A good day!

Yesterday was a good day.  A busy day.  Yesterday Nick and I started something new.  We are going to have one of our favorite nannies, Milouse, start watching Eventz every Tuesday for us.  Yesterday was the first time she did this.  What I have been doing for the past few months is just working as much as I possibly could during Eventz nap times (he sleeps a lot, although recently has decided he's much to big for that babyish stuff anymore) and then spending time with him when he's awake.  This as gone pretty well for a while, but I always had issues every other Tuesday when families came for the formula program.  When we first brought Eventz into our home, I changed the time of F.P. so that it would be during his nap, however, his nap time has changed and it's smack dap right in the middle of the time between his two naps, which means for about 2-3 months, I have been carting him along with me during these times.  It's not a big deal and the families don't care, but it makes things a lot more difficult for me.  Can you imagine taking your one year old to work with you?

Anyways Milouse was upstairs with Eventz yesterday and I was able to get a TON done.  Eventz was not very happy that I left him at first, but by the end of the day the two of them had made peace and were somewhat enjoying each other.  Or at least Eventz wasn't screaming like he was in the morning.  Each time he would see me, he would get a giant smile on his face, crawl over to me, curl up into my chest, and give me the biggest hug ever.  It kind of broke my heart, but it's good for him to spend time with someone rather than me.  The whole rest of the night he was over cuddly and constantly giving me hugs, which is my favorite thing ever!

So, back to why it was a good day.  No, it wasn't a good day because I had left my son, that part kind of sucked.  I finished a lot of office work in the morning and was able to have preschool as well.  The kids had no interest in participating in any of circle time, however, when I pulled out the giant Lego's, they blew me away with how well they did with it.  We have played with blocks at school before, but Lego's are new.  Almost all of them were building towers and fully understanding how to put two pieces together.  It was great to see and makes me want to keep working on these things with them.  And then preschool ended early when someone had an accident that dripped all down their leg and all over the floor.  This is also not what made yesterday great.  That part was kind of a bummer as well.

After preschool was formula program.  All of the babies this week gained weight!  All of them.  Our smallest baby even gained 2 pounds which is amazing because she is very very tiny.  I enjoy formula program because I am able to see several of the kids who have left COTP regularly and ensure that they are still gaining weight and doing good at home.  One of the babies that is coming right now is the 1 lb 13 oz baby that was at COTP when Nick and I moved here.  She weighs 12#, is sitting up, and doing great.  Her Mom is taking great care of her.  We also had a child graduate F.P. today, which is always exciting to see that they are healthy enough to not need our help.  Then we admitted a new baby to the program that I am already in love with.  He is 3 months old and weighs six pounds.  I'm sure most of that weight is all in his hair too because he has a giant fro.  Just kidding, but he is seriously adorable and tiny.  I can't wait to fatten this kid up!  He's got a great Mother who is trying her best to take care of him, but is unable to breast feed, causing him to be so tiny.  She is a great Mom and very aware of how to best take care of her child, and that's why she came to us to ensure that he will be healthy.  The option of breast feeding is not a choice for her, she would if she could, trust me, but she can't.  She has no choice but to give him formula.

I also like formula program because there is a family that Nick and I help who attend this program.  The Mom and the Dad are amazing and always make me smile.  Their 3 month old was smiling back at me the entire time yesterday.  The walk for hours to get here so that they can have that small can of formula to feed their youngest baby.  Their youngest of 10, two of which aren't even theirs but they took in anyways.  They have quite a story that I have been meaning to share for a while, all in time I guess.  They are always fun to see.

And yesterday we kicked off summer by having our first pool day of the season!  The kids were incredibly excited as it's been a few months since we have done this.  It's just been way too cold, I mean it's been in the low 80/70's for a few months now, so there was no way any of us were going to have a pool day!  But it's starting to get warmer now, so out came the pools, swim diapers, and bathing suits!

Yesterday's pool day reminded me of the miracle that COTP is able to fulfill every day.  As I sat in one of the pools with the kids, (I mean there has to be a life guard on duty in every pool, so I sacrificed and decided to do it!) I looked around and saw how much each of our children have changed since our last pool day.  There was Eventz, who on our last pool day did not yet know how to sit up.  He was tiny, weak and fragile, only being discharged from his 5 week stay in the hospital a few days before.  This was about two days before we left to announce we were adopting him.  And then yesterday, he was crawling all over the pool with the big kids, splashing, and laughing.  He had a great time and is in such a different place than he was then.

There is another little boy who last summer spent a lot of time with Nick and I because he was really sick.  I loved this little boy, and still do, and I always tried to force him in the water cause I thought he would like it, but he always screamed and refused to get wet.  He used to hate baths and even more hated pool days.  But yesterday, he sat right in there with a giant smile on his face and played right along with his friends.

And there was a boy who, even though he was old enough too, could not sit up very well on his own and required someone to be right next to him the entire time.  He now sits up amazing (and even crawls) and was able to enjoy pool day with the same amount of supervision as the rest of the kids.  All the kids who were in the two baby rooms last year who were too young for pool day, were able to enjoy their first time in the water.  We have several new admits who enjoyed their first pool day as well.  There was one boy, who is about 2.5 who kept trying to drink the water the entire time.  He has never been in a pool, but was completely comfortable, rolling around, splashing, and drinking the water.  He loved it.

They all loved it.
I loved it.

Watching those kids yesterday reminded me of why we are here.  To ensure that they are healthy enough to enjoy pool day.  To ensure that they can sit up on their own, to help them reach their developmental goals, and to enjoy themselves.  To help them have fun, and just be kids.  To help them stop having to fight for their lives and to enjoy it.  Our kids are awesome, and I love all of them so much.  Being here with them everyday you forget about how much they are changing and growing, but they are doing it everyday.

Every now and then I have to stop and think about what these kids were like when first admitted to COTP and thank God for how far they have come.  Eventz went from almost dying to enjoying pool day.  The second boy I talked about was really sick as well but now is doing great.  The third boy has always been way behind developmentally, but slowly, in his own time, amazes us at the skills he is learning.  He's slowly catching up and doing great.  The fourth boy used to be so unhappy here.  He used to throw the biggest fits and was always yelling in Creole.  Now, he is well adjusted, smiles all the time, enjoys life, and rarely throws himself on the ground.

Their improving.  Their doing great.  They are living when we once wondered if they would make it.  All of these boys have had scary times, but they are here, splashing in the pool, loving life and stealing hearts.

And I get to be apart of it every day.  I get to be a part of their lives, their stories.  Yes they are getting a lot from being at COTP, but so am I!