Welcome Home

Last weekend I traveled to Kansas with my mom to see my Aunt (Becky) and cousins (Amanda & Tracy), and met a new friend (Amber). We went on one of the most fun "Treasure Hunts" I've ever been on (which even rivaled some of the best pub crawls I've ever been on). I had an amazing time and even though I didn't catch up on sleep (much), I got to "reset" emotionally and came back missing Adam and Shannon more than ever.

But I got videos and pictures and stories while I was gone, and Shannon and Adam bonded by going to breakfast and getting some things at Home Depot and working on the house.... and read book, after book, after book that Adam pulled off the shelf and brought to Daddy to read. Oh, and they golfed in the den after Adam learned that you don't hit people with the golf clubs.

When I came home, Adam was standing at the laundry room door with his face pressed up against it (he hears the garage door open and knows that someone is home). I opened the door and I thought the grin would overflow off of his face. He flung his hands up desperately in excitement and squealed. And I was the happiest person that ever lived.

Then he showed off for me by showing me that dad had taught him to put his books "away," on the bookshelf. We get one put away for every three that come off the shelf, but still... that's impressive enough for me.

And THEN, for the milestone of the month... Adam is pacifier FREE. While I was gone, Adam took a nap without one, then went to bed without one, and never blinked. Since last Saturday, pacifiers are not necessary. Of course, we still have them in the house in case of sickness, bad days, or bad travelling... but otherwise they are not even touched. I think I'm sadder about it than he is. He doesn't even care.

This week Adam has been pretty quiet, but has said "home," "away," and "car" (but not consistently enough for me to count them as words). When we pull into the driveway every evening after work/school, he squeals when he sees the fence to our house and says "DAD-DAD-DAD-DAD" with excited, short breaths in between syllables like he's almost hyperventilating with excitement. It's even more exaggerated when Shannon's truck is actually in the driveway. We're working on saying "Mom," more often and not ONLY when he's annoyed or pissed off at something. So far, I can say that we've made little to no progress in that initiative.

I burned a Raffi CD for Adam last night with the classics, "Wheels on the Bus," "He's Got the Whole World," and of course, "Baby Beluga." In the process of this mini-project, I reintroduced myself to a song that I loved when I was little - "This Little Light of Mine." While I cannot sing, this one doesn't require a lot of vocal gymnastics so I sang it to Adam last night before bed. I had been trying to figure out a song that I might be able to use as a lullaby, and after hearing suggestions that simply aren't "me," ("Jesus Loves Me," "Rock-A-Bye, Baby," "Twinkle, Twinkle," etc.) I think this one will work out best for our personalities. Funny how you find things when you aren't looking for them.

However, Adam's favorite songs are still Row, Row, Row Your Boat (He rocks back and forth on his legs and says "ro ro ro ro ro") and the Itsy Bitsy Spider (which he really doesn't sing, but when he wants me to sing it he looks at me and puts his hands together to make the spider and raises it above his head when he's supposed to. Shannon said that the other day he actually did the "wash the spider out" part too).

My camera cord is still missing, and I'm more sad about that than you might expect... so I don't have any new pictures. My suspicion is that Mr. Adam found the cord and either threw it away for us or stuck it somewhere that we'll come across in 2 months. Cross your fingers for me that it will reveal itself sooner than that.