So far, so so so good

This time tomorrow I’ll be preparing a special birthday dinner for a special little boy… not that he’ll be eating any of it. He’s still perfectly happy to have baby food spooned into his mouth as opposed to having to go to all of the effort to actually pick something up himself. :-) I’m looking forward to posting a much sappier post tomorrow (be warned!), but for today I just wanted to update you a bit on how we are all doing, especially Roo.


Thanks in large part to my lack of regular posting (sorry), I have told you a bit about some of the concerns we’ve had with Roo’s growth and such, but haven’t really kept you all up-to-date on his progress. I can tell you without a doubt that he is just growing and changing before my very eyes. He still has a hard time sitting without support, as his lower back muscles still aren’t quite strong enough to hold his spine straight and provide the support he needs. I honestly don’t know why this is, and I don’t know at what point we should consider looking a bit deeper into it. Our physical therapist does not seem concerned, so that is reassuring. But that being said, he will sit (using his hands for support) for much longer periods of time than he was just a few weeks ago. When he is on his belly, he will pivot around to see or get a toy. He pulls his knees up under him and rocks back and forth—and he is starting to scoot backwards. He is also wanting to stand, although (again because of his back muscles) he needs someone to hold him around the waist to do it.

But that’s just one little aspect of his development. Roo is becoming more aware of who we all are—Mommy, Daddy, big sister, and big brother—and is also more aware when the person who is holding him is not one of us. Not that he really cares, but he is more aware. He is getting more into playing with toys, and will actively choose one thing over another—and if he is within reach of a toy AND something he is not supposed to have, he will get the latter every time. He absolutely loves my laptop and will do anything he can to get close enough to touch it, grab it, lay on it, whatever. He is also really into paper right now. He likes to crumple it up and wave it around… and stick it in his mouth, of course. (Note the earlier comment about how he won’t pick up finger foods and put those in his mouth.  Apparently the church bulletin is much more appealing.)

And lately I have realized that he is initiating contact more than he used to. Yesterday, for instance, we were sitting next to Monkey in a movie theater, and Roo suddenly realized that his big brother was next to him. He reached out and touched Monkey, who turned and gave Roo a kiss before returning his attention to the movie. But that wasn’t enough for Roo. He lunged forward in my lap and leaned over until he was right in Monkey’s face… like, “Hey! I was talking to you!” It was so cute, and so much more intentional than the typical yells for general attention that we hear. (They are happy yells, but yells none the less.)

And one of my favorite things that I see emerging in his little personality is his sensitivity to others’ moods—especially his mama’s. He will do everything in his power to get me to smile when I am feeling sad or angry, and once he does break me down and get a smile, he bursts into laughter and will screech happily… sometimes during an entire trip through Target. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything.

This past year has been… indescribable, friends. Indescribably hard, yes. And indescribably amazing. The friends we have made, the existing friendships that have strengthened, the joys we have gotten to experience, the lives that have been touched, the opportunities we have had (already) to minister to others… all because of this one tiny little baby. I guess I was wrong—God did know what He was doing when He gave Roo to us. Go figure.