You say it's your birthday

Today I celebrate 7 years of having Cash in my life.

Birthday eve

Tomorrow is Cash's birthday. On Tuesday Cash flies with his dad to Aspen. On Wednesday I start my new job. I don't think I have said the words "I'm bored" in months.

Cash has started sticking his hand down his pants. Now I will not begrudge a small boy the opportunity to play with what he has got, but we do have to work on when it is appropriate. Plus for a day or two, it was pretty bad and he seemed to be itchy. So I took him to his new pediatrician and she declared he had a few chigger bites. Chiggers?! It sounds horrible. But apparently it is pretty common and there is not much you can do but put some hydrocortisone on the area to salve the itchiness. I must say that after years of Cash's every sickness being pneumonia, it is interesting that he now seems to get typical kids' ailments. Not fun per se, but certainly a nice change.

I hate that Cash is going to be gone for 3 weeks. Argh. 

Important day

It is Himself's 7th birthday next Monday! I am so grateful to have him in my life. It has been an amazing, eventful seven years - full of heartache and struggle and triumph and endless, endless love. He is blessing and a lesson, a reward and a guide. He is what gives my life form and meaning. I celebrate his soft belly skin, his fuzzy head, his joyful smile, his stubborn, mischevious spirit. I remember growing him - the quiet moments before his birth where the two of us shared everything - and I glory in his current incarnation of active little boy.

7 years! Woooo!

Moving forwards by moving backwards

Kiddo walked backwards today! I was at the computer and I looked up to see Cash giving me an impish smile as he moved his feet in itty-bitty backwards steps. It was adorable. And he was so pleased with himself.

Really, as I look back on it, he has been hot recently. A bunch of new signs - balloon, garden, butterfly, doctor (as of yesterday) - more spontaneous commenting on his surroudings, and greatly improved walking. Not only solid walking without braces, but enough control to go in reverse. Plus, he is using his iPad to work on colors, letters, and numbers. It is hard to tell exactly what he knows, because he isn't always motivated to give the "right" answer, but it looks like he is taking it all in. The "Meet the Colors" app is my favorite - the colors are all associated with cute little dancing powder puffs.

Just now, we turned his iPad on and he spontaneously signed "apple" when he saw the Apple insignia.

I still think the stem cells are making a difference.

I am feeding him M&M's as I type. He keeps walking away and then coming back but stopping halfway to take a few deliberate steps backwards before proceeding. It looks like dancing and it is hilariously cute.

Breathing clearly

We visited our new pediatrician today for a well-child checkup and a general get-to-know-ya. The doctor was exceptionally nice. Cash is now 46 lbs and 42 inches tall, which is quite little for a 7 year old, but that's who he is. The exciting news is that we are ceasing all asthma maintenance meds - Cash hasn't had an asthma-type event in ages and really hasn't been sick much at all for the last year since we left Aspen. For one, he is older and stronger, and secondly, he breathes better at a lower altitude. We will continue to keep a rescue inhaler on hand and we will continue to do a few puffs of his maintenance inhaler when he is in Aspen.

So! No more growth hormone and no more asthma meds!

Also, for the moment, no more leg braces. For the summer, we aren't using the braces in order to see how Cash's muscles strengthen without them. We may go back to the braces (or a new version) later this fall.

We are enjoying Nashville. Things feel a mite unsettled since we are still in transition, but the hills are beautiful and the people are notably kind.

Naughty

Cash was naughty top to bottom today. Right now he is hopping around on the bed beside me wide awake at 10:30pm. And this day started when he woke me at 7:00am. In between he threw about 5 temper tantrums, whined for long stretches of time, complained about walking, complained about riding in the car, slid down in his seat repeatedly during lunch, sat down in the middle of the grocery store parking lot, chewed on his glasses, refused to hold anyone's hand while walking, rode the elevator by himself, tried to use the computer at the school office, arched his back and threw a fit at being strapped into his carseat, etc etc. It was quite a demonstration of willfulness and discontent with the reigning authority (meaning me). After his complacent babyhood, I still enjoy it when Cash asserts himself, but I will admit today was long and it makes me sad when he gets frustrated.

We have had three busy busy days. We have now signed an apartment lease, found somewhere to live until the lease kicks in, registered the car, mostly registered Cash for school, made an appointment with a pediatrician to get Cash a physical, visited the Department of Health to verify Cash's vaccinations, started the Medicaid process, and checked in at the bank. Lots of stuff to do, but we are making progress. We are helped in our tasks by our diligent investigation of the local frozen yogurt places - though Cash doesn't show alot of enthusiasm for ice cream, which I find amazing. Who doesn't like ice cream?! Today I got him a cup of fruit instead - and he PREFERRED it. Weird little kid.

Do-ing

This week is a mess of apartment hunting, school researching, car registering, Medicaid applying, and various other -ings. There are so many decisions to make. One is done - we are living in the Franklin area (south of Nashville proper) where the schools are supposed to be excellent. We stopped by the district office today and to their credit, they took Cash in stride. As soon as we sign a lease, I will go and enroll him.

He was pretty hilarious today. We did alot of driving around, and at some point he got bored and mad and proceeded to pitch a fit. He was holding onto a rail in an elevator and as he squawked and wiggled, both his feet left the ground. I think it is the first time he has actually jumped under his own power. He looked surprised. And proceeded to try it again.

He is getting his new front teeth. No more baby vampire, instead he is all toothiness.