We had a long night...

Derek is back to work, I don't think I've mentioned that. His knee is healed and he's back to patrol.

I'm sad to have him gone. The boys are too.

Corbin has a hard time with change. At the beginning of Derek's time home with the broken knee, Corbin would tell him that it was time for work. And wanted him to go like he usually did at night.

Now it's another story....

You see Derek would lay with Corbin until he fell asleep at night. It was a great break for me not putting Corbin to bed every night by myself. But let me tell you, I am paying for that one.

Last night was the first night with out Derek in a long time.

Things moved along smoothly, we did the whole routine that Derek started, play with race cars, play memory game, lay in bed and read books with a flashlight. Corbin was all calm and relaxed....

Until I got up.

First he started crying for "Mama", not "Mom" or "Mommy", "Mama" the way Cooper cries for me when he's hurt or sad. The way a sweet, helpless, little baby would call out. "Mama lay down with me, I love you, Mama, Mama". This kid has game.

When that didn't work he decide to try and get my sympathy by crying for "Daddy". The daddy who left him all alone with mean mommy, (the daddy who started this whole thing). That didn't work either.

I just kept putting him back in bed.

What started at 8:30 wasn't finished until after 11:00.

This morning when I woke him up for school, the first words he mumbled were "I'm sorry Mommy".

Melt my heart.

Happy Birthday Corbin

So....Corbin seems to have this "I turning 4" thing down. Tuesday July 29 was Corbin's 4th birthday. He was so excited to wake up to the house all decorated for his party. We did a Hot Wheels theme. He is totally into race tracks right now. So he thought it was about the greatest thing ever. All of Derek's family come over that evening for dinner and cake. It was a house full of family and fun.

It was actually today, July 31, 2004 that we first met our little Corbin, there in the hospital nursery. The nurse was just about to give him a bottle, when she found out that we were going to be his mom and dad she handed him to me.

What a moment.

Holding him for the first time.

I couldn't hold back the tears.

We had a whirlwind couple of days.

Corbin was born on a Thursday.

That evening our Case Worker called to tell us that a baby boy had been born and that we had been chosen by his birth parents to adopt him and could we come pick him up at the hospital Saturday.

We were stunned. We had only been officially approved and ready to wait for a baby for a couple weeks. We expected it to take months before someone had chosen us and then we thought we would have a few months to really get ready.

But Corbin had a different plan, he was in a hurry, he came 6 weeks early and we were in shock.

Both Derek and I went to work the next day, Friday, to let them know that we probably wouldn't back for a while. And then spent the evening buying a few basics, like a car seat and bottles.

Suddenly, before we could even wrap our heads around what was really happening, there we were looking at our son.

He was perfect...tiny...but perfect.

We still feel so amazed that he is ours.

We love July 29th, Corbin was born.
We love July 31st, Corbin came home with us.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

Corbin and his teacher Ms. Lynn

(That's his new "Happy Face")

Corbin has loved going to school. He loves riding the bus, he loves his teachers, he has even made friends. His language has really improved and his social skills are too. Enrolling him was the best thing we could have done for him right now.

But....

Today was Corbin's last day of Preschool. Summer break has officially started.

And I'm a little freaked out.

I was very sad to see Corbin off to school every morning....in the beginning.

Now, I love having my mornings to run errands, give Cooper one-on-one time and clean up messes without someone making new messes simultaneously.

I'm not sure what to do with Corbin.

He hasn't been mine in the first 5 hours of the day for what feels like forever.

In know that we will get a new routine soon. But right now I'm a little afraid he's gonna go crazy.(this is the boy whose new experiment is to take his poo out of the toilet and try to wash it down the sink instead, ahh). I may enroll him in a private preschool a couple days a week (wonder what they would do if he tried his poo game with them?), but maybe he just needs a break.

I don't know what I'm gonna do, but if you live close you'll probably be getting a phone call from me wanting to set up a play date.

Please say yes...

"Park, Mommy Please"

This is Corbin's preferred manner of dress. Undies only, and that's if we're lucky.

But if he wants to leave the house clothes are mandatory. And this little guy wanted to go to the park very badly. So badly, that he got dressed all by himself.
Hmmmm, Let's take a closer look....



He may be a little wrinkly, and a bit on the small side, (he found them in the basket under his dresser where I throw the clothes he's grown out of) but he got all the basics covered. He was very proud that he did it all by himself. Once we got everything turned around, to the park we went and we had a great time. How could I say no to this kid after he made such a cute effort to get covered up?

Noodle Time

Corbin loves pasta. My camera isn't working right now so I dug up this picture from the first time he ate spaghetti. He is about 1 year old. Now he's 31/2 and his love for noodles lives on.

Tonight while I was feeding Cooper his last bottle of the night, Corbin made himself a snack. He opened the fridge, found the left over noodles, opened the container they were in, dumped them onto a plastic plate, dragged a chair over to the microwave, put his plate in, pushed the 30second button, got off the chair, got out a fork, put it on the table, heard the ding that the noodles were done, climbed back onto the chair, took out his plate, got off the chair and over to the table with out spilling anything and shouted "Noodle Time!"

He is my little cook that knows what he wants- when he wants it and apparently can get it done all by himself. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been sitting on the couch watching the entire thing. I think he'll make a great husband someday....he's not afraid to help out in the kitchen (smile).

Service+Kids=Chaos

So this is what ALL of my towels look like when they are soaking wet and relaxing in the tub.

Let me rewind.

The girl I visit teach just had a baby. I was asked to organize dinners for her and her husband this week. Sounds simple enough right. Well, now that church has moved to the afternoon, Corbin doesn't get a nap. When he is sleepy he starts getting into things that aren't in his usual preschooler trouble making repertoire . He keeps us on our toes. Tonight I was alone, Derek had to work, but the evening was moving along smoothly. That is UNTIL I picked up the phone. So, normal kids see this as a universal signal to run amuck... right? Well add a sleepy Corbin to the mix and here is what happened in a matter of less than 30 min. and 3 phone calls (and each one was only a couple minutes).

First he decided to try to cut Coopers hair. How he got the scissors that we keep up high in a matter of seconds baffles me. So I hung up got the scissors away from him, calmed Cooper down and called the same person back.

One dinner down, next phone call, he finds a green marker and starts to write on the kitchen cupboards. I chase him down and schedule another meal...this time all in one call. It's getting late I need to make at least one more call so I decide to put Corbin in the bath (his favorite pass time). He should be content for a while. I get him settled in, schedule another dinner delivery and realize that the water is running in the tub. I head down the hall to turn it off and the carpet out side the bathroom door is not the right color Uh Oh! There must have been at least 2 inches of water on the bathroom floor and the tub was just running over. Corbin thinks it's the best thing ever.....I don't think he'll do that again however. So Corbin is in time out, I'm running around gathering towels to soak up our new indoor pool and Cooper is crying (but if he's crying he's not choking right...so he'll be fine). I let Corbin out of his room and went to get a fan to blow on the carpet and hurray the chaos it over.

When I realized that Cooper wasn't crying anymore, I went to check on him. This is what I found. Sleeping Cooper on the floor by the dining room table. He made it halfway to me before conking out I guess.

It took long enough to clean up the watery mess that by the time I was done, I wasn't so mad. Good thing too because Corbin was keeping busy playing with my "Plan of Salvation" props from my Sharing Time lesson today. Very cute, he was even doing and saying some of the things I did in primary today. That helped me get back in a good mood, too bad Derek won't have any dry towels when he comes home tonight.

Through the Lens of a Toddler

Okay so I may be crazy... but sometimes I let Corbin use my camera. It is little palm size thing, and he just loves to take pictures. Usually I go through and delete them before I upload to my computer but sometimes I forget so some have slipped by me. It wasn't until he took pictures of his train one day that I decided It might be fun to keep some of his shots. So I have gone through my files and started a folder to keep some of pictures that he has taken. This may just be a phase that he will grow out of but for now I have a sweet appreciation for how he sees his life through the lens of the camera.

His photos seem to fit into a few categories I have decided to Label : "Things I Dumped on the Floor", "Elbows", "Dad and Mom" and "Self Portraits".

"Things I Dumped on the Floor"

I love that his little feet end up in lots of his pictures

"Elbows"

My green elbow was taken on the way to Corbin's 1st day of Preschool

"Dad and Mom"

"Self Portraits" (yes, he's usually at least half naked)

Tummy and toes, yes that's his belly button. The second one is a close up of his nose.

His new thing is to put the camera on the counter, with the timer set, then run in front before it flashes. He got that from watching his grandpa take family pictures for everyone this Christmas. Maybe Corbin will grow up to be a photographer like his Grandpa but for now... as Corbin would say "My Sl" (that's smile, he gets the sounds twisted around).

The Pre-School Blues

Corbin is starting his 2nd week of pre-school and I still want to cry about it. I thought today I would be fine. He woke up and remembered that it was a school day. I had been a little worried that after the long weekend he wouldn't want to go back. So the morning started out fine, he got dressed and brushed his teeth. We got in the car...things are still great...we listened to Christmas music...he sipped on his breakfast drink... Then as we turned onto the street that takes us up to the school I got a familiar lump in my throat. I took a deep breath and it went away. As his teacher came to the car to get him he was fine, but as soon as she took his hand and walked away with him the tears came again. Not his, but mine. I cried down that hill wondering how all you moms who have done this before me felt. This is normal right? Even though we have some rough days around here, I miss him.

It Hurts Here and Here....and Here

Corbin pulled an Indiana Jones on me last night. I was putting him to bed and it was probably the 2nd or 3rd time that I had taken him back to his room. As he climbed in he bumped his knee on the bed rail. He whimpered a little and said "Knee owie. Mommy kiss it". So I did, but he didn't stop with his knee. He smiled and pointed to his elbow "Elbow owie kiss it". He went through all his body parts, all his fingers, both feet, ears, eyes, nose, lips, teeth, tummy, leg, chin. I finally said goodnight and he stayed in bed. I'm sure that Super Nanny would have frowned at me for letting him pull me into his game of Keep Mommy In the Room a Little Longer. But who could resist a chance to give so many kisses?

Nursery Update From the Post Below!

He did it. Corbin went all two hours in nursery with out fighting with the other kids or banging his head or having a melt down. One of the leaders said that he and a little girl were pulling on the same toy. She hurried over to protect the little girl (that has been their normal routine) and Corbin just let go and played with something else! He still wanted to have Derek in there with him for the first hour, but what a major improvement. People in the ward kept coming up to me say "Corbin just ran to me and gave me the biggest hug". I just smiled and said "Well you are one of his favorite people". And that was that. Our little Corbin is being the darling boy that we enjoy so much. I am now a real believer, it is not just our imagination....Corbin has changed. He is not perfect (he's 3) but he has been so much easier. Yea!

Good Moos?

Some of you know that our little Corbin can be quite a handful. As we looked into the options we have to help us, help him...we started to suspect that food sensitivities may be affecting his behavior. Our regular pediatrician was really not much help, so we took him "out of network" to a Doctor that has helped some families we know diagnose this type of problem. She discovered that he is affected by all dairy products including eggs. Changing his diet has been a little harder than I thought it would be, I even had a hard time finding things he can eat at Trader Joe's. But I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon. We have a second visit this coming week. There is a chance that now dairy is out of his system that she will be able to detect another "allergy". We just cross our fingers that there will be something left that is safe for him to eat.

We have noticed a change in him. He is a lot more affectionate and seems to talk more. He is less aggressive and more cooperative, even the times we send him to time out he goes without a fight. That is just amazing to us. Sunday will be the biggest test. He hates going to nursery and isn't nice to the other children. So if things go better there we will really think we have found our miracle.

So if anyone comes across a good recipe that is dairy free we would love you to share it with us. One of Corbin's favorite things to do is help make cookies. I need to figure out how to do that with out eggs or butter (chocolate chips are out too, Derek is having a hard time that one (smile)).

We'll Never Forget July 29th

This is what started it all....

Ever since Corbin's Birthday (which was about a month ago) he has become obsessed with "Happy Birthday". When he walks with a plate of food he pretends he is caring out a birthday cake, he walks very carefully, sings "Happy Birthday" and blows out the "candles" which could be anything from a straw to a fork or just plain imaginary. After the "candles" are out he celebrates with clapping hands a shouts of "yea!". You would think that with all the celebrating we're doing over here that Corbin would be able to remember that he is 3 now (smile). Here are a few of the meals we have caught him singing to.

This is pizza with a straw for a candle.

Singing to his yogurt (the spoon is the candle)

"Blowing out" the Mac-n-Cheese.

Waffles with straws for candles.

It makes me wonder what is really going on in that little head. Is he disappointed every morning when he wakes up a realizes that it's NOT his birthday is he thinking: "No presents again...man, guess I'll have to just sing to this boring breakfast once more....maybe tomorrow...." How fun it must have been to have birthdays when we were younger. Birthday cake is a pretty fun treat. He may be on to something.

Our Little Hero

Corbin is going through a super hero phase. He is always pretending to be Spider Man while humming the theme to Superman or Batman. At nursery while the other kids are playing with toys, Corbin tries to hang from the chalk board making web sounds (pwishh pwishh). He also loves Start Wars. Last night we ate otter pops in the front yard with some neighborhood kids. When they were all done, Corbin started a big light saber war using the empty wrappers as swords. Very cute.