Jackson, Airborne Bear, Uncle Stephen, and Jonathan
Uncle Stephen and Jonathan
(Sorry, if I turn it around it cuts off Jonathan's head.)
Daddy multitasking with Jackson and Jonathan.
Jonathan in his jammies.
Jonathan's first bath with Jackson.Last night Jackson had a rough night. He came to the top of the stairs calling. I was so disoriented that I asked Jamie to go get him. I had this blanket balled up next to my face and thought it was Jonathan. So, I thought I had one kid and wanted Jamie to take care of the other. By the time I realized the blanket was not our younger son, Jamie had already left to tend to Jackson and I had trouble going back to sleep myself. Jackson came out again and I stood at the bottom of the stairs and asked him what was wrong. He said a roach was in his blanket. I told him to shake it out and hop back in bed (I am so understanding). He hung his head and slunk (is that a word?) back to bed. I went back to bed and could not sleep. I got up some time later to check on him. He was still awake - his eyes were wide open but he was still. We went to the bathroom, got water, and I rubbed his back. I had difficulty sleeping myself and heard him some time later. I let him come down and get in bed with us. I realized this morning that he had quite a bit of dessert last night and must have had a sugar high well into the night!
Jonathan woke up around 4am. I got him, nursed him, and put him back in bed. I stayed upstairs so I could hear him (and also to avoid being kicked by Jackson if I stayed in my bed). Jamie left for work and let us sleep. I got up late, Jackson got up, and then he and I ate breakfast. The baby monitor was on in the kitchen and we heard this noise. I turned up the monitor and it was Jonathan doing raspberries! He is so pleasant in the mornings.
My brother, Stephen, came to visit the weekend of June 10. He brought Jackson an Airborne Bear and Jack loves it! Stephen loves kids and held Jonathan a lot. He played hide and go seek quite a bit with Jackson, too. Jack could not find him at one point. I came into the foyer and Jack was on the stairs yelling for Uncle Stephen. Stephen was on the landing overlooking the foyer. He had climbed over the railing and was standing on the edge. I sternly told Jack never to try that and what Uncle Stephen was doing was not to be repeated. Stephen then confessed to having hidden in the crow's nest above our front door (he had to leap across the chandelier). That is what happens when you let your kids play with an uncle who is a Ranger. Our life is a bit slow and boring compared to what he does. He is supposed to head back to Iraq in July so we appreciated him taking some leave to visit us.
Last week was Jackson's first week back to his Mothers' Morning Out program. I had to stay to fill out paperwork the day that I took him so our parting was not swift and sweet. He was also in a class with younger children who cried a lot. He was upset most of the day. I came home and called other programs, thinking we might try them out in anticipation of the fall. Thursday we tried his program again and he had been moved to a different class. He got in the car and was a changed man. Thank goodness!
The day Jackson started back to MMO, Jonathan began therapy after a three-week hiatus. This program is where I do the therapy while a therapist looks on and helps me. Jonathan has not really cried before and he is crying in earnest now. I am helping him learn to sit up by prop sitting, twisting, and I am rotating his body to come to a sitting position from being on his back. We are also learning to crawl. I put his knees underneath him. He does this on his own but he has difficulty pushing up his arms. Tuesday was tough because his PT from the state agency worked him out in the morning and he was tired by the time we started therapy up again at the Bell Center that afternoon. I would put him up on his knees and he would just cry. It was tough for me, too! Please pray he develops more upper body strength and I take the time to work on this with him.
Jonathan seems to have gotten a lot of hair in recently. Keep it coming! He took his first bath last night with his big brother. I had to hold onto him because he can't quite sit up on his own and because the jets were going. Jackson was thrilled that Jonathan could be in there with him.
That is all for now! If you pray for us, please pray I have the discipline to work Jonathan out on the days we are not doing therapy, for our overall health, that Jonathan continues to gain weight (we think he is around 14 pounds now) and grow proportionally, and we continue to stay on track spiritually to find our peace in Christ and not our circumstances.
Please also pray for a little boy named Joshua. He is the grandson of a former co-worker of mine. Tomorrow (Wednesday, 11 June 2006) in Cleveland he will undergo the same surgery Jonathan had - pray he comes through smoothly and for his family to have peace.
Love,
Julie:)
