He Throws a Fit

We had to laugh.  It was the cutest fit I have ever witnessed.  Up until now Aaron has only cried with silent tears running down his face but last night, he threw a fit that had us both smiling, even as we comforted the little guy in all of his misery.

He didn't want to go to bed.  He wanted to stay up and watch 'discs' with his big brothers.  Oh the agony as he was carried up the steps for his bath and bedtime.  He stomped, he cried, he hollered, he bounced, he growled and we very quietly, so he could not see us, laughed.  He cried big crocodile tears until he was sitting in the midst of his bubbles in the bathtub, alone, without an audience.  The pain of being little.  The hardship of being in a family of big people who love him dearly but also need a few hours each night without him underfoot.  All was forgiven after bathtime when he lay snug in Mama's arms for book reading time.  Then Pooh, the squirrel, the racoon and Bob the Builder were all tucked safely under his covers and after kisses and prayers, the little fit thrower fell promptly asleep.

He had a big day yesterday.  He went to school.  Though we are a homeschooling family, one day a week we drive into Charlottesville to a huge homeschooling Co-op (450 students). The boys can take up to 5 classes each while I teach history and creative writing classes.  Aaron is enrolled in the Pre-School/Kindergarten classes and yesterday he went to his first classes.  We started him slowly.  He only went to two of the classes but it went amazingly well considering everything.  Dad and Ben were with him in his classes.  He loved it.  I heard all about his classes on the way home.  Of course I could not understand 90% of what he told me but he didn't seem to mind.  He had a lot to say about his 'skool'.  Life is good.

Thank you for all the comments and suggestions concerning the food and language issues.  In regards to the language, we do have a lady (Tatiana) here in the area who has been helping us out on the telephone.  Before we take Aaron to each big event (Dr. school etc), she has been explaining to him on the telephone what he will be doing.  He does not talk to her on the phone but he does listen and it has helped considerably.  She speaks both languages that Aaron grew up with which is a great benefit.  Tatiana explains everything to him in both languages.   It is working.

In regards to the eating issues, at the institute, Aaron was fed by the caretakers since he can't get his hands up to his mouth.  They crammed the food into his mouth at breathtaking speed.  It made me ill to watch them shove cookies and candy into his face during snack time.  (Most days the snack consisted of pieces of wrapped caramel candy).  He was never given time to chew but had one after the other shoved in without any regard to what was already in his mouth.  I had a hard time watching the practice.   They made him drink his juice at the same speed.  After a few weeks, they allowed us to give Aaron his snack which was a great relief to us and also to him.  What was interesting was that if we carried his snack out to where we played, he wanted nothing to do with it.  He would not eat the cookies - ever.  He would only eat the candy if he was allowed to unwrap it and was able to chew it at his leisure.  If he was given a rotten apple, I usually tossed it.  In our last weeks, we brought Aaron bananas, oranges and other snacks that were healthier and much more satisfying. 

I said all that to shed light on some of his possible eating issues.  Though he had soup and bread every day and would be most familiar with those foods, like the cookies, he has not wanted any of these foods after he left the institute.  We have tried soup and we have tried bread but neither food brought him pleasure.  So we stopped offering either after a week or so of trying.  Finally, on Sunday night, for a bedtime snack, Rob was eating a bowl of Campbells Chicken Noodle soup - the only soup Rob could eat every day of his life.  Aaron was watching him eat the soup.  We did not consider offering it to him since 'Aaron doesn't eat soup'.  After a few minutes Aaron went over to Rob (who was sitting in Aaron's seat) and head butted him off his seat.  Then he got up in his seat and started staring at Rob's soup.  Okay.  We fixed him a bowl, put an ice cube in it because he is terrified of hot foods (past experience??) and offered it to him.  He inhaled it.  Go figure. 

The next day I went to Walmart and bought a loaf of bread that looked like the loaves they sold in his country.  I cut him off a piece (mind you, I've tried this before) and put it on his plate for dinner.  He ate it.  He loved it.  He also ate mashed potatoes with ranch dressing mixed in that night.  The little boy is starting to eat.  We do not spoon feed him most of his meal.  We cut everything up in bite sized portions and let him feed himself.  We buy yogurt he can drink with a straw.  He is a very polite eater.  You hardly realize he is taking the food with his mouth.  He loves the freedom of choosing what he wants to eat and he loves chewing at his own pace.  We only feed him what he can't do on his own.   Hopefully we are turning a corner.  The horror of having food shoved in his mouth is over.   Though the memories will last a long time, he is learning that they are now just memories.  We will not pour soup down his throat and cram bread in his mouth.  He can enjoy these foods with pleasure instead of agony.  Life is good.

LIFE IS ESPECIALLY GOOD WHEN LITTLE BROTHERS CAN HELP BIG BROTHERS CARRY IN THE GROCERIES....