Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Home Movies

A couple of weeks ago, John came back from his parents' house in Florida with their car and a few boxes. His mom, battling cancer, is now living with his sister in CT. One of the things he brought back was a VHS that I had sent to them...around 20 years ago! So of course, I had to pop it in the vcr; the only one we have is on the little tv in Chelsey's room.
Over the years, I've taken a lot of video, but besides maybe looking at it right then, I don't go back to look at them. So, this was quite a treat. It was Chelsey, back in the day when the world revolved around her. Wow, watching her talk and interact, at what seemed like such a young age...it was like we were watching a genius! :) We kind of forget what other kids can do. Right now, I'm so impressed with Evan's progress. It's not that "I forget" that he's not where a 4 year old should be; I guess I just don't think about it too much. Hey, that's a good thing! :)

Yesterday, day 2 of a nasty stomach bug, and I'm still taking it easy, I started watching videos on our 8 mm that I haven't used in a couple of years. This time, it was mainly Kyle and Matt, 10 and 8. Another, wow. First, hearing their voices at first was so strange; it was like I didn't remember them ever sounding like that. And then, of course, I noticed just how cute they were. :)
The really funny thing was, was that I heard them each say a phrase they both sometimes still say. They were playing with a castle, and Matt said, "You're under arrest!" He still says that at times, although it's progressed to "Get on the ground!" (he likes to use these phrases on our animals...in a good way.) Yeah, he likes the show COPS.
Kyle phrase was "I sure wish the gang could see this." The gang, of course, is the Scooby Doo Detective Agency. Yeah, that gang, for years he's been wanting to head out to Coolsville to see them. :)
I only watched about 20 minutes yesterday, and then a little more today. Evan watched it with me today...on the small screen of the video camera. He liked the part where Kyle was playing with trains, but then when it went to another part, he started tapping the screen and sliding his finger on the screen. The modern child. He's so used to watching videos on our phones and being able to stop, start, and go back to videos. He was getting a little frustrated that he wasn't getting the same results with this.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Best Buds and Evy J

The boys are out for their Christmas get together with their Best Buddies. And I'll say it again, I LOVE THAT PROGRAM! They are partnered up with amazing high school girls. For Kyle, this is his 4th Best Buddy, and she's definitely a keeper! For Matt, this is his third year with the same girl...a completely awesome person who plans on getting a degree in special ed. For these girls, it's not like they signed up so it looks good on their transcripts; they're genuinely wonderful young women. So thankful!

Evan...what to say about Evan!? Well, our nights are better!!! Finally! It only took four years, but I can say with confidence that he is now a good sleeper. He still may not sleep as many hours as many his age, but when he falls asleep, HE STAYS ASLEEP! Yay! Sleep makes such a difference in my life; it feels so good.

Words, we're hearing new words all the time, and it's music to my ears. His latest--new this week--is "yeah." Before when we would ask him if he wanted something, he would respond with "peas," so polite of him. But his "yeah" is so darn cute. He says it almost as a question; it makes me laugh every time! Another recent, and quite appropriate this time of year, "Ho ho ho, Merry Kismas," and the word that every mother waits to hear started this past summer, "Mommy!" He says that...a lot now! He's getting really good at being able to repeat words when we ask him to. It's beautiful, simply beautiful.

Potty trained, completely during the day. We somewhat had it summer of 2009 when he was 3, but then the school year happened, and it slid down on the list of priorities. As soon as summer break of 2010 started, we went straight to underwear. And within a week or two, he joined the ranks of the potty trained. I was concerned about what would happen once school started, but it's been fine. Only one accident, and it was when they had a fire drill. Night time hasn't happened yet, but right now, it's not even a concern. I'm just so excited about how well he does during the day!

And you know what? I'm thoroughly enjoying life with Evan now. Hopefully, that doesn't sound "awful," because of course, I've always loved him more than life, loved being with him, had many wonderful mommy moment with him. It's just, I guess, taking care of him isn't as emotionally exhausting anymore. Having number 4 after the other 3 were considerably older was a bit of a shock to the system. He entered our family when our family dynamics were different. The biggest change, I was no longer a stay a home mom. That definitely contributed to me feeling drained for so long. He doesn't have playmates around the house. Before, not only did I have our 3, but I also took care of a couple of others.
And yeah, getting the positive diagnosis for fx took it's toll on me, even if I was "prepared." Maybe more than any of the other reasons I listed.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Hello, Blog

It's been a few months, and what am I blogging about? Illness, well, kind of.
Evan is staying home with me today because he's throwing up...again. He had a stomach bug a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, and then on Monday and Tuesday of this week, he had a mild stomach bug. But this isn't about how many times he's been sick, because actually, I think he's quite the healthy little boy!

This is just some frustration being let out that he can't tell people that he's not feeling well.
His note from school yesterday said he had a "rough day." He missed playtime because he wasn't cooperating for activities. It just makes me kind of sad to think about the frustration he must feel, not only in that situation, but for so many times in life when he's frustrated, can't control the situation, and can't verbalize his feelings about it. He's had other "rough days" at school, and most of them have preceded being sick (I think it's almost safe to say all of them), whether it's his stomach or the start of a new cold.

So that's it.

I'm staying home today. MAYBE, I'll get back on here so I can update all the progress he's made! This really is the only place where I keep track of milestones, besides the occasional facebook status. ;)