Our Journey to Carson

Our First Snow!!

Yesterday we got our first snow...including a snow day for our district! (Meggie slept 'til noon once she figured out they were called off!) When Carson woke up, I opened his curtains and showed him the snow-covered neighborhood. He seemed to know what snow was and said, "Wow!"

When we got down to the kitchen, I opened the shades and he just kept looking at the snow...I could tell he wanted to go play, but he had an OT appointment. Sorry, Little Man!

Why did I think Carson knew what snow was? Because when he saw it, after his "Wow!" response, he turned to me and said "Ooooo, cold!" (See picture for his visual interpretation of "Ooooo, cold!") The weather in Hefei (based on the Weather Pixie on the blog) seems to track pretty closely to our weather, but I don't know how much snow they actually get. When we actually get a chance to go play in the snow, I'll be sure to post pictures!

Yesterday at OT, we worked pretty exclusively on Carson's ability to feed himself. He does well if food can be stabbed (like banana, waffles, even scrambled eggs), but scoopable food (like yogurt, applesauce, soup) is a challenge since he struggles to bend his elbows. I took a bowl, spoon, and some dry Cheerios so we could practice some methods with Miss Mary and see what works. Miss Mary suggested we purchase special adaptable utensils...I'm working on that. She also recommended stabilizing his feet (they dangle from the chair at our kitchen table) because he uses his torso so much to control his arm movements and that would help him. Another recommendation was to support his eating arm (typically his left, but he does go back and forth sometimes to his right hand) so he can concentrate more on bending his elbow and less on supporting the weight of the fork or spoon.

When we got home, we stuck one of our kitchen counter stools under the table...he places his feet on the highest rung and is able to stabilize his feet. To support his arm, I stacked two oven mitts and he rests his arm on them (see picture)...this way he actually will bend his elbow to bring the fork to his mouth. I'm still going to order the adaptable utensils, but this simple technique really makes a big difference for him!

We worked a bit on dressing at OT...mostly upper body, since he has mastered pulling his pants up and down. No matter how hard we tried, he would accommodate the skill with his own personal twist. Like, when he was standing and we were trying to get him to unzip his jacket, he knelt down on one knee, using the other one to support his hand and lead it to the zipper. When I asked him where he learned to be a "Cheater Bug," he answered right away, "Chuch" (aka Church)! Too funny!! He's been to Church three times and already learning bad habits there, huh?! What a stinker!

At the end of his OT session (as a reward for his tolerance of our pushing him), Miss Mary found a football and the three of us had a quick game of tackle football! Carson just threw the ball at us and dove to the floor...it was covered with mats and he LOVED diving into them! We made such a ruckus, yelling "Tak-oh!" (aka Tackle) and "Fum-boh!" (aka Fumble)...his two favorite football phrases...that I'm sure we irritated those in the surrounding rooms. Oh, well...being the Mommy of a rough-and-tumble boy, I've gotta improvise my reward system! (After all, a new Barbie was all it took to motivate Meggie back in the day...) I'm sure Paula and Malachi would be proud of me!

Bedtime...I hesitate to say it out loud...seems to be a fixed problem! For the past three nights, Carson has not called out at all! (Thank you, God!) He is sleeping 11 hours uninterrupted and Mommy is much happier for that, lemme tell ya!! Eating is a new challenge...the boy eats so S-L-O-W-L-Y! I don't know if he's distracted easily or if this is a control issue, but he's making me bonkers with the constantly required reminders of, "Eat your bites!"

Another new issue...he is suddenly acting as if he can't go to potty by himself! He was doing so great...now he stands by the toilet, pants down and ready to go, and cries like he can't figure out the next step! Today, he stood there for a few minutes, then put the seat down, turned around, and scooted his bum back to sit on the toilet! Seems like a bit of regression, but he still did it independently, so I guess I can't complain! Does every day REALLY need to bring me new challenges??

A nurse from the pediatrician's office called me a few days ago to let me know all of Carson's lab results are back. Surprisingly, the only result that was out of the normal range was his thyroid level (a bit low)...everything else came back right on! She said his immunization titers show he needs some boosters, but they are things that a typical four-year-old would require anyway. The nurse said they want to re-draw his thyroid labs on Monday and also boost his immunizations...sounds like a bad visit with lots of screaming and crying, but it could be MUCH worse!

Better go...Mr. Slowpoke just finished breakfast and we're heading to the YMCA so Mommy can swim! I'll close us out with Meggie's favorite Christmas card pic...although it didn't make the official cut......what a couple of goofballs!! 'Bye for now...