The House of Doo

The House of Doo

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Struggling.

I do not know what has been going on with Colt lately, but I swear to you I think he's been possessed by some monster-like demon.  Or maybe he's just three years old.  He and I have absolutely butted heads for about a week or more now and I am finding myself very, VERY frustrated and tired.  He is testing every single thing I say and every single boundary I set.  Just Tuesday morning I told him 'no' about something and he said "I don't like that!" "You don't like what?" "I don't like when you say 'no!'"  Ah.  Well, get used to it, little buddy.  Is he just being three?

Also, let's talk about potty training.  ALL NON-PARENTS CONSIDER THIS A FAIR WARNING.  He has been doing great with potty training for the most part.  We still struggle to get him to tell us BEFORE he goes, but he will go every time you take him.  Sometimes he even makes it a whole day in the same Pull-Up!  Well, all of a sudden the past week or so (same time frame as the demon possession) he has absolutely stopped all progess in potty training and actually gone backwards, if you will.  Before, he was wearing "big boy undies" around the house and doing great, sometimes even telling us without us having to take him.  Now, a few times this week, he's just peed in them and left puddles on my rug.  I have NO IDEA what to do.  Did I miss the "perfect timing window?"  Did I do something wrong?  Did I not praise him enough when he did do it right?  I know by this point, most of his friends are potty trained or pretty doggone close.  However, Colt has NEVER been on the same timeline as anyone else, so I didn't really expect him to be for this either.  I just thought we would be closer at this point.  We've been actively working on it for a good 9 months or more.  What is the problem?  What have I done wrong? 

I have wondered about the school transition being hard on him.  His last day at the other location was a week ago today.  That was hard, also he's been in a new place this week, so that is probably hard.  On top of that, he's been sick for about 8-10 days.  He also got glasses 6 days ago.  Could it be that he's sick/overwhelmed AND I am pushing him too hard?  I have no idea.

Anyway,  we are STRUGGLING.  I have found myself in tears every single day for the past week over him.  I have yelled more than I would like to admit.  He knows I am frustrated and feeds off of it, it seems.  I am trying to just pray when I get mad or find myself at my wit's end.  I learned a long time ago, you never, EVER pray for patience.  Instead I pray this - Please God, help me know how to parent this beautiful gift you have entrusted to me because I sure don't know how to do it on my own.  So, if you get a second, pray for me.  If you have any ideas or advice, share with me.  I am officially desperate. 

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Another Not-So-New Adventure!

This weekend was a busy one!  On Saturday, we drove to Rome to see my mom and that side of my family to celebrate Mom's birthday.  We ate at Olive Garden and then went to see my mom's new house.  She is moving from Villa Rica to Rome and we're excited that she will be closer.  While we were there, Colt got some quality playtime in with his great-grandfather.  The house Mom bought has a playset in the backyard and we caught Colt and Papa playing on it.  I got a really cute picture or two of Papa coming down the slide.  ;)

Here Colt is saying "I catch you, Papa!"  I love this!

Look at Papa's face!  Hahahaha!  

Anyway, we had a great time.  Mom's birthday was actually Sunday and she shares it with my dad's sister, my aunt Diane.  We made it home from Rome in time to see her for a little bit at the farm.  Colt got to drive the tractor with my dad, so all was good in his world.  My dear friend and college roommate, Leah, came to visit this weekend too.  She got there Saturday evening, and left this morning.

I am always thankful to have her around, but yesterday I was especially thankful because she went to Colt's ophthalmologist appointment with us.  I knew I wouldn't be able to hold him down by myself, last time it took me and the nurse straddling him on the floor to get eye drops in his eyes!  This time was a good fight, but with me, Leah, and the nurse we didn't have to get in the floor.  Whew.  However, it did take two rounds of drops to get his eyes dilated.  Poor kid has really been through so much.  

The ophthalmologist appointment went pretty well, besides the fact that it was 2 1/2 hours long.  That was rough.  I had a few things to ask Dr. Peterson about and he patiently answered all my questions.  I have mentioned before that Colt does this strange head tilt thing when he's studying stuff up close, almost like he's looking OVER a pair of glasses that are not there.  He didn't do it for Dr. Peterson, but he did do it for the nurse when she handed him some pictures to study.  I was glad someone in the office saw it too.  He thinks this is from his Nystagmus.  His Nystagmus is very rarely visible anymore, but it never really goes away.  We only notice it when he's very tired or sick or has been crying.  He thinks Colt uses this head tilt kind of like a null point without it actually being his null point.  I wrote a bit about that after our last visit with Dr. Peterson here.  Anyway, he is indeed using it kind of like a null point, but he didn't seem concerned. 

I asked about Colt's eyes drifting sometimes, and he did see it happen, but he isn't at the point yet where we would consider another surgery.  He thinks the previous surgeries are going to stick. ;)   I asked about Colt's clumsiness.  I have been wondering if it's because of his less-than-stellar depth perception (common with his eye issues) or if he's just clumsy.  Dr. Peterson didn't really have an answer to that.  It could be associated with his eyes, but may not be.  If it is his depth perception, there isn't really anything you can do about it anyway, so I guess we just have lots of Band-Aids handy.  However, it could be because of his vision!  We always knew he was a bit far-sighted (meaning he sees far away better than up close, the opposite of me and Ryan!) but this time, Dr. Peterson could tell just how bad by looking into his eyes.  Colt also read an eye chart, but they use pictures instead of letters for small children.  The last time we were there, Colt signed the answers.  This time, he spoke them.  :)  Yes!  We have wondered about Colt's vision for a while.  He LOVES to put on my dad and stepmom's reading glasses, which are meant for far-sighted people to be able to read things up close.  You know the type.  He doesn't really do that with my or Ryan's glasses, but loves to do so with theirs.  Now I know it's because he can see with theirs and not ours!  His left and right eyes were quite a bit different in their prescription and that's kind of rare.  We ended up leaving with a prescription for glasses.  Again.  We immediately left and went to Pearle Vision to order glasses because sometimes they take a while to come in.  This will be Colt's third pair of glasses and the first two pairs were great, so we went with the same kind.  The second pair was really the same frames just different lenses because of his prescription changing very rapidly as a baby.  They are Miraflex brand and they are pretty much unbreakable.  Only a few places in Chattanooga have this type, so we went where we got them last time. Colt first got glasses at 8 months old and everywhere we went he got a lot of attention over them.  Maybe that's why he's such a ham these days.  ;)  The new glasses should be ready in about a week, but last time they came in much quicker.  I am anxious to see how it goes.  I got him to try on some other types of glasses, but he went back to these every time.  They are kind of "goggle-like" and have a strap on the back to keep them from falling off during play.  :)

Well, here's to another (sort of) new adventure!  I'll post some of my favorite pictures of Colt in his glasses below. 
Colt's very first day in glasses!









Thursday, March 13, 2014

The Next Chapter.

We have finally made the decision about Colt's school.  We decided to accept the spot at the downtown location of Siskin.  I feel like it would be stupid NOT to take it.  Obviously something about that place works for Colt.  We don't know what exactly it is, but something works.  The class sizes?  The specific teachers (we adore them!)?  The structure?  The curriculum and routine?  The fact that they don't use fluorescent overhead lights?!?  I mean, heck, who knows.  I guess it doesn't really matter, it just works.  So, we are going to transfer downtown and pray it continues to work.  If it doesn't, we'll be heartbroken.  I wish, wish, wish his teachers were coming downtown too, but they are not.  I can't say I blame them.  However, we have Colt to think of and if it works, that's where we will go.  Even with the decision to close the East Brainerd location (which I STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND), this is an amazing, magical place. 

So, our plan was to stay at the current location until they closed at the end of May.  Recently, we were told by the downtown director that there is a spot open in a class that will fit Colt.  However, there is only that one spot and if we don't take it and decide to stay until EB closes, we will have to wait until they get the new classrooms finished to start.  That same day, we got a letter from the Siskin President saying those classes won't be finished until August.  That would leave us with June and July without the structure and routine Siskin provides for Colt.  Each time I drop Colt off lately, his class is smaller than the last time I left him.  My fear was that with the more and more kids that transfer to other places with the impending close, they will close sooner than May 30th.  With a very heavy heart, Ryan and I decided it was time to move him before we were left with nowhere to go until August. 

Next week is Colt's last week at Siskin's East Brainerd location.  In only 4 short months, that place has changed our lives.  They have provided structure, routine, and stability to my son.  They have provided teachers that love him more than I could have imagined.  They have provided smiling faces and hugs at the front desk each time we have entered those doors.  They provided me with reassurance when I left in tears on his first day.  They patiently answered my check-in calls when he went through some uncharacteristically rough mornings and clung to my legs.  They provided communication through a teacher fluent in sign language when my son of few words couldn't speak but could sign to communicate.  They provided my nearly word-less boy with complete spoken sentences in four very short months.  They taught him to sing his ABCs and to play musical chairs.  Most importantly to me, they provided my son with CONFIDENCE.

I am sorry to see this chapter of our lives end.  I pray the next chapter at the downtown location will be just as magical.