Yesterday marked the one month mark until he has his palate surgery. This month is basically him getting used to school and a few appointments (mostly on Tuesdays) for his helmet and speech therapy. But other than that, a quiet month. It is nice to be in a little routine of school, work, and free time for a change. His first 8 weeks home were so fast and busy that we are glad for the "sort of" slow down. We know that all of this will soon be a distant memory and he will just be a little boy again.
His first school week went off without a hitch. Let's hope it continues. The only thing is that they take them outside twice during the day (which is great), but here in Florida it is still 90 degrees most days. He is sweating like crazy due to the helmet, and that he is just a sweaty kid! So his heat rash has returned. It is on the back of his knees, inside his elbows, belly, diaper area, and of course, his head. Benadryl seems to be knocking it back, and hopefully by the time he returns to school next week, it will be all but gone. He will adjust, and soon, we will be having cooler days. Plus, this is the first week he has worn his helmet for long stretches. In the beginning we were removing it every hour, then every two, etc. Now we should be leaving it on the full 23 hours, and he is having to adjust to that. It is not nearly as bad as it was the first time he got the helmet, but he does have some red heat rash areas on his head.
Finley is doing well. Has been a good eater this last week, and seems to have escaped this week's worth of school without a cold! Let's knock on wood just in case! Her vocabulary grows every day. She continues to impress us with her language skills. She says about 20 words now, and tries to mimic everything we say, and has her own babble that she thinks we understand. She is still picking on Cainan, though. Mat caught them tonight - Cainan just sitting in the playroom, and Finley standing over him hitting him in the head with a baby doll. He wasn't crying, just sitting there. I think the helmet was taking the brunt of it. She is too weird. It is unpredictable. She will just reach over and bop him in the head from time to time. He never fights back. If he did, I think she would quit. She isn't overly aggressive - just decides he needs a good whack now and then.
Arlington remains the ever great big sister. She spends most of her days getting the babies to play with her and doing art project after art project. That girl loves to draw and color. And she loves to just make things. She can sit for hours just working at the table with different art supplies. It is neat to see her little mind work! She also loves to pull the babies in the wagon on our evening walks. She loves to hear them giggle when she runs with them in tow! I don't know what I would do without her most days. She is part of the "team" when it comes to chasing the little ones.
Work finished well for me this week, and I am still happy I went back! It was a busy week! I ended up working 30 hours in those three days, and I was tired by last night. I have a busy month ahead with work, but it will be good for me for awhile. I am going to be taking some time off again for Cainan's next surgery, so the extra work this month will be good. The kids I care for have gotten so big in the 6 weeks I was gone! They all look huge to me. It was fun to see them again. I work in the toddler room at my center - isn't that funny? I don't really ever get to escape the age at work or at home! But I love it.
Here are some pictures from the last couple of days. Enjoy!