WORST. DAY. EVER. I am starting to think that this damn stomach virus going around is never going to leave. When Colin got sick almost 2 weeks ago, I managed to sneak by with only a mild stomach ache. I was ever so pleased with myself for not getting truly ill. Then at about 4am yesterday morning, I woke up and decided that I was going to die. I truly don't think there is anything worse than the stomach flu. After a solid day of hell, I feel better...although I may never eat anything besides saltine crackers ever again. ;-)
Colin was SO good yesterday and for the first time ever, he left me alone for the whole day and played with Jer. He never leaves me alone while I am sick, but he seemed to sense immediately that it was different this time and he never even set foot in my room. I was able to hear him chatting and playing and even in my writhing agony, I could not help but think how adorable he was. At one point, I walked out into the kitchen and he said, "Mommy, you still got the yucky waters?" HA!!! I sure do hope the "yucky waters" are done for a VERY LONG TIME!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Exceptional
This is a big day in our little household! We took a family trip to tour the preschool where Colin will go this fall and finally got signed up. I am just so excited!!! After much thought and looking at a lot of different options, we finally decided on a church program that is very close to home and perfect for our little man. Colin will start out attending one day a week, Mondays, with the option to increase to two or even three days as he progresses. This is a big step for Colin and I am thrilled with our choice. I love everything about the program and really loved the director and assistant that we spent time with. The assistant director is the mother of a sensitive boy who sounds much like Colin and she spoke with me about him and how she understands the process involved with helping make Colin feel at home there. That brings me a lot of peace and really makes me know that we chose the perfect place for Colin. I have confidence that he will be loved there and that is exactly what I needed. He starts this fall with the regular school calendar. The really great news is that we plan to start attending church there, which will give Colin all summer to become familiar with the facility, teachers, and being dropped off. We have not gone to church with Colin yet, but after today I feel so excited to start going and getting Colin involved in their program. By the time the school year rolls around, he should be used to being dropped off there, so the transition should be smooth. The church is a casual, open and cheerful environment and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I truly feel like God lead me in this direction and the peace in my heart is palpable!
Last week, Kim sent me an email about a book that she stumbled upon that she thought would be helpful. That is putting it mildly. She actually gave me a huge gift in pointing me toward the book and I will be in her debt for a long time. The book is called "The Highly Sensitive Child" by Dr. Elaine Aron. She writes about a small percentage of the population (15%) who are born with a very special personality...highly sensitive. I have spent so many months quietly researching Colin and his temperament only to come to one dead end after another. Despite long hours of endless searching, nothing ever seemed to fit Colin. I always came up with information on Aspergers, which just does not fit Colin. He is sensitive and is bothered by things that other kids are not, but he meets none of the criteria to fall on the spectrum for Autism, even the most highly functioning. He clearly is not autistic, in fact he is the polar opposite of most autistic traits, but is showing signs of being gifted and hyper sensitive. Finally, finally, this book showed me the way. It is my son. It is not a disorder, as I have always known in my heart, but rather a trait he was born with that needs it's own set of parenting skills. From the first word of the book, the doctor was talking about Colin. I actually cried for the first few pages...the relief of finding information that actually fit our lives is simply invaluable. Colin is a child who notices things that others do not...from little nuances in others feelings to the smallest sounds or slightest smells. Colin experiences the world on a different level than most of us do and processes a lot more information than the average two year old. When Colin appears shy, he is really taking in his environment and seeing everything. When someone in a room is sad, Colin knows it and wonders why that is. The book also talks about these children and their innate love of babies (I really teared up when I read that...talk about Colin!) and why they like to nurture. There is so much that I can't really even discuss it all without writing for hours. He will always be easily overwhelmed by things because of how his brain works and I am now armed with information and skills to help him. I can be his champion now and help him navigate the world. The knowledge and techniques the doctor speaks about have already helped me and I am not even finished with the book yet! I feel like I have gotten to look through a window at Colin's world and everything makes more sense now. I can understand why he does not like rough housing or people in his personal space unless on his terms and I can help others understand that, too. He is a brilliant little boy and I have always always known he was special...and now I have a guide to just how special he is. There will be challenges while growing up, but heck...every parent has their own set of them!! The author calls them exceptional children and I totally agree. I am so honored that I was chosen to be his mother! There is also a good chance that it won't be long before I am not smart enough to help him with his homework, but that is another post. ;-)
So, long story long....I am having a very good day.
Last week, Kim sent me an email about a book that she stumbled upon that she thought would be helpful. That is putting it mildly. She actually gave me a huge gift in pointing me toward the book and I will be in her debt for a long time. The book is called "The Highly Sensitive Child" by Dr. Elaine Aron. She writes about a small percentage of the population (15%) who are born with a very special personality...highly sensitive. I have spent so many months quietly researching Colin and his temperament only to come to one dead end after another. Despite long hours of endless searching, nothing ever seemed to fit Colin. I always came up with information on Aspergers, which just does not fit Colin. He is sensitive and is bothered by things that other kids are not, but he meets none of the criteria to fall on the spectrum for Autism, even the most highly functioning. He clearly is not autistic, in fact he is the polar opposite of most autistic traits, but is showing signs of being gifted and hyper sensitive. Finally, finally, this book showed me the way. It is my son. It is not a disorder, as I have always known in my heart, but rather a trait he was born with that needs it's own set of parenting skills. From the first word of the book, the doctor was talking about Colin. I actually cried for the first few pages...the relief of finding information that actually fit our lives is simply invaluable. Colin is a child who notices things that others do not...from little nuances in others feelings to the smallest sounds or slightest smells. Colin experiences the world on a different level than most of us do and processes a lot more information than the average two year old. When Colin appears shy, he is really taking in his environment and seeing everything. When someone in a room is sad, Colin knows it and wonders why that is. The book also talks about these children and their innate love of babies (I really teared up when I read that...talk about Colin!) and why they like to nurture. There is so much that I can't really even discuss it all without writing for hours. He will always be easily overwhelmed by things because of how his brain works and I am now armed with information and skills to help him. I can be his champion now and help him navigate the world. The knowledge and techniques the doctor speaks about have already helped me and I am not even finished with the book yet! I feel like I have gotten to look through a window at Colin's world and everything makes more sense now. I can understand why he does not like rough housing or people in his personal space unless on his terms and I can help others understand that, too. He is a brilliant little boy and I have always always known he was special...and now I have a guide to just how special he is. There will be challenges while growing up, but heck...every parent has their own set of them!! The author calls them exceptional children and I totally agree. I am so honored that I was chosen to be his mother! There is also a good chance that it won't be long before I am not smart enough to help him with his homework, but that is another post. ;-)
So, long story long....I am having a very good day.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Just a Ton of Stuff!
The running dialogue in this journal of my life seems to be all about how fast time is flying by. For the umpteenth time in a row, I feel compelled to point out how quickly the days have run past since my last update. How is April already winding down?? There has been so much going on in our little world. We are busy and happy and overwhelmed at times, but we are having a wonderful spring, without question!
First of all, we have been attending quite a few birthday parties lately and having a blast doing it! Virtually ALL of our friends have a child born within a month time span. We have had a birthday party every weekend now since the end of March and I can say without a doubt that Colin has been having the best time. I was nervous when all the invitations started rolling in, given Colin's tendency to dislike loud, crowded events. I am so happy to report that he has been loving the parties and there has not been a single issue during any of them! When we arrive at the parties, Colin is quiet for a few minutes while he checks out the scene and takes it all in. I have learned that the key is to stay aside with him while he gets his bearings and keep the contact from others down to a minimum while he figures out what is going on. After only a couple of minutes, he is ready to explore things and immediately begins playing and having fun. I promised myself that we would try the parties, but that if he was even the least bit unhappy, I would take him out of the environment. I was fully prepared to do this, but was so excited to see him having a blast. He loves his friends and always spends the ride home telling me how much fun he had, whose house he wants to go to next, and which toys were the best. :-) Last night we attended Keegan's 3rd birthday party and it was dinosaur themed, complete with dinosaur egg hunt. Colin had the best time in the world, was so sweet and gentle (he "took care" of all the babies as usual) and behaved like a champ. Jer noted that during the egg hunt, Colin only collected three eggs instead of the whole bag full that most other kids found. He is not the child that will run into chaos and loud kids in order to find the most eggs, but he was thrilled with the ones he got and LOVED carefully finding the prizes hidden inside. What a wonderful night with great friends! Now that all the parties have come to a close, I can't wait to begin organizing Colin's. It will be here before you know it!! Here is the little man last night...hunting dinosaurs...sort of. ;-)
A little over a week ago, we attended Annelie's first birthday party, only to catch a violent stomach flu along with the majority of the attendees. It was crazy!! Colin woke up throwing up at around 10pm that Saturday night and continued to do so on and off until late Sunday morning. We went through a ton of sheets and pj's and the poor baby was so upset by it. He kept asking why all the "yucky water" was coming out of him! It just broke my heart! Luckily it only knocked us out for 24 hours or so and we were back to normal on Monday. We were REALLY upset to miss Pierce's birthday party that Sunday afternoon. Colin had been looking forward to it for weeks (they had a petting zoo!) and we were all so sad to miss it. I felt especially bad for Kim because almost the whole gang got the virus, so we all missed it. I am just glad it is over!! 
Colin basking in the sun in the Japanese Gardens. I love this one so much.
Stopping to smell the roses. ;-) He went without shoes for most of the day. He gets his love of being barefoot from me.
Daddy and Colin in "Japan". I think they are so sweet in that shot!
I have a ton more to update about Colin in general, so I will make most of that another post. These days we spend the majority of our time in the garage and front yard. Colin is obsessed with being in the garage with all of the "stuff" and he will spend hours out there looking at everything and moving stuff around, much to Dad's chagrin! I have taken to setting up one of the folding lawn chairs out there with a magazine or book in hand while the little man goes through everything, plays store, and goes in and out of the parked car pretending to drive. Here he is peeking out of Dad's sunroof...which is a sight I see a lot of these days! He LOVES sitting in the parked cars. A LOT! It should also be mentioned that those dimples are the light of my life. :-)
First of all, we have been attending quite a few birthday parties lately and having a blast doing it! Virtually ALL of our friends have a child born within a month time span. We have had a birthday party every weekend now since the end of March and I can say without a doubt that Colin has been having the best time. I was nervous when all the invitations started rolling in, given Colin's tendency to dislike loud, crowded events. I am so happy to report that he has been loving the parties and there has not been a single issue during any of them! When we arrive at the parties, Colin is quiet for a few minutes while he checks out the scene and takes it all in. I have learned that the key is to stay aside with him while he gets his bearings and keep the contact from others down to a minimum while he figures out what is going on. After only a couple of minutes, he is ready to explore things and immediately begins playing and having fun. I promised myself that we would try the parties, but that if he was even the least bit unhappy, I would take him out of the environment. I was fully prepared to do this, but was so excited to see him having a blast. He loves his friends and always spends the ride home telling me how much fun he had, whose house he wants to go to next, and which toys were the best. :-) Last night we attended Keegan's 3rd birthday party and it was dinosaur themed, complete with dinosaur egg hunt. Colin had the best time in the world, was so sweet and gentle (he "took care" of all the babies as usual) and behaved like a champ. Jer noted that during the egg hunt, Colin only collected three eggs instead of the whole bag full that most other kids found. He is not the child that will run into chaos and loud kids in order to find the most eggs, but he was thrilled with the ones he got and LOVED carefully finding the prizes hidden inside. What a wonderful night with great friends! Now that all the parties have come to a close, I can't wait to begin organizing Colin's. It will be here before you know it!! Here is the little man last night...hunting dinosaurs...sort of. ;-)
A little over a week ago, we attended Annelie's first birthday party, only to catch a violent stomach flu along with the majority of the attendees. It was crazy!! Colin woke up throwing up at around 10pm that Saturday night and continued to do so on and off until late Sunday morning. We went through a ton of sheets and pj's and the poor baby was so upset by it. He kept asking why all the "yucky water" was coming out of him! It just broke my heart! Luckily it only knocked us out for 24 hours or so and we were back to normal on Monday. We were REALLY upset to miss Pierce's birthday party that Sunday afternoon. Colin had been looking forward to it for weeks (they had a petting zoo!) and we were all so sad to miss it. I felt especially bad for Kim because almost the whole gang got the virus, so we all missed it. I am just glad it is over!! Jer and I decided to take Colin to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens a few days ago and it was one of the best afternoons ever. Colin adores being outside with lots to see and this really fit the bill. I would never have expected something like the gardens to be so highly entertaining for a two year old, but then again, Colin is not the average two year old. :-) He spent hours running around from garden to garden (this place is giant...it will take us several trips to see it all) and checking out everything he could. His favorite part by far was the Japanese Gardens. He asked us "is this America?" and followed that with "No, this is China!". I almost fell down. I never expected to have a discussion on the subtle differences in Japanese and Chinese architecture at two and a half. HA! He loved the whole day and has asked to go back constantly since then. My little nature lover! Here is the whole family, thanks to a nice onlooker who offered to take our picture. That is the Rose Garden down below.
Colin basking in the sun in the Japanese Gardens. I love this one so much.
Stopping to smell the roses. ;-) He went without shoes for most of the day. He gets his love of being barefoot from me.
Daddy and Colin in "Japan". I think they are so sweet in that shot!
I have a ton more to update about Colin in general, so I will make most of that another post. These days we spend the majority of our time in the garage and front yard. Colin is obsessed with being in the garage with all of the "stuff" and he will spend hours out there looking at everything and moving stuff around, much to Dad's chagrin! I have taken to setting up one of the folding lawn chairs out there with a magazine or book in hand while the little man goes through everything, plays store, and goes in and out of the parked car pretending to drive. Here he is peeking out of Dad's sunroof...which is a sight I see a lot of these days! He LOVES sitting in the parked cars. A LOT! It should also be mentioned that those dimples are the light of my life. :-)
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