tantrums, physical therapy, and a happy boy...

I discovered a new purpose for the vacuum today: blocking out the screaming from Isabella's tantrum. I think she screamed for about half an hour and I promise, I'm not a mean mom...she just didn't like what she was wearing and refused her other options. Eventually she stopped crying and put on the same outfit she'd been quite happy wearing for most of the day, which was also the outfit that started the tantrum. I know, weird. Then she came out of her room and asked if I liked her outfit...is this some kind of reverse psychology??? I have a friend who says that age four is wonderful. Not in this house! The attitude going on around here is about to put me through the wall. Speaking of that, Walter was about to put his head through the wall the other night when Isabella was screaming that she couldn't go to sleep EVER because the polka dot sheets weren't on her bed. The very loud and argumentative debate between Walter and Isabella had gone on far too long and obviously I am not going to change her sheets at 9:30 p.m. just so that she have the ones she wants. So we compromised and I told her that if she really needed the polka dot sheets she could sleep with them...it worked.

Isaac is doing really well since his surgery and I've seen vast improvements in his sleeping, eating, breathing, and overall happiness. Yes, sleeping! I am actually getting more sleep and it is the most amazing thing ever! I might actually get my brain back! He regained the thirteen ounces that he lost after surgery, so now he's back up to 15 pounds 3 ounces and yesterday he ate two ounces of pureed food without much complaint. I think physical therapy is helping build his confidence and also gives me the tools and ideas for what I should do to help him build muscle tone and strength...aside from weight lifting, of course...you should see how much he can bench press. Unfortunately, physical therapy is on hold for a few weeks until we get some insurance issues figured out. As I said in a previous post, a long time ago, MANY HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES DO NO COVER FOR DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS...don't get me started...basically those people who came up with those rules are jerks (and a whole host of other words) and I hope I never meet one of them because all 104 pounds of me will attack. I guess that would end up being more of a verbal attack than a physical one. Well anyway, Isaac's PT evaluation was filed under a claim number as a developmental delay and at the time I didn't even think that I needed to ask that they not file it as such or it wouldn't be covered. SO, thankfully his physical therapist is very nice and is going to try to take care of the whole thing for us.

Isaac is starting to develop a sense of humor and knows how to get his point across as he says, "na na na (no no no)" and then hits his head one or more times. I'm not sure about the head hitting, but it's his "go to" response to things he doesn't like. I always tell him he should refrain from doing that because it just makes him look weird.

We took Isabella miniature golfing last week and she had a great time and to my surprise, Isaac was very agreeable the whole time (which is quite unusual for him).

The best way to get a hole in one is to walk up to the hole, put your ball and few inches from it and push the ball in with your hand. Works every time!

If there's one person who thinks that Isabella is absolutely hilarious, it's Isaac.

Waving to Isabella...

The following pictures are an example of how excited Isaac gets to see Isabella...

"Yep, my sister's pretty cool."

Isabella danced around the playground, in her own little world, singing about princesses...