Life of the Party: 2.5 Years Old!

Today, Henry turned 2.5 years old. It is hard to believe that so much time has passed by. In the larger scheme of things, 2.5 years isn't THAT long but it is amazing to look back and realize just how much has happened. In the last 6 months, 8 days, we've had Miss R in our lives too. And it is hard to remember what life was like before we had the two of them.

It was slow getting the kids out of the house today. But we managed to make it to school shortly after 9:15AM, which meant that the kids got their morning snack at school. That was important b/c the kids didn't eat much breakfast. I dropped off Miss R first. Had a hard time getting Henry out of the room b/c he was sitting down, wanting whatever snack they were eating there. Miss R had no problems saying good bye to me and sitting down for her snack. We then went to Miss Casi's room b/c his class had joined with the other "older" twos classroom. Henry didn't cry as he was completely snack focused.

The grandparents picked up the kids at 4:30PM. Sadly, A Place to Call Home canceled their party. A disappointment b/c we wanted to show off our cute kids. Grammy and Poppy took The Twins to Trader Joe's, which they enjoyed. Then, it was time to watch Dumbo and have pumpkin pancakes before Jeff and I arrived at 7PM.

When we arrived, we dressed up the kids in their Halloween outfits. Wow, I don't think that our kids could be any cuter. Not many pictures to post b/c almost all of them have both Henry and Miss R. Looking forward to a day when we can share pictures of Miss R. She was as cute as a button dressed up as a lady bug. For well-over a month, I've had a vision of her as a lady bug. I was so pleased that she was just as cute (maybe even cuter) than what I had pictured in my mind. When Henry saw Miss R in her outfit, he wanted to be a lady bug too. Luckily, he realized that Spiderman was pretty cool too, especially when he discovered the picture of the spider on the outfit. That sealed the deal.

I took the kids to the studio where my parents have a large mirror. Henry discovered the karate weapons rack of course. Jeff had to take a pair of sais away from him. He had fun dangling off my parents' treadmill.

We took the kids to my favorite coffee shop The Glass Onion. Jen (the owner) and the other Jen (an employee who is a neat lady who I see a couple times a week) had told us that they were dressing up and encouraging their patrons to come in costume this evening. On Friday nights, they have live music. It was the first time that we've taken the kids there. The latter Jen has asked about the kids on several occasions, so it was really fun to be able to have her meet them on such a festive occasion.

Jen (the owner) was very taken with Henry. She commented several times on how handsome he is. She was dressed up as a werewolf so Henry found her interesting. While I was ordering the food, Miss R strayed over to the legs of a man behind me. Apparently, she thought he was Jeff and wrapped herself around one of his legs and said "Daddy." Luckily, he found the situation amusing. I had a heck of a time getting her to look up and realize that Daddy was on the other side of the room. Both kids enjoyed the music. Henry ran around in front of the performer. Jeff had to prevent him from playing with the tip jar and touching the keyboard. The performer got a kick out of Henry. At one point, he solicited requests. Henry shouted out "Yellow!" and the man played a song apparently called "Yellow." Henry joined a young lady in one of the larger chairs. Couldn't tell if she was annoyed or OK with Henry's persistence but I managed to redirect him toward our area.

We came home and watched The Haunted Mansion. Henry got bored and played with his hockey stick and various balls. Miss R fell asleep while I gave her the nebulizer treatment. It was the easiest treatment yet! We let the kids stay up late. We'll have to see if that translates into them sleeping in. I won't hold my breath!

Phobia

We had a good visit with Miss R's CPS case worker. Not a whole lot to report. It looks like there are only two other potential placement options for Miss R at this point who are being considered as one of the other considerations turned out not to be suitable. One is an aunt who lives in another state but has never met Miss R, and another is a family friend. Background checks and interviews have to be conducted. It would seem that both parties may have known about circumstances leading to removal and hence might not be suitable. But only time will tell on this front and ultimately the judge is the one who will decide what is best for Miss R. We received court documents the other day which stated that CPS believes that we are the best permanent option at this point in time.

We took the kids to the Foothills Mall tonight. We had dinner at a Greek restaurant. Miss R seemed to eat well. Henry had a couple bites.

We then went to Phobia, which is a haunted house that Uncle Brian and Aunt Erin have helped construct and facilitate. Their students have helped with the haunted house, and the proceeds go toward their programs. The main haunted house is teen/adult oriented. But there is a 3-D maze for the younger crowd. It was actually pretty cool walking through it with the 3-D glasses on. Miss R was a little scared, but Henry was in his element. He likes commotion. We also did the "eye ball" toss. Basically, it is a game where one throws eye balls through some holes in a back board to win prizes. But our goal was just to let the kids throw stuff. The kid running the eye ball toss let Henry and Miss R pick out candy. Being the softy that I am, I let the kids have the candy in the car, much to Jeff's disapproval. I think that it was Henry's first lollipop. He took a few licks and then tossed it aside. Miss R gobbled up her tootsie roll. No leftovers on that one!

We came back home. Miss R unwrapped b-day gifts from Steve, Jamie, Dana, and Nikki. When she opened the present from Steve and Jamie, she hugged it tightly. She had fun with the gift from Dana and Nikki too. It was blocks by Imaginarium. For each letter, they have the uppercase letter, the lower case letter, and pictures of objects beginning with that letter. As of late, she has enjoyed stacking blocks. Henry was enthralled with them too. He's referring to them as his blocks.

We watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" while Miss R had her nebulizer treatment. Henry has been very interested in playing football b/c of Lucy trying to get Charlie Brown to kick her football. I've been showing him how to catch, and he is doing a really good job of it too.



Afterward, it was time for teeth brushing and bed. There was much protest, but the kids settled down quickly once the lights were out.

EIP to school district transition

This morning was filled with tears as I dropped of Henry in his classroom. We dropped off Miss R first who had no qualms about getting into her classroom and getting a snack (she didn't like our breakfast this morning, a breakfast burrito). I stayed with Henry for a couple minutes. A little girl tried to hit Henry so he hit her back. I suggested to them both that they keep their hands to themselves. Then, a little girl on the other side of the table hit a little boy named Shawn. So much for males being more aggressive than females. Miss Stephanie says that everyone has been in a hitting mood recently.

Jeff and I just met with Henry's EIP coordinator. It went well. She was actually amenable to Henry's PT services once we mentioned his unique arm issue, which she seemed surprised by even though we've mentioned it before. We updated our IFSP (individualized family service plan), and I signed many forms giving up privacy on Henry's records so that she can talk with the school district. At age 3, Henry's services will be given through the school district not the EIP. We've decided to get one last OT evaluation on Henry while we are still able to do so without much hoopla. In sum, our meeting with Elsa was efficient and productive.

Jeff has gone to his nurse visit. Then, we'll have a visit from Carmen (CPS).

It has been freezing in the house today. Freezing defined as below 73 degrees. I'm angling for a fire log in the fire place tonight!

"No more school for me."

Sunday night was rough. Miss R woke up in the middle of the night needing her nebulizer treatment. I held her for awhile as she fell back asleep.

Monday was Jeff's afternoon/evening with the kids. They pretty much ran him ragged. Both Henry and Miss R love the high heel glamor shoes that we bought Miss R for her birthday. When I called from school, I could hear clip clopping of little feet against the tiles.

On Tuesday, Henry announced "No school for me" as I turned into the daycare parking lot. He was very clingy with me in the morning. Although it was nice to have a couple minutes of Henry snuggle time, I hate seeing him distressed. Jeff picked up Henry and met up with my parents at Costco. Henry ate his way around the store. He had two pieces of mahi, two tiny cups of crab chowder, some bacon, and a couple other things. Miss R had her bio family visit in the afternoon. No idea if the parents showed up, but she saw her siblings at least.

On Wednesday morning, I said to Henry "I love you!" He said, "I love you too, Mommy!" That was nice. As I dropped off Henry in his classroom, he said, "No. No Miss Stephanie's class for me." Ugh. Miss Stephanie says that Henry knows where Miss R is and wants to be with her in her class. Sigh.

I had to stay at school until 6PM. My parents picked up the kids. Then, I picked the kids up at their place. When Henry saw me, he cried out "No! I don't want Mommy! I want Bambi!" He'd figured out that my arrival was associated with a stoppage on the TV viewing. But Miss R was happy to see me.

My mom told me a funny story. The other day, my parents got the kids piggy banks. She gave them coins and a dollar to put in each bank. Apparently, Henry went over to her purse and found some $20 bills. He pulled a couple out, gave one to Miss R, and said: "Here. This one's better."

Tomorrow is jammed packed with appointments. We have an appointment with Elsa, Henry's so-called developmental coordinator, to set up an IEP for Henry. Jeff has a nurse visit at 3:30PM. His cough is back with a vengeance and he sounds awful. At 4:30PM, we have a home visit with Carmen, Miss R's CPS caseworker.

Lesson in Not Being the Center of the Universe

Henry woke up this morning announcing "I want restitution!" That was pretty much the theme through breakfast.

I braided Miss R's hair and it looked great. It took about 1/2 an hour b/c Miss R was not being helpful. Henry, Miss R, and Jeff took the dogs for a walk. Then, we got ready and headed over to Monkey Business around 11:30AM for Miss R's birthday celebration. We got there a little early to set up the balloons and Elmo table cloth.

In attendance were: Grammy, Poppy, Aunt Erin, Uncle Brian, our neighbors Yvonne and John, and our friends Carolyn and Elisabeth with her cute infant Stone (born in July).

The kids had a great time, but Henry wasn't thrilled at the presents not being for him. It was upsetting to learn that not everything is about him (although almost everything is about him). Miss R really liked her gifts.

According to Jeff, Henry made a 5 year old girl cry. In Henry's defense, she started it. But she couldn't handle the heat. Henry had an orange balloon from our table. He was walking around with it, and she took it from him. He wanted it back. Jeff asked her to give Henry his balloon back. She said it was her brother's (which it wasn't). A Monkey Business employee intervened, and Henry got his balloon back. Later, Henry saw her with another balloon and chased her around. He swatted at her, and she cried. I don't mean to sound like the kind of mommy who thinks her son walks on water (b/c I can identify when Henry is up to no good and correct him when he is being a turkey), but goodness, the gal shouldn't: (a) take things from 2 year olds to begin with, and (b) quite so wussy when a 2 year old acts like a 2 year old; a five year old should know better.

Monkey Business had a "monkey" walk around the restaurant. The monkey was a HUGE hit with both Henry and Miss R. Henry followed the monkey around. Miss R hugged the monkey. We left some time after 2PM. The kids fell asleep in the car. Way past their nap time.

Miss R got up before Henry. She had fun playing with her new shoes. We got her five pairs of glittery shoes in pink and purple colors. She had a breakdown when Jeff announced that it was time for a walk and she had to wear sneakers and not her fancy shoes. He woke up Henry b/c Henry was still sacked out. We had a family walk around dusk. Ran into Yvonne, John, Hal, and the canine gang. John mentioned how sweet Miss R was and asked if she ever acted up. Jeff and I chuckled. Even Miss R's teachers are under the delusion that Miss R has a perfect temperament. She saves her special toddler tantrums for me and Jeff apparently.

We went back home and had dinner. Then it was time to carve pumpkins. Henry didn't want to touch the insides, but he enjoyed playing with my pumpkin carving spoon. Miss R really wanted to wear her new shoes after dinner. When I brought them to her, Henry became upset b/c he wanted "pink" shoes too. Her glamour pack had five sets of shoes in them, so I brought Henry my favorites. He had fun walking around in the shoes, but we suspect that heals don't discourage his toe walking.

Our pumpkins turned out pretty well. Henry likes them anyway. It was then teeth brushing and bed. It took Henry well over an hour to go to sleep. Miss R has woken up a couple times too.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! It's Cinderella. Oh my gosh!"

On Thursday morning, I had a weird encounter with the director of Henry and Miss R's daycare. The morning started off well enough. Henry was excited to be going to Miss Stephanie's classroom. I decided that we'd drop off Miss R first. Miss Diana said that Henry was to stay in their classroom for now and that maybe he wouldn't be moving up. Henry was clingy with me. I was frustrated b/c I'd told Henry he'd get to see Miss Stephanie. I asked Diana what was going on. She said that they were still trying to figure out the numbers. They'd sent some kids to Miss Stephanie's class before Henry even though they had birthdays after Henry's (e.g., a child who is the son of another teacher at the school). Miss Diana had told me before that Henry was getting a little bored in their classroom. A bored Henry is not a good thing.

As I left the class, I stopped by the front desk and asked what was going on. The director got rather testy with me and said that she couldn't do anything about it now. It all had to do with the numbers. Then she turned on me and said, "Is this because your son was aggressive with your daughter?" I asked her what she was talking about. Then she accused, "Is he aggressive with her at home?" No one had informed us of Henry being aggressive. And for the record, no, he isn't aggressive at home. We have several friends, family members, a case worker, a family specialist, and a guardian ad litem who can attest that our kids get along really well. Then, she repeated that she couldn't do anything about it. She had to look at the numbers. She couldn't move kids right now. I said, "Well, you moved a couple kids last week. And their birthdays are after Henry's. Why didn't you move him first?" She gave me some crap about how they weren't sure he was cognitively ready, which I know is crap b/c his teacher the previous day told me about how he was much more advanced than the other kids in the current class, how he was really smart, and how his potty training was going well.

I left and called Jeff from the car. I was so mad that I decided to return to the office to talk to the director about the situation. She wasn't there, but the person who is in charge of development was. I talked with her, which was good b/c she is very nice, diplomatic, and parent-oriented. She'd heard the conversation and knew that the director had made a huge error in referring to Henry as "aggressive." I explained to her that it was important the personnel got the story straight and accurate b/c with the scrutiny that we are under, a mistake like that could "disrupt" Miss R from a situation that is incredibly nurturing for her. The developmental coordinator completely understood. And she said that the director had misunderstood a previous day's event in which Henry apparently tried to hug Miss R several times, and Miss R told him to stop it. Apparently, Henry tries to protect and baby her in the new class. She doesn't like that. She wants to be independent. That was it. The developmental coordinator said that she'd clarify the situation with the director, and she agreed that Henry would be better off in Miss Stephanie's class where he'd get more one-on-one attention.

In the afternoon, Jeff picked up the kids. Henry was very chatty. He told Jeff about his friends and what he did. Jeff reported that his chatter was a paragraph long and in complete sentences. Jeff dropped off the kids for a little bit at my parents' house while he ran some errands.

On Friday, the kids were both dressed in Washington State t-shirts. It was "twin" day. So they got to be twins. I talked with the developmental coordinator and she said that the director sent her apologies. Henry would be moving classes next week.

Jeff picked up the kids from school. I met them at Grammy and Poppy's house. All six of us went to Macayo for dinner. Miss R really loved her mini-chimi. She also liked dipping her chip in salsa and sucking it off. The salsa wasn't hot. We parted ways from Grammy and Poppy and went to Halloween Express. We found Miss R a ladybug costume. For some reason, I've had it in my mind for weeks that she should be a ladybug. Although there were a lot of costumes, we didn't find one that seemed like Henry. I wouldn't have minded getting him a cutsie one b/c this will probably be the last Halloween when such a costume would be possible. He seemed to like a Spiderman outfit but it wasn't in his size. We went to Toys R Us to look as well.

Henry was hilarious at Toys R Us. Their costume selection wasn't good. We turned a corner, and there was a display of Snow White dresses and had big pictures of Snow White and Cinderella. Henry yells out, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! It's Cinderella. Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" You would have thought he'd just seen a rock star. He was very enthusiastic. I was fairly tempted to get him the Snow White dress. I dressed up as different "male" cartoon characters as a child, so it would be a bit hypocritical to not allow Henry to try "female" characters (although I realize that's fairly unconventional). The thing that held me back was the price tag: $79.99. That seemed a tad excessive for a costume to be used once.

Henry and Miss R had an excellent time "riding" in plastic cars (kind of like a Flinstone mobile). They enjoyed opening and closing the doors. That entertained them for about 1/2 an hour. Then it was time to go home and go to bed. Henry was upset b/c he wanted to go to Toys R Us "again."

On Saturday morning, we had a "Quarterly" meeting with A Place To Call Home. There really wasn't a toddler room. There was a baby room and a big kids room. We ended up putting them with the "big" kids. Henry cried at first but then he settled down. Miss R had a good time coloring her shirt and skin with blue marker. Jeff and I attended the last part of a session on behaviors and then a talk from a judge who was a product of the foster care system. Jeff and I noticed that only one couple from our training was at the meeting: Charity and David. We hope that the others haven't dropped out. For lunch, we had pizza with the kids outside. Both kids ate A LOT of pizza. A LOT for their size anyway. In the afternoon, Alison took Henry to the jumping castle outside. Miss R went to the baby room where she seemed to have a good time. It was less overwhelming than the "big" kid room. We listened to a presentation from someone from the Yacqui tribe. Then, we all went outside to watch a Yacqui dance presentation.

We dropped the kids off at my parents' house for a nap. They reported that Miss R was moody. I picked them up a couple hours later after getting party supplies for tomorrow. I also found a Spiderman outfit in Henry's size!

We gave the kids a bath. Aunt Carolyn called. I talked with her while Jeff got the kids to bed.

Tomorrow, we are having our party for Miss R. Jeff ordered and picked up a really cute Elmo cake for her.

Fashionista

On Wednesday afternoon, Grammy and Poppy picked up the kids. I had office hours after class and stayed until 6:15PM. I picked up some Indian food and then got the kids. Good timing. They had just had their diapers changed.

After eating a little fry bread, Henry and Miss R went to the living room. Henry read books with Jeff. Miss R sat on me. Then it was time to brush teeth. The highlight of the bathroom experience for Henry was discovering new mommy shoes (ones with a little height). Henry walked around surprisingly well in them. Miss R took my flats. Then, it was time for bed.

Exuberance

Henry began the morning by trying our patience. He just doesn't listen and he is a very impulsive. Impulsive combined with too much energy and a high pain threshold. I'm beginning to think that we need to re-read Cesar Millan's books and start dog whispering our child along with Lily who has too much energy and not much sense. Perhaps the solution is to get Henry and Lily up early in the morning and force them to go on a 2 mile jog. That might take a little of the edge off.

When we arrived at school this morning, Henry ran to the baby's room window and got on the little bench so that he could look into the room. He looked at the babies and yelled "I LOVE THIS CLASS!"

Then, we walked over to Miss R's new class. As we arrived, they were going outside to play. I mentioned to Miss Lulu that Miss R didn't return with her bag last night. Miss Lulu had no idea if it went with her or not. Sigh.

We went outside where Miss Stephanie's class was playing. Henry got on one of the bikes/cars. He sent himself rolling down the hill to the little kids slides just as the one year olds were coming up the hill. Luckily, no one was hurt. They scattered. But Henry did scare the bejesus out of one little boy, which wasn't cool. Miss Josie told him to be nice. Frankly, I think that deserved a timeout but they don't do that very often. Henry didn't say goodbye to me. He started running around the "shipyard" area where Miss Stephanie was. I dropped off Miss R in the slide area with her new class. No complaints from her. As I left, I saw Henry do a belly flop on the ground and then get up.

"Just...something...else."

My parents picked up Henry today. They said that he really likes his new class. He's a fan of Miss Stephanie. For dinner, Henry had a sausage patty, chicken noodles, banana, a little samon. Then, he had a bite of chocolate ice cream and some oatmeal. He then told my mom, "I want something else." My mom went through the list of various things. But Henry said no to the things he'd already had. She asked him what he wanted. He said, "Just...something...else" as though my mom was being a bit slow not understanding that he didn't want what he'd already eaten. She settled on more oatmeal.

Miss R came back after 7PM, which is later than usual. The driver didn't have any information other than to say that it was a man who put Miss R in the car. She came back with a bunch of new clothes. We gather that they were celebrating her birthday. She was wearing a new outfit when she returned home. It is quite cute. She didn't return with the bag that we left at school to be sent on her visit. I'm guessing that her teachers "forgot" to send it along, although I was quite explicit that it needed to go with her.

Miss R and I played in the living room on the couch. She called out for "Daddy" and was happy when Jeff joined us. She was very stern with Lily and told her to "Stop it!" and "Get down" when Lily tried to get on the couch.

My parents returned Henry around 8PM or so. He gave me a spontaneous hug at one point. I love those. I get them a lot from Miss R. Henry not so much.

After my parents left, I gave Henry his amoxicillan, which he spit out on the rug. Then he was a bit rambunctious during teeth brush. Jeff was quite frustrated at his antics. The other night, he bumped his head pretty good while horsing around on his stool. He tried it again tonight, which Jeff tried to prevent. But Henry managed to bump his head again. I suspect that the problem has to do with the fact that Henry doesn't interpret pain like the average person and consequently doesn't learn from his mistakes. Very frustrating.

We put the kids to bed. Our kids cups have gone missing, are dirty, or have cracked in the last week, so I gave them bottles. That didn't stop Henry from singing himself to sleep, which took a very long time.

French Fries and Sponge Bob

On Monday, Jeff and I went to the permanency hearing for Miss R. The court is recommending a switch in case plan from reunification to severance and adoption. We have another hearing on November 17. The bio parents, who were not present at yesterday's hearing, will be allowed to challenge that ruling if they so choose. If they appeal it, then the case will go to trial. Alternatively, the parents could agree to severe rights or just not show up and have the rights severed.

As the hearing took up a good part of the morning, Jeff took the day off of work and went looking for vehicles. He has wanted a new vehicle FOREVER. He doesn't seem to like my Toyota Corolla (my very first car). Bottomline is that in the event that we decide to have other kids, we need more room. Our current vehicles won't do. He has a couple SUVs options in mind.

Then, he picked up the kids. Miss R did well in her new class. They moved Henry over to the "older" twos room with Miss Stephanie, whom Henry adores. Miss Stephanie wasn't there when Jeff arrived but another teacher reported that Henry did very well with the potty today. He took them to the hardware store. He really likes Naughton's b/c they are one of the few stores where the employees greet you at the door and show you where everything is. He said that they helped him get the kids in the cart. At one point, Henry fell on his bum and shouted, "Oww! My butt!"

He said that he and the kids had a really nice evening. When I came home around 9PM (with some food that I picked up for me and Jeff), the kids were in bed but Henry was awake singing to himself. Jeff said that Henry had been singing songs from Mamma Mia! and the bumble bee song.

As Henry was awake, I got him out of bed and held him. There wasn't a trace of sleepiness in him. I took him out to the living room where Jeff was watching ESPN. That got switched to Sponge Bob. Jeff brought out my dinner. Henry helped himself to my french fries and looked like a very happy little boy.

The kids were logs this morning. I let them sleep until about 7:45AM. Someone attempted to do Miss R's hair at school. They used rubber bands, which I don't like (not good for her hair). So I had the joy of trying to get the darn things out of her hair without breaking the hair, which wasn't easy. Then I braided it as her bio family visits are starting again today.

I took the kids to school. I dropped them off in Miss R's new class. They weren't sure if Henry was definitely switching today. I hope he is. He really wanted to see Miss Stephanie.

The Pumkin Patch

It's been a rather exhausting weekend. Henry is going through one of his phases were he manages to push my buttons every 5 minutes. He gets into everything, doesn't listen unless I actually yell at him, which I don't like to do and know I shouldn't do. Sometimes I wonder if he doesn't have a hearing problem with the way I have to turn up the volume to get through to him. Grandma uses a technique where she gets on his level and makes him look into her eyes while she talks to him. I think I need to implement that technique.

Saturday was not very exciting. We had to be on call in case Miss R's lawyer called and wanted to come visit. I puttered around the house doing basic chores like putting away dishes, laundry, and taking the dogs for a walk. I took the kids to the grocery store and managed to survive without Henry breaking anything.

Miss R's lawyer came after lunch. After that, it was to bed for a nap. It took them a long time to get to sleep and then they didn't wake up until almost 5pm. A quick snack, another dog walking, dinner, bath, reading and bed.

Henry was very cute while going to sleep. He has been watching the Charlie Brown Halloween special with the Great Pumpkin. In it he loves the scene with Snoopy as a WWI flying ace. He has a pillow case with the Peanuts characters on it and they are gathered around Snoopy on his dog house. Henry patted the dog house and said "Sopwith Camel, Sopwith Camel" which is the type of plane Snoopy flies in his battles with the Red Baron.

Today Kate was able to pull away from her work long enough to go to Buckelew Farms, a farm with a large pumpkin patch. The kids had fun in the petting zoo they had. They both were very good about being nice to the animals and dumping out the food for the animals right in front of them.

Henry's favorite attraction I think was the pyramid of hay bales. It was probably about seven feet tall and he repeatedly climbed to the top and went down the other side. He also had fun in a bouncy castle.

Miss R seemed to be a big fan of the fry bread. Kate stayed with her while she finished eating, and Henry and I went to the bouncy castle. She took a good 20 minutes longer than Henry to eat. Then Kate put her in the bouncy castle and she freaked out. She's been in one before but she wasn't having any of this one.

We wandered around the pumpkin patch and found 3 nice pumpkins. Henry really seemed to enjoy it. Miss R did not. She really doesn't seem to like new things. She wanted to be held almost the entire time we were there. In the actual pumkin patch, she had several melt downs when Kate took more than two steps away from her or if she was asked to do so much as take a step on her own.

It was extremely hot outside today and so we didn't go through the corn maze, which I thought Henry would really enjoy. Kate actually got woozy on the way back to the car because of the heat.

We took the kids to their Grandparents directly from the Farm. After their nap they went to Barnes and Noble and got some new books. Henry was excitedly carrying around "Spongebob Spookypants."

"Be Nice!"

On Saturday morning, Henry was being loud and unreasonable. I could tell that he was pushing Jeff to the edge. Jeff didn't yell, but he was getting short with Henry. Upon telling Henry in a very stern voice that he needed to be quiet and patient about the pancakes as they were almost cooked, Henry admonished his Daddy to "Be nice!" Apparently, Henry didn't like the tone of Jeff's voice. I had to bite my tongue to prevent from laughing.

"Good Night."

On Friday morning, Jeff had a problem at work, which meant that I had an hour to get the kids up, fed, changed, teeth brushed, hair brushed/braided and myself dressed for work as I had a 9AM appointment. It was tough b/c the kids weren't making it easy. And Henry tried to meander on the sidewalk when I just needed him to get to class when we arrived at school. He cried but I was late and couldn't comfort him.

Around noon, Miss R's lawyer called wanting to see her in the afternoon as the court hearing is on Monday. I think that he is supposed to see clients between court hearings. But we had already planned for my parents to see the kids and I am on yet another crazy deadline, so Jeff said that we couldn't do it. He told the lawyer that we could meet Saturday or Sunday. The lawyer "may" call but is probably going to be busy. Seriously, how about calling a week in advance and making an appointment?!?

Again, I'm frustrated b/c I want to make sure that Miss R is truly represented and this just doesn't feel right. And the fact that La Frontera still hasn't called totally irks me.

Jeff picked up the kids in the afternoon and went over to my parents. The report from school was that Miss R will be in Henry's current class starting next week. She was moved over to the class at 4PM, and Jeff arrived after 4:30PM. I don't quite get why they didn't do more transition during the day when kids were actually there. I guess there were only four kids in the class at 4PM. The teacher (not one of the regulars) said that Henry was a bit possessive of Miss R when it came to the other kids. He also got a lot more talkative, active, and refused to follow directions (as Jeff said, "That's the Henry we know."). He and Miss R played by themselves instead of with the other kids. At my parents, Jeff played with the kids to give me some breathing room here to work. They played, watched movies, and had dinner.

Henry came home and reported that he'd watched "Your Not Elected, Charlie Brown." He really likes Peanuts. At Miss R's request, we sat outside for a little bit and watched "the spider." She too thinks its "scary." Then it was time for medicine for Henry and fiber gummy bears for them both. Teeth brushing followed. Henry enjoyed going to sleep in a laundry basket.

H1N1 Flu Mist

On Thursday afternoon, we took Miss R and Henry to the pediatrician's office for Miss R's two-year wellness check. She is well. Her lungs sound good. Dr. Bianchi did a "quick peak" in Henry's ears and low and behold, he has yet another "serious" ear infection in both sides. So we had to check him into the logs for an "official" appointment and get a prescription. Henry hasn't complained about his ears but perhaps this explains his recent moodiness.

We had a 4:30PM visit with Alison from A Place to Call Home. Nothing new, just updated her on the case.

Then, at 6PM, we headed down to the County Health Department for their vaccine clinic. Apparently, the county is hording all of the H1N1 vaccines, which is why we weren't able to get this done at Dr. Bianchi's office today. Long story short, Dr. Bianchi wanted the kids to get the shots as the only cases of flu in the area are swine flu and increasing in numbers. He approved Henry for the flu mist, but wanted Miss R to get the shot b/c of her occasional wheezing.

It was extremely busy at the County Health Department. We waited in a line that extended way beyond the doors of the clinic. Henry flirted with a little girl. Held her hand. She liked him but coughed on him. Lovely. Then the kids in back of us were coughing. Henry played with rocks and found a cigarette butt. He sat on a bench and touched some woman's hair. She was nice about it. Hopefully, he didn't catch something just by standing in line. Unfortunately, they didn't have the shots, so flu mist was the only option. We went ahead, despite the long wait, and got Henry the mist. Our rationale was that he is relatively healthy (except for the ear infection), and these healthy moments have been few and far between this summer. He can't get the vaccine when he is sick. The number of H1N1 treatments in limited in our county. We had to wait on Miss R b/c she has to have the shot. Hopefully, we've already had H1N1 back in May and already have the antibodies.

Afterward, we went to Sweet Tomatoes where we ran into the couple with the little boy who were standing in front of us in line at the clinic. They drive an Element too.

In the car, Henry and Miss R were loud. Their screaming conversations included:

HENRY: Oww! My footsie hurts! [Clutching his foot in his hands.]
MISS R: Oww! Footsie hurts! [Clutching her foot in her hands.]
HENRY: Oww! My other footsie hurts! [Switching which foot he was holding.]

Not quite sure what that was about but they seemed to be having fun expressing themselves. After several Mamma Mia! song, they requested the "80s CD!"

It was a late bedtime this evening, but it didn't take too long for them to settle.

I'm signing off. Lots to do tomorrow.

The Bucket Meltdown

My parents took care of the kids for a couple hours in the late afternoon/early evening yesterday. One of the teachers said that Henry "may" be moving classrooms (to the "older" twos). We were just getting used to the idea of him and Miss R being in the same class. When Jeff picked the kids up, Henry wanted to listen to the 80s CD. We have two of them in the car. Jeff put the wrong one in at first, but Henry corrected him and got to listen to the music he wanted.

Henry had a major meltdown last night b/c Jeff wouldn't let him sleep with his pumpkin bucket on his head. He made Henry put the bucket next to the bed. This resulted in sobs and sobs over the bucket. Jeff says that Henry is already acting like a teenager. Eating a lot and acting moody.

I took the kids to daycare this morning. Henry and Miss R disagreed over which CD to listen to. Henry finally agreed to Mamma Mia! Miss R wanted to hear the "Money, Money" song from the Mamma Mia! CD "again" and "again."

She was fine in the car but then very sullen when I took her to Miss Kristen. But she didn't cry. Then I dropped off Henry. He wasn't as bad as yesterday, but he still clung to me tightly. As he pretty much ignores me at home, I enjoyed the huge hugs. Every time I'd put him down, he'd look up at me and say "Hold your baby." Luckily, I'm working from home today and didn't have to shuffle out the door right away and managed to get at least five great hugs.

Jeff just returned from the child-family team (CFT) meeting. The bio parents were a no-show. One of Miss R's older siblings had some things to discuss in private with the caseworker, so the meeting was very short as pertaining to Miss R. Apparently her mom did give a couple more names as possible placements. I just hope that the system works and that the judge really considers what is best for Miss R. I'm trying not to let my anxiety overwhelm me. Not easy.

Miss R's Birthday

On Monday, the kids were pains in the behind to get out of the car and into the school. Miss R had a major temper tantrum. She was mad that I wouldn't hold her. I had my purse, a bag of their freshly laundered sheets and blankets for their naps, and two bags of treats for Miss R's class to celebrate her birthday. She wanted to be held. When I wouldn't do it, she screamed, cried, and threw herself on the floor in the lobby. Lovely. The staff were showing prospective parents around. I'm sure Miss R contributed to the sale. Miss Josie and Miss Kristen were concerned. They were very nice to her when she arrived. I honestly thought that they should let her cry. I'm not a huge fan of babying bad behavior even if it was her birthday. She does this to me a lot...hence me carrying her on a 4 mile hike when we were in Greer. But whatever.

Jeff went to pick up the kids a little early. Miss R had just joined Henry's class on the playground (her future class). Jeff said that Henry was patting her on the back. As it was Miss R's birthday, he went to Toys R Us before picking them up at school. He got Miss R a gift (a horse family) and Henry a slightly smaller gift (dinosaurs). The fellow from Patty Cakes came out to the house to take molds of Miss R's foot and hand. Jeff got the kids food from Jason's Deli, which was a hit. Henry is eating A LOT.

On Tuesday, Jeff had an appointment with the NP at our doctor's office at 7:45AM. He probably has a sinus infection. He continues to sound awful. Miss R was not helpful when I had to braid her hair. I got the kids to school. Apparently, Miss R was able to spend a little bit of time in the afternoon with her new class. They are transitioning her slowly.

Miss R's CPS caseworker called me in the afternoon. Two notable things. First, the bio parent visits have been suspended until further notice. Second, the maternal grandmother wants to be Miss R's caregiver. Long story short, the CPS worker has some evidence to suggest that isn't a good placement. We'll see on Monday if the judge agrees. Monday is the permanency hearing.

My parents picked up the kids around 4:30PM. We then picked up the kids at their place a little after 7PM. Evening highlights included Henry going into the shower and turning it on himself while my mom tried to help Miss R on the potty. After my mom got Henry out of his wet clothes, he peed on a wall. Great. Henry settled down when we got home. Miss R is very hard to get to sleep.

This morning was not great. We met Miss R's class on the playground. She won't fully transition to Henry's class until next week. As Miss R's class went inside, Henry's class arrived. Henry burst into tears at the thought of me leaving. He held me tightly. He was very, very upset. I've never seen him like that. I stayed about 20-25 minutes to get him settled down. I sat on the fake grass with him. Other kids surrounded us. I sang the ABCs, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and the Itsy-Bitsy Spider with the kids and received applause that the end. Yes, my rendition of the ABCs is that good. When I got ready to leave, Henry was super upset again. So I'm not feeling great about today. I hate seeing him so emotional. He's been on my mind all day. For him, the real tear crying is highly unusual.

Ice Cream

Jeff took the kids to the zoo on Sunday. He reported that the big hit was the artificial grass near the aviary. Henry and Miss R had fun playing and climbing in that area. They also fed the giraffes. Henry was fearless and marched right up to them with the biscuits. Jeff dropped the kids off at my parents where they took their naps soon after.

Grammy and Poppy reported that the kids watched Snow White. Apparently, Henry found it a bit too mushy and kept clapping at certain points, trying to convince Grammy and Miss R that it was over so that he could watch a real movie (i.e. Lady and the Tramp). He even tried to convince them that the movie was over at the "death" scene of Snow White with the apple by clapping. Grammy said that he really was bored, but Miss R seemed to like it.

In the evening, we went out to dinner with the kids and my parents to celebrate a day early Miss R's birthday. We'll be having a little party with family and friends in a couple weeks. We hadn't planned a big celebration yet b/c we weren't sure that she was going to be with us. But we figure that after October 19, we'll have a much better sense of where things are at. In the meantime, we had a small celebration at Swenson's, which Miss R thoroughly enjoyed.

We picked up the kids and caravaned over to Swenson's. Miss R and Henry were motivated to get out the door of Grammy's house when they heard that ice cream was involved. Miss R was in a very good, giggly mood. She has this cute little laugh like a chipmunk when she is super happy.

I could tell that my dad was impatient at the length of time to get our order. Honestly, I don't think it was any longer than usual. It's just a bored Henry, trying to climb up the walls and under the table, going after the sugar packets and salt and pepper shakes, makes 20 minutes feel like an eternity.

Henry ate A LOT of food. Miss R did reasonably well too. We got them a children's meal to split b/c one is usually too much food for one child. Next time, I think that Henry could probably eat a whole one. We speculated that a growth spurt may be coming soon (he hasn't gotten a chubby little belly yet though). The meal deal includes a scoop of ice cream. We got them the birthday cake flavor. Henry, however, wasn't interested in it. He returned to sit next to Grammy and basically took Poppy's cherry bordeaux sundae and pretty much ate the WHOLE thing on his own. I shared my coffee soda with Poppy. I believe that Miss R polished off the whole scoop of birthday cake ice cream on her own.

We listened to 80s music as we drove to Bashas, the grocery store. Henry knows some of the words to "Wild, Wild West." Jeff ran into Bashas to pick up some treats for Miss R's class tomorrow as it is her birthday. Henry was mad that he wasn't allowed to go shopping too. Miss R was thoroughly entertained by my attempts at head banging to "Bang on the Drum All Day." She had a request however. She wanted to listen to the Mamma Mia! CD. Specifically, she wanted the Mamma Mia! song and requested it "again" three times on the way home, which played for her. It is, after all, almost her birthday.

The kids wanted to see the spider when we got home. Then, they got really crabby about teeth brushing and going to bed. I was really mad at Lily for destroying a USB key. Between her unhouse broken ways, eating my shoes and the kids' shoes, and taking everything out of the garbage in one of the bathrooms, I'm ready to throw her out on her behind. She isn't learning. We won't of course do that, but it is so tempting. I'm ready to let her and Jackson (who has been pooping and peeing on the carpet now too) fend for themselves with the coyotes.

Locked Out

On Saturday, Grammy and Poppy returned the kids around 7:30PM. Jeff and I had a productive afternoon and early evening getting things done around the house. While Jeff was putting my computer back together, I got out the Halloween decorations including a newly purchased black spider that moves its legs and has lights on it. I managed to put it together before the kids were returned. Henry, as predicted, was enthralled with it. He said it was "scary."

Grammy reported that the kids took a long nap in the afternoon. So long, in fact, that they didn't get around to watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. After their naps, Grammy and Poppy took them to Trader Joe's. The kids enjoyed the samples of scallops.

This morning, Henry wanted to go into the atrium to see the spider.



Miss R joined us outside after she finished eating (which involved dipping the handle of the spoon into her yogurt and sucking it off...took a bit longer than using the scooping end). The kids were very cute running around together, chanting, dancing, and hugging.

At one point, however, Henry went inside and closed the door. Jeff, Miss R, and I were still in our little atrium. Henry then proceeded to lock the door. So there we were, still in our night clothes, no key, and Henry staring at us from the inside. Luckily, Jeff managed to convince Henry to unlock the door. That was a close call.

Jeff has taken the kids to the zoo for the morning. I'm stuck here, writing an exam.

Two Guitars

This morning, Henry was up before Miss R and I got up. Jeff made him pancakes. He ate 4 pancakes, 2 strawberries, and 1.5 sausage links in one sitting. Miss R joined him halfway through his breakfast.

I read "The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear" to Henry and Miss R three times. Then Jeff read to them.

I decided to give the kids some Pop Rocks to see what they thought of that. Miss R loved it. Henry was interested at first, but he wasn't crazy about it in the end.

I found a birthday present from May from Aunt Erin and Uncle Brian that we hadn't used yet. It was a guitar. A HUGE hit with Henry. He and Miss R spent a long time dancing this morning.

Henry wasn't too excited about having to share it with Miss R though. When I told him that he had to share with Miss R, he said "Two guitars." Indeed. It it better to have multiple items than to share! He got over it though. I brought out his Little Tykes "drum set" and they both played their instruments and danced.

I took the kids to Grammy and Poppy's house while a fellow came to clean our air ducts. As Poppy entered the family room, he said, "I have a present for you." But Henry had already found it. The "Snow White" DVD. Henry will love that. It has "scary" parts. Scary is very big these days. Henry is loving the Halloween theme.

You Break It, You Buy It

On Friday, both Henry and Miss R were incredibly whiny. I guess that it is "normal" for toddlers to whine. It gets so emotionally exhausting hearing complaints about this and that.

On the car ride to daycare this morning, Henry had the brilliant idea of taking every piece of tissue out of the kleenex box and throwing them on the floor of the back seat. I of course didn't notice this until I went to get the kids out of their carseats.

Miss R happily went to play on the playground equipment when we arrived. Henry met up with his class which was waiting for Miss R's class to finish their session on the slides. There are two little gals who often greet me. They were spinning around on the grass. Henry eventually joined them. But he didn't want me to go, which made me sad.

I picked them up at 5PM. I'd had a long day at school. Miss R's class was in the process of being combined with another class. She was very excited to see me. We then picked up Henry. I told Miss Diana that Miss R will be joining Henry's class on Monday. I guess there are six kids in Henry's class that are getting transferred to the "older" 2s room.

We went to Bashas, a grocery store, across the street. I tend to shop there even if their prices are a little higher b/c the owners are from Arizona and they give quite a bit back to the community. Henry wanted me to buy him a pumpkin. I told him that we'd go to a real pumpkin patch next week to get our pumpkin. Miss R sat in the cart's seat and Henry sat in the basket itself. He managed to sink his teeth into the tortillas that I'd put in the basket. We visited the Halloween decoration section. Henry managed to break a little jack-o-latern that lights up. I ended up buying it (figuring that if we broke it, we should buy it). It still works, its just that there's a crack in one of the windows. Sigh.

We had a good dinner. I was exhausted afterward, having not gotten much sleep last night between Henry wetting the bed, Lily being caught with a croc and having to put her in her kennel for the first time, and then one of the cats shattering a glass, which was knocked off the kitchen counter at 3AM. Jeff was pretty out of it last night. He woke me up to say that a glass had shattered but then fell back asleep.

We let the kids watch an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine after I'd read Henry "Donald Duck and the Magic Stick" and Jeff had read him "The Three Javelinas." I tried to nap on the couch. But Miss R laid on top of me and then Henry smashed my glasses into my face. I think that we got the kids to bed by 8:30PM.

Tomorrow, we get our air ducts cleaned. Hopefully, they aren't completely disgusting.

The CASA

Having stayed up later than usual the night before, Jeff let us sleep a little longer, which was nice, on Thursday morning. That extra sleep didn't translate into extra energy or motivation though for Henry and Miss R. It was an ordeal getting everyone out the door. Herding cats is what it was. In the car, the kids were in a mood. Miss R took Henry's book away from him. When I told her that she had to give it back, she threw it at him.

I talked with Suree, the director of their daycare, about Miss R moving up. As it turns out, there isn't a choice. By state law, 2 year olds aren't allowed in a room designated for 1 year olds. So Friday will be her last full day with Miss Josie and Miss Kristen!

At 3:30PM, I met Ida, Miss R's CASA, in the lobby of their daycare. A CASA is a court appointed representative for a child who gives his/her opinion to the judge about what would be best for the child. Ida graciously brought toys for both Miss R and Henry. We visited Miss R's room first. We then made our way to the playground and found Henry. I ended up having a hug-fest with several little kids. There's one little gal who seems taken with me. She wanted me to give her a hug. I did so but I was a little tentative about it b/c I wasn't sure how other parents would feel about strangers (to them) hugging their kids. That lead to another little girl wanting to hug Miss R. Then someone wanted to hug Henry. It was one big hug exchange.

Afterward, we went to Henry's room to show Ida what Miss R's future room would look like. Henry found a broom and dust pan and started to sweep the room. I asked him if he wanted to go home and he said no. Apparently, "sweeping" was more fun. Ida gave the kids their gifts. It was a Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.

Ida followed our car back to our place. She asked me what services I thought that Miss R needed. I said that although Miss R hasn't been evaluated properly, I thought she was doing well. I just wanted to make sure that she had a non-foster parent representative in court to speak with the judge about their relatively "objective" opinion of what was best for her. I mentioned that her lawyer had "forgotten" he was assigned to her case, and even after meeting with us at my request, he forgot to speak up in court. He spent his time representing one of her siblings (who does need representation but so does Miss R). Ida said that she'd be there in court. She said that she thought Miss R was very lucky to have found us. I feel like we are pretty darn lucky too. Ida had read through the case documents. She noted that it really seemed like the parents hadn't made much effort in working the case plan. She also said that during her training, she had seen parents do everything in their power to work their plans (so she had some points of comparison). Miss R, incidentally, will be her first CASA case.

Henry and Miss R were quite interactive while Ida visited with us. When she left, they both said "thank you." Jeff asked me what I thought the CASA brought to the table. I think that she'll bring another opinion for the judge. As foster parents, we won't be offering an opinion about what would be best for Miss R. We'll simply be reporting the facts of how she is doing right now. And that's probably how it should be. It isn't our job to judge the bio parents. That's for the CPS caseworker, CPS' attorney, the FCRB, her guardian ad litem (theoretically), and now the CASA to determine. And hopefully, through their reviews, they'll figure out what is best for Miss R. My concern was that Miss R hasn't had much representation and now I'm feeling more confident that her best interest will be considered.

After Ida left, we went on a family walk. We ran into Swanee, Yvonee, and their canine gangs. Lily has turned into the instigator of playtime, a role formerly occupied by Annie. Lily was trying to engage Annie in some play fighting, but Annie didn't seem to notice Lily, despite the fact that Lily had a mouthful of Annie's neck in her mouth.

Henry and Miss R had leftovers for dinner. They ate pretty well. They had a bath. And then Jeff put them to bed while I went to the grocery store.

I just looked in on the kids a couple minutes ago. Henry's diaper leaked big time (again). He's been drinking mass quantities of water at bedtime. The result wasn't good. I just put him in bed with Jeff, and I'm currently washing the sheets. Fun. I'm thinking that we need to get rid of the one and only bottle of the day once and for all.

"Almost"

My parents met up with Jeff and the kids at Red Robin. I came as soon as my office hours were over. The kids were happily munching on their dinners when I arrived.

Miss R gave me a HUGE smile. Henry wanted me to sit next to him, which was nice. He was singing to the music in the restaurant while Miss R was dancing in her seat.

Jeff shared his strawberry lemonade with Miss R, in particular the sugary strawberries. Not a great idea. Miss R was incredibly hyper after dinner.

We went to the play area in the mall. When we first arrived, it was completely empty. Miss R wanted to go down a slide but was afraid to do it herself. And she'd put her feet down flat, so that her sliding was super slow. Jeff told her that she'd "almost" gotten it down. Miss R appears to have come to the conclusion that "almost" meant going down a slide. She happily went up the steps and went down the slide (provided that I held out my finger) and shouted "almost." Henry also got in on the action.

Miss R was very upset about being put in the car. Jeff reported that she cried all of the way home. And when we arrived home (separate cars), Miss R wanted me. Henry really didn't want to go to bed, but it wasn't optional. They are sound asleep now.

Tomorrow is our appointment with Miss R's CASA.

Class Together?

This morning, both kids were very good brushing their teeth. They are incredibly fascinated with the dog kennel. I wish that Lily was just as excited about it. No problems getting the kids out the door.

We arrived at daycare around 8:10AM. Miss R's class was outside. Henry snuck through the gate and played while I was talking to Miss Josie. Miss Josie's son has a birthday soon and will be moving up a class (to Henry's room in fact). He is in a different "early voyagers" class from Miss R's b/c teachers and their kids aren't allowed to be assigned to the same room. I mentioned that Miss R has a birthday come up soon too. Miss Josie hadn't realized that it was so soon. I asked her if she thought developmentally if Miss R was ready. She said "Yes, she's ready. She's talking a lot." But she said that she knew that Miss R likes her routine and recommended that we request the transition be made gradually over a few days. She'll be put in Henry's class most likely.

We have mixed feelings about Miss R and Henry being in the same class. Our big concern is Henry. If Miss R were to be pulled from our home, it would be a double blow for him. And that's been very much on the back of our minds, although it would appear that if the judge follows the law, that is unlikely to happen. But we are well-aware that judges sometimes use their own brand of logic when "interpreting" the law. We have no impression of the judge assigned to Miss R's case so we don't know if she is the "creative logic" type or not. On a positive note, I think that it will ease the transition for Miss R considerably to have Henry in her new class without a doubt. We really like Henry's teachers a lot, but we agree that Miss Josie and Miss Kristen appear to have a really deep bond with the kids in their class and that's something we've appreciated when it comes to Miss R's care. Consequently, it will be a transition for us too!

I'm going to discuss the moving up arrangements with the director tomorrow, I think. In some cases, they prefer to move the kids up as a group in January, but that's a full three months away. On the one hand, I like the comfort provided by Miss Josie and Miss Kristen. But on the other hand, I want to be as challenging of Miss R as we are of Henry. In truth, we weren't as challenging of her the first couple months that she was with us b/c we wanted her to get settled and wanted to have a good sense of her abilities. We believe that she has tons of raw potential. We've been reading with her more and more. We've been asking her a lot more questions about her day or what she wants. If it was Henry, I would want him challenged. And knowing that her teacher thinks that she is ready makes me want to challenge R in the same way. So, Voyagers, here comes Miss R!

New Furniture

On Monday, Jeff spent the late afternoon and early evening with the kids. They were in bed when I got home, which always makes me a little sad about Monday nights. Jeff reported that they had had a good time together, but that time went so quickly after he picked them. They played a little while, but then there was dinner, walking the dogs, a little more playtime and bed. Jeff was surprised by how much dried fruit Henry ate. He said that Henry just kept requesting it and requesting it

On Tuesday morning, Miss R was playing in our bedroom as I took a shower. When I got out of the shower, I heard "I'm stuck. I'm stuck in the muck." She'd been playing in the dog kennel. Miss R has come such a long way on her language skills. Jeff said that Henry had a full packet of oatmeal plus another third of a second packet. He said that Henry ate about as much as he does in the morning. Henry sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" for me, and he did an excellent job brushing his teeth. He earned a pumpkin sticker much to his delight. Miss R did OK on teeth brushing, which earned her a sticker as well. She gave me a hard time when it came to braiding her hair. I always braid her hair on Tuesdays as they are bio parent visitation days. Henry played in a box to his new toy organizer. The kids were good in the car. They requested the train song on the Mymo CD.

We took Miss R to her room first. She and Henry were just about as cute as two kids can get when it came to saying goodbye. I asked Henry if he wanted to give her a goodbye hug. He ran over to her and she opened her arms.

My parents were a little down b/c it didn't look like we were going to be able to schedule a grandparent pick up day. My dad loves picking them up at daycare and seeing how excited the kids get when they see him and my mom. On Tuesdays, one of us spends one-on-one time with Henry while Miss R has her bio parent visitations. They canceled last week's visitation after the driving service had already picked up Miss R. On Wednesday, my parents have a faculty reception to attend; my dad was lobbying to bring the kids, but I nixed that idea. I guess people have brought babies to the reception before, but I wouldn't put it passed my high energy toddler to pull the table clothes off the tables and generally cause mayhem. On Thursday, we meet Miss R's CASA for the first time. A CASA is a court appointed advocate for a foster child. Given how unpredictable some of Miss R's so-called advocates have been (the La Fronterra person still hasn't called, nor has Miss R's lawyer), we are pleased that she has been assigned a CASA. And my parents have plans Friday.

Jeff ended up calling my mom and asking her if she wanted to see Henry today. She said yes. So Jeff forfeited his Henry day. As it turned out, the driver from CPS called me at 4:15PM to say that the bio parent visitation had been cancelled and where did I want Miss R to be dropped off (home or school). I said school. Then, my parents picked up both Henry and Miss R.

Jeff spent the afternoon putting toy organizers and book shelves together. These items were put in the toy room. Definitely not going to return to a dining room any time soon. The organizer is now holding toys that had been in the playpen. We figure that they'll get a lot more use now that Henry and Miss R will be able to get the toys without our assistance.

While Jeff finished the furniture, I walked the dogs. I ran into the sister of one of our neighors. She commented on how big Miss R is getting and how devious Henry looked the other day. She said that she and her brother were commenting the other day on how amazing Henry looks given his early birth.

Jeff picked up the kids at my parents' house. As he was trying to get the kids out the door, Henry got very upset and started to cry. We don't know what caused it, but it took several minutes to calm him down. While Jeff was driving the kids home, my mom called me b/c she was concerned. She also mentioned that Miss R had been out of sorts when they picked her up. She had just been returned to school by the CPS driver. She was clingy for a long time after they arrived at my parents' house. My mom thinks that Miss R has a hard time on visitation days. I've wondered whether visitation days invoke a clingyness response in her. I haven't kept a log of her reactions (maybe I should), but it kind of seems to me like she gets especially upset when I don't hold her immediately for a couple days after visitations. I think that she really likes routine. And the visitations, which sometimes happen, sometimes don't, sometimes partially happen for just a few minutes with older siblings, sometimes involve her being driven to the meeting site where the visitation is then announced canceled, are difficult for her to understand. There isn't anything that we can really do about it other than give her emotional support when she comes back to us.

When the kids arrived home, I read them "Bambi" at Miss R's request. I was pleased that she was adamant about what she wanted, and she listened to all but a page or two of the story (and it is a long one).

Miss R gave Jeff a very hard time about teeth brushing. Henry did a really good job, earning a sticker to put on his d-backs ball. Then, it was time for bed.

When the kids were in bed, Jeff and I organized toys. Jeff commented that our dining room looks like a kindergarten. It does. But I like it.

Here's Lily looking forlorn this evening. "Oh woe is me. The toys have been picked up and I have no objects to destroy."

Greer

On Friday morning, Jeff dropped off the kids at daycare and ran some errands. I packed up toys and clothes for our trip to Greer. The kids stayed at daycare until 11AM. We didn't want to pick them up in the middle of a nap. Their brief daycare stay, however, gave them time to work off some energy on the playground. Jeff bought DVD players to hang on the front seat headrests. He packed the car while I fed the kids some lunch. Then, we headed off to Greer in the early afternoon.

The kids napped for a little over an hour. Henry woke up wanting to watch Robinhood. He woke Miss R up b/c he didn't want her to miss it. "Wake up, R! Wake up, R! R! R! Wake up, R!" She wasn't happy with him. We took a brief stop before the Salt River Canyon. Henry thought we had arrived at "The Mountains!" It was pretty, but we still had a couple hours to go. The dogs handled the trip well. Roger got nervous during the last 1/2 hour of our journey and wedged himself between Henry's carseat and the window. Henry didn't mind until Roger laid across his lap, blocking the DVD screen.

We arrived at the cabin around 6PM. Our friends had already arrived and were making dinner. We had a nice meal. Henry liked the decor of the cabin, which included a bathtub of pillows and bears in front of a TV in the living room. He also liked a cabinet that he kept trying to stuff himself into. Our friends graciously gave us the master bedroom, which had two beds in it. Much nicer than trying to squeeze all four of us in a double!











On Saturday morning, we got up early and walked the dogs with the kids. When we got back, Jeff made everyone pumpkin pancakes, which were excellent. We also had sausage, veggie bacon, and fruit. Dana made eggs. It was a great way to start off the day. As we got ready for our morning hike, Henry said to me, "Mommy, hold your baby!" and reached up with his arms. It was so cute! Miss R then followed suit.












We went on a hike in search of the lake. The directions given to us were off. We ended up taking a long hike away from everything but found a herd of cows. They let us walk through them initially, but one bull was not so keen on our return. So we walked around them, deciding it was best not to upset the bull.

The thing that made the hike taxing was the fact that Henry and Miss R wanted to be held. We forgot the baby/toddler backpacks and held them just about the entire way. Jamie gave me some respite with Miss R, which was nice. I was hitting the exhaustion point. And Miss R would cry if I put her down. On the way back, we parted from the others as they went ahead in search of the lake. Jeff and I took several breaks with the kids as carrying 23-27 lbs sacks isn't easy for long distances.

When we got back to the cabin, we had lunch. Then, it was nap time. It took the kids an hour to settle down, but once they did, they took a much needed 2-hour nap. Lily took a nap on the porch of the cabin.


Jeff and I took the kids to the rec room after their nap. It was a long room filled with lots of toys and games. The kids drove "bikes" up and down the room. Henry had a great time until he flipped the vehicle that he was on and smashed his nose, which became bloody. But he was a trooper.











We had an excellent dinner made by our friends. Jamie played with Miss R after dinner and swung her around, much to her delight. Henry went to the bedroom to watch Sponge Bob.

On Sunday morning, we had breakfast and packed. Henry sang part of "You Can Dance" from Mamma Mia! We took the dogs for a short walk. We took some pictures of the cabin and the view, which was beautiful. Then, headed off around 10AM. All in all, the kids were very good. No major meltdowns. The kids had a lot of fun and were exuberant.














We arrived in Show Low around 10:45AM. We found a park for the kids to run around. We figured that the kids needed some exercise before our long haul home. Jeff had run them around the deck after breakfast, but Henry had been telling us that he wanted to "go to the park" all morning. We found a nice park. The only problem was the wind. But the kids managed.












We made a quick lunch in the parking lot. And then headed home. The trip back was only 4.5 hours (shaved an hour off!). The view was beautiful.




We stopped by Grammy and Poppy's house to say hello. Grammy sent us home with some casserole (meat and potatoes). We got the kids fed, played with the trains, gave them a bath, and got them in bed by 7:15AM. It was a full weekend.