Fun weekend so far!

So far, we have been having a great weekend! In addition to getting new tires on the Santa Fe (which was a lot of fun for Stephen, because he was loving looking at all of the tires and running all over the showroom), we also went to check out "school" for Stephen. We have decided to put Stephen in the Children's Day Out program at church one day a week, so he can play with other kids, and learn how to behave in a more structured setting. We also hope that this will help him with his speech and communication skills, although we anticipate that his upcoming surgery will aid in that area as well, as we have noticed a marked improvement in his speech on the days when he seems more rested. We met with the director, who showed us to Stephen's classroom. The teachers were all very pleased to learn that he is potty training, and we were all pleased to see that there was a small toilet in the room as well. Stephen seemed to feel at ease right away, and grabbed Erik's hand, dragging him all over the room to look at stuff. He also attached himself to a little girl, and kept touching her arm to get her attention. Always with the girls! The program has weekly "themes," and in this class, does a lot of work on the self-help skills that kids will need when they get into preschool. According to the schedule, last week, they were working on nose-blowing, and cooking. We were very pleased to see that Stephen seemed to fit in right away, and I will be taking in his registration materials early next week. Luckily, since we are church members, we get priority registration, and we are going to send him on a day when there is lower enrollment so that he is not overwhelmed.

Yesterday, we filled up the wading pool! It was 102 degrees for the high, and boy, did we all need to cool off! In the morning, though, Stephen and Daddy had some quality play time, during which Stephen initiated going to the bathroom twice, AND initiated some coloring time (and by time, I mean only about 10 seconds, but he's never INITIATED coloring before, because it's just not his favorite activity).

This is Stephen's new swimsuit to wear in Tucson. As you can see, it has built-in floatation in the torso. He wasn't thrilled with it, but I'm sure he'll like it more in the big pool!


Here we are playing in the pool. I was showing Stephen how to kick in the water, which he loved. He wasn't too excited about getting into the pool until I got in with him and let him sit on my lap. He also liked pushing the sides down to let the water spill out, which I assume our lawn liked as well. And behind me, you can see our green beans, Basil, and tomatoes!Stephen wanted everyone to see his new haircut. I wanted to make sure he had it done before surgery, in case he wasn't feeling up to it afterwards, so he'd be nicely groomed for our vacation!Stephen's surgery will be on Tuesday morning at 11:30 am. We are supposed to be at the hospital at 9:30, so thankfully they have a playroom in the "staging" are to distract us for a while. I'll also be taking the portable DVD player, because let's face it, sometimes the only thing that can distract a hungry toddler is Elmo. He won't be able to eat at all that morning, and can only have clear fluids until 8:30. I'll probably make him a few slushies with apple juice so it will at least SEEM like he is eating!

I'll try to update from the hospital!