"First Trip to the Dentist".....

My post last week started out with, EB having croup, an ear infection, and fever for 4 days.  Last week was a wash.  Well, this week, mommy has come down with croup (upper respiratory infection), so here's to another wash of a week!  Thanks to sweet friends and family, EB has been taken care of this week so that I can rest and get well.  It's hard enough to have a sick child, but then when mommy gets sick but child feels better, I dare say that's even more difficult. I will say though, EB's tender and compassionate heart has come out in full force since I have been sick. He has been very concerned about me. He has walked over to me, lay his head on my arm and said, "I so sorry you're sick" at least 100 times. Or, "I so sorry you got my cough mommy".  Or my personal favorite, "you gonna be okay mommy" in the most sincere and confident voice. We're making it - and next week will have better, brighter days ahead!

I did manage to pull myself together long enough to take EB to his very 1st dentist appointment, which has now been rescheduled 4 times! I was determined not to have to reschedule this again, so off we went to the dentist on Tuesday of this week.  I did not take my camera because honestly, I didn't want to cause a scene (fear of man people, I'm working on it!!), and also, I didn't want to make it a bigger deal than it already was for EB. We have been talking about going to see, "Dr. David" for a long time and how he was going to ask him to smile, show him his teeth, get his teeth brushed etc.....   He seemed happy enough about the whole thing.  There was even a question on the new patient form that said, "Do you expect your child to be cooperative"?  I said, "I sure do", and I meant it.  I was really going to be surprised if he didn't cooperate. I didn't however know that when we arrived, that they would be taking him back all by himself - without ME!  I thought for a minute about changing my answer on the new patient form, but then decided that I would stick with my first answer - because I really did expect him to do okay.  They assured me that if they needed me, they would come out to the waiting room and get me.  Thanks to the 4 huge fish and turtle tanks in the waiting room, he was well occupied and distracted while we waited for his name to be called. He kept walking around the waiting room to each tank "oohing and ahhing" over the fish, saying, "follow me mommy", as he walked to each tank multiple times.  Well, they called his name and out walks a sweet young dental hygienist named, "Summer".  I explained to him that he was going to go with "Miss Summer" to get his teeth brushed and mommy would come meet him in a few minutes.  He seemed fine with that, took "Miss Summer" by the hand, walked towards the door, and looked behind his shoulder and waved, "Bye Mommy"!  That's my boy I thought.  I had a huge, "I am so proud of you" moment and might have even choked a tear back or two.  When did he get so big?

Well, about 20 minutes later, the door opened and "Miss Summer" came out to get me.  She said that he had done so well and was one of the most cooperative 2 year olds she had ever worked on.  She told me how he sat in the big chair all by himself and didn't have to sit in anyone's lap, and did everything that he was asked to do. She also said she learned all about John Deere tractors during those 20 minutes,  and......  NO CAVITIES!  She also told me that at one point while she was cleaning his teeth, he looked up at her and said, "Miss Summer, you're doing a great job"!!   I can just hear him saying that.

He walked out of the office with a bag full of "prizes" (a Diego toothbrush, whale shaped dental floss, a rubber ball, some stickers, a stretchy bracelet, and some toothpaste) - which I have a feeling most of it was ingested on the way home in the back seat, or else it was a half-empty toothpaste tube!

I give the 1st dentist appointment an A+.

"What we've been up to"....

Well, besides this week being a wash due to croup and an ear infection, we have have some fun days lately. Thankfully, EB is turning a corner (4 day fever finally broke today), so I am hoping that next week will be filled with lots of fun things that we weren't able to do this week. 

He continues to change so much every single day, and is definitely getting more independent.  Several times recently, he told me not to come with him to the potty because he needed his privacy!  Ummmm....., okay!    He is still a lover of his mommy and came up to me today, put his head on my arm and said, "Can I give you love mommy"?  Melt my heart.  I am still his best friend and best playmate, which is exhausting but the years are definitely short, so I am trying to keep my perspective even when I could think of 10 other things I would rather be doing than wearing his silly puppets on my hands that I have worn a thousand times already!  He never gets tired of that game - one day he will - so I try to keep perspective.  Some of the new funny things that he says now are, "You're OLD" (okay, so it's really not that funny when he says that to the nice lady looking at shoes next to me - and she's probably 31).  He is such a fabulous helper around the house. When I ask him to help me with something or to do something, his response is typically, "I sure can mommy" or "I sure will mommy".  He especially likes to help me do the laundry - I mean he cries when he doesn't get to help.  Let's hope that attitude will long awhile longer.  He stands on his little yellow chair, and puts clothes in the wash, shuts the lid, takes then out, puts them in the dryer, and will even sort them into a pile of mommy's clothes and daddy's clothes.  I haven't gotten him to fold them yet, but hey, I will take all the help I can get!  Out of our wonderful collection of children's literature, his new favorite "book" is a Baby Einstein pamphlet from a DVD case!!!  Seriously, this is ALWAYS one of his 3 "books" that he chooses each night to read.  I can read the thing with my eyes closed now. Still loves to get on the ground and roll trucks very slowly just so he can observe the wheels turning. He will flip his stroller and bike upside down now just to spin the wheels. He has become quite "organized" with his cars/tractors/trucks. It is not uncommon for me to round the corner and see a long line of John Deere tractors across my floor - he has this thing with lining things up. He likes his outside riding toys to always be in a line too. His imagination and pretend play are exploding now, and many days I find myself acting out the part of a policeman, fireman, or truck driver. 

Of course, we have our own fair share of "issues" that we deal with and various sin habits that we are trying to recognize and help rid him of, but I will have to say, life is good.  He is a joyful, compliant, and easy-going child. We feel so blessed and thankful for him and his sweet heart.

EB and cousin Bradford on the John Deere tractor

Sweet cousins - 3 months apart (EB is younger)!

This was the best family picture we got - sad.  But hey, at least we are all 3 in it which is progress!

More cousin time with Wyatt and their beloved E-Daddy

And this was the scene in my rear view mirror as I drove them all back to Birmingham!

Lovin' the big wheel

Naked in the sandbox playing cars - there's no better way!

I see this look quite often - and LOVE it!

Wild and crazy hair, dirty face, and a sparkle in his eyes. That's my boy. Doesn't get much better than that.

"The wait begins....."

I realize that I haven't posted about foster care in quite some time. Well, the wait has officially begun. We have completed all of the DHR requirements to be licensed foster parents. We have completed our 10 week INTENSE training course, completed physicals, completed background check/finger-printing, home studies completed, MOUNDS of paperwork/documents/and forms completed and turned in, answered more questions about our family than I ever thought we would, asked more questions than I ever thought we would,  escape route planned, rope ladder purchased, fire extinguishers installed, smoke alarms tested, water temperature in the bathroom tested and passed inspection, backyard inspected and passed, home childproofed (or as much as we have already done - although I will say this one was kind of tough because our son knows the "no touches and off limits" - but a child just coming into our home will not so we had to do alittle more than usual), pet vaccinations turned in, CPR classes completed, did I mention answered and asked more questions than I ever thought we would??  We have done all of the "legal stuff", but still have no bed, extra crib, or clothes etc..... for a child who will be placed with us!  We are ready except for the practical things.  Hmmmm......, guess we will cross that bridge when we get there and when we know what age child we will have.  It is hard to plan in advance for a situation that you really know nothing about. I have been told that there is a large support system here where you can get the practical things quickly.
  
We have cried many tears through this process for different reasons, but rest knowing that God had led us to this point, and surely He will equip us for this task.  We certainly covet your prayers for us as we begin our journey - we NEED your prayers. I will update as life unfolds.

It is late, and the reality is that our phone could ring at any point saying that a child is on his/her way to us, so I think I will head off to bed.

Night!