I had this whole post planned for the one year anniversary of my move to Indiana, but then I realized I had the date wrong and I've been here a year already.
My brain is obviously not functioning at it's highest level.
The first thing I think I'm going to have to do is stop saying "We just moved here from Florida!" in response to everything. It's an adjustment, but man, a year has gone by already! That's just crazy. This move was the best thing we could possibly have done. It was also the hardest thing to do. I'm so glad that I'm standing where I am today, but I also know that moving was the first step in standing tall on my own and that it was the right thing to do for the kids and I, and that it still would have been the right thing even if John and I hadn't reconciled. We made our own way, and that makes tonight, as I sit here with John on the couch and watch Coen crawl around and practice blowing raspberries on things, feel even sweeter.
Life is good.
Coen is now eight months old and he is a riot. He's also a biter, and he's got two razor sharp teeth. He's begun making the round of the whole living room/play area/dining area on his hands and knees and I can tell that we're going to be in for it soon. He's getting faster every day.
Evany is seriously the sweetest little girl. Several times a day she'll run up to John or me and say "I need a hug!" She's so cute I could just eat her up and it's causing a problem. It's very hard to say no to her! When she acts up I always find myself smiling at her before I realize I'm supposed to be stern.
Seth is just blowing us away with his speech progress. He's really warming up to his teachers at school and his therapists. It just took three quarters of the school year. No biggie. He went to the audiologist for some booth testing today and he's hearing perfectly, coming in at 15 dB or below on all frequencies! It's hard to believe that his three year hearing anniversary is right around the corner. We were also able to get in with a great allergy/asthma doctor and have him allergy tested and his asthma symptoms evaluated more carefully. He started on Singulair last week and I have high hopes that it will help us cut down on nebulizer treatments.
Jace is reading really well now and brings home a book to read to me every night from school. He wa thrilled with the weather today since he got to go out to play. Yesterday he had a neurologist appointment in the morning and I got a babysitter so that I could take him on his own. He had a neuropsych evaluation and afterwards in the consultation with the neurologist, who I love, it was confirmed that he has ADHD and some motor tics. Of course I had hoped that it would turn out to be nothing, but this is not a big deal in the scheme of things and I'm excited that we have an answer and we can move forward and help him reach his full potential. I'm really interested in any advice anyone with experience has! We've been implementing some dietary changes and trying out a low dose medication that should help him and we'll see how it goes. He's just such a great kid. After the appointment I asked if he wanted to go to lunch with me before he went back to school and he said "Yes to lunch, but I think I'll just go back to school tomorrow." Hah! I let him. Everyone needs a day off once in a while!
Ava is getting way too old. I can't believe she's going to be eight this summer. She is ridiculously tall and has the sass to match her height. She thinks she's in charge of all the younger kids and she is not a fan of being told she's not actually the top dog in the house. But she's just so much fun. Today after we finished her schoolwork and while Coen and Evany were napping and Seth and Jace were at school, Ava and I cuddled and watched The Princess Diaries. It was some great girl time. She's becoming such a young lady and growing up entirely too quickly. She's all elbows and knees and long hair and my oldest baby has all but disappeared. She stays up every night reading with a book light until I wrench the book out of her hands and insist that she goes to bed. She reads voraciously. It makes me so happy. (Yes, I was that kid who walked home from school reading a book and tripping over the sidewalk cracks because I couldn't wait until I got home to find out what happened.)
This is just such a great stage in life. We definitely have challenges and we always will, I'm sure, but I just love sitting back and seeing these kids grow into people and develop relationships with us and their siblings and others that aren't based on proximity or meeting their basic needs. It's a pretty amazing thing to see.
So yes. It's been a good year, Indiana. I guess you're not so bad after all. =)
Park City Utah
2 years ago
