Daniel talks a lot of baby talk: mama, dada, lala (we think, Alison). Just the other day, however, out of his mouth very clearly came: "Obama."
There you have it. Daniel has made his endorsement. And in case you were wondering, Ralph Nader entering the race doesn't seem to affect Daniel's position.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
18 Months
Hard to believe that Daniel is 18 months old. Even harder to believe is that his sister will be 5 in just a little over a month! Where in the world does the time go? I cannot remember back to when they were so little and that time just keeps slipping away.
Tonight I looked at Daniel and saw a reflection of a little boy staring back at me. He is becoming quite the little "devil." He wants to grab anything and everything these days. He gets a little grin on his face that says, "I know that this is probably not a good idea but I want to do it anyway." I have actually had to say no to him--when he grabs my face it really hurts so I gently say no. He doesn't realize or doesn't care. He is growing so fast. They both are.
We went to Roanoke last week to see a new neurologist. While I realize that no neurologist is going to tell us what will happen in the future, at least this one was nice and spent time explaining just exactly what is wrong with Daniel, and put it in terms that we can understand: Computer terms!
He told us to think of Daniel's brain like a computer. A part of the computer is out of commission but you can still rewire the computer to get it to perform some of the tasks that the other part was doing. This rewiring though may slow the task down a bit and it will take longer to learn. Sometimes the task will not work either. Only time will tell--with Daniel, not the computer.
Coming from a family where the brother is a computer genius I could relate and actually felt confident that things were going to be better. Though honestly, I really would like to call tech support and just ask them to fix the damn thing already!
Tonight I looked at Daniel and saw a reflection of a little boy staring back at me. He is becoming quite the little "devil." He wants to grab anything and everything these days. He gets a little grin on his face that says, "I know that this is probably not a good idea but I want to do it anyway." I have actually had to say no to him--when he grabs my face it really hurts so I gently say no. He doesn't realize or doesn't care. He is growing so fast. They both are.
We went to Roanoke last week to see a new neurologist. While I realize that no neurologist is going to tell us what will happen in the future, at least this one was nice and spent time explaining just exactly what is wrong with Daniel, and put it in terms that we can understand: Computer terms!
He told us to think of Daniel's brain like a computer. A part of the computer is out of commission but you can still rewire the computer to get it to perform some of the tasks that the other part was doing. This rewiring though may slow the task down a bit and it will take longer to learn. Sometimes the task will not work either. Only time will tell--with Daniel, not the computer.
Coming from a family where the brother is a computer genius I could relate and actually felt confident that things were going to be better. Though honestly, I really would like to call tech support and just ask them to fix the damn thing already!
Monday, February 11, 2008
On the move
We've been reporting for a while now that Daniel enjoys rolling around on the floor, since he hasn't quite figured out crawling. He rolls from back-to-front to back-to-front to get where he wants to go.
Where Daniel has been wanting to go lately is his sister's lap ... or stomach, shoulders, whatever part he can grab. Daniel is clearly through with observing Alison's play; he's ready to join in the fun. It's pretty remarkable to see Daniel be sitting beside Alison on the floor and then, moments later, lunge for her with his arms outstretched. He seems to want to wrestle her.
Alison laughs when Daniel does this, but I can tell that she's slightly put off. Ever since Daniel has been paying attention to Alison, it's always been about her "putting on a show" for him. All of a sudden, her brother is bugging her! Can sibling rivalry be far behind?
(One last, related comment: Though Daniel doesn't crawl, he seems to be on the verge of figuring it out. He tries very hard to scoot forward when he's on his stomach. And If we set him up on his hands and knees, he can hold his balance pretty well for more than a few seconds.)
Monday, January 28, 2008
Hurray for Daniel
It's the little things in life that keep you going sometimes. So without further ado: Daniel clapped his hands together for the first time this weekend! We were all so very proud of him. I don't think he realized what a big deal it was but he was definitely happy that we were so happy. Sweet little boy. Now we just need to teach him to clap when his sister finishes with her "performances."
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
When
When will I accept that Daniel has to be the one with the horrible disease? When will I realize that this is what we all have to face everyday of our lives? When will others accept any child with a disability? When will we be able to not fight for more services, they will just be there? When will Daniel crawl? When will he walk? When will he realize that he is different and by that realization be saddened? When will others really realize his difference? When will I stop protecting him/shielding him for the world? When can I breath? When will it not hurt to read a story about another child with disabilities? When will my heart stop aching? When will I stop wanting more for my children? When will this nightmare end?
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Missing Them
The new year has been relatively quiet and dare I say somewhat good? I have gotten a new job with the new year and it is incredibly exactly what I needed for a job.
However, it is full time.
Well, it is whatever amount of time I want it to be but we need the money so it needs to be full-time. This is fine with me because I like the work I am doing and it keeps me busy, but it is also difficult to leave my children for a full day when I haven't done that in so long.
I got spoiled when I was just teaching one class three days a week. I was so spoiled even that I think I took my time with them for granted--no, I know I did. Though out of this time away does come some good. I am now spending more quality time with them whereas before it was more quantity. I now realize how precious every moment is and want every moment to be special and free from any angst. I guess that is a good thing.
Most of all with the start of this new job (don't get me wrong, overall it is a good thing) is that I am afraid of missing Daniel's milestones. It is very hard to only "hear" about what happened during his day. He is doing so many new things everyday that I don't want to miss.
Lately, Daniel cannot be put at a table with anything within his reach or he will grab it. He just wants to grab anything. He is seriously trying to communicate with us and we "think" he has learned to say "all done." When you ask him his name he will (for the most part) say "Day-na," or "NaDa." He constantly babbles and loves, just LOVES to play mimic games with you-as long as he is in charge. He continues to roll over constantly and can manage to make his way around by just doing that. On his belly he so looks as though he wants to come toward you but just doesn't have it just yet. He has tried several new foods that he likes with new textures but I think his favorite of all of those is the Lentil soup I made-delicious. He is such a wonderful spirit. Both my kids are. It is very difficult to be around them and not be happy. I am enjoying that a lot more these days.
I know it will be sad if it happens that Daniel starts to crawl without me there to see but it would that sad too if Alison happened to learn something new without me there-and that has happened.
I've never been a stay-at-home mom type and I really admire those that are. Sometimes though I wish I could have it all. Sometimes I wish they didn't grow up so fast. Sometimes I just miss them.
However, it is full time.
Well, it is whatever amount of time I want it to be but we need the money so it needs to be full-time. This is fine with me because I like the work I am doing and it keeps me busy, but it is also difficult to leave my children for a full day when I haven't done that in so long.
I got spoiled when I was just teaching one class three days a week. I was so spoiled even that I think I took my time with them for granted--no, I know I did. Though out of this time away does come some good. I am now spending more quality time with them whereas before it was more quantity. I now realize how precious every moment is and want every moment to be special and free from any angst. I guess that is a good thing.
Most of all with the start of this new job (don't get me wrong, overall it is a good thing) is that I am afraid of missing Daniel's milestones. It is very hard to only "hear" about what happened during his day. He is doing so many new things everyday that I don't want to miss.
Lately, Daniel cannot be put at a table with anything within his reach or he will grab it. He just wants to grab anything. He is seriously trying to communicate with us and we "think" he has learned to say "all done." When you ask him his name he will (for the most part) say "Day-na," or "NaDa." He constantly babbles and loves, just LOVES to play mimic games with you-as long as he is in charge. He continues to roll over constantly and can manage to make his way around by just doing that. On his belly he so looks as though he wants to come toward you but just doesn't have it just yet. He has tried several new foods that he likes with new textures but I think his favorite of all of those is the Lentil soup I made-delicious. He is such a wonderful spirit. Both my kids are. It is very difficult to be around them and not be happy. I am enjoying that a lot more these days.
I know it will be sad if it happens that Daniel starts to crawl without me there to see but it would that sad too if Alison happened to learn something new without me there-and that has happened.
I've never been a stay-at-home mom type and I really admire those that are. Sometimes though I wish I could have it all. Sometimes I wish they didn't grow up so fast. Sometimes I just miss them.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
New Year Resolutions
Now that it is closer to the new year, I feel compelled to make some new year resolutions. However, this year will be drastically different from past new year's resolutions. Though I would love to have the weight loss and the personal finance security, I feel that those resolutions are not only unpredictable and in some ways unattainable but also somewhat shallow.
This year, my resolutions are a bit deeper:
1. I resolve to try to become a more patient mother. A mother that can stay calm whenever her 4 year old has become unglued. I want to be a mother that sets the right example for my children, to be a stable presence in the face of chaos. Though it won't be easy I am sure, I want to be the kind of mom that does not raise her voice to match her child's, but lowers her voice so her child can match her.
2. I resolve to try to become a more attentive mother. A mother who stays in the moment with her children. I want to be the mom who can forget all else (past, present and future) and just be with her kids.
3. I resolve to try not to be so hard on myself in regards to parenting. I will try to remember that I am doing the very best that I can, all that I can and giving all that I have. I will also try to remember how wonderful my children are and how they have gotten to that point, not from sheer luck (though some may believe that) but from parenting.
Well, what do you think?
Maybe I should have just stuck with the weight loss and all and while I will work on that as well (that is a constant resolution made everyday), I truly believe that these are the ones I need to focus on right now. Who knows how they will turn out. Who can predict anything anymore. I figure that if I have them written down for everyone to see though, that that will give me more incentive to really focus on them.
Of course there will always be next years end of the year montage as well, which will prove one way or the other if all of those resolutions actually made it into play. But then there is just the general one that I can definitely do that will cover all basis: Be thankful everyday for what I have.
I think that will be pretty easy:
This year, my resolutions are a bit deeper:
1. I resolve to try to become a more patient mother. A mother that can stay calm whenever her 4 year old has become unglued. I want to be a mother that sets the right example for my children, to be a stable presence in the face of chaos. Though it won't be easy I am sure, I want to be the kind of mom that does not raise her voice to match her child's, but lowers her voice so her child can match her.
2. I resolve to try to become a more attentive mother. A mother who stays in the moment with her children. I want to be the mom who can forget all else (past, present and future) and just be with her kids.
3. I resolve to try not to be so hard on myself in regards to parenting. I will try to remember that I am doing the very best that I can, all that I can and giving all that I have. I will also try to remember how wonderful my children are and how they have gotten to that point, not from sheer luck (though some may believe that) but from parenting.
Well, what do you think?
Maybe I should have just stuck with the weight loss and all and while I will work on that as well (that is a constant resolution made everyday), I truly believe that these are the ones I need to focus on right now. Who knows how they will turn out. Who can predict anything anymore. I figure that if I have them written down for everyone to see though, that that will give me more incentive to really focus on them.
Of course there will always be next years end of the year montage as well, which will prove one way or the other if all of those resolutions actually made it into play. But then there is just the general one that I can definitely do that will cover all basis: Be thankful everyday for what I have.
I think that will be pretty easy:
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