Hot Dogs!

Yesterday Kathy served Ian a pureed hot dog so he'd be exposed to the taste of it before she gave him one to chew and swallow. Today she cut up SUPER tiny pieces of hot dog, and I dipped them in ketchup and put them in Ian's mouth (one at a time). He didn't spit any out! He grimmaced a few times when he swallowed a piece without chewing it, but otherwise the hot dogs went down easily (far more easily than a bite of banana, grape, strawberry, or carrot). Now all of those he has eaten TINY pieces. You could fit several of the pieces together into one pea. That's how small we're talking, but we'll keep increasing the size. She still gave me some pureed food to feed him so we won't be putting away the Magic Bullet quite yet, but he did eat some fork mashed beef stew this afternoon (not pureed). He can eat a much bigger size of a piece of cookie or graham cracker now. I was breaking vanilla creme cookies into 6 pieces, and he can now handle 1/6 of a cookie at a time! That may not sound like a lot, but trust me that is much, much bigger than the size he started with 3 weeks ago. Is he anywhere close to where Brayden is? Definitely not (even though Brayden is 6 months younger and has only been in the program for 4 days). Brayden can eat steak, pizza, etc. To be honest I'm not exactly sure why he's in the feeding program. Brayden is eating a wider variety of food than Nadia does (especially in the vegetable category), but Ian has made a lot of progress. I am thankful, and I'm grateful that Medical Assistance is paying for it because it cost $481 a day. Here are some other things I'm thankful for on this Thursday.

2. We are going home tomorrow night. Tonight is my last night with Nadia as my roommate. My 20 day separation from Paul is almost over. PTL!

3. I was able to teach my class from RMH thanks to modern technology and Joyce coming over to watch my kids. All my students showed up! I'm looking forward to teaching them on campus next week.

4. I'm grateful I was able to have my blood drawn here yesterday. I was in and out in less than 30 minutes, which cannot be said for the hospital I've been going to lately. Plus I did it during their naps so I went over by myself.

5. I found out last week that we have been able to join a different swimming pool. I loved the other pool, but the drive really got to me. This one is less than 1/2 the distance from our home, and it's also cheaper. Hoping the kids and I will have a lot of fun there this summer!

6. Yesterday on Facebook one of the neighbors (she's in 9th grade and babysits the kids sometimes) sent me a message saying she mowed our lawn for me! How sweet was that!!! They have a riding mower (we don't). Last weekend I mowed the lawn on Friday night, but I didn't do the part inside the fence (it needed mowing but I was tired and figured at least people couldn't see that part). I am not sure what part she mowed, but I am so touched by her kindness!!!

7. Paul's parents are planning to come down to see the kids tomorrow. This will be a big help as on Fridays I have to vacuum the room, clean the bathroom, strip the sheets, etc., and it's much easier to do that if the kids aren't in the room at the same time.

8. Neither child has had any accidents this week! Ian has switched from the kiddie potty to the "big potty" at the feeding clinic so I plan on putting away the froggy potty when we get home. The next transition (I'll wait until we get back from Grand Cayman) will be to move him from a crib to a twin size bed. My little boy is growing up!

9. I love how affectionate Ian is. Earlier this week he ran to me at the feeding clinic and said, "I need kisses." Of course I gave him lots of kisses, but it must not have been enough as then he said "I need more kisses." Priceless. I want to savor these moments as I know he won't be wanting me to smother him in kisses when he's older.

10. Although I prefer our home, this RMH is truly a lovely place to stay. Yesterday they put a bouquet of roses at each table in the kitchen (different colored roses at different tables). I wasn't able to participate in taco night due to teaching, but I'm planning on having a taco for lunch tomorrow.