Thursday, July 31, 2008

Churkey and cheese

This week, R has had a come-and-go fever. It started last Saturday night. It seemed to come out of nowhere. R never complained. If we had thought about it, he wasn't quite himself all day Saturday, but it wasn't until he laid down on the floor in the kitchen and I noticed his glassy eyes that I realized he was fighting something. Tylenol and a good night's sleep drove it away ... until Tuesday afternoon when it came back again the same way. I stayed home with him on Wednesday, and we watched too much TV but also painted and colored (R made "maps" for me and A) and went to the park for a little while. He seems all better now.

This has been a big week for R. He learned to throw a Frisbee. Today, he taught himself how to whistle. He has been doing a lot of cooking and baking - really helping! He loves to make French toast (he cracks the eggs, stirs up the batter, uses the spatula to flip the toast in the pan) and he helped A make brownies today. We no longer have to let him "help" while we cringe as he spills and licks batter and drops in eggshell bits. The other night, he uttered a beautiful and heartfelt and perfectly spoken grace before dinner. And, this afternoon, R tried riding his bike without training wheels! He got frustrated pretty quickly, but I'm so proud of him for trying.

The biggest development, though, is that he's finally learned to wipe himself! (Insert Kristen Happy Dance here) When I heard about our town's requirements for kids entering kindergarten, that was the one that made me nervous. R has no trouble writing letters and numbers and he's on the verge of all-out reading (he can sound out pretty much anything). But until now, he has shown virtually no interest in taking responsibility for his personal hygiene. (Why do it yourself if Mommy will take care of it for you?) So this is a huge relief. :-)

All this growing up is wonderful and bittersweet for me. So, when R referred to turkey as "churkey" tonight, it made me so happy. It's nice to have at least one vestige of his babyhood.

I also love when he tells me that he wants to live with me forever.

3 comments:

sandwhichisthere said...

Sweetheart,
I am sorry to hear that Rix's fever returned. I hope that it has all passed now. Keep an eye on him, it sounds like he is fighting something and occasionally whatever he is fighting gets an upper hand. Tylenol does work wonders on fevers but a fever is a sign that his body is fighting something. Make sure that he has plenty of liquids. Popsicles will lower temperature and are a source of liquids. Frozen fruit juices on a stick are probably a better choice. You and Alan are extremely attentive to Rix's needs and condition and you don;t need my advice on anything. I am only commenting because I am concerned. Be sure that you take care of yourselves also. You are Rix's primary caregivers and without your care he would be in trouble. Perhaps a popsicle apiece would be in order.
all of my love to all of you, always, daddy

Greg C said...

Our problem was that my little one refused to color. He absolutly hated it so he wouldn't do it. They were going to put him back a year because of that even though he could do advanced math, read, and tell you more about plants and animals that most adults. Finally one teacher spoke up and got him into an advanced school that didn't care about coloring. All is well now.

LEstes65 said...

The wiping thing? I'm totally jealous. Maybe I'll get Lil'Bro to start wiping if I tell him cowboys don't get wiped.

Glad the fever stuff is gone.