Rock n Roll
Evan likes to collect rocks. Every time we go outside, he finds a favorite one and carries it around with him. We have a little pile of rocks inside the front door now.
Maybe he'll grow up to be a geologist.
« May 2004 | Main | July 2004 »
Evan likes to collect rocks. Every time we go outside, he finds a favorite one and carries it around with him. We have a little pile of rocks inside the front door now.
Maybe he'll grow up to be a geologist.
Yesterday was our first therapy with the new schedule (longer OT with new therapist, and speech first, starting at a later time) and it went pretty well. Evan really liked his new occupational therapist, and I liked the new ways she tried to introduce things to him. Instead of shoving food down his throat, she presented it in a non-threatening way. She let him play in the pudding. Instead of trying to feed it to him, she put some animals in it (like it was mud) and had Ev wash them off in the "pond". He liked that, and was more cooperative and eventually he did even eat some of it.
So I'm taking this as a lesson--trying to introduce these new foods and textures at times other than dinner. Last night, Mike and I were eating grapes and Ev wouldn't even touch them because he knows we want him to eat them. But during his bath I threw a few grapes into the tub. He thought that was great, and held them and played with them for a long time. We even brought some pudding into the tub with him, and he did an awesome job.
I'm learning that the unconventional approach works better with Evan, and that's fine by me. The more different things we try, the better he does. I feel happy that we're starting to learn how to do things on his terms. I think it's going to really help us make progress.
Evan is 29 months old as of yesterday. 29 months! We don't say months anymore even, we just say he's two and a half.
Evan can wash his own hands. Evan can go up and down stairs like a grown-up (a very short grown-up, but still). Evan can go down the big slide at the playground by himself. Evan doesn't take a nap anymore--he goes to bed in his own room at 7 and sleeps until 7 the next morning.
This stuff isn't that remarkable. Most other kids his age do it too. But it's remarkable because it's my kid, the one who used to weigh less than a small laptop and whose tiny head was the size of an orange.
Where has my baby gone?
I am the very bad mommy who has not posted in a week. Sorry! It's not like we've been any busier than usual, but sometimes I feel like I'm saying the same crap over and over. And you poor folks keep reading it.
On the therapy front, all is the same. This Thursday should be fun though, as we move to a later (and longer) time slot in Pittsburgh. I don't see how these visits could get any worse, so I'm really hoping things improve some. Speaking of which, Cara had a vision that Evan's going to be talking soon and she told me not to worry. I believe her--he's been super chatty over the last week or so. He's making lots of different noises for longer periods of time, and it's only getting better.
On the social end of things, we went to the zoo with Lauren's mom last week. That was super fun. Evan had an excellent time and I did as well. We were all very impressed with the new children's zoo and hope to visit again soon. I think Evan liked the merry-go-round and the penguins the best.
We also had a large portion of Mike's family in for the weekend--kind of a Father's Day/meet the new baby kind of thing. It was lots of fun having everyone over and getting to spend some quality time with baby Isaiah. Too bad every time I held him it seemed like he wanted to nurse! I don't know if it was the boobs or just bad timing, but as soon as I got him he would start looking for chow! It was funny to see teeny little newborn diapers again too. I'm used to the size 5 monsters that our little buddy wears!
That's all for now, we're caught up. I'm off to bed because a three therapy week starts tomorrow!
I've posted two new photo galleries tonight, one a collection of general springtime photos (including this past Easter) and one of our trip to Waldameer a few days ago.
Here they are, they're at the bottom of the page.
Mike just left to take Ev swimming at the college. Sweet! Good boy bonding time, good mommy rest time. I'm going out with the girls tonight.
Therapy went okay yesterday. Just okay. Not as bad as last time, but still not great. After next week, we're changing times. Instead of starting at 12:30 with a half hour of OT then a half hour of speech, we'll be starting at 1:30 with a half hour of speech and then 45 minutes of OT.
I think this will work better for several reasons. First, I won't have to leave so early to get down there, and I can take my time if I decide to have lunch with Alan or something. Second, speech first is a much better idea because OT gets kind of wild and Evan gets all kinds of pissed off when they make him eat stuff he doesn't like. Third, we'll be getting more time in actual therapy, which makes the annoying drive seem a little more worthwhile.
I'm excited about it. I'm also excited because it's the weekend, Mike's off work, and nothing's on the schedule. I love it.
Yesterday's trip to Waldameer was a huge success. Evan had a great time at the water park--I think he would have stayed there all day. It was pretty crowded with school picnics, but I think Evan liked all the action. As luck would have it OLP's school picnic was yesterday, so that meant we got to see Jackie, Chuck, Carly and Chad. That was excellent for me because I would have been super lonely in the kiddie pool without Jackie to talk to! We were there for a good three hours, and then some kid barfed on the ramp up to the waterslide so we figured that was a good time to hit the rides.
Evan wasn't as crazy about the actual rides. He's still too small to go on most of the kiddie rides--not size wise, but I think he'd try to get off while they were running. But he did go on the Big Rig trucks with Daddy, the ferris wheel with me, the merry-go-round and the train as well. He liked them, but I think he was a little surprised at how the whole thing worked. We got some good pictures--I'll see if Mike can post them soon.
Today it was overcast or storming but still very hot, so we spent most of the day inside. Thank goodness Aunt Cara is in town for a few days--she brought us lunch and hung out with us for the afternoon. Evan really loves her. He goes and sits on her lap, or tries to get her to play with him. I'm always worried that he's going to be shy around people he doesn't see very often, but with Cara that doesn't seem to be a problem. Ev cried when she left, but I assured him we'd see more of her later in the week.
Tomorrow's Thursday, and that means another trip to Pittsburgh. Wish us luck.
Evan and Cole went to the beach today, and made their mommies go with them. They had a great time, running in the cool lake water then rolling around in the sand. By the end of the afternoon, they both looked like little cinnamon sugar donuts.
They had a ton of fun though, and that's what's important. Next time, I must remember to pack a change of clothes. Evan had to ride back to Meadville in his diaper. I don't know why I thought that we wouldn't get incredibly dirty at the beach--momentary lapse of reason on my part. Mikaele reminded me later in the day that not so long ago she and I rode back from the beach wet and sandy, and I should have taken that as a lesson. Even if you don't intend to, you always end up going in the water.
Tomorrow I will be packed and fully prepared though when we head to WALDAMEER!! I can hardly wait. Mike just told me that he and some of his coworkers decided that tomorrow afternoon would be a good time to knock off and go ride some rides and hit the water slides. Sounds like a plan to me. I know Evan's going to love it. I hope he digs the beep beep cars as much as I used to.
The past two days or so I have just been feeling very...loving. I don't know how else to say it. I feel thankful, and joyful, and happy. I love my husband, and I love my son, and I love this little family we've created. It's a simple thing, but an important one, and yet it sounds so foolish when I write it down.
I know sometimes I get really bogged down in everything that's wrong in our lives (I'm a worrier, can't help it, it's in the genes). Sometimes Mike even calls me on it. But I'm trying to focus more on the positive, enjoying the every day stuff. I get so wrapped up in planning and listmaking and getting things done that sometimes I forget to enjoy the ride. I'm reminding myself not to do that so much. It's hard, but I am trying.
I love the sound of my son breathing deeply while he sleeps. Everything is okay.
Today was Evan's third therapy in Pittsburgh, and boy was it a doozy. The first 15 minutes of OT went great with gross motor play, and he was very cooperative. Then things took a nosedive. His therapist has decided to use the second half of each session working on introducing new foods into Evan's diet. Our first try was vanilla pudding (he'll eat chocolate, but no other flavors). I think she's trying to ease him into new flavors and textures.
So the deal was, sit Ev in a little chair at a table with his pudding. For each spoonful he took, he would get an M & M as a reinforcer. Taste pudding, get M. Simple enough. Ev couldn't bring himself to take that first bite though--this pudding was not the usual color and he wasn't all that sure about it. I finally got the spoon to his lips myself, and he gave it a little taste and kind of liked it. So he got the M. Then he fed himself another three spoonfuls and got three more M's. Then things went terribly wrong.
Ev decided he was done and he wanted to get up and play some more. The OT was having none of it. So I had to try to hold Evan in the chair while we both tried to coax and eventually force him to eat some more pudding. By the end of it all, he was crying and sputtering and would not be consoled. And then it was time for speech. He cried and carried on through the first 15 minutes of that therapy too, until he finally settled down and played with some Little People toys. Then it was time to go.
And I drive an hour and a half for this.
The rest of the day went a lot better, thankfully. We met April and Dean for some shopping and playtime at the mall, then it was on to Aunt Beth's house for dinner. Evan had fun playing with the cats there and exploring the house. Until it was time to eat, when the "unfortunate incident" happened.
We had pizza, and I cut a piece up for Ev and the three of us sat down at her dining room table with its lovely blue tablecloth. I should mention now that this table had on it our food, drinks, a potted plant, and some mail. So Ev and I were on one side, Beth was on the other, and we all began to eat. Just moments into the meal, Evan somehow began to tip his chair backwards. What followed happened in extreme slow motion. He grabbed the tablecloth for support as he was falling through space, taking down his food, drink, and the potted plant. I grabbed for my glass right before it sailed off the end of the table, but by that time it was all over. Evan was laying on the floor, covered in pizza and some potting soil, and Beth and I were laughing so hard we were nearly choking.
After we stopped laughing and cleaned up the floor and the child, we finished eating without any further mishap. I should have known the tablecloth was a toddler hazard, but my Mommy radar is obviously out of tune. We will never forget that dinner, at any rate.
It seemed to be a day full of little trials. We passed most, and will start fresh again tomorrow.
How does everyone like the redesign? Mike was up late last night working on it. In addition the changing the front page, he added more pictures to the photo galleries, and I think the whole thing is easier to navigate. Not to mention the cute pic of Evan at the top!