Glasses

At Ben's 4 year pediatrician visit, they did a quick eye exam. He didn't want to cooperate at all, so we had to try a few tricks to finally get him to think it was all a big game. I knew right off that he had trouble and the nurse's response verified my thought. He couldn't read more than the top two huge lines. So, I needed an annual eye exam too and I scheduled us to go in together.

Ben was not happy about going to the eye doctor. I told him it was a special mom and Ben date which got him in the car at least. I went first so he would know exactly what to expect when it was his turn. We got to the eye drops and my eyes needed a few minutes to dilate. So we tried to switch places.

Our Mr Ben wouldn't have anything to do with the huge chair. Finally, I had him sit on my lap. Through the course of a long conversation and lots of negotiation we got him to read us the letters on the wall. Right off the doctor told me, "Well, we can tell for sure he has your eyes." I did have to chuckle at that, because I have always loved that Ben and Brian both have amazing brown eyes. Of course, he unfortunately meant that Ben had really poor vision, best case he is 20/50, maybe worse. Rather than traumatize him more by doing eye drops, which almost made Ben have a meltdown, we decided to come back in a week to dilate his eyes and try to get a good view of his eyes and a decent prescription. While I checked out, I had Ben do a treasure hunt around the office to find the kid size glasses. He was totally unwilling to try any on even to play around.

I was so nervous for Ben. I know how much I hated my glasses as a kid and how I felt I had no friends all through elementary school because I was ugly. It truly broke my heart to know what is coming in his life.

We talked endlessly about how brave Ben was going to be at the eye doctor on our next visit. There was nothing that seemed to calm him about the idea of glasses or the eye doctor or anything else. Morning of the second appointment, he was having tantrums anyway, not the way to go to the doctor. When we got to the office, he clammed up completely, rolled in a ball on my lap and held his doll Potsy against his eyes as tightly as he could. There was nothing we could do.

Dr. Kahn quickly decided the best thing to do was to let it go. He would do a prescription as best he could from the numbers he got the last visit. We hope it will be good enough to show him how much help glasses are and come back in a year. Maybe at 5 yrs old he'll be more cooperative.

We went to pick frames and Ben just threw them on the ground. He would have nothing to do with any of them. I was horrified and totally embarrassed. This child was not my child 3 months ago. He is so over the top with everything and a total baby about anything he isn't in the mood for. Some days I just want to strangle him or scream "Grow Up You Little Brat!" I bought the glasses the doctor recommended after he got one pair on him to get a reference point of what was the right size and left totally heartbroken that Ben won't let me help him.

More Pretties, Please?

Maddie brought me the bag of hair clips today and asked me to put a pretty in her hair. I did. "More pretties?" Okay. "More pretties?" And so it went until the entire bag of pretties was in her hair and she was the happiest princess in all the land. Doesn't she look great?

Not to be outdone...

Maddie peed on the floor two more times before the end of the night. Ben freaked out and had to take a bath because some of the pee got on his leg and foot. At least that part made me laugh, even if mopping the floor two more times didn't...

Potty Training

Maddie decided she wanted to use the potty two weeks ago. She does okay. I guess I should take her interest and regular successes as the sign to buckle down and do it before she looses interest, but I'm not sure I have the patience anymore right now. Today Maddie wanted to potty. We went in, stripped naked and then proceeded to get the her baby doll totally ready to potty too. Finally, the baby doll went first and was nicely sitting down waiting when Maddie, calmly watching baby try to potty, pees all over the floor. Ugh. After we got home from morning errands I mention we could try again and she decides okay. We strip her naked, because you know you can't potty with a single stitch of clothes on, it doesn't work that way. She sits for a while and gets bored. I have to run and help Ben in the kitchen. She leaves the bathroom and is leaning on the far side of the neighbors car seat in the entryway when I return, naked and smiling. I tell her she must wear a diaper if she isn't sitting on the potty. She tries to be cute and is giggling for a minute or so, hiding behind the car seat. Finally, I decide to get serious and put the diaper on. As I move around the car seat, I see she's pooped all over the ground. Double ugh. I take her in the bathroom to wipe off her legs and I stand her up on the stool. She says, "Potty." I say, "Yes, we poo poo in the potty." I reach to grab some toilet paper to clean her up and sure enough, she had to potty. She peed all over the stool and the bathroom floor. Triple ugh for the day. Anyone want to earn some extra money moping floors for a week or two? J-you need cash, right?

Pelo All Gone!

Since we don't live close to any of our extended family, we often spend time looking at pictures. I have took a map of the USA and put pictures and the names of all the important people in our family. Ben knows everyone pretty well, but Maddie is just starting to learn everyone's names. During our name quizzes, she saw a picture of Grandpa Zufelt. She was quite concerned about him and kept pointing and saying, "Grandpa, pelo all gone! Oh no!" For all you non-spanish speakers, pelo means hair. She was concerned that Grandpa doesn't have enough hair.

Why Doesn't God Fall?

One day, as we were driving around doing errands, Ben was full of questions about all sorts of stuff. Eventually, the questions turned to church stuff and how churches have steeples pointing to heaven and the clouds where God lives. Ben has so many detailed questions about how all that worked. He wanted to know if the top of the clouds were flat so it was easy for God to walk on and not trip, how he got up there, and my personal favorite, why doesn't he fall through all those holes in the clouds, 'cause see, there are just holes all over... :) My inability to answer the question about God falling caused him some serious concern and he couldn't relax for a while. Poor kid. I wish I knew more to calm his fears. He asked for several days, worried about God's safety before his mind wandered on to other new ideas.

Best Doctor in the World

I don't think there is a better doctor in the world than mine. We went in for our first appointment for the pregnancy. I was about 10 weeks along. He did an ultrasound on my belly only and got some cool pictures. I didn't wait this long to go in with the other two, but I'll never go in early again. The ultrasound pictures actually look like a baby, not an alien. It was so much more fun this time having a baby, not a blob... My due date is Dec 15 for now. Then the doctor said he thought we might, maybe be a week farther along than I thought. He'll confirm at the 20 week appointment with the detail measurements they do at the big ultrasound and maybe we can move my due date up a week. Next he said I am no longer a candidate for a VBAC, so a c-section is mandatory for me. He doesn't want to risk me starting into labor, so he generally delivers 2 weeks early for the 3rd c-section. So, in a matter of 15 minutes, he shortened my pregnancy about 3 weeks. I'm in love with him... As long as the baby is sufficiently cooked, we may have the baby as early as Nov 24! We'll come home, probably on Thanksgiving Day and relax the weekend without Brian having to take any vacation time. It's all in my dream world still, but maybe it will work out. The only down side, I won't exactly be up to shopping on the day after Thanksgiving and I'm sure that there will be something on sale that I absolutely must have. Oh, the sacrifices we make for our children, huh?