Almost two months have passed - oops! I can't believe it's been that long. Well, long story short March was a hard month - both J and I had medical issues which are all now resolved, but we had lots of coughing/asthma, another trip to Urgent Care for J due to inability to breathe (your basic parent's nightmare), then more gunked up infection in his ears, culminating in another surgery end of March to take out the old ear tubes and put in a newer, better, and hopefully longer-lasting pair of tubes. Whew.
P.S. our basement flooded due to construction next door. I won't go into it except to recognize it added to my overall stress level. We navigated our way through it. Calgon, take me away!!
We've also been in the process of updating his IEP (Individualized Education Plan) which basically consists of speech and occupational therapy services through the school district. Yes, the Kansas City MO school district just happens to be the one within which 26 schools are set to close for the upcoming year. I'm all for it in the long run, but it just means things haven't gotten any easier with getting services in place for him. His case manager had her position eliminated, etc. etc. I'm optimistic it will come together by the end of the year. I applied for him to begin pre-K at the same school he now attends for speech therapy. Knock wood. Many student applicants and very few positions. It's one of a handful of schools in the district that already operates really well, high test scores, great ethnic diversity, etc. I can confidently say that I have done everything in my power short of being downright obnoxious to support his admittance. Ha! How did I turn into one of "those" parents so quickly? I'm kind of proud of myself, actually. If he doesn't get in it's not for lack of trying, and I'll be happy to have him stay one more year in his current preschool.
Joaquin is thriving. He now weighs 34 pounds and I don't know how tall he is but he keeps growing at a steady pace. People typically say, "he's bigger," even when they just saw him a couple of weeks previously.
We love preschool. Last week we're driving home from school/work and I hear him in the back seat counting to ten in Spanish?!? Grandpa and Aunt Karla will be so pleased. I didn't teach him a word. Preschool. He is getting more active all the time, less shy about talking with his peers. Last week his teacher, Ms. Margaret, was excited that he initiated an art activity by himself, cut out a little hat, glued it together, etc. Writing is another story. He's not terribly interested and clearly way behind his peers. That's what occupational therapy will be for.
He's talking so much now that I can't even think what to document. Of course it's hard to remember the funny ones at the moment. Here's a small sample.
No way, check it out!
Let's get out of here.
Please stop, I don't like it.
I'm full, I'm hungry, more juice please, etc.
Let's go store and get some -----.
Mommy, you time out. You take a little break.
No bath today, I don't want take a bath.
Let's take a trip. Let's go airplane.
Let's go Ashley's Happy Birthday Party, eat some cake, go park.
I'm so grateful for Spring. It makes all the difference. We can play outside, he get's more of an outlet for all that energy. We are now walking to the neighborhood park instead of taking a stroller. We're working on concepts like understanding the sidewalk is for everybody but we don't get to walk in everybody's yard.
Parenting is quite something. I'm still working on getting the hang of it, though part of me knows I'm settling into it. I'm accepting that life just goes at a slower pace, I'm not "productive" and I just don't have the time or energy to keep up with many grown-up relationships at the moment. Single parenting really is a unique situation. I'm more accepting of myself when I get frustrated or just literally need to close the door for five minutes and take a breather. I really did believe I was a patient person before I became a parent. J gets it, I tell him we need to "take a little break" and he plops down and reads books while I regroup. I'm consciously focusing on the present and accepting all of it. I may be frustrated, grateful, angry, and laughing with my little guy all in the space of one morning. I'm realizing this is normal. Crazy is normal, who knew? I'm generally tired, sometimes wistful for my previous life (especially dancing, I miss my salsa buddies), I daydream about what it would be like to have a 24hr period to myself, and you couldn't pay me to be anywhere but here with Joaquin. Like I said, crazy. I'm letting it all hang out more and not expecting myself to have it all together like I did the first year. La vida es un carnival.
One last thing. J had his first official haircut in a real barber shop this Saturday. He rocked it! I thought we may just attempt it, familiarize him with it, and actually do the cut at a later date. When we walked in the door he literally planted his feet in the ground like a mule. After much coaxing, he finally sat down, watched others get a cut, and took his jacket off. The Brookside Barbershop is a page out of history, I have to tell you it reminded me of the Andy Griffith show. Seriously. J was Opie (of course). They are great with kids, gave him a lollipop for each fist; he sat on my lap with his Harry Potter cape and settled right in. I was surprised how long he allowed them to work on his hair; two barbers at once at one point. We will go there again and again.
No comments:
Post a Comment