March = Crickets

Clearly I haven't blogged in a while. We're still here; we're just hibernating. I've been feeling so guilty about not keeping up with the family journal, but then I looked back at the archives and realized that March/April is apparently the time each year that I get a little behind with this. So it's time to play catch-up. In completely random order, here's what's been going on:

Andrew is recovering from a nasty little bout of bronchitis. Fortunately we have terrific pediatricians and modern medications, and he is much better. Unfortunately one of the modern medications essential to his recovery is a steroid. If you've ever read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, that is the story of Andrew on this medication. It happens time and time again with this stuff...our sweet, mild-mannered little boy becomes *crazed.* Back-talking. Running around the living room in hyperactive circles. Defiant. When he first had to take this steroid four years ago, we thought he had lost his mind and that we had lost our easy-going little boy. Now we know to expect "the change." We just write a note to his teacher begging for mercy and patience, and we know we will get our beloved Dr. Jekyll back in a few days' time.

Libby has discovered the movie "Cinderella"! She doesn't sit through the whole thing, but she has probably seen all of it in bits and pieces. Here she is with her friend Gracie watching it for the first time. Now she talks nonstop about "Gracie, popcorn, and 'Cinderella.' "


While Libby and Gracie were downstairs watching "Cinderella," Adam and Gracie's brother Aedan were busy watching "Star Wars" in their man cave.

Adam has been diagnosed with a sensory processing disorder. I cannot express what a relief this has been to find this out. He's always been our "wild one." Whatever the experience, Adam wants it faster. Higher. Harder. Crazier. We call him "Kramer" (as in Cosmo Kramer from "Seinfeld") because he never just walks into a room...he falls into it in some crazy way. And while he's one of the most athletic kids on the street, he can't sit through a meal without falling off his chair. These observations (and several others) gave me an uneasy feeling, but I kept chalking it up to his age: "Oh, he's just being two...Oh, he's just being three..." etc. But now he's five, and I realized there might be more to it. My sister Abby gave me a great book called The Out-of-Sync Child, and wow! There was Adam -- a sensory-seeking little boy. An evaluation with an occupational therapist confirmed what I had read. We're already seeing some progress from some of the new tricks we've learned to help Adam.

Regarding the above...it was a relief to have a diagnosis, but talking with the occupational therapist also confirmed one of my worst fears. I asked her if therapy would extinguish Adam's sensory-seeking behavior or just give him ways to work with/through it. She said it depends, but most likely he will always have that need for the thrill. Read: I am going to be spending my old age chasing Adam around the continent and holding a giant rescue net on the ground while he dangles off every mountainside he can find. I have an "X-treme" child. (I have suspected this from the time he was a newborn and could get out of any swaddling I threw his way.)

Further regarding the above...he gets it from his father. People in my family just like to watch TV and knit. We could not be less "X-treme"...we're really not cool enough to be "X-" anything. But we know lots of the answers on "Jeopardy," and we make really great all-cotton washcloths.

In other news, Libby got a new nightgown! I think she has accessorized it beautifully.

And that, folks, is our March. We're back!