Gamka and the Dentist

We had our first grandparent visit last weekend. My mom and Gary drove out, along with Amanda, for a quick visit. It all went about as you would expect. Both boys were pretty shy at first, but they opened up quickly. One of the highlights of the weekend was the electric Ford F150 they brought for the boys. As you’ll see in the video, that instantly became a favorite toy. We went for a spin around the block, and you’d think that Evan is ready for his driver’s license.

[media id=14 width=640 height=480]

“Grandma” or “Grandpa” was a little too much for Evan to pronounce, so he ended up going with “Gamka”. A lot of times he just cut to the chase and went with “Judy” or “Amanda”. Hopefully this is just a transitional thing, but I guess grandparents end up with all sorts of names for any number of reasons.

We took a drive up to Idaho Springs, hoping to see some scenery and grab some pictures. The weather wasn’t very cooperative, but at least we managed to get a couple of pics. All in all, it was a fun weekend. The boys weren’t too happy when they left on Monday morning, but they seem to understand that they had to go home. We’re looking forward to getting all of the grandparents in for in-person meetings. The video chats are great, but they aren’t a real substitute.

The boys continue to adapt to their new environment. Another scene from the video catches Evan singing the alphabet song. He may not be perfect yet, but I think you’ll agree he’s doing a heck of a job for being 6 weeks into the language. “Twinkle Twinkle” is actually his favorite tune. You’ll also see a little of that, but before he can finish, he can’t help but remind me that I left our last camera on my truck and broke it (almost a month ago). Again, I think it shows a tremendous grasp of the language, in addition to a sharp memory.

In another major life event, we had our first trip to the dentist Thursday. Both boys actually handled it incredibly well. It started with x-rays. You might think it would be very difficult to tell a 3 year old to sit in a chair under a lead apron, stick this piece of film between his teeth, and sit still for 30 seconds while the tech runs over to click the x-ray, but Evan picked up on it right away. He was obviously uncertain about what was going on, but he didn’t fight, and he didn’t fuss.

After the x-rays, it was time for a cleaning. They both seemed to enjoy the blueberry toothpaste, and had a lot of fun getting their mouths suctioned out. The hygienists were agog over both of them. One of them asked us to bring them back in next week. Before they left, they had 3 hygienists, the receptionist, and the dentist all asking for hugs.

We finally got the gumption to take the boys to the pool at the rec center today. What a blast! They weren’t quite sure what to do with all that water. We had to work on basics, like closing your mouth when you dip your head under. There are also a few water features (as you’ll see in the video) that they took a while to work up the courage to explore. Even though I only captured the first minute or so on video before I joined them in the pool, rest assured, they gave each feature a thorough workout.

As for the overall adjustment, I’d say things are looking up right now. We’re settling into a pretty good routine with work and school. Our number one issue continues to be bedtime and sleeping. Evan simply does not want to sleep when he’s here. Unfortunately, school is providing him the perfect make-up opportunity. The reports are that he is sleeping 2.5 hours a day during nap time. If only our jobs would allow Lara and me the same luxury!

It’s manageable, but still stressful. The boys finally call it quits around 9 or 9:30 each night. That gives us a little time to catch up on all the other work that needs to happen before we get to crash. I have to admit, I long for the days of sleeping to 7:30 or 8:00 on a Saturday morning!

Both boys have their devious streak in them, and they pick their moments where they push our buttons. They are boys after all. Another of our minor struggles is that Evan has become pretty destructive, especially with his toys. If it can be broken, he’ll have it done within 10 minutes. There’s some evil genius inside him, based on the creative things he’s coming up with. I swear, nothing is safe. We have read that this is one of the symptoms of attachment issues.

He’s actually displaying many symptoms of lack of attachment. Oddly enough, one of them is his clinginess to us – at least according to the books. That might sound scary, but we don’t think there’s anything to worry about. When he is hurt or upset, he seeks us out. I think this will all take care of itself in time. Let’s just hope we survive until then!