We're still in the thick of it with Papa Bear working 7 days a week. I barely even know what day of the week it is any more, since there is so little variation in our daily routine right now. I just keep trying to remind myself to be thankful that my husband is busy working; esp. with so many health expenses for Fidget at the moment. And while it seems it's been going on for ages, I know it won't last forever. Just keep swimming....
Fidget is now fully recovered from his ear tube/adenoid surgery. We had our follow-up visit last Friday, and not only do his ears look good, he also passed his hearing test! Before surgery he was showing a 30% deficit in both ears, so this is a huge relief. We'll continue following up with his ENT every four months until the tubes are out. He's not a fan of his ear plugs, but hopefully will get used to them over time. I got an email from his ABA therapy provider today, asking for me to confirm his availability for sessions, so hopefully this means we will get that ball rolling soon. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting to hear from his new occupational therapist, so I put in a call to our case worker. There aren't very many OTs working for early intervention in this area, so hopefully we can finally get in touch with her and get things started; I'd hate to have to fire her before even meeting her, and I've heard that once she gets going she's really good for kids with sensory issues. We're also in the process of trying some diet modifications to see if they will help; I'm slowly removing dairy from his diet and it does seem like his bowels have improved, so hopefully we'll see some of his other physical issues improve as well.
And speaking of poop, someone used the potty for the first time this week! I'm not at all trying to potty train him yet, but he was in the tub and kept asking to sit on the potty. Once he was able to pee a little, and once had the smallest poop I've ever seen. I think he was mainly asking b/c he likes to flush the toilet, but at least is shows that he has some control over his elimination functions. Hopefully we can tackle this together with our ABA therapists; not only does he not have the ability right now to communicate a need to go, he also doesn't have the motor skills to get clothes off & on. And with is tendency to engage in fecal smearing, I worry that he'll go but then play in it. <sigh> But I can't get ahead of myself, no sense in worrying about those things until we're there. For now I suppose I need to either get a new little potty, or an insert to put over the toilet, so that we're ready to go when his therapists are.
Sunshine had fun pulling Fidget around the yard before dinner tonight. Right after I snapped this he chuckled and said "Car-car!"Sunshine is still chipping away at first grade; she's either done or almost done with most of her primary curriculum, but she still needs about 30 more school days to meet the state's requirement, so I've brought in some fun, supplemental things. Lots of Rainbow Loom-ing going on for art, I recently restocked her with bands, got a storage box for all of them, and got her one of the new little Monster Looms. She definitely seems to have an easier time with that one than the full sized one, which she will get all the bands placed on but then pawn the looping part on to me. We've also got a new reading curriculum that has her reading actual books instead of readers; the books are a bit simple for her reading level, but it makes her think about comprehension more than she is used to, so overall it is a good balance. Our math book has been replaced by a book of logic puzzles (though we're still working on fact memorization on the side). and we're taking our time to go in-depth on her current science chapter about space. Yesterday we started painting a wooden solar system mobile kit I got from Amazon, and she has a Magic School Bus chapter book on space for her free reading. We're definitely moving at a slower summer pace though so she has time to play with her neighborhood friends, and for formal summer activities. Tomorrow she finishes up two weeks of swim lessons, and next week she will attend Vacation Bible School. Then we'll have some (relatively) quiet weeks before she and a troopmate have a 3 day/2 night resident camp session. She's had sleepovers with family plenty of times, but this will be her first time sleeping at camp, and with no family accompanying her I know she's a bit nervous. It does help some that she went with her troop up to this camp for a service unit at the end of May, so she at least is a little familiar plus excited to see more. And I attended this same camp as a girl, and am confident that she'll settle in and make friends quickly, and will be too busy having fun to think about missing us. She's also excited about some of the new camping gear I'm getting her. I could have bought it more over time, and some things could probably wait, but I figure by buying it now she'll get more use for the money than if we waited a year or two.
I wish I could say I had something fun and exciting planned for Father's Day, but since we don't know yet if Papa Bear will be working I really can't plan anything. I'm also trying, though not succeeding, to avoid thinking about the fact that this is the first Father's Day since my dad passed away. But it seems like lots of things keep popping up to bring him to my mind. All happy memories, but the timing makes them bittersweet.My Daddy holding little 3 day old me
Papa Bear has gotten a couple of his gifts early, because Sunshine is pretty much the worst secret keeper ever, and was busting at the seams to give it to him. A few days ago we gave him this gorgeous rosary from cordbands.com
I do have one more gift up my sleeve for him, but that one I'm not even telling Aubrey about, and he'll really have to wait for this one.
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As for me, aside from just holding down the fort I've been working on planning some home improvement projects, particularly redecorating the kids room now that Fidget is in a twin bed. They actually still had their "nursery" decor up, which we chose while pregnant with Sunshine, so I figure we got good money out of it, esp as nursery themes go. I'll have to wait on Papa Bear to carry out most of the execution, but I always have fun with the planning stages as much as the actual project. But for now there is a bed across the house calling my name. Many days lately I have stayed up late to work on domestic duties, but they'll have to all wait for another day.
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