Coburn Kids

So last Thursday was Caden’s developmental screening.  We had 3 therapists at the house: an Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist, and a Developmental Therapist. They assessed Caden and while the findings weren’t all that shocking I have to admit I was a bit disappointed!  Not with Caden certainly but they still put his overall development between a 9-12 month.  Which it was 4 months ago as well. So while he’s made some progress it’s very sllloooowww.  Just a bit frustrating. His speech is still at a 6-9 month old level.  So Caden will be having therapy 3 times a week, 3 different therapists, for an hour each time. He qualifies on 3 levels, first is the cleft, next is the prematurity and third is that he’s more than 30% behind considering he’s almost 22 months old.

I guess, if I’m really honest, I just have to admit I’m a bit scared. My little boy is this defy-the-odds baby in a little package and I had hoped he would have all ready started to catch up.  Just a little bit really.  Instead it seems that we are getting further and further behind.  While he’s indeed doing new little things it’s not enough to push him up the development scale.

With Genevieve she would stall and then leap with her development.  She would just be sitting there one day and within a week she was walking.  She wouldn’t have more then 3 words one day and then in a week had sentences. So I have been waiting for the same with Caden. Everyone screams at you not to compare them to other children and I’m not!  I certainly don’t expect Caden to be at a 2 year old level, I don’t look at even an 18 month old and wish he was doing everything they could.  I just want… steady progress I suppose.

That’s not what we have though, we have little things here and little things there. So as a parent I really am terrified that this lag he is experiencing is more telling of something I don’t want to admit or accept. I am grateful for my lil’ guy, and I am the first to know exactly everything he has overcome and just how precious he really is. But like any mother, I also dream of what Caden will do when he grows up, will he marry, will he go to college? And it is indeed very frustrating to try express those concerns and to get shot down by Doctors, Therapists and more who believe that the miracle of life I hold should be good enough consolation and comfort to me. Because I do want more for my child, like all parents I want him to reach his full potential and I want to sit back and dream of what he can accomplish. Right now I honestly can’t do that, because I am afraid of the future for him and if I contemplate one future I also have to contemplate the opposite. So I focus on the present and concentrate on developing the skills he has right now; loving him and kissing his sweet cheeks, tickling him until I get that hilarious baby giggle, watching him as he follows me around the house like a lost puppy, and bouncing him on my lap as he squeals.

Then I smile, because life is as it should be. Living in the present.

This Memorial Day weekend was busy, busy, busy. Saturday night we had some new friends over with their 16 month old.  What a little monkey he was! None of my kids have ever been climbers and just seeing the coordination this little guy had was amazing. I went out to see the new Star Trek movie (recommended) with them while Daniel watched all the kids.  Which wasn’t much effort considering they were all asleep by the time we left.

Sunday night we went to my brother-in-law’s sister’s wedding.  The reception didn’t start until 7:30 PM so I was a bit worried about how the kids would do. They were exceptional! The girls loved sitting down to a fancy dinner and they were very anxious to get on the dance floor.  They had such a blast and we didn’t even get out of there until nearly 11:00 PM.  My girls were ready to go the entire night, they begged to stay longer!

Then Monday night we had Daniel’s family over for a BBQ. Which was great just being able to hang out and talk. The girls love playing with their cousins and they all get along so well.  It was noisy, but good happy noise.  Daniel made his ribs and there was plenty of food for all.

We’ll start off with my poor lil’ 4 year old, Adessa.  On Thursday it was her turn at the Dr.’s office and she got her kindergarten shots. She was so brave!  She didn’t cry or let out a peep once. I’m so proud of her.  The next day and so on has been a different story.  Adessa had a bad reaction to one of the shots and you can see her red, tender and extremely swollen arm below. It’s hot and the skin across it is tight and shiny from the swelling it hurts her to move it as well:

Now in terms of the great news… OUR HOUSE IS UNDER CONTRACT!  It’s so unbelievable that we were able to sell it in just 1 month. Daniel and I have talked about how we knew that we were supposed to come out here to IL, that it was the right thing to do.  And we knew that our home in UT would sell or that everything would work out but you always have those doubts and fears. We close around June 19th on it and what a huge relief and blessing it is! We had neighbors whose homes were on the market for 1 year+, in fact we still know one or two that haven’t sold.

Daniel and I are very happy right now!

So I was reading a friend’s blog today, about her daughter calling her the worst Mommy in the world.  This was both my daughters Gena and Adessa the last week.  I was the worst mommy, Gena was never ever going to give me a Mother’s day present (I asked her to clean and she refused to pick up her mess). Then Adessa had an accident yesterday and refused to change. So I’ve won the “worst Mommy in the world” award twice in 5 days. Though yesterday at the Doctors they both composed songs about me being the best mommy in the universe so all is forgiven apparently.

What made me write about this though is my 4 year old and what she told me. This is a serious case of a spiritual lesson gone horribly wrong!!  Adessa threatened that when she grew up, just to make me mad, she was going to smoke!  Wait… what?  The lesson 2 weeks ago in primary was about the Word of Wisdom.  How we should take care of our bodies and never smoke, never do drugs, eat healthy, exercise.  All the good stuff.  Except now my 4 year old daughter is threatening to SMOKE when she gets older if I don’t let her have her way. This is the worst way to punish me in her eyes I guess. Talk about a Primary lesson turned upside-down! I’m terrified of this girl when she becomes a teenager.

I had a wonderful Mother’s Day.  It started on Saturday when I went to the salon and got my hair done.  The on Sunday Genevieve gave me a beautiful plate and Adessa and Daddy gave me storage containers for my China that I’ve been asking for.  Daniel made me breakfast and later in the evening we went to my Sister-in-law’s house for a great barbeque.  The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and it was good times all around.

On Monday I took Gena and Caden to their new Doctor.  3 finger pokes, 3 shots, 2 physicals, 3 referrals and 1 exhausted Mommy. Gena doesn’t do shots well.  At… all.  The mere mention of a shot starts off a panic attack in her. All my kids are healthy, the Dr. couldn’t believe how big Gena is, she’s not even on the growth chart for her height.  She’s seriously tall.  Obviously she does not get this from me.

I have Adessa’s Dr. appointment coming up on Thursday which should prove traumatic for her and I. She has to go in for all her Kindergarten shots, as well as a TB test (out in IL all kids get tested for TB), and some finger pokes.  I expect a full scale meltdown.  Hopefully, maybe, not as bad as when Gena had to get her shots done for when she was starting Kindergarten.  That took 4 nurses to hold her down and me crying along with her. If that child knew obscenities she would have cursed and screamed every one. Instead the worst she could scream was “Bad Doctor” over and over again.

Fun times.  Fun times.

Starting on Friday, the girls were driving me crazy wanting to do something so I told them to get their swimsuits on.  Not to go outside though, considering it was 50 degrees.  You see, we have a big bathtub.  Huge.  So I told the girls they could swim in it. They were really skeptical but ended up staying there for 2 hours. They loved it!

Notice that Caden is holding a doorstop in his hand.  He takes them ALL off and walks around with them.

On Saturday we went to the Brookfield Zoo!  The girls had a blast and so did Caden. It was nice and cool so was wonderful to walk around. Pics below:

Caden’s very first ride!  We had to pry him off at the end, he absolutely loved it.

Ahhhh, look at how happy they all are!

In the kids Zoo brushing the goats.

Looking up at the T -Rex in the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit.

In the Kangaroo pouch.

Gena hugging the giraffe.

On Sunday the girls wanted to ride their bikes so we headed outside in the backyard to ride around the pond.

Gena!

Adessa! 

And last but not least, here’s what Caden was doing while the girls were riding their bikes.  The pantry was left open… he started helping himself.