Thursday, August 20, 2009

Heaven

it is time not to travel! We've done enough things to get pictures!

But real life has been happening around that too. We have enjoyed pleasant weather, nothing very hot, but at least it has been short sleeve weather for the most part :)

One of the things the boys talk about with some regularity is going to heaven. not sure what makes them think of it so much. We are not included to talk about it except as it comes up in bible stories. But, to our surprise Erik has gotten the idea that he should stop drinking and then he will die and can go to heaven. And he tried to get David interested in it too, which works for about a half hour. They both lose interest in it quickly. But that they came up with the idea still amazes me. I am not sure but we may need to also keep our eyes open for signs of depression with Erik because his tone is not just light-hearted. And though he is far more upbeat and much less angry than a year and a half ago, the roots are not completely gone.

David continues to develop in the areas where he is behind, but it looks like some things will still be delayed for this year. We are hoping he will become aware of his bladder overnight during this year. And that he will have better memory for cause and effect as he is both injury prone and limited in his consciousness of right and wrong. Since Erik is quite well developed in this area, it is more noticable to us. We find it difficult to redirect David when he gets his mind or behavior stuck on something. At these times it seems we have a perpetual 2 year old on our hands. At these times we also have to remember that some of this is influenced by the developmental brain damage in utero - his mother's alcohol use while pregnant. Yet, we see signs that he learns things by memory faster than Erik does.

I have gotten quite tired of hearing off-handed remarks in public about how naughty our boys are or how shameful that they don't listen to their mother. So, we are trying to be even more diligent about behaviors at home. There are some things that we did not address in the first year because we simply could not fix everything at once without crushing them. But now we realize that there are patterns of speech in addressing us and demanding that we should not be letting go.

But I should brace myself. These two know how to play off of each other and have great fun doing it. I could see that was going to be the case when they were 2 and 3! And as it sometimes happens with kids, they really are funny... when as a parent you are not supposed to laugh.

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