The House of Doo

The House of Doo

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Sign Language fun. :)

Yesterday we had our second sign language class.  We learned a lot of signs that I think we will be able to use in our daily life.  We did signs for foods and animals.  Some of my favorites were noodles/pasta, cheese, and blueberries, so that is what we had for lunch!  :)  The animals were fun because most of Colt's toys or pajamas or whatever have some animal on them.  Colt has been doing the sign for "dog" for a while now and he's gotten so good at it, that he even does it when he hears a dog bark in the neighborhood.  ;)  Colt's Aunt Amie got a new kitten recently and Colt had a lot of fun playing with it on Sunday.  By playing with it, I really mean throwing it around.  When he woke up yesterday morning, he stood up and said "Mama!" then did the sign for baby, then dog.  I think he meant "cat" but didn't know the sign.  Now we know it!  :)  We have a cd that came with the signing class, and we have already learned the signs to about 5 different songs.  Two of which are "Old McDonald had a farm" and "On top of spaghetti."  You remember that one..."on top of spaghetti...all covered with cheese...I lost my poor meatball...when somebody sneezed."  Ha.  Colt loves the sign for sneeze.  One of the songs says "Are you feeling happy?  Are you feeling grumpy?" in it.  I sang it to him this morning as we got ready and he did the sign for "happy!"  I asked him if he was happy, to which he promptly did the sign for "grumpy."  So...I guess he was feeling a bit bipolar this morning.  I don't know that sign.  ;) 

Also this morning, I said to him "We need to change your shirt, it's wet!"  He looked at me as though I was totally wrong and said "BWOOOO!"  Yes, the shirt was blue.  :)  Now that he has found this new "word," he is obsessed with it!  Everytime he sees something blue, he says it.  We went to the grocery store yesterday and I have never in my life realized quite how many things in the grocery store were blue.  Colt was sure to point it out for me.  I have never been more proud of such a silly little word.  What I am even more proud of is the fact that he is always right!  We're working on green now, so maybe we can change it up a bit.  :) 

Another funny thing that happened yesterday...  As we were leaving the grocery store, walking through the parking lot, a car drove by with their radio up REALLY loud.  Colt didn't even miss a beat, he held his hands up in the air and started playing the "air drums."  That's my boy.  :) 

Colt's first trip to Ankars.  Despite his face, he is a fan.

He is also a fan of the black marker...

Also, his dog. ;)  It's hard to tell here, but they are "spooning" but he's propped up on a pillow.

I am a fan of this gorgeous sunset and the fog around Lookout Mountain.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

A sappy post.

Yesterday, we got a little time to work at the new house.  Our friends Jody and Lauren came over to help us and my dad and Judy kept Colt for a while.  Jody and Ryan started putting up the beadboard in Colt's room and so far, it looks really cute.  We still have to paint it (it's white, but needs to actually be painted white) but here is a picture of the room, so far.

Ryan sent me this picture after I left last night. 

It is pretty bright green, but the beadboard tones it down and I think it will be more so once we get stuff in the room.  :) 

Lauren and I went through Colt's clothes and got stuff piled up for the new neighborhood's community yard sale on May 4th.  If you or someone you know needs boy clothes, from newborn to 2T, come see me.  I have PILES.  Literally, just piles right now.  Lauren couldn't really do much because I had to decide what to sell and what to keep, but she was much more helpful than she knows.  Seeing those tiny, precious baby clothes that my big 40 1/2 lb toddler has long since outgrown was very emotional for me.  I think if I had been sitting there alone, holding up each tiny pair of footed pajamas and itty-bitty onesie, I would have been an ugly-crying, snotty mess.  It hit me hard just how quickly Colt is growing up.  The sleepless nights, though they still happen occasionally, are a distant memory.  I do not miss the lack of sleep, but I do miss holding my sweet boy while he sleeps on my chest. His (and my!) favorite place to sleep...at least, then it was. :)






Then he grew into this fun little monkey!


And now, this wild, energetic, simple, impossibly stubborn, temperamental, sweet, beautiful monster.   ;)

As parents, it is our job to lead, guide, discipline, and teach our children about life.  But sometimes, sometimes they teach us.  I am so proud of the happy little boy he is, even through all of the challenges he has faced and continues to face.  For now, I am thoroughly enjoying being able to live life through the eyes of a child.  It is so refreshing.  The world is so magical to them.  I hope I can remember this and continue to see the world that way, even long after he is grown. 

Forgive me for being sentimental.  I had to get it out.  Seeing all the baby clothes really got to me.   I'll try not to be so sappy from now on, though I can't make any promises.  ;)

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Blessed.

We have survived another weekend!  I always love to see the weekend arrive and I am always sad to see it go, but by the end of the weekends, sometimes work seems like a vacation!  It's never the relaxing, restful time that I hope for. 

Friday afternoon, I picked Colt up somewhat early and he was really sleepy, so we went home for a nap.  When he woke up from his nap, his ear was draining and was kind of gross looking.  I won't go into too much detail here.  ;)  His doctor's office had already closed, and Colt seemed okay so I just let it go.  Well Saturday morning, it was yucky looking again, so I called the doctor.  I took him in, feeling kind of silly because he had no other symptoms and I am glad that I did.  His eardrum had ruptured!  Apparently, he's had an ear infection and we had no idea.  He hasn't been fussy or pulling on his ear or anything.  The only clue we had was last Wednesday night, he cried all. night. long.  Looking back, I guess that was a sign of something, but I didn't know what at the time.  Hindsight and all that, you know.  Anyway, we got more antibiotics (I hate antibiotics!) and some antibiotic ear drops.  It should heal up, but we have to go back in in about 10 days to make sure.  Poor kid.  The only real sign of anything wrong right now is that he won't let you touch his ear.  I assume it's very sensitive. Oh, at the doctor's office, he weighed in at a whopping 40.5 lbs.  ;)

 Not feeling too badly. :)
 Getting to be such a big boy!

Ryan started his Saturdays back at work this weekend.  It will be a long summer/fall before he's home on Saturdays again.  Colt and I spent the morning at the doctor and Walgreens getting his prescriptions, but we got in some fun time at our sweet friend, Makayla's third birthday party!  Colt did okay for about an hour, then got a little grumpy and tired, so we went home.  The Waltermyer's sure now how to throw a party.  It was so cute and Colt and I had a good time. :)  Saturday evening, Colt went to my dad and Judy's house and Ryan and I got to work at the new house some more.  This is a very slow process, because we don't have much time to work over there.  We have to find someone to watch Colt every time and that's hard.  I hate to keep pawning him off on them, but you can't get anything done with a two-year-old running around.  Saturday night, we painted furniture.  I'll do a "before and after" post later.  I still don't have the knobs that I want for the drawers. 

Sunday was church day.  It was also the party for a very special couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.  What an accomplishment!  Happy anniversary, Mike and Carol!  We love you guys!  We didn't stay at the party too long, it was definitely Colt's naptime.  Whew.  He got some good playtime in with his cousins, Tucker and Tanner.  We went back to church that evening, then had our regular Sunday night dinner date with Dad and Judy (and Tuck, too!).  I love my family.  We are blessed.

Now, yesterday was our rest day.  Colt and I stayed home all day and got to sleep in.  That was much appreciated.  Thanks, Colt.  I cleaned the house, we watched movies, we played outside, etc.  While Colt napped, I got busy on a painting I have been wanting to try.  My dear friend, Julie, sent me an idea recently for a canvas for her little boy's nursery.  He'll be here at the end of the summer.  I had some small canvases and wanted to do a test-run, if you will.  It turned out great, I think.  It is now hanging in Colt's room because I couldn't bear to throw it away.  Ha.  It felt great to get the paint out and now I can't wait to do something else.  I've had the painting itch for a while now.  I think this only made the itch worse!  ;) 
The first dandelion.  

I got a call yesterday that someone wants to see our house today.  After Colt went to bed last night, we raced around cleaning up so that I didn't have to do it this morning before I left for work.  I do have to go get the dogs here in a bit though.  It's hard to show a house with a two-year-old and two dogs living there.  I will be so thankful when this is over.  I pray that this showing is the last one.  Maintaining two houses is exhausting!  Two houses is better than no house though, so I shouldn't complain.  We are blessed.  

I also want to take a second to share some pictures I have taken recently.  Now these are by no means exceptional photos as they are taken from my phone, but they make me proud of where we live.  I love Chattanooga.  I love Flintstone.  Lucky for us, Flintstone is about 5 minutes from Chattanooga.  Two of my most favorite places in the world. :)  We are so blessed.

A farm with Lookout Mountain in the background.
 
My grandparents' house in Flintstone.  Where I grew up.  Where I got married.  Home.

 The Tennessee River with Chattanooga in the background.  Taken from Lookout Mountain.

One last thing... Colt has been making new sounds lately and we are so excited.  He is definitely calling me Mama a lot more and it seems to come very easily for him.  He is also saying something that means Dada, but he isn't making the "D" sound.  I don't know how to type that sound out.  ;)  He means Dada though and he is using it frequently, so that's a huge improvement.  He is saying "blue" which sounds more like "boo" but still, that's HUGE!  He says it without being pushed to do so now.  When he sees something blue, he says it.  He knows it's a good thing and he seems proud and excited to be able to say something.  :)  He can say "bye-bye" but it is like pulling teeth to get him to do it.  Yesterday, Colt wanted something opened.  He said "Mama!"  Then signed "help!"  I almost cried.  He is communicating!!!  Sunday night, we were at Cracker Barrel and he was doing this sign that looked a lot like "milk" and "bubbles" combined, except he was holding his hand over his head and doing it.  I was confused.  Then he pointed up at the ceiling, and did it again.  LIGHTS.  He was pointing at the lights and doing the sign.  We learned that in our signing class last week and he remembered, when I had forgotten.  I haven't done the sign since and I honestly didn't think he was paying that much attention in class.  Obviously, he was paying more attention than I.  So.  I am proud.  I am thrilled.  I am hopeful.  I am at peace, finally.  My sweet boy will be fine.  God is working through him to bless me and so many others.  I could not be more proud of him.  :) 

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

On little victories...

It has been another busy week since I last posted.  I'll try not to bore you all with too many details.  ;) 

Colt and I got to take a day last week and visit my sweet grandparents in Rome.  Not only that, we got to see my aunt Annette and uncle Kelly.  We got to have lunch and they got to spend some time with Colt.  He put on quite a show (as usual) and got to play outside for a little while with my grandfather.  I call him "Papa."  Colt has gotten quite good at making the "P" sound and has been whispering "Papa" ever since we left.  Papa let Colt get in his truck and sit in the driver's seat.  This is Colt's favorite thing to do and every single day (a few times a day!) he says "Papa" and signs "drive" and pretends like he is honking the horn.  He is still excited about it almost a week later!  I love that side of my family so much and don't get to see them nearly enough.  I hope we can do better about getting to see them!  I dread driving for very long alone with Colt, but the portable DVD player we invested in made the trip quite pleasant. :) 

Snuggling with Papa (and the fake banana!)

Colt and Papa a few months ago. :) 

The blanket Papa made for Colt (I think I have shared this before.) Now you have a face with the name of the person who made it. :)
 

This weekend we got in some family time and it was really nice.  We had dinner with my dad and Judy on Friday and got in a trip to Stockdale's.  I had never been and I loved it!  It's kind of like Tractor Supply, but way better.  Colt "sweet talked" his grandparents into buying him this really neat Melissa and Doug puzzle and he loves it.  He mastered it quickly and has played with it every chance he's gotten since. 

Saturday was a nice day that ended in Colt going to a baseball game with his aunt Amie, uncle Randy, and cousins Tanner and Tucker.  He had a great time and was good even with no nap (so they say!) and Ryan and I got to work on the new house.  We finished painting our master bedroom and Colt's bedroom.  We are going to put white beadboard around the bottom half of Colt's room and I think it'll look very cute.  I'll post pictures when it's finished.  We started painting some furniture that was given to us.  This is my first furniture painting experience, so I'll do a blog on the before and after with that eventually.  I hope to anyway.  ;)  I am anxious to get in the new house, just to be back in Flintstone.  I won't lie though, I am going to miss our neighborhood.  We have incredible neighbors. 

Sunday was church day.  Ryan and I worked in the nursery and it's always an exciting experience.  Ha!  Nothing makes me more thankful for Colt's temperament than working the nursery.  Whew.  Other people's kids are exhausting.  ;)  We did have a sweet visitor though!  My friend's little boy, Gabe, was there and he was great.  It was the first time we had met him and he and Colt bonded over some goldfish crackers. 
Colt did most of the eating.  ;)
 

After church, we went out to the Chop House (our favorite!) to celebrate my Pawpaw's 82nd birthday.  My aunt Diane was in town from Atlanta and it's always a great time when we see her.  We are so blessed to still have Pawpaw around, especially in such great health.  He still likes to hunt and do his own yard work.  He's a great shopper (don't tell him I said so!) and loves his cars.  I am so proud of him and proud to call him my grandfather.  He's truly special. :)

One of my favorite Colt and Pawpaw pictures. :)

Now.  Yesterday, we had our first sign language class.  My Smart Hands, it is called.  We are doing the accelerated 4 week class and it lasted a lot longer than I expected.  I was thinking it would be an hour and a half (that's what we discussed) and it was over 2 1/2.  By the end, I was mentally exhausted.  However, I really liked it and think it will be great for us to use.  We mostly went over family terms this week, and I am not sure how many of them we'll really use.  BUT we did learn some fun signs, like the signs for "yay!" "play" "tree" "happy" and "grumpy."  Colt loves the sign for "grumpy," it makes him laugh.  Ha.  :) We learned signs to a couple of songs too, so I am excited to practice that with Colt at home.  He was a bit distracted in her home, because all of the toys were new to him.  We don't get to go next week, but we'll go in two weeks. 

I do finally have some good news to share.  This week Colt has continued to try to say "blue" but he has also said "bye-bye" a few times.  Thursday night, we were at my parents' house and he said "Bye-bye" plain as day!  He has said it a couple of times since, but none quite as good as that first time.  Yesterday morning, we were eating breakfast getting ready to go to signing class and he held up his thumb and said "boo boo!"  He had a splinter!  He is trying so hard to communicate and it's obviously working!  We've still got a long way to go, BUT we are moving forward and that is enough for me.  We'll get by on little victories...

"This time I'll be sailing
No more bailing boats for me
I'll be out here on the sea
Just my confidence and me
And I'll be awful sometimes
Weakened to my knees
But I'll learn to get by
On the little victories

This time I'll have no fear
I'll be standing strong and tall
Turn my back towards them all
And I'll be awful sometimes
Weakened to my knees
But I'll learn to get by
On the little victories
..."
-Matt Nathanson


Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Painting and Playtime.

It was another busy weekend for us.  We had a VERY impromptu painting party Friday night.  Thanks to my Dad and Judy for watching Colt all night, so we could get started in the new house.  We have some really wonderful friends, Jody, Lauren, Lindsey, and Ronnie, that helped us paint late into the night and then again early Saturday morning.  We got the master bedroom completely painted a light blue color.  It looks great.  We painted Colt's room a kind of bright grass green, but only half the walls.  We're going to do white beadboard around the bottom half so the green isn't so overwhelming.  It's very different for me, as I am not usually a bright color person.  Especially an entire room, but hey, new house, new start.  I've got paint picked out for our new (to us) furniture for the master bedroom and we're going to use what's left to paint the master bath.  We've still got a lot to do to make it our own.  Finding time to take care of two houses is exhausting and I can't wait until this is over.  I will miss our cute little house though.  Here are some painting pictures.
Lindsey is excited?  :)
 
Jody starting the green paint in Colt's room.  It dried darker.  It looks kind of pastel here but it isn't. 
 
Ryan and Lauren: Dueling Paintbrushes?

We also had a house showing on Saturday.  It was our first one and we ran around frantically trying to get it ready to show.  We got really good feedback from them, but they said it was too small for their family.  Oh well.  It will happen, I suppose.  While they showed the house, we had a lunch date at Chick-Fil-A and Colt ate like a little piggy. 
The weather this weekend was gorgeous and we got to spend some time outside.  Yesterday, Colt and I went to the playground near our house to play and have a picnic.  We had a great day together with only one little accident.  Colt decided when he got to the top of a slide that he didn't want to go down, so he turned around and slid down the ladder on his butt.  Well, he missed a rung but I was holding one of his hands so he didn't fall but he bumped his head on a rung.  He screamed and cried and I couldn't figure out why he was crying so hard because he didn't bump it that hard.  I held him while he cried and held his head with my hand.  When I pulled my hand away, there was blood running down my arm.  Ah.  That's what the tears were about.  A woman ran over to help me and once we got him calmed down and cleaned up, we could see that it was a tiny little place and he didn't need stitches.  His little head just bleeds a lot.  Whew.  After about ten minutes, he got up and ran off to play again.  Ha.  Such a little boy. :) 

Other than that, there isn't much happening in the world of the Doolittles.  We are still struggling to communicate and there are still no new words.  I don't really want to get into it on here, but there is a bit of controversy about what he is or isn't doing in speech therapy.  I am going to give it one more week before I get into it more, but at home, at his Mimi's, and at church, he still doesn't speak.  He is trying so desperately to talk to us, through sounds and lots of hand motions but no words.  I know in my heart that if he could talk, he would.  He gets so frustrated with us that I will never believe he does this on purpose.  I think he WILL talk eventually, but I know that he's not there yet.  So.  That's where we are there.  Again, we start sign language next Monday, so I'll blog about that next week.  :)

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Understanding.

We are really struggling with Colt and his behavior lately. Part of it is that he is a two-year-old boy. The other part, however, is very much frustration and anger. He gets frustrated, then lashes out with hitting, kicking, slapping himself, biting or pinching himself (or someone else, usually me!) and I am at a loss with how to handle it. Tonight, I wasn't understanding what he wanted out of the pantry and he reacted in this way. I (I'm ashamed to say) yelled back at him. I immediately regretted it as he began to cry. I knelt down and told him how sorry I was and hugged him while we both cried. How could I yell at that sweet boy? He is just trying to understand his world and help me understand him.  I don't want to pretend like I am always positive and have all my mess together, because I definitely don't. Tonight, as I lie here in bed, beating myself up for getting frustrated with my innocent toddler, I ask that you pray for us. I covet your prayers for understanding between the two of us. Also for patience and self-control. Ryan and I are his voice, his advocates. We don't need to be so short-tempered and that's going to have to come from something much greater than I.

"Booooo!"

We have survived another weekend.  It was one of those that felt so incredibly busy and crazy, but when I try to think about what we did, I can't really come up with much.  Do you ever have those times?  That probably says a lot about my mental state.  Ha. 

There hasn't been anything earth-shattering to write about, so this blog will probably be a bit boring.  Sorry.  ;) 

Last week, I finally broke down and went to see my allergy/asthma doctor because I pretty much knew I had bronchitis.  I did.  I've had it so many times in my life that I can pretty much diagnose myself now.  They gave me steroids and antibiotics and I feel a lot better.  Thank goodness, because I have learned the world does not stop when I am sick, much to my dismay.  ;)

We also carried some things over to the new house and did a lot of cleaning.  We've still got a lot to do, and a lot of painting to do, before we can move anything major.  The community yard sale for the new neighborhood is in early May, so we're moving stuff over that we want to put into the yard sale.  That gets it out of our house (which we're trying to de-clutter for showings) and will give me a place to organize for the yard sale.  We've picked out some colors for our bedroom and for Colt's bedroom and I can't wait to paint!  I am excited that we are in no hurry to move over there, that way we have plenty of time to get it exactly the way we want before moving.  :)

Saturday was the busy day that really wasn't busy.  We touched up the walls in our house where the walls had gotten marked, mostly due to a toddler.  We also got to dye some Easter eggs.  We used Kool-Aid to dye them with and I am not sure I'll ever use anything else!  It smelled much better than the usual egg dye and made cooler colors, I thought. :)  We made these beautiful eggs, then didn't even hide them!  Shame on me.

He loved our eggs. :)

Sunday was Easter.  We went to church and it was wonderful.  I am so glad to be back home there. :)  We belong there, for sure.  After church, we ate at my dad and Judy's with all of that side of my family.  I ate WAY too much, but got some sweet cuddle time in with our newest family member, Claire. :) 

My beautiful boy on Easter.

Looking rather mischievious.

A rare Colt and Mommy picture.  Of course, he didn't smile.

Yesterday was mine and Colt's rebound day.  We went to the grocery store (Colt's favorite!) and that was it.  Last night after dinner, we played outside a while.  He played on his playset a bit, but mostly just wanted to lie in the grass.  I love that about him.  He helped me plant my herbs and got to play in the dirt a while.  Sadly, he also got his first black eye.  It isn't quite black yet, but I am afraid it will be.  He loves to get in the driver's seat of the car and "drive."  So, while Ryan was mowing the grass, I let him.  I was standing there beside him with the car door open and a neighbor walked up the driveway to talk.  I stepped away and when I did, Colt leaned out to see who I was talking to and he fell out of the car. Faceplanted right into the door, luckily not the concrete.  :(  I felt so guilty, but he didn't even cry.  He just stood up and climbed back in the car.  It wasn't until later that I even noticed it turning reddish-purple.  The first of many, I am sure.  Sorry, little buddy.  :/

He suddenly looks grown up.  My baby is no longer a baby.

His favorite thing to do.  Play with flowers in the grass. :)
 
Look VERY closely, you can see the beginnings of the black eye.  :/


I also got the call from the sign language instructor yesterday.  Her name is Adele and we'll be taking private classes with her on Mondays, starting in about 2 weeks.  We had the option of an 8 week class or an accelerated 4 week class, but since we have to go to her home in Red Bank (a good 30 minutes away, at least) we're going to try the 4 week class.  I think we can handle it, but if not, we can always change to the slower option.  By the time the program is through, we should have around 150 new signs!  We'll also have a cd with songs that we will learn the signs to, so he can sign to the songs!  I am so excited!!  :) 

Update on Colt...  He is trying SO HARD to talk!!!  He's making all kinds of new sounds and babbling like crazy.  He's very excited about his "ooo" sound and using it frequently.  Lately, he's been OBSESSED with Despicable Me and the main character's name is Gru.  He uses "oooo" to mean "Gru" and that's a huge improvement!  BEWARE, PROUD MAMA MOMENT:  Saturday, while dying eggs with Colt and Tanner, I poured the blueberry-lemonade flavor into a cup of water and Colt pointed (without any prompting at all!) and said "BOOOOOO!"   I almost cried.  It was beautiful.  For one, he knew the color was blue, but most importantly, he SAID IT!  :)

Alright, I will leave it with that.  :)  I am a proud, happy girl today. My boy is trying.  He is REALLY trying. :)

Silly face with big boy hair!