Potty Problems

I'm sure you could find at least two problems with the picture above. First of all, yes I realize that Bennett should take his pants off BEFORE sitting on the potty and yes, I also realize that he still has a soother. And believe it or not, I don't really have a problem with either. If you were to look at the Top Ten List of Things That Keep Barbara Up At Night, neither the potty or soother would be there.

However, I thought I would discuss the potty situation anyway. In some ways, I believe Bennett is close - I think we could get there and I know we'll get it eventually. One of the problems we're having at the moment is that Bennett is VERY reluctant to even sit on the potty. I don't know why this happened and I'm not sure what to do about it although I'm sure my best friend Google will have something to say.

Bennett tells us when he poops - after it happens in most cases. When I manage to catch him at the beginning or in the middle of such an event, I ask him to try the potty. His response is a furious shaking of the head "no". The last two mornings he has woken up dry but refuses to use the potty. I don't want to force the issue but it is a bit frustrating when you feel that you're so close. Oh well, fortunately I have patience for this as well as lots of coupons for diapers.....

Easter Rewind

I thought I would go way back to the beginning of the month and add a couple more pictures and a video from Easter weekend. Above you can see some of the Easter egg magnets that Bennett made for family members. He worked really hard on these over the course of a week. The only thing we did was put the name on the egg - Bennett did the rest.

On the Sunday we went to Jim's parents for dinner. It was a beautiful day and Bennett was able to drive his red car all over the yard - of course, his favourite co-pilot Mummu was never too far - which was good as he still needs some help with the steering.

Bennett then decided to hang out with his other favourite co-pilot in Poppa's Jeep. Those are two happy boys!

Birthday Party

Bennett attended a birthday party on the weekend for the son of a friend. The festivities were held at a gymnastics club. It's the second party we've been to there and I think I've decided that it will be the location for Bennett's next birthday. It's a great place where the kids can run around, climb and jump.

There is a long trampoline that the kids can run on. At the end is a big pit of sponges to jump into. Bennett loved running on the mat but refused to jump into the pit despite repeated demonstrations from the birthday boy.

Bennett tried hard to jump on the trampoline like the other kids. He was very convincing -bending and then standing up with his hands over his head! The video above isn't the greatest because as usual I turned the camera on too late. I told his physiotherapist about his efforts so she's going to work with him on the trampoline to see if we can get some real jumping!

Funny Story - Bennett loves to flirt and make new friends and he made a special one at the party. My friend's grandmother is a wonderful woman who is now 88. Bennett of course recognized her charm right away and proceeded to flirt with her for the entire party - stopping to smile and wave every time he ran by and then giving her a big hug after lunch. Before I left I was speaking with her and she asked me to come and visit her some time. I told her I would love to but thought she would be pretty busy. Without a blink she quickly agreed and told me I would probably have to make an appointment! I laughed so hard - I hope so much that I'm half as busy when I'm 88!

Finally - A New Post! (And A New House)

Well this month has gone by quickly. I apologize for the lack of updates but shortly after my last post, we sold our house and things got crazy as we had to make about a million decisions about our new house in a very short period of time. Our closing date isn't until August 20th but for some reason we had to make ALL of our choices right away. It has been fun picking out flooring, cabinets, plumbing fixtures, paint colours, brick, etc., but also very stressful. We went with pretty safe options but I can't help but second guess every selection we've made.

As you can see in the photos above, the footings for the house are done. Hopefully they'll get around to the structure soon. I'm planning on posting weekly updates.

And in other big news, I'm announcing my intention to blog every day for the month of May! Hopefully I still have a couple readers around to help me stick to my promise!

Good Friday

Well, it's a good Friday when Bennett bakes cookies - even though they are the Pillsbury Ready to Bake ones.

It's a great Friday when your three year old vacuums the house for you.

And it's an even better Friday when it's warm enough in Northern Ontario on April 2 to camp in your driveway!

Compassion

I came across a new blog recently. I don't even remember how I found it but this woman is a wonderful writer and a fantastic photographer. She's also a new mom to a beautiful little girl with Down Syndrome. I was reading the story of her daughter's birth and it pretty much left me sobbing big giant tears into my keyboard. Her entire story is moving but the part that affected me the most was when she described how the doctor told her about her daughter's likely diagnosis. The doctor who broke the news was so compassionate and respectful. It brought back memories of the terrible day that Bennett was diagnosed and how the doctor told us.

I will never forget her standing in that tiny room looking down at us. There was not an ounce of compassion in her face as she bluntly delivered the shocking diagnosis of cerebral palsy. I remember the unbelievable pain and then the numbness. I remember the student who was with her nervously staring at the floor as she spoke. I hope he learned something that day - I hope he learned how NOT to treat people. I hope he went on to train with other doctors - other doctors who showed him how to treat people with respect and compassion. I've tried to forgive her and I thought I had until I read that blog post this morning. Apparently I need more time. I will never understand how another person, a human being, a woman, a mother could have treated us so callously.

Fortunately, that was the one and only time we saw that pediatrician. With the help of a family friend we were able to get another opinion from a different doctor who generously offered to take Bennett as a patient. And every time we see her I am grateful - she's a wonderful, gracious and compassionate human being - just as a doctor should be.

Cousins

Last weekend we went out for our traditional Sunday breakfast with Grandpa. This time it was special because we were joined by more family including Bennett's cousin Mackenzie. She's about two years older than Bennett which makes her almost five. However, sometimes I think she's about 50! She's a wonderful kid who loves Bennett and he loves her right back just as much.

My cousin Lucy (Mackenzie's Grandma) and I are in complete agreement - they are pretty much the cutest kids in the whole world. Although I would also admit that we may be a bit biased!