Bottles

Before Buddy came to us, when he first went to stay with family after that woman ended up in jail, he was still used to having a baby bottle when he went to bed. He was a month away from being 4 years old, and that woman was still putting him to bed with a bottle of kool-aid every night.

The most obvious problem this caused was that all his baby teeth were rotted out, and had to be pulled or crowned just to keep from getting worse and causing permanent damage to his mouth.

But a more subtle problem came from this as well - Buddy still wants a bottle.

He had a very wise grandmother who traded his baby bottles for sport bottles, the kind with the pop up lids, full of water. I, personally, think that was a great idea - it got him away from the bottles with nipples, and the koolaid that generally filled them. It was a huge step in the right direction.

Until now, we haven't discouraged him having a water bottle when he goes to bed. Partly because both FM and I take glasses or bottles of water when we go to our room at night because we have to take medications at bedtime.  I've actually made a habit out of buying unique new water bottles for Buddy every so often, so he doesn't get too attached to one in particular. We switch them out, trade them back and forth, and when the tops get so chewed up that you can't drink out of them without practically cutting your lips, we throw the old ones away.

But lately, I've noticed that he still clings to the nightly water bottle. It only comes up at bedtime, he doesn't rely on it during the day, but at night it almost panics him when he doesn't have it, or drinks all the water and we won't let him get up to refill it. There has been at least one night when he's woken up in the middle of the night to tell me that he needs his water bottle.

So here's my question - Short Pants will be six years old next month. Do I need to worry about his need for a "security bottle"?  Would it be better to actively try to wean him from it, or should I just let it ride until he outgrows it by himself? Considering the water bottle that is currently sitting on my bedside table, will it even matter if he never does outgrow it?

Methinks Perhaps We Tease

...overheard a few minutes ago:

Dad: "Push you over!" (while gently pushing Danny, who was sitting on our bed, until he fell over)

Danny:  "Do that again, Dad, and I'll punch you silly!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Snow

Our first good snow of the year, and we find out that Buddy's only boots are two sizes too small! 

Dangit!

So payday we are off to buy snowboots, until then no playing in the snow for us.

The dog on the other hand goes absolutely nuts when he gets in it. I'm so gonna have to take the video camera out and send it to AFV! Can't wait to turn the two of them loose on some three foot drifts - THAT is gonna be super-duper funny!!

Wow, What a Slacker!

It's not that things haven't been happening around here, every day is an adventure at our house.

All the leaves are falling in our courtyard, and Buddy is loving it!  He just can't wait to get out and kick around in all that crunchiness.

I've just been writing every chance I get, which isn't as often as I'd like, since I have to keep an eye out for what mischief shorties might be getting into. 

Now that the flu is over (and hopefully DONE) school will be back in session next week. Boy am I glad!  Oh, wait - I mean - boy is Danny glad!

Learning to Tie Shoes

Fair's Fair

I'm in the kitchen, just around the corner from the living room.  A minute ago, I heard Danny yell "ow!". Ten seconds later the dog yelped.

"What did you do to the dog?" I asked, stepping around the corner to see them both looking a little guilty.

"Well, he hurt me," Danny answered, with his patented 'I'm in trouble now' frown.

"What did you do to make him yelp?" I demanded, fully ready to be angry.

silence

"I bit him back."

silence from me as I clenched my jaw tight and tried desperately not to laugh

"Fair's fair."

What else could I say?

Keeping a Reluctant Promise

Part of the agreement  of that woman signing the parental relinquishment papers was that we would send pictures and or updates every so often, once or twice a year. Now, while I understand, and even appreciate, that she wants to know how the children she bore are doing as they grow up, I'm not keen on this idea.

Our adoption records are sealed, because the attorney and the courts believed she would pose a problem if she was allowed to know who we were. Apparently she is pretty good at harrassing, and has caused problems for others that have had temporary custody of these kids in the past. Personally, this has never really worried me - she's 4'9", I'm almost 6 feet tall. Can you just see where that would go in a scrap? And I'm not above asserting myself, loudly if necessary, when the situation warrants.

My biggest problem with keeping up with this promise we made is having to keep track of her.  Either we mail it to the attorney, which costs us money for their time to forward it, or we send it through Gramma M. That means that they have to keep track of her, and I'm not asking them to do that. Our only other option is that we keep track of where she is ourselves, and there is no way on God's green earth I'm going to that time and trouble.

So I found a better solution.  I started a blog. It's anonymous, not connected to this one in any way, and it is strictly for the purpose of making pictures and updates available to that woman.  When we do our next adoption, hopefully next year, then the means to do the same for another birth mother is already intact.  This way it becomes their time and trouble to keep up, not mine. They can look at them any time they want - it's just a matter of going to the local public library and using their computer to access the internet. The pictures can be saved to a thumb drive, which anyone can buy for a few dollars at WalMart, and can be printed at any of those photo printing kiosk machines that you find all over the place these days. Therefore, the ball becomes permanently in that woman's court.  It's an easy matter for me to post appropriate pictures every so often, and that fulfills my promise - the rest is up to her.

If anyone would like to go see it - here's the link:  http://www.forthebirthmother.blogspot.com/ .