Here's a post that has no structure, except for the bullet.

• Yesterday, Iliya had his six-month "check-in" with our IAC. Nathan had work obligations that prevented him from tagging along, so Iliya & I loaded up in the car & went by ourselves:
  
  
• He proved to be a very healthy little boy - having moved from the 10th-ish percentile in weight to almost the 50th percentile! His height also moved up a bit, though not quite as much as his weight! It looks like our boy is destined to be of shorter stature, like his parents.
  
  
• He had a developmental screening, which placed him right on track, if not ahead of schedule on most things developmental. The OT was mostly a bit concerned with his speech. He has lots to say, as I told her, but for the most part, N or I have to translate for him. (we've even recently been asked if he's talking in Russian. *sigh*) The OT suggested that we look into going ahead & starting with speech therapy. She was very impressed with extent of his vocabulary (both receptive & expressive), but would like for him to be a bit clearer so that "everyone can understand all the wonderful things he has to say!" I have to be honest in telling you that I felt a little defensive, only because he's come such a long way that I wasn't really expecting this to be a topic of concern for her this soon. Afterall, WE can understand him! **I really am fine with speech therapy - I just wasn't expecting that to be the focus of our conversation yesterday. Of course, he is 28 months old, and like the OT said, I also want people to be able to understand him! And I most definitely want to do what is best for Iliya...so as long as our insurance will cover it, speech therapy it will be!


• After the OT had her time with us, the MD came in and spoke with me. She was impressed at Iliya's growth and told me to keep on doing what we've been doing!


• She then told me she was going to send us down to the lab, and at that point, my eyes got wide and I'm quite sure the color drained out of my face. She looked at me funny, and asked what was wrong. In a jumble of words, I told her that I couldn't hold him for blood work & that I should've realized, but didn't, that he would even be having bloodwork, and that if I had known, I would've made sure to bring someone with me, because I just didn't think I could hold him. She told me not to worry, and that they would have someone accompany us to the lab.


• The social worker is the person that ended up accompanying us. Sometimes, parents - especially those who are really working hard to foster attachment in their children - don't want to hold their children for blood draws, because the child may then associate pain with the parent. Instead, another person will hold the child and the parent is able to be the "rescuer" that saves the child from the painful situation. While we were waiting to be called back to the lab, the social worker asked me if this was the case...to which I looked at her and said, "No...actually, that's not the case at all. I'm mostly afraid of passing out and not being any help." I then told her how - years ago, I was sitting in pre-op with my father-in-law when he getting ready to have neck surgery...and how the room started going dark, just when they put the tourniquet on his arm & started feeling around for a vein. Yep, going dark as I type this. Moving on...


• Let me make sure you understand. Blood, itself, does not bother me so much (okay, it's unsettling, but I can handle cuts & things like that - though sometimes pure adrenaline is needed for such situations). What bothers me about blood draws is that there is a purposefulness to the process of searching for a vein to stick a needle into. Oh my...darkness again. Didn't I say I was moving on?


• It really is a good thing that I didn't go in the room with them - just hearing Iliya scream (and my presence would not have stopped the screaming), and knowing what they were physically doing brought on a clamminess that I'm not particularly proud of, but that just "is" when bloodwork is involved. He made it through, though. And I ended up getting to rescue him! All the way out to the car, he told me about his "boo boo" and his "bandaid" (which actually sounds just like "boo boo").


• We grabbed lunch on the way home, and I was able to sing & keep him awake so that he could take a good nap once we arrived home.


• In all, it our appointment went well, if a little stressful.
  

• After nap, snack, and a late afternoon trip to the grocery store, Iliya and I went outside and played. He is never as happy as he is when we are outside - if we lived outside, I don't know that he could be any happier. Anyway, we spent a little more than an hour, playing in the sandbox & swinging. The wind picked up and the sky darkened, threatening bad weather and, well, nighttime...so we came in when we really couldn't stay out much longer. Coming inside was not on the top of Iliya's list of Things to Do, but then again, he wanted to hang out with me, so he didn't cry overly much, when we had stayed outside as long as possible and I told him it was time to go in.


• I am SO looking forward to Daylight Savings Time. Every Fall, I am looking forward to winding the clocks back...but come Springtime, the clocks can't move forward quickly enough for me. Interestingly, I feel this way moreso, now that I have a little one who loves to spend time outside. It will be nice to have that extra hour of daylight to play in. Of course, later hours will seem to come more quickly, now...since I lose an hour of darkness. But it's worth it, at least in my mind!


• I apologize for mentioning this here...but I can't keep up with who I have told and who I haven't (evidently I haven't told that many people, because I was informed that neither grandmother knew, and I was pretty positive I had told them!). Guess I've got some sort of motherhood amnesia. Anyway...we are taking Iliya for a short outpatient procedure on Friday morning. It shouldn't be anything terribly traumatic, but if you will think about him, and send up a small prayer, on Friday morning (not sure of the time, yet - but we'll find out sometime on Thursday), then we would greatly appreciate it!

And I will finish out this post with apologizing, if you see us anywhere & my child has his finger up his nose. He has become fascinated with his "no" (nose) and his "buhbuh" (boogers). I am not entirely sure how to handle this - though I tell him to please try not to stick his finger up his nose and leave it there as we're walking through the store. And I think it's really gross when he points his finger at me and announces that he has a "buhbuh" -- though I think I'm a little more thankful that (at least so far), those "buhbuhs" are handed to me, rather than making their way to his mouth or his pants, or a chair or the carpet. So I try not to make a huge deal of it, and just thank him for letting me take care of the situation with a tissue.

Ahhhh...life with a little boy. I've heard it only gets better...