of 10 yr old cousin Abby and me. Christian loved it for the first 10 minutes but was losing interest after that. I had to coax him around the yard to pick up the rest of the eggs. It was a great first Easter for him, thanks family for filling eggs and hiding them :)
Christian started feeling icky on Sunday with pink eye. Yep, pink eye....sigh. Monday morning he woke up with his eye swollen shut, he looked like a boxer. Off to work we go to pick up a laptop so I can work at home. The doctor called in a scrip so I didn't have to go to the office, which was great. He started feeling better late that afternoon and the swelling went down. He looks so much better today and I can tell he feels much better, poor little guy. Never a dull moment with him :)
Tomorrow we're going to "Family Night" at the new daycare. The owner invited us even though we don't start until June 1st. I am so excited! This is a meet the other parents night and she also has a professional who will be there to talk to if you have questions about your child's behavior. That just goes to show you what kind of facility she runs, how dedicated she is and how grateful I am to have found her and be accepted into her facility. I feel so confident that Christian will thrive there academically as well as socially!
Well off to do dishes and take out the trash.......such an exhilarating life I lead :)
~Amy
Friday was another immunization shot day, which went as expected; thrashing, tears, screaming followed by a yogurt treat because I feel so bad afterwards. While waiting in the doctor's office, a hail storm came through but luckily no damage to my car. Then during our Walmart stop on the way home, more hail, wind and rain but it calmed down by the time we left, just had to dodge the river running under my car.
We made the drive to my hometown and stayed with my sister Beth this time. I alternate between staying with her and my parents, to give each a break :) Saturday we decided we HAD to get Christian's photo with the Easter Bunny at the mall, so off we went. Just my luck, 5 minutes after getting in line and the bunny takes a break. What??? The upside was that four groups decided to come back later which bumped us up to the third group in line. We waited until Aunt B and cousin Abby came back so Aunt B could hold our place in line while Christian, Abby and I rode the carousel. Christian was scared at first but warmed up to it fast and loved it. He threw a major fit when it stopped and we had to get off......good sign that he liked it :)
The photo with the Easter Bunny was a bust. He liked him and kept saying, "bunny, bunny," until it was our turn to sit on bunny's lap, then it was a different story. I thought if I sat by bunny with Christian on my lap it might work out but no way! Christian would look forward at the lady trying to get him to smile, then over at the HUGE bunny with HUGE eyes and would freak out. He was terrifed so after about 30 seconds I just knew it wasn't going to happen so we bailed. Aunt B managed to get a snapshot with my camera from the side, so that's good enough for me. Then we rode the Bunny Express train ride, calmed down, and loved it. Abby was a great cousin to play chaperone on the train ride too.
We had a HUGE Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's house Sunday after church. Cousin Alaina was in charge of the egg "hiding" and being a rookie, spread them ALL over the HUGE yard! It took us about an hour to pick them all up and that was with the help of 10 yr old cousin Abby and me. Christian loved it for the first 10 minutes but was losing interest after that. I had to coax him around the yard to pick up the rest of the eggs. It was a great first Easter for him, thanks family for filling eggs and hiding them :)
Christian started feeling icky on Sunday with pink eye. Yep, pink eye....sigh. Monday morning he woke up with his eye swollen shut, he looked like a boxer. Off to work we go to pick up a laptop so I can work at home. The doctor called in a scrip so I didn't have to go to the office, which was great. He started feeling better late that afternoon and the swelling went down. He looks so much better today and I can tell he feels much better, poor little guy. Never a dull moment with him :)
Tomorrow we're going to "Family Night" at the new daycare. The owner invited us even though we don't start until June 1st. I am so excited! This is a meet the other parents night and she also has a professional who will be there to talk to if you have questions about your child's behavior. That just goes to show you what kind of facility she runs, how dedicated she is and how grateful I am to have found her and be accepted into her facility. I feel so confident that Christian will thrive there academically as well as socially!
Well off to do dishes and take out the trash.......such an exhilarating life I lead :)
~Amy
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Eye and Nose
Christian and I are experiencing some health issues.....he has a stuffy yet constantly runny nose and I have some strange eye infection thing. My eye is red and feels like someone shoved a tennis ball into my eye socket, which as we know, would be too big, thus the pressure and throbbing I am currently experiencing. I managed to get into the doctor, got some drops and am supposed to feel better in a couple of days. Yay.
Christian seems to run every other week with having this runny nose thing and the doctor says it needs to run it's course so he builds up his immunity. I hope he is feeling better and the weather is nice because I want to take him to an Easter Egg hunt on Saturday morning. It will be interesting to see if he catches on to what he is supposed to do. I remember going with my sisters when they took their kids and it was so fun to watch all those kids scrambling around. I went to an adult egg hunt one year and it was pretty fun. They hid the eggs and you hunted them in the dark, with a flashlight. The eggs had numbers on them and when you were done, you went to the prize table to see if any of your numbers were winners. The concept was great except the prizes were like bad carnival booby prizes, so tromping around in the tall grass getting your legs wet only to win a dish towel didn't turn out to be the best use of my time actually. Now a few beers before hand would have made things a little more interesting :)
Tomorrow Christian gets his next round of vaccination shots...oh happy day....not. I feel so bad for him because I just hate shots myself and he completely meltsdown when he gets them. I don't blame him!
Then off to my parents house where everyone will meet for Easter.
Sorry to be boring in this post, my eye is throbbing, so I'm signing off for now. Have a Happy and Blessed Easter!
~Amy
Christian seems to run every other week with having this runny nose thing and the doctor says it needs to run it's course so he builds up his immunity. I hope he is feeling better and the weather is nice because I want to take him to an Easter Egg hunt on Saturday morning. It will be interesting to see if he catches on to what he is supposed to do. I remember going with my sisters when they took their kids and it was so fun to watch all those kids scrambling around. I went to an adult egg hunt one year and it was pretty fun. They hid the eggs and you hunted them in the dark, with a flashlight. The eggs had numbers on them and when you were done, you went to the prize table to see if any of your numbers were winners. The concept was great except the prizes were like bad carnival booby prizes, so tromping around in the tall grass getting your legs wet only to win a dish towel didn't turn out to be the best use of my time actually. Now a few beers before hand would have made things a little more interesting :)
Tomorrow Christian gets his next round of vaccination shots...oh happy day....not. I feel so bad for him because I just hate shots myself and he completely meltsdown when he gets them. I don't blame him!
Then off to my parents house where everyone will meet for Easter.
Sorry to be boring in this post, my eye is throbbing, so I'm signing off for now. Have a Happy and Blessed Easter!
~Amy
Monday, April 18, 2011
Four Months
Today marks exactly four months that Christian has been with me, his forever family! All my love my little sweetie bug :*)
We came home to another big box on my porch from my college friend Monica and her son. This one was filled with toys! Christian couldn't stand still, grabbing one toy after another, looking at it and shouting, "Oh!, Oh!" He finally had to set some down because his chubby little hands couldn't hold any more. There were matchbox type of cars, big trucks, tractors, blocks, puzzles to name a few things...pay dirt! Thanks so very much Monica!!!!!
The box was sitting in the living room and as we ate supper, my cat decided to jump on top and investigate. Christian heard her scratching at the box, and yelled from the kitchen, "no, no, get down!" Gee, wonder where he's heard that before :) Of course the cat didn't move and Christian was very upset the cat was on HIS box, so I went in and shoed her off. She did what I said (she usually does this first time) and Christian gave me a sort of astonished look that the cat did what I said, probably shocked that the cat understood English :) So naturally doing what mothers do, I said to Christian, "see how Zoey did what I said the first time, you need to do that too." Hey it's worth a try. We played and played with all the trucks and then he wanted to pull out the musical Christmas dog Aunt Cindy gave him. So we played with that and laughed and laughed at it, it really is that funny too see, trust me :)
I hate to keep complaining about my daycare, but those idiots fed Christian a big cup of yogurt, AGAIN, at 5:00 p.m. when I came to pick him up. I got a little short with the worker, telling her to stop doing that because he doesn't eat supper. She said he asked for it so she gave it to him. Now tell me, if he asked for a big chocolate bar at 5:00 p.m. would she give that to him??? Probably. So dinner was later and not as productive as usual, AGAIN, which as you can tell by my use of capital letters, I am not happy about at all. So tomorrow morning when I drop him off, I'm going to talk to the owner and tell her to cut it out! Yes, I will be nicer about it. Looking forward to June 1st when Christian goes to his new daycare :)
~Amy
We came home to another big box on my porch from my college friend Monica and her son. This one was filled with toys! Christian couldn't stand still, grabbing one toy after another, looking at it and shouting, "Oh!, Oh!" He finally had to set some down because his chubby little hands couldn't hold any more. There were matchbox type of cars, big trucks, tractors, blocks, puzzles to name a few things...pay dirt! Thanks so very much Monica!!!!!
The box was sitting in the living room and as we ate supper, my cat decided to jump on top and investigate. Christian heard her scratching at the box, and yelled from the kitchen, "no, no, get down!" Gee, wonder where he's heard that before :) Of course the cat didn't move and Christian was very upset the cat was on HIS box, so I went in and shoed her off. She did what I said (she usually does this first time) and Christian gave me a sort of astonished look that the cat did what I said, probably shocked that the cat understood English :) So naturally doing what mothers do, I said to Christian, "see how Zoey did what I said the first time, you need to do that too." Hey it's worth a try. We played and played with all the trucks and then he wanted to pull out the musical Christmas dog Aunt Cindy gave him. So we played with that and laughed and laughed at it, it really is that funny too see, trust me :)
I hate to keep complaining about my daycare, but those idiots fed Christian a big cup of yogurt, AGAIN, at 5:00 p.m. when I came to pick him up. I got a little short with the worker, telling her to stop doing that because he doesn't eat supper. She said he asked for it so she gave it to him. Now tell me, if he asked for a big chocolate bar at 5:00 p.m. would she give that to him??? Probably. So dinner was later and not as productive as usual, AGAIN, which as you can tell by my use of capital letters, I am not happy about at all. So tomorrow morning when I drop him off, I'm going to talk to the owner and tell her to cut it out! Yes, I will be nicer about it. Looking forward to June 1st when Christian goes to his new daycare :)
~Amy
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Weekend with Friends
Our three month checkup went good, Christian is moving right along...YAY!
We made a road trip to visit my childhood friend Susan and her family. Christian did ok in the car considering the long drive. We did cow watch along the way, giving a shout out everytime we saw them, which was amazingly alot. We did have to stop about half way, after 1 1/2 hours, to get out and stretch our legs. We found an indoor play area in McDonald's that was new looking and very clean. (these place usually give me the heebie geebies because of all the germs). I was a little concerned that once he started playing it would be a struggle to get him back in the car, but I really wanted him to get out and be able to run around for a little bit. He climbed around on the play structure but wasn't too sure about crawling through the tube thing. It made a U-turn and he couldn't see the end so he didn't want to go inside. He was two levels up and inside and I couldn't get in there to get him. I finally convinced him to crawl through, he liked it and did several more times. The other levels were too high for him to climb up on so there wasn't much for him to do. After 15 minutes, he willingly came to me when I announced it was time to leave. Back in the car and he fell asleep for the last hour+ of the trip.
It took him about 15 minutes to warm up to Susan and then we was off investigating her house. I was of course, telling him not to touch this and that. Susan, her husband Joe and I took Christian to a park by the local school. They have a great new play unit with slides and climbing walls. Christian did SO good climbing the rigging thing and fake rock wall steps to get up to the slides, I was so proud of him! It was cold and very windy there, so we went to the town park which was buffered from the wind. He swung on the swing for a while and went down those slides a few times and we decided it was time to go because it was cold.
Off to get ice cream, which was great! Then back to the house to play outside with a basketball, bubbles and sidewalk chalk. We had a great time and Christian just loves to be outside. He did wake up twice, afraid of the strange room, but calmed down when he realized I was sleeping right beside him. We left early the next morning and had to make a few stops on the way home and both crashed for a two hour nap after we got home. It was a nice trip and I enjoyed spending time with my friend and her family. Susan's boy was so good to play with Christian, despite the age difference, and everyone got hugs from Christian before we left. Work tomorrow.....darn, another day off would be nice :)
~Amy
We made a road trip to visit my childhood friend Susan and her family. Christian did ok in the car considering the long drive. We did cow watch along the way, giving a shout out everytime we saw them, which was amazingly alot. We did have to stop about half way, after 1 1/2 hours, to get out and stretch our legs. We found an indoor play area in McDonald's that was new looking and very clean. (these place usually give me the heebie geebies because of all the germs). I was a little concerned that once he started playing it would be a struggle to get him back in the car, but I really wanted him to get out and be able to run around for a little bit. He climbed around on the play structure but wasn't too sure about crawling through the tube thing. It made a U-turn and he couldn't see the end so he didn't want to go inside. He was two levels up and inside and I couldn't get in there to get him. I finally convinced him to crawl through, he liked it and did several more times. The other levels were too high for him to climb up on so there wasn't much for him to do. After 15 minutes, he willingly came to me when I announced it was time to leave. Back in the car and he fell asleep for the last hour+ of the trip.
It took him about 15 minutes to warm up to Susan and then we was off investigating her house. I was of course, telling him not to touch this and that. Susan, her husband Joe and I took Christian to a park by the local school. They have a great new play unit with slides and climbing walls. Christian did SO good climbing the rigging thing and fake rock wall steps to get up to the slides, I was so proud of him! It was cold and very windy there, so we went to the town park which was buffered from the wind. He swung on the swing for a while and went down those slides a few times and we decided it was time to go because it was cold.
Off to get ice cream, which was great! Then back to the house to play outside with a basketball, bubbles and sidewalk chalk. We had a great time and Christian just loves to be outside. He did wake up twice, afraid of the strange room, but calmed down when he realized I was sleeping right beside him. We left early the next morning and had to make a few stops on the way home and both crashed for a two hour nap after we got home. It was a nice trip and I enjoyed spending time with my friend and her family. Susan's boy was so good to play with Christian, despite the age difference, and everyone got hugs from Christian before we left. Work tomorrow.....darn, another day off would be nice :)
~Amy
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Big Times
A few BIG moments....
We went to Forest Park on Sunday to meet my nephew and his fiance to play. We had a nice long walk, sat by the Great Basin fountains and Christian watched the ducks. One got pretty close but not close enough to pet, much to my relief. I had an "incident" as a child with a goose and it has left it's mark regarding most bird like animals. However I am trying not to pass that fear on to Christian. Though as a 6 yr old, the memory of a HUGE white goose chasing my friend and I, as we fell over each other, scrambling to get up and run from this evil hissing honking beast, is imbedded in my mind forever. And to think, all we wanted to do was to pet the nice "goosey" as my Grandma said we could do. Oh yeah, Grandpa and she were laughing their butts off sitting on the bench!
As we walk through the park, we cross several bridges, saw flowers, dogs and kids. Our BIG moment came when we sat on a small section of concrete where a little stream ran under the sidewalk. We dangled our feet in the water but Christian was having none of it. So I decided to be a little aggressive, took off his shoes (yes he was protesting) and dipped his feet in the water. He yelped so I put his shoes right back on and of course after that, he wanted to do it again! When I made a move for his shoes, he bolts. Good thing cousin Adam was there to chase him :) Christian loves to play or walk outside, either one, just as long as he's outside.
Monday was good, went for a walk after work and "played soccer" in the back yard. I managed to convince him for about 5 minutes, that pulling weeds out of my flower bed was a fun game :) Then the neighbor dogs were let out, Christian freaked, so inside we go, only to go out the front and go for a short walk around the block. Birds just keep diving at us, wherever we go, I swear! They freak Christian out and then he wants me to carry him. Well ok, birds freak me out too.
As most of you know, I am not too happy with my current daycare. My friend Julie, gave me a recommendation that I followed up on. We took the tour last night, talked to a teacher and one owner and had a distinct feeling that this is the place Christian needs to be. The owner called me back tonight, talked to me a bit more, told me what openings she had when and the cost. The cost is quite a bit more than I currently pay which will make the purse strings even tighter, but it is the best thing for Christian and he comes first. Tonight I accepted the position she has opening in June. Thanks so much Julie! BIG happiness and relief! I feel so good about this change, and I know it will be another adjustment for Christian, after he's had so many in the last four months, but overall this will be much, much better for him. Prayers for Christian to transition well would be appreciated :)
~Amy
We went to Forest Park on Sunday to meet my nephew and his fiance to play. We had a nice long walk, sat by the Great Basin fountains and Christian watched the ducks. One got pretty close but not close enough to pet, much to my relief. I had an "incident" as a child with a goose and it has left it's mark regarding most bird like animals. However I am trying not to pass that fear on to Christian. Though as a 6 yr old, the memory of a HUGE white goose chasing my friend and I, as we fell over each other, scrambling to get up and run from this evil hissing honking beast, is imbedded in my mind forever. And to think, all we wanted to do was to pet the nice "goosey" as my Grandma said we could do. Oh yeah, Grandpa and she were laughing their butts off sitting on the bench!
As we walk through the park, we cross several bridges, saw flowers, dogs and kids. Our BIG moment came when we sat on a small section of concrete where a little stream ran under the sidewalk. We dangled our feet in the water but Christian was having none of it. So I decided to be a little aggressive, took off his shoes (yes he was protesting) and dipped his feet in the water. He yelped so I put his shoes right back on and of course after that, he wanted to do it again! When I made a move for his shoes, he bolts. Good thing cousin Adam was there to chase him :) Christian loves to play or walk outside, either one, just as long as he's outside.
Monday was good, went for a walk after work and "played soccer" in the back yard. I managed to convince him for about 5 minutes, that pulling weeds out of my flower bed was a fun game :) Then the neighbor dogs were let out, Christian freaked, so inside we go, only to go out the front and go for a short walk around the block. Birds just keep diving at us, wherever we go, I swear! They freak Christian out and then he wants me to carry him. Well ok, birds freak me out too.
As most of you know, I am not too happy with my current daycare. My friend Julie, gave me a recommendation that I followed up on. We took the tour last night, talked to a teacher and one owner and had a distinct feeling that this is the place Christian needs to be. The owner called me back tonight, talked to me a bit more, told me what openings she had when and the cost. The cost is quite a bit more than I currently pay which will make the purse strings even tighter, but it is the best thing for Christian and he comes first. Tonight I accepted the position she has opening in June. Thanks so much Julie! BIG happiness and relief! I feel so good about this change, and I know it will be another adjustment for Christian, after he's had so many in the last four months, but overall this will be much, much better for him. Prayers for Christian to transition well would be appreciated :)
~Amy
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Park, Park, Park!
At 4:50 a.m. on Thursday, my phone rings. My mind snaps awake and my heart pounds as I pick up the receiver, worried that something is seriously wrong. I hear my daycare lady telling me that all the workers are sick and that daycare is closed today. I exhale, realizing I had been holding my breath, and sent up a prayer of thanks that it was nothing serious. I lay back down, stare at the ceiling and wonder, what the heck I'm going to do now. I don't have an emergency babysitter lined up yet and especially one during the week day hours. Yep, that's on my list to find someone asap! I wait until 6:00 and then send a frantic text to my niece and nephew for help. They go to college about 30 minutes away and I prayed one of them had a block of time they could come watch Christian, so I could at last get into work for a little while. They responded immediately and by the grace of God and their generosity, they were able to help me out. My niece didn't have class until 1:00 and my nephew was done with class at 10:30! They could cover the entire day for me....exhale :)
Christian was upset when I left him with my niece, so I called at 8:00 when I got to work to see if he'd calmed down. She told me they were on their way to the park! (I laugh here) I call back around 10:30 to see if he's behaving and she said they were on their way back to the park for trip #2. I can just see him, he does this to me, we get back into the house and 10 minutes later, he's following me around saying, "park, park, park..." I just know that's what he did to her, so off they went.
I check in with my nephew in the afternoon to see if Christian went down for his nap ok. He tells me that all was fine but Christian was agitated because he didn't know that the stuffed animals were supposed to be UNDER the covers with him not on top :) When I walk in the door that evening, Christian didn't care that I was home, I didn't even get my running hug :( A little disappointing. But of course I stole a huge hug anyway and the next words out of his mouth? Yep, park, park, park. Too funny!
We went to the park Friday afternoon and this afternoon and plan on going again tomorrow afternoon. He's definitely been getting his daily dose of vitamin D lately. HA! We saw several ducks today and they were fairly close to the edge so we got a good up close look. Birds freak him out though (I don't blame him). The ones in our yard are doing the low fly bys and Christian doesn't like that at all. We won't be going to the park we went to on Friday anymore. Some undesirable looking junior high kids hang there and they pee on the slides. Really???? Pee??? The reason for that is what, tell me....yuk.
Tomorrow we're going to THE big park in town!
~Amy
Christian was upset when I left him with my niece, so I called at 8:00 when I got to work to see if he'd calmed down. She told me they were on their way to the park! (I laugh here) I call back around 10:30 to see if he's behaving and she said they were on their way back to the park for trip #2. I can just see him, he does this to me, we get back into the house and 10 minutes later, he's following me around saying, "park, park, park..." I just know that's what he did to her, so off they went.
I check in with my nephew in the afternoon to see if Christian went down for his nap ok. He tells me that all was fine but Christian was agitated because he didn't know that the stuffed animals were supposed to be UNDER the covers with him not on top :) When I walk in the door that evening, Christian didn't care that I was home, I didn't even get my running hug :( A little disappointing. But of course I stole a huge hug anyway and the next words out of his mouth? Yep, park, park, park. Too funny!
We went to the park Friday afternoon and this afternoon and plan on going again tomorrow afternoon. He's definitely been getting his daily dose of vitamin D lately. HA! We saw several ducks today and they were fairly close to the edge so we got a good up close look. Birds freak him out though (I don't blame him). The ones in our yard are doing the low fly bys and Christian doesn't like that at all. We won't be going to the park we went to on Friday anymore. Some undesirable looking junior high kids hang there and they pee on the slides. Really???? Pee??? The reason for that is what, tell me....yuk.
Tomorrow we're going to THE big park in town!
~Amy
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Outside Attitude
The weather is finally getting warmer and we're getting outside to play!!!
Yesterday we were playing in the back yard, which was nearly impossible, due to tripping on the tree gumballs that blanket the yard. So I decided to take a walk around the block and explained to Christian that we had to go inside to get the house key and we were going for a walk. As expected, he didn't understand what I was saying the his "pogo dance fit" began. You know when they jump around, half turning back and forth at random like a stiff drunken doll. Oh I KNOW you all know what I mean. Yes of course this was accompanied by some whining, I mean who is Christian at this point in his life without some whining :) I just stood there until the dance stopped, about a minute or so, explained again and waited for the dance to begin again. He just stood there, gave me his stubborn "I'm NOT going anywhere" look. Now here comes the funny part. When I get annoyed, I put one fist on my hip, which I did now, and gave him my firm, "Mommy is the boss" look. He put HIS hand on his hip, mimicking me, lifted his chin an inch but didn't look at me, instead he did his signature looking out of the corners of his eyes toward the steps up to the porch. I couldn't help it, I just bust out laughing!
Finally we made our way, kicking and screaming, into the house, I grabbed the keys and headed for the front door and then he understood. We had a nice walk, seeing new things, naming them, picking up pinecones and dandelions and sporadically bursting into runs. When we got back to the house, he realized we were going inside and threw down on the sidewalk. He was whining and kept saying, "outside, outside" but I finally got him in the house. I vaguely recall when I was a child, not wanting to come inside and throwing a fit too. Heck, sometimes when I go for a walk during my lunch hour and don't want to go back, I feel like throwing down on the sidewalk in the downtown and yelling, "outside, outside!" :)
Tonight our walk was wonderful again, finding treasures and running through the grass. As we crossed the streets yesterday, I would stop and tell him to look both ways, see if any cars were moving toward us (there were alot of parked cars on the streets). Then if none were moving, we could cross the street. We did this about six times yesterday. Tonight we did our "crossing look" once then approached the next intersection. I was just going to walk on and not do the crossing look with him (of course I looked!) but he stopped me, pointed and said "car look?" It was so adorable and showed me just how smart he is and how much he is understanding and retaining. I am amazed and thankful at these moments for my son. It makes me recall, with a pang of sadness, the four special needs children I had to decline in my adoption journey. I was not the right parent for them and I pray for them to find their forever families and to thrive to the best of their abilities.
I wonder what interesting thing Christian will show me tomorrow???
~Amy
Yesterday we were playing in the back yard, which was nearly impossible, due to tripping on the tree gumballs that blanket the yard. So I decided to take a walk around the block and explained to Christian that we had to go inside to get the house key and we were going for a walk. As expected, he didn't understand what I was saying the his "pogo dance fit" began. You know when they jump around, half turning back and forth at random like a stiff drunken doll. Oh I KNOW you all know what I mean. Yes of course this was accompanied by some whining, I mean who is Christian at this point in his life without some whining :) I just stood there until the dance stopped, about a minute or so, explained again and waited for the dance to begin again. He just stood there, gave me his stubborn "I'm NOT going anywhere" look. Now here comes the funny part. When I get annoyed, I put one fist on my hip, which I did now, and gave him my firm, "Mommy is the boss" look. He put HIS hand on his hip, mimicking me, lifted his chin an inch but didn't look at me, instead he did his signature looking out of the corners of his eyes toward the steps up to the porch. I couldn't help it, I just bust out laughing!
Finally we made our way, kicking and screaming, into the house, I grabbed the keys and headed for the front door and then he understood. We had a nice walk, seeing new things, naming them, picking up pinecones and dandelions and sporadically bursting into runs. When we got back to the house, he realized we were going inside and threw down on the sidewalk. He was whining and kept saying, "outside, outside" but I finally got him in the house. I vaguely recall when I was a child, not wanting to come inside and throwing a fit too. Heck, sometimes when I go for a walk during my lunch hour and don't want to go back, I feel like throwing down on the sidewalk in the downtown and yelling, "outside, outside!" :)
Tonight our walk was wonderful again, finding treasures and running through the grass. As we crossed the streets yesterday, I would stop and tell him to look both ways, see if any cars were moving toward us (there were alot of parked cars on the streets). Then if none were moving, we could cross the street. We did this about six times yesterday. Tonight we did our "crossing look" once then approached the next intersection. I was just going to walk on and not do the crossing look with him (of course I looked!) but he stopped me, pointed and said "car look?" It was so adorable and showed me just how smart he is and how much he is understanding and retaining. I am amazed and thankful at these moments for my son. It makes me recall, with a pang of sadness, the four special needs children I had to decline in my adoption journey. I was not the right parent for them and I pray for them to find their forever families and to thrive to the best of their abilities.
I wonder what interesting thing Christian will show me tomorrow???
~Amy
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Family Time
Off to my family's house for the weekend. Christian usually likes to ride but this trip, the 2 hour drive, he fussed (i.e. yelled) for the last 40 minutes. Come to think of it, the other times we've made that drive has been right around his regular nap time and this trip it was in the morning, his regular play time. So being cooped up in the car during playtime wasn't his idea of a good time.
We visited Aunt B and Uncle Bob before they left for Vegas to attend the ACM awards show! We watched them on TV tonight to see if we could see them in the crowd but haven't spotted them yet :) Then we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's to visit and play. Cousins Abby, Alaina and Courtney came over to play and they all had a good time. Christian was a little whiney at first but warmed up to them. Nap time at Grandma's was a bit of a struggle, he did NOT want to go down. After several trips into the bedroom to tell him firmly it's time for nap, followed by cajoling, coaxing, singing, lying down with him and I'm sure I tried other things but don't recall right now, I just plain gave up. Grandma suggested to just let him get up and then put him down for the night a little earlier. So as we were walking out of the bedroom, Christian following me, he turns his head and gives a sly little grin to Grandma!!! Grandma was smart not to tell me at that moment because I wasn't too happy with Christian at that moment. He's working Momma alright :)
We decided to enjoy the beautiful day and explore Grandpa and Grandma's HUGE yard. It makes me nostalgic about all the time we spent playing and exploring that yard and all the wonderful memories I have. I hope as Christian grows, he'll enjoy that yard like I did. So as we walked through the arbor, past the salvage pile (my Dad's a keeper and I've inherited that trait), past the shed. As we walked through the pine trees he scooped up two pinecones to "show Poppa". We made our way behind the shed and peeked through the wire fence to see if the cows were near, but none in sight. When I was little, my siblings and I used to "moo" at the cows and they would come over to the fence. Of course we freaked out and ran from them! If I "mooed" the cows over, if there had been any, I'm sure Christian would have freaked out too :)
We continued to wander through the yard and over into Aunt Lisa's yard. I managed to snag Christian before he stepped into the mud were Aunt Lisa's garden usually is and redirected him toward her gazebo. We had a little rest on the benches in the gazebo and then off to show our treasure of pine cones to Poppa. Afer a drink to quench our thirst, because of the strenuous adventure we had just been on, out the door we go again the repeat our trek. This time, after rounding the garage, cousin Alaina pops around the corner and walks with us. We make our way to Aunt Lisa' house and go inside for a visit. Christian got closer to their golden retriever dog, so he's slowly getting used to large animals. Yay!
Sunday he was not himself, quiet, lethargic and felt warm to me. We went to see cousin Abby perform and win her gymnastics state meet, so now she moves on to the nationals. Christian wanted to walk around and not sit, so I am thankful to cousins Courtney and Alaina who took turnns walking him around so I could have a break. We he returned he just sat on my lap lounging and then resting against me, so not like him at this time of day. We ate lunch and drove back home and he slept in the car. I carried him and laid him in bed and he felt even hotter to me but I thought it might be because he had his coat on in the car (it was a fight and he wouldn't take it off, so I left it on) and was sitting in the sun. He woke up at 5:00 feeling very hot, almost falling down with weakness and slightly trembling. Yep, a 102.7 temperature. The trembling concerned me so I called the doctor's service, talked to a nurse and she said to just put cool clothes on him, keep him drinking and if the temp doesn't go down by tomorrow to call the doctor's office. Poor little guy, seems like every two weeks he's had a fever since starting daycare. I know kid catch stuff there and need to build up their immunity, and maybe this is common, being sick every two weeks for awhile, but I pray for his sake, he gets past this run of illness.
He's saying so many more words, it's so fun and exciting to watch him learn. I could sit and just watch him play and read to himself for hours. He's even trying to sing more nursery rhymes lately, so adorable.
I was approved to change my work schedule for a little bit, which I am SO very happy about, to spend a little more time with him after work each night. I think it will help with his transitioning which he's been struggling with lately. Here's to hoping the weather finally changes to warmer and stays that way :)
~Amy
We visited Aunt B and Uncle Bob before they left for Vegas to attend the ACM awards show! We watched them on TV tonight to see if we could see them in the crowd but haven't spotted them yet :) Then we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's to visit and play. Cousins Abby, Alaina and Courtney came over to play and they all had a good time. Christian was a little whiney at first but warmed up to them. Nap time at Grandma's was a bit of a struggle, he did NOT want to go down. After several trips into the bedroom to tell him firmly it's time for nap, followed by cajoling, coaxing, singing, lying down with him and I'm sure I tried other things but don't recall right now, I just plain gave up. Grandma suggested to just let him get up and then put him down for the night a little earlier. So as we were walking out of the bedroom, Christian following me, he turns his head and gives a sly little grin to Grandma!!! Grandma was smart not to tell me at that moment because I wasn't too happy with Christian at that moment. He's working Momma alright :)
We decided to enjoy the beautiful day and explore Grandpa and Grandma's HUGE yard. It makes me nostalgic about all the time we spent playing and exploring that yard and all the wonderful memories I have. I hope as Christian grows, he'll enjoy that yard like I did. So as we walked through the arbor, past the salvage pile (my Dad's a keeper and I've inherited that trait), past the shed. As we walked through the pine trees he scooped up two pinecones to "show Poppa". We made our way behind the shed and peeked through the wire fence to see if the cows were near, but none in sight. When I was little, my siblings and I used to "moo" at the cows and they would come over to the fence. Of course we freaked out and ran from them! If I "mooed" the cows over, if there had been any, I'm sure Christian would have freaked out too :)
We continued to wander through the yard and over into Aunt Lisa's yard. I managed to snag Christian before he stepped into the mud were Aunt Lisa's garden usually is and redirected him toward her gazebo. We had a little rest on the benches in the gazebo and then off to show our treasure of pine cones to Poppa. Afer a drink to quench our thirst, because of the strenuous adventure we had just been on, out the door we go again the repeat our trek. This time, after rounding the garage, cousin Alaina pops around the corner and walks with us. We make our way to Aunt Lisa' house and go inside for a visit. Christian got closer to their golden retriever dog, so he's slowly getting used to large animals. Yay!
Sunday he was not himself, quiet, lethargic and felt warm to me. We went to see cousin Abby perform and win her gymnastics state meet, so now she moves on to the nationals. Christian wanted to walk around and not sit, so I am thankful to cousins Courtney and Alaina who took turnns walking him around so I could have a break. We he returned he just sat on my lap lounging and then resting against me, so not like him at this time of day. We ate lunch and drove back home and he slept in the car. I carried him and laid him in bed and he felt even hotter to me but I thought it might be because he had his coat on in the car (it was a fight and he wouldn't take it off, so I left it on) and was sitting in the sun. He woke up at 5:00 feeling very hot, almost falling down with weakness and slightly trembling. Yep, a 102.7 temperature. The trembling concerned me so I called the doctor's service, talked to a nurse and she said to just put cool clothes on him, keep him drinking and if the temp doesn't go down by tomorrow to call the doctor's office. Poor little guy, seems like every two weeks he's had a fever since starting daycare. I know kid catch stuff there and need to build up their immunity, and maybe this is common, being sick every two weeks for awhile, but I pray for his sake, he gets past this run of illness.
He's saying so many more words, it's so fun and exciting to watch him learn. I could sit and just watch him play and read to himself for hours. He's even trying to sing more nursery rhymes lately, so adorable.
I was approved to change my work schedule for a little bit, which I am SO very happy about, to spend a little more time with him after work each night. I think it will help with his transitioning which he's been struggling with lately. Here's to hoping the weather finally changes to warmer and stays that way :)
~Amy
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