David's Sixth Week

I'm beginning to lose track of which week it is...

Tuesday night, after I picked up David from Dot's, we played in the rain. It was warm enough, and no thunder/lightning issues...the first drops that hit his head he says, "OW!" and "OW!" again. It was really funny. He thought because they were hitting his head he should make the pain sound, but then after a few minutes he realized that it didn't hurt, so he began to have fun with it. We went for a long walk, but didn't get too too soaked.

David got good stuff for Valentine's Day: Chocolates and skittles and stickers and a read-along book set from Amanda, and a card from my mom.

On Wednesday night we got him new shoes. They're the kind that light up when you walk. Funny thing is, I don't think he cared that much. He was more interested in the fact that the shoes look like, or had, cars on them. They're size 8 1/2. Yup, he's growing. I bought these shoes just before he's about to outgrow the ones he wears now...then we went to the park. We took a walk on the board-walk next to the lake shore. We saw ducks, and squirrels. David does not like the wind for some reason. When it blows he holds his hair, or wants his hood on, and he says "Ween!"

We started reading a few different books than the Foot Book, the Animal Book, and the numbers book (counting to 10 with the different football players)...so now he asks for the "green" book: Green eggs and ham. He's getting to the point now where I'm beginning to point out words to him, which he will eventually know by sight. My sister says that she was amazed by the fact that he already knows most of his letters. He is close to recognizing "baby" ... because that's the name of the animal book -- Baby Animals. I point to the word and he points out the letters and we spell it, then we go back and sound it out, then we say the word...

Teaching David is a process: because he chooses to stay out of bed, I have to get him to go back into bed. And then again and again until he's asleep. And once in a while in the middle of the night he's still in the middle of the floor, curled up, no blanket...I can hear his bed creak when he gets out of it, no matter how slowly he moves.

Dinner time is a difficult time for us: David just does not want to sit in one place to eat. And sometimes he doesn't want what we're having. He's good at suggesting alternatives, though. One night he picked out soup (Chicken and Stars), and some canned fruit. And a piece of bread. I'm puzzled because he likes spaghetti and meatsauce, but didn't want any...it's hard to get him to eat what's in front of him...I wonder if it's good that he has an opinion of what he wants to eat, in spite of the fact that he already has something he likes in front of him. And he made good choices, too. I think it's funny that it's easier to get him to eat vegetables than meat. If I do have something he likes, he's more likely to sit at the table longer to eat.

Lately in the mornings he's expressing interest in going to Rachel's house, or staying home. When I tell him it's time to go for a walk to Dot's, he gets really upset! He does not want to go there. I wish I understood why. After he gets over being upset about going, he's okay...but dealing with this upset child is tough!

Bathtime is getting better. Wednesday night I was able to wash his hair with zero fuss from him.

Sleep is still an issue: he doesn't fall asleep for a while, sometimes 2 hours. He'll just lay there, and play the "can I get on the floor" game...and not fall asleep. And sometimes because of this he'll not want to wake up in the morning, and so I have to deal with an unhappy, crying child, who wishes he was still asleep. And then he doesn't want to go to Dot's...

David's still getting to be a great talker: Whenever he sees one of something, and then a second something, he used to say "more". Car! Then, more car! So I've been teaching him to say "another one"...which he now says. It's even better when he says "another one" and I ask, "Another one what?" and he tells me. I like that he can keep up with what's going on.

So here are a bunch of little things that happen over time. I don't know how to relate them all, and as this routine becomes more normal, I'm finding less novelty in the things he does, which makes them less notable, or I somehow examine them less. I'm trying to keep track of things as they happen over the week so I can relay all of them here...I'm hoping that you find value in these little notes, as I'm hoping that you care what's happening in David's life, and how he is growing and changing. He does really funny, wonderful, interesting things, and they all happen so fast sometimes, and all at once, it's hard to keep up.