It's Been awhile

Things have been moving steadily along over here. This will be a quick summary of the last few weeks, probably a very long post. On Valentine's Day, I left for my first overnight work trip. I went to DC for a conference for federal grants. It did not relate directly to my job, but it was close enough, and someone else couldn't go at the last minute, so I boarded a plane on Feb 14th. I didn't expect how hard it was going to be to leave my family for 3 days. :( But it was! And I felt like I was cheating on Tucker by riding the Metro (DC subway which is full of escalators at every station), riding the moving walkways in the airports, and then riding a trolley around DC at night for the tour (I could picture his face riding in a trolley). I also visited a few malls (one was attached to my hotel, one was in a huge train station), which of course have escalators and one had a carousel. And everytime I said "hotel room" I could hear Tucker's voice "hotale". That kid LOVES hotel rooms! My hotel was right on the orange Metro line, and each time I heard the speaker say "Orange Line" I thought "Ojz" which is how Tucker says orange, his current favorite color! (It has now since changed back to purple, by the way). Tucker didn't seem to miss me until the third night, when he cried "mama" all evening. Of course on Thursday morning I woke up with him, and he did not seem at all happy to see me! The conference itself was pretty boring, but also informative. I am glad I went, but I don't see myself taking any of those trips for awhile. I will be in Ruston, LA next week, but that's for a shorter time. While I was away, Tucker missed a lot of school. I think on Tuesday he came home because of diarrhea. He was his active self all day with mom, then she kept him home the next day just in case. He seemed fine that day as well. So then Thursday, the school called, and mom went get him again. Tucker kept shoving his hand down his throat, and he was "off" so they sent him home. Mom took him grocery shopping to "buy some eggs" so I think by then he was just fine with missing school! Chris took him to the pediatrician that Friday, where he got a clean bill of health-no sore throat, ear infections, or tummy issues. That weekend, Chris went squirrel hunting and Tucker and I went over to visit Chris's family. Tucker has been really good with baby Kinley (at least I think, I'm not sure how kids usually act with babies), not hitting her or sitting on her....which is honestly what I expected him to do. Instead, he has reacted in a very typical way, by acting like a baby! It is really funny, yet frustrating, to watch, as he tries to climb into any seat or toy she has, and cover up with her blankets. He even put her bottle in his mouth, which is hilarious because he might have drank out of two bottles in his whole life...... So we have been coming up with ways that being 4 is way better than being a baby, like Tucker gets to ride 4 wheelers and go to school. I have just been really taken by surprise with this development, Tucker sees Kinley just once a week, but he has really noticed the change. I almost feel bad to visit with Kinley, like I should play with Tucker when we're visiting so he isn't jealous. But of course I want as much baby time as I can get, as my Tucker is getting bigger every day. I forgot how little newborns are. Last week Tucker had "poor" behavior a few times, which is the worst he can have. We have really been thrown with his Celexa medication. It is for anxiety, and he gets it everyday, starting when he was 2. Every month, like clockwork, we get to the last few doses of the bottle, and it's like Tucker is getting NO medication. He grinds his teeth, pulls his hair, hits, and has no interest in schoolwork. Then we start the new prescription, and it's amazing, he gets "excellent" behavior and is SO good. Both the pharmacist and neurologist say that's crazy and makes no sense....but all of us who see Tucker on a daily or weekly basis can track his mood based on what part of the med he is on.....so our new plan is to refill the med every 3 weeks, so we can avoid that last bad week altogether, even though we will be throwing out supposedly good medication. This week, Tucker hasn't missed any school. But his teacher called on Tuesday because Tucker laid on the ground for center time. He went to the book center and laid on the ground, then when the time came to change centers, he went to the kitchen center and laid on the ground. So Chris was home that day (long story) and he drove over to check him out. It was outside time at that point, and Tucker had of course perked up. He also had a BM right after Chris left, and the teacher said Tucker was visibly better after that. Last night the same thing happened....Tucker was "off", walking funny and just really sad. Then he had a big BM and once he was cleaned up, he ran around in the best mood. Over the weekend we enjoyed some good family time together. On Friday night Gina and Jene'e baby-sat Tucker so Chris and I could go out. We "go out" to a bar about once a year. My BIL Chris's band usually plays in Mississippi and Alabama along the Gulf coast, but his band was in town, so we all wanted to check it out. It was a lot of fun:) The best part was that Gina got up with Tucker at 7am:) But I got up at 8, so it wasn't really a sleep-in day. I went shopping for Jackie's shower (my future sister-in-law, she's marrying Justin on May 21st at the beach-we booked our condo last week). After that, I had some "me" time at the mall, again I felt like I was cheating on Tucker by going to the mall without taking him. On Saturday night, Chris, Tucker, and I attended a Young Adult Ministry bonfire at another couple's house. Our church has a Young Adult Ministry for people age 18-35, and it's mainly young parents. We have meetings, service events, and social events. I usually attend alone, but for this fun event, I knew it would be very kid-friendly (or as kid-friendly as fire can be, haha). The home had a big swingset with four swings, a big slide, a sandbox, and tons of ride-on toys. Tucker spent the majority of time on the swings, but he let the actual babies ride in the baby swing (which is a big deal) and he was amazing at waiting for his turn on toys, and then getting off of a toy when his turn was over. He was way too scared of the bonfire to roast a hotdog or a marshmallow, he pointed at it "fire, hot dog" and I told him "you are so smart! we use the fire to cook the hotdog." He was excited to see the other kids' hot dogs and watch them eat, but he wouldn't touch his. He was very upset when we left at 830, then after his bath he went right to bed. He was also very good at mass on Sunday (he calls it "beeg chuch"). I started taking Tucker to mass with me in October, and we always go straight to the cry room (there is no nursery or baby-sitting, but Tucker would really be too old for that anyway). We recently realized that if we keep this up, Tucker will never know that he is supposed to leave the cry room. He loves his routines, and if we keep that routine, it will just stay ingrained. So a few times, I took him into big church, and within minutes we were back in the cry room. He would scream out "Paw Paw House" which is his prize for being good during church. He also used to try to climb "up da stairs" (the altar) when we went up for Communion, luckily he has gotten better with that. So anyways, the last few times at church, there have been screaming babies in the cry room, and Tucker has been very upset by this. I told him that big kids sit in big church, and he could listen to the priest, not the babies, if he was a big kid and sat quietly at church. So this Sunday, we sat right up front with Sarah, Dylan, and Gina. There was a lot of wiggling, climbing, and whispered threats of no Paw Paw's House, but all in all, he did great! Plus I could actually hear the mass this time since there wasn't any crying. I am very glad that there is so much music during the mass. That is Tucker's favorite part, and what keeps him happy and quiet. Of course after mass we went to Maw Maw's and Paw Paw's. It was a very nice day, so he got to swing outside with Paw Paw, which made his day. Tucker has had good behavior this week, though not really any progress with the potty training. His teacher does not think he is quite ready, so maybe in a few months. Thanks for checking in on us.