Happy Birthday!!!

Today my little man Kristofer turns 6! I can't believe he is that old! The first 4 years of his life were so hard on him. The poor guy had so many ear infections and ear surgeries that I have lost count. Thankfully something happened when he turned four. It was like over night he just stopped having ear infections. He has had possibly 4 in the last 2 years compared to 9 months of nonstop infection in his ears when he was just 7 mo old.
So much has changed for him since we started OT and Speech therapy. In fact we got a letter from his OT last week telling us how well he has improved since the beginning of the year! Oh he still has his quirks and difficulties in class but he has such a good support team at school and a teacher that really has done her best to help him this year! Thank you Ms Robertson!!! Earlier this week Kristofer got up and immediately said, "Just 5 days till my birthday!" Now I haven't been counting down the days for him but apparently he is. In fact on Wed morning he looked up at me smiling really big, "Just two more days mommy just two!" I am so happy for him to be this excited about turning 6. I over heard him telling Eli, "When I am 6 I will be a man!" Oh baby, slow down! I am not ready for that what so ever!

Kristofer is the most fun loving kid. He forgives instantly and doesn't just say "I am sorry" he truly forgives and forgets. He never holds a grudge. Too bad more people weren't like our Kris. He loves to laugh and some of the strangest things make him laugh hysterically. He has a memory beyond words. You can remember the finest details of events, movies and stories. If he is interested in something it is to the fullest extent! I mean he will live, eat and breath that item or topic. Such as when he was 3-4 his favorite things were dinosaurs. It was all he could think about. So we let him, he already knew so much about dinosaurs and we still have NO idea how, and that was before we borrowed movies and books from the library about them. He still loves dinosaurs but right now his main thing is robots! He loves to draw and create his own. He does his very best to get down to the smallest detail and will tell you all about them. We gave him legos as a present today and the first thing he did was create a robot!

Somethings come very easy for him and others do not. We are slowly learning that he has to hear it to learn it. If you read him a book he can tell you the story just from memory. In fact at first, I thought he was reading but it was just that he heard the story and has it memorized. Kris deals with SPD on a daily basis some days he struggles to even get dressed and other days he needs to have the heaviest of clothes on. (Do you see the theme in the pictures...no shirts!) Some days he is quiet and other days he is like a fast moving train that can't be stopped. Most days he has terrible times of not focusing and many days he spends long moments in his own world. I asked him once why he likes to stay in his own world....he told me "So I don't have to look at people and so I don't have to talk to them." He has told me a few times that he wants friends but is scared of them. He doesn't know a stranger at all and loves babies. He is the gentlest child I have ever seen when it comes to babies. He is a big teddy bear, always has a smile and sees the world as perfect as long as everything goes according to his plan.

Kristofer is a special child. He brings so much joy and laughter to our home as well as strife when his routine is out of order. Everyone that meets him falls in love with our Kris! Without him our family would be incomplete!

Kristofer, We love you just the way you are. Nothing in the world would/could change that! We are so proud of what you have accomplished despite the struggles you have faced. You are a remarkable boy! We love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTOFER!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy!

Kids say the darndest things

Today when I was getting dressed Kristofer came in my room and climbed up on my bed. He said he wanted to rub my back. As he was rubbing my back he asked if it made my knee feel better. So sweet. Then he says as he is poking my back..."Mommy when I grow up will I have sprinkles on my back?" At first I was like huh? But then I realized he meant my freckles. I told him he might have some already so I checked and counted 8 little freckles. He was so cute. I told him he had them and he was so excited about it. He said really loud, " I have sprinkles on my back! YEA!"
My kiddos have been sick specially Sara and now Eli has a cold as well. Eli was being so pitiful. I asked him if I could help make him feel better. He said, so sweetly, " I want Deedee to come make me better!" It was just so pitiful. So we called Grandma Deedee and he told me he felt so much better just by listening to her voice and talking to her. Sometimes we want mommy, daddy or even better..our grandmas!
Then later tonight Sara and I were talking while she was drawing pictures. She said she was drawing pictures for her Aunt Nennie. Then she says to me, oh Nennie has a boy ... I said you mean Uncle Neil..He is her husband. She says, "oh yea, and pauses and then says why doesn't he have hair? It was so cute.


Update: Tomorrow marks my 4 weeks Post Op date. I am doing so much better. Over the weekend I was adjusting my leg to get comfortable and something popped. It didn't hurt but the next morning I had pain I haven't had in a while. I could figure it out but today I realized it had to have been the way the brace was laying against the outside of my leg when I was sleeping. It feels so much better. I am even seeing an improvement in my ability to stand when taking a shower without the brace on. It is still very wobbly but I can tell a difference in the strength. I am so hopeful that the doc will release me to start ROM and be more weight bearing. We shall see. I will post on Tuesday about what I am told after my appointment. The incision is looking really good. It is not the best closure. It looks like a terrible sewing or stapling job. Definitely not going to look pretty with shorts even a swimsuit. All well as long as I can walk without it giving out and not be in pain I will be so much happier.