"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
--Jeremiah 29:11

Monday, February 25, 2013

Cavities and Conferences

We finally got Connie in to have his crown put on the cavity. Turns out, it affected two teeth and the dentist went ahead and filled another tooth on the other side that she had been keeping an eye on which did develop into a cavity. He's now the proud owner of a silver tooth! Just goes to show you what is important to kids! He is beaming with pride over that silver thing and can't wait to show the big sixth grade girls at early arrival tomorrow morning when he returns to school. On the other hand, I am a bit sad that our record of perfect teeth is gone. We were told when he was an infant that he would likely have bad teeth due to all the vomiting he did for 8 solid months and considering the medications he'd been exposed to during hospitalizations. To top it off, his teeth are so squished together in his mouth there are lots of hard to clean places in there. We can't help but be proud, though, of how well he handled it all. He was a little nervous yesterday when he found out he was going today, but only because he thought he was getting x-rays. When I told him no x-rays he was fine. We got there and they said that they don't allow parents back in the room while they are doing a procedure (for cleanings and exams they always have). I was not really even sure what all they were doing to him since Grandma had taken him to the appt. when we learned about the cavity so I wasn't terribly comfortable with the idea. On one hand I was relieved that I wasn't going to have to be the one to try to calm him if he became upset. He had absolutely no issues separating and was back there just under an hour. When they brought me back to see him he was on O2 for five minutes to get all the nitrous out of his system and they said he was a star patient and followed all their directions very well. He even got to pick out two prizes for being so cooperative! Although I was uncomfortable at first about not being in the room I quickly looked at it as I would any other medical procedure. I would never consider asking to be present while Dr. Bove tries to do his job and correct his heart. So why then would a dentist want a parent, who probably would be too emotionally invested (especially being pregnant) anyway, to be in the room while she works?! It all worked out and he got rainbow sherbet for lunch afterward so he was pretty thrilled. Today was also his parent teacher conference. His teacher reported that he is doing very well academically. He seems to learn quickly and retain information, especially his sight words and math. We are working on getting him to use his sight words more in his writing. I notice that he sounds out everything when he writes, even if it is a sight word he already knows. So, applying his knowledge is our new goal. He's constantly reading environmental print. Yesterday we took a trip to Babies 'R Us and when we pulled up in the parking lot he said, "What is baby russ? Oh, I mean, what is babies russ?" It was pretty cute. We've had snow here and the kids had two snow days off of school last week. He really has enjoyed being out in the cold and the snow, which is a relatively new thing for him. He can be out there for hours now, when in the past just a few minutes seemed too much for him. He's especially fond of shoveling. Unfortunately, he uses his kid-sized shovel to move the snow from the pile on the edge of the driveway BACK onto the driveway, by hurling it over his head. Silly boy! He also enjoyed sledding at Westhoff Park until he flew off his sled and burned his face on the frozen snow. He even had scrape marks on his forehead. He couldn't wait to tell Grandma George all about his sledding adventure. It amazes me how he and Mookie went up and down that hill dozens of times and the last time I took them to that park to sled he was so worn out and exhausted I had to carry him up the hill every time. We give God all the glory for how well our Miracle Boy is doing. Can't wait to see what God has planned for his life :)