And
he FEELS.
He
has BIG FEELS all the time. He goes from ear piercing screams to bubbling
laughter in the snap of a finger (if only it were that easy). He’s hilariously
candid and joyful and so so so cute…when he isn’t writhing on the floor with
screams and gnashing of teeth over not getting the exact sippy cup he wants
but hasn’t asked for but thinks we are all psychic and isn’t it obvious it’s
the clean one in the cupboard and not the one he has been using all morning. Sigh. He
will blissfully play in the sand and water for hours on end just don’t say it’s
time to go or he will KILL ALL THE THINGS. He absolutely cannot stand to sit in
a car seat with 5-point harness. I often wonder, while he’s screaming and
stiffening his body like a board to prevent me from being able to
secure the harness belts, if he is thinking, “Do you like wearing a straight
jacket like this, lady? What is next…a rubber room? I need to be FREE!” And don’t even try to dress him in a
shirt with a tag at the neck. He will LOSE IT.
His
Daddy says he’s stubborn. I’m not sure from where he ever picked up that trait.
Tristan
is now 3. Someone please remind me why we continue to birth babies knowing they
will someday have to be 3? Give me a straight jacket and a rubber room. On second thought, I may
enjoy the solitude too much and they’d send me home.
Among
these struggles Tristan has some serious tummy issues. Long story short… his
tummy ails him so his behavior worsens and he is often inconsolable. We have so
far figured out that he is extremely gluten allergic (probably Celiac status)
and according to a recent blood allergy test he is allergic to practically
every grain and tree nut known to man. That list includes soy, almond and
coconut people. Take a quick look in your pantry and tell me how many things
contain those ingredients. That’s no joke.
In
my opinion, because of his tummy woes his speech has suffered. At first we
thought he might be hearing impaired but an ABR test ruled that out. Yep, a few
thousand dollars later and the little stinker can hear perfectly. We began
speech therapy but because our insurance is pretty much worthless neither the
ABR nor therapy was covered so we had to discontinue it. He managed to pick up
new words and his comprehension is right on target. He’s very smart. Bless his
heart, he just can’t get the words out of his mouth.
Well
being 3 does have one perk…the Arlington ISD will now enroll him in speech
therapy pending an assessment at NO CHARGE. Sweet! So we hit our knees and
began to pray that God will place him with a wonderful therapist with whom he
can connect and feel comfortable. The first step, however, was the assessment.
His
assessment was at 10am which is pretty late into our morning. On the way there
T hit full meltdown mode. It all began when I asked him to put his shoes on to
walk to the car. I know, right...the horror. You would have thought I asked him for a kidney. When we
managed to get to the car with shoes on he quickly realized he was going to
have to sit in his car seat and well that just wasn’t happening Moms. I
wrestled him in and frazzled as I was drove him screaming the entire way to our
meeting. I wrestled him out of the car and into the building where the halls
echoed loudly. I was practically dragging him at this point and I could tell everyone
thought I was doing a really great job as a Mother. One lady with a soft sweet
voice greeted him while another made a bottle of bubbles magically appear from her desk
drawer.
Snap!
T
realized there were more people in the room than just him and me and …like a
switch…he got cute. Like puppy-eyed, blonde hair, pouty lip, catching bubbles
kind of cute. Well played kid.
I
was just thankful they witnessed a little piece of that action I am graced with
EVERY LIVING DAY. It’s super precious.
He
brought this cutie pie alter ego into the assessment with him and had soon
charmed the socks off the two assessors. (No I’m kidding ya’ll. He really is a
sweetie. His alter ego is who I dragged into the building with screaming and
gnashing of teeth.) T answered every question. EVERY question. And he answered
them all correctly. He loved all the manipulative games and the picture flip
book. They were greatly impressed.
Unfortunately
and as suspected, Mr. T has a pretty serious speech delay. He has very few
consonants and replaces them with a “w.” He tries, at least, to say and repeat
words. They just won’t come out right. But praise the Lord he has made a way.
After a meeting with the instructors, speech therapist and us, T will begin
therapy on a weekly basis. He will be picked up by an instructor from his
daycare across the street and brought by bus to the school for therapy. Now
tell me God wasn’t in those details that we just so happen to place T in a
daycare right next door to the school that offers speech therapy. A great
friend of mine would say, “Coincidence? I think not.” Amen to that!
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| One of my all time favorites from Spring 2013 |
While
each and every day has its own set of challenges and troubles, God is in
control. He so loves us and loves our T man. We won’t worry about tomorrow
because we trust the Lord. The instructors are confident in T’s ability to
progress quickly in therapy because as they said, “He’s one smart dude.”
And
so dang cute I can’t hardly stand it.
Matthew 6:34 MSG Give your entire attention to what God is
doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen
tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the
time comes.
Matthew 6:34 NIV Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.
“They are plans for good and not
for disaster, to give you a
future and a hope.
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| Morning people |
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| One of T's favs...Meme |
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| T & his Bubba |
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| Another one of T's favs...Grammy |
