Recent Happenings

I just thought I would summarize some of the happenings here recently:

We started the month off with a huge airshow. We learned that A has no idea how to fall asleep in the stroller (he hates being on his back), so I wound up carrying him half the morning on my back, where he loves to sleep. The kids had a great time--JR in particular. He got to see stunt planes, choppers, the Thunderbirds, skydivers, and more.

A is now taking his baths with JR and M. M is convinced it is her job to watch out for him, entertain him, wash his hair, dump water all over him, and actually bathe him. I can't seem to convince her otherwise, but fortunately A is a great sport.

JR has developed a fascination with the drums. He stopped going to his kid's Sunday School class so he could attend "big church." Considering he spends most of the hour watching the drummer, though, I have a feeling it isn't the sermon he comes to hear. He has been LOUDLY pounding anything I will let him. I have, for the most part, kept his noise confined to the play room so we can all escape as necessary. When he combines his drumming with his singing, oh, such joy (and NOISE) fills the house! Just for kicks, this past Sunday, I took him over to actually meet the drummer at the church. JR, of course, played shy, but the drummer picked him up onto the platform, let him sit on the stool, and then actually helped him play a tune. JR couldn't hide the thrill he got from that! So now, he wants to be a pilot, a "train-driver", a teacher, AND a drummer! Notice how he sat his little stuffed dog in the chair to watch him.

Then comes little A. He is sitting up totally by himself now, and just today I noticed he FINALLY has his first tooth popping through. He has been showing signs of teething for months now--I'm talking bumps on his gums, copious drool, fussyness, not sleeping well, discomfort with sucking on his bottle, ridges along the gum line, chewing on everything, pale/white pressure areas around his gums, and even a distinct point of a tooth we could feel that has refused to pop through for over 6 weeks. Finally today, I can actually see a tooth poking through. And it is NOT the point we have felt for months. That one is yet to come. Oh, and after the refusal to sleep at the air show, I decided it was high time he learn to sleep on his back. From the beginning he refused to sleep well on his back, so after weeks of sleepless nights, I finally gave in and allowed him to be a tummy sleeper. To this day, he sleeps great on his tummy, but has trouble on his back--this means in his carseat, in a stroller, anywhere he can't lay on his tummy. So, one night when he was pretty tired, I laid him on his back in his crib, tucked him good, and turned on his mobile. I let him cry, going in and soothing a couple of times, but, after a surprisingly short cry session, he actually fell asleep. Later that night I went in and flipped him on his tummy so we could all sleep well through the night. The next day, I picked one of his naps and did the same thing. He cried just for a few minutes, and dozed off. Ever since, he goes to bed on his back at night, and usually once during the day, and he rarely even fusses now. He plays for a few minutes and falls asleep. I still have to work up the courage to let him go all night on his back, but he is defintely getting better. Today, on a lengthy trip, he fell asleep twice in his carseat without crying. That was amazing, so it must be working somehow!

We have also spent the last couple weeks getting ready for our homestudy. S got his medical eval done, we have been checking in with our references, and applying for and collecting background checks and driver histories from 3 states. The last few days in particular, I have been gathering and sorting the paperwork we have and making copies. We drove to a nearby state this morning to actually collect some additional paperwork in person, as that state is known for its incompetence with handling such paperwork. So, we are almost there. I have to pick up the kids' medical forms tomorrow, then we have our first visit by the social worker on Saturday, then hopefully my last bit of paperwork will arrive in the mail soon, and finally, I have to get my medical eval completed. We can see the finish line.