Charlie looooves Snoopy. On one of our first trips to Target he found a laughing, dancing, ear-flapping Snoopy and he has gone to visit him several times a week since they met. Charlie went a whole week without a major tantrum and has made some great progress with his behavior recently, so I was happy to reward him with the opportunity to bring Snoopy home with him today. He is ridiculously happy. It is so much fun to reward this child.
He also still loves Daniel Tiger and his new favorite episode is one about empathy. He watches it 2-3 times a day because he likes the part where Daniel says, "Hammer, hammer, hammer!" He just laughs and laughs every time. Sam said, "Mom, why does he think that is so funny?" I think it's because Charlie knows that you need a screwdriver, not a hammer, to fix a doorbell. He continues to love to fix things and recently lost his "baby screwdriver." He was very pleased with a trip to Home Depot to get a new one.
The other day in my bathroom he saw the Essential Oil that we use when he has bad tantrums. He said, "Dat oil for tantrum. No more tantrum. Bye Bye tantrum! Bye Bye oil!" Well, the next day he had another one over wearing his seat belt, but he is turning a corner for sure. He has started sleeping in pajamas the past few nights. I don't know what he slept in at Bethel, but since we got him he has slept in only underwear or a pull-up. He also has not wet the bed in several nights. This is also huge.
Children from institutionalized care (even if it is a good facility with excellent care) have so many obstacles to overcome once they are home. Them finding a family is not the end of their story. There are so many complicated parts to who they are and how they behave because of their past. Click here for a super helpful article to understand what these kids are facing once home.
We talked to Teacher Fang the other night. We mentioned that he has become more picky with food and doesn't eat as much. She said that when we first got him food was probably a comfort and he ate so much because he was so stressed. Now, he is more comfortable, so he doesn't need so much food. I think she is right, and I think this is also true with the showers. He used to take 2-3 hot baths or showers every day. I think he thought they were fun, but also comforting and relaxing. Now, he is becoming more like his siblings and we have to convince him he needs to take a bath. The only time he really wants one (or takes a long one) is after a tantrum, and I believe that's because it helps him relax and get back to himself.
He still prefers not to be at home most of the time. This is very exhausting and if I insist that we stay home so that I can get stuff done, he just complains, complains, complains. His favorite places to go are Target, Home Depot, Chick-Fil-A, the supermarket and Petsmart. We are at one of those places every.single.day. I am definitely more of a home-body and I'm constantly thinking about all I could be doing at home. But he is such a joy, and having so much fun discovering new things, that I just figure I'll get all this stuff done when he goes to school in a few weeks. I still feel overwhelmed a lot of the time, I rarely cook these days, and our house is a disaster. But I keep telling myself that we will get some sense of order back eventually. It might look different, but things won't be this chaotic forever. At least I keep telling myself that. I hope it's true.
His favorite "candy" right now is Stephen's cough drops. Every time he pops into Stephen's office to say hello, he comes out smelling like menthol.
Our best sibling moments since getting home 4 weeks ago happened this week with a box. All 3 kids had so much fun taking turns getting in an empty box and letting the other two flip the box over and over. It was hilarious and sweet. Charlie used a blanket for safety and a flashlight for security. They had a blast and then did it again for several days until eventually the box fell apart.
We actually all went out to eat for the first time since returning from China last Saturday night! We went to Chili's, forgot to take a picture. I don't know if you've been to Chili's lately, but they have these little kiosk screen things, where kids can play games or adults can order food or drinks. (Or kids can order food and drinks without their parents' knowing it, if they're Charlie Seabolt.) He ordered a bacon cheeseburger, a blondie, and a coffee. Our server brought them to the table and was not impressed when we said we didn't order that, our 7 year old son did. We won't be back to Chili's for a while. It took forever to settle our bill and guess who was more than ready to get out of there? Charlie!
The first few weeks we had him Charlie was terribly afraid of thunderstorms, and even rain. Yesterday we were outside and it started to sprinkle. He said, "It raining, but Mommy and Daddy keep Charlie safe. Yes?" YES! YES! YES! He's getting it! Trust, safety, security-- that's what mommies and daddies are for! Good job, Charlie!
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