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Wrapping
Why is it more fun to buy gifts and wrapping supplies, but pure torture to have to wrap everything?
That’s my perception, anyway.
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Random Thoughts
Holiday exhaustion is setting in. Here is just a snap shot into my thoughts this evening…
*Wow, the house is truly blown up.
*Gotta get those holiday cards out.
*Why do they start the Christmas shows at 8pm?!? So much for their 8pm bedtime.
*What on earth am I going to write about for the rest of this year?
*What day is it again?
*I wonder if I am really finished shopping. I feel like I am forgetting something.
*There must be an easy cookie I could bake, that I don’t like, so I won’t eat them all.
*Eating three cookies before bed was a bad idea.
*Don’t forget the elf, don’t forget the elf, don’t forget the elf…
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Forgot Again
Seriously. I had every intention of posting last night. Obviously, it didn’t happen.
22 more days…
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Love Bug
Alex can be very difficult. He will readily tell you that he is stubborn; once he has his mind set on something, especially something that doesn’t agree with what we want him to do/think/say, he will rarely change his mind. It can be exhausting.
But, he does have his moments.
Each evening, as he gets sleepier and sleepier, he will spontaneously hug me and say “I love you, Mommy” (only, because we are still working on his “l” sounds, it comes out “I yuv you, Mommy”.
Too. Stinking. Cute.
Tonight, after dinner, he finished first and proclaimed the meal “the best dinner EVER!” He started to leave the table, but stopped, and came back. “Oops! I forgot something! Guess what I forgot? I forgot to give you a HUG!” Then, I got a big hug and an emphatic “I love you, Mommy.”
This kid. It’s amazing how all the difficult moments are pushed aside when he does something like this.
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Yawwwwn…
This is not good. Only the 6th of December, and I am very ready for a long winter’s nap.
Zzzzzzz…
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Birthdaypalooza, Andrew Edition
My baby turned six years old today. Where has the time gone?
My last born is a witty, kind, loving little guy, and he is so excited for his birthday. He celebrated yesterday with his M/Th classmates and today with his Friday classmates and his family, and he will celebrate again tomorrow with his cousins and a few friends at his birthday party.
It’s exhausting, but he is having a good time, so it’s more than worth it.
Happy 6th birthday, my sweet boy. I love you.
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Alex Quotes
I have a headache. Stress or sinus; not sure which. All I want to do is sleep, but that is still a couple hours away if I want to accomplish anything tonight.
As I was sitting down for a moment, Al came and plopped down next to me. Soon after, I noticed a strong, unpleasant odor. Al looked at me, his eyes twinkling, and said “I didn’t toot. I farted!” Lovely.
Moments later, as I stood up to go into the kitchen, Alex said “Hey, while you’re in there, get me some more chocolate milk.”
What?!? Part of me was appalled by the lack of manners, but another part was thrilled to hear him put that sentence together. (And no, he did not get the chocolate milk.)
Alex can be such a funny little guy. Frustrating as all hell, but definitely funny.
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Chugging Along
Alex did not have such a great day, potty training wise. I’m not sure how today was so different, in terms of routine, but we’ll try again tomorrow.
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Halllllllelujah!!
Today was Alex’s first day at school without Pull Ups. I was anxious all day; I was just afraid that he would get discouraged if it didn’t go well, or that someone would tease him if he had an accident.
I shouldn’t have worried about it. This kid has it under control.
He got off the bus and ran toward the house…wearing the SAME PANTS THAT HE WORE TO SCHOOL!! No accidents!! He flung open the door, and I was so excited that I could only spit out, “ALEX! Your PANTS!!”
He was slightly thrown by my probably somewhat overwhelming response, and immediately showed me where he ripped the knee of his pants. I didn’t even care about the ruined pants, because nothing else mattered except that he made it through the whole day and didn’t have an accident.
This is going in the right direction. I’m quite optimistic. Keep those good vibes coming!!
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Potty Training…Take 458
Having a child with special needs obviously presents extra challenges. One of these is potty training. I have three children, and I have yet to successfully potty train any of them.
That’s probably a little misleading. The truth is, two of my three kids trained themselves. We’ve been trying to get Alex trained for so long that the other two just kind of mastered it on their own, when it was developmentally appropriate for them to do so. In the meantime, we’ve attempted potty training many, many times with Alex. It obviously never ends the way we hope.
The average age for a child with Down syndrome to be toilet trained is eight. We are two years past that, and I’m done. He can totally do it, but for some reason just won’t. He is about 80% trained, but still can’t stay dry, and we’ve allowed him to stay in Pull-Ups, thinking he would let us know when he was ready.
Well, he’s ready. We made that decision for him, though, because it’s just ridiculous now. It’s easier for him to not stop what he’s doing to use the bathroom, and he probably enjoys that sense of control that he then maintains over the situation.
Sorry, pal. Time’s up.
He did really well yesterday, and while today was a little rough, we stuck to it and made it to bedtime. I thought he was doing so well this evening, and then discovered that he had changed into a Pull-Up at some point. I wasn’t sure if I should be frustrated because he ditched the underpants, or admire him because he managed to get one over on me.
Tomorrow is a new day, and another chance to try again. And try, try we will.