Improved vision

Have I mentioned that I entered Sammy into a baby model contest? He is just so beautiful!

Elijah had his follow-up appointment with his opthamologist yesterday. Great news! His vision has improved by four whole rows on the eye chart! The doctor said that three months ago he was legally blind, so this improvement is quite a relief. We will continue to patch his good eye through the summer for 2-3 hours/day, and hopefully by then his vision will be closer to where it should be for his age. We have been very consistent with having him wear his patches, so it feels good to know that has paid off. Thankfully he does really well with it. He will occasionally ask if he can take it off, but responds well to, "Not yet!"

And MY vision has improved, as well. Not the vision from my eyes, but insight into my oldest boy. I was lying in bed this morning thinking about the book The Five Love Languages. There's a version written for children, and I have it on my bookshelf. I started thinking about what both Eljiah and Sammy's love languages are. How do they perceive love? Elijah is without a doubt a Quality Time guy. I know that all children need quality time with their parents, but Elijah reeeeeeally needs QT with us. It is the thing he asks from us most of all. When he was a baby I remember getting home from work in the evenings and starting dinner and he would become terribly fussy, which was out of character for him. Over time I learned to come home and immediately give him 30 minutes of my undivided attention. After that, he was just fine! I could go about my business and have a content baby for the rest of the night. He needed that one-on-one time with me immediately upon seeing me.

Fast forward to now. Dan and I really do spend soooo much QT with Elijah, together and separately. We always have. But I realized in bed this morning that perhaps our timing isn't the greatest. As when he was a babe, he needs that QT right away in the morning, and of course again throughout the day here and there. Also, now that I am working from home, being on the computer is something that needs to happen on occasion. I will admit that my computer can sometimes become a distraction for me. Between both blogs, Facebook, Pinterest and editing photos, a lot of my time can be consumed and I can be distracted from the QT a little more easily.

Right away this morning I brought Elijah into bed with me and tickled and played with him for 20 minutes straight. Pure one-on-one time while Sammy snuggled up against me (who happens to be a Physical Touch guy). Getting ready for school was a breeze! Maybe it was coincidental, but I am hoping I am onto something. When E got back from preschool this afternoon, I took him outside and spent 15 minutes playing baseball with him (one of his new favorite things to do in our yard). The afternoon went great! We had some more one-on-one time throughout the day, and I knew he really loved it. While playing Candy Land, I was the one to suggest another game and his eyes lit up.

(Here is Sammy with his wearing-Mommy's-shoes obsession.)

And tell me if this is a coincidence or not....NO POTTY ACCIDENTS TODAY! I am sure it's partially coincidence, but maybe not totally. 

(Elijah, wanting to play more baseball!)

There is my insight for the day. Our boys are both so special in their unique ways. We love them so very much!

I want to share a couple funnies before I sign off. Last night we got our (very gross, dirty, disgusting, puked-on, pooped-on, yucky) carpet professionally cleaned (for free). It looks great! Elijah likes it so much that he won't let me put our rugs back on it. Every time I put them back today, I would find them in the kitchen. "Mom! Don't put rugs in our new house!"

Elijah has begun calling himself "Ben" and calling Sammy "Rennan." Last night I heard him ordering "Rennan" around. "Rennan! Put on Mommy's shoes!" Then I would say, "Sammy, you don't have to put Mommy's shoes on." Elijah would say, "He's not 'Sammy!' He's 'Rennan!'"

I keep forgetting to write this one down. This is a funny one! You all know how much Sammy loves and has always loved balls. He almost always has a ball in his hand and seeks them out constantly. A few weeks ago in church an older gentleman was sitting across the aisle from us who happened to have a walker with tennis balls on the bottoms as stoppers. Sammy saw the tennis balls that had slits in them to fit around the bottoms and was aghast! "OH NO! BALLS!?!?! OH NO!" He couldn't understand why anyone would destroy balls!

Tonight we had a picnic in our yard for dinner. The boys enjoyed it, although sitting that close together always leads to some sort of trouble.

I think I will save my thoughts on kids at the park for another post. It relates to my worries about Elijah and kindergarten. We mamas are always worrying about something (or many things), right?!

And since Elijah kept his pants dry ALL DAY TODAY, we went to DQ for a post-dinner treat! The boys were so happy!

Look at this messy but happy Sammy!

We are still missing Dan, although he FINISHED HIS SKYDIVING COURSE! He is now licensed to teach AFF! We are so proud of him for putting so much time and effort into it. We love you, Daddy Dan!

Thank you for checking in! More adventures are certain in the near future..