At the beginning of every MOPS meeting (that's the Christian moms group that I belong to), they ask if anyone has a Mommy moment or a dumb dumb moment they'd like to share with the rest of the group. Moms who share stories are then rewarded with either a packet of M&Ms or a Dum-Dum lollipop, respectively. Usually, I share stories of touching things that Ryan has said or done or tender moments with Gavin. At the next meeting, I'll be able to share the following dumb dumb moment:
For the past couple of nights, Gavin has woken up around 4 a.m. shrieking inconsolably. He's so loud that Mike (who typically sleeps through Gavin's most robust crying episodes) jumps out of bed to close the windows so that we don't wake the neighbors. Then, he offers to give me a break and rocks Gavin until he calms down and falls back asleep. The next morning, we try to determine what could explain Gavin's behavior from the night before. We go through a mental checklist: did we give him both doses of Axid (his medicine for acid reflux), did I give him Mylicon to help with gas, did I burp him after each nighttime feeding, was he too cold or hot, did he need a diaper change, did I eat anything that could have given him a stomachache, etc. The other morning, I was convinced I had it figured out. I explained to Mike that when I was changing Gavin's diaper after one of his screaming fits, I discovered what looked like partially undigested grains of rice in his poop (although I did not spend a lot of time carefully inspecting the contents of his dirty diaper). I then reminded Mike that we had chicken and rice for dinner the night before. The look on Mike's face was a combination of bewilderment, shock, and alarm, which quickly turned to amusement as he waited for me to realize the absurdity of my statement. I, on the other hand, could not understand his unusual reaction and why he wasn't responding to the possible explanation I had offered. After several moments, when he realized that I wasn't going to figure it out on my own, he asked me how Gavin had ingested rice when he was exclusively breastfed. I wish I could blame my cluelessness on the sleep deprivation, but common sense often eludes me!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A Cookie for God
Yesterday, after Ryan finished eating his ham and cheese sandwich for lunch, he retrieved the cookies from the cupboard and brought them to the table. Like his Great Granddad Lusby, Ryan prefers to eat only a half a sandwich so there's more room for dessert. He knows that he has to eat his entire sandwich before he's allowed to have cookies. It may take him nearly 20 minutes to finish his sandwich, but he's determined to eat it all so he can have dessert. Then he rewards himself with 2 chewy chocolate chip cookies and 2 fudge strip cookies. Ryan has also established himself as the official Cookie Keeper - we have to ask his permission to share the cookies and then he doles them out to us in whatever quantity he sees fit. I'm used to the typical routine of Ryan opening the package of cookies and saying, "One for Ryan, one for Mommy...two for Ryan, two for Mommy." I was surprised yesterday when he laid a third cookie out in front of the unoccupied seat at the table and said, "and one cookie for God." He then asked if God lived up in the clouds and wondered if Daddy could see God when he was flying in the helicopter. I confirmed that God does live in the sky but Daddy is not able to see him when he's in the helicopter and reminded him that He is also here with us all the time even though we can't see him. Then, he turned his attention back to the cookies and explained, "me love chocolate cookies and God love cookies too." I was touched by his innocent, unquestioning faith and his thoughtfulness and selflessness. Ryan is such a sweet, gentle soul; I hope the harsh realities of the world don't change that about him.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
First Day of School
Today was Ryan's first day back to school. He is enrolled in the 3-year-old preschool program that meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 - 11:30 a.m. Many of his friends from last year are enrolled in his class again this year. And, he has the same teachers that he had last year. Seeing so many familiar faces seemed to help ease his transition back to school.
Dropping him off at school for the first day of school this year was a completely different experience than last year. Last year I was an emotional wreck at the thought of leaving my precious little boy with complete strangers. Mike accompanied us last year in case I was blinded by tears and unable to drive safely. I also had to wear sunglasses so Ryan wouldn't be upset by seeing me cry. I remember sobbing once Ryan was lead into school for the first time. I was sad because until that point I had spent every waking moment with Ryan and had witnessed all of his milestones and touching "mommy moments." Selfishly, I knew that with him in school there would moments that I would not be privvy to; there would be cute, endearing things he said or did that I would never know about. And, I worried that since he was so much younger than his peers (his birthday is one day before the cut-off date of September 1st making him almost a full year younger than some of his classmates) and had limited verbal communication skills, he would be overwhelmed by the school experience. Of course, he thrived at school and his social and communication skills improved tremendously over the course of the year.
Today, Ryan was excited to reconnect with his friends and woke up eager to go to school. Several days prior to his first day when we were pretending to be animal rescuers like Diego, I looked at Ryan and was studdenly struck by how much I've enjoyed spending the summer with him and how much I would miss him once he returned to school. I reminded him that his first day back to school was just days away and that while I was excited for him to make new friends and learn new things, I would miss him. He replied, "Aww, Mommy, me miss you, but my friends are at school and me love my friends too. You come back soon and get me from school right?" I guess it's only a matter of time before he insists that I drop him off a block away from school or walk several paces behind him at the mall!
When we picked him up after school today, the teachers raved about how cute and well behaved Ryan is and said they were amazed at the progress he's made since they last saw him in May. According to his teacher, Ryan not only participated in today's activities but also interacted and conversed with his classmates. As an added benefit of his expanded vocabulary, Ryan is now able to give us an account of what happened during his day.
Dropping him off at school for the first day of school this year was a completely different experience than last year. Last year I was an emotional wreck at the thought of leaving my precious little boy with complete strangers. Mike accompanied us last year in case I was blinded by tears and unable to drive safely. I also had to wear sunglasses so Ryan wouldn't be upset by seeing me cry. I remember sobbing once Ryan was lead into school for the first time. I was sad because until that point I had spent every waking moment with Ryan and had witnessed all of his milestones and touching "mommy moments." Selfishly, I knew that with him in school there would moments that I would not be privvy to; there would be cute, endearing things he said or did that I would never know about. And, I worried that since he was so much younger than his peers (his birthday is one day before the cut-off date of September 1st making him almost a full year younger than some of his classmates) and had limited verbal communication skills, he would be overwhelmed by the school experience. Of course, he thrived at school and his social and communication skills improved tremendously over the course of the year.
Today, Ryan was excited to reconnect with his friends and woke up eager to go to school. Several days prior to his first day when we were pretending to be animal rescuers like Diego, I looked at Ryan and was studdenly struck by how much I've enjoyed spending the summer with him and how much I would miss him once he returned to school. I reminded him that his first day back to school was just days away and that while I was excited for him to make new friends and learn new things, I would miss him. He replied, "Aww, Mommy, me miss you, but my friends are at school and me love my friends too. You come back soon and get me from school right?" I guess it's only a matter of time before he insists that I drop him off a block away from school or walk several paces behind him at the mall!
When we picked him up after school today, the teachers raved about how cute and well behaved Ryan is and said they were amazed at the progress he's made since they last saw him in May. According to his teacher, Ryan not only participated in today's activities but also interacted and conversed with his classmates. As an added benefit of his expanded vocabulary, Ryan is now able to give us an account of what happened during his day.
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