David Weekly, #64

So David had his birthday party on Saturday, at Dinosaur World. He absolutely loved it. The weather, though, was a different story: it rained, and at times, it rained hard! But David did not care. He enjoyed the rain, it kept the day cooler than it would have otherwise been, and it made for an adventure. David's kid sized guests were Shawn and Sebastian (Jesse's nephews), and Avery and Jared, and Cinnamon's daughter Cayenne. He really liked all the dinosaurs that we were able to see, but got scared at one point or another, of the dinosaurs themselves or the areas that they were they were in.

So he got for his birthday Bakugon toys, which is a big deal. Rachel noticed that he was saying "I got one just like you, Jared!" He was so excited about getting this toy, but we're not sure if he's happy about the toy itself, or if he's happy because it's one like Jared has. He also got a remote control race car, and some more Hot Wheels, tracks for the cars to race on, a magna-doodle, some Moon Sand, a DVD, a book, and a cute outfit. He was more excited about the clothes than I expected.

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I wrote the above the week that David went off with his mother, which was the Sunday before his actual birthday, as we celebrated it early. I haven't written anything since. Not totally sure why not. But we'll try to continue with the weeklies.

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David misses his mommy. He asks when he's going to see her next, and I tell him about 12 weeks. He says, the next day, "is it 11 weeks yet?" The transitions for him are hard.

I notice lately that he seems to "forget" that he has two hands. He seems less willing to do things that require both hands, such as get himself dressed. He can do it by himself, but he doesn't really want to. Another example of him not wanting to use his left hand for things is when I ask to hold his hand as we cross the street, or we're going to the store, and I need to physically keep track of him. He will more often offer me his right hand, even if it's otherwise very inconvenient, such as he's on my right side, and his right hand is already being used to hold things, and his left hand is free. He just tries to switch everything over to the other side so I can hold his right hand.

I've also discovered that he has a barrier to getting started on something, but once you get him over that, he is willing to continue, such as eating foods I know he likes.

I have started a new schedule at my job, where I work 9 - 5. David is now at Gabrielle's Glen, where Colleen went, full time. He's doing VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten) from 8:30 - 11:30, then just regular day care after that. The other day he asks me in the car if he's nasty. I asked him what he meant by that, and he told me that Ms Naomi (his VPK teacher) told him that he was nasty. I asked her about it the next day, and she told me that he had been spitting on other children, and that that was nasty. So, it turned out that he misinterpreted what she said. In fact, it turned into me telling him not to spit on people at school, or anywhere else. He later told me, "I didn't spit on anybody today, daddy!"

Since David's been home, we've gone to the allergy doctor, who gave me more tips on handling his allergies, and which I have been following more faithfully this time. He gets Xyzal in the morning every day, and at night, he gets something called "Adorax." He also had his well-child visit at Dr. Sams, his pediatrician. He had 4 shots (after which he said of the woman who gave him the shot, "She hurt me!") He's 42 pounds, or inches, or both. His numbers are still very close to each other, so I get confused about which is which. He's in the 75th percentile for either height or weight. Dr. Sams asked him his full name (which he knows), his colors (which he knows - even in French), his letters for his eye test (although he couldn't see all of the numbers on the 20/20 line with his left eye, but he did at least see enough of them to pass the test), asked him to write his name (which he can, just badly), did a hearing test (he passed, but the machine wasn't working very well). David's going to get a regular flu shot on September 4, and the H1N1 shot as soon as it's available. The only problem is that it takes at least two different shots, over the space of 3 weeks, to gain full immunity to this variety of the flu. So more shots for the boy. He recovered amazingly well to the shots he got at the well care visit.

Lots of other things have been happening. While he was away, I got him new bunk beds...my neighbor was getting rid of the one she had, and asked if I wanted it. So I got it. It's perfect for David. He sleeps in the lower bunk, which is a full sized mattress, and has red sheets. The metal that makes up the frame is all red, too. David loves red. It's almost to the point where he won't wear anything but a red shirt, and whatever shorts are available. He also insists on the "Cars" underwear.

Miscellaneous facts:
David asks to go to the library. He loves that place. And so we go.

Cinnamon gave me an old computer that she no longer has a use for, and it has a game on it called "Nanosaur," which is a game where you have to collect dinosaur eggs and not get killed by the T-Rexes which are everywhere. David loves this game! He's figured out how to move around, and how to get the powerups that are found throughout the game. He asks for my help sometimes, but otherwise, he loves it!

I ask him about school, "David, how was school today?" His reply: "I don't know!" I think I'm going to find out another way to ask him. Any suggestions you have would be great! But he is in VPK now, which started on August 24. From one perspective, it doesn't seem that much more of a big deal than it ever was. Gabrielle's Glen teaches the kids in VPK fashion anyway, even from the time they can walk! So he's going to do well there, I think.

Last Wednesday night, Jared and Avery spent the night with us. That was some night full of activity! David basically wants everything that Jared has, which is hard to deal with. Avery slept on the top bunk, David on the lower one (his normal sleeping spot), and Jared on the couch. It was a pretty good night. David and Avery ate at the big table with me. We had chicken and stuffing and green beans. Jared refused the green beans, so David made a bit of show out of eating them, because David likes most kinds of food.

I've purchased a book called "1 - 2 - 3 Magic" to try to get a handle on David's behavior, because of his whining, which I do not want to continue. I decided on this book over others because I had discovered that David responded when I would count him before. I didn't know (and still don't, really) who is the person that counts him. But I thought I'd use it to my/his advantange, so that he and I could have a more peaceful relationship. And it is helping. He doesn't whine soooo much, and it's easier to get him to do things, like eat his dinner with much less fuss.

David asked me to close his door when I was watching TV the other day. I was surprised he wanted to go to sleep, not stay awake!

Lastly, he's got a chocolate fixation, much like his sissy. He asks for chocolate milk all the time now. He wants to get the stool so he can get the chocolate syrup out of the fridge, and I get the milk (it's too heavy for him). Then I stir the chocolate into the milk, and he drinks it right up!

So that's the highlights of the last month.

Hope it's been a good one for you. I'll try to go back to the weekly format going forward. Wish me luck!