Our Son Really Isn't So Bad

     This morning Little One's school had a walk-a-thon.  Since Baby Girl didn't have school today then both of us went to support him.  They had music playing while the kids walked/ran along the path that goes around the whole playground area.  Baby Girl ran most of the time and Little One needed encouragement to stay on the path and not play on the playground equipment.  I walked for a lap or two, then stood on the sidelines to cheer them on.  ;)  And I forgot to bring my camera-- all I had with me was a video camera whose battery wasn't charged, so no pictures or videos.  :(

     Afterward all the classes gathered in the main floor area of the school for singing time just like they do every day before the kids go home, so I got to see all of the kids at the school's a.m. session.  I knew there were a variety of developmentally delayed kids at this school, but this was the first time I actually saw all the kids together.

     A couple of them have Down Syndrome.  A few of them are very sensitive to loud sounds and so they had to wear noise-reducing headphones while the music was going.  A few of them have bad emotional problems; one kid was throwing a tantrum the whole time and his mother had to sit by him and physically restrain him a little bit.  There was one boy who I could tell by looking at him that something was developmentally wrong, but I don't know what it was.  Most of the older kids looked like they were doing pretty well; quite a few of them are 5 years old, and that's when they graduate from this school and are ready for kindergarten.

     Looking at these kids with more severe developmental delays than Little One's, I'm very glad that his only problem is speech delay.  He still puts things in his mouth that he shouldn't, he still breaks things, and he still doesn't talk as much as a boy his age should.  But he doesn't have Down Syndrome or any other kind of syndrome, he isn't on the autism spectrum, and he doesn't have emotional breakdowns.  I would be stressed out all the time if my child had some of the emotional and neurological problems that some of these kids in his class do.  I wouldn't love my child any less but it would be harder for me to get through each day, and I admire the emotional strength that those other parents have in order to deal with those kids all day every day.

     Little One is doing much better than he was 6 months ago.  He's communicating with short phrases now and he's enunciating better so it's easier to understand what he's saying.  He and Baby Girl love to play together and they've been doing that more often, now that he can better understand what she's saying.  And she's been talking to him at his level a bit more and that's helping him learn as well; he's starting to say phrases that I know he picked up from her, like "Hey, watch this!" and "Wait for me!"  :)  I'm proud of the progress he's making, and I'm very glad that verbal communication is his only setback!

Sick Again

     I really could just copy and paste last month's post here, because the kids and I have been sick again with another cold for over a week.  And this one hit us hard; fever, runny noses and lots of coughing and a hard time sleeping because of it.

     I'm really fed up with being sick.  It seems like we're sick for a week and a half, we're better for about three weeks, and then we're sick again for another week and a half.  Both kids have missed so much school because of it, and I've been home with them 24/7.  I would love a break, but because my body is able to hold out for a few days once the kids get sick, then I'm the last one to get sick but also the last one to get better.  Luckily Mc managed not to get sick this time, but even his super strong immune system has been hit more often here than anywhere else we've lived.

What really bothers me is when we miss events because of it.

     There was a fundraiser auction for Baby Girl's school last weekend that we've known about since the beginning of the school year.  Both kids were sick and so we couldn't have a babysitter come over, so Mc stayed home with them and I went by myself.  I met a nice couple at my table and we chatted throughout the evening, but I would've rather had Mc there with me and made a date out of it.  Plus it would have made the live auction part more entertaining for the other parents, to see him sweating over me bidding up a lamp that Baby Girl's class made for the auction, hehe.  :)  Here's the lamp:

     I bid that thing up to $600 and then had to yield to the other woman who wanted it because I couldn't justify anything higher than that (it's an absolutely ridiculous price for a lamp, of course, but all the money is going to the school which I'm happy to support, and Baby Girl would've loved it in her room).  It was an exciting moment there, but I think Mc's reaction would've made it even better.  ;)

     And then this past Tuesday there was a concert at her school that we all missed.  The kids have songs they've learned throughout the year and all the classes were singing what they learned.  Baby Girl was still sick and so she missed the concert and we missed seeing her in it.  I felt really sad about that; I wanted to see her sing with her class.

     Well, the kids are almost better and I should be better in about two or three days.  I'm just really ready for this cold to be over so we can get back to our routines!