3/2011

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We have come a long, long way!

The first time I ever gave Elijah a bath he freaked out. He screamed and shook and panicked. I do not know what the background is on that. I probably do not want to know. All I know is he was terrified and it took me a long time to get him used to the water in the bathtub. He had to wear big goggles in the bathtub for a while to take a bath. It is the only way he would take a bath without screaming bloody murder.

 He now will go swimming and as of yesterday even dunked his head in on his own terms. He did it multiple times. He sure has come a long way!




Here he is yesterday! Swimming like a fish!

                                                             Piggy back ride!

What you want for your child...

Today was a rough day for Elijah. He keeps hitting a child that is younger than him at daycare. Since I am a single mom, I always have to be the bad guy and do all of the discipline, but I think of it as teaching him how to be a good person.

He went to bed early tonight and I told him that no matter what he does, I still love him, but I just need him to learn right from wrong and the choices he made today were not good choices. I told him the choices were bad choices, but he is not a bad boy.

I am sitting here thinking about what do I want for him for the future? I want him to just be happy, to be a productive member of society, to be a respectful person and to follow his dreams.

Vacation!

As we get ready for our first vacation together I stopped to think about all of the things that Elijah might not have experienced if he was still in foster care. A lot of people tell me that it is because of me, but no...it is because of God. God brought us together and made him my son. I do have to wonder every now and then though, where would he be now? I shutter at the thought, because I can only imagine.

This little boy could have fallen into the cycle of his surroundings, but that will NOT happen now. If it kills me, it will not happen. How lucky am I to be able to be a part of all of this? How lucky am I to be able to have him as my son and get to watch  him grow into the man that he will become?

Over the next week days he is going to have a lot of firsts: first time in an airplane, first hotel stay (that I know of at least), first time seeing the ocean, first time on a boat, etc. He is really excited, and I am excited to see that excitement through his eyes. 

Hard week!

This week was a hard week. Elijah was testing. He decided to just beat other children at daycare if they took his toy or if he wanted a toy instead of saying something. He also threw something and broke a picture frame. I took his 1/2 hour of tv time at night away (what he lives for at night) and that didn't seem to work, so then I just put him to bed right after dinner the last night. That seemed to work because he was "really good" today.

 It is hard being tough with him, but after all, I am trying to raise him to be a good man someday. He has to learn. 

What being a mom means to me

This weekend Elijah went to my mom's house for a weekend with Grandma and I was able to get in some much needed relaxation time. I realized that part of being a mom is taking that time for yourself. You need it. Your child also needs time away from you to have special time with other family members as well.

I realized that letting go for a short period of time is not as hard as it used to be, but let me tell you, it was like Christmas all over again when my mom pulled up and I got him back!

I was thinking today about how far we have come since he first came into my life, and I think I have grown so much as well. I am learning to let go...just a little bit. I am still WAY overprotective of him, and prod of it, but he is my baby!

I found these pictures of him from around the time when he was first placed with me. Wasn't he little?

 

LOL The Stupid Wave cap the state's Hair care specialist told me to use. It left a huge mark on his head and NEVER AGAIN! It was cute though...

One year since he is a Probst...

On December 22nd Elijah and I celebrated his adoption day. Last year on that day, we walked into the Milwaukee County Court house and he legally became my son. I felt like he was my son all along, but I sure felt like a weight was being lifted off of me that day since I knew I was not going to have to worry about him being taken from me.

We talked about why it was a special day, and he knows that it is the day that the judge said that he gets to stay with mommy forever.

Don't mind my eyes in the picture below. I had been crying...tears of joy of course! :)