At around 2:30 AM this morning….
"I want Daddy to sleep on the couch."
"Why?"
"Because I do."
"You know, it's really Daddy's bed, not Peyton's."
"I know."
"Why can't Daddy sleep in the bed?"
"I want to sleep on his side."
You have to respect her honesty. And I think that Pete's decided that it's just easier to take the couch than to fight her for bed space. It never fails to amaze me how she can dominate the sleeping space! It's a kind sized bed, I have my spot…my spot remains my spot because I have no problem shoving her off of me if she starts to encroach on my spot…but poor Pete. He's trained himself, since they were babies, that if they touch him, he scoots over so he won't roll over on them…therefore, by the time the sun comes up, I'm comfortable, Peyton's sprawled out spread-eagle, perpendicular on the bed and Pete's hugging a 3 inch wide portion of the bed. I can't count the number of morning that I've looked at him and been amazed by his ability to sleep with 3/4 of his body hanging off the bed.
After waking up Peyton when he came to get into bed last night and setting off a crying and eating binge, he's decided that it might just be simpler to take up post on the couch.
Today is the kid's first day of summer break. Home for the summer. All mine for the summer. Allllll summer long. Actually, I'm looking forward to spending this time with them and having them to enjoy…it'll be interesting to see how we make it through with clinic time, steroid-induced irritability, and the eventual trip to Ronald McDonald house next month. Pete's taking that time off work to spend with them and I know that they're going to have a great time together, but they've never done two weeks without Mom at home. They've done months where mom was no help at all, when I had my stroke and really was out of it for several months, but even then my body was present if my full brain capacity wasn't. We have some friends who've offered to bring meals for Pete and the kids while Peyton and I are gone and I so appreciate that.
We were off to a rolling start this morning. Peyton didn't appreciate having to wake up and the first words she spoke were "I DON'T LOVE YOU!" All this because I had to change her pull-up….fine, brat, soak in your stinkiness then! But instead, I changed her, got her dressed and cuddled her for a few minutes. She resisted at first, wanting nothing to do with me, and then finally hugged me back. Then she looked up at me with those big brown eyes full of love and apology and said those magic words "Will you make me breakfast now?" She's learned the meaning of the phrase "Don't bite the hand that feeds you."
Nathaniel went to the dentist this morning to have the cavities taken care of that have been bothering him for over a month. One of his cavities had an abcess, so it had to be pulled. It is a baby molar and would have come out anyway, so no biggie. He was hysterical in his first time having a numb mouth, plus the socket was packed with gauze….I think his exact description was "my face feels like it's going to fall off!" Rachael and Peyton were very concerned for him…they anxiously waited to see how he was going to be afterwards…and when one little girl started screaming during her cleaning, both girls turned to me with eyes bulging and mouths wide.
"Is that Nathaniel?"
I assured them that it wasn't, he was getting the good medicine and wasn't in any pain. They were relieved to see him playing his Gameboy and chilling out after it was all done. Peyton didn't understand that he was just having 1 tooth pulled and whispered to me "He still has all this teeth, they're supposed to be all gone!"
She was disappointed.
Updates:
The Bowman family…I got a chance to talk to Carly's grandmother and she explained that although they initially thought that Lily had the same kind of brain tumor as Carly, she didn't. This was shocking news for them, and they just need all the prayer we can give them. Lily is still at All Children's Hospital, she just had a port put in and her mother is with her. Carly and her 2 brothers are making the rounds from clinic to hospital to home with their grandmother and other family members. It is just overwhelming to think about, so please keep these kids in your prayers and they cope with their mom and dad having to juggle the demands of two daughters with brain tumors.
[url=http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sydeysims]Sydney Sims[/url]…she is having a fundraiser this Saturday at Twin Lakes Park from 12-3. If you can make it out to support this brave girl and her family, please come.
Also, friends of ours, Paul and Amy Carlucci had a baby yesterday. [url=http://daniel.carlucci.net/]Daniel James Carlucci[/url] was born 1 pound, 7 oz, prematurely at 24 weeks. Their family and this precious little boy need our prayers.
f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
—Anissa
