Difference A Day Makes

What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday our house was the hot zone. I was a step away from needing a hazmat suit.  Matthew had serious gastrointestinal distress. We must have changed his clothes and sheets a dozen times yesterday.  And Jackson's fever continued to rise throughout the day, topping out at 104.  He laid on the couch, laid in the bed and slept the majority of the day. 

Then our luck turned. Matthew's last throw up was at 5pm.  And Jackson's fever broke as we woke him up to put him into his bed. Thankfully today was a whole new day.  No gastrointestinal distress. No fever.  Just happy Hoy boys, and happy Hoy parents.  Yippee!

Not Fun

Jumping into the week after getting home on Sunday late afternoon after a 19 hour car ride was bound to be rough.  And it has been. 

What I had thought to be allergies from my exposure to a cat over the holiday is now thought to be a cold. Not fun! Matthew threw up several times yesterday, which I attributed to drinking bad milk. But after he threw up again (twice) today and left something very nasty in his diaper, I'm guessing he has a stomach bug. Also not fun! And Jackson's been complaining of not feeling well (general yuck) since I got back from class this morning. Again, not fun!  Hopefully the lazy day watching movies and napping will mend us all.

The bright point of today is that Alyssa had the warts surgically removed from her nose this morning at TCH. Though not fun, (1) the warts are gone and (2) she seems to have no ill effects from either the surgery or the anesthesia.  Thank goodness! 

Thanksgiving Trip

Every year we journey up to Chicago for what has become my favorite holiday-- Thanksgiving.  Fun, warm, and loving family, playing cards/dice, the turkey bowl football game, good food, even better conversation, good wine, and the cookie bake make it hard to top. No matter how much time we are there, it never feels like enough.  That is the sign of a good trip!  As we sadly drove away, I wished that Chicago was at least 500 miles closer to Houston so that we could go more often!

Alyssa's favorite day is cookie bake.
Beyond the fun, I suspect it might be because Auntie C lets her lick the beater!

Aly, Jax and their cousin Jon enjoyed watching Christmas movies.

Mattie had fun playing with the cookie cutters.

Jackson and Aunt Susie enjoyed playing LCR. 
Jackson won and the money burned a hole in his pocket until we went to the store earlier today.

A week of fun--we were all worn out by the end but can't wait until the next time!

Dragon Mom

I recently read an article penned by a mom who has a little boy with a fatal rare genetic disorder.  Although Matthew's future (we hope) is not the same as the little boy's in the article, the article resonated with me when I first read it and it still does today.  Two of the most powerful quotes: 

"We are dragon parents: fierce and loyal and loving as hell. Our experiences have taught us how to parent for the here and now, for the sake of parenting, for the humanity implicit in the act itself, though this runs counter to traditional wisdom and advice."

  
Parent for the here and now, for the humanity implicit in the act itself--I really need to do a better job of doing this for all 3 of our kids!

"Parents who, particularly in this country, are expected to be superhuman, to raise children who outpace all their peers, don’t want to see what we see. The long truth about their children, about themselves: that none of it is forever."

Although I came to this harsh truth in the dark hours of that second morning after Matthew's birth, and I was reminded of this countless times through Matthew's first year, as more time passes since those scary days, I forget how very thankful we should be for the gift of today.  For that is all we have been promised--today.  Thank you God for the gift of today!
 

Moving Video

I came across this video on Facebook, through a group I belong to that recommends ipad applications for special needs kids.  I've gotten a lot of great ideas from the group and was moved to tears by this video that they shared.

 

Matthew's Progress

Matthew is continuing to fall further behind in his development in comparison to typical kids.  His development will be re-evaluated when he turns 2, but if I had to guess, overall he's now about 9 months delayed. Though (like when he was a year), he seems to be less delayed cognitively and most delayed in language. What continues to encourage us is the fact that he continues to develop at a steady pace, albeit a bit slowly.  

A few things he's done recently that have caused us to cheer: (The first two probably don't sound like good things, but they are positive signs of developmental progress.)
-Matthew gets upset when he is told 'no', complete with a cry out and huff and puff.  
-He doesn't like to take turns.  If we are playing ball and I roll it to someone else, he'll get mad and try to get it.
-He is immitating a lot more.  Yesterday he took my ear bud and put it to his ear.  
-He's often following simple instructions.
-He's shaking his head 'yes'.  When he's eating, if I ask him "is that yummy?" he'll nod. 
-He's engaging in a lot more back and forth verbal play, mimicking conversation. 
-He is traditionally crawling-- fast.
-He is really enjoying playing with toys and balls. 
-He's continuing to cruise on the couch (or coffee table, etc).
-He will take steps forward if you hold his hands.
-He's eating more and more table foods (though still taking baby food too).

I am so thankful for my sweet baby Matthew, for his sweet disposition, for the joy he finds in little things, and for his forward progress.

Flawed

I am a flawed human being.  It is humbling to be reminded of that.  Earlier this week, I misinterpreted a dear friend's words, became very defensive, and was unkind to her.  To make matters worse, I did this in front of women that we respect and admire.  I am sincerely sorry for originally not giving my friend the benefit of the doubt and then for totally overreacting and being unkind.  I'm also sorry for making the women we admire feel uncomfortable. 

Though I really wish this hadn't happened and it weighs heavy on my heart, being reminded that I am a flawed human being is humbling, and being humbled, although difficult, is a good thing.  I sometimes forget that we are all flawed, and are all in need of grace.  Forgetting that, I am too often judgmental and unforgiving in my every day--to the guy that waited to the last minute to merge and then cut me off, to the student that showed up 30 minutes late for class, to my daughter flipping out because she didn't want to wear the tan pants, to a friend that never returns calls, to my beloved for being flip about a topic I'm passionate about, and so on.  I have humbly been reminded that I am flawed, and hope to keep that in the forefront of my mind as I encounter other flawed human beings, so as to hopefully be less judgmental and more forgiving in my every day.