As most of you know, Cole spent last Saturday through Wednesday at the respite house. It was his fourth stay there and again it was a huge success. He had so much fun. They took him to all of his favorite spots: Rosedale, Borders, Target, McDonald's and Grand Slam. I laughed when they told me Cole requested to eat at a Chinese place at Rosedale. He ordered Wontons and soup! (even funnier when you consider Chinese is not a delicacy we enjoy at our house). Cole got to play outside a lot; probably more than he would if he were at home. They really do an outstanding job and we are so thankful.
I got to see him at my weekly training session at MAC on Tuesday. I was nervous as to how Cole would react, given he was staying at the respite house. Cole was SO happy to see me. He told me right away, "One more day at respite. Cole will come home on Wednesday!" He snuggled and hugged me a lot. Cole kept rubbing my neck and saying "Hi Mom". Oh how I missed my snuggle buddy. It's a good thing I only had to wait one more day to see him!
Pat, Connor and I took advantage of the respite time, as that is what it is for. We got to enjoy all of the simple things, like going to the YMCA together, dinner out at Beef O Brady's, practicing baseball in the back yard, a birthday party at Cooper's and other fun things. We also had the upstairs of our home painted while Cole was gone. This was a huge under-taking and we knew it was something we had to do while he was gone. Thankfully John, the wonderful painter, worked with our schedule and did an amazing job.
We were nervous about how Cole would react to a house that didn't look like he did when he left. The paint colors are drastically different from what they were before. When you add that to the new furniture and TV we just got, I just wasn't sure what kind of reaction Cole would give us. Thankfully, he walked in Wednesday and was very excited. He quickly walked around the house and looked in every room. He asked if his room was painted, and wasn't disappointed when we told him no. Cole really seemed to like the paint, especially the chocolate brown wall that he says looks like the color of our neighbor's tractor! The picture of Cole at the computer is him right after he got done checking out his new digs. You can tell from his gigantic smile that he was one happy fella.
We've had a good weekend so far. Tonight was fun. Pat went to hit some golf balls and I stayed home with the boys. We asked two neighborhood boys to play. It went so well. Cole and I rode our bikes on the trails in our yard and spent time together while the other kids played. Soon enough, Cole joined Connor, Matthew and Andrew on our swing set. The kids swung and played a tether ball type game together. They were laughing up a storm. Cole did a great job. He interacted just like any kid would and the boys included him in their play. I was so proud of Cole. He is learning how to play and more importantly, enjoying it! Soon enough, the boys moved on to the trampoline and Cole opted to shovel the dirt. All in all, it was a great play date. The kids even got to chase a wild turkey that walked into our backyard. The kids ran after it and the turkey got a running start and flew away! They thought it was so cool.
Right after the boys left, Cole insisted on putting his bike in the truck. He then wanted Connor's scooter in the truck as well. It was 8pm and time for bath, not the ideal time to drive to a park. Cole had it in his head that he wanted to "go to the park by the orange store and ride my bike". Hummm... just what park was he talking about? And how was I going to do this by myself, at 8pm at night without knowing where he wanted to go? Luckily Pat pulled in the driveway just as I was about to leave. Whew!
After a quick stop to get gas, Cole successful directed us to the park he was talking about. We have taken Cole to this small park that has a nice walking path around a big pond. This was the park he was talking about. I wish you could have seen how happy he was when we arrived and took his bike out of the truck. He was elated!!!! The boys were off to the races. Pat and I walked quickly, trying to keep up. Soon it became apparent that we needed to run. So off we went, running... me with my purse in hand and Pat in work boots. Cole and Connor would ride and scoot until they were just out of sight and then stop to wait for us. They both did awesome and it gave us an additional work out for the day! I took some great pictures of Pat and the boys at dusk while they were sitting on a bench but they were too blurry to post.
Now the boys are crashed and we are enjoying our newly painted home. It feels great. All of the wall cracks, nail pops and kid dings are fixed. The paint looks great and we are ready to relax. I'm going to finish my post and read the last book in the Twilight series. Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!
** Please say a prayer for my Grandma Irene, who is in the hospital with Bronchitis. She should be just fine, but with the vast number of prayers she says for us, I want to be sure we are doing the same for her. Love you GG.
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