Mommy, Why Don't Some People Have a Cochlear Implant?

That was today's question on our way home from school. I knew one day it was coming, but I was hoping it would happen when I could actually look him in his eyes, rather than fighting traffic on Massachusetts Ave. How do you explain to a 3 year old that he was born deaf thanks to the Connexin 26 gene mutation? How do you tell him that he will always be deaf, that he will always need to wear his CI? I wasn't ready for that in depth of a conversation and to explain the Punnett Square of Gene Mutations. I'm sure that will come later.  So, here's my response in a nutshell, as I wiped the tears from my eyes:

"Oh, buddy, did you know that you make Daddy and I so proud? Well, God made you so special. When you were in my belly (Christian: I was IN YOUR BELLY? DID YOU EAT ME? EWWW!), no honey, when you were just a little baby, not even born yet (Christian: That was like when Lily was in your belly and when Tyler's Mommy had Baby Jake in her belly), yes, just like that. Ok, well when you were in my belly and before you were born, God decided to give you a very special gift. He decided that you were going to have your magic ears".

He was pretty quiet at this point, and just as I was getting ready to continue explaining about his special gift from God and how God just made him perfect, he tells me:

"God shined His light down on me with his magic wand. It was magic and then poof and then His light got really bright. There was thunder and lightening and it was loud. Mommy, do you want to go to the playground with Willis and Josie later?"

I just smiled and told him that I couldn't wait to play with him later this afternoon. My sweet angel boy, understanding in his own little way his special gift. It's been a while since I received one my love letters from God. I'm pretty thankful that He knew exactly what I needed to hear today.

"But Mommy, WHERE IS JESUS?"

Ok. I love this one. 

After we sat down in our pew yesterday for Easter Mass, Christian turned to me, looked at me right in the eyes and said "But Mommy, WHERE IS JESUS?".

My heart melted and I couldn't help but laugh. I had to stop and think, and I ended up telling him that Jesus was all around us, he watched us from heaven, and he was in our heart. He looked REALLY confused. I think I was too. I mean, after being raised and schooled in the Catholic Church, I still can't really explain the Holy Spirit. 

Religion in general is really tricky to explain to preschoolers. I've tried to explain to Christian that Jesus is a very special friend to him, that he lives in heaven, and he will always take care of us. That part, Christian gets. My curious boy though expects to see Jesus in the flesh. He asked me the other day if Jesus could come over and play with his Batcave. 

Love this child...

Christian is really into imaginative play these days, and in addition to pretending he's Spiderman, a fireman, and a Monster Truck, he also likes to play "store". Usually, he pretends he's at Target, and he buys cleaning products (welcome to my life). Today, however, he was at a different store:

Christian: Mommy! I'm going to go to Hopkins to buy you a CI. You want pink?
Mommy: Speechless, tears welling, and laughing!
Christian: Ok, Mom. You get pink!

First of all, I am STILL verklempt. Second of all, he knows me too well. Of course I would want the new hot pink Nucleus 5 processor!

A Moment of Clarity

Driving home from school today, Christian and I were having our usual little conversations. I usually ask him what he did in school, who he played with (working on answering "wh" questions, can't you tell!), if he had fun, and then I talk about all the things we see on our drive home. Not only is it a good language opportunity, I try my hardest to keep him up on our trip home so he actually will take a good nap when we get home.

Today, before I even had to ask, as we were pulling away from school, Christian just started telling me ALL about his day:

Christian- "Mommy, basketball in gym (prounounced bah-ket-ball in gym)!Mommy! Play bahketball in gym!"

Me- "Oh, Wow Christian, did you play in the gym today?"

Christian-"Shoot blue bah-ket-ball! OH BOY!"

Me-(Now with tears welling in my eyes, as I'm pulling out onto Massachusetts Ave.) "Christian, that is awesome! Did you have fun playing basketball in the gym?"

Christian-"Awesome basketball!"


At this point, it was full on niagra falls for me. I know I've been a ball of emotions lately, but complete and profound joy overcame me on the ride home today. To think that I thought I would never hear his voice. And my loving little boy is in the backseat of my car, telling me all about his awesome day playing basketball in the gym at school. Using his sweet, beautiful words.

Too Too

Can I just say that I LOVE that my little guy is working on his please and thank-yous! Now when he asks for something, and I give it to him, he says Thank You (well, he says Too Too) and SIGNS it too.

I have to get this on video. I LOVE THIS KID!

Colors!

Our good friends are getting married this weekend in Florida, and we are SO EXCITED to get out of town and celebrate with them. I need a vacation. Big time. Chuck and I haven't been away on a trip together (just the two of us) since our Honeymoon. Sure, we had our little weekends here and there to Dewey. And we did have an amazing family vacation last summer. So, we are looking forward to spending some time together, and with our friends. It's going to be a bit of a Dewey Beach reunion, and I know we are going to have some fun together.

I pulled some dresses out of my closet today to get ready for our trip, and I heard these little footsteps behind me. Then I heard his very serious, and very sweet little voice say:

OLORZ! OLORZ!

Christian was standing behind me, pointing with one hand, and doing the sign for "Color". I was trying to figure out what he was checking out. And then I looked up:



Can I just say I'm super stoked that my kid gets a kick out of Madras and Lilly already? I definitely am hoping that he is going to be an adorable preppy Gonzaga boy.

Mommy!!! FINALLY!

Just a quick note to let everyone know (especially my parents who I know are sick of hearing me talk about this) that Christian FINALLY signed "MOMMY" this evening. If take a look to the right and see his running list of signs, the kid is doing great. There was just something about him signing "Balloon" and not "Mommy" that made me a bit sad. He HAD his "Ma Ma Ma" spoken sounds, that disappeared a couple of months ago. So, this evening, once Daddy got home, and we we practiced walking on the front lawn, the little man FINALLY signed my name. Chuck deserves a big hug and a kiss from me, as I know he's been working very hard on this particular sign and word with Christian. Thanks sweetie!

I'll never, ever, EVER forget this day.

Spring has Sprung in Maryland

The daffodils are popping, the weather is pushing 70 degrees, and I've pulled my flops and madras out of storage. Most importantly, AJ our neighborhood Ice Cream Man is back. Spring definitely has sprung.

I got to know AJ really well these past two years. When I was pregnant with Christian, I used to run down the street to catch him along with the rest of the neighborhood kids. Last summer, I used to visit AJ while Christian slept in my ERGO.

Today, we visited AJ (who gave us a complimentary ice cream sandwich in celebration of Christian turning a year. I think he liked it:

Be Careful...You Might Catch The Giggles too...

A certain 13.5 month old little boy has been quite silly these days. I was working this afternoon, and our amazing, wonderful, and sweet nanny was playing with Christian. I usually keep to myself and my work when she is here, but after about 5 minutes of Christian laughing hysterically, I had to take a peak.

Check out the video (and be sure to disable the sound below):

Al Gore Is Onto Something....

What do Washingtonians do when it's 71 degrees in January?

For the past two days, DC has been feeling the effects of Global Warming. Christian absolutely loved getting into his stroller without his wintercoat that makes him look like Randy the kid brother from A Christmas Story. Be sure to disable the music at the bottom of the blog before watching the video.

Turkey, and Stuffing, and Mashed Potatoes...OH MY!

We're still recovering from Christian's 1st Thanksgiving... our boy can eat. He is starting to boycott "baby food", and instead wanting whatever Daddy and I have on our plates. Which, worked out great for Turkey Day. He absolutely LOVED the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. He made a very sour looking face when he ate my Williams-Sonoma Cranberry Orange Relish, which is understandable. He had my candied yams, which he liked SO much better than his regular old sweet potatoes. Who wouldn't? Anything covered in marshmallows is better!


*for all ya'll who haven't seen Christian during mealtime lately, we use the Hanna Anderssen Pilot Caps to keep the goop out of the aids. Trust me, we wouldn't make our kid wear them if we didn't have to!