Quiet Reflections

It's the first morning since the boys arrived that I have gotten up before them!  It is so amazingly quiet.  I have just spent time with God and am drinking my coffee.  This is the way I LOVE to start my day!  I go back to work tomorrow, and I am really looking forward to it.  I thrive on routine, and there has been no such thing the last 6 weeks.  We are working on it, but we just aren't there yet!

The boys' attorney came to visit a few days ago.  It was the first time I have met yet.  He stayed for almost 2 hours, and we had a wonderful conversation about the boys.  He was so impressed with their improvement since the last time he had seen them.  He couldn't believe how well they were doing.  He said Little Bit wouldn't even look him in the eye before, and he had been concerned that Big Brother needed to be tested because he didn't seem to know what was going on around him.  I was actually shocked at that.  I immediately told him that Big Brother is extremely smart, but I have discovered that he was just not exposed to the world around him.  For instance, he loves dinosaurs but didn't know there were different kinds.  He is loving learning about the different ones and their names.  When I took him on the cereal aisle, he didn't recognize any of them - not even Lucky Charms or Fruit Loops.  I told the attorney that I think most of what he had learned was from television, but that he is learning very quickly now.  In fact, I told the older kids that they could teach him anything because he is like a sponge and learning everything!  (By the way, I trust the kids to teach him appropriate things.  That wasn't an invitation to really teach ANYTHING!) :)

Both boys slept through the night last night!  That could be because they went to bed later.  Maybe I need to reconsider bed TIME!?  Big Brother is still sleeping in our room on his own bed.  I don't plan to move him until after my trip to Europe next month.  I think it will be better for things to stay the same for now.

Little Bit is a "parrot".  He repeats everything we say.  I can't count how many new words he learns everyday!  My biggest problem with him right now is hitting - me, in particular!  He slaps us in the face constantly.  I was having a hard time figuring out how to change the behavior, but I think I've figured it out. I tell him "no" very sternly every time, and then I put him down.  He loves to be held, and he understands that it is a big deal if I will not hold him as a result of the behavior!  I have also been teaching him how to touch "nicely".  So, he has been rubbing our faces MORE than hitting.  He is getting it, but it is a slow process!

Side Bar:  My 11 year old just came down with a card for me!  I forgot it was Mother's Day!!