22 Months

My boy is twenty-two months old and has he ever changed from the little six and a half pound boy I first met. The evening I first met him he was placed on my chest and Xhevat and I were overwhelmed with joy and amazement by this little human being who was entrusted to us. Not too much later we were surprised by a knock on the hospital room door and in walked my niece then my sister and then my mom. They had driven down from Kelowna to surprise us when they heard I was in labour. They were there when Xhevat first held our son. The pride, joy and smile that this little boy brought to his daddy the first time he held him still brings tears to my eyes.

What a different boy he is now! He's almost twenty-four pounds of rough and tumble energy! He prefers to run rather than walk or sit still. He loves to be the center of attention and whether it is a room full of family or crowds on bleachers at a softball game, he will make sure everyone is cheering and clapping their hands.

He can say mama and daddy but he still does not call us those (or any other) names. He loves to imitate in gibberish & can belt out anything from grandpa's classical music to singing along with the radio to Disney's Frozen score or the Little Einstein's theme song. While he may not say a lot of words or sentences, he knows the alphabet, colours, shapes and can count to ten. This last week he's learned the sounds that the letters of the alphabet make. Wherever he goes, he will point out what he knows. If we're grocery shopping, he'll pick out letters or numbers on signage or packaging. Today at McDonald's he saw the golden arches and kept on saying "mmmm" (the sound that the letter "m" makes).

He will run and play and laugh until he's exhausted. He doesn't mind getting dirty or splashing in his kiddie water toy. When he gets to the playground, he loves to climb as high as he can and would walk off a high edge without fear (more than a little scary for his mama) but yet will be totally enraptured by a pebble or twig. He also loved buckling his belts (stroller, high chair, car seat) and we are thankful he has not yet learned how to unbuckle his belts.

And you never know until you put him to bed whether it will be a easy or difficult. Some nights he goes to sleep with no difficulties and other nights he wails and thrashes until you wonder whether he'll end up injuring himself. My sister can attest to being awakened a dozen times one night and the next night he sleeps through the night (other than the occasional mid-sleep outpouring of gibberish).

He's gotten a little "touchier" lately (which I'm really enjoying). Now sometimes being touchier involves actually being still and cuddling in next to me but much of the time it just involves being in closer proximity to me. This might mean he's getting tickled (which he loves and after he escapes, he comes back for more) or it might mean he's climbing and rolling all over me while I'm lying on the couch or it might mean that in his energetic state that he just rams his little body into mine (I bruise more easily than him right now).

With his new knowledge of his numbers and letters, I've been able to help him learn his letter sounds and more using flashcards. This is definitely something I can do and is well within my energy levels and physical capabilities. And most of the time, he loves it... and so do I!

He is oblivious to what is going on in my life and gives me such absolute joy, sleepless nights, pure love, too many diapers, innocence, pain & bruises (when he gets upset, sometimes he thrashes his body... just this week he was upset and back arching off the netting of both sides of the pack n play... there was no part of his body that was touching the bottom of the pack n play), and just an amazing reason to get up each morning to see his eyes light up when he sees me and see his smile and hear his squeal. God is good. 

I am so glad that I'm able to do this. And I wonder if perhaps God is allowing some of these neurons to fire in his brain at this time in order that I can see it and be a part of it. Whatever the case, I'm thankful. I'm thankful to be a part of my boy's life today and I'm thankful that I have gotten an opportunity to be as involved in his life as I have. I'm so thankful to have had him in my life every day of these last twenty-two months and pray that I have many more months (and years) of making more memories with my boy and his daddy.

P.S. My little one & I have arrived back at home after our week at my sister's. It is good to have the three of us back together (we've missed our husband/daddy). Had a wonderful & restful time there with family (I know my sister will miss us but not the poopy diapers or being awakened multiple times at night)! Made some special memories... dinners at my parents, seeing two sets of my aunts and uncles, watching my boy play with his cousins, homeschooling, soccer games (niece's, nephew's and World Cup), frozen yogurt, family movie night (the Lego movie), lunch with just my sister, conversations... I could go on and on. It was a special time for which I'm thankful.

Tomorrow I have radiation on my spine (to decrease some of my discomfort) and bloodwork. Tuesday I see my oncologist and Wednesday, if all things go as planned I start Round 3, Cycle 2 of chemo. Praying for not too many side effects from radiation, that my bloodwork will show that my chemo is working, that my neutrophils would be high enough to get chemo, for regaining more physical strength, and that my symptoms would be stable so that I'd be able to get off my steroids. This last week has been good & I'm hopeful that this week will be just as good.

Meeting him for the first time

A selfie taken by my boy these days