Cavities be gone

Sammy and I had a "date" this morning. We went to the dentist! Super fun! He was very afraid and I worried he would do what I did when I was his age...refuse to open his mouth. Yes, I did this and I ended up in the hospital to have a tiny cavity filled. Thankfully Sammy was not quite as extreme as his mama. He was the bravest little boy. He cooperated 100% and pushed through some big fears. I was so proud of him! He was proud, too. The cavity is gone and will NOT come back as long as he is under my roof! :)

Elijah and Dan also had a dentist date this afternoon to remove a cavity and that didn't go quite as smoothly. He has legitimate fears about "the mask," which is just laughing gas but to him it is the same mask he sees right before surgery. Dan said he was anxious throughout the entire visit, so they turned up the gas to help calm him down. The extra gas made him tired and grumpy, understandably. He just about fell asleep during story time, which never happens...not even on the really tired days.

Elijah showed signs of sickness today, which has me on croup alert. We gave him a tiny dose of preventative steroids, rubbed some oils on his feet and he was OUT. Speaking of oils, we are still experimenting. His sleep patterns are different, but he still doesn't ever seem entirely rested. He has been sleeping until after 5:00 every morning (wow!), but he still has nights when he is awake for long stretches in the middle of the night. The 5:00 wake-up times are pretty nice, though! I am still learning about essential oils and what each one does. I am skeptical, but I remain hopeful that we can find a good recipe that actually helps him. Stranger things have happened!

I took E to see a new sleep doctor a few weeks ago. This doctor is INCREDIBLE. I put Dr. R in the same group as the rest of the excellent doctors we have. We talked for an entire hour and at the end of the visit he gave one of the most perfect descriptions of Elijah that I've ever heard. I appreciate top-notch doctors immensely! His conclusion: We are doing everything POSSIBLE to get Elijah rest. There really is nothing more we can do as his parents aside from getting his anxiety under control. He suggested trying an anxiety med, just like Dr. M has been suggesting for the past year. I have not been in favor of the idea only because of E's super sensitivity to ANY medication. At this point, though, I am willing to give it a try. We have an appointment with Dr. M next week, so we'll address anxiety with him. Our sweet boy is constantly anxious, even when he is lying in his comfy bed with his heavy blanket draped over him in his dark bedroom that smells so good. We just have to relieve some of that  anxiety for him. As Dr. R said, every little thing we do for him helps by tiny increments. We need something that is going to help him in a big way so that he can function and sleep! Please pray with us about this. Medication is a big step and I feel uneasy (yet hopeful) about it.

Homebound instruction has gone pretty well. Elijah generally has done so much better with his tutors (who were AMAZING) than he does with me. He had a few rough sessions, but most of them were productive overall. He will return to school on Monday. He is super excited about going back. We are praying so hard that there will be a positive change in behavior and overall experience at school!

As I said in my last post, I have begun trying to embrace everything we face, no matter what, instead of fighting. Difficulties have shaped me into a better person and that is more clear than ever right now. I can feel all of us being molded into better humans every day.

I'll end with a letter one of Elijah's classmates wrote to him this week. Could anything possibly be any sweeter? :)

Tooth decay and answered prayers

I feel terrible for our oldest boy. He cannot control the things he does and says right now and he must feel terribly confused. As his lucky mama, I will not give up on him. I will fight for him and do everything I can to support and help him. It is difficult not to become frustrated with him when he has lost control of himself like this, but I constantly remind myself that it is not his fault. He is a sweet, kind, friendly, funny and smart person! Dan, Sammy and I love him so much!

We have had another couple of rough days. I've noticed improvements, but things are overall still so challenging. I have been keeping my shield held high! I received a phone call today that gave me hope and lifted my spirits immensely. Dr. M (developmental ped) called and we had a great conversation. He is an incredible, caring, smart, kind and compassionate doctor and we feel so fortunate to have him on our side. He asked a lot of questions and agreed that Elijah's brain needs an extended break. He faxed a letter to E's school requesting three weeks of homebound instruction. YAY!!!!!

We need to find a teacher willing to come to our home one hour/day for the next few weeks and then we'll be set! Dr. M and I made an agreement that once E is back to "baseline," we need to address his anxiety so that boiling point isn't quite so easy to reach. We have a very timely appointment with him scheduled for February 9th, so a discussion addressing this issue will occur then.

In other news, I brought both boys in for a dental check-up today. Side note: I feel I deserve a medal of honor for keeping two boys entertained for 2 hours in a dental office by myself. I pulled out all the tricks without using technology! :) I was completely exhausted afterward, but I felt accomplished. Sadly, BOTH boys have cavities. They are tiny, but obviously need to be taken care of. Consistent flossing has commenced in our home.

If you have time, please continue to pray for Elijah! Pray that he can get back to a point where he isn't feeling so depleted and out of control. Pray that he can finish second grade on a good note! I know we can get him there. I can picture it. I can't wait for him to not just scrape by in school, but to flourish! Thank you so much for checking in!

The minion party!

Elijah had a great Despicable Me-themed birthday party on Sunday. I'm confident that he was pleased. We had him take a nap that day, and when he came downstairs afterward and saw all of the decorations up he said in his super-cuteness, "OH MY GOSH! Look at my party stuff! Thanks so MUCH, Mom and Dad! I'm so surprised! You surprised me! THANK YOU! I love it! Wow! Thank you!" :)

Meanwhile, Sammy was doing his most favorite thing: watching a show on the iPad. Could his snuggliness be any cuter?

No Despicable Me party is complete without minion cupcakes, right?! Elijah and Sammy swooned over these. They were a party hit.

One of my absolute favorite things throughout the years has been the Happy Birthday Face, as I call it. It's that moment when my boys realize they are loved and being sung to and that they are the total center of attention. I ALWAYS capture this moment on camera. Or, uh, moments...as people hear my camera click-click-clicking..

The minion cupcakes were devoured and all bellies were pleased.

The birthday boy got to eat the one purple minion of the bunch. He was very happy about that, ice cream on the forehead and all.

We stuffed so many people into our little home. It was cozy and awesome!

Elijah and Grandma!

Grandma and Grandpa hugs!

We were all so excited to have Elijah and Sammy's sweet little friends from daycare over for the party. Elijah and Paigey are a year apart and have known each other since they were babes. Sammy and Lainey are also a year apart and have known each other since birth. Our boys don't attend daycare full-time anymore, but we get them there every once in a while so they can spend time with these sweet little girls. They are just the sweetest little things and we are happy our boys have them as friends! Completely out of the blue, Elijah said to me the other day, "Mom, Paige is going to be my wife." I told him that Paige needs to want that, as well!

The coloring station, which Elijah later told me was his favorite part of the party. Special time with his Paigey and Lainey!

Friends!

Leave it to Sam to NOT cooperate for a picture...in the cutest way ever.

This morning we brought the boys to see the dentist. It was Sammy's first time and he did GREAT! He was so cooperative and cute. He told the dentist, "I have twenty teeth!" :) Elijah did great, too, our little dentist pro. Neither boy had cavities, which was a relief. The whole ordeal took way longer than we anticipated, so Elijah ended up missing his half-day of school this morning. He will be back at it tomorrow!

Spring is springing!

Today was an awesome day! The gorgeous weather did wonders for our spirits. We took a family trip to the park for the first time in months, and it felt amazing. We have had such an incredibly lovely winter, but the promise of spring always feels so nice.



A quick Elijah funny before I forget.. Instead of saying "yesterday," he says, "last year." So, conversations like this one occur regularly:
"Mom, last year I drew a penguin at school."
"Do you mean 'yesterday'?"
"No! Last year!"
"Oh, ok."



Today Elijah had his good friend Paigey over for a play date. My camera is 10 feet away (way too far to retrieve), so I will upload pics from the day tomorrow. They had such a good time playing together! It is cute to hear them talking when they don't think we are listening. I love that they have basically grown up together at daycare and know each other so well. At one point we were talking about favorite colors, and I asked Elijah what Paige's favorite color was. He said, "Mom! It's pink and purple!" So cute. When her dad came to pick her up, Elijah immediately started saying, "I want Paigey to come back!"



Sammy Jammy is just as cute and snuggly as ever. He is definitely in a sassy little phase right now, but he is still the sweetest little guy. He takes his brother's "abuse" in stride and loves all of us so much. He has been saying so many new words lately, too. He has started saying BYE-BYE and HOME and HI and many other cute things. He is still so particular about certain things, like which books he will allow us to read to him and where and when and what food will be served to him. He is constantly rooting through our pantry for snacks throughout the day, which obviously affects his meals. We've had to start telling him NO, which doesn't go over very well.



Elijah's behavior has been a bit off the charts for the past few weeks, which caused Dan and I to have an Elijah Behavior Conference last night. We came up with a solid plan and implemented it today. Elijah did NOT like it, but we loved it. It was a lot more work for us up-front, but at the end of the day we were so much less stressed. He is such a smart boy and he has a very strategic little mind, so we need to constantly be thinking ahead of him. One of the things we have decided to do is completely ignore his "bad" words. He 100% uses them as a tool to get under our skin, so we refuse to allow that anymore. A couple different times today he spewed a string of CR*Ps, and we acted like we didn't hear him. He started looking around like, HEY! Listen to me! We are hoping and praying for a change for the better in his behavior, all around.

That is all for now! Tomorrow is supposed to bring beautiful weather, as well, so we are hoping to get out of the house again and enjoy it. Thanks for checking in on us! Have a great rest of your weekend!

Clean teeth

I took Elijah to the dentist yesterday for a cleaning. I saw signs of anxiety starting to brew when we got there, but thankfully the most caring human being on planet Earth cleaned his teeth. He wanted to touch and explore EVERY instrument that was going into his mouth before it went into his mouth. And she was super patient and understanding about that. Before we started, I let her know that he recently experienced a traumatic hospital stay and that he was extra anxious. She was awesome with him.

I was so proud of my brave boy! He did great and he trusted me when I told him nobody was going to hurt him. He even sat in the chair alone and he reclined without fighting. This was huge! Being in a submissive position like that is terrifying for him.

His teeth looked great! We have always been diligent about keeping them clean because we certainly don't want to add dental woes to his list. He got a prize and a new toothbrush and a sticker and he was very proud of himself for being such a big boy.

Some funnies.. The first thing he said to the dentist was, "I have twenty teeth!" She looked at me like, WHAT. Then he pointed to the exit sign and said, "That says EXIT!" Ok, Elijah, stop showing off. While he was getting his teeth cleaned, he said some of the cutest things. The lady asked him if he had any brothers or sisters and he said, "Yes, I have one Sammy. He's wittle."

Tomorrow is the big ENT appointment. Dr. S has been known to not be so gentle with us, so I'm praying he's feeling extra compassionate. We could possibly hear scary things tomorrow, which has my tummy in knots. I'm praying for good news and a gentle doctor and a peaceful Elijah.

So many brushing options

Panda bears and dentist chairs

"Yet's see," as Elijah says, what is going on with us. Dan worked his bum off last week/weekend and made lots and lots of skydives, so he has been happy to be at home for a couple days. We have loved having him at home! I cherish our time together as a family so much more than I ever have. We have been spending a lot of time outside (grillin' and chillin') after I get home from work. Dan and I started watching Dexter Season 4 last night. Aahhhh, we love this show!



Sam has been a super smiley little guy. We still do not have a nap schedule nailed down, but I am sensing (hoping) it is on the horizon.

He has evolved into such a very good baby. As long as he is rested and fed, he is one happy, content little person.



Elijah got his teeth cleaned by the dentist for the first time yesterday. Dan said he did really well (I was not able to go). The scariest thing for him was when they lowered the chair back while he was sitting in it (there's that gravitational insecurity).

Yesterday morning when I was talking to Elijah about what to expect while at the dentist, he said, "Oh. Dentist? Panda bear! Open mouth!" Hmmmm, I had no idea what this meant. After the visit I asked Dan if a panda bear with an open mouth had any significance. He said, "Yeah, there is a painting on the wall of jungle animals. One of them is a panda bear and his mouth is open because he is chewing on bamboo." Ok, that freaked me out a little bit. We were in that office briefly one other time, six or more months ago. Apparently the open-mouthed panda left an impression on his little mind.

Elijah has been saying "Sure!" a lot. It is so cute how it comes out. It sounds like he is saying "sir," except without being able to say the R sound. So it sounds like "siw," or something like that.

Being back at work gets better with each day that passes. Dan is back in the sky tomorrow. Elijah goes back to preschool next week. Sam seems to be adjusting well to daycare and to our new schedule.

That's about all we've got for now!

25 weeks today!

Not much to report today besides that Elijah had a great second day at preschool yesterday. He also got a good report from the dentist! It was his first time there and she just did an exam (no cleaning) because of his anxiety when it comes to anyone dressed in medical-type attire. He had no cavities and his teeth looked great! We will bring him back in six months for a cleaning.



We have some cleaning/organizing to do here at home this weekend and that is the extent of our plans. Well, I will be "helping" from the couch/bed while Dan does all the work. :)

Another funny Elijah translation:
chiropractor = "pie-tractor"