So when I first recived Isaac's personal information I remember being very sad for him when I looked at one of the answers to a question: "What kinds of things does he like?" The former families response was: "We don't know, he does not really have any favorite things." Fast forward to two weeks ago and I was being asked the same question for Isaac's preschool. I had a slightly better answer since but not much better given the short time we have known each other.
As a result one of our new famility traditions has been started. The Family Hour. The goal of this hour is just to spend uninterupted time with each other doing some sort of interactive activity that helps us all know each other better. It is so easy in our very busy lives to get caught up with huge list of things to do, projects to finish, a house to clean, e-mails to check, and TV. Oh well, loving our boys is more important. John and I even talked about it the other day, if we were just dating someone it would be nessisary to spend quality time with that person to fall in love with them, that is why people go out on dates. The family hour is about learning to love as a family for us, for Isaac and for Emerson to love his brother as well. So far we have done things like hikie around the lake, canoeing, walks through the neighborhood, playing in the ball pit building the train set, arts and crafts projects, water table play, sprinkler play and racing hot wheels. It is a nice time for us to laugh and just be together. Of course there are moments of fits, or shoving and pushin, but we are both there to help the boys work through this behavior. We typicaly finish dinner, the boys do a craft and brush their teeth while we clean up and then we play. After that it is bath time (which Isaac absolutly loves now) then story time and off to bed. It is a crazy routine at times juggling the two of them, but it is worth it.
The other big thing is that I can now say Isaac likes fire trucks, school buses, puppies, cats, songs and playing music. He loves to throw things (we are working on just balls) and he has a blast when I lift him on my legs like he is an airplane.
While physics is the weakest of my sciences I have been thinking a lot about how the laws of motion apply to my two boys. Emerson could best be described as inertia. He is the resistant to motion. For instance I literaly had to drag him into his tent (this is where he has insisted on sleeping all summer) for a nap. He will make a great Green Peace protester one day. Isaac is building up his potential energy. He is taking so much in right now and learning the "Law of the Land" We see huge progress everyday. At times it can be madning as I would love for it to be kenetic and us to live happily every after. It is at those moments when I have to think how realistic would it be for him to come from such a negative attention environment, a place where he was being starved to death, and a place with out boundries, and to "get" all the rules in a month. For now we will continue to focus on building up our boys potential. They have already proved them selves to be survivors of unspeakable circumstances, now it is our job to shape that zeal into greatness.
Family time is a great idea! And how wonderful that you already know so much about this special little boy. How else can you help him reach his potential?
ReplyDeleteWe have had to consciously schedule kid-friendly activities on the weekends otherwise we end up lollygagging around the house or Miras gets dragged to adult events like dinners, etc. Right now we are still trying to adjust and find our new routines. We tried the pool yesterday which ended in 2 kids bawling - making each other worse! Though my big question right now is wondering how we will give each child "me" time as well as family time and still have time left over for ourselves.
I had to laugh at your last paragraph as we also have a study in opposites now: Miras is a cautious sensory avoider and Irina is a fearless sensory seeker. It'll be interesting to see if their personalities cause them to come closer together or to polarize further as they grow up together.
You guys are doing an amazing job. I couldn't imagine a better home for these 2 beautiful special boys. So glad all of you are in our lives.
ReplyDeleteKaron, I don't post after each of your posts, but I am out here cheering you on every single day! It is such an honor to be invited into your journey (especially since we can brag about "knowing you before you became famous", after you write your book! HA!) Your ability to bring analogies and metaphors into your daily lives in inspiring. Family time is such a great idea -- I know we will need something like that once our second child is home. Thank you for the reminder about priorities. Well, actually, thank you for everything you write. It's a true pleasure to be following along.
ReplyDeleteYeah for family time fun or not so fun. All in all it is rare these days that kids get much needed undivided attention! You'll are making great strides I think. I watch in awe and wonder how you do it when sometimes I can barely do it with just one. Gena
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